Snow Art

In Between Snow Storms

First Canvas - too much shadowing

5"x7"

It's out the door for me, onto the cross country skis, touring over the river and through the woods.  Seriously.  The abundant and heavy snow fall in the Sierra Nevada Mountains has left the most spectacular scenery.  Scenery to inspire a painter to get into the studio to paint winter.

First canvas after removal of some of the shadowing effect

For me that is most unusual.  Though the stark beauty of nature in winter appeals to me, I have not brought that inspiration into the studio, until now that is. 

Under painted second canvas

12x12

It all started with the mini Frosty paintings.  Those little paintings required a palette that would evoke frost and snow, so it wasn't too much of a stretch to pick up almost the same palette and begin working with the idea of snow laden pine boughs, the very same boughs I was sliding under on my skis, see out the window, that surround us here in the mountains.

Beginning of the branch and cone

These are the first little paintings to bring in the new year.  And though I thought I was done with painting pine cones, here they are again. 

Painted in the pine needles.  Now for the snow.

The forecast is for more snowfall over the next few days which translates to more inspiration.  It will be over the river and through the woods straight into the studio for me, enjoying the time between storms as well as the storms themselves.

Snow Cone

12x12

To contact me click HERE

To visit my web site click HERE

Let It Snow

And Let It Snow

I always have a painting outside my front door.  As a painter that is to be expected, don't you think? There are paintings all over the inside of my house, so outside is not much of a surprise.  And the paintings are rotated, both those indoors and out.  Sometimes they change with my mood, other times they change with the season. 

For several years I have planned to paint a Holiday canvas to hang outside as a type of greeting. All those years have slipped by without this happening.  You all understand the reasons that get in the way this time of year.... filling orders (that would be working), baking, spending more time with family, the list can go on and on.

But this year, mission accomplished!  After creating several small paintings of a snowman with the words "Let It Snow" lettered across the painting I decided it was time to take the time (a recurring theme here) to get it done.  

And get it done I did.  After several hours at the easel doing what I love most, this jolly, joyous, jovial guy emerged and is now greeting guests at our front door.  Frosty, that would be Frosty The Snowman,  is so very happy with the current weather conditions.  Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.....  A perfect white Christmas.

Frosty and I send Merry Christmas wishes to you!!!

Time and Art

It's Only A Matter of Time

It has been about a year since I started this palm tree inspired painting.  I usually complete a painting before moving on to the next, but this was painted in preparation for a larger commissioned work of the same subject matter so I could work out the desired palette, shapes and composition.  After the commission was complete I started another commissioned work, so this particular painting was set aside but not forgotten.  Now a year later it is done.

Have you ever noticed exhibited works that show several years as the time period in which the work was created? This would be one of those and it would show 2011-2012 which is a little misleading since it was really only one year.   So, did it really take me one or two years to complete this painting?  Maybe just my lifetime, so far that is.  

Artists are frequently asked how long it takes to create and complete a painting.  This is an interesting question with a couple different answers.  One of the answers would be the time spent in front of the easel while working on the painting, and this is an answer I never give since I don't log or track those hours.  Or the artist could answer with the weeks, months or years between the beginning and completion of the painting.  A better answer is that it took a life time, or at least all of the experience and living that has brought the artist to this point in her life.

I firmly believe that it would be impossible to create this particular work if I had not created everything that came before this.  It took all the looking and observing, the successes and failures that have come before.   All of this grows, changes and morphs the ability of the artist to see and interpret, lay down her ideas, and work with the medium.

Three Date Palms

48" x 30"

2500.

It is also interesting that this question is asked.  It appears that sometimes the question is posed as a conversational tool and then sometimes the query is due to pure curiosity.  Regardless of the reason, the time isn't that important.  It is the quality and execution of the work, what appeals to the viewer in the work,  that is more important.  Time is a vehicle to get from beginning to end.  It's how that time was spent and what was done during the passing of time to create the work.  

To contact me click here.

To visit my web site click here.

Apple Art

It's That Time Of Year

Nine Pie Apples

I think of it as the apple time of year with those juicy fruits piled high in the market and the scent of cooking apples in the air.

Five Reds

Apple fritters, apple pie, apple turnovers, apple sauce, apple cider, baked apples.....the list could go on and on.  And the kitchen smells so delicious.

Steuber's Apples

As well a cooking apples and eating them in their raw state, I like to paint these beauties.

Six Reds on a Board

The apple species is in the rose family and is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits.  The tree originated in Western Asia and was brought to North America by European colonists.  And we all know about Johnny Appleseed and how he spread the seeds of the tree across the U.S.  Lucky us to have these tasty fruits so readily accessible.

