BONJOUR....oui France

BONJOUR dear friends

STAY IN TOUCH with me

I will be creating cards and postcards of France

with GIVEAWAYS 

to those who sign up for my blog (including those already signed up) 

with extra opportunities to win every time you comment on my blog. 

 Providing the Internet works well in the French countryside I

 will post on my blog 

everyday

 the last two weeks of June.

Passport, panel carrier, sketch book, easel hats and

DREAMA TOLLE PERRY (workshop instructor)

calendar for June

My latest painting below

Monmouth Plantation Gardens
Natchez, Mississippi
16x16 oil on one inch canvas covered cradled board
Click here to purchase

ViILLA ACEQUIA GARDEN WALL plein air painting

Villa Acequia Garden Wall

Villa Acequia Garden Wall
6x8 FRAMED oil on gessobord
Click here to purchase

Painting outdoors cooperation with the Corrales Garden Tour, this plein air painting shows a newly created garden wall including a doorway, arch and bell....a magical touch for a villa built in the 1860s.  Corrales is a rural quaint farming community on the outskirts of Albuquerque.  

VILLA ACEQUIA en plein air

VILLA ACEQUIA

Villa Acequia
painted outdoors on location
FRAMED 6x6 oil on gessobord
Click here to purchase

For my beloved non spanish speaking friends
Villa Acequia
simply means house on the irrigation ditch

This Villa was constructed in the 1860s and has been used as a winery, courthouse, private residence, dance hall, art gallery and as the social hub of the village of Corrales.  The Corrales Village is unique in its traditions, way of life, history and agricultural roots.

On June 8, plein air artists were invited to paint at eight different garden locations in conjunction with the garden tour.  The entire event was very successful.  It is such a joy to paint outdoors in beautiful weather and on this day, it was only in the eighties while the previous few days had been hotter.  I was so grateful!

I will post a second plein air painting from this event soon.

SAILBOARDS ASHORE

SAILBOARDS ASHORE

Sailboards Ashore
Oil on canvas covered cradled board, FRAMED
Click here to purchase

Many years ago I had a time of my life windsurfing off Kihei, Maui, Hawaii.
I was a pro.

Just a few years later I went windsurfing off the coast of
Cozumel, Mexico and for the life of me couldn't catch the wind
without
dumping myself in the water.

What happened?

It is just as well these sailboards are parked
on the white sand beach
in Perdido Key, Florida

A younger sister lives in Florida
Maybe she will help me relearn this skill?????

VENTURA HARBOR IV

VENTURA HARBOR IV

VENTURA HARBOR IV
12x12 oil on gessobord
Click here to purchase

Besides painting en plein air in Ventura I also took many photographs so that once I returned home to New Mexico I could continue to paint the boats, water, harbor, and buildings.  I got a very good sense of the setting, could smell the salt water and feel the humidity so missing here at home.

I love the color the paddle and surf boards, flags and canvas sail covers add to the scene.  Adjacent to the building, there are many umbrellas under which to enjoy a fish sandwich or a spicy Mexican meal.

If you haven't been to Ventura you would be missing something.  There are quaint shops, hotels, restaurants and even a weekly flea market.  Ventura is fairly quiet with not a lot of traffic, my kind of place.