"Sun Versus Shade"
20 x 30
acrylic on textured canvas
This is one of several paintings I've worked on this summer. It has been a summer of workshops, Niki Gulley in Santa Fe, my 10th and 11th with Robert Burridge at the Wenmohs Ranch, Alex Powers at Artists Showplace and Carolyn Riegelman with the Lake Granbury Art Association in Granbury, TX. Bob's first workshop was a 3 day and some of us stayed over the long weekend with Dena and painted in her wonderful barn/studio and that is where this one was started and finished it up the following week. In the above painting, Bob said run her leg off the canvas and so I did. I named the series "Toward the Sun" as many of our conversations were about the unrelenting heat and that hot yellow sun beating down on us. Here in the heat the feral cats had taken to the porch roof under shade (well, also to keep the ranch dogs, Roscoe and Christine, at bay. The donkeys could be found under the sparse shade of a mesquite tree but the dogs were never to hot to chase the donkeys if given the opportunity. But in the evening the dogs preferred the living room shade, exhausted and sleeping if not in Dena's lap as close to her as possible. As Bob says, "People like choices". Shade or sun? When it's 106 most people would choose the shade.
Bob always wants us to write down our intentions before we begin so mine were to work larger, use more texture, be more abstract, and add some figurative element with bold color. These two weeks were special being surrounded with artists friends painting with our Bob's permissions slips to paint like we've always wanted to..and NO RULES.
One of the many reasons Bob's students clamor to get in his workshop is summed up on the cover of his journal:
Paint what you know.
Teach what you learn.
Love what you do.
Pass it on. (then we all go to Art Heaven because Bob says he thinks Art Hell must be no water and no Holbein Luminous Opera.)
I have three paintings in the Granbury Juried Fall Art Show and they can be viewed here. Click to see accepted works on the left of the page.
My left foot:
During the past 4 or 6 weeks my foot has been hurting and swelling. I decided I might need to take time out to get it checked out and now for one week I'm been in a big ugly black boot because of a broken foot. I've hauled art supplies over New Mexico and Texas with a broken foot!! It sure feels better in a boot. I decided it needed some "boot bling" but that can be addictive fast and thought for awhile I might have to go to "bling rehab". I'm in a great workshop this week in the boot and some lovely ladies helped me unload. More to come about the fun informative workshop with Carolyn Riegelman. There's just a little bling residual as I'm having a hard time staying out of the gold, silver, and bronze metallic paint.
Nancy Standlee
Contact: NancyStandlee@sbcglobal.net
4 comments:
Love the painting, and definitely love the bling on the boot! :) I had a great time at Bob's workshop also and learned a ton! Glad I met you there! It will be fun keeping up with the work of other artists at the workshop, and see what each artist picked up from him!
Thanks Greta and nice to meet you also. It was a great workshop.
Oh your boot would go so well with my 'Dr Strangelove' wrist brace (carpel tunnel)
Shame they done make them more steampunk, rather fancied eyelets and brass and soft leather
I can sympathize. I stumbled over a stupid rock this summer, cracked my ankle and had to wear a stupid boot too. I'm happy to say that I am back out on the trails with my dogs and nordic walking poles.
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