 Itty Bitty Apple

It's off to the studio for me where I will create another apple painting and munch on that crunchy, juicy, fruit in my hand.... that is after I use it for visual inspiration.

Solo Green

To Contact Me CLICK HERE

To Visit My Web Site CLICK HERE

Results of The Give Away

The Blind Drawing Was Held

A Name Was Drawn

This little painting, More Olives, will be going off to it's new home.

Now its back to the easel for me.

To contact me Click Here

To visit my web site Click Here 

Painting Give Away.

It's Time for my Annual Little Painting Give Away !!!!  And this is it:

More Olives

7" x 5"

To qualify for the Give Away get someone else to 'like' my Artist's Facebook page.  If you  Click Here you will go to that page.  And then do one more thing:  send me a message from my Artist's Facebook page telling me who you had 'like' my page, OR, Click Here to send me an e-mail message telling me who you had 'like' my page.  Then you are entered in the blind drawing which will take place tomorrow, Friday evening.  Notification of the winner will be Saturday.   Pretty Simple.

Now a bit about the painting.....  Inspired by a frosty gin martini filled with pimento stuffed olives.... for some a tasty adult beverage.  This painting is acrylic on a canvas board and sits beautifully in a small easel on a counter top or shelf.  It could be a decorative addition to a bar area that brings color and whimsy to the area.  You could keep it for yourself or gift it to a martini loving friend, so do these two simple steps and get yourself entered in the Give Away.

I am honored that a martini drinking gent I know has seen my cocktail paintings and wrote the following sonnet in honor of these works:

Ode To The Olive

Oh, but the magical olive tree what a gift it has given, especially to me.

A more perfect romance the world has yet to see

For in the morn we make magical love with color and brush

And in the evening I turn into the olive's adoring lush.

                                                           Gary Bird

Don't delay...enter today, and this colorful little painting may just be yours!

To contact me CLICK HERE

To visit my Artist's Face book page CLICK HERE

To visit my web site  CLICK HERE

Mural Painting

Giving Time to Help Another Painter

Even though I have a canvas on my easel, I took a few hours today to help a fellow artist work on her mural at Kings Beach Elementary School.  The design is based on a Shel Silverstein poem which deals with seeing things from a different point of view, hence the school bus in the clouds and the upside down tree.  There is more work to be done, children to be added, details here and there, but you get the idea.  I worked on the clouds and the tree greenery....such fun!

Some of the students have had the opportunity to be involved with the project giving them a sense of ownership and exposure to art.  That's a darn good thing since so many art programs have been removed from our schools.  And the whole idea of seeing your world from a different perspective is a inspiring thought for young children.  This is why I was very happy to give some time to this project.

New Paintings Delivered to Spirit Gallery.

Just yesterday, Spirit Gallery in Truckee, CA took delivery of twelve of my paintings which brings their current exhibition of my work up to fourteen original works.  

Caught Again

48x36

Spirit's intention is to create interior space which will enhance the well being of individuals.  What could be better than to surround yourself with art you love?

Float

48 x 30

Spirit now has a variety of my paintings such as this Zen like canvas, shown above,  with intense Fall colors, layer upon layer of pigment which is scored and textured with worn, floating rocks which hover over the background.  This painting is from the Sticks and Stones Series and is worthy of meditative contemplation.

Seven Pie Apples

8 x 24

Several of my Fall Produce paintings inspired by the stacks of beautiful fruits and vegetables seen in local Farmer's Markets are now being shown by Spirit.

Six Reds On A Board

8 x 10

Two Eggplant

8 x 6

Three Figs

7 x 5

And speaking of Fall, of course there are PUMPKINS!

Pumpkins

8 x 10

Pumpkin Time

8x8

Pumpkin Delight II

8x8

There are more paintings in the gallery and much more to see inside Spirit.  If you are in the area, stop by.  Not only will you have the opportunity to see my paintings but you will be visually entertained by their environment.  Maybe you will find something you just need to take home.

SPIRIT INTERIOR DESIGN & GALLERY
10009 WEST RIVER ST.
TRUCKEE, CA 96161
PHONE : 530-587-0948

Click HERE to get to Spirit's Pamela Hunt Lee page.

Click HERE to go to Spirit's Web Site.

To Contact me click HERE

To visit my web site click HERE

Fall Palette, Fall Subjects

Yes, It's Fall

Those of us who live where the weather truly does change with the seasons are entering a colorful time of year.  Tones of red, gold, copper,  and apricot begin to fill the forest and gardens.  With all this luscious color it is no wonder my palette begins to change color as well.  And it's not just the palette, it's the subject matter for the paintings.

