Cherries & a Wine Bottle

Oil on canvas 6x8

The wine is gone... the cherries are gone ... I'm happy :-)

The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.

Do more, Spend less..... enjoy life to the fullest.

Those who can laugh without cause have either found the true meaning of happiness or have gone stark raving mad. ~Norm Papernick

 Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn’t know you left open. ~John Barrymore

It’s pretty hard to tell what does bring happiness. Poverty and wealth have both failed. ~Frank McKinney "Kin" Hubbard

So with that in mind look around you .... see the good... be happy. 

Portrait of a "Saint"

Santos oil on canvas 6x8

Santos is a local character who comes to pose for us occasionally.  Yes, Santos is his real name. Always in costume..... always refreshing and always funny. 6x8 portraits are always a challenge and may or may not look like the person.... but we have fun painting them.

Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one. ~Albert Einstein

How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg. ~Abraham Lincoln

There is an objective reality out there, but we view it through the spectacles of our beliefs, attitudes, and values. ~David G. Myers, Social Psychology

 There are no facts, only interpretations. ~Friedrich Nietzsche

 What is a face, really? Its own photo? Its make-up? Or is it a face as painted by such or such painter? That which is in front? Inside? Behind? And the rest? Doesn't everyone look at himself in his own particular way? Deformations simply do not exist. ~Pablo Picasso

 Reality leaves a lot to the imagination. ~John Lennon

 It must be hard to be a model, because you'd want to be like the photograph of you, and you can't ever look that way. ~Andy Warhol

 Everything you can imagine is real. ~Pablo Picasso

'nuf said

Across the Lake

Summit Lake oil on canvas 6x8

Took a trip up to the top of Donner Pass to meet with the other plein air painters... missed them all. Never did find them so I hiked on in by myself/ It was a nice refreshing hike. Met a few people on the way out ... and their dogs. Hikers are always a good group of people to meet.Never know what I will paint and I always take home lots of fotos to work with later.

Try to get out today ... even if it's just a walk around the block.

Honey Pot

Honey Pot painted on 6x8 canvas 

I've still been painting on a regular basis ... but not posting. Posting seems to take a back seat since there is little feed back. It's like talking to myself. Now talking to myself is not a bad thing because that's kinda like meditation.... and meditation is a good thing.  When you concentrate your thoughts on only good and positive thoughts, the negative disappears and your entire life moves on to a higher quality.

Quality is not an act, it is a habit." (Aristotle)

He was right. That's why we are artists. When we are painting everything else goes away. Time flies. we see nothing but our canvas and paints. We are focused on an object and color and light and shadows and shapes.
Then same is true no matter what your discipline. So relax. Slow down. Stay calm.

Carson Valley View

Oil on Canvas 6x8

Along the way trees are planted which are not expected to bear fruit in one's lifetime. The Dreamway,  

So we keep on planting and dreaming and visualizing what might be. An artist moves mountains, rocks, trees waterways... anything to create a picture that might mean more to the viewer or to draw him in or to create an interest.... or to make him dream dreams. 

Sometimes we paint in broad strokes to indicate actions and movement.

Lookout from Donnar Pass

Oil on canvas  6x8

Time waits for no one.

Treasure every moment you have.

You will treasure it even more when

You can share it with someone special.

The beauty of nature is everywhere but usually we have to go out there to see and enjoy it. Sometimes we can't ... or don't feel like it. It's good to have paintings to  take us away and remind of us of things we've seen or places we'd like to visit..... or dream a little dream. Take time to dream today... or go visit a place outdoors. You won;t be sorry your did.

Girl at the Beach

oil on canvas 6x8


We advance on our journey only when we face our goal, when we are confident and believe we are going to win out.......Orison Swett Marden

This is an interpretation of a  beautiful young lady on the beach in Florida. Another small painting, a 6x8 completed with a #6 round brush ... continuing my learning session. Tho they may be a little rough I feel I am getting there and the paintings are coming out with reasonable success.

Inspiration is very subjective. For one person inspiration may be one thing but for someone else it may come from a totally different direction. For a painter it may be a face... it may be a particular scene... or it may be a still life set up with lighting from a particular direction. No matter what the inspiration ... no matter where it comes from reflect on it while it is there. Be moved when inspiration affects you. Be inspired in life.

Tipped Over

Oil on canvas  6x8

Enjoy Your Days & Love Your Life, 
Because life is short and a journey to be savored.

Of course I savored them all. It was such an interesting set up and the grapes looked so beautiful ... how could I resist?

Now go out and enjoy life!

Genelle

Oil on Canvas 6x8

Genelle is 12 years old and has posed for us several times in the past. This little 6x8 was done with a #6 round. I will probably be using the round brush for the next month as a learning experience. It's quite different from using a flat brush. The picture may not be all that good but it was fun and a learning experience. I plan to do a series of 6x8 portraits along with a series of landscapes and still life paintings.

The baker

Oil on canvas  6x8

Thought I would take a break from food so I did a portrait on a small 6x8 today.   The Art Town Reno show is going well. I sat there today and at the last minute some folks came in. They enjoyed the show and voted for their favorite picture. that;s what it;s all about. People enjoying the art works.

