The Snake River

20x24 Oil on Linen panel

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Snake River runs through the Northwest and while we were on vacation this fall I never tired of watching it's meandering magic. When I started this painting I knew exactly what I wanted to achieve and I wasn't going to stop until I got there.  Does this painting just pull you in and make you  want to walk along the banks to find out where it goes?  If it does then I've achieved what I wanted.
Enjoy your holiday and give thanks for your blessings.
Kathryn

November Holiday Tables

12x16 Oil on Linen

I continue my studies with still life paintings. Setting up the still life is an art in itself! I bought these little pumpkin gourds and wanted to get as many brush miles on them as I can before I tire of them,  so here they are in a second painting. I took out an old painting of Miniature Pumpkin gourds  done in 2008 to see if my skills have improved and I am happy to say....YEAH!  double YEAH!  steadily improving!    at least I'm making some progress however slow it may seem.

6 1/2 x 18 oil on hardwood

Well, you judge....tell me what you think!   your opinions and comments are ALWAYS WELCOME!  I love hearing what your thinking and can take a punch with the best of them, LOL!  Seriously your honest critiques help me grow and are appreciated.


Thanks for Visiting!

Musical Sounds of the Stream

20x30 oil on linen canvas

This painting was done using a small study I did this summer while camping in Lamoille Canyon here in Nevada. I stood on the rocks in the stream one evening and thought about how the sounds of the stream were music to my ears, the kind of music that takes you away from all of the things going on in life and you just relax into the moment.

Hope you enjoy this painting, it was a pleasure for me to paint despite the challenges of going from the small study to the larger version.

Fall Harvest I and Fall Harvest II

10x12 Oil on linen   Fall Harvest I

 

11x14 Oil on linen  Fall Harvest II 

 I set up this fun still life in my studio trying for a not so perfect set up, going for a loose feeling hopefully. My good artist friend Yvonne,  http://ryvonnecolclasurefineart.com/
joined me on the first day and I painted Fall Harvest I from one side of the room. The second day I changed the backdrop cloth for a bit lighter color and a little adjustment to the still life setup and painted with a couple of other artist friends, Susie,    http://artbysus.blogspot.com/ , and Amy who doesn't have a website that I know of.  It was fun to have the company and paint something different, again pushing myself to try new things and not get into a rut.

Hope your enjoying the fall season!

Maynard Dixon Painting attempt

The View

9x12 Oil

a photo of an article on Maynard Dixon

painting on the side of my studio with the view.

 I found an old article about Maynard Dixon and my first thought was to try to paint the Ruby Mountains with his style to see what happens. The scene of course is different but has all the same elements for color that I wanted to get.....I need a whole lot more practice, but dang is was fun to try it! 

Tomorrow is a New Day!  


Thanks for visiting.

One Little Aspen

Plein Air - 10x12 Oil on Linen

I have spent the last couple of days out taking advantage of the great weather while we have it. Today I was feeling a bit adventurous and went down a trail that I've often stopped and viewed from the road but it looks a little treacherous to get down next to the water. My dog and I decided to give it a go, and it was well worth the little slide from the roads edge, after that it was a gorgeous treat for both of us for a few hours.  I am pleased with today's painting.

Sure hope the weather holds out for a while longer, I'm enjoying getting out and training my pup and my eyes to trust what I see, plus I'm not ready to paint snow just yet!

Thanks for stopping by!

Plein Air Painting in the Tetons and Yellowstone

Grand Tetons in the early morning with a partly cloudy sky and cool breezes

Mt. Moran in the late afternoon

Me trying very hard to get the right colors mixed!

At the end of Lamar Valley in Yellowstone.

Just back from a wonderful trip to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone! We went up for the last weekend of the Fall Arts Festival in Jackson, so much fun and energy flowing there for the arts!  Camping and painting the gorgeous scenes all around us and of course lots of excitement with the wildlife too. Big Bull Moose staying in our campground so every morning was filled with taking photo's of them.  We take this trip often but this is my first time to get to paint En Plein Air in the Tetons and I must say it was intimidating looking up at the scene and knowing I had to get those shapes correct because they are the most photographed and painted mountains around. When I started my first painting of the Tetons it was early morning and cold...brrr, I was determined to give it a go anyway, I started my sketch, got it down, started painting, made a mess....wiped it off and started all over, the second try went better but I didn't have time to get the sky in because I was just shivering too much by then and ready for a HOT cup of coffee. In the late afternoon I was able to paint again, the gorgeous scene at Mt. Moran, this painting is my favorite of all of them that I did on the trip.  After four days in the Tetons we moved up to Yellowstone and spent another four blissful days there.

A very inspiring trip with 2,850 photo's taken, thank God for digital cameras!  Look for lots of art work to come featuring some of our greatest National Parks.

Have a great day!

Quiet Reflections

18x 48 x1 1/2 oil on hardboard -
No frame required for this painting the sides are painted black for a clean modern look.

A painting with both palette knife and brush work to get a nice effect of the smooth water and the textured grasses. This painting gives me a calm feeling and is one I can look at for a very long time and meditate on all the colors that are reflecting in the water. The golds from the trees in the distance reflecting catch my eyes in the pond and keep me in the water. 

I hope you can have a calm moment and reflect on all the good in your life.

In the Studio

18x48 current project in the studio

20x30

Two large paintings that I'm currently working on in the studio, the 20x30 is a large version of the small study I did standing in the river while camping a few weeks ago and is almost complete and sitting on the drying wall while I contemplate the final touches to make it sparkle with life. The top painting is one I've thought about for a very long time, I did a small 6x8 study of it a couple of years ago while my son was fishing, the granddaughters were picking wildflower seeds with grandpa and their mom who is a photographer was busy taking her own photo's, we ate KFC out of the back end of the truck and had a wonderful day....Yes, I think about all of this while I'm putting the paint on the larger painting and I have high hopes for it to turn out as wonderful as our day was!

Check back next week to see what happens!

Gold in the Canyon

 

20x24 Oil on linen

Where I live here in Northeastern Nevada it is gold country. Gold is in abundance deep down in the ground and gold mining is the main source of income for a lot of families in this territory. The Ruby mountains were named after trappers found red garnets in the 1800's and named the Rubies after their ruby color.....I enjoy watching them turn red in the sunsets most evenings and thought that was why they were named the Ruby Mountains for a very long time. Well, despite the history lesson, I found Gold in the Canyon.


Hope you have a lovely day!