GUESS WHAT????? I'M BACK!!!! :>)

YO MY BLOG BUDDIES,

Well, once again I'm back for another presentation of some pieces I did over the past 6 - 7 days.
I've started a new series - that of "ABSTRACT VISION - SEMI ABSTRACT JOURNEY"
What this means is -------- when starting the series I envisioned the pieces to be more ABSTRACT in style than not.  As the pieces progressed my mind and painting arm decided to do these in a SEMI ABSTRACT style - "mind over matter ---- I guess!!!!!"

I've been feeling a tug to go down a different avenue from the one I've been on for a couple of weeks now with bogs and marshes.  I've been concentrating on 9 x 12 and 6 x 12 formats sooooo time for bigger and bolder.
24 x 18 on heavy linen paper using Chroma Interactive acrylics in a loose style using a big 2 inch brush with spontaneity and emotion in color and form.

I find this style to be very liberating and satisfying.

Canola fields for the most part are a brilliant yellow - most of the canola plants used for canola oil are grown in Canada and Montana.  The name "canola" was derived from "Canadian oil, low acid" in 1978

During our year on the road of full time RV-ing, was saw these fields and they are breath-taking!

"Abstract Vision -Semi Abstract Journey No. I - Montana Canola Field"

24 x 18 on heavy linen paper

DETAIL

"Abstract Vision -Semi Abstract Journey No. II - Ile d' Orleans - Quebec Canada"

24 x 18 on heavy linen paper

DETAIL

"Abstract Vision -Semi Abstract Journey No. III-Montana Canola Field Harvest Gone Bye"

24 x 18 on heavy linen paper

DETAIL

 Check out my ETSY shop as I've added lots of paintings up there to kick off my HOLIDAY 20 % off SALE

Just left click on the following link - then click on the 

"go to link shown"

https://www.etsy.com/shop/ACRYLICPAINT

I hope you enjoyed your journey into the "Abstract Vision - Semi Abstract Journey Series"

Once the canola fields begin to mature it is a sight equal to or perhaps surpassing that of the New England foliage season.  The fields turn into bright almost blinding various shades of yellow and they seem to go on forever. 

I have two more Canola Field paintings one being in the winter time when the field is at rest and the last one being that of a field just starting to mature.  These I will highlight on my next post.

Soooooo having said that - which I just said - means I will be BACK AGAIN!!!!!!

Remember ------as you tread down the path of life --------

He who hesitates is in doubt!

There is no such thing as a coincidence!

JR :>) 

I'm BACK!!!!!!!

Yo my friends,

I'm still on the Saltwater Tidal Marsh journey---------------

I love marshes and bogs as they have such a peaceful feeling to them plus lots of birds hang out in and near the waterways within these places.   Of course here in Florida one needs to be watchful of alligators!!!!!!  A while back a woman stopped on the grass on the side of the road and started to change a flat tire - well---------- a GATOR came out of the waterway (which the woman did not know was there as it was after the sun went down) and as I'm sure you guessed the GATOR grabbed her and started to drag her back into the waterway.  Fortunately a motorist stopped to see if the person needed assistance and saved the woman by beating off the alligator!!!!  The woman had to have the leg amputated it was damaged so badly.

HOLD CRAP!!!!!

I'll wait in the car and call AAA!!!!!!!

Soooooo for now I'll limit my marshes and bogs to Nova Scotia and Cape Cod!!  :>)

Autumnal Tidal Saltwater Marsh No. II

Nova Scotia Hubbards Cove - Mahone Bay area

6 x 12 

semi abstract with texture

We spent a month in Nova Scotia during our year long RV journey and i happen to love Canada - especially the Old Quebec area - well - Nova Scotia was just as beautiful!!!

NO ALLIGATORS HERE!!!!!

Being from new England my wife and I spent many a day on Cape Cod and just loved the Wellfleet area.

Autumnal Tidal Saltwater Marsh No. III

Cape Cod - Wellfleet area

6 x 12 

Tidal Saltwater Marsh No. IV

Cape Cod Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary

Dry Brush technique

6 x 12 

I'm a morning painter - I have most of my energy and creativity in the early hours right after breakfast - about 8 - 9 am.

If I wait until the afternoon the day seems to get bogged (play on words) down with other things to do or problems or interruptions that negate my creative soul.  Therefore 95% of my work is done between 8-9 or 9-10 in the morning.  Sometimes I will  throw in a 2nd painting right after the first - it depends on how charged up I am after the first one.

Tidal Saltwater Marsh No. IV

Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary  - Cape Cod

6 x 12 Dry Brush technique

Hope you enjoyed this journey - see y'all next week

JR    :>)

Highlights of the past weeks work

Yo blog buddies,

Well, I just keep showing up, and showing up like that pink bunny I just keep GOING & GOING!!!
Had a lot of fun painting this week - quite a few ones that I like enough to pass onto you folks for your viewing and I hope you like them.

