"Hopper Creek Heritage Valley", #Heritagevalley #paintingprocess #onmyeasel

 

 I must have painted this spot 10 times, at least.  Sometimes you will hear collectors comment on artists painting the same locations over and over again.   It's been done for centuries.  And really, how can anyone blame us?  The place is easy to get to, lovely to paint no matter the season and as we grow as painters the paintings evolve, always ending up quite different.  

It has been a long time since I posted any process photos so I took a couple on this one.  When I started the painting I was sick with a sinus infection and I had a very difficult time making decisions.  After fighting the little cooties for a week I was able to finish the painting to some degree, which you see in the image above.    

Here is the "start".  I painted a rough line drawing of where all the elements would be placed and started just throwing in big colored areas to find the rhythm of the painting. I am painting the main  areas in their local color and value.

At this point the painting is all there.  Now is the really fun part of pushing the paint around and defining the scene for the viewer.  I used some quick dry medium, so that I could paint layers, leaving enough of the initial layers that they peek though in broken color.

This is the final painting.  I took the photo, just now, on the floor of my bedroom, trying to find a spot in the house that wouldn't create a glare.  The actually painting isn't quite this "hot", especially the mountains but it's pretty close.  

Oil on canvas,  24" X 36"

A couple more Borrego Springs paintings.... #Borregosprings #desertpainting

On Church Street, where you can find a variety of church services I painted this view one afternoon, while the bells rang out every half hour or so.  The singing bells kept me in line from staying too long in one spot by reminding me that time was marching on.

This little painting of a Palo Verde tree was done at the Anza Borrego visitors center.  Usually I don't post paintings in frames but I had not photographed the painting before it was hung in the Borrego Art Institute.  Below is the Institute with the sunrise reflecting in the glass windows.  I a few minutes later the whole mountain lit up in shades of pink.  

  

This is very typical of the terrain in Borrego Springs, surrounded by the Anza Borrego State Park.  It really is quite beautiful in it's understated hues and ever changing skies.  

#Borregosprings #desertpainting "Sunrise Serenade" ©

The desert is complimented in the morning by birds, roosters and coyotes serenading the rising sun.  I believe it's the nosiest time of the day.  All the other creatures that venture out as the sand heats up are very quiet.  A ranger told me that when the little lizards do push up's, it helps them to determine how far away something is.  It is as though their bodies are just too low to the ground for them to judge distance.  The things you learn out painting are endless.  

Oil on Canvas, 20" X 24"

#Borregosprings #palmtrees "Sun Lovers" ©

Outside the Anza Borrego visitor center gates, these palms seem to spring up out of the desert floor soaking up the sun and loving it.  I painted this early one morning before the crowd arrived to visit the park.  This painting is one of the 10 I painted during the Borrego Springs Invitational last week.  

Oil on Linen, 11" X 14"

This is the gallery walls before the final hanging.  As the artists finished the paintings we brought them into the gallery framed, ready to hang.  The artwork was hung so that visitors could see the work accomplished each day and decide which paintings they would like to purchase.  There were 15 artists and we produced 158 paintings, in 5 days.  It was worth stopping into the Borrego Springs Art Institute to see the wet paintings and different views of the desert.  The paintings will hang and sell through the end of the month.  

#smoketree #Borregosprings #oilpainting , "Desert Beauty", Borrego Springs CA

Last week I had the opportunity to paint in Borrego Springs California, during the annual plein air event hosted by the Borrego Springs Art Institute.  This image is my favorite painting, out of the 10 that I painted, shown as it hangs on the gallery wall.  Painting in the desert it was so quiet you could almost hear the silence.  I was smitten with the subtle colors and constantly changing light.  The main mountain that Borrego Springs is nestled up against, Indian Head, starts out a brilliant pink with each sunrise and ends the day in shades of blue.  

Oil on Linen,  11" X 14"