By The River, 6x8, oil on Wallis paper, $95

It was turning into a hot day by the time I began this one. I painted quickly and headed for the cool of the house. 

Morning Shadows, 6x8, oil on Wallis paper, $95

This is from a few miles down the road. Its one of my favorite places to paint. There are rocks and sagebrush and thats always good for me.

Richard Jackson's Barn 2, 6x8, oil on Wallis paper, $95

Here's the second of the barn. A little longer view gives the feeling of being set into the landscape a bit more. Anyway, I'm sure I'll be painting this again - maybe the trees will be turned to golden yellow by that time. . . 

Richard Jackson's Barn, 6x8, oil on Wallis paper, $95

This is a great barn. I wanted to get the lay of the land and the way the barn sits on it. It has a hunkered down look, which I didn't quite manage. I made a second attempt, which I'll post tomorrow. I think I'll make at least one more to really get the look of it. 

What a great place this is! There are lots of nooks and crannies to the landscape and I think we will return there quite a bit this autumn.

Cows in the Aspens, 6x8, oil on paper, $95

I thought this scene was interesting because of the forested area the cows were grazing in. I'm used to seeing them in open pasture and this is a view of mountain pasture. I suppose this isn't as unusual to many people as it is to me.

Artistic License, 8x10, oil on paper, $160

This is a plein air that didn't go to the show, but will go somewhere. I was visited by a worker who wanted to take a look at what I was painting and his comment was, "Wow! You really took artistic license!" And I said, "Of course. Why paint if you can't do that?"

Still Green in August!, 6x8, oil, $95

Another plein air piece. It is so amazing to still have green grass here in August! I have heard from several people who have lived here their whole lives - some 80 years or so - and have never seen it like this at this time of year. It is a thing to behold indeed.

Casper Mountain Morining, 8x10, oil on paper, $160

This painting was done during the plein air event. I saw a similar one, from a slightly different view, of this spot by another artist - Jeanne Mackenzie. It was fun to see that someone else had been down this road painting also. Her painting was great!

Grant's Barn, 9x12, oil on Wallis paper, $220

Another plein air piece that I didn't enter in the show, but will take to a gallery. This is such a great barn and great place to paint!! I'm off to paint again today in a little while, at a ranch I haven't painted at before. I'm excited!

Old Grant Homestead, 9x12, oil on Wallis paper, $475

This painting is now at Deselms Fine Art gallery along with Boxelder Creek and August Morning. They are the 3 I entered in the plein air show. I received an Honorable Mention for Boxelder Creek, from judge Ramone Kelly. I'm pretty happy about that! There were 180 paintings in the show, with awards for 5 and Honorable Mentions for 5. All in all it was great fun and I'm making plans for next year! Happy viewing!

This painting is available at Deselms Fine Art Gallery in Cheyenne.

Boxelder Creek, 8x6, oil on Wallis paper, $275

This painting started out as a 9x12, but got cropped when I decided to frame it in a black frame. My friend Klea mentioned that the paintings that are predominantly cool look better in the black frames than the frames with a warm cast. She is so good at identifying stuff like that! Anyway, the only black frame I had was a 6x8, so I cropped it and made a very exciting presentation I think. This painting is in Cheyenne and will be part of the Wyoming Plein Air show which begins Saturday. I'm a little nervous about the quick draw tomorrow as its outside at the Depot Square in Cheyenne and not at all the type of subject I'm used to painting - and right during the Farmer's Market. But, I guess thats also the fun of it, right?

This painting is available at Deselm's Fine Art in Cheyenne.

August Morning, 8x10, oil on Wallis paper, $375

This is the first painting of the day on Tuesday. What a great day of painting that was!! It was perfect weather and we painted all day as we travelled up the road. This was done just a few miles from my house - just a little spot and an interesting outcropping. This is painted on Wallis sanded paper and the combination of using this paper and walnut oil as a medium produced a wonderful luscious look and it resembles pastel in appearance. I think I'm hooked!

This painting is available at Deselm's Fine Art Gallery in Cheyenne.

