High Peaks

 Still thinking about Arizona.

Everyone in California lives on a white, sandy beach.” False. The only people who live on California beaches are vacationers from Arizona, Utah, and Nevada who own condos.
– Erma Bombeck

 You know you’re from Arizona when you drive two miles around a parking lot looking for a shady place – even in the dead of winter. – Author Unknown

 You know you’re from Arizona when you feed your chickens ice cubes to keep them from laying hard-boiled eggs.  Author Unknown

Gotta go back

Well I left this one unfinished because I need to go back to Arizona. I love Arizona.

What most people don't understand is that UFOs are on a cosmic tourist route. That's why they're always seen in Arizona, Scotland, and New Mexico. Another thing to consider is that all three of those destinations are good places to play golf. So there's possibly some connection between aliens and golf. Alice Cooper

There's not a single person in Arizona today who would say the Grand Canyon was a mistake. Stewart Udall

Oil on canvas paper  8x10

Reminiscing

I had such a great time visiting the Grand Tetons in Idaho and Wyoming I had to go back .... just kidding... it was a mental "go back". Totally day dreaming and wandering back to the scenes of days gone by. Loved it anyway.

Theodore Roosevelt
"We have fallen heirs to the most glorious heritage a people ever received, and each one must do his part if we wish to show that the nation is worthy of its good fortune."

"We are prone to speak of the resources of this country as inexhaustible; this is not so."

"...wild flowers should be enjoyed unplucked where they grow."

"It is not what we have that will make us a great nation; it is the way in which we use it."

"We have become great because of the lavish use of our resources. But the time has come to inquire seriously what will happen when our forests are gone, when the coal, the iron, the oil, and the gas are exhausted, when the soils have still further impoverished and washed into the streams, polluting the rivers, denuding the fields and obstructing navigation."

"I recognize the right and duty of this generation to develop and use the natural resources of our land; but I do not recognize the right to waste them, or to rob, by wasteful use, the generations that come after us."

"Nothing could be more lonely and nothing more beautiful than the view at nightfall across the prairies to these huge hill masses, when the lengthening shadows had at last merged into one and the faint after-glow of the red sunset filled the west."

There are no words that can tell the hidden spirit of the wilderness, that can reveal its mystery, its melancholy, and its charm."

"The farther one gets into the wilderness, the greater is the attraction of its lonely freedom."

Oil on canva paper 8x10

It's white today

Hope this is an indication of the Winter to come. A couple days after the Winter Solstice and we have a nice covering of snow down here in the valley.  I love Winter. Tomorrow the sun may come out.


And there is quite a different sort of conversation around a fire than there is in the shadow of a beech tree.... [F]our dry logs have in them all the circumstance necessary to a conversation of four or five hours, with chestnuts on the plate and a jug of wine between the legs. Yes, let us love winter, for it is the spring of genius. ~Pietro Aretino, translated from Italian


[W]hat a severe yet master artist old Winter is.... No longer the canvas and the pigments, but the marble and the chisel. ~John Burroughs, "The Snow-Walkers," 1866


Winter is a time of promise because there is so little to do — or because you can now and then permit yourself the luxury of thinking so. ~Stanley Crawford, A Garlic Testament: Seasons on a Small New Mexico Farm, 1992


One kind word can warm three winter months. ~Japanese Proverb

Tomatoes from my garden again

My Grandson's wife told me that her mom pulled up the tomato plants at the end of the year and hung them indoors to ripen the last of the tomatoes that were hanging on the vine still green. Not having a barn or shed I hung them in the guest room which has a large South facing window which warms up the room nicely during the Winter. It works fine. I love tomatoes..... salad, soup or in a snadwhich... whatever.

I love judging food by its smell and feel and taste. The healthiest tomato isn't always the perfect one that's been covered in pesticides.

Sheherazade Goldsmith 

The federal government has sponsored research that has produced a tomato that is perfect in every respect, except that you can't eat it. We should make every effort to make sure this disease, often referred to as 'progress', doesn't spread. Andy Rooney

Oil on canva paper  5x7

The fishing shacks at Monterrrey

When you go down to the boardwalk at Monterrey this is one of the first things you will see.... it may be one of the most famous and most painted sites. It seems a little tilted... but then maybe I was on the down-slooped sidewalk.... maybe my head was leaning .... maybe I just goofed when painting this one. Well, there it is, the fishing shacks at Monterrey

Never stop doing little things for others. Sometimes those little things occupy the biggest part of their hearts.

