STUDIO NEWS- MARCH 2015

If you like my work I would love to hear from you.  Also please check out my online gallery at my website at Julie Townsend Studio

My "Nevada in Shades of Silver and Gold" was hung yesterday, March 1st at the Laughlin, Nevada library gallery.  The artwork will be hung until April 25th so I'm hoping to drive the 100 + miles to go check it out.  Let me know if you happen to be in Laughlin and decide to check it out.  I would love to see pictures!

It has been a busy a week in the studio and I am pretty excited how some of my pieces have turned out.  I keep selling cowbells, which make me happy and a 4th retail location has added them to their inventory.  YEAH!!!

There is a very nice art show event that is coming up here in Las Vegas and entries must be finished in May so I've turned my brushes and pens to more of a western flare.  The Annual Elks Club Helldorado Parade and Rodeo has a fantastic art show and I want to have 3-4 entries ready to go so that has been my focus this past week.

New Western Piece-Not Titled Yet

I'm still working on a name for this 12x12 acrylic piece but "Six Shooter" probably will part of the name.   I have made some slight additions to the final piece that are not reflected here.  I have added a small explosion at the end of each barrell so the rider isn't just showing the guns but is actually firing the pistols.  I'm pretty excited about how this has turned out.

Ink Sketch of my Dad

This is a pen and ink sketch I did of my dad as a young rodeo cowboy.  The reference photo is one of 3 newspaper clippings we have that show him in action.  I have painted this photo last year but this year I wanted to enter a sketch in the show.

Touching up older pieces this week

These are two pieces I painted at the end of 2014 but wasn't completely happy with how they turned out.  Sometimes it takes a while to actually finish a piece because there are changes that are decided on down the road. This week I have pulled both of them out of the closet and started repainting them.   The beach scene was flat and lacked a story.  Adding an old fence, a sandy path and a sign that reads "Beach" gives me want to check it out.  

The snow scene was first painted with a deer in the foreground but it never seemed like a good fit to me.  I decided to paint that out and put a heavy snow ladden pine tree in the front andI think the composition is much better.  I added more blue to the snow and just added a sparkles of white to give that glisten you see when the sun shines on it.  

NEW COWBELLS PAINTED THIS WEEK:

Kokopelli cowbell-SOLD

Lighthouse cowbell-SOLD

Sunflower cowbell- SOON TO BE SOLD

Helldorado- Call For Art and a History Lesson Too!

 Every year the Elks Club sponsors a rodeo and fair here in Las Vegas and along with those two events is a western themed art show and auction that has become a showcase for some really nice artwork.  This will be my 2nd year of entering and I am excited to get together with my fellow artists and enjoy the artwork.  Maybe I will even sell something!  I've included a link to the festivities if you’re interested and in the area. Helldorado 2014

This event has a long and interesting history including ties to an old local outlaw Indian named Queho. One thing I know...I love learning about Nevada history ALMOST as much as I like painting it. I encourage you to take a minute to read about this bit of Southern Nevada History.  

On a personal side note....I have on a number of occasions visited the area that was once called Cathedral Canyon located on the "Hidden Valley Ranch" off the Tecopa Highway.  This is the final resting place of the infamous Queho.  I even had the pleasure of sitting at the ranch one afternoon and having a short visit with the elderly Mr. Roland Wiley.  Cathedral Canyon was his personal project and it was amazing place to see.  He had converted a ravine on his property into a place where you could sit, meditate and think about things.  It was complete with running water and 2 working restrooms.  There was even a suspension bridge hung overhead that spanned the canyon and it is near that bridge that the marker for Queho's grave can be found.  Sadly, when Mr. Wiley passed away the desert quickly reclaimed the canyon and vandals have done their share to speed up that process.  Queho-Renegade Indian

The artwork is due April 23^rd, so I've been working on these two pieces for the past few months.  I apologize that I am breaking a very important blogging rule by posting less than perfect photos of my artwork but in reality I am more interested in just taking a minute to talk about each of these pieces and their obvious western flare.

"Best Friends"- 16x20 Oil

This first piece I’m calling “Best Friends” and my inspiration for this came from an old public domain photo of a little girl from the Navajo Nation taken in the early 1900’s.  Her smile just grabbed me nearly as tightly as she has grabbed on to her puppy.  This piece is painted in oil and is on a 16x20 canvas.

"Riding the Buckskin"- 18x24 Oil

The second piece is very personal as I painted it from an old photo of my dad, Gerry Diveley as a young rodeo cowboy.  Usually he would ride bulls and I even have a photo of him riding a buffalo but here he is riding in a bare back bronco category.  I don’t know if he made it the whole 8 seconds but I loved the action I’ve attempted to capture here and painting it was therapy for my soul.  Miss you Dad!  I’m leaning towards calling this piece “Riding the Buckskin” but like naming your children, sometimes you have to really think about the best name that fits the piece.