"To serve is beautiful, but only if it is done with joy, a whole heart, and a free mind." (Pearl S. Buck)

Grapefruit & Plum

Oil on Canvas   6x8

Breakfast time again.... love the fruit. It's Art Town in Reno this month. We set up our show in the downtown Methodist church lobby.... it came out really nice. Someone from Gardnerville stated it was the best one they went to. That makes all the people involved very happy. The show was "Feeding Body and Soul" and consisted of paintings form the Portrait Society of Reno paintings of people who are connected with the  Ford Coop and food paintings from the Latimer Club. There will be entertainment and things going on all over town this month. Hope to see you there.

Copper Pot

Sometimes we keep things and we do not even know why.We just keep them. So I painted this which was among the things I have stashed. I will probably paint it again along with some food... probably some fruit or hot peppers.
It may be called Compulsive Hoarding Disorder. It can be passed along from one generation to the ext... or it may skip a generation. CHD can cause problems... like gathering too much stuff  to be stored in too little space. When moving time comes along  that's when a person will notice the problem. It may even cause anxiety in a person who does not normally have that problem.... but it's temporary in most cases. Just get rid of the "things" ... we just want to hang on to too many "things".... know what I mean?

Old Truckee Highway

A couple weeks ago we had a paintout up in the Truckee area. It was actually a tour of the old highway and the back roads up the mountain. Gorgeous! It was a bit chilly that day so I took pictures and explored. Finally the loop ended and I was back on highway 80,  headed East back to Reno. It was an exciting several hours but all the time I had allowed myself for the day  ... a few days before the 15th. I painted this from one of my fotos.

Oil on canvas  6x8

From Bird Island

While hiking around Point Lobos we found our way out to Bird Island via a park department bridge. On the way we watched the sea lions giving birth on the beach far below and the young one's taking their first swim in the ocean. Fascinating. Looking back at the mainland was something like this sketch.
Of course Bird Island was a small rock covered with birds.

Oil 6x8

Point at Asilomar State Park

There were about 700 artists at the convention who spread out all up and down the coast. Asilomar State Park  was one of the places we painted. There were lots of different views and scenes to be painted. I climbed down on the rocks to get this scene.

Oil on Canvas 5x7

Crashing waves at Monterey

Knife painting from Monterey Plein Air Convention

Oil on Canvas 6x8

Annie

This is Annie. Right now she is still on the easel by the ficus tree... maybe finished... maybe subject to corrections. It's great to have her around the house.

Oil  on stretched canvas16x20

Painting Buddies

The plein air convention was really a hit.... lots of friend painters sharing experiences and stories.

oil on canvas  6x8

Asilimar Beach

One day while out painting I discovered it can become very cold at the ocean. the clouds, the wind and the drop in temp got to me really fast. A kind person loaned me a jacket but it was not enough. I think this took 5 minutes and I was out of there.... packed up and gone ... but it was a long walk to catch the bus that brought us. ... didn't take the bus any more and wore more clothes than was necessary.

Oil on canvas 6x8

Ocean Drive

Ocean Drive at Pacific Grove recently. A nice warm day. Lots of other painters out there.

8x10 oil on canvas

Shinin' Thru

One of the small works I have completed last month. I painted a number of these small works last month.... most of them are knife paintings...... mostly for practice and a learning experience. I may be going out East plein aire painting next month so I thought it might be nice to get up to speed. When painting out-of-doors there is a certain amount of speed that must be maintianed otherwise the light and shodows change so much we lose the scene.... so we sketch quickly. Better to do a small picture so that we can finish up and catch the essence of it all.

Oil on Gessoed Canvas 6x8

Cherry Tomatoes

Well the tomatoes are starting to ripen. Found this bowl of 'em out there just the other day.What a treat!

The smoke has cleared away... at least for today and yesterday and the temp has warmed up into the 95 area. Best to stay indoors and paint... or take a nap... or something. :-)

 I hope your life is going well too.

Quick Draw 2013

Every year there is a Quick Draw event... artists meet and do a plein air painting which is then auctioned off and the proceeds go for the benefit of Scenic Nevada ... a group that preserves the good things to look at around the State. Last year I was invited and this year I was invited back.... thank you ladies.
Unfortunately this year the event was in the heat of July and not too many people showed up ... but the one's that did had a great time and all the paintings were sold. The food was catered by a local restaurant which serves organic and local food. There was live music donated by a local group.

Stella

I don't think I posted this painting of Stella. Sometime we try new techniques and strokes. This was from a foto last Fall. Always nice to paint the family.

Oil on Canvas panel
11x14 inches

Gardening

 This year I had a small garden in the back year... not much of a back yard but a whooper of a garden. Notice my wooden planter box.... 18 inches tall .... but the tomato plants really took off ... they are huge. The zuccini's are not too small either. may even get something to eat this year. :-)

Desolation Wilderness

Yesterday Baron and I hiked up to the Desolation Wilderness ... at least t the Floating Island Lake. Great Hike... beautiful weather....wonderful scenery . We must do that again..... sooner.

It's me again!

