I Am Tormented With an Everlasting Itch

Herman Melville, author of the classic novel "Moby Dick" once said—"As for me, I am tormented with an everlasting itch for things remote. I love to sail forbidden seas, and land on barbarous coasts."  Well this morning I have an appreciation for part of that statement....I'm back home in Missouri and am also "TORMENTED WITH AN EVERLASTING ITCH" due to a countless number of chiggar and mosquito bites.  

I stopped counting at about 10 on my right ankle and leg with new ones appearing every few hours.  What makes some of us cursed to be part of the insect food chain while others, my husband in particular, can trop around through the underbrush completely oblivious to all those micro predators and the vast jungle of toxic foliage that cover earth crust of this beautiful state.  

Thinking back about my happy childhood growing up here in the Ozark hills, I find that I often suppressed the bad memories.  Maybe that is some sort of self preservation trick that my mind plays because you see, I have always been on the list of favorite menu items for any and all of the blood sucking and panty line biting pests that were created to inhabit this earth as a result of Adam and Eve and the original sin.  Thanks a lot grandma Eve. 

Looking back,  I'm pretty sure that all my childhood teachers thought me to be in a constant state of sunburn as my complexion was more bright pink than peach due to the vast amounts of "Rhulicream" that my mother had to apply to my body or I would have surely gone insane.  Scratching was just a way of life and the every night "TICK" checks were part of the night time routine the same as  putting on your PJ's and brushing your teeth.  

As my usual practice, I decided to deal with my current stress by turning to humor and art to take my mind off my discomforts.  I had forgotten the chiggers were so small and such a beautiful shade of red.  No larger than a dot from my pen and yet they leave itchy red spots the size of dimes all over your extremities.  They love to get in tight places so all the bumps at my sock and panty lines are a testament to their feasting. 

We had only stopped for a few minutes on a picturesque spot of dirt road we had found.  I walked in the grass just a few feet to get in the back of the truck.  Brad on the other hand tromped all over the area and was even sitting there on the ground enjoying the little shady creek that we took our refuge by.  I sat in the truck the whole time with the door open and feeling itchy.  I couldn't find the culprit but I had the distinct feeling that I was being bitten.  The next morning the tail tale signs were there, pointing to what I had suspected- CHIGGERS!

This is just for fun....if you want to see my serious artwork, please check out my website at Julietownsendstudio.com.  You won't be disappointed.

The Grass is Greener Because Cows Poo is Good Fertilizer

"Always Greener"

I love this adorable little jersey calf checking out the grass growing on the other side of the fence because we all know it is GREENER there. I love how cows can lick their noses with those giant pink tongues.  I find their faces to be so expressive and yet at the same time be completely clueless.  This adds to their appeal and charm and makes painting them so much fun.  I hope I managed to capture that cow essence here.

This original artwork, which is painted on a 16 x 20 inch gallery wrapped canvas in acrylic paints is bright, colorful and is sure to make you smile each time you look at it.  If you or someone you know is into country, farm or western art this is the piece for you!  If you are interested in purchasing this piece or perhaps ordering a set a greeting cards or a beautiful art magnet you can visit my website gallery at Julie Townsend Studio.  Let me know if you like what you see.

Gardens, Galoshes and Gravy

"Fence Post Rendezvous"

I am FINISHED!!!! And I finished this piece just in time to enter it in the Elks Helldorado Art Show today.  It was close, down to the wire actually, but I made it and am very pleased with the final results.

  I can say that with each painting I do, I learn so much.  This piece contained several difficult elements in the composition.  The children for one and the horse for two. This is the 5th painting in a series of pieces that I have titled "Down Country Roads".  Painting these pieces has provided such therapy to me as I recall little moments in my childhood growing up in the Ozarks of Central Missouri.

It has been my desire, with each piece I paint, to capture your imagination, strike a sweet chord with your own childhood memories or tell an interesting visual story that grabs your attention.

My mother always had a large garden plot that she put out vegetables in each spring and then we would reap the benefits come summer as we would start the harvesting the best tasting produce you can imagine.  The memory of the taste of fresh snapped green beans and tiny new potatoes cooked up with a piece of ham in mom's old cast iron skillet still makes my mouth water today.  I've made that comfort dish numerous times for my family but it has just never been the same.  Mom would tell us kids to go out to the garden and pick green beans, radishes, cucumbers, squash or tomatoes to add to our dinner that most often consisted of a fried meat of some kind, mashed potatoes and gravy.