California is a fine place to live - if you happen to be an orange. Fred Allen

Earlier today, Arnold Schwarzenegger criticized the California school system, calling it disastrous. Arnold says California's schools are so bad that its graduates are willing to vote for me. Conan O'Brien

oil on Canva paper 6x8

Meandering on the Beach

I just can't leave the Oregon beach. Just about every morning we were out there walking up and down... North and South. The view was always different because we wandered around at different times of the day but the sun always made long shadows about mid-morning because it had to rise above the hills to the East........ and it sometimes took a while to burn off the morning fog. There was always someone else running or walking or picking up sea shells.... and an occasional dog prancing about. So who can't feel good at the beach.

The weather and my mood have little connection. I have my foggy and my fine days within me; my prosperity or misfortune has little to do with the matter. Blaise Pascal

Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather. John Ruskin

oil on canva paper  8x10

Rocky shore line

Still painting pictures of the rocky Oregon coastline on a warm almost winter day ... it,s only 6 Dec so we are a few days from winter. The sun has dipped way down in the southern sky and shines over to my desk part of the day which is really, really nice. I love it when the sun shines thru those big windows.

“Keep your face to the sun and you will never see the shadows.”  ― Helen Keller

“Even for me life had its gleams of sunshine.”  ― Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

“What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but scattered along life's pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.”  ― Joseph Addison

“Some people are so much sunshine to the square inch.”  ― Walt Whitman

oil on canva paper  8x10

On da beach

It's a little dreary here today... but nice. Cloudy skies and not too bright... but I like it .... but not as much as the beach ... ahhhhhh , the beach. Who could not like the beach

 And me? I still believe in paradise. But now at least I know it's not some place you can look for. Because it's not where you go. It's how you feel for a moment in your life when you're a part of something. And if you find that moment... It lasts forever. - Richard

A simple life is good with me. I don't need a whole lot. For me, a T-shirt, a pair of shorts, barefoot on a beach and I'm happy. Yanni

To go out with the setting sun on an empty beach is to truly embrace your solitude.  Jeanne Moreau

oil on canva paper  6x8

Looking for shells

One day I went walking early in the morning. It was the normal foggy coast and it was beautiful. Down by the edge of the rocks were a couple of young folks.... I say young... I was going to say a couple of old geezers but then I remembered.... I'm probably older than they are. It was a good day to be looking for shells.

Those who live by the sea can hardly form a single thought of which the sea would not be part.

The loneliness you get by the sea is personal and alive. It doesn't subdue you and make you feel abject. It's stimulating loneliness.

So, would you visit me in a dream.. By the sea water, memories...Floating on the breeze...fantasies, would you visit me????

Oil on canva paper
6x8

Oh see the sea

My soul is full of longing
For the secret of the sea,
And the heart of the great ocean
Sends a thrilling pulse through me.
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

 To reach a port we must set sail –
Sail, not tie at anchor
Sail, not drift.”
― Franklin D. Roosevelt

 Sea-fever

I must down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking.

I must down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over”
― John Masefield, Sea Fever: Selected Poems

oil on canva paper  6x8

life in the Fields

OK so Monday there was no plein air paint out because it was raining or snowing. We got snow this week Very nice. . Maybe we should have gone anyway... but maybe I wouldn't have gone. Now next week  I will be in school for a couple days so I will miss the paint out... maybe I will go to the portrait society and paint the live model.

I painted from a picture I had taken in the area earlier. I have lots of picture references.

Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books.  John Lubbock

Remember to be gentle with yourself and others. We are all children of chance and none can say why some fields will blossom while others lay brown beneath the August sun.  Kent Nerburn

I don't have to take a trip around the world or be on a yacht in the Mediterranean to have happiness. I can find it in the little things, like looking out into my backyard and seeing deer in the fields.

Queen Latifah

Start where you are. Distant fields always look greener, but opportunity lies right where you are. Take advantage of every opportunity of service.   Robert Collier

That's it for today.





