Bill's Tulips

 SOLD
"Bill's Tulips"

6" x 8" original oil on Raymar canvasboard

My daughter is a floral designer at a fashionable florist in the Seaport area of Brooklyn.

Bill is the owner of Holland Acres a tulip farm in New Jersey. He cuts tulips fresh every morning and wraps them in plain white paper, then delivers them to florists in the NY/NJ area. He has the most amazing colors and variety.

She took this photo.

I painted from that photo.

Nice how that works out!
I am working at the gallery in Grand Island on Saturday,

if you are in the area, come on by and say 'hi'!

(see sidebar)

For Sale on ETSY - $95.00, free shipping in the U.S. Remember Spring begins March 20th!

Where I Stand Sunday

I don't remember this much equipment to take care of a little one.

Mothers and dads today - have it easy.

So many options, but added expense.

It takes a trailer just to cart it all to and from.

Being a grandparent is the best thing in the whole wide world.

The grandbabies eb and flo with priceless visits.

Watching them grow - big spurts and milestones in the timeline of life.

Fleeting glimpses of character and being.

Just enough time to wrap your arms around them

to let them know - you are there.

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.
The ground we tread on has its own stories to tell.

A Painting for Today and WIP

"Sunshine Through the Aspens"

11" x 14"

Original oil on canvasboard

This one is finished..

This one is in progress, sorry about glare. It is "Mouse Hill" on my property, minus the trees...getting to know them better everyday.

They say stress can be good for you?

Thought I would get more response to my poll. I don't think 13 vs. 0 is very good sampling, but what I was trying to show was contrary to what I had read on another blog.

The results were gathered to show to me and YOU what I read on that other blog wasn't necessarily so. I won't mention names, but a very talented and "with it" artist claims that they are starting an 'ART only' blog, because they feel people don't want to read about their daily lives or anything about their thoughts on things other than art (almost their exact words). I found that a little hard to swallow. Believe me, I would continue to write anyway...including my art when I have some. The reason I started this blog was to stay in touch with those I left in my life in Colorado and so my family can read what I am up to. But to my knowledge, people who buy art certainly want to know something about the artist. What better way than to read their thoughts, about how they live, how they do their art, what makes them tick and what they like and don't like. So I am glad for the results I received. It proves a point to me, and maybe to you.

Visitors from Colorado will be here the next few days, so I will be entertaining. Check back later.

Where I Stand Sunday

Sorry - to those who look here on Sunday - our computers are both sick, one very ill and ready to expire. I will be sitting today - on the telephone with the company that supposedly provides us with virus and spyware protection and crossing my fingers we can resuscitate it, just as I did for most of the day yesterday. It's right now seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, we believe. I am losing faith in the company that is supposed to protect us from disaster. I also am thinking about those "joke" emails...and know for certain a few of them have wreaked a little of the havoc. The computer I am using right now, seems to have responded to the patch, but I think it is only temporary. If you don't hear from me in awhile, you will know why.

Happy Valentine's Day

I was supposed to work at the gallery today for someone else, but they called me to cancel a few days ago after the weather was predicted to be a big storm. I have to drive so far, they thought it shouldn't be. Nice people.

I planned a Friday night special dinner - since I thought I wasn't going to be home tonight at dinner time. We went ahead and had our special dinner last night as planned. Seafood thawed in the fridge, needs to be eaten within 'it's time window', don't you agree?

New WIP started yesterday...

I am fascinated with the sunshine and clouds and landscapes and trees right now...so have lots more to do, but the canvas is covered with the initial idea - so far. I have also started a new prairie scene with lots of trees...stay tuned.

Hope you have a good day with your special Valentine, whoever that may be!

Sunrise/Sunset - paintings

"Sunset Over Ed's Place"

16" x 20" original oil on stretched canvas - $250.00.

See shipping note * below.

When we look to the sun setting on the west side of our house, we often catch a great one. This view looks up the hill to our neighbor - Ed. That's our grain bin and his house on the right side. Young pine and cedar trees are going to be helpful windbreaks someday.

I finished "Chaco Canyon Sunrise" and took a better photo of it.

$300.00 - *will ship free to anywhere in U.S.

Special pricing for shipping internationally, please inquire.

Either one of these paintings are available. I will (quick) ship to you. My hope lately - as most artists, is to move my art, so I can make more. Materials and supplies are expensive.

Thanks for looking.

Email me if interested at pattiewall@hotmail.com

Chaco Canyon Sunrise - WIP

"Chaco Canyon Sunrise"

original oil - work in progress

24" x 30"

Sorry for the shine on this, the paint is wet and shiny in the light I used about sundown in the studio...but since it is still in progress it's not the final photo. The pink in the upper righthand corner is not really that pink. I have discovered -

I love doing sunrises and I am now working on a sunset at the farm. Woohoo!

If you wouldn't mind, please see my POLL issue in the sidebar and VOTE. Thanks!

Grizz - Quick Pastel

Decided to be done with this one and not noodle it. It is a sketch in pastel of my aunt and uncles dog, Grizz. He isn't around anymore, but what a neat dog he was! Gentle with the kids, a good guard dog and friend. One of those unforgettable canines that you get to know from time to time. How about that 10 year old that won the "WKC Best in Show"? That's amazing!

It just goes to show, you don't have to be a young pup to be a winner!

Working on a large canvas right now, so it's gonna be awhile.