Hi Guys
It's me again. Someone suggested that the blog page was a way to let y'all know I'm alive and doing something so I'm back. July was Reno is art town month... lots going on. ... but I was without my truck for most of the month. I think I got hosed. The mechanic changed an expensive electronic thermostat, the water pump, the sending unit before he figured out it was a clogged radiator ... but then it may not have been a clogged radiator... it may have been a bad radiator hose that was collapsing. I'll never know.
I visited the artists lofts in the old Riverside hotel a week or so ago.  Very interesting. It was converted into apartments some time ago... that didn't really work out so the mad the apartments into artist lofts. Now they are very interesting. Several artists opened their doors for visitors so we paraded thru.
Scenic Nevada held their annual Quick Draw ... a pleine aire paint out session where we sold the paintings at auction at the end.An interesting bunch of artists and a group of fine people showed up. The crowd was not as big as last year and most of the collectors were not there so the prices were somewhat lower. Sold all of the paintings anyway.
The Artist's Coop had their Rockin' Out show. this was a show where basically the paintings wre about rocks. I entered some of my little Arches paintings.... actually sold one.

Urban Roots, which is a charitable organization, had an open house during the Art Town festivities ..... live music, a tour of their gardens and an auction. One of my paintings was there.

The above painting is an artist's view of the pass just South of Gardnerville heading up into the HighSierras.

It's a funny thing about life

A soul cannot live without loving.-Catherine of Sienna

A group of two hundred executives were asked what makes a person successful. Eighty percent listed enthusiasm as the most important quality. - unknown

It's a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it.-Somerset Maugham

If you judge people, you have no time to love them.-Mother Teresa

We're traveling off to Navajo Land again .... Arizona ... land of wondrous piles of rocks and arches. OK... so I did not get to travel there.... but the fotos were awesome ..... still practicing for my trip to Arches National Park in Utah

Oil on canvas board 5x7

Genuine laughing

Genuine laughing is a vent of the soul, the nostrils of the heart, and it is just as necessary for health and happiness as spring water is for the trout.-Josh Billings

 Don't carry a grudge. While you're carrying a grudge the other guy's out dancing.-Buddy Hackett

Success is getting what you want. Happiness is liking what you get.-Anon.

 To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness.-Bertrand Russel

This is painted from foto references ... not en plein aire... too bad..... it would have been nice to be there in person.

Oil on Masonite Board 9x12

Navajo-Hopi Reservation

Praise in public. Criticize in private.-Anon
 Some goals are so worthy, it's even glorious to fail.-Unknown
 If your life is free of failures, you're not taking enough risks.-Anon.
 Don't judge those who try and fail. Judge only those who fail to try.-Anon.

As if I went to the Navajo-Hopi reservation I researched the picture files and came up with this interpretation of a rock pile found there.

Oil on canvas board 8x10

Happiness is not the absence of problems; but the ability to deal with them.-Anon.
When you judge others, you are revealing your own fears and prejudices.Anon.
It's not how far you fall, but how high you bounce. -Anon.
Some goals are so worthy, it's even glorious to fail.-Unknown

OK... so I did not go over to Arizona to paint this one ..... it was an inspiration from a foto .. but it is on a 6x8

Oil on canvas board 6x8

No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.- Aesop

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.-Cicero

Be all that you can be, but don't join the Army.-Paul Guttman

There is no security on earth, there is only opportunity.-General Douglas MacArthur


 so I had to do a self-portrait ... it wasn't fair all those other folks having all the fun :-)

Charcoal on smooth newsprint

An optimist

You have to recognize when the right time and the right place fuse and take advantage of that opportunity. There are plenty of opportunities out there. You can't sit back and wait. -Ellen Metcalf

An optimist is the human personification of spring.-Susan Bissonette

We need men to dream of things that never were.-John F. Kennedy

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.-Cicero

 I was the model today ... much fun
Here are the pix ..... of me and what was produced

It is easier to forgive an enemy than a friend

It is easier to forgive an enemy than a friend.- Madame Dorothee Deluzy

Those who are free of resentful thoughts surely find peace.- Buddha

Every gift from a friend is a wish for your happiness.- Richard Bach

 I do the very best I know how-the very best I can; and I mean to keep doing so until the end. If the end brings me out all right, what is said against me won't amount to anything. If the end brings me out wrong, ten angels swearing I was right would make no difference. Abraham Lincoln


 Each Wednesday we head for the Portrait Society of Reno and paint from a live model. Today, it was none other than Renate, the longtime host and manager of the Portrait Society. I say "manager" because she has been doing it for forty years ... opening every Wednesday, contacting the model, setting up the model and then closing down.... quite a spell for doing a great job. There would be no Reno Portrait Society without her.

OK.... I painted her with a knife. Painting can be tough with a knife. Anyway, this actually looks like her... at least that's what she said.

Knife Painting Oil on 11x14 canvas board

The best way to cheer yourself up

The best way to cheer yourself up is to cheer somebody else up.- Mark Twain
Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory.- Albert Schweitzer
 Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards. - Vernon Sanders Law Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes.- Oscar Wilde

Thinking of the sea again .... it was nice over there.

Oil on canvas panel  12x16