Christmas Card

This is the painting for my Christmas card this year. I finally got around to it!

Blue Bowl, 8x8, oil on gessoed panel

A little still life with some primary colors. I'm liking this still life painting - just to be painting from life is so much more interesting sometimes! And a very good school master.

Open Water, 8x8, oil on board

It's beginning to look like winter around here and I'm highly motivated to paint some snow scenes! I'm going to try to actually get one painted for a Christmas card this year. I always intend to do that and never get it done. This year I think it's going to happen. As always these paintings are for sale. Just contact me if you're interested. And happy December 1!

Winter Squash and Apples - It's What's For Dinner

This is what I am considering my first attempt at a "real still life". By that I mean one that was set up with all the drama, composition considerations, etc. I'm pretty pleased with it, thanks to Jeanne Mackenzie, (www.jeannemackenzie.com) an artist from Laporte, Co and a great teacher! I made a trip last week to get some instruction and to my delight she had this still life set up for us to paint. I've been wanting to paint some still lifes for quite awhile, but for some reason just not able to get it together to tackle it. I find myself more and more desiring to paint from life and since the wind hasn't stopped blowing for the past 2 weeks I'm staying in to paint. So, this was perfect timing and now I'm really excited to do some more of these! And as I told my husband, one of the great things about this kind of still life is you can eat it when you're done! :)

The Paisley Porch Gallery Christmas Show and Sale

These paintings are both 6x8 and will be part of a Christmas Show and Sale that we put on each year. This year the show is running from November 7 through January 7. All the paintings are small and unframed. As you can see from these two, I used a palette - or painting - knife towards the end which gives them a bit more texture. Lots of fun!

The Value of Default Mode

A "default" plein air day.

A friend of mine recently mentioned being on "default mode". As we talked more about it I began to realize the value of being in default mode. We all do things by default. You know, the things we do without considering whether or not we want to do it. The things that are in our routines. It makes life so much easier. Fewer decisions over what is on the agenda make it easier to get to the agenda.

A while ago I designated Mondays as Marketing Mondays. Like most of us, I hate all the paper work, marketing stuff, errands, and any other miscellaneous tasks that involve my work, but aren't the fun part. Years ago I read that I'd need to spend at least as much, if not more, time marketing than creating. I was, of course, in denial about that for a very long time. Probably until I designated Mondays for marketing! Then I soon realized I could easily designate 2 days for that, especially since I lumped EVERYTHING besides painting into that designation. So, now I have 1-2 days a week as default mode marketing/everything else days.

What about other defaults? Well, yes, I've begun to see the value in having default painting days. Most of my painting buddies don't have as much time as I do to paint. I'm very fortunate to have at my discretion the ability to make my own schedule, but I know that until I really designated my default paint days, I found SO MANY other things to do, because if I got up in the morning and wasn't especially fired up to paint, well, no one was expecting me, so I simply found something else calling my name that day.

Default mode has simplified my life - and aren't we all looking for that! I'm developing default exercise. It's a given that I exercise at 6 am 3 mornings a week, go to kickboxing (which I love!) once a week, and take Riley the dog for a walk at noon. Except Tuesday because that's my (default) day with my painting buds. I haven't quite mastered default on the workout yet. I have to admit that some mornings I head straight for the bathtub instead of the workout corner. But I have managed to keep the walks up consistently.

The value of default is that it gives me structure without too much restraint. It gives me freedom by setting a schedule so that by the end of the day or the end of the week, or the end of the year, I'm not feeling bad because I didn't do what I intended to do. It gives me freedom to thoroughly enjoy my "free time" with no guilt lurking in the back of my mind. And I actually accomplish the things I set out to do!

So what default mode do you need to set, or reset, in order to make the things happen that you want to happen?

Three More

Three more quick plein air sketches. As you can see, its from the same place as the day before. The photos aren't very good - I took them in the bright sun with the paintings laying in the grass. I'll have to take some better photos at home. I'm hoping to use these as references for a few larger paintings when it's not so nice out! One more foray to the area today.

Painting at Duncan's Ranch

Two of my faithful painting buddies! Cheryl (above) and Sharon.

The scene and my painting.

We ventured out yesterday and what a beautiful day it was! A little cold as you can see by Cheryl's and Sharon's dress. We had intended to paint most of the day, but I think we all forgot how cold it can be with clouds and an ever so slight north wind. So we stayed for one painting and then made a run up the road a ways for some photos. I'm headed back there today with a few more layers and my lunch! This won't last and I want to take advantage of it while I can!

Reshaw Bridge Mural Finished

The finishing touches have been added and all my tools and paint are packed up and stored away at home again. Too bad I can't figure out how to line these up so it's one long image. Oh well, you get the idea, I think. Next week will be on to something new.

Fun!

Now the real fun begins. These posts aren't really crooked by the way. I was holding the camera crooked. I'm sure it will take me as long to do the bridge as it did to do the landscape. Very fun though!

Mural Paint

I have been using sample paints from Home Depot for this mural. It's very handy and they'll mix whatever color you want. I've always mixed my own colors in the past and that gets a little tricky because wall paint doesn't behave like artists paint. This is much better and reasonably priced!

Day 2 of mural painting. It's beginning to take shape. I'm hoping to get far enough tomorrow to be able to take the scaffold down and work from the floor! Chalk lines sure do come in handy for something like this!

I started a mural today at the Evansville Community Center. Here's a couple of pics of it. It's going to be 6 1/2 feet by 22 feet when it's done. So far, so good.

Come and Paint!!

I will be hosting an Oil Painters of America paint out at my home, on September 24. Here's a couple of photos from my front yard and back yard. We have a variety of terrain and comfortable accommodations for all. This is the first time hosting an event like this and I think it will be fun! It's open to any oil painters whether you're a member of OPA or not, so come on out and paint with us. The details can be found on the OPA website or email me and I'll fill you in.