I can also remember that I always had a pair of rubber boots to wear to protect my shoes from the snow, slush and deep mud.  For the area to be so green there must be lots of rain.  Way more rain that we have here in Las Vegas.  Most of us can barely justify owning an umbrella let alone buying full on rain gear for our children.  We also called those rubber boots "galoshes" and I remember having red ones that matched a red raincoat and hat with little yellow daisies printed on it.  I was quite stylish as I made my way to school in the rain.

In keeping with my other pieces in the series, I added the blue morning glories and tall grass along with several hidden creatures.  See if you can find two tiny baby cotton tail rabbits, a fat toad and a nest of quail eggs.  They are there, I promise.

On a personal note this piece is really special for me because I used my own grandson as model for the toddler reach in the basket to get a second carrot for the interested palomino.

I hope you enjoyed this little labor of my love and I invite you to check out the "Down Country Roads" series on my website and leave me a comment letting me know what you think.

Heading Home

Heading Home- 12 x 24 Original Acrylic

Every year at this time I turn my focus to my entries into the annual Helldorado Art Show and Rodeo that is put on by the Elks Club here in Las Vegas.  It is about the best art show I have participated in and again this year I am looking forward to adding my entries to the assortment of great Western art that I know will be there. It is a great afternoon.

In this piece that I just finished,  I am trying to capture the excitement and strong emotion felt by both horse and rider as home comes into sight.  The curious cow paused from her grazing to stare as they quickly pass by.  

Even before urging from the rider, the horse has picked up his ears and quickened his pace.  His long black mane flows outward as it begins catching the breeze as he trots down that familiar road.  There is cool water, oats and sweet alfalfa waiting inside the doors of the big red barn.  The rider knows that very soon the aroma of his dinner cooking should soon begin filling the afternoon breeze.  It was a good run  and both horse and rider have enjoyed the freedom of their time together, but now it is time to be heading home.  

To see more about this and my other work, check out my gallery on my website at  Julie Townsend Studio Gallery

This Week in My Las Vegas Studio

This week I have had several opportunities to work on my current piece that I think I'm going to title, "Something to Crow About" .  This is #4 in a series that I am working on called "Down Country Roads".  Each of the planned 5 pieces will have the repeated focal of blue morning glories that are situated on either a fence line or the edge of a country gravel road.  This show is my tribute to my rural Missouri childhood and my interpretation of being raised "Country".  All five of the pieces are paint with a touch of humor in mind as you can search to find little hidden surprises among the tall blades of grass. 

Work in Progress- #4 in the series- "Something to Crow About" 

Promotional Flyer for Down Country Roads

If you live in Southern Nevada or are planning to be passing through during the month of April you should make plans to stop into the gallery in Boulder City.  I think the show will be worth seeing in person. (Of course I'm little biased I think!)  

# 3 in my Series-"Fence Post Curiosity"

The other night I was discussing the piece I completed last week of a Jersey cow and her calf with a fellow Mountain View Christian School parent.  She really liked my work and seemed happy to talk to me for sometime about it. She made the comment to me that she really liked my style and how I painted in a way that was both a realistic and yet whimsical.  I hadn't thought of that before but I have had a number of comments about illustrating children's books since I started this series.  You never know where your art will lead you.  

Sold this small 5x7 sketch that I called "Enjoying Good Literature" at the Boulder City Art Gallery today.  I LOVE RED DOT SOLD stickers!  WOO HOO!

Canon Pixma Pro 100

My new studio buddy arrived just this week and I am so excited to learn how to use him.  He is a Canon Pixma Pro 100 and that baby is touted to be a great professional quality printer and so I'm excited to be able to print my own greeting cards, magnets, prints and promotional flyers from the comfort of my own home.  I hope to have all the above available at my April show.

GO BIG!

Little Bird nest we found in our back yard 

Just recently my husband was doing some much needed yard work in our back yard.  This included the difficult task of trimming a rather large mesquite tree that we planted a few years back.  Mesquites are popular native desert tree but they can be a maintenance monster.  Complete with giant thorns and the tendency to grow such a thick canopy that they often become top heavy and are easily toppled by our frequent high winds.

