Hmmm . . .

Well, its time for a new adventure. My husband and I have decided to start a bed and breakfast here at our home. We have two bedrooms downstairs that share a bath and one upstairs with a private bath. I think it will be fun! We love having people stay and enjoy what we have here. Duane has done some beautiful landscaping all around the house and back yard and we have way more room than we use. So what could be better than a bed and breakfast? We're still trying to come up with a suitable name. Or I am trying to come up with it. Some contenders are Golden Willows B&B, Red Willows B&B, Wyoming Wind B&B, Wyoming Skies B&B, Muddy Creek B&B, Meadowlark B&B. Any suggestions? Also, we are making the great room downstairs into a combination gallery and sitting room. I can hardly wait to get started!! I hope you can come stay with us some time.

Overcast, 6x8, oil

This is the view from my studio window. It used to be my son's room until I took it over after he moved out. The ranch that surrounds us moves groups of cows onto this pasture before heading them up to the mountain. I think they've all been moved through by now.

Lathrop's 2, 6x8, oil on paper

This painting is from the other direction. I just turned my tripod and here it was. I love painting in places where there's a painting in every direction! I'm returning to this area today for more.

Lathrop's 1, 6x8, oil on paper

Another on paper. I think I'm sticking with paper for these little plein air studies. Its very easy to work on. I'll mount them on masonite or foam core for framing. This is an old place a few miles from home. There's a great red barn I'm going to paint also. Its a classic.

Poppies, 6x8, oil on paper

These poppies were growing outside the backyard fence of one of my friends. Just this little bunch. I was caught by the contrast of the colors, especially the sunlit red against the shady greens.

Cole Creek Road 2, 6x8, oil on paper

This is a painting done looking at the other side of the road. I liked the hills casting shadows in the background. That was really the reason I painted this - so I could get those in there.

Cole Creek Road, 6x8, oil on paper

This was done on oil painting paper. I found it online. Its made in Germany and its nice to paint on. I like it better than painting on unmounted canvas. Its much easier to handle and has a linen texture and a slicker finish than acrylic primed canvas. Its more like oil primed canvas, although not as expensive.

Clouds, 6x8, oil on panel

I painted these clouds very quickly from our deck out back. We've had some great skies this spring. I might develop this one into a larger painting. The color is so great right now and everything is so fresh I've been spending a lot of time taking photos and doing these, thinking that when it's not so nice out I'll have plenty of reference to paint inside.

Sunny Sage, 8x6, oil on Wallis paper

Another beautiful morning. This was done at a friend's house, looking east. Again the Wallis sanded pastel paper really grabs the paint. It even has a shimmer to it, which isn't showing up here, but the grit reflects light and makes it look like pastel. I guess if you put the paint on heavy enough that would go away eventually.

Flowers and Trees, 6x8, oil on panel

This was a misty morning just after the fog had lifted. I liked the swale running through the middle of this scene. We are still getting rain and everything is still green except the cheat grass. Every morning there's a new excitement about painting because of the color.

Red Roof, 6x8, oil on panel

This is a little place a few miles from home. I was on my way to meet with my artists group and decided to go down this road to see what was there. I saw lots of great stuff and stopped to paint this before meeting up with the others - good thing I left early enough to have time for this!

Overlook, 6x8, oil on Wallis paper

Here is another on sanded paper. I do like the effect. This was done very quickly. I was intrigued by the way the paper grabs the paint, very similar to the way it grabs pastel pigment.

Flocks, 6x8, oil on paper

I have been trying different supports to paint on. I used an oil painting paper for this. It was quite nice. I like it better than acrylic primed canvas. These flowers are from our back yard. I wasn't able to get the purple I wanted. It might have been better if I had used more yellow in the green - I'm not sure.

Soggy Day Painting, 9x12, oil on Wallis paper

This was a soggy day!! I got pretty wet painting, but I kind of like the look of this anyway. I had some visitors as I was nearing the end of my stint - a burro and horse were watching me which I had no idea of until I was done. They were very friendly!

Quick Sketch, 6x8, oil on panel

This is from the same place as In The Shadow. Its just a 1/4 turn to the right from the other view. And about an hour later. Done with pretty thin paint and very quickly.

Out Back 3, 6x8, soft pastel

Another view of the back yard on one of the few sunny days we've had. Its raining again today and I'm beginning to feel like we live in Oregon. I may wimp out and paint in the studio today.

In The Shadow, 6x8, oil on canvas panel

This is the one I did last week, which was in one of the posts when I got my picture taken. Lots of green. I got the shadow in right off and left it. By the time I was done painting there was barely any shadow on that bank. I'm getting a little better at leaving the shadows and not chasing the light. I might make this into a larger painting. Not sure yet.

Roundup Finished, 24x30, oil on canvas

Well, here is the finished painting. I adjusted the distance between the two small calves to the left of the center and made their cast shadow a little longer. Thats it. What do you think?

Roundup 2, 24x30, oil on canvas

Well, this is almost done. I only have a couple of changes to make. I'm pretty happy with it so far. My neighbor saw it at the last stage before this one and decided to buy it for her husband for his birthday. That's the first time I've sold something off my easel! Very encouraging!

Block In

Here's my initial block in after the value study. As you can see it was easy to follow the study. Some of this won't be changed at all, while other areas will be developed more.

Roundup Value Study, 24x30, oil on canvas

Here is the initial block in of the larger version of Roundup. I have a friend who does this type of rub out value study and decided to try it on this because I am so much more comfortable using my fingers instead of a brush. This seemed like a complicated scene and I wanted to make sure I got the important parts in the right places. It was invaluable to the rest of the painting! I intend to use this method from now on. 

Almost Finished

Here's my first painting of the morning. Later I'll take a better photo of the painting only. You can see it was earlier in the morning when I began, by the shadow across the painting. By the time I was done there was very little shadow left. You have to put your shadows in and leave them or you end up changing your painting to keep up with the changing light.

Painting

What a fun day! I stopped along the highway at a spot I'd been eyeing for awhile. A photographer from town stopped and asked if he could photograph me, so, voila! Here I am painting. It was a beautiful morning and my paintings didn't come out too bad. 

What A Drag 2, 9x12, oil on canvas panel

Here's a slightly larger version of an earlier study. I'm getting ready to paint this on an 18x24. I find it a little easier to do an in between size like this before jumping to much larger. It helps me plan the next one. I included the second rider in the back in this painting and I think I'll do that in the large one also.

Sunlit Morning, 6x8, oil on canvas panel

What a beautiful morning this was! Again, this spot is in the state park down the road. I go here often to walk and paint. The trees make me feel at home even though I love the open expanse of the landscape here. I was pleased with this little gem; I think I captured what I was after. Hope you like it too.

View Of The Mountain, 6x8, oil on canvas panel

Another green day. Its raining today so maybe things will stay green a bit longer. This was done at a state park about 8 miles away. I pass this park every day on my way to town. It's a challenge at this time of year to get the various greens. They are a little different from each other which makes the whole very attractive. I think we in the West have a greater variety of green than in the East. Soon, many of them will be muted - a bit gray or gray blue.

Prairie Morning, 6x8, oil on canvas panel

This is a spot about 5 miles from my house. Just a typical late May scene, early in the morning. The best time to paint outside in my opinion!