MY DESERT

YO - YO,

Well I'm missing the desert once again so it's time to get a fix by painting a desert scene!!

Taos is a beautiful area of New Mexico - a little too cold and snowy in the winter for me, but the other 3 seasons it is an artist's paradise!!  The high desert is one of the most beautiful places to be if you can't be in the low desert.  The plant life is much different than the low desert as most of the low desert plants cannot live in the frigid cold winter temperatures of the high desert.
Taos has an amazing downhill ski center as does Santa Fe.

8 x 24 on heavy linen paper - dry brush - alla prima - color mixing done directly on the painting surface and I use more of a "blending" technique then an actual "mixing" process.  That is to say if I blend 3 separate colors I want all three of them to be visible in the blended result.

MY TAOS - MY HIGH DESERT 

8 X 24

With the sun being so bright in this area of NM the colors brought forth by all the mountains, and vegetation is just amazing - from the lightest of pinks to the darkest of blues and greens.

LATER - BE COOL!!!

JR      :>)

YO - YO

Hello my friends,

I came across some paintings of Thomas Moran who was a very famous American landscape painter and printmaker 2/12/1837 - 8/25/1926.  The following painting I did using his painting as my model.

FORT GEORGE ISLAND - FLORIDA

16 x 20 

This painting has way more detail than I normally put into my landscapes as most of you know my style is a painterly loose style.  Off and on I do more detail just so I won't forget how to paint it but I don't make a habit of it :>)

Although I enjoy this more detailed style I find my loose painterly style to be way more enjoyable, lots more fun and I like the results better. The paintings have movement - bold - bright - juicy color is of course due to the spontaneity of brush strokes.

As a comparison, I did a painting in my loose painterly style.  This scene was taken from a Karen Margulis painting.  She is a wonderful pastel artist who I study because of her loose painterly style.  She is a wonderful teacher and her blog offers some wonderful material and teachings.

Color Me Caribbean

12 x 24

It is with this style of loose & painterly that I define myself.

Later Dudes

:>)     JR

BORED??????

YO,

Do artists get BORED?? Of course they do!!!! They also get MIND BLOCK!!!! When I get mind block I paint as quickly and as sloppy as I can, with an empty mind - not even thinking of painting and just let the brush do its thang!!
When I get bored - I do different things. Today I decided I was bored so I did a painting 8 x 24 with ONE BRUSH. Normally I try to use the biggest brushes I can - in this way THE DREADED DETAIL IS ELIMINATED!!!.

Today I used ONE small brush for the entire painting - but painted with lightening speed.

"Painted Desert - near Holbrook AZ"

8 x 24

I'm no longer BORED!!!!

JR    :>)

YO

My blog started out as a documentary of our life living full time in a 31 foot RV travelling us USA & Canada.  Medical issues forced us off the road, to sell the RV and establish a place to live.  We ended up in Punta Gorda FL when our RV journey came to an early end so liking it here we stayed!

It's been almost a year and a half now and although our RV journey is but a sweet memory never to be forgotten we find ourselves stationary as most families are but yet not feeling grounded.  We have been enjoying the renting of a nice condo and not missing the maintenance and issues of home ownership but yet over time a void seems to have enter our life.

Simply put from my point of view - if I can't be travelling the USA and living in the RV full time, then I want to have my "STUFF" back!!!!  When we hit the road we got rid of a lot of "STUFF" and we sold a lot of  "STUFF" and we donated a lot of "STUFF!!"  Fact is most of us have TOO MUCH STUFF!!!

However that said and I just said it ------- we still have a 10 x 10 storage unit back in Santa Fe NM loaded to the brim with "STUFF!!!!  What is in there?  STUFF we could not let out of our ownership - "STUFF" that was too precious - too sentimental to let go.

Front to back side to side floor to ceiling - STUFF -STUFF - STUFF :>(

Soooo now after a year and 1/2 we find ourselves wanting our "STUFF BACK!!!!"

Soooo we are in the throws of looking at home ownership once again so we can fill up a place with our "STUFF."  Much cheaper to own than rent!!!

Florida is a weird place to buy a house - so we are finding out - LOTS & LOTS of Bank owned property, LOTS & LOTS of short sales, LOTS & LOTS of homes left abandoned and ready for auction.
Most of Florida ( this area at least ) is in a FLOOD ZONE - this requires FLOOD INSURANCE which ain't cheap!!!

Most of the homes we have looked at, although reasonable prices, need $30k to $50k  of needed work before most of them are what we would call livable.  Where are the Property Brothers when you need them????  :>) 

So the search continues and it looks like it may continue-continue-continue :>( 

In the meantime I continue to throw paint and enjoy the quiet life in Southwest Florida :>)

Coastal Waters - No. III

18 x 24 - Brush & Palette Knife

Coastal Waters No. IV - Safe Harbor

9 x 18 - Brush & Palette Knife

Well, hope you enjoyed these 2 pieces.  As a reminder check out the links to ETSY and FINE AMERICAN ART above at the beginning of my blog.  I have a SALE going on in my ETSY STORE which certain paintings are deeply discounted as a pre-celebration to the coming of summer.  This sale will last through 6/21/14.

These paintings are identified with the wording PRICE REDUCTION

These are paintings done within the past few weeks and additional ones will be added during the coming days.

  So HOP TO IT!!!!

Click on the links AT THE BEGINNING OF THE BLOG and save yourself some money!!!

Later

JR   :>)

PRICE REDUCTIONS ON ETSY

Yo my friends,

Just wanted to let you know that during the period of 5/1/14 through 6/21/14 I have reduced prices on some of my recent ocean/beach scenes.  This is a pre-summer sale and I will be adding paintings to this sale as time goes on.  In the title of these drastically reduced the following words will appear:

 PRICE REDUCTION

These are very recent paintings - most of them being done within the past 2 weeks.  I love the summer time so I figured a SALE would be a great way to have a pre-celebration of summer being on its way.

Following is an example of a couple of these pieces.

COASTAL WATERS

11 X 14

Canvas Panel

BOCA GRANDE BEACH

GASPARILLA ISLAND FL

( This is our favorite beach and we go here whenever we can )

6 X 24

Heavy Linen Paper

At the beginning of this blog just click on the link to my ETSY SHOP

Take care - enjoy life and I'll be back 

JR     :>)

Last Still Life

YO my friends,

One more still life and I will move onto ocean scenes from the Gulf of Mexico where we live and onto the Caribbean where we have spent vacation for many years - 20 to be exact on the island of Aruba - we will also travel to Vieques and Culabra and perhaps to La Paz Mexico where I would love to live as it is a combination of desert and seaside being on the Sea of Cortez.

Canvas panel 10.75 x 14.00 done in a painterly style which I have been working on for several months now and feel as though I have achieved a level that I am happy with but shall continue to develop this style. 

Later my friends

JR        :>)

One More Still Life

Yo,

One more still life??????  Why not!!!!

Done in a painterly style with brush and palette knife - which I find to be an interesting combination done with freedom of strokes.

Antique Water Vessel and Bowls

13.5 x 11.0

Canvas panel

Maybe one more still life and then I move onto Caribbean beaches and Gulf of Mexico beaches.

We live on the Gulf of Mexico so all the beauty of this area is in our back yard which I just love!

LATER

JR       :>)