Cottonwoods 2, 6x8, oil on paper, not available

This is the first plein air piece on my way to Cheyenne last week. It was about 8 in the morning and getting hot already. I made a couple more stops before painting in Cheyenne for a couple of hours.

What A Drag 3, 12x24, oil on canvas, $650

This is another of the paintings that went to the show. I got a good response and sold quite a few small paintings. It was a lot of fun. The people who put this show on are very good to us artists and lots of fun. We thought we should video the quick draw auction next year and put it on youtube (or however you spell it). You've never seen an auction like this! So, I'm back from that and on to Cheyenne today for more of the Wyoming Plein Air painting event. 

Misty Morning, 18x24, oil on canvas, $895

Here's another painting going to the show in Douglas. I'm looking forward to seeing all the people I haven't seen since last year. Its always fun to find out what's been happening and see how their painting has changed. This is my favorite show!

Old Brubaker Homestead, 6x8, oil on paper, $95

Here's a closer shot. Its very colorful! It was about 7  in the morning and wonderfully cool. I think the red tone on the paper added a lot of color.

Here is the first one I painted yesterday. I have another photo of it also. It was a beautiful day and I got to paint quite a bit. I took a long drive up into the mountains close to here and was amazed at how green it still is. 

Red Roof 2, 11x14, oil on canvas, $300

Here is a painting that will be in the show this coming weekend. Its done from a 6x8 plein air I did a while ago. I just spent the last 8 hours outside painting at various places. I am ready to be inside. I will begin photographing some of these soon.

Sunny Side Up, 16x20, oil, $725

Here is this painting finished and ready for a frame. It is going to the regional show on Friday, along with a dozen other paintings. I am on my way out the door to head to Cheyenne for some painting during the Wyoming Plein Air event for the day. On the way, I'm stopping at Wheatland to do some painting at a horse training ranch. I might do some painting before that if I see something that catches my eye - which is sure to happen since this summer has been incredibly beautiful this year!

Late Afternoon Cottonwoods, 6x8, oil, $95

Another quick plein air of the neighbor's cottonwoods. It was the evening before last and I was just sitting out on the deck admiring the scene - I always like this big tree in particular. So I decided to do a quick study. 

I have a busy time coming up - 3 shows in 3 weekends. I have a lot of framing to do - something I had intended to have done a while ago, of course. There is a local one, an invitational regional one and then the Wyoming Plein Air event. So, it will be a whirlwind for a few weeks.

Rider, 8x6, oil, $95

Here's a very quick study for a future painting. I think the hat is too big, but . . . it was a very quick sketch.

Horses, in the works, 16x20, oil

Here's a painting I began yesterday. Hopefully, I'll finish it today. Its good to be back to oils!

I enjoyed the small watercolor kit because it was so handy. So, I've been working on making a SMALL oil kit. So far I have everything except a way to attach a tiny solvent container to the outside edge while painting. When its done, I'll post pictures of it. It is definitely small and light enough to hold in my hand while painting.

Well, I finally got my camera back . . . I found it under my bed when I was getting dressed this morning! The strap from the case was poking out under the edge of the bed and caught my eye and lo and behold it was my camera!! I guess I am a bit scatterbrained. So, as soon as the battery is charged I'll photograph what I've been working on. How silly I feel!

Well, even though I don't have any photos to post yet, I did want to pass on the value of that little watercolor kit. I won't become a watercolorist I'm sure, but in the past I've had interruptions in the painting routine and found it hard to get back to it. Mostly mentally. Today I realized that using that handy little kit kept me engaged mentally in the painting process even if its a different medium. So, that, I believe, is the value of that kit. Keeping engaged. I highly recommend it to anyone who has experienced this same problem. Its very easy to just take that out of your purse or wherever and paint a little. I'm keeping it in my car from now on.

Well, I would have something in the way of a picture to post, except that I left my camera in Lodi! I had a great time and thought I had managed to make it home intact until I unpacked this morning. So, until I get it back I'll just keep painting! Take pictures later.