Mesquite

Mesquite 

Oil on canvas, 16x16

Please click here to contact me for price and availability

It was a windy day in Arizona when I set out to paint, and the clouds were low and moving fast. It rained on and off throughout the day, but not while I was painting.

It felt good to paint again after a long, non-painting drive and a long, non-painting show. I'm not wild about the red canvas, and probably won't try it again, though who knows. I think the brightness of the canvas pulls your eye away from the painting. What do you think?

***

Stuff I've Seen

I'd love to know the genesis of this sign... but I do know that it made me laugh, 

and think of Doc, one of the twins, who I am missing dreadfully. 

***

Dog of the Day

This tough little guy was standing in the middle of the street in Deming, NM, 

determined to stop traffic, in spit of the fact that he's only 6 inches tall. 

***

A Final Thought

"ARt never responds to the wish to make it democratic; it is not for everybody; it is only for those who are willing to undergo the effort needed to understand it." 

- Flannery O'Connor

Winding Road

 Winding Road

Oil on black canvas, 10x10, $125

Please click here to email me if you're interested in this painting

I'm on my way home now, heading east, and it's a wonderful and slightly sad feeling, both at the same time. I will miss this land of mountains and deserts, red rocks, sun-washed earth. I will miss the soft colors of the desert, the strange and beautiful cactus and desert plants. I already miss Dad and Paula, and the warm little town of Tubac. But I miss home, and Peter, even more.

Again, as I head east, I realize how much I love driving, and just being on the road. There is a deep simplicity to it, especially when I'll be on one road for so very long. My choices are few - keep driving or stop. Need gas or no. Pass or don't pass. I like that. More than anything, though, I love watching the landscape, soaking it in, seeing it change, mile by mile, bit by bit.

Now, I'm in Holbrook, Arizona, and the mountains are behind me. I'm in a place of yellow grass and red rocks and an unbroken horizon. It's subtle and beautiful, and the sky is huge.

***

Scenes from the Road

Above, the sky over Tubac one evening. Below, 

a road near my dad's house, one morning.  

]

After the show, I had some nice sales, including "Looking Ahead,"

which looks so great in this couple's house! 

***

Dog of the Day

 This guy herded me along, on my way back to Dad and Paula's one evening...

***

A Final Thought

"Art is not what you see, but what you make others see."

- Edgar Degas

Looking for a Treat

Looking for a Treat

Oil on canvas, 10x10, sold

Though I am healing, my knee injury is keeping me from painting, as I can't stand or sit and rise as I do when I am painting outdoors. So when I get home, I'll be making a few more Arizona Byways paintings from photographs, in the studio. 

As I write this, I've already left Tubac. I have work to do at home, and more than anything, I miss my husband, our dogs, our house, our town. But I miss Tubac, now! Miss my dad and Paula, the pace of life, the sun-washed desert, the beautiful mountains, the sense of open space and possibility. 

Goodbye, Tubac! 

***

HERE ARE SOME more scenes from the show

Above, that's not a REAL pig she's
carrying, but a piece of metal yard art. Funny!

Below, longtime readers of this blog with recognize
Ted Archembault, who has visited me at
Arizona shows for years. Ted is a cool guy.
This year, he was wearing an outfit
celebrating Valentine's Day. 

This is some of Brenda Peo's art. I met her

online, and then we met in person at the Tuba

Art Festival last year. She had a good outing 

this year. Click here to check out her

website and see more of her art. If you're in

the Tubac area, you can see her work in person during

the Center of the Arts upcoming Open Studio Tour 

(click here).

The Border Patrol Checkpoint outside of Tubac. 

 ***

Dog of the Day

 This dog was enjoying the warm February sunshine last week in Tubac. 

***

A Final Thought

"In art, the hand can never execute anything higher than the heart can imagine." 

