Classic Features and Weathered Faces

There is an art to the weathered faces of history collected in the junk yards of Jerome, AZ...

Signs of the Times

Enjoyed some of local signs and t-shirts in the pubs and gift shops of Jerome last week...


My particular favorite...


Great burgers and bread pudding here.


My sentiments exactly!




Tee hee!


Who can tell the difference in Arizona? It's HOT!


Shoulda bought this one!


Someone has an odd sense of humor!


Welcome to Jerome!

The Faces of Jerome

Last Saturday I spent the better part of a blistering afternoon in the ghost town of Jerome, AZ...just about 45 minutes outside of Sedona. I enjoyed taking photos of the quaint collection of junk, old cars and livestock...but the characters I found in some of the faces and friends I met, are my favorite.


Ol' Timer
Surely the most photographed man about town.
This photo made the whole trip worth it...Can't wait to try painting him!


Workin' It


King o' the Heap


Gold-Digging Dale


Run-Away Goat Meets Goat-Hand


Panhandling: "Obama Says to Spread the Wealth"


La Tourista


Ol' Time Biker Boy


An "Orange on Orange" moment...


I've gone "Gypsy Rose" on ya here, folks! ;-)

I'm back home...but you'll see the rest of Jerome soon! Stay tuned...

The Athleticism of Painting

Buddha Beach, 6x8" oil, Sedona, AZ , $250

After an early morning hike to Cathedral Rock, and discovering I couldn't reach the side I wanted without a long drive in to the other side...I plunked down in the shade of Buddha Beach and painted the backside of the Cathedral. That was after negotiating a later entry payment with the parks guard. Apparently my annual pass was no good in this part of the park, and I didn't have cash on me...so with some fancy sweet talk she was nice enough to let me come back with the cash so I wouldn't miss my painting light.

I think it's my best attempt yet; I'm finally getting the hang of those colors and values. I'm also realizing that I need to think of painting as an athletic sport that requires physical fitness, endurance training, discipline, a good night's rest...and early morning and late afternoon outings...in order to paint in this heat!

On the return trip with cash in hand, I took some fun photos of the extreme colors of this place:


Check out the crazy colors of these cacti--they are actually PINK!



More pinks


Love how the giant flowering bushes match the neon-yellow road stripe!

Painting Local Color in June

6x12" quick study of "Thunder Mountain" and "Chimney Rock"

Went to about four galleries this evening...was great to see how the locals handled the red rocks...how close and how far off I am. I'm beginning to become more comfortable with using various greys, especially in the shadows. The rocks are rather like painting in skin tones. Of course, then there were those artists who totally depart from realistic colors. I'm not wanting to do that until I master the local color.

It's interesting that I thought the local color here was so different in Sedona. Look at the last couple of years of paintings done around the same time frame of June 3rd and you'll see similar color schemes. Maybe it's a June thing.


June 2009, Austin, Texas


June 2008, Corolla, North Carolina


June 2006, Fredericksburg, Texas

"Love You, Dad"

"Art is an action against death. It is a denial of death." ~Jacques Lipchitz, sculptor (1891-1973)

That may be because art expresses our acceptance of our inherent worthiness of life and love, in others and in ourselves. This declaration of worth is seen and felt not only in creativity, but in the simplest of daily "artful" interactions.

Last week, I received a text message from someone who hoped I "liked my new phone" and signed, "Love you, Dad." My heart skipped a beat and for a few moments I enjoyed pretending it was from my dad who passed on a few years ago. When I replied that "Dad" had the wrong number and I wished he was still around, the unknown texter replied that he was sending me a hello from my dad. I told him he had made my day...and then looked for the nearest box of tissues.

It was comforting and powerful to see how worthiness of love expressed in the art of kindness from a stranger can go so far as to cross even the seeming boundaries of death. Our heavenly Father must know how much we all need to feel this love and worth every day. Whether or not you're an artist, we all have creative opportunities to express and feel our worth for ourselves and for mankind.

So, consider this your text from "Dad"...and know how much you're loved, valued and accepted by your Heavenly Daddy, today.

"Love you, Dad"

PS. Special thanks to everyone's support, love and encouragement of me on this day, and every day! xoxo

Mid-Week Painting Blues

I'm tired and feel like reading today rather than painting, so I stay close to home. I should have just stayed in bed...it's mid week and, as tradition would have it, I'm painting quite badly! I spent a few hours on a larger 12x18" this afternoon only to scrap it in favor of trying it again in a 6x8". I limited my colors and got the overall effect I had been going for...though rather odd. Part of the challenge, besides the wind gusts and biting gnats that want to fly into your eyes and mouth, is the gaudy color-scape. Just when you think you've got it, you realize you need to grey back the values to make it work!


Here's what I've been looking at for most of the day...view from the B&B parking lot. The shadows dramatically changed every 30 minutes...it wasn't even the same image by the time I'd finished! Here's some images of what was behind me as I painted:


The front door of the B&B office


B&B courtyard


B&B front gate


I made one excursion at lunch up the road to the nearby Sedona airport...quite the view! I think I may just read tomorrow... or head out to Cathedral Rock. We'll see.