Painting During the Flood

We've had a lot of flooding in Colorado, but luckily my studio stayed dry and I had the opportunity to work on a painting while we waited for the rain stop. I love the iconic "Tree of Life" image-I even do a "Tree of Life" sunset painting project with my students based on Gustav's Kilmt's painting of the same name. So, I decided to create my own "Tree of Life" themed painting while the rain was pounding on the windows and creating rivers across the roads.

"Tree of Life-Deluge" acrylic, 2013

Trip to New Mexico: Classic Truck Painting

It seems like every time I go to New Mexico I see at least a few of those old classic pickup trucks; some are really rusty, while others are in pristine condition. I'm not generally into classic cars and trucks, (nor any vehicles, to be honest), but there is something sculptural and nostalgia-inducing about these trucks. It's not uncommon to see classic trucks, which clearly don't run anymore, displayed as sculptures (either intentionally or inadvertently) in yards and driveways. The classic 1950s Chevy pickup truck in a field with weeds sprouting up around the tires, or in front of an old adobe house with a bright New Mexico sky in the background is an iconic image of the Southwest. There were certainly some great paintings of this sort of iconic scene in the Santa Fe and Taos art galleries, but they weren't exactly within our budget. So, after taking some photos of a classic 1951 Chevy pickup truck that was painted an amazing shade of "light sky bluish-turquoise" in Taos, I decided to create my own "classic truck in the New Mexico landscape" painting. I also love the New Mexico skies and adobe buildings, so of course I had to sneak those in as well. This was also the first time in months that I've used oil paints, and I really enjoyed working with oils again.

"Taos 51 Chevy" oil paint, 2013

Here is a photo that my mom, Susan Flook, took of a really interesting classic pickup truck displayed as art on a small side street in Santa Fe. Too bad I missed this one when we were out there.

"Santa Fe Truck Art" digital photograph by Susan Flook, 2013

Photography

I realized that I hadn't posted any photography in a while. I guess with digital photography it doesn't feel like I am creating something with my hands the way it used to when I would develop images in the dark room. However, there is still something to be said for creating a unique image, digitally or otherwise. Here are some landscapes, botanicals and portraits from this summer. Click on any photograph to scroll through photos one at a time.

"Bamboo Eye" 2013

"John Dunn Bridge" 2013

"From the Rio Grande" 2013 

"Petals" 2013

"Rocky Mountain Shadows" 2013

"Storm on the Rio Grande Gorge" 2013

"Animal Sanctuary Tiger" 2013

"Leaf Drops" 2013

"Cactus Stars" 2013

Bighorn Sheep Painting

Fun fact: bighorn sheep have oval-shaped pupils.

When I was looking at various reference images of big horn sheep (I've seen them up close, but it has usually been while driving up to ski, so I don't have any of my own close-up photos), I thought that the eyes had been photoshopped. Apparently, they really do have pupils that look more like a jelly bean than a circle. Actual bighorn sheep are better camouflaged in the Rocky Mountain landscape, but I wanted this guy to pop out, so I enhanced the contrast by making the sheep more colorful than any bighorns you might see up in the mountains.

"Colorado Bighorn" acrylic, 2013

Boulder Flatirons Painting

I realized the other day that even though I've lived in Boulder for over six years I had yet to do a painting of the Flatirons. Many would call the Flatirons an icon of Boulder. I think technically the Flatirons fall under the category of "foothills." They are jagged rock formations that look like they shot up out of the ground. We have enjoyed a lot of hiking and climbing on and around the Flatirons, so I have positive associations with them, which I wanted to show in my painting. I chose to do a simple but colorful representation of the Flatirons, giving them a warmer color than they actually have when seen from such a distance (although, I noticed when climbing the Third Flatiron that the rock was actually very red in some sections).

"The Flatirons" acrylic, 2012

Wedding Seating Board

We decided to use a seating board rather than individual place cards for the seating at our wedding reception. You can pay someone to create a large printed version of one of these, but I decided to make my own. Because our wedding was in the mountains (Estes Park, CO) I wanted to keep a mountain theme. I ended up using a cork board rather than a canvas since it was cheap and came pre-framed. You can still see a little of the texture from the cork surface, but overall I like how it turned out.

New Mexico Landscape Painting

This is a painting of an area in New Mexico called the Valle Vidal (near Taos) that I love. We've gone there almost every summer for the past few years (minus last year when the forests were closed due to high fire risk). Hopefully we'll be able to get back there soon!

"Valle Vidal" acrylic, 2012

Landscapes/Cityscapes!

These are a few of my landscape and cityscape paintings and photographs. The first three paintings are plein air paintings that I've done the past two summers in New Mexico.

"Old Adobe House, Santa Fe, NM"  2010,  oil on canvas board

"Rio Grande Outside Taos, NM (Pilar)" 2011, oil on canvas board

"Red Hill, New Mexico Sky Reflections" 2011, oil on canvas board

"Prayer Flags in Aspens" 2009,  oil on canvas

"Houses Reflected in Venice" 2009, digital photograph

"View From the Rialto Bridge at Night, Venice" 2009, digital photograph

"Bridge Reflections in Burano, Venice" 2009, digital photograph