Gregory Alan Isakov

 

It is always a gift to discover new music and when I found the music of Gregory Alan Isakov while living in Colorado, I knew I would be a devoted listener for a lifetime.  It was his album This Empty Northern Hemishere that lulled me off to sleep every night for six months during an intensive season of insomnia.  The soothing opening with Dandelion Wine worked every time and off to sleep I would drift.  I listened to that album in the car and in the studio and while cooking dinner.  It quickly became an all time favorite. 

I didn't think he could make an album that I would love as much as This Empty Northern Hemisphere, but when Appaloosa Bones came out, it was that album that became a go-to for me.  He came to Wichita, Kansas to play with his amazing band last February and I will never forget the experience of hearing all the songs so familiar to me spilling off the stage in layers of gorgeous sound.  

This video featuring the song The Fall which is the opening song on Appaloosa Bones, is so artistic and inspiring.  I hope you will enjoy it.  

Two New Paintings and Blue Inspiration

Girl and Dog With Red Collar
oil on panel 5x7 inch
available here

 

It is already May 15 and here in Kansas, our usual March and April rains are coming this month.

Cloudy Day Countryside
oil on panel 5x7 inch
available here

        

It has been wonderful because now the blue cornflowers are blooming.  Last year I threw wildflower seed into a sunny patch of lawn to try to transform it into a mini meadow.  It didn't do much last year, however this year it has matured.

Little Painting of a Big Strawberry
oil on linen panel 4x6 inch
available here

I have strawberries growing as well and so far I think I've eaten four and painted one.

:)

Three Nocturnal Paintings

 

House at Night With Clouds
oil on linen panel 6x4 inch
$85

Whether it is in photography or in paint, a night scene has a special quietness.  I love the challenge of capturing that quietness in a painting.

Nocturnal Reading
oil on linen panel
7x5 inch
$125

I'm still painting every morning, beginning just after the coffee is made.  I have four lights in my workspace.  This habit has inspired many "darker" paintings and night scenes.  All of these compositions are imaginative. 

Green Bedroom at Night
oil on linen panel 
7x5 inch
$125

These paintings can be purchased from me directly by contacting me or you can visit my Etsy shop.  Shipping is free in USA.

These paintings are on a linen canvas panel and will fit into most standard frames.  

Here is my studio recently.  This photo was taken during the day, so it's much brighter than when I work.  In the foreground is my guitar that I never play.  I tried to pick it up again, but I guess I am just too scattered right now.

Last Fall I planted 175 bulbs.  They are starting to pop up all over the place and it's fun to go out each day and see new ones.

Painting will start to take a back seat now that garden season is here.  This has been becoming my rhythm.

I added this chandelier that I found at an antique store recently and it added some charm to the patio.  It doesn't work, but the bulbs catch the light and sparkle.  I am excited to grow a vine of some kind on the trellis.  That will be so beautiful.  

Until next time! 

♥

New Art for a New Season

Hare and Jay Discussing Plans for Spring
acrylic on cradled wood panel 10x8 inch

As the weather changes, so does the choice of color and subject.  I started the above painting last Spring, a bit different for me, but it was fun to work on this.  It went along with the dolls I was working on at the time.  This painting and the ones below are all available in my Etsy shop HERE . 

Off Center
acrylic on cradled wood panel 8x10 inch

Little Painting of a Big Strawberry
oil on linen panel 4x6 inch

 

Frog
paper clay, acrylic paint, varnish, fabrics, thread and button

Frog is 18 inches long and has joints in his elbows and knees so that he can be positioned in a lot of different ways.  He is the first frog I have made, so the name Frog seemed appropriate.  Most of my dolls have been girls, however venturing into the animal world has been a lot like what I imagine writing children's books must be like; only with clay and cloth.  

I went on a photography shoot with my friend the other day.  We celebrated our February birthdays by roaming the countryside in Augusta and Douglass, Kansas taking pictures of textures, old barns, rivers, bridges and fields, enjoying lunch and coffee at local places and soaking up the unseasonably warm temperatures.  This is one of my favorite photos of the day.

