WIP FROM YESTERDAY FINISHED

Good Afternoon Blog Buddies,

Well, I finished up the WIP from yesterday.  I need to do what I call "detail" paintings once in a while - why????  So I don't forget how to do them.  My first love is painting loosely and being just "this side" of sloppy - I like my paintings to look "painterly.'

When I take it slow and put in what I consider to be excessive DETAIL, I normally have to rest my hand for at least a day as they get all cramped up - so I am a firm believer in "LESS IS MORE"

With that said - here is the completion of the WIP from yesterday.

This is where we left off:

What I will present now is a quick visual of the various phases of completion.  There won't be a lot of JIBBER-JABBER as with cramping hand I don't type so GOOD!

The jest of this pleasant pictorial presentation will be to generate the BG, generate the FG and throw in some tweaks here and tweaks there to bring this painting to fruition -

First a few tweaks in color and shape - not very noticeable in the photos but these tweaks are visible in real life - that's where I'm at  :>).

Next I start laying in the BG with a big brush and lots of juicy paint and I also blend in darker BG color for the shadow side of the painting

Now it's time to start laying in the FG and some last minute tweaks that the presence of the BG & FG make necessary.  I always try to COLOR BLEND the BG and the FG into the colors within the Objects d' Art in the painting.  To me this ties everything together and prevents the Objects d' Art from looking PASTED onto the surface.

TAAAAAA-DAAAAAA

DONE

  

Some close ups for my closeup blog buddies as as I say YA GOTTA LOVE EM!!

They just love to dig into the detail and try to see

HOW HE DO DAT!!!!

Well - tomorrow I shall rest my painting hand and let the cramps subside - besides which it is food shopping day and my weekly contribution to Sam's Club - I don't know what they would do without me!!!!

Take care my good friends and wish all the good and wonderful things in life find their way into your life.

JR  :>)  

RV STUFF

Good Morning Blog Buddies:

Well ---- today is house cleaning day and laundry day.  I got an early start so by 9am the house was clean and the laundry was washed - dried and folded.  DAM I"M GOOD!!!!!  :>)

I have been looking at RV parks along the beginning route of our RV Journey starting inn April.  Thus far we have book a week in San Antonio TX and need to book a week in South Carolina.  In the process of looking at Myrtle Beach - it became obvious that the closer the beach the higher the price per night!!!  Did I say "the closer the beach - the higher the price???"  HOLY CRAP - We would need a trust fund to stay at some of these places $48-$65 BUCKS a night!!!!!!  I feel dizzy!!!
Sooooooooo being the frugal people we are (nice word for cheap) I started looking at RV parks in the vicinity of Charleston SC.  We have always wanted to go there as we have seen TV specials on HGTV and WOW it looks really COOL.

Soooooooo a long story short - I have found several very nice parks about 6-10 miles from downtown Charleston SC and they range from $28.50 - $35 per night and a small discount for a weekly stay and or RV Club memberships - which we belong to a couple.  NOW I ask you why would we pay $48 and night when we could pay $35 a night---------CORRECT WE WOULD NOT!!!!  My last name is SECOR not SUCKER!!!!!

We will be staying at a lot of beaches in our travels, like 2 months ( NOV - DEC ) in Florida!  Our arrival in South Carolina will be in early May so lots of beach time is not the 1st thing on our agenda - SEEING PLACES WE'VE WANTED TO SEE IS CLOSER TO THE TOP OF OUR LIST RIGHT NOW.  We would also be close to beaches so we just hop in our Honda Fit ( 35 MPG ) and GO TO THE BEACH!!!

So instead of a $48 per night RV sight in/on Myrtle Beach we have selected a $35 RV sight 6 miles outside of Charleston SC.  I was not a very good student in school, but I do know that $13 X 7 is $91 SAVED!!!!!!  The name of the RV park is:
Oak Plantation Campground - How COOL is that I love the word PLANTATION!!

When you stop and think (which is something we all know gives me a headache) the RV park is a home base for going off in many directions during your stay.

I am also starting to look into State Parks - in Mane, NH and Texas and Florida- these can save you a lot of money depending on the rusticity of your stay.  Some have water & electricity - some also have "dump stations" where you can dispose of your waste water and materials.  Some do not have electricity.  However our RV is self-contained and we could go a week without water-sewer-electricity.  Our holding tanks will take about a week to get close to full and we have a generator.  Some of these parks are $10 a night (BIG SAVINGS) and a chance to be RUSTIC for a week!

Some RV-ers ONLY stay in State or Federal campgrounds.  For us a week here and a week there will be good as a way to keep our "Operating Budget" in check - but all the time-----------NO - I'm too much of a princess for that!!!!!  My DW Melissa could most likely do it for longer than I could but after perhaps 2 weeks she would be wanting to move on.  I think we both could do the rustic stays for much longer if the site had electricity - that's a big item.  The generator runs off the gas in the RV's gas tank and shuts off when the gas tank is 2/3's empty so you don't end up stranded.  They can be noisy and most "campgrounds" will not allow them to be run after 10pm.

