Chimayo Morning

STRAWBERRIES! Our first of the year.

They’re almost ready to eat. We can hardly wait, just hope Ms. Mockingbird doesn’t get to them first 🙂

Jack and I have taken tons of reference pictures over the years. BDC (Before Digital Cameras) we mainly took slides. We have some great Poplar Tree 2x2s, just have to pull out the trusty slide projector to view them. You can see my set up above. I project the image on the wall behind my easel. That’s Jack’s painting over the mantle, he did it especially for me. Don’t you think Peace in the Valley is beautiful? You can click on the image to enlarge it!

Watch the video above to see how I paint the Poplar Trees!

The leaves of the Red Corn Poppies are painted first, opposite of my usual method. Then the thick brushstokes of the brilliant flowers are gently “Laid” on top of the underlying paint. If I pick up any of the green I immediately wipe it off the brush, I don’t want it to muddy the intense color of the blossoms.

I go back to my regular sequence of Flowers First, Leaves Last to block in the White Daisies in the foreground.

Chimayo Morning     14 inches by 14 inches

Yellow and Orange centers finish out the Daisies shimmering in the early morning sunlight. Isn’t it amazing how the warm flowers in the foreground make the cool colors behind them drop back? Thanks for following along. Hugs,

http://www.senkarik.com

Spring Time

I just had to share a little of our garden with you today. Remember the Valentine Roses Jack got for me? Well, I think they’re happy. I know I am 🙂 Please keep in mind as you read my blog, you can click on any of the images to see them larger.

We have Irises, Roses, Bluebonnets and Red Corn Poppies. You can see more of our spring garden through the gate. Jack and I designed our gardens. My part time job over the past year has been doing the construction. I still have a little way to go but most of the heavy work is almost done. C’mon, follow me and we’ll check it out.

More Bluebonnets in the Kitchen Garden. If you’d like to see how this looked one year ago CLICK HERE.

The Jerusalem Sage is just starting to burst out in flower. I’ll keep you updated! The pink in the background is one of our Peggy Martin Roses on the arbor.

Here’s the Kitchen Garden from the window. I get to enjoy this view as I’m cooking.

Doesn’t Swannee add a neat touch to this little vignette? It won’t be long before the Sweet Potato Vine and Marigolds grow up and fill out the Talavera planter. This “Peggy” is really beginning to fill out with blooms.

We’ll go ’round the back to the Redbud Garden. Rosie (Green Leaves on the left) and Ruby (Magenta Leaves on the right) are doing quite well. They are both Forest Pansy Redbud Trees, not sure why they look so different. Could be Ruby is more mature, the leaves are supposed to be this deep red-purple color. The red flowers on the left are Salvia Greggii.

Yellow Irises nestle near the base of Rosie.

Looking from the Redbud garden back to the studio and the Fountain Courtyard. Tomatoes are planted in the bed that extends along the end of the deck to the right.

This arbor will also be covered with Peggy Martin Roses. Want to see how this looked when we moved here? Just CLICK HERE.

RadRazz Knock Out Roses and Arizona Sun Gaillardias. The unusual Sweet Potato Vine is called Chipolte! It’s a mix of Lime Green and deep Purple. You can click on the picture to see it larger. Confederate Jasmine will grow up on the trellis behind the fountain and cascade over the fence. It will be in full bloom in a couple of weeks, the fragrance will be wonderful. So that’s our garden! Hope you enjoyed a little of our spring finery. Hugs,

http://www.senkarik.com

Winter’s End

Spring is here! Today I’m starting on the second in a quartet of Santa Fe Seasons paintings. It’s a commission for a delightful couple who live in Santa Fe. The first piece was for Winter. If you’d like to see Farolito Shadows CLICK HERE.

After establishing the ground line of the building I begin drawing the bench. Perspective lines delineate a rectangle on the floor, giving me the corner points for the legs. The sketch is made in a thin oil wash of MUD (Ultramarine Blue + Alizarin Crimson) + Liquin. The canvas has been primed with acrylic rather than gesso, giving it a slightly slick surface. This makes lifting any errant lines off very easy. All I have to do is take a clean brush dipped in thinner and wipe them away.

One special request was a hen with little chicklets. I will admit it’s my term, have called the downy, yellow chicks that ever since I was a little girl!

Well, the basic plan is all sketched up and we’re ready to start painting in the next session. Hope you’ll come watch. If you would like to receive an email every time I publish a new post please feel free to subscribe to my blog. CLICK THIS LINK and scroll to the upper right side of the page. You will see a heading EMAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS. Just enter your email address and click the button “Sign me up!”  It’s easy. And if you enjoy my blog please CLICK the FaceBook LIKE Button. As we say in Texas, “Much Obliged!

http://www.senkarik.com