April 7 - Vincent van Goat

In getting ready to go to my sister's for a day-early Easter dinner, I painted this 9 x 12 oil of Vincent van Goat from reference material taken yesterday. Betty is just as good with a camera as she is with a brush, and the close-up reference shot of Vinny was just too good to ignore. I know I will treasure this painting of "my boy", one of the friendliest and willingest Saanen wethers I've ever known. He was born in Spring, and fell into my hands. i had Tappy, his mom, as a milk goat. He seems to be looking back over his own life, with many trails and places. New life begins in the spring--I discovered a nest of house sparrows in the electrical box of my camper today! But along with new life, comes the loss of old life.
House guest Betty Billups received news of the death of someone close to her, and she's heading north to the funeral. The mural will be on hold for a few days. So many people seem to die in Spring...I think that is purposeful, to get us to move on into summer and get on with our own living, and to rejoice with all the new life in the cycle of the seasons.

Many have asked what I'm going to paint tomorrow--but I have no idea yet, except to say it will be from my heart. Thank you for joining me on this journey.

January 29 - Goat Packing and Painting on Location

Since I am still working on the capturing the subtle grays that are permeating our drought-stricken landscape, I headed out today with Vincent van (Pack) Goat for an afternoon of plein air painting. Going about a mile up the canyon behind my studio, I stopped, turned around and painted the view back toward the city. Hard to believe a city of over 150,000 people is just down beyond those trees. Original oil, 12 x 16 inches, complete with goat hair! $200

Just for fun, here's an image of Vincent van Goat and I on our way out to the valley behind us to paint the image above. Vince carries everything--there's a tripod, Open Box M, stool, water, carrots (for Vince) and all supplies in his red carry bags (called panniers).

The setup with Vincent critiquing the location wearing his packing "clothes". It's deceptive, but there's a long downhill hike behind him to the trail in, showing above his noggin. He ate for about 30 minutes, and then just lay down until I was ready to pack up. Follows me like a good dog! We didn't get back to the house until about 4:30, and it was getting on toward sunset, and a lot cooler.