Until next time. ♥

Valentine's Day

French Press
oil on canvas
2020

 Happy Valentine's Day!

The sun is out, the Cardinals are singing and I am in my studio painting this morning.  I painted the sides of a painting that has been fininshed for quite some time, but I was not positive it was done. Then suddenly it really felt finished.  That's how it works for my art making process.  I sometimes have to leave things for months before deciding.  

As I type this, I have eight small paintings (4x6 inch size) and eight larger ones (8x8 inch to 11x14 inch) in the works.  They likely will go on the backburner as garden season begins.  All my creative energy went into creating a garden at my home last Spring and Summer, and I hardly put a dent in all the plans I had made.  I am excited to dive back in, however this year I plan to keep up my painting practice if I can.  At least a little bit.

I don't know if anyone reads this blog anymore, but if you do, I hope all is well in your world.

Arthur Dove

Naples Yellow Morning by Arthur Dove
oil on canvas
1935

This painting by Arthur Dove is part of a traveling exhibition that is currently on display at Wichita Art Museum.  It is called Making American Artists:  Stories from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts 1776-1976 and was curated by American Federation of Arts.  The art in this exhibition is incredible and I found Dove's painting particularly captivating.  I ordered the book below, which arrived two days later (thanks Amazon). 

High Noon by Arthur Dove
oil and wax on canvas
1944

This painting is not part of the exhibit, but it is part of the Wichita Art Museum's permanent collection, and just as captivating.  

Fresh Flowers

 

Fresh Flowers
oil on linen panel 4x6 inch
available here

The sun is out and it feels like early Spring, only it's still January.  The fresh flowers will have to come from Trader Joes for a while longer. 

Flower Paintings and Dreams of Gardening Again

Colors Dancing
oil on linen panel 5x7 inch
available here

Painting flowers is a great way to explore paint color and brush strokes.  The above painting was all about palette freedom.  The painting below was extremely boring, in my opinion, until I smeared cobalt blue onto the pitcher with a palette knife.  There was something so satisfying about that. I cannot explain.

Tilted Cobalt Pitcher
oil on linen panel 7x5 inch
available here

 

Now I am feeling ready for Spring.  

Soon.  

Pretty Boy

Pretty Boy

oil on cradled wood panel

10x10 inch

available here

The shape of these trees changed dozens of times, inspired by arborvitae of the most unusual green.  However, that hue in oil paint was elusive.  

The title was the easiest part.  

Artist Inspiration: Elizabeth Blackadder

 

Elizabeth Blackadder

1931-2021

Books:

By Philip Long and John Leighton

The above book has a great selection of her works in watercolor, oil paint and sketches.  

By Duncan Macmillan

Moon and Star Paintings

 

Stargazing - Red Chair

oil on linen panel

5x7 inch

available here

There is no ocean here, but there can be with a little imagination.

Three recent paintings.  My son asked what inspired them.  Always having to think about that question because often the painting is created intuitively.  In this case it was a mix of lovely winter evening walks with lights reflecting and sparkling all around, and of course the love of being outdoors where the air and sky are crisp and gently stings the nose and eyes.  

Moon Gazing - Blue Chair

oil on linen panel 

5x7 inch

available here

There is no giant forest here.  But in dreams there often is.

                                              Moon Gazing - Red Chair                                              

oil on linen panel

4x6 inch

available here

New Painting: Discussion With Two Cats

 

Discussion With Two Cats
oil on cradled wooden panel
10x8 inch
available here 

I have been painting every single morning since October 27, 2023.  This is the longest consistent stretch since I began painting over 12 years ago. I used to just steal time wherever I could and often many days would go by where I didn't paint at all.  Now I wake at 5 am, sometimes earlier, sometimes later, make coffee and get to it.  It's my favorite time of day.  Quiet, dark, peaceful and meditative.  

And it's snowing today.  Extra bonus.  :)