February through March 5th, 2018

Thank you for bearing with me as I've updated this blog with posts from August through today catching up. I intended to update by January 1st and that got away from me. I appreciate each and every person who takes the time to read my art blog, it is my way of journaling my journey being an artist with the twists and turns life throws in. Thank you for those mentoring, encouraging, supporting and buying my art, I love being an artist and sharing the gifts my Creator has blessed me with and in no way take any of that for granted. I'm grateful that with this posting I will have met my goal and can keep my art blog updated from now on.

Above are photos of Destiny Buck with the commissioned oil painting I completed of her and her cousin "Wanapum Pride" on 16"x20" canvas.

My Challenge 3 submission for "Let's Paint New Mexico 2018" was a joy for me to paint. It is "Arroyo Hondo Northern New Mexico Charm" an oil on 10"x10"x1 3/4" gallery wrapped canvas.

I reworked a painting that began as an abstract and never quite "spoke to me". Some of it is straight from my memory and mind and some from photos and places I have been in New Mexico.

Challenge 4 LPNM was indeed a challenge for me as it includes a truck and landscapes are really what I love to paint. I did make a conscious decision last year to paint every single challenge painting given to me. Some participating artists choose not to paint some of the challenges though, for me, I have felt growth and expansion in myself and my art by having to look deep for beauty, color, and substance in some common or average scenes. I love challenging myself to paint every one of them and like the feeling of accomplishment once it's painted. So here is my oil painting "Albuquerque Vintage" on 8"x10" canvas.

I started an oil painting on 16"x20" canvas of the area around Abiquiu, New Mexico and then felt like I needed a break from oil painting so I started some colorful painting on birdhouses I bought. These are all still in progress so stay tuned as I do more detail and painting on both the oil painting and the birdhouses. A great thing that happened is as soon as I posted this photo on Facebook another artist that I admire asked if I sell the birdhouses and said she wanted to buy one, so she gets first choice when they are finished.

Another break from oil painting is this original acrylic painting "Taos St Francis Church" I painted on 4"x6" Canson watercolor postcard.

Challenge 5 LPNM is "Sacred El Santuario de Chimayo" my oil painting on 8"x10" canvas. Having visited this special, sacred church and viewing the photos people place to be blessed and watched over, watching as people gather some of the soil said to have healing powers, during Holy Week the pilgrimage of so many on the high road to Taos carrying crosses and walking with the sick I felt very inspired while painting.

More work on my still in progress oil painting on 16"x20" canvas of the mountains around Abiquiu and feeling accomplished and good that with this post I am now up to date and have fulfilled my goal.

Thank you for visiting my website.

Happy New Year & New Excitement with Life 2018

Beginning 2018 two challenge paintings were left to finish for "Let's Paint New Mexico 2017" and meet a goal I'd set for myself to finish 2017 well, even if a little late. So with that in mind, here is Challenge 21 my oil painting "Almost to Abiquiu" on 16"x20" canvas. I have to say that particularly with this painting I felt a distinct change and expansion in my painting that began last May with other changes in my life starting.

Next I began my final challenge painting for LPNM 2017 Challenge 22, oil on 16"x20" gallery wrapped canvas "Amazing Abiquiu". The sides are painted gold and this is a beautiful ready to hang piece of art that is available to purchase directly from me.

My first original painting for 2018 is "Sunset Sipping" an oil painting on 4"x6" watercolor postcard that I painted as my possible submission for the Twitter Art Exhibit being held in April in Canberra, Australia 2018. I decided I would paint three different 4"x6" paintings and choose one to submit for the show and sale.

In between paintings I started reading Dr. Daniel G. Amen's book "Making a Good Brain Great" along with some other inspirational and thought provoking reading material suggested in our goal setting workshop to stimulate and motivate new ideas and positive approaches to growth.

After receiving the photo for Challenge 1 for LPNM I completed this mini oil painting "Adobe Morning" on 3"x3" canvas.

My second 4"x6" postcard sized oil painting was
completed shortly after Challenge 1 and I pleasantly surprised myself with the detail I got on such a small sized painting. Also surprised I completed this painting in one day although I have to say I was exhausted by the end of my painting session (smile)!

Two hours of painting produced the final 4"x6" oil painting on Cotman Water Colour Postcard shown to the left "GorgeUS Taos". Next I had to determine which small postcard sized painting I should send to Canberra, Australia for the #TwitterArtExhibit.

To the left is a collage I put together to help make the decision of which painting to submit to Australia and to the right photo of my submission on it's way! I am more than happy and excited to be a participant of #TwitterArtExhibit one again this year with a worthy charity (Pegasus Riding for the Disabled of ACT Inc.) receiving 100% of the funds raised by the sale of these postcards.


I finished up the month of January with my oil painting "Rail Runner Express" on 8"x8" gallery wrapped canvas and Challenge 2 for "Let's Paint New Mexico 2018".

November and December 2017 Update

November felt almost like a new beginning for me as evidenced by this photo I took of myself November 9th with the first oil seascape I painted while taking instruction from Mrs. Alice Goodman in 1998. Off of all medications for high blood pressure, having released almost 30 pounds and enjoying my life, husband, family and friends I also began feeling a new creative energy in my painting.