OK ----- I just saw and heard the lady in the 4th row - second seat in from my left YAWN!!!!!!!  Sooooo that is my clue to stop the RV talk and perhaps go back to the painting I started yesterday.

As you can tell I'm sure ----- OK LADY I"M WINDING IT UP!!!!!!! SOME PEOPLE CAN BE SO RUDE - as I was saying --- as you can tell I'm sure
I get excited about our upcoming RV Journey and as the title of my blog says: RVPAINTER.

Later my friends.

JR  :>)

Hello Blog Buddies

Good Morning,

Well, sort of a chilly and windy day today - I would say with the wind chill factor the temp is around 28 degrees.  Hope to go for another walk today after my DW Melissa gets home from work around 3:30.

For some reason today I'm feeling a tad anal - so I've been slowly working on a still life and putting much more detail into it than is normal and holding back on the looseness in favor of a IMpressionistic style rather than my normal EXpressionistic style.

I think my anal feeling is because of the "hoopla" of the Holiday and during the Holiday season I sort of become quiet and some what reserved - don't know why but it always seems to happen.

This is 12 x 16 on Heavy Linen paper.  This is a WIP - (work in process) which I may finish today - if not perhaps tomorrow.

A tad hard to see, but I start out with a rough sketch and start throwing color onto the surface to get my "road map" to see where this will end up taking me.

As a side note, when it comes to directions - I'm not too smart!!!  I always get lost and when driving I'll ask my DW "right of left?"  She of course knowing I'm directionally challenged - will say "which way do you think?"  I of course will choose right or left or straight and 99.9% of the time I am wrong!!!!

Enough digression for the time being -

As I mentioned above, throwing paint onto the surface will get this piece started.  Without any thought my hand reaches for blue paint and so the painting process begins:

Using a big brush and thick juicy paint I shape the larger vase and "cut in" around the 2nd vase and the 3 apples.  Since the sketch is "rough" at this time I can fine tune the shapes of the objects d' art to a perhaps more correct shape and one that is visually more pleasing than my pencil strokes. 

The smaller vase is I guess actually more of a jar as it has a top and is one that my DW's brother gave to her a long - long time ago and has appeared in many of my paintings.  I like the shape of it - it has very smooth lines and the top piece has a nice "thingie" on top to lift off the lid.

Isn't it COOL how the 2nd object d" art all of a sudden appears with a few brush strokes of what I call "contour painting" which is really fun to do.

Speaking of "contour" - I shall digress again as it's my blog and I can do what ever I want!!!!  When I decided I wanted to "LOP OFF" my 11 year old pony tail, my DW and I went out a bought a professional barber hair clipper.  If you are going to do something - do it right!!!

In the process of practicing - I told my wife that she needed to do "contour cutting" - nice even motions of movement merely following the contour of my head.  She practiced a bit and got the hang of "contour cutting."

I must say that she did a great job and has cut it once more since and did even a better job.  We got the attachments so it allows for a nice even cut - we use the 1/4 inch cutter so all the hairs ( that I have left ) end up being uniform in length.

OK - enough for this digression.

Next I will start creating the apples which one might think are merely a round red circle - one who thought that would be WRONG!!!!!  In order to get the shape of an apple, the directions of the brush strokes are very important in that they need to project the roundness of the sides of the apple on into the front of the apple.  Also most apples are some what flattened out as the shape rounds on up into the stem area.  The top of the apple is actually more flat than round.

Hmmmmmm another digression :>)

Now for some tweaking of the apples to give them a visual "apple correctness" as well as some tweaking of the blue vase and the "jar - with the thingie on top."

A closeup of the apples - trying to show the brush stroke direction as indicated in one of my digressions above.

OK - this is as far as I will go today and once finished, I shall post it.

Got some RV related "stuff" to do now - I've emailed and called a few RV parks regarding available dates in 2012 for stays of various lengths and of course have not received any responses to either the emails or the phone messages.

One would think with the state of the economy today ( in the crapper ) that a business would be biting at the bit to talk BUSINESS!!!!!  I mean renting spaces to RV-ers is how they make their M-O-N-E-Y!!!!!!

Oh well my DW says I'm "inpatient" I guess I am - but I figure if I can take the time to call someone - THEY can take the time to return the call.

OK my blog buddies - hope you enjoyed this presentation and this WIP (work in process) shall be finished in the next day or two - until next time -

stay warm - stay cool and above all stay healthy and happy.

JR  :>)



Another Slow Day

Yo Blog Buddies,

Well.........................another slow day - just being lazy - watching football.  A tad chilly here today about 31 degrees with a pretty stiff wind!  We went for a walk this morning.  Lately we have been walking at the Santa Fa National Cemetery.  It very much resembles the Arlington National Cemetery in that there are 100s' & 100's well into the 1,000's and 1,000's of standard white engraved headstones all in straight rows.  The cemetery is on the side of a hill for the most part - so the walk starts out on level ground but quickly goes up hill.  It makes for a nice "work-out" walk and when we need to rest for a couple of minutes, we wander thru the rows of grave stones and some very sad stories are found.  Soldiers male & female in their 20's as well as older soldiers who were fortunate to die of old age.