He and his many chain saws played lumber jack and laid waste to the branches and very soon our back yard was covered with the handiwork of his labors.  It was there among the branches that he noticed a birds nest remarkably unharmed as it lay there covered in debris.  I thought this little nest would be a nice addition to our Christmas tree so I took it and laid it on the branches.

I took note of some of the materials that this unknown bird had worked so hard to gather and weave to create a home for her family.  There were leaves and twigs which would be expected as building material but I also found what appeared to be pieces of twine added to the collection.  It made me think about a scene in a movie that was a favorite that I would watch with my kids as they were small.  "Sarah Plain and Tall"  Actress, Glen Close while playing the main character of Sarah had just cut the hair of young Caleb and she gathers his hair and tosses it around the yard so the birds can make nests from his curls.  I too was the family barber and always remembered that scene when I would sweep my boys very beautiful blonde hair out into the yard.  I would think about what pretty nests the birds will soon have in my trees.

The twine in the nest made me think about if a bird might use a piece of colorful string for nesting material.  They probably wouldn't be attracted to red string as it might draw too much attention to their nest but I thought that using this idea would make a great subject for a new sketch that I wanted to share with you.

I drew a little chickadee that was busy gathering grass and twigs for a nest when he comes across a large ball of red string.  Often in life we are faced with decisions that may seem out of character and we often choose the safe route.  That is definitely a description of how I have most often made decisions.  I am an accountant after all.  As an artist though, I find myself in the same place as this little bird and I'm ready to start casting off the safe and predictable in 2016 and push myself to a new level with my art and this blog...I think it's time to  drop the twigs and grass and THINK BIG!

Think Big

YOU GOT TO LOVE A BLUE RIBBON

This is me and my EXCITED face!  I was thrilled to find that my piece called "Edge of the Herd" took first place in the acrylic category at the Helldorado Art Show this past weekend.  This is a really nice western themed show that I have participated in for the past several years.  I just didn't think this small piece would receive any type of singling out or I would have done something with my hair!   

"Edge of the Herd" 1st place winner in the Acrylic category

To even add to my surprise, my entry called "Stories Around the Fire" also took second place.  I'm just tickled pink here.

"Stories Around the Fire" awarded 2nd place in the Acrylic category

Slaying Dragons

This week I decided to paint a piece inspired by an adorable photo of my grandson taken by his dad while out on what he called "An Adventure".  It brings me back to the time when I had 3 little boys of my own and I can say emphatically that I loved being the mother of little boys.  Their energy and their adventure loving spirit would often land them into some sort of trouble.  There were moments that stand out in my memory and are not easily forgotten.  Like the time I came to work to discover that the jar of escaped slugs had all taken residence in my purse or when I found my best cooking pans being used as shovels to haul dirt from their diggings in the empty lot.

Yes, little boys want nothing more than to have a warm sunny day to explore the nature around them.  The protector, hunter and brave warrior characteristics that God instilled in their very DNA comes out in full view just like it did this day with my grandson when presented with only a field of grass and a stick.  

The action in the reference photo was fascinating and I knew I had to try to capture it.  My grandson out with his dad traipsing through a field of tall grass and you can see the spirit of adventure all over his face.   I added the stick into the composition but I'm pretty sure he would pick up one on his own very soon after this photo was snapped.  Its a natural action for 4 year old boys to pick up a stick and turn it into a gun or sword.  

I called this piece "Slaying Dragons" because I could imagine that his look of intent is the result of his mission to seek out some hidden enemy or foe as he carefully parts the grass in advance of his path.  Intently looking for movement or a spark of color that will alert him to the illusive dragon that most likely lies in wait just a few steps further up the path. Sword or dagger in hand ready to battle to prove his braveness, this little boy will grow up to someday be the strong protector of his own family.   

"Slaying Dragons"- 10x10 Original Acrylic on wide gallery wrapped canvas

Faces and Feathers

At the beginning of April I started an oil painting that I found to be very fun to paint.  Using a reference photo that contained 7 or so roosters full of attitude, perched on a stone wall and the flavor of a favorite Robert Duncan piece I came up with my own creation of the scene.  I even used a palette knife to lay in the stonewall and that is a first for me.  I had to put it aside as I worked on a large commission piece and so this week I was finally able to get back to give these guys some faces and feathers.

