Winter update, November 2019

 I'm not very good at updating this art blog, because I'd much rather be out painting plein air, or trying new media in my studio. But here are a few of my best from the past year.

I love this fresh and loose direct watercolor in a Wayne Thiebaud style. He taught me art theory course at UC Davis and I fell his influence in my watercolors. Direct watercolor means no pencil drawing, just diving in with watercolor. My reference was a photo of the beer taps at bar at LAX airport. Contrary to my usual 'originals only' rule, this is available for purchase as a giclee print, matted to fit nicely in an 12 x 18 frame. Please contact if you'd like one

Last winter I did watercolors in the studio from  photos. It was definitely too cold to stand outside and paint. And snow is very reflective and we had 12 feet of the wet stuff.  

The Green Church is a local landmark and starting point for cyclists and runners, spring through fall.

I experimented with watercolor on pastel paper and then added dry pastels to capture the various birds that we saw feeding  over the winter. This is a Clarks Nutcracker who only comes if we have a lot of snow. They cache seeds and if they are buried they can't get to their food stores, so they come to our feeder.

 Cassin's Finch in the snow at our feeder. Pastel over watercolor.

Stellar Jay 

Spring 2019 was fabulous for wildflowers and painting, it was the Super Bloom!

Desert Peach Blossoms
watercolor and pastel

Super Bloom at Joshua National Park 

A workshop with Al Setton and the art gang on the central coast of California provided new vistas,  like a rusty boat in dry dock, both are plein air watercolors.

The Old Derelict,  1/2 sheet watercolor

    Sunset at Pismo Beach,  watercolor and pastel

More experimentation with pastels and watercolor

New Mexico Sand Dunes
watercolor and dry pastel 

The Lilacs, oil pastel over and under watercolor

Oil workshop in Paso Robles with Karl Dempwolf

Halter Ranch and Winery

Mission St Miguel, Paso Robles 

Halter vineyard view at harvest time

Aspen Glory, oil painted on site (plein air) 

It was glorious fall morning and the aspen surrounding the shallow pond in Aspendel provided a vivid tableau of bright gold.

Life is good!

Spring update with new work

This update features paintings from the summer and into winter. 
The California drought is over! We have had so much snow this winter in the Eastern Sierra mountains that we are all expecting great wildflowers and full streams. Because we've had so much snow this winter that I painted in my studio from my photos to  avoided the blinding bright reflections off the snow. Some of the work is from sketch books, some is done on vacation, and I trued several different media. 
I'm still having a great time playing in my studio and meeting up with friends to sketch and paint. 
Life is good!

Please leave a comment or contact me for more information :-)

These are called Rock Fringe Penstemon growing in the small cracks in the Granite. This was painted in watercolor, plein air at Olmsted Point in Yosemite National Park. 

During the month of June I challenged myself to paint daily, and directly in watercolor, without sketching. It was a great way to increase my confidence and try new subjects. 

FoxGlove growing in our garden, part of the daily challenge in June.

I enjoyed trying my hand at watercolor florals and created a calendar featuring my efforts. I print a small desk or wall calendar every year. If you'd like one please contact me. 

 More daily direct watercolors       

I traveled to Soledad Mission and painted with a group of like minds. Windy but lovely. We traveled to the Pinnacles National Monument and painted the watercolor and cactus to the right and the plein air oil below.

Pinnacles National Monument, plein air oil 

 

Summer cactus, pastel over a watercolor wash. 

This is a watercolor was in the studio from a photo that I took on hike up the Mammoth Crest. After several weeks of smoke and ash, I was finally able to hike and paint outdoors. These are the fragrant Brewers Lupine that carpeted the rocky summit. It was an amazing experience.  

This is an 8x10,  oil painted on site near Bridgeport of the Pinon pines and sage brush. Its my favorite oil from my work in 2018.

This was my largest studio oil, 24"x 36" a commission for my step daughter. Inspired by an aspen grove near our home, titled 'Aspen Love'.

I painted these two oils 11 x 14for close friends who spent last summer driving to Alaska. The upper one is Lake Louise, BC.The lower one is another Glacier in Alaska. It was fun to create a personal memento for each couple.

We traveled to Baja Mexico near Loreto in the Sea of Cortez. The Gigantica mountains and Danzante Island captured my attention and paint brushes. What a lovely place to capture my imagination. 

Plein air oils at the resort, Villa Del Palmar, Danzante Bay

The first snow on sage brush lent itself to a small 6 x 8 oil painting. It was a start of my snow a paintings in 2019.

We had a lot of snow! This was from Facebook post and I just couldn't resist the challenge of the snow and reflections. A small 6x6 watercolor. 

 

 

Watercolors painted from photos taken on x-country skis or snow shoes. The snow reflections are intense and blinding so I've learned to paint from my photos.

Watercolor of the avalanche chute at Convict Lake.

This is Mount Tom, a local iconic image near Bishop. Mixed media, with watercolor and pastels.

If you see something that you'd like to know more about or purchase, please contact me: debbcampbell@gmail.com