Black Hat

"Black Hat" was painted after watching a video of Morgan Weistling doing a head study--he started at one eye and went out from there, a section at a time. It's not the way I usually work--you have to be as accurate as possible from the first--but it was fun to try.

The model is a Mr. Herrera who posed for a workshop near Las Vegas, New Mexico several years ago. I don't think he even blinked.

The finished painting is on view through January 15, 2011 at the Mexican American Cultural Center in Austin.

More from the Bosque show

Hi--

Haven't posted anything lately, but have been busy, with painting, travel, and life in general. (More about the travel later.)

In the meantime, here are two other paintings that were shown at the Bosque Art Classic. The second one, "The Endurance Runner", a portrait of my friend Dave, was awarded Second Prize in the oil/acrylic category. I was very pleased.

Brown Eyes

Hi!

It's been a while, but I've been painting hard.

This little girl was in the botanical gardens in San Antonio--a good place to watch and photograph people, although they may think you're a bit weird.

Anyway, this painting will be in the Bosque Arts Center Art Classic 2010 show in Clifton, Texas this September. The show will be posted online by about September 10th.

In my last post, I mentioned my website but forgot to give a link to it. It's nancygrobe.com; please take a look.

I promised you another rose garden

Here's another little rose garden painting. Please check out my website, too--I've posted some new paintings. Thanks!

Shades of Rose

Hi!

Here's a little painting from the Zilker Botanical Gardens a few weeks ago, when the roses were in full bloom.

I've been working on paintings for a show, so haven't been out much--hope to get back to it next week.

Little rapids on Barton Creek

A misty morning along the upper part of Barton Creek. I did a tiny painting, because I felt it was going to rain--and sure enough,it did.

Yellow Flowers

Hello!

I've been so busy doing little paintings, I haven't had time to put them on my blog. So I'll try to post them one at a time.

This one was painted at the Michaelis ranch, west of Kyle. It was so windy and cold that we sat on the tailgate with the car facing into the wind. At least we didn't blow away.

Salon International 2010

Here's that Portrait of a Little Boy again. I just found out that he was chosen as one of the Jury's Top Sixty at the show. They usually pick fifty, but luckily for me, the show was bigger this year. Unfortunately it's just a ribbon, not a prize--but you can't always have fame and fortune too.

Here are some pictures from the show in San Antonio. Everett Raymond Kinstler did critiques. It was a lot of fun, even if E.R.K. did think my viola player was a girl. You can see the whole show online at the Greenhouse Gallery's website.

Here I am in my strange vintage dress. I'm not sure what vintage it is. (I painted the lady in the doorway, not the roses, although they look pretty good on top of my hair.)

New Sweden, part two

Here's the church at New Sweden, looking back up the road. Early spring.

View from New Sweden Church

This is a view looking down New Sweden Church Road, near Manor, Texas. We parked near the church, intending to paint it, but this is what caught my eye. It was cold and windy, and hardly any traffic passed by, except for some giant farm equipment I couldn't identify. (In the afternoon I did paint the church, looking back up the road--it'll be in the next post.)

The two dots in the sky are gnats that got blown into the paint--after it dried, I brushed them away. The swallows nesting in the porch of the church might have eaten them anyway, had they lived, but I'm sure they never intended to sacrifice their lives for art.

It's been a beautiful spring, and it was good to get outdoors. This is the San Marcos River, where the Plein Air Austin group painted a couple of weeks ago. Later in the day the river was crowded with kayakers, tubers, swimmers, sunbathers, firemen practicing water rescues, fishermen, dogs, and kids swinging from ropes. But you'd never know it from this picture. Maybe next time I'll paint faster and put them all in.

Huihan Liu Workshop

(I'm sorry if you've received this post already; I was experimenting with editing older posts and discovered that they disappear completely unless you repost them.)

In February, I was lucky enough to attend Huihan Liu's workshop in Sugar Land, TX.
It was quite inspiring. I did a lot of bad paintings and one good one, which is
the only one I'll show you here. If you're not familiar with Huihan's work, take
a look at his website, http://www.huihanliuart.com/. He is an amazing person, painter,
and teacher; his wife, Weizhen Liang, is an excellent artist too.

Salon International 2010, San Antonio

Portrait of a Little Boy 14x11

I'm very pleased to announce that these three paintings will be shown at the Salon International 2010 at the Greenhouse Gallery in San Antonio. The show opens in the gallery and on the website April 10 and runs through April 30. To see past shows, go to http://www.greenhousegallery.com/.

In the Doorway 14x18

Between Numbers 12x16

A Painting of a Friend

Several years ago, I went to my friend Eve's house and she opened the door wearing this beautiful red coat. The coat is long gone (she said the moths got to it), but I finally got around to doing this painting. I hope she likes it.

A New Painting

Today's Study

Jamie 10X8

Last Week's Study

Michelle 12X9

Another Head Study

Nathan 9X12

Artist's Light 18X14, oil on linen

National Arts Program Show

Song for Guitar, 12X12, oil on linen

Hello, all:

These two paintings will be included in a show at the Mexican American Cultural Center in Austin between December 12th and January 16, 2010.

The MACC is at 300 River Street: go south on Red River past Cesar Chavez, left on Davis, right on Rainey. The MACC is thebig white building on your right.

The gallery is upstairs; admission is free. Hours are Tuesday-Thursday 10-6, Friday 10-5, and Saturday 12-5. There will be a reception January 15 from 6 to 8. I hope some of you can drop by when you're downtown.

Chrysanthemum Variations

This week I picked some of the chrysanthemums that have been blooming on our deck. I've done two little paintings of them so far; here is the first one, in stages:

First, a photo of the setup

Stage One: rough in the darks, leaving space for the lights

Stage Two: add color and the basic shapes--beginning to develop a focus

Stage Three: getting more specific; I think it's about done.

One more dot and it's finished.

I think I even managed to spell chrysanthemum right three--no, four--times.

New website

Hello again! I've spent the last few weeks creating a website. I'm still working on it--but you can take a look at www.nancygrobe.com.

I've been doing a few small paintings outdoors; I should have pictures of them soon, as well as a series of pictures of a portrait in progress. Until then, I hope you'll enjoy the website.

And now, a few head studies:

Dave

Dave Larson and his wife, the artist Eve Larson, are good friends of mine. Dave is an athlete, a dancer, and the best-known artists' model in Austin.

Amy

A quick study

Vicky Smiling

Not many people can hold a smile through a whole portrait sitting, but she did.

Mandy