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