It is the last week of Art & Soul!

Visit Colliers in downtown Twin Falls to see my entry for Art & Soul.  My entry number is 10-014 if you care to vote!  This piece is called "Camp Host at Gros Ventre".  Gros Ventre is our favorite campground just outside of Jackson, WY.  Lots of moos in camp each year when we visit in the fall.

On a Roll with Yellow Flowers

The only flower color in my yard right now is yellow!  Definitely need to order some tulip bulbs with new colors for next years bloom!  My iris, which I haven't painted, yet, is yellow too.   Not that I'm complaining.  Since we are stuck at home, I am happy to have something to paint!

More Backyard Blooms

Hello friends!  

Daffodils are happy flowers!  Lots to enjoy today!

Backyard Blooms

Daffodils - Backyard Blooms

What to do when life has forced you to stay home and paint?  With our big yard, there are plenty of new flowers emerging and no excuse for source material to paint!  Get going!

More paintings at Jensen Ringmakers Gallery

Head over to Jensen Ringmakers Gallery in downtown Twin Falls to see these 8" x 8" flowers.  They are framed in 16" x 16" frames with a big wide Matt.  They look pretty cool when they are hung on the wall in a square.  These pieces are the product of my summer of sketching in gardens with a nice group of painters in Ketchum.  Fun times.  Great gardens!

Twenty paintings at Jensen Ringmaker Gallery

My fall show is up at Jensen Ringmakers Gallery in downtown Twin Falls. The show has original watercolors of animals and flowers, plus paintings of aspens! The show opening is on Friday, Oct. 4 from 5:30-8:00 p.m. It is part of the Octoberfest celebration downtown. Food, drinks, art! Come on down!

Art & Soul Entry!

This is my entry for Art & Soul this year.   I just dropped it off at Plant Therapy in downtown Twin Falls.  It will be there for the next couple of weeks.  Plant Therapy is a great sponsor of the arts!  They have at least 5-6 other Art & Soul entries on display, and their venue is easy to find.  Stop in to say hello, see the art, and shop the vast array of essential oils they have on display!  510 2nd Ave S.

Twin Falls, ID

Two Bears Out Tonight!

When we lived in the "Campus House" our kids used to have a game called "Bears Out Tonight" just at dusk.  They had energetic fun, and had to come in with the street lights came on.  I was never quite sure if this game was just an upgrade from "tag" or another kids game with imagination.  It definitely helped them get their wiggles out.  These games are long gone except for the memories, but these bears reminded me of those simple times.  Bob the Bear on top is probably related to Barry the Bear on the bottom.  Both have a sadness in their eyes, not sure why.

Harriet the Hare

This is Harriet!  She is now in the lobby at the Twin Falls Center for the Arts!  It is part of a display of artwork by Full Moon Gallery artists.  Harriet's friend Betty the Bunny, was sold yesterday just as she arrived at the Center!  A good home for Betty!

Betty the Bunny

Another bunny.  Her name is Betty and she turned out much differently that I expected.  That is the fun of watercolor.  Betty looks a bit frumpled and has something to say.  Maybe it is that her wide set eyes give her a distorted view on the world.  It is that kind of day.

New Work!

Looking ahead to Easter and painting an Easter bunny or two in my "Wild" style.   Still using India ink and watercolor as my medium of choice.  This bunny lives in the landscape just outside my studio window.  He sneaks in and out of the boxwoods and stays close.  He may end up at the Full Moon Gallery in the day or so!

Wild series

These images are from my new "Wild" series.  Drawing with ink using the dropper right out of the Higgins India ink bottle has been a freeing experience.  Some splatter and rich watercolor pigment makes for bold images.

New Work!

Had a wonderful crowd at the Full Moon Gallery opening last night!  It was good to see old friends and new.  Thanks for being there and wishing the artists well!

