Friday, May 27, 2011

Late spring renewal...

May 27, 2011
As I was saying before time warped and accelerated and I now find it’s the end of May already…wow how does that happen?
I have just returned from almost 2 weeks in the Midwest visiting family and friends and takes me longer to bounce back from long trips than it use take.  It was a good visit; I didn’t get to see everyone I’d like to have seen because I have stopped renting cars and started taking public transportation. I now use Amtrak, Metra and CTA from place to place in and around Chicago, Indiana and Michigan.  It does limit just how many people I can get to in one visit, but it saves me a lot of money and I make my “carbon” foot print a lot smaller. I also am a little overwhelmed by city traffic after 22 years in Prescott, Arizona.
I came back with very sore knees – there are so many stairs to go up and down in the Midwest.  I guess it makes up for the flatness of the landscape?  With degenerating kneecaps it’s a challenge - but I am home and recovering,  thanks to my first of 5 Supartz injections!  Ahh the miracles of modern medicine and Medicare!
My planning drawing on a red background.

When I last did a blog entry I was working on a diptych of a “wash” down in Skull Valley, Arizona. I was going to try and master acrylic painting on a larger size painting.  I have been doing smaller canvases for years.  I wanted to move away from the toxic fumes that oil painting presents.  Well…so much for good intentions, I just didn’t like it at all. I ended up repainting the whole painting in oil over the acrylic.  I used the acrylic as an under painting and it worked out fine. See below. I paint on a red or purple under painting because it makes your colors “POP”! It’s a technique I learned from my friend Dan Rupe.  Google Dan -- his work is wonderful, he was a big influence on my work.  I have facetiously likened it to painting on black velvet. The final results are below.

“Skull Valley Wash” diptych on stretched canvas panels, 24” x 18” combined,  $765.
I also recently completed two other landscapes in oil on canvas.

“Sweet Nectar”, ocotillo in bloom with a visitor – an Anna’s humming bird, 24” x 18” an oil painting on gallery wrapped canvas, unframed for $645. Or framed in a barn wood frame for $795.

I love to paint aspen turning to gold in the fall up in Flagstaff, Arizona. They line up like soldiers, standing straight and tall in full dress uniforms!

“Fall in Line”, oil on canvas, framed size 14” x 17”, $365.
I took a bunch of photos from my window seat flying back to Phoenix on Tuesday and I am thinking I am going to do some smaller (9”x9”) very loose and abstract watercolors from those photos.  I also was inspired by the pastry counter and freshly baked bread at a Whole food in my old home tome of Northbrook, Illinois and my friend Patty’s Tres Leche cake and her strawberry pie --- great eating and I see some oil paintings out of those photos.  I took lots of Chicago Street scenes as well as the very green trees through the windows of my friends home. 

 

It was a very good trip and I came back tired but renewed in so many ways. I even managed to get my Linne Thomas Art facebook page up and running this week. Happy last days of spring.
Yours truly,
Linne


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