Some of the grave stones go back to the early 1900's and some as recent as last week.  Some stone show people who served in WWI, WWII, Korea, Viet Nam. 

It certainly brings to the forefront of our minds the feeling of Thanksgiving for what these Warriors did for our country and its people.

If you walk for exercise and there is a National Cemetery in your area, start walking thru it and as we do read some grave stones when you need to rest for a few minutes - it is certainly an eye opener and in our Santa Fe National Cemetery it is mind boggling as to the number of head stones all in rows - row after row after row.

Today marks the end of our 2nd month in the UNIT - with four left to go before the start of the RV Journey.  Today we did some finalization of a couple of RV parks in areas that we want to go.  Some RV parks do not start excepting 2012 reservations until Jan.  We have a couple of parks - one on Ile d' Orleans which is an island in the middle of the St. Lawrence river just off the shores of Old Quebec City Canada.  We love it there and hope to get a reservation for 3 weeks which is the longest you can stay as it is very popular.  However they do not start taking reservations until FEB 1.  Our first 5-6 months on the road are somewhat pre-planned as we have a certain route and certain places we want to be at certain times - planning has become fun and of course searching for reasonable weekly/monthly rates can be very educational.  :>(

The first 5 months of our journey will be very close to 6,000 miles of travel with some 1 night stays but for the most part they will be 1 - 3 week stays and some 1 month stays in areas that are of particular interest to us and areas such as Old Quebec City.

Well, time for a nap - or at the very least time to rest my eyes.

Enjoy the day and have a nice week.

Later Dudes,

JR  :>) 

Slow Day

Hello Blog Buddies,

Not much going on today!  It is rather chilly here 30 degrees and a tad windy.  However that did not hold us back.  We went down to the Plaza ( we love it down there) walked around a bit - went into a few stores and galleries and stopped for a mocha at our favorite coffee shop ECCO.

To me Santa Fe is all about the Plaza.  In the center of the downtown area is a nice small park and surrounding that park are stores, shops and galleries.  There are several streets on each side of the park that are loaded with shops and galleries as well.  The best part of the Plaza area is the fact that no building is over 3 stories high and most of the buildings are old - and of the adobe style - REALLY COOL!!!

Santa Fe is a FUNKY place to live, but the Plaza to us IS Santa Fe.

Did some on-line shopping today at Camping World for some RV odds and ends - nothing expensive but small things that will be needed to keep things simple and make things easy - our motto going down the road.

I have a chance to save $350 on the tow bar that we will use to tow our new Honda Fit behind the RV - but I need a couple of pieces of information from the RV manufacturer and have not been able to get hold of him.  Off for the holiday I'm sure.  I have until Monday before the sale is over so I hope they are back to work come Monday.

Well............. my DW Melissa and I hope youse guys had a great Thanksgiving and now you can start getting ready for Christmas :>)

We are sort of vegging out this holiday weekend so perhaps back to painting come Monday.

Until next time - stay warm and stay COOL.

JR :>)

OHHHHHHHHH THE WEIGHT GAIN!!!!

Hello Blog Buddies,

BEFORE YOU READ MY BLOG POSTING, TAKE A LOOK AT THE MESSAGE TO YOUR RIGHT.  TRUST ME, THIS IS THE NEW CHRISTMAS CLASSIC OF OUR CENTURY.  CHECK IT OUT AND PUT SOME THOUGHT INTO PURCHASING SEVERAL FOR YOUR KIDS OR GRAND KIDS OR JUST FOR YOURSELF.

THANKS JR  :>)

Well-------the day after Thanksgiving!!!!  I weighed myself B4 eating Thanksgiving dinner and I weighed in at 153.  I was happy with that - although I want to get back down to 150 for the start of our RV adventure come April 2012.

Melissa and I do not eat a lot - we are light and healthful eaters.  HOWEVER that said when we have NICE FOOD in front of us we can INHALE FOOD as nicely as anyone else - it's just that most of the time we don't put large quantities of food in front of us!!!  :>)

With that said - and I just said it - I weighed my self this morning and I weigh 155 - that is  a gain of TWO POUNDS!!!!  Disgusting - I'm ashamed of myself!!!!  That said and you heard it here first - I'm totally disgusted with myself!!!  HOWEVER-- I REALLY ENJOYED THE FOOD AND THE DESERT!!!!!1  :>) 

By this time next week I will be back down to 152 or even 151!!!

I'm sure most of you can remember a recent posting I did of "Vase with Apple" - this is the one where for some reason my ZIP had taken a DIP!!!  At that time I said I would go back into the painting with my trusty palette knife and rework the painting to give it some life and to put the ZIP back into my ZIP

There is nothing as rehabilitating as quick palette knife work to put your mind back onto the right track - that being LOOSE-EMOTION-EXPRESSION filled strokes in the creation of a painting.