I've continued along with my obsession with BOGS so I have a couple more of these for you as well as some local Florida scenes.  There is sooooooo much to paint down here - one could do 5 paintings a day - day after day and never run out of scenes to paint.

While it is still too hot and muggy to plein air paint the Florida scenes are based on my memory of visits to these areas as well as photos.

OK - I'll again be stingy with the jibber/jabber!  :>)

Autumnal Bog No. II

9 x 12  on single heavy canvas sheet

Palette Knife - lots of texture

Autumnal Bog No. III

9 x 12 on single heavy canvas sheet

Dry Brush Technique

A simple design yet loaded with bright-bold color accenting the simplicity 

Autumnal Bog No. IV

9 x 12 on single heavy canvas sheet

Dry Brush Technique

Autumnal Bog No. V

9 x 12 heavy single canvas sheet

Dry Brush technique

OK - now lets move into Florida to the Gulf of Mexico on the west coast where I live with my DW ( Darling Wife Melissa Ann Goodwin) who is a very talented author and will soon be releasing her sequel to her previous novel , "The Christmas Village ." 

The sequel is titled:

Return to Canterbury

OK - now back to me :>)

Clearing over Gasparilla

6 x 12 on heavy single canvas sheet

Dry Brush technique

Gasparilla is a barrier island in southwest Florida to the west of the Gulf of Mexico and the main land.

Semi abstract/abstract 6 x 12 on heavy canvas sheet with gusto - spontaneity in color and form with a touch of emotion for the love of the area we live in.

Lovers Key

6 x 12 on heavy single canvas sheet

Dry Brush technique

I hope you have enjoyed your journey through the Autumnal Bogs and a portion of the beautiful West coast of Florida on the Gulf of Mexico - a truly beautiful area.

Take care my friends and the good Lord willing I shall be return in a week or so with more paintings for you to view.

JR    :>)

 Check out my ETSY shop as I've added lots of paintings up there to kick off my HOLIDAY 20 % off SALE

Just left click on the following link - then click on the 

"go to link shown"

https://www.etsy.com/shop/ACRYLICPAINT

TIDAL SALTWATER MARSH DEMO NO. I (NOVA SCOTIA)

YO MY BLOG BUDS

I have not put a demo up on my blog for a while so this morning after breakfast I did a quick demo as a warm up for the painting efforts of today.  When I say quickly, I try not to spend more then 20 - 30 minutes on these "warm up quickies."  I love to paint loosely as most of you know - some people (painters) do not like the word "LOOSE" - for some reason these purists think that "LOOSE" means SLOPPY!!!  These purists like to use the word "EXPRESSIONISM"  I guess it is a fancier word but I like the word LOOSE and that how I paint and that's the word I use!!!!!
Often just to not be such a maverick - I say "I paint EXPRESSIONISM in a LOOSE style!!!!

A rose by another name is a -----

In order to facilitate my LOOSENESS - :>) I quickly paint in the essence of the scene with a big brush as small brushes cause one to be detailed and as we all know LESS IS MORE.
When I do this I use a gray paint in various shades so I can indicate my light and dark. Using gray also eliminates the white glare of the surface of the canvas thereby allowing me better color interpretation when I apply color.

HERE WE GO!!!!  THIS WON'T TAKE LONG - AS I SAY THIS IS A QUICK DEMO

TIDAL SALTWATER MARSH NO. I

NOVA SCOTIA

6 X 12 ON CANVAS SHEET

First I throw in the sky, the background and the foreground using a big brush 

Next I throw color into the sky and color into the background elements

I now throw in indications of the tidal waters and throw some autumnal color into the background

Next I throw in some marsh grasses with indications of autumn color

Now it's time to add some highlights and some reflected light from the light cloud mass towards the center of the sky

BAM-BAM-BAM 

WE HAVE A QUICK LOOSE PAINTING - DONE IN MY LOOSE STYLE WITH A TOUCH OF EXPRESSION 

JR    :>)

Yo blog buddies,

I did a few more Southwest paintings that I will share with y'all and Autumn is starting to reach Southwest Florida so I'm working on some Autumnal pieces that I will share with you as well.

No jibber/jabber today so straight to to the meat!!!!   :>)

Desert Sunset

6 x 18

Dry Brush Technique

When the sunset starts in the southwest there is a mixture of blue - pink and light orange.  As it progresses, the hues become more intense and literally light up the ground

Desert Giant ( Study )

12 x 9

Palette knife and dry brush techniques

Saguaros are found exclusively in the Sonoran Desert. 