Summer Serenade

We returned to the same location the next morning. It was warm and sunny, so the landscape took on a brighter look. The block in from the previous day was a good foundation to build the rest of the painting on. Here's my finished piece, titled Summer Serenade. To my great surprise and delight it received the Wyoming Land Trust Purchase Award in the Prairies to Peaks plein air competition!

Block In

Here's my new friend, Bonnie Halsey-Dutton, touching up some places where the rain got her painting. We tried to wait it out, but . . .
This is my block in before the rain came. We got rained out this day, but it was fun anyway.

Prairies to Peaks

My friend Karen, painting during the Prairies to Peaks plein air competition. She uses pastels and creates wonderfully soft paintings.

More Updates

This is an older painting from last year - or maybe the year before. But it's the new star on my business card. I have been working on a website which is finally up and running and so now I can get some new cards made. This seemed like a cheery, summery image for the new card. If you want to check out my website it is www.ginnybutcher.com. I hope you take a look and enjoy it!

Studio Update

Still on the updating. This is my new framing and shipping area. I got this workbench at Menard's and put it together one Saturday morning. It's made life much easier for both tasks. I have all my framing materials on the left and my shipping materials on the right. The carpet on the bench surface keeps my frames from getting scratched. The drawers are marvelous for keeping all the small hardware in! Now I just have to get back to painting!

Studio Update

This is a drawing board that was on it's way to the dump before a friend of mine rescued it. It had been twice as long as this but was in two pieces when he got it. He has one in his wife's studio and I got the other one. It's very handy!

Studio Update

Summer has finally arrived here in central Wyoming and with it I've arrived at a few decisions. First, is this great addition to my studio!

Since returning to pastels and still doing oils I had quite a mess in the studio. Too many things piled in too many places and always feeling like I couldn't move without tripping over something. I went in search of a dresser to store everything in and found this great piece of furniture! You'd think it was made to order. As you can see, I have a place for both my pastel palette (on the left) and my oil palette. There's plenty of room to store my supplies for each and my photo references are in the bottom drawer. (The little red table and chair to the left are for the budding artists in my life).

It feels great to work in this space now. I have room to breathe and think about what I'm doing. It's much more relaxing. I no longer have things shouting at me for attention every time I go into the studio. It's a place I want to be in, which makes all the difference in the world when it comes time to create! I hope you're creating too!

Sweetie, 6x6, oil on panel

This is also on ebay right now. I'm trying this square format for awhile and finding it fun to work with. It kind of jogs my thinking a bit.

Blondie, 8x8 oil on board

This is currently on ebay for a few more days.

The Three of Us, 5x7, pastel on sanded paper

Three cute little curious guys.

Home On The Range, 8x10, pastel on sanded paper

This is so Wyoming to me. I may crop this to only include the trailer house and trees with foreground. It reminds me of a song I heard about a place called Bosler (in Wyoming) by the Jalan Crossland band. And thats all I'm going to say about that!

Reflections of Autumn, 8x10, pastel

Reflections are always intriguing, kind of like watching a fire when you're camping. So peaceful.

Way Up High, 8x10, pastel on sanded paper

This is a scene I've done before in oil. Not the exact same scene, but close. I am fascinated by reflected light especially on rocks. So much fun!

Sagebrush and Pines, 10x8, pastel on sanded paper

Sagebrush is one of my favorite subjects and one of the things I love about Wyoming - there's plenty of it! When I moved back to New Hampshire for a brief spell a long time ago, it was the sagebrush I missed the most.

A Walk In The Woods, 8x10, pastel on sanded paper

I'm sure having fun with these! Hope you enjoy seeing them.

Sun Glow, 8x10, pastel on sanded paper

This is one of the pastels I've done recently.

Instride, 8x10, oil on panel

A couple more. These two horses are always together. The darker one looks pretty old and always stays close the other. I like their togetherness! I'm sure they do too.

On The Move, 8x10, oil on panel

Don't you like the focus of this guy? He's got somewhere to go and he's going. Currently on ebay.

Front & Center, 8x10, oil on panel

Good heavens! This guy looks grumpy!

I've been getting lots of pastels done, now I just have to photograph them. I'll be sending some to Black Hawk Gallery in Saratoga, WY and some to Deselms Fine Art in Cheyenne. Others will be for shows. And I will try to post them all on here before they go anywhere!

This grumpy guy is on ebay starting Friday, April Fools' Day. - Ah! I should have called it April Fool!

LaBonte Creek, 10x8, oil on sanded paper

One of my favorite places to go, LaBonte Creek is always beautiful. I'm thoroughly enjoying working in pastels again. I hope you're enjoying seeing them as much as I'm enjoying working in them! Thanks for looking.

Cedars, 8x10, oil on panel

Windswept, 8x10, soft pastel on sanded paper

As you can see, this was taken while still on my board. Just to give you an idea of what's up. More to come for sure. Thanks for looking!

Muddy Creek Frozen Over, 8x10, pastel on sanded paper

This is the creek out back done in pastels. I haven't done pastels in years and it was pure joy! It occurred to me during a conversation with a friend that pastels just come natural to me where as pretty much every oil painting is not so natural. I love oils, but pastels just kind of roll off my fingertips it seems. So I think I could say pastels are my "native language". I'm going to continue with them as well as oils. The pastels will not be listed on ebay at this time. The oils will continue to be listed. The pastels are for sale however and if you're interested in a pastel just contact me at ginny.butcher@gmail.com. Thanks and I hope you enjoy the new paintings!

Golden Days, 8x10, oil on panel