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