Pumpkin Delight

Pumpkins and gourds of every size and shape (some of them are fantastical!) show up in markets, roadside stands, as decorations on front porches.  I brought a few into my studio and have begun to paint little vignettes, working towards a larger canvas.

Did you know that a pumpkin is a gourd like squash.  It is thought to have originated in North America.  Pumpkin related seeds have been found in Mexico that date 7000-5500 BC.  And these pumpkins grow in colors from white to yellow to orange to purple to grey.  This is an artist's delight!  So for now it's pumpkins in the studio but with all the color around who knows what might be next.

Pumpkins

To contact me click HERE

To visit my web site click HERE

Lake Tahoe Graffiti.

All Removed

A stencil of Salvador Dali

Over the weekend my assistant and I removed the remaining graffiti located on massive boulders off the Crystal Bay Point at Lake Tahoe.  

Cyclops and the Zig Zag Papers guy.

Every bit of rubbing, scrubbing, elbow grease and determination to get it off overshadowed the fact that it was not  necessarily an easy task.  And gone it is.  

To contact me click HERE

To visit my web site click HERE

The Sense of an Ending for Painting and Graffiti Removal.

Golden Boulders

Yes, it is done.  At least I think so.  This painting anyway (unfortunately there is more graffiti to remove).  The canvas has been sitting on my easel for several weeks now and I did not feel it was complete,   however the removal of the graffiti that appeared on these rocks earlier this summer, during the time period when I was visiting the boulders to sketch them,  helped to put an end to the painting as well.  I guess having this composition in my studio was a reminder to get out onto the lake and get rid of the tagging, returning this pristine location to its natural state, the way it is portrayed in my painting.

After I discovered the graffiti I contacted California State Lands, the agency with jurisdiction over this particular place in the lake.  Because the state, and this agency, does not have the resources to remove the graffiti they gave me permission to remove or paint over the markings.

After a great deal of research I discovered the paint could be removed, which to me is the preferred situation. This past week another woman and I spent time dissolving, scraping, wiping removing the offensive graffiti (thank you Liz). Of course we were careful to keep anything from falling into the clear, clean Tahoe water.

And darn if there isn't more graffiti of the same type close by, however it is located across the state line inside Nevada.  California and Nevada have different rules, regulating agencies, and property lines.  This Nevada graffiti is considered to be on private property, so I contacted the land owner and now have permission to remove these additional tags on the boulders at her property.  

Golden Boulders

48"x60"

Painting completed.  Graffiti removal completed at this location.  Now to remove the additional tags.  Perhaps I will see the boulders from a new and different direction which will encourage a new canvas.

To contact me click HERE

To visit my web site click HERE

An Evening With Fine Art

What a Great Opportunity...

To purchase a work of art at an incredible price, spend the evening at beautiful Lahontan Golf Club Lodge and benefit a local art organization.  

Monday, September 10

4 - 7 PM

This is a win-win situation for the people who attend and North Tahoe Arts, which is a non profit organization supporting the arts in the North Tahoe-Truckee communities through exposure, education and participation.  NTA seeks to enrich the lives of residents and visitors alike by providing quality classes and hosting exhibits that showcase local talent.

http://www.northtahoearts.com/index.html

Thirty respected local artists will have work at this event.  My painting, Big Split, valued at $3500. will be one of the available works.  

Big Split   48" x 36"   Acrylic on Canvas

Each of the thirty ticket holders, who pay $300/couple, are guaranteed to leave the event with a work of art that is valued over $400.  Thirty tickets will be sold and thirty works of art will be available; everyone 'wins'!  At the event, the ticket holder will place their name under the art piece they would like to acquire.  If more than one person requests a particular work they will have the opportunity to offer additional funds.  I would call this a bidding situation.   If there is only one name under the work of art, that person is the owner of the work.  

This is a link to a few of the works of art that will be available that evening  

http://www.northtahoearts.com/e_catalogue.html

Below is the invitation.  Please let me know if I can answer any questions or help you procure tickets. I hope you will participate as I am sure it will be a fun evening.

To contact me click HERE

To visit my web site click HERE

Having trouble viewing this email? Click here

"Supporting the arts in our community through  exposure, education and participation" Thank you for your interest in North Tahoe Arts. We are a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization with a mission to support the arts in the North Tahoe-Truckee communities through exposure, education and participation.

Forward email