MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Tall Grass View

Another sky experiment where I let the blue and white pool and mix on the Bristol paper. I love how it worked out! It really caught that sweep of the sky over the river. But I think it's the sense of being amid the grasses along the Rio Grande that give this painting its authenticity. If I was brave I'd have put in the birds that flock everywhere along this flyway.

~Deborah

Rocky Red and Greens

The monumental quality of the red rocks throughout the southwest are fascinating, and the natural contrast of red rock and green trees against a blue sky is just stunning. As much as I enjoyed the light and shadow on the rocks, it was the sky that I had the most fun with on this one. It's painted on Bristol paper, which is so hard that the paint stays atop the surface, so for this sky I really rolled on some water and let the blue paint run down as I dabbed in thick white clouds. Whatever happened was fine with me (with only a little urging here and there.) 

Fall Forest

I've had a long break from gouache, as you can see, but wanted to get in one painting at least during November! This one is a familiar place and time, as I revisited a photo taken last year. It's a trail we love to walk along the Rio Grande in the bosque (woods) that spread out alongside. Fall is a spectacular time to be there. I'm particularly pleased with the way the smattering of leaves along the dry, dusty path worked out in this one. I hope you like it, too.

The Shield

There is a dramatic slab of rock atop Sandia, the peak that fronts Albuquerque, called the shield. I caught this dramatic shot of it several years ago and have painted it in pastels more than once, using various styles and colors. When I happened upon the bent and dusty old print, I knew I had to paint it in gouache. I enjoy the swooping shapes, but it's the light and color that makes this tiny painting seem to glow.

Just for scale, here it is in its little bag.

October Sunflower

The canvas paper gave this just the texture I wanted. I think Vincent would get this painting, don't you? I was thinking of the famous pot of sunflowers he painted--a different variety, but related. The purple and blue ground did it for me, and I decided the sun struck petals told the tale of sun and shade.

Shady Spots and Flower Pots

I had such fun painting these flowers in their pots. The idea was simply to challenge myself to paint nine of them--odd numbers being so interesting--and see what happened. Individually the paintings please me, but together I think they made a really beautiful collection!

In order to show you how they look I'm including a shot I took before framing them, just loosely arranged on the table. You can see the individual paintings fairly well this way. (You'll notice they aren't in the same arrangement as when I matted them. I spent quite a while deciding on the perfect order for them!)