A Very Special Studio Guest

I was so blessed to have a studio visitor last week and we had so much fun doing this collaborative work on my newest piece while it was still in the "Work in Progress" stage.  My adorable grandson was so proud that he got to help me paint the grass in on the bottom of the canvas.  This was the best blurry picture that I could manage to get of him because he was so excited about getting to use real paint on grandma's painting.  Of course I watched pretty closely to make sure none of that green got up into my blue sky or on my cute little calf's nose.

When I look at this sweet boy that is smart as a whip, his head full of curly golden hair and his impish smile, I can't help but feel blessed.   It also makes me mindful of my own great memories of time spent with my grandmother.  She and I might not have created art together but we did spend a lot of time playing games like Yahtzee and Chinese Checkers.  She loved to go fishing and I was also her little fishing buddy.

I grew taller and she began to shrink and become frail and weak.  Blindness and loss of hearing plagued her final years and then one day I sit there beside her bed, holding her as she took her last breaths here on this earth.  I sang the old hymn "What a Day that Will Be" at her funeral.  It's been 16 years since she left but I miss her terribly.  I think she was a believer, though most of her life you couldn't see it outwardly.  She had met Christ in a real personal way as a teenager and I'm certain that she never denied that belief.  She didn't go to church, I never saw her reading her Bible, but I do remember her teaching me to sing"Jesus Loves Me".

Art is a great connection to children because they have such creative hearts and fresh minds but I need to take it further.   I need to use these little studio times to share my faith, establish a legacy by finding ways to spend more time with all of them.  Praying more diligently for them and their parents, claiming God's promises over their lives and pointing their hearts towards our Heavenly Father.

But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children, (Psalms 103:17)

Painting in My Daddy's Studio

IF YOUR INTERESTED IN SEEING MORE OF MY ART THEN PLEASE CONSIDER CHECKING OUT MY GALLERY PAGE ON MY WEBSITE AT:  JulieTownsendStudio.com

This weekend I took my little art show on the road. I'm under the belief that the majority of artists have to spend the time hocking their wares and braving the elements before attaining a certain level that allows them the freedom to just pack up their creations, ship them off to prestigious galleries and let well dressed sales staff do their bidding. So from the bottom levels of small parking lot art venue, I have spent my past weekend being cooked like a lobster in the hot Nevada sun on Saturday and then to have my artwork blown around like neglected laundry on the clothesline on Sunday.

Today, I sit here drinking my McDonalds coffee still feeling the effects of the weekend on my sunburned and windburned cheeks.  All this in the name of marketing my art. I can't believe how a little fresh air can make one feel so exhausted.

The exhaustion subsides slightly however, when I remember my art excursion yesterday. Dragging myself out of bed was the biggest challenge, but once I had my feet firmly planted on the floor I then turned my attention to packing my art bag and a yummy picnic lunch.  You see,  plans had already been set in motion to meet my artist friend and teacher, Lily Adamczyk for my second plein air experience.(Painting outdoors)

There is just something about sitting in view of a magnificent panoramic vista that makes me consider the greatest artist of all, my Heavenly Father and this amazing masterpiece He created for me to enjoy. When viewing the mountain range that stretches before me in preparation to start my painting, I look at my palette of available colors that I have just squeezed out and my mind considers just how to combine them to come up with the blue of the sky, the reds and golds in the rocks and the amount of green versus browns in the foreground. Is that more alizarin crimson or would I use more dioxazine purple to match that dark strip that runs throughout the full distance of the cliffs? Is the sky more ultramarine blue or do I need more of the cerulean?

Three hours just pass by as I hurriedly try to capture the scene on my canvas before the sun completely changes. I only stopped for a few minutes to eat the lunch I had packed with such thought and care earlier that morning. No longer was the priority in my mind the roast chicken, fresh fruit and edamame salad that I had placed in my cooler, but rather my unfinished canvas and the dream of what my finished piece will look like.

If you haven't painted outside of the confines of 4 walls and artificial lighting for sometime, then consider, as we approach this spring season, to pack up your paints and brushes and go paint in OUR DADDY'S STUDIO.

Beautiful Red Rock Canyon just outside of Las Vegas

Lily working on her second plein air piece

My second plein air attempt...not where I want it to be, but certainly improved from my first trip