HONG KONG

6x6 oil on Ampersand Gessobord

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This is another submission to Bill Guffy's Virtual Paintout. It is unclear where in Hong Kong this is located. These small houses were located at the end of a street - or ally. The abstract quality attacted me.

HAVE A FANTASTIC WEEKEND!!

THREE ON A BENCH

6x6 Oil on Ampersand Gessobord

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It was a warm, sunny morning in Central Park and I spotted these three people enjoying the sun and each other's company. As you can probably tell, I loved being in New York City with all the interesting places and people. :-)

A WALK TO THE PARK

6x6 Oil on Ampersand Gessobord

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I painted this from a photograph I took in New York City. This lady was crossing the street with her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. I liked the dark shadows of a sunny, summer day in the city and the dog's bright white tail wagging with excitement. She was walking in the direction of Central Park, as was I, and I think the dog knew exactly where they were headed.

DEEP BAY ROAD, HONG KONG

6x6 Oil on Ampersand Gessobord

This month's Virtual Paintout takes place in Hong Kong. There are so many great places to paint using Google's Street View and this is no exception. Bill Guffy is the host of this challenge and he does a fantastic job. Check out both sites for some really good art!

THE TOOLS OF MY OBSESSION

6x6 Oil on Ampersand Gessobord

I've been in Birmingham, AL visiting family. My son, daughter-in-law, and three grandchildren live there. We had a wonderful time eating good food, playing games, and going to the movies.

I painted this last week with the misconception that this would be quick and easy. HA! Definitely not so, but I had fun painting it. I may try this again as I like the subject matter - art toys, what a surprise!

TEXAS BOOTS AT THE MET

8x10 Oil on Ampersand Gessobord

While in New York City I visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I took many photographs outside the Met and inside the Met. This young woman was wearing cowgirl boots and, of course, my thoughts turned to Texas. I finished this painting late this afternoon and there are some touch ups that need to be done, however, I am pleased with it and it is a nice reminder of a great visit.

This photograph will be added to Some Texas Artists Like to Paint in the anything Texas category. Please visit this blog for some great art!

PHILADELPHIA

This week I am visiting Philadelphia. I haven't been able to get any really good photos as my camera is having a few problems. Hopefully, the camera fairy will visit and photos will be easier to take. :-)

The first day of summer hit Philadelphia with a bang! It was very hot yesterday and unpleasant to be out walking. I heard on the news that Fort Worth temperatures are in three digits. YIKES! Thank goodness for air conditioners!

I made a trip to the art store and bought some watercolors, brush, pens, and sketchbooks. It's really been fun to play with the watercolors and sketching. We'll see if anything is worth posting.

FOOTLOOSE

6x6 Oil on Ampersand Gessobord

This will be a donation to The Humane Society of Port Jervis in Port Jervis, NY. I found out about this project through Sheila Tajima's blog From Forensic to Fine Art and decided to take part in it. There were many cute cats and dogs and this one rabbit so I decided to paint her. Her name is Footloose. As soon as the paint dries and it is framed it will be put in the mail. I hope she has found a good home!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

THREE BOATS

5x7 Oil on Canvas Board

This is my submission to June's challenge on Virtual Paintout. This month our visit took us to Hawaii. I wanted to simplify the scene and try just seeing shapes. I also simplified my palette and decided to try Kevin Macpherson's palette of ultramarine blue, alizarin crimson, cad yellow pale and titanium white. There are definitely some changes I would make, but for what I was trying I think I succeeded. Click here to see some great art!

LONGHORN CADILLAC

9x12 Oil on Canvas Board

This is my submission to Some Texas Artists Like to Paint for the June challenge of anything Texas. This car is located in the Fort Worth Stockyards with the license plate of BLE BOB. Texas is known for its longhorn cattle and big, fancy cars. Here is both! Texas is huge and has a huge number of icons from which to choose. Not an easy task as there are so many choices. We have beautiful rural areas with so many species of wildlife and also thriving towns and cities. I could go on and on. All I can say is I love Texas!! Take a few minutes and visit Some Texas Artists Like to Paint.

ALBION PETROLEUM by pro magnifico

When I was growing up I loved watching The Twilight Zone, Alfred Hitchcock and other programs that had a twist or was a little strange. If you like those kinds of stories I have a fantastic site for you to visit. The reason I am posting this sketch again is that it seems to go with the latest story in After Pulp titled Albion Petroleum. Visit this site and read this story and past stories! They really are great!

TIP ON STORING PAINTINGS

In Celeste Bergin's post yesterday she asked how other artists stored their paintings. For my small paintings I store them in a plastic dish rack. They are also placed there while they dry. The racks are inexpensive and can be found easily. They take up little space which is a definite advantage.

MORE NEW YORK CITY

Yesterday I visited the Modern Art Museum. This photo was taken from the 4th floor window. Every where there are photo opportunities!

Sometimes I need a little explanation - ok a LOT of explanation!

Mark Rothko painting. I got lost in the colors and shapes. I was almost hypnotized. Later that evening Phil and I saw the play RED starring Alfred Molina and Eddie Redmayne. It's an intimate look at the time Rothko was commissioned to paint for the new Four Seasons restaurant in the Seagram's building. It was a time of too much alcohol, depressions and anger. The relationship between Rothko and his assistant brings forth a glimpse of Rothko's passion.

This is a painting that surprised me. It is by Matisse and was different than anything I had seen by him. Has anyone else seen this painting or another by Matisse that was a surprise?

There are many more photographs I could post, but hey I remember sitting in a dark living room with 8 other people viewing a friend's slides that went on and on! Two out of the 8 were sound asleep and ....... snoring! YIKES! Hopefully, no snoring here! :-)

NEW YORK CITY

These are 3 of about 400 pictures I have taken so far here in NYC! What a blast! We arrived Sunday and really having sooo much fun - well, I am. Phil is doing research at Columbia. Friday he will join me in more sight seeing. Yesterday I walked to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in absolutely perfect weather. I saw the Picasso exhibit and it was unbelievably good. There were paintings, pastels, some watercolor, and drawings from all phases of his life. I think that one could spend a week at the Met and maybe see most of the art. Fantastic place!!

THE GROUP

6x6 Oil on Ampersand Gessobord

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Another group of pears. I was at Central Market the other day and saw these beautiful pears. Well, of course, I had to bring them home and paint them. The reds and greens were too bright to pass up. Central Market is like a candy store with all their outstanding produce. Sometimes I go in and feel overwhelmed with all the shapes and colors. I just want EVERYTHING!