Sometimes Good Things Happen!

We artists who enter juried and non-juried shows have to deal with some rejections and keep on going.  Art, after all, is a subjective thing.  One juror may love your work, and another doesn't select it.  It is all part of the game.  So, this year, after several "denials" into juried shows I entered, the same paintings won awards in another show!

I am honored to share with you that my paintings "Flick of the Tail" and "The Pond" both won awards in the Sierra Pastel Society Spring Membership Show this month!  I was entered in the Signature Category and both one an Award of Excellence ribbon and award money.

This was a wonderful and beautiful show, all beautiful paintings and strong competition!  We have some very talented artists in the Sierra Pastel Society!

An artist never goes on vacation!

5 x 8 watercolor sketch

...because artists can never stop working!  We are in Aruba - our first time.  It has been a little cloudy here, but when the sun comes out we can really see that "Carribean Blue" color.  Gorgeous!

One thing that is happening here that we are not used to - when we turn on our little camera and the lens comes out - it fogs up!  I took this picture of my little sketch out on our balcony and it fogged up.  So, my painting has the "misty" look to it.

This cute little ship is the Jolly Pirate - one of the many snorkel and tour boats you can go out on.  The other day we went on a very nice catamaran boat and went snorkeling in 10 feet of water.  It was fun, we saw lots of colorful fish, sponge plants, a pipe fish, and even a sea turtle resting on the bottom.

Two recent plein air paintings in oil....

I have been painting outside on location every week.  And these paintings have been drying in the studio and some of them I'd like to touch-up.  Sometimes when you paint outside, you think you get the values right and it looks OK there - outside - and then you come home and look at it indoors......and it looks so different!  Sometimes too dark, sometimes too light....funny.

Anyway, here are two that I did recently and have not touched up yet.

View of Jobe's Peak from Dangberg Ranch, Minden, NV

View of Mt. Tallac from Tahoe Keys

I just did a big, long post on the Reno Tahoe Plein Air Painters Blog.  Not pictures of me or my work so much, but great pictures of our day painting at different locations.  Check it out!