Soooooooo this is the results of my "GOING BACK INTO" the painting with my buddy Mac the Palette Knife!!!

This is what it looked like before "THE KNIFE" I find it to be flat - lifeless and
BOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRING!!!!!!!  ( YAWN-YAWN-YAWN )

"REVAMP OF VASE WITH APPLE"
16 X 12 - on heavy linen paper

Some detail of the knife work on the vase and apple

Of course when doing this revamp procedure this morning it had to start snowing!!!

Enjoy the day my friends!

JR  :>)



THREE CUTE TOMATOES

Good Morning Blog Buddies,


Well a couple of more days and it will be Thanksgiving.  I've never been a big fan of turkey - if I had my way I would have a nice big helping of BBQ pulled pork spread out on a couple of slices of toasted thick sourdough bread - with roasted green chili on the side along with a couple of pork tamales.  As I said........ IF I had my way.............

My DW Melissa has 5 days off which is GREAT!!!  We'll go do some last minute food gathering tomorrow, a quick trip to Sam's Club - but first I will treat us to a nice Mocha at our favorite coffee shop ECCO which is just off the Plaza downtown.  I may spring for a treat as well!! :>)   Melissa at the moment is hooked on raspberry mochas - I get the regular mocha topped with an extra dose (or two) of whipped cream - I love whipped cream!!!

Any Whoooooooooo I did a quickie today of Three Tomatoes on 11 x 14 canvas panel.  Believe it or not tomatoes are hard to paint as the correct color is difficult to attain.  It took a lot to BLENDING on the surface and I think I have it pretty close.

OK - let's begin.

First a very loose sketch with some off white paint and a round brush - nothing fancy - just something to get me started.  The BG is painted with a combination of black and ultramarine blue.  As you can see I'm working from a photo.  Not much of a sketch but you really do not need much to get started.

OK I throw some paint at the canvas to created a road map to get a general direction I want to head.

As you can see - MR. ED - my easel is once again in the photos - he is starting to become sort of demanding - I've got to do something about that!!!!!

OK - a bit of tweaking - tomatoes are a blend of red-orange-yellow-green and one can only hope that they come close to a believable color.  I'll toss in some red, yellow and generate some cast shadows - the light is coming from the left.

Time to get some loose detail into the painting and make these 3 "things"  resemble tomatoes.  This will be done very, very quickly as you just can't fiddle with these colors as they are high on the scale for creating the DREADED MUD!!!!!  Example - playing with red and green can eaisly create GRAY!!!  Blending these particular colors directly on the surface wet into wet can bring about some muddy-muddy paint!!!

So I work quickly and lightly - "lightly" in the amount of pressure I put on the bristles of the brush.

BAM - DONE

NOW THAT IS WHAT I CALL QUICK

The original sketch with a round brush included 4 tomatoes.  I decided to decrease it to 3 as in a still life odd numbers of items makes for a better composition - besides I tend to be lazy and 3 is better than 4!!!  :>)

Well my friends I hope you enjoyed this quick presentation - it is a very simple painting done rather quickly - just having fun and trying out new techniques.

It may sound like I know what I'm doing, but truth be told every painting session is a new experience for me as I try never to do the same thing in the same way - I get bored easily and I feel there is always a better way to do something.

So with "bettering ones self" as the underlying message of this presentation, I shall leave you for today and once again my DW Melissa and I wish you all the highest level of health and happiness during the upcoming holiday season and thereafter as well.

Thank you for your support

JR   :>)

PART OF PROBLEM SOLVED

Hello again Blog Buddies,

Well, I think I have solved part of my ZIP problem!!!!!  My ZIP took a DIP!!!!!!

The last painting I posted "Vase with Apple" I painted waaaayyyyyyy to tightly.  The vase is screaming HELP - HELP YOU'VE PAINTED ME SO TIGHTLY I'M CHOKING!!!!!!  HELP-HELP.

Therefore I am going back into the painting perhaps with my palette knife (which I have not exercised in a while) and loosen this puppy up!!!!!   I'm going to put on my French Cafe' CD and make that vase SING!!!!

In preparation for this I've done a very, very, very - did I mention VERY quick painting of Three Oranges

8x10 on canvas panel - emotion-expression-gusto- spontaneity and all the other techniques that have made me FAMOUS!!!!!!  :>)  :>)  :>)

8X10 Canvas Panel "Three Oranges"

DETAIL



VASE WITH APPLE

Good Morning Blog Buddies,

Well, I finished up the still life I started yesterday.  I did not take a lot of progression photos so this will be a short presentation.


I did a quick sketch onto 16 x 12 heavy linen paper and then threw in some different shades of green.



Next I did some minor tweaks to the vase - the light source is coming from the right

Time to throw some color onto the apple and start to generate the indentation where the stem would be.  On a piece of fruit such as an apple, the illusion of depth at the base of the stem location is important as it produces one spot the eye of the viewer can go to for a touch or realism within a fairly loose painting.  A mixture of realism and looseness is good and helps to retain the interest of the viewer.