Oil on canva paper  6x8

Dreaming of the Coast again

I signed up for another workshop on the coast ... will I ever learn..... but it will be fun anyway.

You need to lose yourself and disappear in the depths of the repetitions? Find a coast and watch the repetitive waves! Soon your mind vanishes away and when your mind disappears you disappear!” 
― Mehmet Murat ildan

“The coast is an edgy place. Living on the coast presents certain stark realities and a wild, rare beauty. Continent confronts ocean. Weather intensifies. It's a place of tide and tantrum; of flirtations among fresh- and saltwaters, forests and shores; of tense negotiations with an ocean that gives much but demands more. Every year the raw rim that is this coast gets hammered and reshaped like molten bronze. This place roils with power and a sometimes terrible beauty. The coast remains youthful, daring, uncertain about tomorrow. The guessing, the risk; in a way, we're all thrill seekers here.” 
― Carl Safina, The View from Lazy Point: A Natural Year in an Unnatural World

You spoke to her, in hidden dreams...and smiled at her through open doors. She felt your secret love surround her at times. And while alone she felt your breath, heartbeat and more... Serenity of hers is never-ending, soothing....it leads, lures, calls you... Ah, timeless burning flame!.. Her kiss is ocean salty water, you drink and thirst increases...you long and pray for more...” - ― Oksana Rus

Well here is my sketch for the day.... Lover's Leap Monterrey California

Oil on canva paper  6x8

Hanging out in the meadow

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass... It's about learning to dance in the rain.
- Vivian Greene

Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.
- George Bernard Shaw

Go out and enjoy what you have near. It might be better than you imagined

Carson River near Genoa

Oil on canva paper 6x8

Not The Outhouse

When I was up at the Silver Saddle Ranch the other day I noticed that there were a number of out buildings.... not out houses though.... so I painted one of them. This was not an outhouse.... but I thought I would try to post some outhouse quotes. Wow. Too hard to find outhouse quotes so I posted some bathroom signs for your entertainment  :-)

We used to go around tipping outhouses over,or turning over corn shocks on Halloween.
Anything to be mean.- Loretta Lyn

 My father always used to say that when you die, if you've got five real friends, then you've had a great life. - Lee Iacocca

Well here it is my friends.........

oil on canva paper   6x8

Kissin Cuzins

I don't have many cups around here for serving coffee, especially plain colored cups.... so I had to visit the thrift store around the corner. Well I got these. They seem to work OK.  Probably will not service coffee because I don't drink it and there may not be anyone who would drink what I did make  :-)

“An empty coffee cup is full of hope. Now there’s something worth voting for.”
― Jarod Kintz, This Book is Not FOR SALE

“It is inhumane, in my opinion, to force people who have a genuine medical need for coffee to wait in line behind people who apparently view it as some kind of recreational activity.”  ― Dave Barry

oil on canva paper
6x8

Silver Saddle

Had a great time at the Silver Saddle Ranch paint out with the Reno-Tahoe plain air painters this week. Painting on location is always fun .... I guess the best part is visiting with the other artists

Oil on canva paper
6c8

Caught at the Pool

We all have our thoughts about the swimming pool. I thought I would share some of those with you:

 

 

Somehow I kept my head above water. I relied on the discipline, character, and strength that I had started to develop as that little girl in her first swimming pool.Esther William

When I was in my 20s, I thought that being known for 'Swimming Pool' was kind of a burden. Like, 'OK, everyone thinks I am this tanned bimbo,' and I was having problems coping with that image.

Ludivine Sagnie

When civilization takes a nose dive, how can you look away? You've got to be there. You've got to be at the bottom of the swimming pool taking notes. Gary Shteyngar

Al Pacino -  I'm an actor, not a star. Stars are people who live in Hollywood and have heart-shaped swimming pools

Bruce Lee  - If you want to learn to swim jump into the water. On dry land no frame of mind is ever going to help you.

 Warren Buffet  - Only when the tide goes out (really really fast) do you discover who's been swimming naked.

soooo, here she is, swimming at the pool one day

oil on canva paper   6x8

Apple Season is upon us

I love it when all the trees have the apples coming in season. That means Fall is about here and all the harvest festivals. Great to be able to celebrate harvest season.


