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!  

Day 27! Late Post - Better Late than Not at All!

We have been to Montana and back, but I am determined to post to make my 30 in 30 Challenge goal even though it is late and I am tired!

This little 4x4 canvas piece is a look down our lane at one of the houses in our neighborhood.  It was fun to finally do a painting of it since I see it most days and have thought about painting it for a long time.

Day 26! Closing in on 30

This piece done on a 4" x 4" canvas covered with Watercolor Ground depicts one of the amazing snowy views in the Silver Creek area.  It is a beautiful quiet place with winter covering every bit of the landscape.

Day 26 of the 30 in 30 Challenge.  It has been a good run and closing in on the finish line is showing me that posting each day is doable.  Good to know!

Day 25! Robins Clean Up

The flock of robins are gone and the tree branches have been stripped of their fruit.  Great!  So glad that we had a food source for them.  It brings the question, where are they now?

And it is Day 25 of the 30 in 30 Challenge.  Five days left!  Take a look at the site where you will see other post by Challenge participants.  I especially like the post by Kim Smith, #9.  She knows birds!  Check it out!

Tiny Apples - Winter Scene 24

Good thing I painted these tiny apples yesterday!  The apples grow on an ornamental apple tree outside my studio window and have provided me with color on otherwise grey days.  Yesterday we had snow again, and a flock of robins descended on our trees and this morning there is not an apple left.  The tree is bare!  We had great fun taking photos of the robins even though they were hard to catch sitting still for long.  I do have some reference photos and will attempt a watercolor using the birds as subjects.  A bright spot in a day of shoveling.

Day 24 in the 30 in 30 Challenge.  Check out the site for a look a some work by my fellow 30 in 30 painters.