At this point, the development of the BG and the FG is in order and then I can do the finishing tweaks on the vase - apple and BG & FG

TAAAA - DAAAA

DONE

For my "I gotta see detail" buddies - I present the apple and it's indentation in the area where the stem would be - except I decided not to put in a stem - for some reason I like the starkness of the indentation and a stem would detract from that making it a spot in the painting that more than likely the eye of the viewer would not immediately focus into.

You might also notice that the shape of the white highlight on the bottom portion of the indentation is pointing to the vase and acting as a pointer to direct the viewer eye to the vase

Well, I'm sort of mellow today - don't seem to have a lot of ZIP - I think perhaps allergies or fighting off a cold.  

Thanksgiving is  but a few days away and my DW - Melissa & I wish Y'all a very healthy and happy upcoming Holiday Season.

If the spirit moves Y'all, click onto my blog AD for "The Christmas Village" and order a few - they will make great Christmas presents for kids as well as adults.  My DW Melissa and I like to think her novel is a NEW CHRISTMAS CLASSIC and I'm sure if Jimmy Stewart were alive he would buy a bunch of them!

Until next time - have a happy day.

JR  :>)

Day of Rest

Good Evening Blog Buddies,

Well, today was sort of a day of rest for me.  My DW Melissa was working today filling in for someone at the Yoga studio.  I've been feeling sort of tired the past few days, could be allergies or I could be fighting off a cold. I think more than likely allergies as my eyes are itchy.

Sooooo I did some "GET READY FOR RV-ing" administrative tasks, took an early morning nap.  Kind of got a 2nd wind and started a painting of a still life.  I should finish it Monday - as Sunday is a day of rest - :>) I will post it when done.

While "half" napping in my recliner, I thought of a title for a painting.  This will be another "ocean/dune" scene and the title will be"

"The Tides of March"

Pretty cleaver HUH!!!  I'll let you guys think about what it might look like.

Tomorrow my DW Melissa and I are going out for breakfast at one of our favorite restaurants down on the Plaza.  Cafe' Paris  ----  as the name indicates has some very wonderful French food and they also have wonderful local New Mexican food.  For breakfast I always get the breakfast burrito and most of the time Melissa does also - although she tries other things as well.

Well, take care my friends and until next time.

JR   :>)

WINTER DUNES No. II

Yo Blog Buddies,

OK - OK - OK so I can't stay away from my easel!!!!  I'm obsessed with painting - Tis me own ting!!!!

Sooooooo I said to myself ----- "Self - it was suggested that you do a BIGGER dunes painting so why don't you just do one!!!!"  This piece is done on 12 x 16 heavy linen paper wet into wet using my BIG TVH brush ( I love that brush ) and all the dune foliage and dunes/snow was done with my trusty fan brush.  This piece was done very quickly with a lot of emotion - expression and spontaneity of color and form.  OK - OK - OK "SAME OLD --- SAME OLD"

Any whoooooooooooooooo - I shall continue with my blah-blah-blah and hope some of you out there find it interesting as compared to repetitive!!!  :>(

In the smaller 5x7 pieces, one does not have to think so much about the quantity of sky vs ocean vs dunes vs grasses.  I mean how much can you put onto a 5x7 surface!!!!  IT IS SMALL!!!!!!!!!!!!
When you increase the size of a painting these question come into mind - some people plan these things ahead - like the sky - ocean - ground will each take up 1/3 of the surface.  HOLY CRAP that foresight would bore me to death!!!!!!
The only measurement fact that I take into consideration is to NEVER cut the painting in half either vertically or horizontally!!!!  This is a big NO - NO!!!!  The height of this piece is 12 inches - if I put the horizon line exactly at 6 inches, it would look like CRAP! 
Sooooo with that in mind, I decide on a high horizon line to accomplish a couple of things:
1.  CREATING THE SENSE OF DISTANCE
2.  AS MUCH ROOM AS I WANT FOR THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE OCEAN AND LAND

I still have to be aware of the 1/2 way 6 inch invisible horizontal NO-NO

OK - Let's begin

  WOW!!!!!!  a blank canvas - how lucky is that!!!!

This is how the 12 x 16 sheet looks setup on my easel Mr. ED.

Mr. Ed asked to be seen again - he is such a HAM!!!

OK - let's see who pays attention-----the lady in the green V-neck sweater - 4th row center seat (wow) what is going to be my next step?

Correct you are - for those of you who could not hear her she said I was going to throw in the sky wet into wet with my TVH brush!!!

OK - the gentleman in the last row first seat on my right - the fellow with the outdated sport coat - HEY no need to get upset - I'm just saying..........

What is next to be done?

WHOOPS-------I wonder why he left the room??? Hmmmmmm---was it something I said?

OK next is that all important horizon line (KEEP IT AWAY FROM THE MIDDLE OF THE PAPER!)