This watercolor piece, that is part of my "Wild" series, is hanging at the Twin Falls Center for the Arts in the lobby gallery.  I call it my "wild series" since I am using a new technique to add more flow and rhythm to my work and it gets a bit wild with ink going where it wants and dripping as I refill!  I use an India ink dropper to do the drawing and add dense watercolor to get the deep colors.  Drawing with a dropper does not let me get the tight drawings that I usually do and it loosens up the flowers.   I think gives them some movement and life.  More of this series to come in the future!

Art of the Gift!

Busy getting ready for Art of the Gift show on Saturday, Dec. 2, from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.  My recipe calendars are back after a few years of not doing one!  This time the calendars feature paintings from my Farmers Market Series and some new and old favorite recipes.  Desktop calendars are ready too.  I also will have some small paintings that will be great for holiday decorations or gifts.  Come by to check out my table and the other artwork possibilities and books at this unique artist and author event!  

Twin Falls Center for the Arts in Twin Falls!

Art & Soul

The Art & Soul contest is in full swing here in Twin Falls.  My piece above is on display at Premier Auto on Pole Line Road.  It is a great venue and I am so thankful for their dedication to art in the Magic Valley. They have 16 pieces in their lobby area!  Stop by to see a good variety of art.

More PicMonkey

Still fooling with PicMonkey.  And you can add titles to the collage!  I also see a possibility for creating cards.  Pretty cool options.  Watch the video if you try it out, it helps!

Here Are All 30 and Done!

I am happy happy to display this finished body of work!  Thirty paintings posted in 30 days; a great thing to do during this extra wintry January.  There will be another round of 30 in 30 in September and again next January, so will be looking at doing this again.

I am trying out a program called PicMonkey and created this collage to display the 30 paintings that I posted during January.  The program has a free one week trial so it was tempting to give a whirl.  I have been on vacation so did not get to post my finished collage to the 30 in 30 site, but oh well.  This challenge was all about meeting my goals and I did.  I posted all 30 days and that feels good!  And by the way, had a great time on vacation!  

Day 30! End of the 30 in 30 Challenge

Day 30 in the Thirty Paintings in Thirty Days Challenge!  The morning started with an incredible sunrise so it was only fitting to honor the last day of the Challenge with a painting of the canyon sunrise.  It is a treat each morning here as I sit and read and watch the changing light on the Snake River Canyon!  The Perrine Bridge is in the distance and the canyon walls reflect the morning light.  Different each day!

Day 29 - A Drive By

This winter scene was painted from a photo I took while riding in the truck and thus the resulting name: A Drive By.  With iphone in hand, I often snap pics of scenery for later painting consideration.  Many times the drive by photos turn out to be nothing of consequence, but sometimes they are great.  And there is that handy delete key for the dogs!  These photos give me a quick reference and a sense of the place. I see the shapes and relationships between those shapes which is the key to good composition. Having photos that I can easily crop and manipulate in the iphone editing program is a real bonus to quickly finding a composition to paint.

Day 29 of the 30 in 30 Challenge!  If you go to the Challenge site, check out the painting by Cindy Gillette, number 32.  It knocked my socks off!

Day 28! Closing in on the Finish!

This is the winter that never seems to end.  We did  a road trip to Montana and found that we have a lot more snow piled up at home than we saw in the areas around our destination in Ennis.  Great place Ennis, small town with a big heart and good restaurants!  The snow there had melted during a slight warm up, but now it is extra cold and the river is frozen over with ice jams.  The sweet waitress in the drug store/restaurant said there was not much to do since her horse didn't like to go out in the cold!  They are looking for a break in the weather there too.  Fishing is slow and not even the fly shop folks say they are going out.

This small farmstead piece above is my salute to the hardy farmers and ranchers who go through this kind of winter and take care of animals and their families under harsh winter conditions.  Rural America!  A wonderful place!

Check out the postings on the 30 in 30 Challenge page.  Getting down to last chances to see what other artists are posting.  I am having fun viewing their art and making new art friends!