 “Harvest time is a time of joy.” ― Sunday Adelaja

It is like the seed put in the soil - the more one sows, the greater the harvest.

Orison Swett Marden

The law of harvest is to reap more than you sow. Sow an act, and you reap a habit. Sow a habit and you reap a character. Sow a character and you reap a destiny.

James Allen

and so it is

You all have a great day

Breakfast gone

that's about it for breakfast.... a couple of soft cooked, organic, free range eggs.

One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well-Virginia Woolf

 "Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are." -Brillat-Savarin

 Let food be thy medicine, thy medicine shall be thy food.- Hippocrates

 Better to eat a dry crust of bread with peace of mind than have a banquet in a house full of trouble-Proverbs

 The more you eat, the less flavor; the less you eat, the more flavor. ~Chinese Proverb

 The doctor of the future will give no medication, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, diet and in the cause and prevention of disease. - Thomas A Edison    Oh,Oh ... he must have said this near the end of his life knowing who some of his friends were

oil on canva paper  6x8

A Shot from the Ol' OFC Bottle

Rummaging around I came across this Ol OFC Rye Whiskey Bottle in a box and decided I had to paint it... such a great bottle from many long years ago.... and I just happened to have an interesting shot glass handy.  I hope you find it interesting too.

Old things from days gone by

bring back fond memories

of the good times we had

The days were less complicated then

the times were freer

life was simple

life was easier

Time waits for no one.

Treasure every moment you have.

Oil on canvas
6x8

Still hot august nights

And the weather has actually gone up a few notches so we do have hot august nights. All kinds of interesting people come to these events ... and always lots of biker people. Bikers are not all bad... just like all other kinds of folks .... no one group is all bad. I captured this guy in the midst of lively conversation with some of his friends in downtown Reno.... discussing cars no less ... they are everywhere.

Oil on canvas 6c8

Who dat?

Practicing oil painting is always fun .... many times it does not come out all that good and sometimes it does. Sometimes it is all in the eyes of the beholder. Sometimes in the eyes of the artist. It's fun practicing on family members ... they may not always like it but the experiments is fun.

Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes ... the ones who see things differently -- they're not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status quo. ... You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things. ... They push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the people who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do." Steve Jobs

hahahahaha  :-)

oil on canvas 4x6

Guardians

At the hot August nights hundreds of people bring their cars.... then sit and wait, guarding their machines and carefully watching over .... sometimes from a distance, sometimes from right beside the vehicle. I happen to capture this couple sitting in the shade over against a building.... they don't miss a thing.

 Oil on canvas  6x8

Hot August Nights

The month of August is Hot August Nights in Reno.... that is simply a celebration of old cars, hot rods and restored vehicles. A Sight to behold too be sure. I walked downtown one day to see what was actually going on. Cars everywhere and roads blocked. For those walking it was OK. I took some pictures from which I will be making sketches and small paintings.

oil on canvas 5x7

Sketch from Teton River

One day while sitting on the west bank of the Teton river near Driggs I sketched this picture. While some of the pictures are not the best it does implant a vivid memory so that I will not forget the place nor the circumstances. It was a fun day. At this place a man walked by, a German fellow, and explained that right down the bend, within eyesight, is where the elk herd crosses and that this very area is where people come to see much wildlife. That was exciting. Nice to talk to the locals.

oil on canvas 5x7

A Man called Scott

I recently attended one of Scott Christensen's awesome  workshops up in the Grand Teton region.
Scott's demo and teachings are really great. I was glad to have been able to make the trip... it was on my bucket list :-)   Had a great time with some fine folks and wonderful artists.
Did this little sketch of Scott  .... 5x7 ..... hope he isn't looking now

 oil on canvas 5x7

Everybody's sweetheart

Full of vim and vigor... that's our little girl. Who could help loving that little face

Oil on canvas  6x8

A girl I Love

We all like to paint pictures of favorite people... the one's we love. Sometimes they don't come out perfect but we keep trying...then one day it will all come together. This is the best I can do for now but it does remind me of her if there are no photographs close at hand and she's far away. I'll keep working on it.

oil on canvas 6x8

Grand Teton National Park

Took a trip to the Grand Teton National Park in July and had a fabulous time. Watched demos by the great Scott Christensen and got out to paint at local spots. The main object of plein air painting is to have fun and enjoy the process whether the results are good or not so good  :-) The local plain air painting did not go too well for me but I got some good visual memories and insights.
The first picture is my sketchbook paintings... oil on canvas paper 3x4. I had to repaint these and rely on memory a lot.