I also throw in some ocean with some minor wave action as it is winter.  You'll notice how the ocean is darkest at the horizon line and gradually gets lighter as in proceeds forward.  This is how it is in real life and the main reason is the bottom of the ocean (sand) is more visible through the water as the ocean comes in-land as compare to further away.  Your line of sight further away is looking across the top of the water whereas up close your line of sight is looking INTO the water.

OK next we have the beginning of the sand dunes and the winter grasses.  No magic to this - it is applied in almost spastic fashion with upward staccato strokes with the upward FLICK of the wrist to give that WISPY - MOVEMENT of the grasses responding to a slight breeze.  The bristles of the fan brush just sort of KISS the linen surface of the paper.  Damn this is starting to sound like a soap opera!!!

ENOUGH!!!!

I forgot to get some close ups so I'll be back in one minute with some photos to finish up this presentation - sit tight--------

WHEW - now that only took about a minute - hold on a moment as I need to catch my breath!

15-16-17-18-19-20

OK I'm all set now

"Winter Dunes No. II"

12 x 16 on heavy linen paper

for your visual enjoyment

TAAAAAA- DAAAAAA

Once again I like to keep my "I want to see closeups" blog buddies happy - admit it you really gotta love these folks!!!!  :<)

The all important horizon line

The winter dunes and winter grasses

Well my friends - I had fun with this and I hope I made the presentation interesting for youse guys - as you can see, as much as I do not like to do much thinking (headaches and all) there is some minimal thought one needs to put in and after that PICK UP GOBS & BLOBS OF PAINT AND ATTACK WITH WILD ABANDONMENT AND GUSTO!

Life is too short so you need to trip over yourself once in a while - I do it everyday and I gotta tell Ya - it's a lot of fun!!!  Walking in a straight line is SOOOOOOOOO BORING!!!!!!!

JR  :>)

SLOW DAY

Good Morning Blog Buddies,

Well my DW has to work today and tomorrow - she is filling in for someone at the Yoga studio.  I may paint today but I'm sort of feeling lazy - so I guess time will tell as to what I do today!

Time for a little RV talk - just to keep you guys posted as we prepare for our RV Journey.

A while back I sold my PT Cruiser - which I loved very much - the best car I ever had.  We just did not need 2 cars so the proceeds from the sale went into our RV account.  That left us with my DW's Mini Cooper.  A nice car - great gas milage - not too good in the snow and not comfortable on long drives (over 1 hour.)  We bought it new in 2007 when we moved to Santa Fe - something my DW always wanted and she has enjoyed it the past 4 years.  Like she said it not so much that she loves the Mini is more that she loves the idea of having a Mini.  Cute - sporty - fun ------- OH that's my DW Melissa I'm talking about but the Mini was also those things!!  :>)

When we get the RV, we will need to tow a car behind the RV to use when parked in RV parks.  The RV is 31 feet long and not the vehicle that you would drive to the store for milk or to site see in the area you are staying.

The Mini presented problems in that it cannot be towed behind the RV on all 4 wheels on the pavement so we would need a DOLLY and that presents problems with where do you keep the dolly when parked in the RV park as well as the hassle of strapping the car to the dolly etc etc.  Additionally there are not that many Mini service centers across the USA and Canada.

Sooooooo we just traded in Mini for a Honda Fit which can be towed on all 4's on the pavement and it seems there is a Honda Dealer in every city in every state and throughout Canada.  Thus far - after 400 miles - we love the Honda Fit - we are averaging 35-36 miles per gallon and we can use regular grade unleaded as compared to the Mini which required high grade unleaded gas.  Sooooo all in all we are happy with our decision of trading Mini for the 2012 Honda Fit!

Since this purchase I've been researching an auxiliary brake system to be installed on the Honda, which will be controlled by the RV.  The RV brake system and the Honda auxiliary brake system work together so when the brakes are applied on the RV the brakes on the Honda are also applied at the same pressure as the RV brakes.  This is very important as without an auxiliary brake system on the Honda, the Honda would in fact be preventing the RV from stopping as quickly as it might need to.  The Honda weighs about 2,800 pounds so that force would carry forward - pushing the RV - that would not be GOOD for us or the objects in front of us!!!

I've found the system we need to buy - not cheap ( nothing is these days) it is on sale $100 off so I may buy it now although we don't need it until April - however will there be a sale in April????  My gut feeling is to wait until April as I feel there will be SPRING SALES!

We have a list of odds and ends that we will start buying in December - small things such as walkie talkies - these are needed for when you are backing up the RV into a spot - although there is a backup camera, it is smart to have someone outside the RV watching for objects that could be HIT!!!!  :>(   Also a weather radio NOAA approved - with emergency broadcasting set on the local area - RVs are not the best things to be in during violent storms such as tornadoes etc. We'll need a long tire pressure gauge as there are 4 wheels on the back of the RV and to get to the inside wheels a normal pressure gauge won't reach.  We also need a water pressure regulator - the PSI of the water system in an RV should really not exceed 40 PSI and in some camp grounds the water pressure can be upwards to 120 PSI ----  HOLY CRAP that will cause some real problems and leaks in the PEX water pipes and connections in the RV!!  :>(

We'll need a water filter and we intend on also filtering the filtered water thru a Brita system - we do that now in the UNIT and WOW the water sure does taste good!  Much better and cheaper than bottled water!!!!

