Hi, I’ve been a long time gone from my blog! Summers get BUSY around here. Aside from ranch projects and chores, I’ve been moving one daughter to Missoula (into the new townhouse!) and dealing with the other daughter’s TWO roll over accidents in less than 24 hours! Thankfully, she is fine. Then of course, came the car shopping…

This is a painting I completed recently. The subject is a difficult one I feel, as it’s so horizontal. This is my third attempt to paint Square Butte – and the first one that made it to completion. The painting is 12″ x 12″ and is for sale at the C.M. Russell Masters in Miniature Show, opening June 20, and running through the summer.

Hello. I am just in the process of moving my blog to this location from my old blogspot address. Here, you may subscribe (simply, I hope) to receive my new blog posts at your email address. See the Subscribe button under my picture.

I am just back from Phoenix, where it was incredibly HOT, and am now regrouping. I am remembering that I never showed you our ponds, only the skull we found when developing the first one. So – here is the middle pond in our west field. It is now finally turning green here (after 30″ of snow at the end of April and a little more today!)

I thought I would show you a little “start to finish”. I often like to begin with a used canvas that I have painted over. (Quite a few of them just don’t make it the first time around.) With that, you can get some interesting textures and patterns that serve as a lay in. I usually choose something that compliments the final painting tone. That seems to add a little interest for me and keeps me from getting as tight – hopefully. You can see that I changed the foreground in the final painting. The earlier direction seemed too busy. Give me some more time and I’ll change it again! This painting is 11×14.

I’ve been working on some small paintings for the upcoming Russell Museum Miniature Show and the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center Show, all of which were due today. BUT – we’ve been snowed in for the last four days (at the end of April no less!!) so the paintings won’t be delivered until next week. Anyhooo, this is a piece done from pictures I took on a paint out near Great Falls. I was attracted to the graphic design of this scene and loved the way the line of the brush moved your eye around the image. This painting is 12″ x 12″.

I should say I’ve been painting this week, but I haven’t. It is spring on the ranch and the spring projects are in full swing. We’ve developed some ponds in the west field that were just seeps – enough muddy water to sort of satisfy at least 65 pair, but in just damming up that area, we now have 3 beautiful ponds! The third one was put in last fall, and I’ve been seeding it the last few days. There are 2 pair of Canadian geese thinking about nesting there, and a lot of ducks using the ponds as stop overs. Lot’s of birds. It’s really wonderful! I wanted to put up something that shows you this area, so I reworked a photo (just a little!) of an old bison skull we found buried about 8′ down when we were excavating the first pond. There’s much evidence that the bison used to roam here years ago. A painting of this? Maybe.

Tomorrow begins the Russell Show. I thought I would post a painting that I’m taking there tomorrow. I had intended to include a lot of very colorful pieces in my show room, but several of those burned up in the explosion, and with all the stress and heartache of the last few weeks I didn’t finish the big one. My problems pale in comparison.

This is my favorite little landscape though. I did push the color. This is a Montana scene and is an oil, 16″ x 18″.

Sadly, yesterday they found Tara Bowman’s body in the wreckage of the gallery explosion. So many of us in the art community are devastated. Tara was our champion, and such a great person. Today was her birthday…

Tonight I did this computer sketch in honor of Tara. It will become a painting at some point. I will quote Kahil Gibran’s words, hoping this to be true.

“For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?
And what is it to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?”

Tara, we will all miss you so.

You may see other tributes to Tara at these blog sites:
David Lemon - http://adayinthelifeofalemon.blogspot.com/
Debi Schmit - http://www.debschmit.blogspot.com

I’ve had a lot of fun with this painting. I really did see this car with the tree growing out of it, although I’ve exaggerated that a little. I’ve been doing so many people paintings lately for the upcoming Russell Show, and at times they can “beat me up”. It was rewarding to paint this rusty bent up old car instead. The subject is much more forgiving! It’s funny that the things we wouldn’t want to have in our backyard or view shed are often things that do make good paintings! This piece is 16″ x 20″ and an oil.

Christmas is past us. We had a great day. I hope you did as well. I do have to say that I am really tired of the WEATHER here! I have spent much of the last few weeks dealing with it. Today I tried to get to town (our own ranch road / trail is 2 miles long and not maintained.) I made it half way out before really burying the truck in a deep snow drift. I spent 2 1/2 hours shoveling to get out. The wind at times was blowing so hard that it blew snow back in the tracks as fast as I could shovel. I thought I was dressed well. I wasn’t. I cannot tell you how important survival gear can be at times during a Montana winter! I was cold and wet and had to keep getting back in the truck to warm up. There was no way I could have walked home without becoming hypothermic. But – I did it – I shoveled out about 25′ on either side of the truck and finally backed out of there. We’ll be snowed in for a few days, that’s for sure. At least I’m not trying to go anywhere! These pictures were taken yesterday, the day after Christmas at our place. It was truly beautiful – until the wind started blowing, as it always does here on the east side of the Divide!