Three Out of Four Isn't Bad

Posted by Maggie

It's January 4 and I've just finished my third small oil of the new year. My resolve/hope/goal was to paint one a day, but already I can see that is going to be difficult. Maybe as the month goes on I can find time to create two on some days and thus catch up. But three paintings out of four days is okay.

These are small—the one I posted on January 2 was 4x6, as is one of these and the third one is 6x6. But I'm enjoying the small format. When I work in pastel, I like to work on large pieces, most of the time, though I do work in smaller formats when I'm outdoors. But these little oils are fun, so far. I don't like to get into a rut, though, so I'll probably try different sizes later on.

This one is actually my New Year's day painting. I had to let it dry so I could add some more warm colors in the foreground and on the sunlit side of the trees. This subject is one I've done on location in pastel. It's on the Ghost Ranch property, not far off the highway, and when I did the plein air piece (and took the photo) I was standing in front of the log cabin. I've probably taken several dozen photos of this mesa over the years, and painted it more than once. This is the first painting of the subject done in oils. Ghost Ranch Mesa, 4x6, oil on panel, © Maggie Price.

Today's painting is a corner of a building we see on our usual walk. We are lucky to have a trailhead that begins just across the street a little to the south, and the trail goes on for about 4-5 miles. If the weather permits (that means no precipitation, and not terribly hot or cold) we walk it most days, going at least 2-3 miles round trip. We also see this mountain range, the Sandias, from our front yard. I watch the mountain every day, and sometimes I think I should just paint it every day and see how many different paintings I could make of the same subject. But for today's painting, the mountain is the background, and the subject is the afternoon light hitting the corner of the adobe and the foliage in front of it.  Adobe Glow, 6x6, oil on panel, © Maggie Price. I made a couple of small revisions after photographing it, and as always, may make further changes on either of these after they "rest" for a while.