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Time Stands Still

Time Stands Still

Oil on canvas, 10x10, $125

Please click here to email me if you're interested in this painting

Sorry for the delay! The show here in Tubac lasted for five days, and it's always hard, if not impossible, to post during a show. Then I got a terrible, stupidity-inducing head cold. THEN I fell down a step and twisted my knee so badly I couldn't put weight on it.                                                                                       I've been lolling around, knee elevated, for days on end, and finally, this morning, I was able to gimp around a little bit without leaning on furniture or a cane.                                                                                                   So I am still in Tubac, at Dad and Paula's house, and there's a lot to be said for an enforced vacation and a long stretch with D&P. Yet I am eager to get home, to see Peter and the wolves (dogs), my friends in Wachapreague (Hi, Pat! Hi, Carol!) and to start painting again. But first I have to be able to walk to the van, and then to get up in it. 

The show was pretty good! I saw lots of people I know, met many new folks, sold a few paintings and had fun. My friend Cynthia Battista (she's an amazing jeweler - click here to check her stuff out at her Old Stone Studio page) was right beside me, and new friend Brenda Peo (see her wonderful animal paintings and more, by clicking here) was right up the road from us, as was photographer Rick Sprain (check out his stunning images by clicking here). Last year, Rick was right beside Cynthia and me, and we missed him this year, as he was around the corner. 

No telling whether I'll be back to Tubac next year, as there are big goings-on set to take place in the winter of 2017. I'll tell you more soon... 

***

Scenes from the Road

Here's Dad and Paula's house in Tubac, where I'm currently resting my poor hurt knee. 

Saw some cool cars at a car show in Tubac! 

The gem show in Tucson has all sorts of stuff - yes, gems and minerals and fossils, like the giant ammonite below, which must have been 18 inches across. There's also just cool stuff, like fabric, key rings, drones and scarves, above.

***

Dog of the Day

He was in Tubac, and he was Not Happy that I was daring 

to walk past in the road, stare at him and yes, laugh a little. 

Patagonia Tightrope

Patagonia Tightrope

Oil on black canvas, 10x10, $125

sold

The Tubac Art Festival is up and running, and has been good to me so far. I've made my booth fee - always the first hurdle - and my big paintings are finding lots of love. No buyers yet for the big ones, but it takes time to decide on something that large. 

 This year, I'm bringing some 10x10s, a couple mid-range paintings, and three or four really big ones. This is a somewhat scary booth arrangement - I'm unprotected, in a way, focusing on the big stuff, without the cushion of a series of $250-$400 paintings in the booth.

But many of my originals are still less expensive than prints that other people are selling, and my big pieces are way less expensive than other people's, or than what you could buy at that size in a gallery.

Patience and courage are my watchwords this year. I've seen others operate successfully this way, and I'm betting and hoping that I can, too. I'll keep you all appraised of my progress! 

Happy buyers with a Pony Express painting

***
Scenes from Tubac

Above left, a woman carries a metal pig. I thought it was a real pig at first! Above right, the evening sky on the road to Tucson on Wednesday evening. 

***

Dog of the Day

It's Tucker! He visited the Tubac show late in the day on Thursday, and he was a great dog, interested in everything and everyone. 

***

A Final Thought

"The job of the artist is always to deepen the mystery."

- Francis Bacon

Bright Side of the Street

Bright Side of the Street

Oil on black canvas, 10x10, $125

Please click here to email me if you'd like to buy this painting or know more about it!

In every artist's life, I think, there's a handful of days that are just about perfect. Days when the art just comes - easily, swiftly, and without hesitation or question. Sunday was one of those days, and I rejoiced and was grateful, and I painted all day. 

I headed toward Patagonia and Sonoita, two of my favorite places to paint, and on the way, found spot after spot, view after view that captured my eye and my heart. I found places to pull safely off the road. Places where I could move the van to block the wind and the sun. And I painted with a sureness and joy that welled up from the deepest places in me, the places that are the most true. 

This was the first of five paintings I made on Sunday. They were all small pieces, 10x10, and at the end of the day, I was happy and exhausted. 

My painting in the landscape

***

ON SATURDAY, A FRIEND and collector of my art came for a visit in Tubac. We walked all over town, looked into many stores, talked art and life and had a nice day. She brought Batty with her, and we were lucky to find lots of dog-friendly people and shops. 

***

Dog of the Day 

It was great to meet Batty, and spend some time with her, 

so it only seems fitting to name her Dog of the Day! 

***

A Final Thought

"In art, the hand can never execute anything higher than the heart can imagine." 

- Ralph Waldo Emerson