After doing the barn chores this morning, I headed out as usual on the 4 wheeler to give the dogs a run. This time of year I often have on a heavy coat, neck warmer, an earband and a hat with ear flaps. Today, at 30 degrees with the wind blowing I can tell you that that was not enough cover! I came back the last 2 miles with the neck warmer covering everything but one eye as I maneuvered home without getting frostbite. The line for comfortable 4 wheeling is abut 35 degrees I’ve decided! My dog Boone is running so fast, he doesn’t know the difference, but I sure do!

On to arty things, consider this your invitation to the Lodestone Gallery Miniature Show in Great Falls. The show opens tomorrow, Dec. 3, but the Artists’ Reception will be on December 9th from 5-ish I’m guessing. I am showing these two pieces.

The Prize  8″ x 8″

Silver Ribbon  9″ x 12″

I should have posted this earlier. The Trailside Galleries Masters in Miniature Show began on July 4th and will run through July 24th in Jackson, WY.  I heard that they sold 87 pieces the first night, which is fantastic! My piece, “Sail with the Clouds” has sold. Remaining is “Emerge”. If you’re near Jackson this month be sure to get to the Trailside Galleries!

“Sail With the Clouds”  12×12  oil

“Emerge’” 11 x 14  oil

Another in my series of lily pad paintings is this one. I hope it took you a minute to notice the star of the show, the little frog. I find that in nature that is often the case. Some of the most amazing things happen right before your eyes, but still  we humans can be unaware – not tuned in to the bigger picture, you know?  Noticing this frog in a sea of lily pads would be quite serendipitous! “A Shady Spot in Paradise” is an oil, 24 x 24. It will be showing at Creighton Block Gallery in Big Sky Montana, as soon as I can get it there!

I’ve been painting madly for the upcoming Western Masters Art Show, previously the C.M. Russell Art Show at the Heritage Inn in Great Falls, MT. The show begins on Wednesday, March 16th, not far enough away! I have a piece in the The Russell Wall Sale, and share display room 176 at the WMAS Show with Sheila Rieman, a great pastel and oil painter.

I have many pieces in the works, but not many are really finished. I’ll show you this one. It’s another lily pad piece, one of my favorite subjects. I like the fact that much of the painting is in shadow, and the dappled light finds just a section of this lily pad garden. I’m not sure of the title yet. This is an oil, 16×16.

Yahoo! I see that TWO of my paintings were chosen for the Paint America Top 100 competition for 2010! I am excited! Those paintings will go to Kansas and then travel with the National Show. I have been lucky and made the cut a few other years as well. I am wondering though, does having two paintings in the Top 100 move me into the Top 50? Ha! Just kidding!

These are the paintings that were chosen. “The Home Place” is 16×16 and is of a ranch homestead near my home. Much as I don’t like getting up early, I was driving down the road early one morning, and was lucky enough to catch this view of the sun coming up on Mt. Cecelia, or “Pooh Bear”, as my girls used to call it.

“The Season’s Last Lilies” is 24×24 and one of the series of lily pad paintings I have done. This particular scene is on the north end of Yellowstone Park.

Both of these pieces will be for sale through Paint America.

The Home Place 16×16

The Season’s Last Lilies 24×24

I’m now getting back into the studio. Lots going on here in the summer, kids home, cows, a remodeling project, and some sadness – several family members with cancer. Please let someone find a cure for that disease.

I did participate in the Montana Land Reliance Show last month, selling several pieces there. It was a lot of fun – and for one of my favorite causes. Tonight is the C.M. Russell Museum Masters in Miniature Show. I had intended to display my pieces here, but can’t find images of them! You may see them on page 49 in the online catalog. The event tonight is from 6 to 9 at the museum, and will be fun as always! Please come, support the museum and buy some art!

Also, I am posting a 12×12 lily pad painting I especially like, Tres Soeurs as it is a little more colorful than some of the tonal ones I’ve been doing. This piece is for the Coeur d’ Alene Miniatures by the Lake Show – now hanging at the Coeur d’ Alene Galleries. The auction itself is September 24th.

Tomorrow begins Art Week in Great Falls, MT. I will be involved with two of the five different art shows in town. I am showing in room 176 at the Heritage Inn (part of the Ad Club’s Russell Art Show) and also have a piece in “The Russell” – the show to benefit the C.M. Russell Museum. I chose to do the wall sale this year instead of the auction. That sale is this Thursday night, March 18 from 5:00 – 8:00pm. You may view the catalog online.

I’ve shown you this painting before but since this is the big week, I thought I would show it to you again. It’s called “The Season’s Last Lilies” and is an oil, 24″ x 24″. Hope to see you there!

I had been eying an older painting recently that I felt needed a redo. I began that redo with my saw and made a vertical painting square, which immediately helped the composition! Then after getting rid of the frog, adding the two flower buds and some new paint I think I have a piece I really like. “Prelude” is 18 x 18.

I have been doing lots of landscapes lately. I’m not quitting the figurative pieces, but I feel I need to gather some more good research in that regard. I hope to get to some rendezvous, rodeos, Native American events and biker rallies this summer!

Yes, it is another lily pad painting! This is one of the paintings I’ve been working on the last few weeks, and it may represent a little breakthrough for me. I have usually used a medium to thin and dry the paint which makes it easier to use as well, but the medium also smooths the paint out, getting rid of much of the texture. This time I used paint without the medium, and wha-la! Brush strokes and texture! It seems so simple a solution, I know, but we all get stuck in our ruts.

Anyway, I’m quite happy with this piece. I had called it “A Quiet Place” but think I’ve used the title before, so I enlisted my daughter Kristi to come up with it’s new name. Much better I think. This painting will be in the wall sale at the The Russell Museum Show in March.

“The Season’s Last Lilies”" is an oil, 24 x 24.

I’m still working on two larger paintings that aren’t finished enough to show, so I thought I’d put this one out there, a little painting done on location near Ennis, MT. one autumn. Is that Ennis Creek south of town? I painted from the bridge as the sun was going down.

On the larger paintings I’m working on now I’m playing with a palette knife which I haven’t done much, trying to develop a more textured surface. It’s been fun to experiment a little. The surface is quite different than that painted with just a brush.