Blue Vase

Blue Vase
Oil on Canvas Panel
6x6"

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I thought I'd have a go at painting blue glass for the first time today. It's really fun - all the cool reflections and colours are pretty hard to capture though - I'll have another go with some different blue glass forms next week I think. We're off to Bishop climbing again this weekend, so no posts till Monday - have a good one!

Indian Paintbrush (ii)

Indian Paintbrush (ii)
Oil on Canvas Panel
5x7"

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This painting is much darker than yesterdays...and that was partly to do with the angle of the sun. I can't decide which one I prefer, but this one definitely has a different kind of drama.

Indian Paintbrush (i)

Indian Paintbrush (i)
Oil on Canvas Panel
5x7"

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I'm back! we went to Bishop at the weekend to climb - and the wildflowers have just gone...wild! I've never seen so many flowers in the desert, it was amazing. I've taken loads of pictures, and have lots of inspiration for semi-abstract paintings of wildflowers. I actually wanted more than anything to get some good shots of Sky Rock, but it wasn't to be. I'm going to have to hike up there with my paints and canvas, and do the painting I want on the spot. It won't be easy...it's a steep hike and then to access the actual rock with the petroglyphs on it, you have to climb up a slab, and then mantel up a flying saucer type rock to get a decent perspective. Hmm, maybe if I pack very light and small I can manage it - it's definately worth it.

I first saw these beautiful wild flowers in Canada when I first set out on my travels a few years ago. I'm a big fan of red, and I literally stopped in my tracks at the sight of these. I was hiking in to a climb in a rocky stream bed near Canmore, and there were several little clumps of Indian paintbrush dotted amongst the greenery. If I didn't know then what complementary colours where, that would have been the lesson right there....

Sky Rock Petroglyphs

Sky Rock (i)
Oil Canvas Panel
4x8"

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Sky Rock is an amazing example of ancient Native American Petroglyphs, located in the tablelands of Bishop, California. Sky Rock is huge, and really difficult to photograph well. Photographer Galen Rowell took a famous picture of Sky Rock at sunset, which was the inspiration for me to find it for myself. I'll be back in Bishop this weekend, so I'll make more sketches from different angles.

Violas (ii)

Violas (ii)
Oil on Canvas Panel
4x8" Signed Original

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I'm having a really hard time getting the violet colour to look convincing - it's such a vibrant hue, especially with the light coming through the thin petals...oh well, keep trying! I like the rhythms which are coming out of these studies though - it seems the faster I paint the better they are!

Violas (i)

Violas (i)
Oil on Canvas Panel
5x6" Signed Original

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Yesterday we went to a nursery in Gardnerville to buy potting soil, and came away with flowers and a plant pot with a Buddha on it...couldn't resist! Turns out I was jumping the gun weatherwise a bit - it was 78 degrees yesterday, so I was feeling all optimistic about planting outdoors - today we have 50 mph winds. So these little Violas have to stay inside for a while, which is OK because I can paint them now!

Conch Shell

Conch Shell
Oil on Canvas Panel
5x6" Signed Original

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This is inspired by a really beautiful seashell I have in the studio. My mother-in-law Cindy loves shells, and has an impressive collection adorning her home in Pennsylvannia. Taylor brought this one back for me last Christmas, and I've had it sitting amongst my white 'props' in the studio for a while. I really like the spiny form, and once I placed it on white paper and shone a spotlight on it...wow.

I did a series of seashells for my first 'painting a day' works - which began as an idea for a Christmas present for Cindy - and then evolved into the daily painting practice I have now. I've never been particularly motivated to work at a small scale, my natural scale is much, much bigger. What I was trying to do for Cindy was create something she'd relate to, at a size that I could either easily ship or carry on whilst flying. After I'd done a few of these as test pieces, I found some other artists on the internet doing a 'painting a day'. I read about their motivations, careers, and practices - and it seemed like a challenge which would help structure my painting time. I'm so glad I started now, I really feel like it's helped me learn a lot about painting.

Balsamic Vinegar and Garlic

Balsamic Vinegar & Garlic
Oil on Canvas Panel
12x6" Signed Original.

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Here is today's 'Painting a Day', an Italian theme! I love garlic, and use it in copious amounts in my cooking. I liked the juxtaposition of shapes in this composition, and enjoyed the challenge of differentiating between the textures of the glass bottle and the garlic cloves.

More Tangerines!

Tangerine Bowl (ii)
10x7" Oil on Gesso Panel, Signed Original.

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This is today's painting a day - yes more tangerines! I'm just really attracted to the orange colour. I'm playing with loosening up my brushstrokes, so I wanted a subject with simple forms and bold colours. The shadows really were those colours too - reflected from the fruit!

New Website!

This is why I didn't post a painting yesterday...I was busy finishing off my new website, and frankly after too many hours staring at a computer screen I never feel like painting. It just kills my creativity. 'Tis done now, thank god, and hopefully I won't have to fix it or anything - but I'm open to suggestions (keep it clean!) for improvements. I've added prices for the first time, since I've signed up with Google checkout, and PayPal so I can accept credit cards now. Sigh. Off to the studio now, no more typing!

