30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge - Catching Up

To the left is my original acrylic on 10"x10" gallery wrapped canvas I painted late into the night/early morning I titled "That Last Beautiful Sunrise" as I thought of my best friend's mom. She passed away peacefully that morning.  I'm so grateful for being able to go over to her house and make tamales with her and her family just before Christmas and before my husband and I got sick with colds. I will miss her though she left quite a legacy with her children and family. This was painting Number 5 of 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge I decided to do beginning in January. Different circumstances caused me to fall behind and so in catching up I will post the different entries up to this point today.

To the right is my original acrylic and watercolor painting Number 6 of 30 Paintings in 30 Days and also my #twitterartexhibit entry/submission "Welcome to New Mexico". The Twitter Art Exhibit is being held this year in the beginning of March in New York City. All artist participants submit an original postcard size piece of art, they are sold at $35 each with the proceeds going to a worthy local charity picked before the show. The Twitter Art Exhibit board and members are all voluntary workers with a love of art and in the spirit of generously supporting worthy charities needing financial help and support.

Number 7 of 30 Paintings in 30 days is my original oil painting "Deep Into the Canyon" on 8"x10" canvas. Thank you to my friend Angela for providing me the photo she took and gave me permission to use to do a painting. I'm very grateful to my friends and supporters who continue to encourage me and show up at events in supporting my art. She and her husband are also collectors of my artwork having purchased an oil painting displayed at Essence Gallery and Boutique in Old Town Albuquerque which had been painted as a challenge painting for "Let's Paint New Mexico" in 2015. They both love the Tierra Amarilla and Abiquiu area and I believe the photo was taken in one of those areas.

Number 8 painting is my original oil painting "From Sandia Pueblo" on 8"x10" canvas, shown to the right. Painting this was a bit different for me though I felt totally inspired by the pueblo and it's people. Interesting to me that the large Sandia Mountain in the background was painted in a very loose and impressionistic style yet the foreground was more detailed and sharpened. As I painted it I remembered going to "feast days" last year with two friends and the wonderful hospitality, cultural depth and beauty I felt. I enjoyed the "challenge" also of doing three paintings in one night to try and catch up and this was the second of three paintings done that night.

Next is my original oil painting on 10"x10" gallery wrapped canvas that is of yet unfinished though Number 9 of 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge "Couse's Back Studio, Taos" which may also be my submission and donation piece of art to be auctioned off at the Taos "Hearts and Stars" benefit to be held in March to benefit the Taos Men's Shelter hosted by Rob Nightingale of Wilder Nightingale Fine Art. My husband and I were blessed by our visit to the Couse-Sharp House in Taos a couple of years ago and a tour with Couse granddaughter, Virginia and her wonderful husband, Ernie who passed away late in 2015. It was indeed an enchanted weekend we enjoyed in Taos exploring galleries, home studios, Harwood Museum, meeting and interacting with people such as Ernie and Virginia and making it an "art experience".


Staying up late and trying to catch up recently I finished the next three paintings in one night.  The first one, Number 10 to the right, "Young and Pretty" is a mini acrylic painting with silver pen embellishment on a small 4"x4" canvas.

My original oil painting "Roses on Red" on 8"x8" gallery wrapped canvas is shown to the left and it is Number 11 of my 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge paintings.

The last one would be Number 11 and my original acrylic with pen and ink on 6"x4.5" canvas sheet painted gold "Corrales Gold". This catches me up to this morning with my 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge. I'm planning on doing quite a lot of painting in the next couple days and have just received my newest 2nd challenge photo for "Let's Paint New Mexico 2016" and will probably include that as both my challenge for LPNM and my 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge. Funny how I thought I might slow things down in 2016 but I've actually revved them up (smile). Thank you for visiting and joining me on my artistic journey and for 2016!

