Coffee Painting, Colorado Winters and Shrike

Still Life With Stone Setting
oil on paper 7 x 5 inch
available here

You could say coffee and still life are the themes this month.  I joked about naming the painting below  "Ugly Mug", but I went with a different name to keep it on the positive.  Poor little mug.

Mug With Circle Handle
oil on linen panel 4 x 6 inch
available here

 Of course there has to be figures too when I paint.  I am not sure I will ever stop painting them.

Brew
oil on paper 9 x 12 inch
available here

Here is a recent shot of my art studio.  It is a loft area at our house.  It has lots of southern light.  My poor guitar just sits there.  I quit lessons some time ago when I started working two jobs and would much rather paint in my spare time.  Learning an instrument is a bit comittment, but maybe I will pick it up again some day.

It has been a snowy winter here in Colorado.  I am getting my exercise for sure with all the shoveling.  Our bird feeders are quite busy.  At the Wild Birds store I work at people complain about the squirrels eating all their bird food.  We even sell foods with hot pepper in them to deter the squirrels.  They don't like the taste, but the birds can't taste it.  I don't really mind the squirrels, they have to eat too.

We also have these magnificent Magpies here in Colorado.  They are a large intelligent bird said to know how to mimic sounds.  I have never heard them do that though.  People also complain about these birds because they bully smaller birds at the feeders.  Our Magpies are nice, they don't misbehave.

Another Colorado bird I have really enjoyed seeing is the Northern Flicker.  It is a woodpecker and it has the most beautiful markings and color.  They are fun to watch at the feeders, hanging upside down and such.  How in the world they can eat that way is beyond me.

The trees behind our house often look like this - full of birds.  It is such a joy for me to watch them and photograph them.

Speaking of birds, I am obsessed with this song by Hozier.  He learned about a bird called a Shrike, which is actually a kind of vicious bird.  After hearing about the Shrike, he felt inspired to write a song about heartbreak.  It is such a beautiful and almost haunting song though and I will leave you with this video of him performing it.  Enjoy.

Until next time.  Take care.

Mirror, Colorado and an Official Website!

Mirror
mixed media on wood 12 x 16 inch

Hello, hello and hello.  It's been too long!  I post regularly on Instagram and Facebook, but my blog has been on the backburner this past summer.  We have stayed busy with lots of  hiking and fun events in Denver and Colorado Springs.  I have been reading a lot too, which is nice.  For the longest time, I could not focus.  Now that we have been in Colorado well over a year, I feel more like myself.  I have been painting quite a lot and this is a recent one.  I wanted to try painting a reflection, so this is me modeling for it.  I bought some birch panels and it has been nice to paint on them again.  I used to use them more, but got away from it.

Vic and I went on an eight mile hike a couple of weekends ago in Rocky Mountain National Park.  We saw a lot of Elk and they were really on the move.  There were several males and even more females.  The males were making their bugal calls which was a real treat to hear.  They are so beautiful.  

On our hike we saw it all...views, aspens, waterfall, it was the best hike we have been on since living here.

Exciting news!!!  I officially have a website!  My dear husband spent hours and hours building it for me and I could not be more happy with it!  Please have a look and tell me what you think!  He was able to put all my social media links, Etsy and connect this blog to it.  He did an amazing job and I am so happy and proud to be a ".com" now!  

You can see the website HERE .

I have been doing a lot of sketching.  The vintage photos a friend gifted me years ago have been put to good use for some of these sketches and paintings.

Elizabeth Le Poidevin
oil on paper 5 x 7 inch
available here

I also have been really enjoying a new book on Hammershoi.  I had never heard of him before, but learned a lot one day when I stumbled onto Michael Palin's documentary on him.  His very controlled palette and quiet atmospheres really appeals to me.

Hammershoi's Girls and a Table
oil on paper 5 x 7 inch
(sold)

I painted this little piece based on his painting "Figures by a Window" c. 1895, adding my own touches.  I think I will revisit his book again soon.  I really love this quiet palette so much.

That's all I have for now.

Take care.

♥ Lisa

Dancing Families and Colorado Summers

Festival at the Farm
mixed media on paper 12 x 9 inch
available here

 My husband Vic and I have this saying that we say nearly every morning to each other and that is..."it's another ridiculously gorgeous day in Colorado!"

It is the truth...sunshine nearly every day.  The mornings are filled with sweet mountain air.  It is hard to be in a bad mood here.

Lilacs
photo by Lisa Graham

We recently went to the Lilac Festival near Denver and there was this sweet family dancing barefoot in the grass to the bluegrass band that was playing.  I did what many artists do and made a strong mental note of that image then went home to paint it.  

The band was SO good...my second time to see them.  We sat for two hours just listening to them and people watching.  You can see the band's site

HERE.

Along with family and friend visits, hikes, and lots of reading, I have been learning to play guitar this summer.  Not an easy task for this middle age woman, but I love that I am learning something new.  It is good for the mind!

Hurley is enjoying his summer too.

And I hope you are as well!  Until next time!

A Lot of Snow and What I am Working On

I am sitting here on a cold day recovering from some oral surgery I put off way too long.  I am full of pain medications, so I hope whatever I write here makes good sense.

We have had so much snow here in Colorado and the locals tell me it is just getting started.  Most of it occurs in February and March.  I love snow, but the late ones take some getting used to for me because in Kansas it starts to feel like spring in those months.  The birds are starting to show up, the days are longer and warmer and the air smells like spring.  Not that Kansas never gets snow in those months, but the usual is what I just said.  I am pretty sure I will adjust just fine.  It is lovely here.

