A Country Road Landscape in Oil

"V Road"

oil on wood

6 3/4" x 14"

I was updating the photo on this one and the text got removed with the old photo.  I worked more on the road color and set up the painting in color spectrum lighting in the north window.  This is the road to the west of my house.

There is a grain elevator on the horizon, but you can't see it, because

I left it out.  

An Invitation

This show is one I have been doing work for off and on this past year.  It promises to be a good one.  If you live in central Kansas, or you are traveling I-70 from 9/2 to 10/14, stop the Deines Center.  "Art and the Automobile" is it's subtitle.

Open Tues. - Fri. 12 - 5 and 1 - 5 on Sat. and Sun.

 

Where I Stand Sunday

Steps in progression..

first I stood over the inside elevator grate, where they dump the grain from the trucks.

which is right inside that lighted doorway...

Next I stood on this platform, in this cage...

with doors shut and pushed the UP button.  Up, up, up about 150 feet inside the elevator.

So I could stand here...

at the top of the elevator. Tyler (my boss) is standing there with me.  I am so afraid of heights..but I wanted so badly to go up here and see my world from a different perspective.  Wow!

To the west...

to the North...you can see the new CORN bunker in the center of the photo.

Oh look!  There's my car and the fertilizer shed and the scale where the trucks pull on to weigh their grain!

My house and property are in those nearest set of trees - right in the center along the horizon. 

Another view from above.  Ya,  Kansas IS flat in many parts...but where there are trees, I think it helps to break up the landscape.  I got a new view of my 'hood' from up here.

A close-up of the tallest part of the drive-inside elevator.

Oh look, Steve is coming back from the West pit - having dumped his load of milo into the bins there.  Better get back to it.



A few more shots and I am ready to descend back to the ground.

All I can say is, "Very cool!!"

Where I Stand Sunday is an ongoing photo essay examining the different places I spend my life standing. Too often we take for granted the everyday places we spend our lives walking on. If you'd like to join me and a few others (who faithfully post this day) by posting a photo on Sunday of places you've been on your blog/photo hosting site/website, leave me a message or a comment and we will include you in our fun.

A Portrait and a WIP

"Louis and Rosa Mae"

11" x 14" frame - original pastel and charcoal pencil on Canson

These are my paternal grandparents. They lived in the southeast Missouri town of Sikeston. I have many fond memories of visiting them when I was younger. They ran a farm for many years where my cousins and I had lots of fun - getting into everything and learning lots!

Here is my current work in progress on the easel. It is the grain elevators along the railroad tracks at Bellaire, which is just across the highway from me.

(Thanks for your encouragement awhile back, Mark.)

It started with a toning of red oxide acrylic paint.

Then I sketched in the outline of the silos and building.

I layered in the sky and worked darkest darks out to the light on the sunny side of the shapes.

I have a dilemma as the photo was taken from the parking lot in front of the co-op building and I caught just the top of the building...I had included it in the painting, but if you don't know about the configuration of where you stand to look at the monsterous towers from below, you won't know what that funny edge is on the bottom of the painting. It's interesting to me, I feel the need to leave it there, but to a viewer, who doesn't have the experience of "where I stood" it will be confusing. Therefore, today's challenge is taking that part out and continuing the elevators down to the bottom of the painting.

The Little Depot That Could...

"Simpson, Kansas Train Depot"

6" x 8" original oil on Raymar board

You may remember, I visited this town a few weeks back and took photos of this depot.

SOLD - collection in Michigan, thanks!

Jasmine

This is a pastel drawing I did for my neighbor's grandaughter who graduated from H. S. this weekend. She got this horse about a month ago. It has been an interesting venture for the girl. One day the horse jumped over the fence and out of the pasture, my husband saw it as it ran past him on the road at the mailbox. Knowing that the highway is only 1/2 mile away, we panicked and called everyone at work, also knowing that the horse wouldn't let us catch it, luckily the neighbor was pulling into his driveway for lunch. Funny how that worked out.
BTW, baby bird is still hanging in there. Mealworms are supposed to be here USPS today or tomorrow. He now lives in a dog crate, where he can get some muscles in those little legs, by hopping in and out of his bowl/nest. It is stormy here for the next few days. I wonder if he will be ready to fly soon? Probably in the next week.

PLANTING

Pumpkins and corn planted shown close-up in top left and from entering the field at bottom. Zucchini and peppers planted top right. Noticed some strange footprints in the dirt from last night, probably raccoon. Hope they don't want to eat anything in this garden, if so, we are putting in electric fence this week.

(photos gone)

BIRD GROWTH

Yes, he's growing and maturing. We have had to move him into a small dog crate. He keeps getting out of his bowl/nest...getting ready to fly soon, so in the dog crate he can hop about and get his legs strong.



Today was a day of planting. We planted corn and pumpkins in the south forty, (not that big, but it seems very large). Nine rows of sweet corn and three mounds of pumpkins. Also, here's a photo of the zucchini and pepper garden. It was started about a week ago. Sprouts are happening! Tomatoes plants have been planted in the barrels by the house. We also put together a new dog run out behind the studio building. Dogs are needing a place to be when we have to leave from time to time, the crates don't work for BIG dog anymore, he got out the last time. Time for being "city" dogs is about to run out. I even found a BIG FAT GRUB, while we were adjusting the fencing by digging a little around the bottoms of the kennel fencing, put that little guy in a bowl of dirt, until tomorrow when I can grind him up for bird food. Photos of planting above!

DAY 1

Hello all! Well, I am attempting to "amp up" my computer skills and abilities with a blog where I can display works that have been completed and maybe even some that are "in THE process". "Eclectic" describes the state of my "art" these days.
Having the time to experiment, leads me to explore new mediums and improve on old ones.
From time to time, I may refer to my studio by name, "Studio 165".