Roosevelt Lake, Arizona Plein Air Oil Painting

     Well it has been a while since I posted... anything!  Life got to me and now I am back and plan to become more consistent in writing more art blogs!  I have new goals, a new family member (Ari 2 years old), new religion (Nichiren Buddhist), and I feel like a different person.  I am loving life though no matter what obstacles the universe brings to me.  I find those obstacles are there to better myself.
   
     I have been a fulltime hygienist at a really cool dental office, but still make the time to paint and enjoy my hobby as an artist.  I love to challenge myself in painting, critiquing myself to always improve in my skills.  This last Labor Day holiday weekend, my parents from NM drove to Tucson, AZ to go camping with us in their RV at Roosevelt Lake, AZ.  It was a beautifully scenic drive and we even hit some rain on the way back home from the trip.  Things didn't go as planned on the trip, but nothing is perfect.  I did, however, take the time to plein air paint in the early morning while the kids were asleep!  I loved it all!  I did have to finish up detail work so the landscape didn't look so flat.

"Roosevelt Lake"  

8" x 8" oil paint on canvas board

You can check out this painting here:

"Roosevelt Lake"

Lone Sailboat

"Lone Sailboat" was a plein air painting created in oil done on location at Moonlight Beach in Encinitas, California around early afternoon.  I took to this sailboat that was drifting by as I painted the water and the waves.  Painting from life outdoors is my favorite way to paint because it allows me to paint faster and more accurately. Painting faster helps to capture the colors of the ever-changing light and shadows.  I am inspired reading about the original impressionist like Monet, Renoir, Degas, etc.  Painting outdoors allows me to enjoy nature as well as finding inner peace. 

Moonlight Beach

Moonlight Beach was the inspiration for this oil painting.  Located in Encinitas, California, it is one of my favorite beaches because there are no rocks in the sand.  I painted this in plein air, or on location last summer.  Wishing I was there right now!

Reflection of a Great Blue Heron

"Reflection of a Great Blue Heron" is a plein air composition completed on location.  It was done at Fort Lowell Park in Tucson, AZ.  I found the perfect spot in the shadow of a large sign. Where I sat showed only the reflection of the bird sitting on a branch of a log in a pond with two big trees in the foreground.  Luckily, the bird perched on that branch the whole hour I painted him!  An ant bit my lower back, but it was definitely worth it.