Summer time!

In door still life, after grocery shopping.

An overcast day hunting for lizards this is Priscilla...

This is Rufus, wet from hopping in pool. May be overcast but it is steamy monsoon season and lizard chasing is hard work!

I grew something!

HP Pavilion tx2500us key

Here is a pic of the HP Pavilion tx2500us key that I dropped the battery pack on.

Catching Up

Went painting downtown Tucson. Toward the end of the temperate season, I get sick of mountains/sky/cactus. Found these buildings next to the original presidio that started this town before the United States had been established. On my trip to visit relatives, I crocheted this amigurumi cat in airports and on planes.

Here is beast-let Rufus, looking for rabbits and lizards.

This is beast-let Priscilla being fuzzy.

Painting 09

Top painting most recent, this morning in fact! Unique to find a big chunk of color like this fushia flower bush in the dessert so had to focus on it. Totally changed my palette. Early morning blue mountains with sun kisses.

My birthday. A slot canyon that the entrance had been filled with sand one monsoon season was suddenly dug out after 3 years! This is my favorite spot in all of Honey Bee canyon; quite a gift!

Had not painted in 3 months, painfully akward to get your groove back.

These are items from Gail's mother's house.

An update

Posting some pics, A few more updates soon.

Here is my 2D animation work area, light table for drawing, Automatic document feed scanner and laptop. All on one table! Also have hole punch, pencil sharpener, and file box for organization.

Here are Priscila and Rufus in the back yard after a walk.

Fall In The Old Pueblo

Have been going to some gallery shows. Maynard Dixon at the Museum of Art. Other artists say my work looks like his so had to see what they were talking about. It is a compliment. He used a similar palette, more realistic, less romanticised. No yellow bushes with purple shadows. You just do not see that in the desert! Also very graphic shapes, which I use also.
Went to the Temple of Art Gallery to see Jim Waid's work, a contemporary, abstract artist that always has a 3D quality. Gail and I sat on a park bench on the upper porch at the temple and did quick 5 inch by 5 inch studies of the clouds. Planes were bringing tourists from the cold states.
The artist Jim Waid also has a show at Pima Community College, so we saw the city from that vantage point and went up to "A " mountain to catch the view. This is the road that winds around the hill. Painting is 5 X 7 inches.

The next week after google mapping the area, we found the right spot to paint the distant city.

I did not want to be so close to be tempted to paint every window and frustrate myself. This viewpoint is from a home site of a development that has not sold the sites at the end of a
cul-de-sac. Eventually there will be a luxury house were I sat. There was a nice morning haze that lifted as the morning proceeded. This painting is 9 X 12 inches.

In the "Sculpture for Animation" class, we did presidential busts, this is my Abe Lincoln caricature. He is about 8 inches tall.

Here is Priscilla, exhausted after a hair cut. She has fine thick hair and a impatient disposition. Rufus wants the attention and sticks his nose under the scissors just as you are about to cut her hair. He did not need a hair cut, but he lays there half asleep in bliss, so he receives excellent trims. Priscilla always ends up ragged.

I took pictures of Abe with my "old" Sony and found this puppy picture of Rufus on it!

His ears are not standing up yet!

Been busy!

How could it be so long between posts? Summer came and went, did not get much swimming in. Brought out the blanket last night so plein air painting season has officially started. This is the last of the summer inside still lives. There was a vase a flowers there but it did not make it in the picture!

Tried painting in 95 degrees, stuck it out until the sun came over the ramada I was sitting under.

This is San Pedro chapel in the Old Fort Lowell Historical Neighborhood. My favorite part is the American flag.

Tried again, 90 degrees. Was toasty by the time we set up at 9AM so we agreed to be speedy.

Was home by 11:30 as the temp crept towards 100.

This is me sweating it out. Got a new painting equipment. That is the lightweight aluminium easel.

The black bag is lightweight too and takes up an acre when opened up.

Classes started at the Art Institute of Tucson. This is the project from the first day of sculpture for animation, an exercise to learn the materials and process. We made a storybook dwelling in 4 hours from concept to paint. I taught by example. Base is 3 inches wide, whole thing fit in the toaster oven.

And here are the Yorkies! Priscilla standing and Rufus laying down. They are not jumping in the pool to cool off any more, but still prefer it for drinking.