A Gaggle of New Work

Son and Moon . 8 x 10" . oil on Arches Cold Press mounted on Archival Panel

I recently had been doing some genealogy work and had sent off my DNA for testing  - the myth in our family had been there was Native American blood on my paternal grandfather's side.  Sigh, I'm here to say there was none, and I was greatly disappointed! 

BUT, putting that aside, I had a public domain photo from 1910 on my computer for literally years - it was black and white, stark against a blank background, and I looked longingly at it every so often.  Naturally, I decided to paint it while waiting for my DNA results.  The fun was working out a color palette and then inserting a very western background.  The final touch was to add a day moon up in the right corner in order for the title "Son and Moon" to make sense.  

This, my friends, is the fun side of painting.  The progression and building up of layers, the color choices, the decisions to make on creating a sky and mountains - all icing on the cake.  Plus, I was using the new (to me) RAYMAR support of 140 lb. Arches paper mounted on their archival panel.  It was heaven working with the texture and brought back my watercolor days!  This can now be found in my Etsy shop along with the rest of these paintings!

  

Fall Pastures . 8 x 10" . oil on Arches Cold Press mounted on Archival Panel

Using the same support I launched into a landscape that echoes our approaching fall weather and the memories of my childhood.  We luckily lived in a valley situated in the very north of Alabama - out our modern, large picture windows we viewed the valley floor and the rising mountains across the way.

  My gosh I hope I appreciated that beauty as a child.  

Two large farms occupied the valley, one at either end - grazing Herefords were everywhere

and we simply grew up with them.  We raced across the valley after school to the creek where the cattle had made wonderful "sofas" over the years by lying about!  We sat on their flattened grassy sofas, and did our homework.  We shared space with them, and afterwords had "boat" races down the creek with various pieces of flotsam that fell off the trees lining the creek!  Joy.  So, here's my homage to that wonderful memory.  

Sweet 281 . 8 x 10" . Oil on Arches Cold Press mounted on Archival Panel

I almost forgot Sweet 281. 

This was from a visit to a dairy farm not far from where friends live over in the Deep Gap area of North Carolina.  Such a melancholy face just had to be painted, right?  I do like to mix it up between commission work!  Dairy cows are VERY tall, and how I wish they could talk as they stare you down - I know they have stories to tell.

Depoe Bay . 8 x 10 . Oil on Linen mounted on Aluminum

Last but not least, another landscape courtesy of my daughter who recently moved with her family to Oregon.  They've been exploring their new territory, so to speak, and she is a wonderful photographer.  She has given me permission to paint her work, and this setting just struck me as so representative of the gorgeous West coast.  The light is cooler, and quite different from the East coast - the Pacific blues are also quite distinctively different.  And then there are the Douglas Firs (most likely) along the rocky edge.  Such a diverse, beautiful land we live in, and now I'm excited to witness the beauty they are finding on their weekend jaunts!