Barrel cactus wash

It was a really beautiful day today. Not a cloud in sight and the air had a sparkle to it in the morning light. My painting pal Bev and I decided to paint by a wash. We like the way the land slope down on either side and the light on the rocks. We like how these barrel cactus have red needles that really glow. You can see from the photo how I simplified and did some changing of the subject. The painting is an 11x14 oil on a panel.
We had a lot of people stopping along the trail. One lady said she wanted to start to paint and had ordered an easel. When it came 5 years ago it wasn't put together so it is still in the box! I think we talked her into coming out next week and giving it a try!

More fun art for the patio

Alan and I made a cool spider out of these aluminum balls we got at the junk yard. You can never have too much stuff hanging on your patio!

More Cactus Paintings

I have some more plein air paintings to post. These all ended up with saguaro cactus as the main subject. They are such amazing plants that ignoring them is pretty much impossible! So here are some of the latest. I keep threatening to paint a different time of day, since these are all morning light. It is easier to jump up and go out first thing, before the rest of the day's activities can distract you though.

New Paintings

I have been working on some 24x30 acrylics out on the patio. One is a little aspen scene from a photo I took last year. I enjoyed keeping loose on this one. It is hanging at a 2 person show we just put up last week. There are about 40 paintings up between me and my pal Laura Cohen Hogan. It will hang for 3 months. The other painting is of an old turquoise truck I spotted under a big tree. It was a Granite Creek Winery up in Chino Valley here in Arizona. I didn't want to get too tight with it, but just share the scene.

Paint Out Photo

This photo from the Farm at South Mountain was posted by the Oil Painters of America that sponsored the day. I am right in the middle looking sort of festive in my hat...I have never been a hat person but have become one for my outdoor painting times. This event had about 75 painters! What fun!