Come on in!

 

The garland has been swagged 

and our wagon wheel wreath is hung...

We've been decorating this week and we're just about ready for the

 

Gardiner Christmas Stroll...

Thursday November 29th from 5 pm - 8 pm.

A fun event in Gardiner that lots of people come out for. Our doors will be open with treats and refreshments on the table. Stop by and get in the spirit of the season.

 

If you can't make the festivities of the Christmas Stroll, we'll be here

Friday November 30th from 10am - 1 pm

and Saturday December 1 from 4 pm - 6 pm.

 

Hope to see you at the Gallery.

Lessons from the Masters...

Carol Guzman, a very good friend and artist, gave a talk this week in Bozeman...Sowing the Seeds of Art. So I was there. She is a wealth of art knowledge and I listen closely to what she has to say.

Carol has studied art most of her life and has been to most of the great museums. She has seen A LOT of fabulous art. In my office hangs a postcard from her trip to Russia to see the Levitan exhibit. Lucky girl. So she's seen many of the Masters work up close and personal. She knows "the good stuff".

Along with her art talk, she presented a slide show with many photos from recent museum trips. I picked out a couple of my favorites to point out here. I think it's important that more people see "the good stuff"... it trains our eye and our taste for beauty in this world.

Click the title links below and look closely at the way the paint is handled in these two paintings - absolutely beautiful!...

Cecilia Beaux - Man With The Cat, Henry Sturgis Drinker 1898
Pay close attention to the cat. Amazing - you certainly get the feel of the cat relaxed on his lap, but not one "hair" has been painted.

Abbott Henderson Thayer - Roses 1890
Pay close attention to the vase. The highlight is made up of bold abstract brush strokes - but boy does it work against those soft roses.

So with that inspiration, I set off to the Yellowstone Heritage and Research Center. In honor of Thanksgiving, I painted a fork, spoon and knife from the Yellowstone Park Hotels - used about 100 years ago.

My subjects....

My oil study....

I wanted to set off the beautiful colors in the spoon and other highlights, so I chose to make the background a light violet. (At the Research Center, objects are generally placed on archival foam, which isn't always my favorite choice for a painting background.)

 Yellowstone Park Hotel Silverware   12" x 12"  oil

Now let's look closely at how I handled the paint...

I tried to create interest in the painted surface - loose juicy paint against thin softer passages. But from farther away, I want it all to 'come together'.

You can do a lot of research on line these days. But it's still not the same as seeing them in person. Train your eye and your sense of beauty. Keep the museums busy and study the Master's paintings.....They certainly give us something to strive for!

My painting buddy

Doesn't say much - but a great painting subject....

This week my "painting buddy" at the Yellowstone Heritage and Research Center was a Sandhill Crane from 1931.

Usually, the crane is on display at the Fishing Bridge Museum by Yellowstone Lake. But, like the eagle I painted recently, also has been brought back to the Yellowstone Heritage and Research Center for some cleaning over the off season.

A wonderful opportunity to study a Sandhill crane up close and personal. I learn a lot from seeing birds and wildlife close up (and very still!) at the Research Center. Details that I'd certainly miss from a photo in the field, I get a chance to study. Beaks and feet on birds are particularly interesting to see up close.This week I was focusing on the head....

While the Sandhill Crane is here at the Yellowstone Heritage and Research Center, I'm planning to do a lifesize portrait of the crane. These studies are leading up to that large canvas.

How could I forget??...

The swans.....and cygnets, too!

There were many on our day trip through the Park. But I put the photos in my 'percolating pile' and forgot to post them with my last blog.

I know there's a painting in there somewhere, I just have to find it...
After all, painting white, (without using pure white of course!), it one of my favorites.

 

Yellowstone Pics

Gardiner is the only year round entrance to Yellowstone National Park. I love living at the entrance where we can drive into Yellowstone year round - I certainly take advantage of that privilege!

All other roadways into the Park (except Gardiner to Mammoth to Cooke City which stays opened year round) have recently closed for the season, as usual.

It's always a treat to take one last 'pass through' to the areas that will be closed - the wildlife are out and the roads are quiet. So we did that the other day - and I took along my camera....Enjoy...

Coyotes were the wildlife sightings of the day... We saw 5 total - in their gorgeous 'new winter coats'.

 

Mammoth Terraces - amazing how quickly they change. (opened year round)

 

Mammoth Terraces - I hadn't walked by this area all summer, and what a change I saw! Really interesting colors and formations right now.

 

Elk lounging on the Terraces. (And there were A LOT more elk roaming through the town of Mammoth.)

 

Blue Grouse out walking along the road.

 

View of the Falls from Artist's Point

 

We had the view of the Falls all to ourselves.

 

Except for this badger I spotted tucked behind the trees at the Falls.

 

Always fun to watch coyotes hunting in the snow.... Got 'em in 'mid-leap'!

 

Swan Lake under Electric Peak.
We're 'just over the hill'. Our property has a great view of Electric Peak from the 'other side'.

 

The moon over Swan Lake Flats at sunset.

 

And of course, another coyote!

The roads to these destinations are now officially closed for the season (except for the Mammoth Terraces). BUT, you could always take the snow coach or a guided snowmobile trip once the snow flies. We'll leave that great adventure for another blog....