Rounding the Corner to Rainbow Bridge

"Rainbow Bridge - Lake Powell"

13" x 15" pastel on Canson paper
For Sale at my Etsy shop.

Rainbow Bridge is in the National Park of Glen Canyon..Lake Powell. Some years I saw

it with land around it where you could actually hike up near it. Other years, you had get off the houseboat

and manuever a speed boat in close to it, as the water level was higher..

and you couldn't really step out.

Some years the level was up and some years way down.

If you have been to Lake Powell in the last few years, let me know what the water level is like now.

I looked at the NPS site and saw that there is now a dock and walkway to see it.

This art piece is done from my photo (taken in the 1980's) as you

round the bend in the channel that approaches the monument - discovered in 1909. I remember the first time I saw it which must have been when this photo was taken, you can't really see it until you go around this corner...and I kept anticipating it and when I finally saw it,

it was so ominous and breathtaking, I almost fell out of the boat!

The area around Lake Powell has a lot more arches in the rock formations that are caused by

the wind and erosion...this one happens to be a perfect and quite miraculous natural bridge!

If you go to Lake Powell, you have to see this at least once!

Where I Stood

With warm/dry days filtered in amongst the cold/wet days,
the farmer begins to imagine his crop for the spring.
Old methods give way to better ideas aimed at improving the
preparation of and for the planting.
'Farmer talk' abounds at the prospect of the sale.
Upgrading can save time and lessen the toil.
Increased expense is considered.

The buyer leaves empty handed,

homeward bound for more research and investigation.

We traveled to Simpson, Kansas yesterday in the nice weather to look at a used "two row planter". It would fit behind our little tractor, as we increase the type and yield of our crops

for this year and this planter would be the upgrade we are looking for,

if only the hydraulic system was a better match. (Dare I say, you can probably consider us "farmers".)

This is the little abandoned train depot in the town. Back in the day,

you could ride in one of the passenger cars of the train that left this depot for Salina,

Kansas, and from there go anywhere you wanted to.

If you spy something of interest in this part of the country, you had better take a photo of it NOW, because tomorrow, it could have fallen down from wind and weather, neglect or age. There was talk at one time of burning this one down, glad they didn't - it stirs the imagination of 'what once was'.

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.

The ground we tread on has its own stories to tell.

A Pastel for Today

"Storm Ahead"

8" x 10" in an 11" x 14" mat in pastel on Canson paper

Many years in a row, I used to vacation at Lake Powell with friends. I have sooo many photos of the trips, taking them - I knew that one day I would paint them. So here is ONE. If you ever go to Powell, you know when you are out on the main channel and you see skies like this, you had better head for the shore and "batten down the hatches". But a houseboat can only go so fast. So many stories, so little time.

Stingrays

For you nature lovers out there...check this out

http://www.photopumpkin.com/photo-blog/golden-sting-ray-migration/

It is some great photos taken by an amateur photographer, although I see nothing amateur about them of migrating stingrays off the Gulf of Mexico. Way cool!

Sorry no art, I have been busy taking care of that 'other' stuff.

Where I Stand Sunday

This is a new 8 foot by 9 foot rug (although it is a hand-me-down from my in-laws in New Mexico) it is - all the same - like new and adds a lot of class to our little living room. We got one of those under the rug rubber mats, and it makes it so the dogs don't go sliding as they race across it for the couch...or when the wiener dog races happen - which is about daily. We like it! Our little house is such a hodge podge, I love decorating that way - it's very eclectic. So about 4:00 PM today, I WILL be standing (probably some of the time - maybe even jumping up and down on this rug) during the Super Bowl - GOOOOO Cardinals!

Finished the portrait below. Need to work on a few things that show up in photos (the mouth is a little wrong), just don't see them standing on the easel - photos of the artwork help in so many ways. Got a little sidetracked in the studio today. Gesso'd some canvas - actually painted over some of the work from this year, that I deemed not fit for showing or selling and also varnished several that I will keep and show. That takes up a lot of time.

Didn't make my goal for January of 15 portraits, which would have been one more animal or person. I was working on one today, a pastel, but it wasn't going anywhere. And I know why that is, the pose was dynamite, but the lack of contrast left MORE to be desired - it's hard to create that in a flat photo. That happens, although not as much as it used to. That makes me happy. So this is number 14 of 15. Almost - I tried! No biggie. Actually you could count one more, with some of the "didn't get off the easel" ones...about 3.

For February, I am not going to challenge myself with quantity, but quality and learn some new techniques for landscapes by practicing, checking out some books and DVD's that I have on my shelf and visiting other art blogs and websites of landscape artists. I am not good at trees, so will be giving them a try. Right now, there are such great skeletons out there, I may have to go shoot some photos or sit in the car and sketch. Wanna see a great tree painting - John Vanderstelt has a great tree painting here!

One thing I must say that is good about where I live...there are the most awesome sunsets...almost as good as the ocean ones - just no water. I have been noting in my mind the colors and the chroma that happens during a really great one. They are so great, that the camera doesn't always do them justice. Hmm...tree shapes in the sunset. Nice days ahead could mean some plein air painting. I'll also be working on some still lifes, getting back into using the shadow box. Stay tuned.

"Dad in the Phillipines"

8" x 10" charcoal and pastel on Canson paper

P.S. Check out my new profile photo, it is the DSFDF portrait challenge from Victoria in Okinawa. I think it really looks like me! Thanks Victoria!

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.
The ground we tread on has its own stories to tell.