The Green Garden

The Green garden
8 x 10
oil on canvas
$175

I haven't posted a finished painting in a while and I have completed several. This is the newest one. I finished painting it last week when I went back to the botanical gardens with Cecilia Robertson. It turned into a hot day but the morning was grand. I loved this scene because of all the cool shady greens, the willow and the park bench. After painting I finished up two sculptures the, crucifix and the longhorn steer and took them to the foundry. I was glad to get them out of my sculpture studio and am very much looking forward to seeing them in bronze.

Life gets in the way!



                                 A view of part of the rose garden and stonework in the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens.                      This part of the gardens was created as a WPA project.

The view I chose to paint today of the pond and willow.

A  photo of me painting.



Cecilia Robertson painting; she chose an unusual view, and did a great job of it.



Blair Currin, Cecilia Robertson, and Candy Clynch

A very tiny frog passing by my painting location.

Koi in the big pond.

   Today we had a smaller number of artists painting with us in the gardens than we've had over the last few weekends. Sometimes life does get in the way. Most of our friends were doing other activities. Some were working a day job, vacationing, or doing family activities. But for those of us who went out to paint in the gardens today it was a great experience. 
   There is actually a lot color in the gardens right now but most of us have been sticking to the tree line near the big pond below the rose garden. Near the pond in the shade of the trees the temperature was very pleasant  and we even had a great breeze. This was a treat as today we reached our 26th day of triple digit temperatures. We stayed until after 11, but none of us finished. I will go back tomorrow and try to finish it , then add the image to this post. After we left the shade and made it back to our cars we went to La Madeline for lunch. Another enjoyable day creating art with friends.

Another trip to the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens.

The view I chose to paint today.

Cecilia Robertson, Tom Kellie, and I painting near the large pond.

Cecilia, Tom, and Leslie Talty painting.

The painting I began today on my patio, where I worked on it some more this evening.

My finches on the patio. I like to hear them sing as I paint.

My pet dove on the  patio.

Today was a great day for painting. I went to the Botanical Gardens to paint at about 7:15 and was joined by 12 friends, Allen Riddell, David Tripp, Chris Toplyn, Cecilia Robertson, Tom Kellie, Leslie Talty, Chase Almond, Candy Clynch, Blair Curren, Ted Clemens, Tosca Engish, and Hai Chi. The temperature was great, we had shade and a great breeze. Most of us painted until 11:00. Several finished their paintings but I didn't even get halfway on mine. After we finished many of us went out to eat lunch at the Swiss Pastry Shop. We had their famous Black Forest Cake for dessert.
I worked on my painting on my patio a bit more this evening. I really enjoy the light when I work outside. I have some finches and a dove that I keep on my patio and I really enjoy hearing them sing and coo as I work. The environment I work in is very important to me.

Where do you paint? Two photos of my sculpture and painting studio.



         The table where I sit and sculpt or paint. Here it is covered
         with completed paintings, stacked up, and sculptures in progress.



My easel where I sometimes work on larger paintings.

    Recently Valerie Pirlot posted images of her studio on her blog. Her paintings are beautiful and I thought it was very interesting seeing where she paints. It is always a treat for me to visit the studios of friends. I really like seeing collections of their paintings all together, as well as their collections of art by other artists.
    Another thing I enjoy is seeing recreations of famous artists studios in museums. I think it gives you more information on the artist when you see the area where they worked and what they chose to surround themselves with.
    This is my studio, but to be honest I don't work in it all that often. Most of  my painting, even when it is in the 100s like now, is done outdoors.When I don't finish a piece I often work on my covered patio. I guess I should have included an image of it. I do keep an easel there. I have a dove and some finches and I like to hear them sing as I work there. Most of my sculptures are started in front of live animals for reference. However ,when I work indoors at home this is my designated place. It could have more space ,but by moving things around a bit it works just fine. I'd love to see pictures of other artists studios.

A Great Morning in the Botanical Gardens

This is the painting I began today.
8 x 10
oil on canvas

I didn't finish my painting yet but I decided to post it anyway since I had several others photos to post today.

A blue heron in one of the natural areas at the botanical gardens.

 Cecilia Robertson painting in the botanical gardens.

Me painting in the botanical gardens.

Me and Cecilia with the painting Cecilia did of me.

The portrait Cecilia did of me.

Today was a very enjoyable day even though the temperature was 101. I was in the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens by 7:15. My friends and fellow artists, Allen Riddell  and Olivette Hubler, were already there. We were eventually joined by Leslie Talty, George De Chiaro, Cecilia Robertson, Tom Kellie, Margie Whittington, Tosca Engish,and  Chris Toplyn. We found shady areas and were able to stay cool enough until after 10:00. Some of our group used watercolors but most used oils. My friend Cecilia painted opposite of  Leslie, and me. She wound up doing a portrait of me. I think she was drawn to the complementary colors  of my shirt and cap as well as the way I sometimes paint holding my canvas. She gave me the painting at the end of our outing. I'm so proud to add my first "Robertson" to my art collection. I really love the painterly approach she took to it. After we finished painting seven of us went to brunch at the Swiss Pastry Shop. The food is always good there but today the air conditioning was even better. Then four of them came back over to my house for dessert and to see my studio and art collection. I had a couple of new sculptures that I'm working on as well as some new art books to show them.
A morning spent painting with friends is a great way to start the day.

Crepe Myrtles in the Garden

Crepe Myrtles in the Garden
8 x 10
oil on canvas
$150

I started this painting early last week when I went painting in the botanical gardens with my friend and fellow artist Allen Riddell. We went back and painted some more on our paintings today. There are still a few changes I need to make but I'm close enough to being done that I don't mind posting it. The mornings are nice for painting but it gets hot fast now. The crepe myrtles love the heat so there is always something to paint with color.

Another fine morning in the garden.

Summer Heat in the Garden
8 x 10
oil on linen panel
$150

I got up early this morning and went to go paint in the botanical gardens. It's supposed to be at least 102 today, so I wanted an early start. It was cool enough until about 10:00. Then the breeze ended and it got HOT. I liked this view with the darks in the background and the path leading in surrounded by flowers. It's nice to still have lots of flowers and green even in this heat, yesterday was 105.

Port Aransas Marina

Port Aransas Marina
8 x 10
oil on canvas

This was a real quick study I did at the marina at Port Aransas. I was not motivated to paint, although I wanted to and felt like I should, and that tells in the painting. Inspiration is so important to me. However it is true that you can learn more from a bad painting than you can from creating a good painting. So I'm learning a lot.

Second Pastel Portrait

Portrait
pastel on paper
life size

This is my second  pastel portrait. I did it a few weeks ago, the day after I finished the first portrait I posted. I truly enjoyed the process and look forward to doing another when the opportunity arises.