I have a whole list of "TO BUY" items that I have researched over the past 6 months or so and we'll buy most of these over the next 4 months.  Some of these items will need to be shipped out to Indiana as we will be needing them on our return drive to Santa Fe.

Lots of planning to do and check lists to prepared - as I always say:

"If you're well prepared you are not ill prepared"

Take care my friends and I may just take a day off today but knowing me I'll end up doing a painting and some sketching as "Tis me own ting"

Until next time my friends---------------

JR   :>)  



WINTER DUNES

Hello Blog Buddies,

Well - yesterday sort of got away from me!  It was food shopping day, followed by my weekly donation to Sam's Club!  The charging device for my laptop stopped working so I stopped off at Staples.  They had a replacement one for $60!!!  HOLY CRAP!!!
After the clerk picked me up off the floor, he suggested that I go to Radio Shack and he was sure they had one for about $25.  Sooooooo off I went to Radio Shack - the one they had was $58!!!  HOLY CRAP AGAIN!!!  This sales clerk suggested I go on-line and look for one.  In checking on-line, I found several replacement ones for $19.95 on Amazon!!!  MAN it's a dog eat dog world out there.

Soooooo after ordering the charging device and decided to do a 5x7 winter dune scene as it was by this time late in the afternoon.

"WINTER DUNES"

5x7 on canvas panel

I once again start out with a "winter" looking sky

The sky and the ocean are painted in with my big TVH brush ( I love that brush ) I use the full width of the brush to put in nice long strokes of color and then just using the tip of the edge of the brush I put in the hints of waves and hints of "surfs up dude!"

I then blend the ocean somewhat down into the area where the dunes shall reside.



Using just my fan brush I slap in the dune foliage.  I say slap because I use mostly upward strokes and there are times that I just hold the brush flat and "SLAP" it against the surface.  This gives a semi jagged grass look and adds to the lack of detail but yet enough detail to recognize the taller grasses.

All that's left to do is some refining (tweaking) and some snow shadow and this puppy should be done.

TAAAAA - DAAAAA

I WAS RIGHT -----

IT'S DONE!!!

A fellow artist up on a bog that I display some of my work on suggested that I do a large Dune piece so the visual impact would be more dramatic.  I shall consider doing that perhaps tomorrow.

Well----as most of you know after having a pony tail for the best part of 12 years, a couple of weeks ago my DW Melissa and I went out and bought a professional barber clipper and ------

OFF WITH MY TAIL!!!!

This is something I wanted to do as once we get into the RV life, I just will not be wanting to FUSS with my hair every morning :>)

I am happy to say that I'm glad I did this - it feels really good - a tad chilly on a cold day but - that's what hats are for!!!  My DW used a 1/4 inch cutting attachment on the clipper and after two weeks I need another hair cut ---- well I actually need all of them cut!!!

Sooooo today my DW will once again run the clippers up-down-across and all around my head - this time we will try the 1/8 inch cutting attachment and try and get it to the length that will only require a monthly hair(s) cut!!!

Enjoy the day my friends and if you get a chance - open a door for someone today - it's a nice thing to do - it will make the both of you smile --- and that's a good thing.

JR  :>)

ART4RVS

Hi Blog Buddies,

Today is UNIT cleaning day - this place is soooooo small - I just stand in the middle of the living room and SNEEZE!!!  That completes the dusting phase - I run the vac around which I again stand in the middle of the living room and I can reach all the corners of the unit BUDDA-BING - BUDDA BOOM
DONE!!!!!
This is why it is called a living room - WE LIVE IN IT!!!!!  :>)

As I mentioned B4, we don't mind living in less than 1/2 the square footage of our home that we just sold as once we get into our RV, that will be 1/2 of the square footage of the UNIT!!!  So we are working up to RV living gradually - which is a good thing. 

Speaking of RVs - excuse me?????  I WAS SPEAKING OF RVs -- Mr. know it all in the 3rd row fourth seat in from my right.  WHY DOES THAT BOTHER YOU????  OH REALLY!!!!!  Well let me set you straight DUDE - this is my blog  - RVPAINTER and by definition - I discuss painting and I discuss RVs - some day I just may discuss PAINTING RVs!!!  OH REALLY - well the same to you M. Know It All!!!  As the Southwest flight attendants say when the aircraft pulls up to the gate ------- NOW GET OUT!!!  Besides which it's my blog and I'll do whatever I want!!!

This guy has been trouble B4 - I've got to tighten up security!!!!

Now as I was saying - speaking of RVs --- Mr. ED (my easel) wanted me to remind everyone that I have a 2nd blog which has very little blah-blah-blah on it and its sole purpose is to present smaller paintings to the RV community as well as others.  My intention was to create smaller paintings for the interior of RVs and any other small spaces.  RVs do not have much wall space so the paintings on the other blog do not take up much wall space and most of them can be displayed on an easel and stored easily when on the road travelling.

