The Sentinel

Zoey, the Sentinel       6x8

    I don't consider myself an animal or portrait artist.  I think those two subjects require a concentration of very specific skills, in order to do justice to such "personal" subjects.  I love to add animals and people in my paintings when a particular likeness is not that important.

     This painting of Zoey was done as a thank you to the couple who extended their hospitality to me when I was participating in the Augusta Plein Air Event in April.  I could tell  Zoey was a very important part of their lives, so I took some snapshots of her "standing guard" in front of their home.  I noticed that Zoey had an unusual way of sitting with her hind leg pointing outward.  I caught shot of her with the sunlight dappling the driveway and her sitting with this special position.  When I returned to KC, I decided to attempt a small painting of Zoey to send to the Hoefts as a special thank you.  I enjoyed painting this subject so much, I may attempt some other four-legged subjects.

Oil and Water

"Falling Waters"  11x14  

        For many years, I worked exclusively in watercolor.  One of the things I loved about watercolor was the sense of realism I could achieve with a transparent medium when suggesting water in a painting.  In recent years I have changed my primary medium to oil paint.  I started to paint outdoors  and I found watercolor was too difficult to manage in an outdoor setting.  The paper dried too fast and handling the larger paper that I liked to use with watercolor was cumbersome.  

        One of my new challenges with an oil painting, is suggesting the transparency of water with an opaque medium like oil paint.  In June, I found this waterfall at the arboretum so I decided to try the running waters with my oil paints.  I had difficulty with the foamy areas especially in attempting to create a focal point near the  top.  I ended up letting the lower areas dry and placing a blue grey glaze over the frothy water so that the focal point  near the top of the falls, would stand out.

       I am going to attend the Door County Plein Air Festival again this year.  I am going to set a goal to learn more about painting water with oils.  I will watch the invited artists paint water on their canvases and I will focus my own work on water scenes.  I will post my results when I return and I will let you be the judge as to whether or not I have improved.

       

     One other item:  Several people have  replied to some of my posts asking about prices of the work on my blog.  When I set up this blog, I decided I wanted to use it primarily for sharing and getting feedback on my work, so I do not post prices on my blog.  I do have a "Blog Paintings" button on my website and I have prices posted there.  I have sold paintings that I have posted on my blog, so I am very happy for the response I have received. If you wish to get to my website, you can use the link on the bottom of this post to go to my blog.  There is a link to my website on the right side of my blog.

The Wheels of Time

" '28 Model T"  16x20

"Tractor Graveyard"  11x14

      While Gary and I  were traveling in April and May, we came across some old cars, trucks and tractors in Wisconsin and Missouri.  We took pictures of them and moved them into my picture file.  I have noticed that several of the winners in recent plein air competitions have been "old trucks and cars".

      I spent some time last week in my studio and decided to give these seemingly popular subjects a try.  I thought if I tried to paint a few of my photos that maybe the next time I saw one while painting in a plein air event like Augusta, maybe I wouldn't be to intimidated to try one.  They were fun to paint and I like the warm and cool color schemes they provided.  What do you think?

Errror

I just discovered a post written in 2007 that has been sent from my blog.  It is not from me and I don't know how it was attributed to my blog.  I will check into this.  Thank you to those who recognized that this was not from me and alerted me to this.  I hope this will not discourage you from opening future blogs from Judie Stang's world.

Art in the Vines

    Take a perfect 73 degree day,  add 30+ artists, wine tasting and music and you have a delightful event called "Art in the Vines" at Somerset Ridge Winery in Louisburg, KS.  The weather was "poetic justice" for this event that was rained out last year.  I was happy to be able to join the "Somerset Ridge" group of painters who met at classes at Artichokes Gallery in Leawood about 3 years ago.  Each artist was invited to display her paintings in the vineyard on the posts and guidewires. What a great looking event!  Patrons armed with glasses of wine, strolled through the vineyard enjoying all types of art.  A young 14 year old girl was next to me selling her art to donate to the Joplin relief fund.  There were several generations represented with grandma and grandaughter sharing a tent.

Strolling through the Vineyards

My "Augusta" paintings fit real well in the vineyard!

    I took the opportunity to set up my Easy L easel and painted the vineyards and the surrounding vista.
What caught my eye was the row of grapevines "dancing" against the dark row of trees behind them.  I kept hearing the song,  "I heard it through the grapevine" as I was painting.

"Dancing Grapevines"

   My daughter, Lisa, and granddaughter Rachel brought their puppy, Chloe out for a visit.  What a wonderful day in the sun!

Old Barn

?????

We are in Door County and last week I went out and painted one of my favorite barns on Hwy 57 just south of Jacksonport.  I have photographed this barn many times but could never see enough from the photo into the dark barn to paint it.  While I was painting plein air, the owner stopped by to see what I was doing.  He told me this was one of the most painted barns in Door County and that I may be one of the last people to paint it with the "old roof".  The new "metal roof" would be installed any day! I have been trying to come up with a title that might address this information and can not come up with any good ideas.  So I thought I might enlist my "blog buddies" for ideas. Do any of you have a suggestion for a title of the last painting of the old roof?  I'd love to hear from you. 

Sunset Paint out at Balducci's

   The final painting event was a sunset paint out and Balducci’s, a farm and winery just outside of  Augusta.  We had the day to get our paintings ready for the sale on Saturday or finish and frame any paintings.  I decided to paint on the property where I was staying.  The Hoefts had hosted the Private estate event in a previous year, and their home has a beautiful setting on the Katy trail overlooking the Missouri River.  Jeannine and Steve have become personal friends during my weeklong stay and  I wanted to paint a “keepsake” of my wonderful experience.  We finally had a perfect day; sunny, warm, and not windy.  I sat out in front of their home and set up my easel to paint the vineyard to the north of their home.  Once again, the sun provided a full spectrum of vivid colors.  Steve was working on the lawn and I asked him to pinch me because I thought I had died and gone to heaven!  My painting, “Vineyard Vista”  will be a constant reminder of an exceptional week.

Jeannine and Steve were wonderful hosts!

Entrance to the wine cellar

View from the vineyard

"Pinch me!"

"Vineyard Vista"

 The sunset paintout at Balducci’s Winery was a perfect ending to the week.  The surrounding farm and vineyards are set on several hills that provided a great place to experience the setting sun.  Artists and spectators dotted the landscape as the sun dropped into the west.  I spotted an old wagon (more wheels) near the entrance of the property.  The setting sun was creating some interesting colors and shadows to the wagon and the surrounding trees. 

This was a perfect subject for my final painting.  “Sundown at Balducci’s”  depicts the end of a day but not an end to my visits to Augusta Missouri.

Teddy, Tammy and I at Balducci's

Guests enjoyed watching the artists

"Sundown at Balducci's"

What a week!

 Pleasant Hill Winery was the sight of the final judging and art sale.  Individual 5’ square areas were designated for each artist to display the paintings they completed during the 10 day event.  Each artist was to submit 2 paintings for the judging in the morning.  Prizes were awarded for each medium.  The art sale began at noon.  I met many very talented artists during the week and I look forward to participating in future Plein Air events.