My Sheraton Exhibition Paintings

These are the paintings that I will be showing at the Sheraton Exhibition along with other artists who are members of Southern Arizona Artist Guild. I joined this group a year ago. I am so glad I did. I have had the opportunity to meet and network with so many great artists in the Tucson Area. I will post more information about this exhibition the first week in October including the date for the opening reception. I also want to mention these are LARGE paintings. It is hard to tell the size when looking at the photo.

Roy and Sue's Camp (Lincon Lodge)

This project was different than what I usually do. It was also a challenge. I have friends who have what they call a camp and what I call cabin in upstate New York. It was built by Sue's parents in the 1940's. She asked me to do three small paintings based on a photo she gave me. I told her I would give it a try. She hasn't seen them yet so hopefully she will like them. I worked on them simultaneously. The cabin is tucked in the woods and surrounded by trees....lots and lots of green. Quite different from AZ! I tryed to stay as close to the photo as I could. Since the paintings are so small there is not much detail but I did include the Adirondack chairs. The photo I am posting is not as clear as I would like but it was the best image I could get. Hope you enjoy seeing it. I think it is now time to get back to southwest themed paintings. I don't have much time until the November art fair.

Sue came to look at the paintings today and loved them. I even got a hug! The name of the cabin is "Lincoln Lodge" which is what I will title the paintings. I have to complete the framing and will deliver them to her tonight.

Morning Glories

This is my painting of morning glories. As mentioned in my last post it is a subject I did many times when I lived in Ohio but when we moved to AZ I changed my direction to southwestern subjects. Recently I ran acrosss a painting of morning glories by Georgia O'Keeffe which inspired me to paint them again. I have a number of fancy 11X14 frames that I bought for $2 each. I thought one of them would be perfect for the painting. I refinished it before I started the painting. Instead of copying Georgia's style of a close up of just a couple of flowers I decided to do what I had traditionally done in the past. Keep in mind that was in the days when I was doing only functional art so they would be on something like a tray. This is the first time I have done them on canvas. I was happy with the results and hopefully there will be a morning glory lover out there who will want to buy it. Posted below is the painting by Georgia that gave me the inspiration.

Desert Tray and Gecko Bowl

Two more functional items completed. The tray is 17X14. I painted one of my classic desert scenes. I used terracotta and orange shades which are the colors that seem to sell best. The oval bowl is 19X11, I decided to paint a gecko and used lots of bright colors. I have been working on bowls and trays for a few weeks and still have some more items to paint including domino holders but I think I will hold off on those and do some canvas paintings next. I am going to work on some mid size paintings. I have a number of nice 11x14 frames that I would like to use. My next painting will not be southwest. I recently saw a morning glory painting by Georgia O'Keeffe that brought back memories of paintings I did featuring the morning glory many years ago when I lived in Ohio. Thought I would do one just because it is something different.

Quail in the Garden Tray

I decided to go with a folk art design on this tray. It is based on Amate bark painting. The usual subjects shown in this type of art are intricate birds and colorful plants. I have fun researching various types of folk art then using the inspiration I get to create a painting in that style.

Two new bowls

Two more bowls completed. They are both 12 inch wooden bowls. The "Desert Scene" bowl is a slightly mishapen round bowl and the "Sarape" bowl is round with scallopes. Bowls are a little harder to paint than canvas or trays which are flat. I have to try to keep a steady hand when working on the rounded surface. Then there is the problem of keeping my brush from touching the edge of the bowl when working. I go through a lot of Q-tips wiping away unwanted swishes of paint that seem to appear on the edges. I have done the desert scene on many bowls and trays in the past and they always seem to sell quickly. While I have incorporated the sarape in paintings before I have never done one on a bowl. I thought the scalloped contour of the bowl would lend itself to the folds in the sarape. Like the rose bowl in the last post it had a distinct 3D look. Just two months to go until the art fair so I will continue to paint every day if possible. I have two trays and another bowl in the prep stage. I have pretty much decided what I am going to paint on them. I want to have a good variety to choose from. I would also like to mention that while doing spell check it tells me that "Sarape" shoud be "Serape". I have run into that in the past so did some research and found that both spellings are acceptable.