Having Reached the Turning Point

Yesterday afternoon was spent sequestered in my studio, under my wonderful LED daylight lighting, completing the painting begun during our stay in Stanford. It felt wonderful to be in the comfort and security of my studio, immersed in painting and letting go of all stress and worry as the artistic spirit overtook me once again.

Here is the completed jump racing picture, a photo of it in an intermediate stage and a photo of the start of the painting in the hotel room. Even though I began this painting only about a week ago, it feels like a century has passed!

Having Reached the Turning Point / oil on linen panel / 14 x 18

Intermediate stage

Hotel room beginning

Snowy Trip Through the Mountains

My husband and I were delayed returning to home by a major snowstorm in the Sierra Nevada mountains. The freeway was completely closed for a while so we had to hunker down in our hotel a little longer than expected. Finally we got a sunny day, the roads were cleared and we made it home. I give a heartfelt thanks to all of you who commented on my blog while we were traveling and for sending your best wishes for my husbands recovery. We are both so happy to be home, he is well on the way to a complete recovery and I have learned how much I appreciate the little things - like my very soft pillows, our English teacups, the way the afternoon light moves through our house and the wonderful people who support and sustain me here in cyberspace. A very deep and heartfelt thanks to all of you.

Here is a short photo chronicle of our drive home through the rugged and snowy mountains:

The I-80 is the main road from California into Nevada

This photo shows a glimpse of the Truckee River at the bottom. It is the only river to run out of Lake Tahoe and tumbles down through the mountains into my home town of Reno.

Finally we are back in civilization!

And some imagination and fun at the easel - I don't know what to call this creature with the upper half of a man and the body of a bull!

Oil on linen panel / 20 x 16

Man in a Yellow Suit and Various and Sundries.....

Man in a Yellow Suit / oil on masonite / 16 x 12

Hotel room setup

Steeplechase in progress

Sketchbook page

Sketchbook page

The light in my hotel room is providing me with a great challenge - you can see the garish color in man with a yellow suit. I admit I was experimenting with some new paint colors (rose madder in particular) but was surprised at the intensity once I moved the painting away from the fluorescent light in the bathroom. I long to return to the overhead daylight LED lighting that I have in my home studio. For the work in progress steeplechase painting, I am trying to place my easel close to the window and away from artificial light. However, its raining again and very dark and dreary outside.

If all goes well, my husband and I will pack up our things and head back to Nevada on Tuesday. He is recovering slowly but steadily from a major surgery that he had last week at Stanford Hospital (the reason for our trip) and it will be good to get him home and back to a normal routine again.

Man in a Red Suit

Man in a Red Suit / oil on canvas panel / 16 x 12

Close up

My husband and I are unexpectedly traveling and spending time in California for family reasons. We will be here a bit over two weeks and I decided to bring my plein air painting supplies along with me. This morning I set myself up in the hotel room and found some time to paint. It's a little awkward and cramped but so far, is working out fine. The weather has been rain, rain and more rain - good for California and good for staying inside and experimenting in oil paint!