Most of the following were from memory and photos but one is actually a plein air painting. All the pictures using photos as a reference are adaptations since I rarely copy photos exactly and I am still trying out different styles. These are oil on canvas paper and oil on linen, 6x8 and 5x7 in size. The young man is Lyle Wu, a 15 year old who is an excellent artist and still in high school. A fine young man.

Rose is for the Summertime

For the past 2 days we set up for the Latimer Club Reno is Arttown show.Each year we have an exciting show. Last year some thought we had the best show in the downtown area.... we'll see what happens this year. I had 3 pieces entered....... Matterhorn, Grindelwald and Entrance to the Courtyard.


For today -

A single rose can be my garden... a single friend, my world.  Leo Buscagli

 Won't you come into the garden? I would like my roses to see you.   Richard Brinsley Sheridan

 I don't know whether nice people tend to grow roses or growing roses makes people nice.
Roland A. Browne


... take your pick ..... your are in there

oil on canvas   6x8

You did what?

Bake with love..”
― Manuela Kjeilen

 Through enjoyment of baking we endure.”
― Florence Ditlow

 Never promise to make pie and fail to deliver on that promise.”
― Kate Lebo, 

 Cookies were much better eaten then sold, and they were best homemade.”
― Jesse Haubert,

It's very easy to confuse Sean Connery with James Bond. Sometimes in the entertainment industry, people believe the cake is more real than the baker....Judd Nelson ..... Ben, tell em' it ain't so

My son was grounded, a very meat-and-potatoes man. He was a baker.

Good ol' Ben the Baker ... the world is a better place because he is here. I did this little sketch on

oil on canvas  4x4

Roses are red... but not always

“Everything you can imagine is real.” ― Pablo Picasso

Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns; I am thankful that thorns have roses.

Alphonse Kar

There is nothing more difficult for a truly creative painter than to paint a rose, because before he can do so he has first to forget all the roses that were ever painted.

Henri Matisse

So, not knowing any better I painted one anyway.

But please don't forget to smell the roses in your life

Oil on Canvas   6x8

Savannah's Old Shoe

Some times we paint just the ordinary things of life.... for instance the grand daughter's old shoe.

The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark. -Michelangelo

Faith in oneself is the best and safest course. -Michelangelo

Painting is just another way of keeping a diary. -Pablo Picasso

 

 

Oil on gessoed canvas 6x8  $50

Sedona Workshop

“I am seeking. I am striving. I am in it with all my heart.” Vincent van Gogh

There is something about seeking with all my heart that gets me lost in my work  ... Hey Vinny.... I'm doing it too.

So where ever you are put your all into it ... you won't be sorry.

Last week was spent with Abbey Ryan at Sedona Az watching demos and painting all week.

It was a great week. Learned a few things with much effort expended. Overall the weather was great... had to put on warmer clothes tho  ....... but we had some beautiful clouds and some bright sun.
A fine bunch of people attended the workshop and turned out some fabulous work. I'm not sure mine can be categorized like that but here is what I did

I was thinking of those ingenious folks who balance rocks in the river when I put this together. I think they are so cool ... and the energy is so focused.

 Ahhhhhhh, the raspberries. This took more time and effort than I had anticipated.  The painting is

much larger than the actual berries .... maybe 10 times or more ...... so I painted them several times before I had something reasonable  This painting is 6x8

 

 After the raspberries I went for the strawberries.... kinda on a roll .... not perfect and I see some things I want to change... but here it is

After I arrived back at Zabrina's house I saw a little bear that Savanah got from one of here Cinderella pageants so I painted it. Just a fun little painting about 6x8

That's it for now folks

Stay well ... work hard ..... keep smiling

Old Mining Building Eureka Nv

Time waits for no one.

Treasure every moment you have.

You will treasure it even more when

You can share it with someone special.

Time did not wait for this old building. Mining dried up, the people left, the old building sits waiting 

Oil on canvas  6x8  50.00