Oil and Water Do Mix

The Dallas Arboretum
8 x10
oil on canvas
$200

Me painting in the garden.

Today I went to the Dallas Arboretum with a group of oil and water color painters, hence the title.Sheri Jones, Joyce Thomas, Cecy Turner, David Tripp and Chris Toplyn were some of the painters there today. The day started out very cloudy and in fact some of my friends did not come because it was actually raining where they lived.

The view I painted.

However, those of us who made it were rewarded by a beautiful day of painting. The clouds went away and we were rewarded with blue skies and sunshine. The flowers were incredible.

My painting in front of the view I painted.

The only bad thing about the day were the crowds. I don't mind talking to people while working, but it was almost crazy how many people came up and asked to see what I was painting. I finished my first painting and started a second but I didn't finish it because by that time the interruptions were just too much. I actually had people bumping into my easel and me  in their efforts to see my canvas.

Clumps of spring flowers.

In spite of that I had a great day. It is such a beautiful place and I can not wait to go back.

Red and yellow tulips massed in huge beds.

Flowers around the big lawn.



Pastel Flowers



The Restaurant in the Garden

Beautiful Spring Flowers

This was the subject of my second painting, the one I didn't finish.

Two weekends of art.

Fall Roses
8 x 10
oil on canvas
$150

     I have to go back to last weekend to get caught up on my painting adventures. Last Saturday I painted in the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens with a large group of my friends including Hai Chi Lee, Dan Spangler, Beatriz Welch, Cecilia Robertson, Blair Currin, George De Chiaro, Tom Kellie, and Leslie Talty.

The roses I painted.

     The garden is looking very nice after the  long dry summer we had. All of the blooming roses and other flowers make it look more like spring than fall.

Beatriz working on her second painting of the morning.

      My friend Beatriz has a wonderful painterly style and helped me work on loosening up when I painted my roses. She did two very nice rose paintings.

A hawk on a bat house in the gardens.

Cecilia in the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens.

                                    

       We finished painting around one and then Beatriz, Tom, Cecilia, and I went to lunch at the Swiss Pastry Shop. Sunday I worked on sculpture.


       Friday night Beatriz ,who is a docent at the Kimble Art Museum, gave a group of us a tour of the Caravagio exhibit. Her tours are always incredible. As an artist herself she really is able to give talks that are especially interesting to artists. Caravagio's paintings are amazing. I especially liked his religious paintings of John the Baptist and Mary Magdaline and Martha.

Me with my paintings at Dutch Art.

     Then Saturday morning I went to an estate sale at the home/studio of the Gentling brothers. They were twin brothers and incredible artists. It was very intersting seeing their home and art collection. I bought five books from their huge library of art books and picture framing hardware. Then I drove to Dallas for an art show at the Dutch Art Gallery. This show featured works by The Artists of Texas Group. I have four paintings in the show. Several of my friends also have paintings in this show including Sheri Jones, Joyce Thomas, George De Chiaro  Linda Popple, Cece Turner, and Tina Bohlman. The show looked great and will hang through January.

Joyce Thomas and her paintings at Dutch Art.

Sheri Jones with some of her paintings.

The painting I started in Tandy Hills.
9 x 12
oil on panel

 Then on Sunday morning I went back to paint in the gardens. This morning Hai Chi, Cecilia, George and Dan joined me as well as Chris Toplyn, Claudia Davis, and Janice Weaver. It was a very overcast day. Claudia, Janice, Cecelia, Dan and I went to McKinley's for lunch. Then Cecelia and I went to Tandy Hills Park to paint some more. We stayed until almost sunset.  I didn't finish the one from the Botanical Gardens or the one from Tandy Hills but I'm posting the Tandy Hills painting anyway.

Fall foliage in Tandy Hills.

Cecilia heading to her car after a full day of painting.

Lilies and More Lilies



Botanical Gardens Lilies
11 x 14
oil on Ampersand panel
$200

I painted out twice this weekend, yesterday at the Arboretum in Dallas and today at the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens. I went to the Dallas Arboretum with my friends to paint on Saturday. I met Olivette Hubler, Sheri Jones, Hai Chi Lee, Chris Toplyn, and some of the Dallas artists that we never met up with;  it is a big place. Our group painted near a series of pools with water lilies. when we got there only one lily was open by the time we left. There were pink, pale yellow, white, and purple lilies blooming.

Arboretum Lilies
5 x 7o
il on canvas panel
$75

 I was really inspired by the brushwork of Olivette and the palete knife work of Sheri.I am trying to get a more impressionistic style with looser brushwork. It was very hot yesterday, 107, but we hung in there and painted from about 9:00 to 12:00 or so. Then Olivette, Hai Chi and I had lunch at the restaurant in the gardens. We ate outside but in the shade so it wasn't too bad, plus we had plenty of iced tea.

Chris and Hai Chi at the lily pond at the Arboretum.

 After painting at the Arboretum I was inspired to try painting some more water lilies so this morning at 10:30 I went to the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens. It was 107 again today and I was in  full sun but I was able to paint for three hours. I did the painting at the top of this blog.

Lilies with green and purple pads.

The big lily pond at the Arboretum.

Olivette and Chris painting lilies.

Sheri painting lilies, I believe she finished three paintings.

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.