Recently an RV associate I met on an RV blog suggested I try some 5x7 pieces - so I did and I'm having fun with these.  I thank her for giving me this idea.  So if the spirit moves you go up onto my 2nd blog (link below) and check it out

http://art4rvs.blogspot.com/

These paintings can go anywhere - in an RV - in a home - in a van - in a tent - in a port-a-potty - hell you could carry one around in your briefcase!!!!  :>) 

Smaller paintings, smaller prices - where in this country can you buy an ORIGINAL 5x7 painting for $25 bucks??????  NO PLACE THAT"S WHERE!!!

OK - enough with my soft sell :<)

Now that the house is spotlessly cleaned, and the laundry is washed and dried ( going down into the bowels of the UNIT to do the laundry in the "common" laundry room is something to be experienced!!!!) I am going to do another one of those "ORIGINAL 5x7 paintings for $25 BUCK!!!!!

If you are related to me or are one of my two friends - guess what you'll be getting for Christmas????

All kidding aside (like I was kidding) I am really having fun with these small paintings - when we get out on the road I'll be doing a lot of plein air painting and I'm also thinking of giving demos - nothing fancy - perhaps a demo for an hour and let people experience the pleasure of painting - who knows I may sell some of the demo paintings - OK now I'm really kidding!!!!  :>)

Take care my friends and as my good painter friend in IOWA says (why would anyone live in IOWA??)

"Work the day and let the day work you."

Until next time.

JR  :>)



HARVEST GOLD No. II

Hi again Blog Biddies,

I thought I would follow up with another pear painting but done in a somewhat looser style then the earlier posting this morning.  This one is done in a looser manner and a more Expressionistic style as compared to a tighter Impressionistic style as was the first one.

This will let you see the difference in the intensity of the brush strokes as well as the fluidity of the emotion behind the strokes.  This one has more spontaneity in its creation and staccato in its brush strokes than the first one - however that said -- and I just said it -- the first one has more labor intensive BLENDING of colors on the surface and a much smoother presentation of its surface.

I enjoy both styles but have to say that this 2nd one - looser - more spontaneity and emotion gives me greater joy in its process.

That said - a quick presentation as the last thing my Blog Buddies need is a drawn out presentation AGAIN IN ONE DAY!!!

I did approach the beginning of this one a bit differently in that I painted the canvas with the same black & blue paint but painted around a shape of a pear,  Either way works.

I now throw in a color called parchment which will get rid of the white glare of the pear which at this point is just the untouched canvas as I panted around the shape to create the BG

This being a Bartlett pear, the shape and colors are different than the first painting,  I just throw in color with some emotion and sspontaneity (whops - I just stuttered!!) using loose staccato strokes of my brush as compared to the long smooth flowing strokes in the first painting.

OK - time for the tweaking and finishing touches as well as painting the stem.

10 x 8 on canvas panel

"HARVEST GOLD No. II"

Well, I think my painting marathon is over for a couple of days - so you guys MAY get a rest from me!

:>)

Enjoy your day and I hope you enjoyed the comparison between the two styles that I presented to Y'ALL

If you have a chance take a bite out of life!!!

JR   :>) 

HARVEST GOLD

Good Morning Blog Buddies,

Nice bright sunny day today - blue sky and all is well.

As most of you know, I love to paint pears - I love the shape of them as well as the many colors they can take on.

The following painting was done yesterday and is 10 x 8 on canvas panel done with brush and in a style that is not as spontaneous as usual and done with less expression and more impression.  This is what I call a quiet painting - certainly done with emotion but somewhat subdued.

I call this "Harvest Gold"

The first thing I did was to paint the entire canvas with black paint and Prussian blue paint - I did this very quickly and made sure to leave swirl like brush marks for BG texture and interest.  Once dry, I painted on the shape of a pear.

Next I applied the base coat of color that would give me a road map for the creation of this piece

To this base, I started adding some color to bring the BORING look above to a point that it started to SING.

I'm working wet into wet, so I have to be careful and paint with a touch of lightness so I don't create the

DREADED MUD!!!!!  This is done by gently BLENDING the paint into one another on the surface - this takes time but I think the results are so much better that MIXING paint together on a palette and then apply it.

The final step is to paint the stem and to refine (tweak) the over all colors on the pear.  Again this is a slow BLENDING PROCESS that takes time and patience (something I'm not know for!!!  :>)

The blending process gives the painting sort of a fuzzy pastel appearance.

Some closeups for those blog buddies who like to look into the process of paint blending and application.

  Ya gotta love em!!!!

Well, my DW Melissa returns from New England tonight - I pick her up at the Albuquerque Sunport around 7:30.

This makes me happy as I miss her - having perhaps 1/2 a day or 1 day to ones-self is nice, but after 5 days I get pretty bored with myself - which is why I do a lot of paintings when she is travelling.

The book signing in her "Home Town" bookstore was a great success - she sold over 60 books!!

WOO HOO

Enjoy the day my friends.

JR  :>)