"Classic Still in Teal"
oil on 8"x8" gallery wrapped canvas

To the left is the photo sent to me by "Let's Paint New Mexico" for
their first "challenge" of 2016. Each artist participating gets to choose how to interpret and translate their own artwork from this photo. I chose to paint fairly closely to the original an oil painting "Classic Still in Teal" on 8"x8" gallery wrapped canvas as my submission and have placed a photo to your right. This painting is available for purchase directly from me for $125 including shipping. Two more paintings (this I am counting as #4 of 30) and I will be caught up with the "30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge" I am also participating in with other artist friends.

Welcome 2016 - It is Going to be an Awesome Year - 30 Paintings in 30 Days

"Into the Sun"
20"x16" oil on canvas

"Abstract After Okeeffe"
oil on 10"x8" canvas

Starting out the New Year of 2016 both my husband and I were

"Snowy Wonderland"
mini oil on 4"x4"canvas

recovering from a cold we caught just before Christmas though are now feeling back to normal. We've had an abundance of wintry, very cold weather here in New Mexico with snow and ice and something not normal for this area ... freezing fog. I have grown to love the four seasons found in New Mexico and also love winter where most everything goes dormant and almost colorless. It's a good time for me to catch up, clean up, reorganize and think about future growth and expansion personally and as an artist. I decided to start out the New Year with a bang, so to speak, and am participating in the 30 paintings in 30 days which began January 1st along with many artist friends.  So here are my first three paintings for this New Year and January of 2016.

I am also participating in the new "challenges" for the "Let's Paint New Mexico" art group online and will be posting those possibly included in the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge.

Updating from Placitas Holiday Faire and through Christmas and 2015

To the left are some of the paintings, prints, cards and other painted items I took to our weekend event at the Placitas Holiday Faire. My husband and I were there both Saturday and Sunday where he sold some of his handmade original crosses, metalwork and recycled plumbing lamps.  To the right is a picture of our table all set up. We enjoyed meeting other artists, vendors, made quite a few sales and saw some return customers as well as meeting new ones.

Next we got ready for the "Let's Paint New Mexico" & Jewelry Art Show at Essence Gallery and Boutique in Old Town Albuquerque.  I've been involved in LPNM for a few years, however, this was our first collective art show and it was wonderful to see the combined talent and art from so many members displayed together showing our different and unique interpretation of photos we were sent to create our art. Photos are my own three entries I entered in this show, none were "judged" though all were displayed and for sale. It was also an opportunity to meet so many artists that I had only had the pleasure of "meeting online" on Facebook mostly. My husband and I started out the evening of the opening reception with dinner at the famous Church Street Cafe just up the street from the gallery, making it into a "date night", which we haven't had for quite some time. Meeting the other artists was wonderful and people in Old Town to celebrate "Holiday Stroll" which was also that same time and night. We got to see the lighting of the Christmas tree in Old Town and the place was packed.  Really it was a very festive, beautiful although cold night filled with lots of beautiful art, jewelry, people and celebration.

Much thanks to Dee Sanchez, the administrator of "Let's Paint New Mexico" and Jillian Maresco, owner and manager of Essence Gallery and Boutique for pulling it all together and making it a wonderful show and experience for all of us. Thank you also to everyone who came, not only to the opening reception but also throughout the month of December to view, buy and admire the beautiful artwork.  This show runs through January 28th although will be closed for two weeks starting January 9th as the owner of the gallery celebrates her own wedding and honeymoon in grand style.

To close out 2015 I finished my Challenge F "Folklorico Fun" for "Let's Paint New Mexico" challenges for 2015.  Here is the photo of the final painting embellished with blank Sharpie pen, it is an oil painting on 8"x10" canvas.

We had a very wintry Christmas and into the New Year of 2016 and are
grateful for all of the opportunities and wonderful abundance we had in 2015. Both my husband and I caught colds just before Christmas and are just now feeling back to normal and are grateful plans we had before Christmas changed and we got to spend our time relaxing, resting and enjoying being home with not much hoopla for the holidays.