Tangerine Bowl

Tangerine Bowl
Oil on Panel
5x5"

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Back to observational work from life today, I felt like I needed the challenge, and the reminder of real light and colour. I've been working from photographs for the past few days - for climbing work it's the only way to back up sketches with enough color information and detail to make them feasable. I don't mind but after a while I feel like I need a refresher - and what better subject than juicy tangerines bursting with goodness?

The Drab Demure of Wales

Dinas Cromlech
Mixed Media on Paper
40x50"

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A brochure arrived in the mail yesterday, for the Welsh Sale 2008 at Rogers Jones Auction House in North Wales, UK. They asked me to send them eight pieces, and I was flattered to see in the brochure that I'm keeping some esteemed company at this event. Most of the other artists I either studied under, worked with, or organised their exhibition when I was a young Exhibition Coordinator at the ogilvy & estill art gallery in Conwy many years ago - including William Selwyn, Wilf Roberts, Kyffin Williams, Mary Lloyd Jones and David Lloyd Griffith.

Looking through the paintings and drawings these artists, whose work I have admired and been influenced by over the years, I felt a nostalgic longing for the Welsh landscape - which I haven't felt since I was at university in the 90's.

My Welsh friend Joe asked me if I missed home recently, in the most poetic way: "Do you miss its drab demure? It’s sullen, brooding beauty… I’m sure America is a place filled with grand and inspiring wonders. Is there still a place in your heart for this soggy end of the world?"

Looking at these dark paintings of Snowdonia, the dramatic, passionate markmaking, the diffuse light backlighting familiar ridgelines - yes, I do. I love the American landcape, with it's infinite variety, sheer vastness and meteorological extremes - but there will always be a place in my heart for the dark, damp slate quarries, intimidating cliffs and valleys. And also the spring flowers, lush green hills, oak trees in the Autumn, and the chilly Atlantic waters I occassionally dipped my toes into.

But not the seagulls. I can live without them.


Rogers Jones & Co. Abergele Rd, Colwyn Bay, N.Wales UK

The Welsh Sale Auction: Saturday April 26th 2008 at 12.00
Viewing Friday 3-6pm and Saturday 10am-12.15pm

General Enquiries:info@rogersjones.co.uk

Tel: +44 1492 532176

Stegasaur

Stegasaur
Oil on Canvas Panel
6x12"

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This is Taylor climbing a boulder problem called Stegasaur in Hueco Tanks State Park, Texas. It is an amazing, thought provoking problem, which involves climbing wave type rock features under the roof of a cave. None of the holds are positive, and Taylor performed some incredibly gymnastic moves to emerge from the murky depths. I spied this quite revolting vantage point from the outside of the cave, and despite the copious rat and bat scat, crawled in to capture this image. I'm glad I did now, because I think it's one of the most successful climbing images I took out of our whole road trip - and that's saying something - I've got thousands of digital photographs, drawings and paintings from the 18 months or so we were traveling for.

A common theme is emerging from both my paintings and photographs...light. Dramatic light, usually from a single source, is becoming the defining feature of my work. It's strange, I've always been interested in light effects, chiaroscuro particularly, but I'm only finding now that my compositions are just organically trending 'toward the light'.

This is a study, as most of these daily paintings are, and I'll post the final painting when it's done...it's going to be HUGE!!

Taping up for Babyface

Taping up for Babyface
Oil Canvas Panel, 4x6"

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This is a painting of my husband Taylor, inspired by our climbing trip to Hueco Tanks, Texas. 'Taping up' refers to the practice of taping the fingers prior to rock climbing. We use white zinc oxide tape, and it helps protect the tendons in your fingers. When climbing, especially bouldering (which is an intense form of climbing without ropes), there is an immense amount of weight borne on the fingers, and injuries are common.

Taping up can also become part of the ritual prior to attempting a hard climb - preparing yourself mentally and physically, might involve chalking your hands, cleaning your shoes to achieve maximum friction, and visualisation - of the moves, of success.

I loved this image - I think it's both personal and universal. Most people have little rituals they perform (often unknowingly) before they do something important, or stressful, or momentous...like exams, flying (if you're scared), first dates, etc. Before I start a big painting I have a series of things I have to do before I'm ready - eg. organise my space, make sure there are no distractions, and wake up knowing that I'm going to paint that day - all those little things which help to focus on the task at hand.

Washing Brushes

Washing Brushes
Oil on Canvas Panel
6x4"

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So I'm finished painting the Kokanee for the Foyer Gallery exhibition - I did already have enough work but I just wanted to make a set of really loose mixed media pieces to work with the photos I had, (which have been sitting in the hard drive since last Fall..) so I can get some ideas for larger oils - I think they'll be very dramatic!

I've missed doing my little daily oils, but I have gone back to the easel with fresh enthusiasm and ideas. This study is part of the ongoing theme of 'Home', inspired by both the physical location we live - with it's fabulous light and angular construction - and the sense of place I've found in my life. The morning light in our kitchen is amazing, and the window looks out over an evergreen tree line, and the sky..which throughout the day changes from white to blue, and blooms with colour in the evening. It's a great distraction when you're washing dishes (or brushes!)