I am working on a painting containing geese and another surprise in the composition.  The surprise is the fun part and I don't want to give it away.  It's taken a long time because I have been layering the oil paints and glazing quite a bit, so it all needs to dry between the layers otherwise it becomes a muddy mess.

In the meantime, I've been sketching a lot with acrylic paint in my hardback sketchbooks.  The above was done after a neighborhood walk.  The one below was done while cooking dinner.  I love olives and munch on a few while I cook...along with a glass of wine-yum!  The olives on the left were painted with care and the ones on the right were blobbed on with my fingertip.  I think I like the one on the right best.  Friends on my Instagram said the same thing.

I have enjoyed sketching these so much, I decided to try to do this more regularly.  It feels more free to paint in a sketchbook where you know it will not hang in a show or sell online.  

The above photo was taken last year and I just came across it.  The painting is one I did called They Have Come to Bring Us Spring and it's going to be shown at the Art on the Mesa show at Gold Hills Mesa Community Center in Colorado Springs.  The opening reception is February 7,  5-7 pm and the show will be up through May 1st.  This will be my first Colorado show so I am very excited to be participating with two wonderful artists:  Lelia Davis and Phyllis Davis.  I met Phyllis at Julie Ford Oliver's workshop years ago and it was Julie who helped reconnect me to Phyllis so that I could be a part of this.  I am so grateful!  I will share photos of the show after it happens.

This is a view from our backyard deck.  Snow snow snow!

But isn't it beauitful when the sun is shining?  This is a scene on a neighborhood path I take during my daily walks.  Sometimes I just can't believe what I am seeing.  The mountains have such a presence.  So quiet, yet so rugged and wild at the same time.  I am enjoying leaving footprints everywhere I go here. :)

I hope you are having a good month of January.  I am going to close for now and take a nap!  

Until next time!

♥ Lisa

Alpacas and Chandeliers

Alpacas and Chandeliers
oil on canvas 11 x 14 inch

When we first moved to Colorado last April, we stayed temporarily on a ranch in a loft apartment above a barn.  It was primarily a horse ranch, but the owner had a small herd of alpacas.  Ever since staying there, I have wanted to paint them and I finally did.  Why the chandeliers?  No other reason other than I thought it was a funny idea and they were fun to paint.  Alpacas themselves are funny looking creatures.

This is my last painting in 2018 and boy did the year fly by.  So many changes, so many activities. I am not as prolific a painter as I used to be, but I sure did explore our new state.  Vic and I love to take hikes on New Years eve, but this year it's 12 degrees and snowing which is why I am doing a blog post instead today.  I love walking in snow, but the temperature isn't hiker-friendly, so we did our hike yesterday.  It was a fun day...seven miles, lots of just taking it in.  Here's a couple of scenes from our time in Roxborough State Park.

I am looking forward to 2019.  May there be more days like yesterday in the coming year!

Thank you for following this blog and I want to  wish you a very Happy New Year!  May the year be all you hope for.

♥ Lisa

Merry Christmas!

from 2016
Mother Christmas

I have been sharing winter themed paintings from years past on my Facebook page and Instagram since the season has become so busy that there really isn't time to paint.  Some of my favorite artists share older art as well, and I really enjoy it when they do, so I am following their lead.  This painting is the one I shared today.  

Last night Vic and I went out for dinner downtown in Castle Rock and I was so excited to see the lights.  They are all over the area and Vic drove me around so that I could pop in and out of the car taking some photographs.  I am like a child in a toy store when I am surrounded by a multitude of things to photograph, I get so excited and inspired.  These are just a few from last night.  One thing I love about Colorado is how there are so many people outside.  People love the outdoors here.   

My favorite photo is the one below.  It's just such a serene and peaceful sight to me.  The warm glow in the houses, the streetlights, a few Christmas lights...and that mailbox...I love it. 

I will be back some time after Christmas with some new work to share.  Think Alpacas!  :)

Until then, Merry Christmas to you all and thank you SO much for following my art and for all your support here and on social media and also for buying my art.  I appreciate every bit of it and you have helped me to keep going!  Thank you always.

♥ Lisa

Sister Was Responsible and a Little Peek at Our New Place in Colorado

Sister Was Responsible
mixed media on canvas 16 x 20 inch

It felt great to work on this over the last two weeks and finally finish it.  Boy was it a pain to photograph for some reason.  This photo was actually take with my cell phone!  Would you believe it came out more true to the colors than my fancy camera.  Go figure.  But here it is!

This was painted from a vintage photo of a very serious looking little girl and her what I assume to be younger brother.  It got me thinking about the people I know who often had to look after their younger siblings when they were growing up.  I was the youngest of six, so I have no idea what that is like.  They say your birth order has A LOT to do with the personality you develop and I believe this is true.  Don't you?  Which reminds me of the book The Birth Order.  Have you heard of it?  I have never read it, but it has always interested me.  If I can ever find the time I plan to read it.

Speaking of finding time, I am spending most of my time these days getting to know this new-to-us state.  This is a photo of our neighborhood...a HUGE change from the gentle Kansas landscape and the old tree-lined neighborhood we lived in.  This is Castle Rock and it is very open and more desert-like.  

See that spiky plant?  Desert.  But beautiful for sure.  I think this is a Yucca plant.  Correct me if I am wrong.

I walk this area regularly because I love how quiet it is and it's near our house.  My dog Hurley loves it too.  And yes...that's a New York hat.  I will probably always favor the east coast since I was born there.  :)

I will show you more of Colorado soon! I am going out regularly to photograph this beautiful and lively place we now call home. I would like to get this rusty old blog up and running again if I can find the time and make the effort.  Wish me luck!

Until then...

Have a great weekend!

♥ Lisa