November 25th (the day after my birthday when I donated $210 to "Feed a Billion" and one day before our 34th wedding anniversary) I finished my "Orange Crepe Paper Poppies" oil on 3"x3" mini canvas and Challenge 15 for "Let's Paint New Mexico". Here is the photo and my completed painting.

In December I went to a goal setting workshop with one of my goals being to catch up with my "Let's Paint New Mexico 2017" challenge paintings before the end of the year as well as other paintings I had started and needed to finish to start fresh for 2018. I'm happy to say that December 17th I finished my oil painting commissioned by a dear friend and so will post the finished painting. It is an original oil painting on 16"x20" canvas titled "Wanapum Pride".

I combined my LPNM challenges 17, 18 and 21 with this mini oil painting "Nature's Gifts" on 4"x4" gallery wrapped canvas and that same evening my husband and I went to a dear friends home in Corrales where she hosted Los Posadas for Christmas. Here's photos of my finished little painting and of us at that beautiful and special event.

For Challenge 16 LPNM I did an oil painting on canvas that I mounted on watercolor postcard and named "New Mexico Postcard". 

Challenge 19 was a mixed media painting on pastel Mi-Tientes paper "Floral Surprise", leaving me with only three more challenges to finish on Christmas Eve 2017.

December 27th I completed Challenge 20 "Seco Sunset" my mini oil painting on 4"x6" canvas and also reworked my Challenge 10 oil painting on 8"x10" canvas "Jemez Valley Vermillion".

December 28th I received my order of art supplies from Dick Blick and got the news my nephew was stopping to visit on his way home to California after his road trip to Washington DC. What a great day combining two of my very favorite things in the whole world, family and art!!!

Life Changes and Refocussing October 2017

In May 2017 my husband made the wonderful and life changing decision to have weight loss surgery after being told of a wonderful bariatric surgeon close by in Albuquerque, New Mexico who not only does does the surgery but also has classes/group meetings each week to educate and prepare for surgery and life after. Meeting Dr. Duc Vuong, head of bariatric surgery at Lovelace Hospital Westside, has been instrumental in bringing better health and living into our lives. I decided, myself, to begin "Dr. V's Diet Challenge" via Facebook and attend the weekly group meetings as support for my husband. My husband had his surgery October 2nd and because of Dr. Vuong's guidance released 70 pounds prior to surgery also getting off prescription medications for diabetes and high blood pressure. I can't begin to express my appreciation to Dr. Vuong and his team for his help and involvement in educating and motivating both of us to embrace his program in improving and expanding our lives. Here are pictures of my husband with Dr. Vuong, with one of his nurses, Amanda and another of my husband the end of October.

During the month of October I did a few paintings, starting with this mini oil painting on 4"x4" gallery wrapped canvas for Challenge 13 of "Let's Paint New Mexico". I thought of combining some of the photos I'd been sent from LPNM into one painting to speed up my process of catching up though decided against it even though I fell quite behind with the challenge paintings. I began to feel a change in my painting around this time which I attribute to my own better eating, exercising and expanding my mind by opening myself up to new friends, new ideas and motivational, inspiring words by my husband's doctor.

My husband was feeling so good by the end of October he
began making his recycled lamps, as he describes them, and we both had sales at The Blue Portal in Old Town of his lamps and some of my paintings/framed prints. Here are some photos of his lamps that sold and my original acrylic painting.

During this time I touched up/reworked my 2015
"Let's Paint New Mexico" challenge painting "Sacred Red" on 10"x10" gallery wrapped canvas, continued painting and progression of my commissioned painting for a dear friend while really noticing the change in my painting with completion of my Challenge 14 oil painting "Lone Hollyhocks" on 4"x4" gallery wrapped canvas.

August and September 2017 Update

So much has happened since my last update August 1st so instead of trying to update everything in one post I've decided I will start with August and September with the paintings I did during this time. So the first painting I'll show is my mini original oil painting on 4"x4" gallery wrapped canvas "Hello New Mexico" and from the I-40 traveling across the border from Arizona into New Mexico eastbound.

Next I did a preliminary sketch with Prismacolor pencils and silver gel pen in preparation for a painting for "Let's Paint New Mexico 2017" challenge 12. Each participating artist is given a photo with a New Mexico theme and does their own rendition of that photo in whatever medium they choose. So here are my sketch and acrylic painting "Fence Descanso" on 5"x7" Canson Watercolor Postcard.

I reworked my original oil painting "San Antonio Mission circa 2000" and found a beautiful frame I think is perfect for it. This frame can be either hung on a wall or displayed on a shelf or tabletop and is available for purchase directly from me. If interested please email joanne@neelygomez.com to work out the details.

In September a dear friend of mine commissioned me to
paint an oil painting as a gift to her
daughter of a special horseback ride during a pow wow earlier in September. I started the painting in September and will post some  progression photos here, the painting carried through a few months and the finished painting along with photos of Destiny receiving it will be posted in following posts.

Working small toward the end of September I painted this mini oil painting on 3"x3" canvas, it was from a photo I took on our way home from California earlier in the year and near a dear friend's mother's home located somewhere between gallup and Bluewater in New Mexico. This was the last painting I did before a very busy time when I knew I'd need to focus on personal issues that would take me away from painting a little while.