You find this cactus in southern Arizona and western Sonora, Mexico.  A few stray plants can also be found in southeast California.The saguaro is not currently listed as threatened or endangered. Arizona has strict regulations about the harvesting, collection or destruction of this species.With the right growing conditions, it is estimated that saguaros can live to be as much as 150-200 years old.Saguaro are very slow growing cactus. A 10 year old plant might only be 1.5 inches tall. Saguaro can grow to be between 40-60 feet tall (12-18m). When rain is plentiful and the saguaro is fully hydrated it can weigh between 3200-4800 pounds.

The saguaro is the largest cactus in the United States.

Most of the saguaros roots are only 4-6 inches deep and radiate out as far from the plant as it is tall. There is one deep root, or tap root that extends down into the ground more than 2 feet.

Next few paintings are of the Autumnal series

My DW (darling wife) that's RV talk - is an author and the sequel to her first book is in the printing stage as we speak.  There is a character in this book named Mr Sidney Boggs --- so me thinkith the change of the season to autumn couple with the character Mr. Boggs has stimulated my mind and directed it to BOGS!!!!!  I've been proof reading her novel for the last few months so my mind may be BOGGED down with BOGS :>)

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!!!  :>)

Louisiana Bog

6 x 18

Dry Brush technique

Autumnal Bog No. I

9 x 12 

Palette Knife - lots of texture

The above 2 paintings is a good "compare and contrast" example of how a dry brush painting and a palette knife painting can differ.  The thicker paint of the palette knife  produces a much brighter image and the colors appear to be cleaner and clearer.

The dry brush painting is a softer image - almost pastel in appearance with what I call a 

"blurred fine art" look. 

As I've mentioned before - palette knife painting takes about 3 - 4 times the amount of paint as does dry brush - soooooooo it tends to get expensive :>(

Check out my ETSY shop as I've added lots of paintings up there to kick off my HOLIDAY 20 % off SALE

Just left click on the following link - then click on the 

"go to link shown"

https://www.etsy.com/shop/ACRYLICPAINT

Hope you enjoyed this journey through the Southwest as well as some BOG country.

Have a great weekend and remember as you travel down the paths of life - he who hesitates is in doubt!!!!!  So put your best foot forward - a smile on your face and walk a straight line.

JR     :>)

ETSY SALE

MIKE - MIKE - MIKE - WHAT DAY IS IT?

I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME!!! 

IT'S THE START OF JR'S BIG HOLIDAY SALE - GO CHECK OUT

 HIS ETSY SHOP - HERE'S THE LINK

OH GOOD-GOOD-GOOD 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ACRYLICPAINT

I'm keeping my promise

Yo blog buddies,

When I closed out my posting of last week I made mention that the desert was calling and tugging at me again.  I love the desert!!!!  It does not have to be Arizona - as the desert in La Paz Mexico is very beautiful - the desert of Aruba is quite beautiful - the high desert of Taos and Santa Fe NM are also beautiful.  I like the quietness and colors that can be seen at various times of the day and early evening.  We lived in the Sonoran desert in North Scottsdale AZ for 7 years - it was an experience I will never forget - a very happy time.  Some people think a desert is a big pile of sand -----for those who think this ------ I feel very sorry for you as you are missing a lot of beauty - and you know not what you say!!!!


Most of these pieces are semi abstract in style with spontaneity in color and form.

"Reflections in the Bad Lands"

9 x 12 on single canvas sheet

Palette knife

Vermilion Cliffs - Motif No. I

8 x 18 

Palette knife

Sonoran Desert

9 x 12

Palette knife

Vermilion Cliffs Motif No. II

Utah

9 x 18

Palette knife & dry brush

Tucson Bound

6 x 18 

Dry Brush

On A Clear Day .....

6 x 18

Dry Brush

Distant Badlands

6 x 18

Dry Brush

Desert Sunset

6 x 18

Dry Brush

The Test Of Time

12 x 9 

Dry Brush

I'm going to close this post out with a painting of the "Giant of the Desert"

The saguaro cactus grow upwards to 45 feet tall ( and taller), with a girth of 10 feet and larger and can live upwards to 150 years.....

For those of you who like to read in between the lines and add a twist to my words - NO we are not entertaining a move to Arizona or the desert.  

At times I do miss the desert and I visit the desert in my minds eye through painting.

I love the ocean as much as the desert and I most love the desert at the ocean such as in La Paz Mexico - perhaps my most favorite place (currently) on this planet.

Sooooo entertaining a move NO !

To me the desert is a very magical place - it can be soft and it can be harsh - the light plays a big part in the beauty of the desert as at times gives a mystique to its surroundings.

Hope you enjoyed this journey into the deserts of the Southwest a place we called home for 7 years and a place never to be forgotten,  - it was a very special time in my life.

Take care and I'll see Y'all next week or whenever the spirit moves me.

JR     :>)