I'm trying to remember to use brighter colors and I think that the mountains came out looking pretty good.  Even though they are close I laid the colors loosely and didn't try to focus not as much on detail as impression.  This is a technique I'm going to use again for sure.

I think a nice barn wood frame is in order and as soon as it drys a coat of varnish will finish it up.

If you are interested in purchasing any giclee prints of this particular piece visit my Fine Art America site at:Julie Townsend- Feisty Fowls

Watch Grass Grow

I have blogged a number of times about my painting lessons that I am taking with a very talented local artist by the name of Lily Adamczyk.  If you have followed any of my former blog posts you know that I have been painting only for the past 2 years and have been using acrylics up to this point.  Taking lessons from an accomplished artist and learning a new medium like oils can open one up to a new level of critiquing that facebook friends or family dare not provide.  In their defense 1. they probably don't want to hurt my feelings and 2. even with all my bad habits I demonstrate a level of skill they may not have themselves.  

I chose for the subject of my first solo oil painting a field with three longhorns.  Well, actually two longhorns and a calf.  We took this photo somewhere along the road while traveling in Nebraska.  I loved the look these bovine gave us as we forced my 14 year old niece to stand in a field of corn so that we could take her picture. You don't come across too many fields of corn in the Nevada desert so we made her pose all across the countries bread basket states.  Actually, now that I think about it, I haven't seen too many longhorns in Las Vegas either.  Regardless of what crazy things we were doing to make them stare at us like this, I loved this photo and knew immediately that I wanted to try and paint it.

So as I began painting out my scene on the blank canvas, I couldn't really get around the fact that my subject was surrounded by a great deal of green grass.  I decided to split that up with a small stream running across and to have a distant barn on the horizon.  As I posted this painting on facebook, I received a number of compliments about the way I painted my grass.  So, I proudly carried my partially completed work to my most recent painting lesson so that Lily could get a close up look at my masterpiece.  I was sure the she would like the way I handled the long grass in this composition because I tried to follow her instructions on the painting I had done previously that I call "Memories of the Road Home".  Boy was I WRONG!!! 

Lily's first comment to me was that she see me making this mistake all the time and she is going to break me of my bad habits, especially when it comes to painting grass and having things springing up from the edges of my canvas.  I guess that meant that she didn't like the tree I added in the corner.

The first correction she had me do was to add more contrast to the grass areas by adding brown squiggly lines in different directions. After these are completed, I'm going to come back in with a light ochre to simulate the grass that has gone to seed in my photo.

 
With this close up, you can see that I have started adding the contrast to the grass and have worked to DEFINE the BOVINE by darkening the shadows and highlighting the areas that are being impacted by the sunlight.  I can honestly say that this action has resulted in a marked improvement.  Lily is always right.

This is close up of an area that I have not yet added the contrast and I can see what a difference this makes in the overall feeling of the grass.  

I was thinking about the fact that for so many year I have not viewed nature with "ARTIST EYES" and now I am trying to interrupt what my memory remembers it to look like.  The randomness and imprefections that exists in nature is missing from my pieces because I'm trying to interrupt it and not really obeserve it.  What I really need to do to improve my paintings, is get outside and literally "WATCH GRASS GROW".

Nosey Girls- 18 x 24 (Oil)

No Pain-No Gain

Yesterday, was my scheduled 4th painting lesson.  I was anxious to progress on the current oil painting that I am working on of a fallen tree up on Mt. Charleston.  The difficult thing for me when it comes to taking these lessons is that I feel insecure because (1.)  I'm painting in oils and (2.) my natural approach to the subject is very different from that of my instructor.  Each step of the way she gives me instructions on the next process in the piece and often I don't produce the result that she is wanting.  Either I am trying to be too detailed, over doing it or not doing enough.  This can be frustrating, but as I have stated many times, I am self-taught and obviously in many aspects, self-taught incorrectly.  Bad habits can be hard to rid oneself of if they are deeply ingrained and apparently my bad habits have very "deep tap roots".

I was excited to take along my most recent painting that I call, "Memories of the Road Home" and one of which I have been very happy with. As I painted this one, I had tried to remember the points I have learned in the book I am reading by Margaret Kessler entitled, "Painting Better Landscapes" and the things I have learned so far in my 3 previous painting lessons that I have taken with Lily Adamczyk and all in all I thought I had done a pretty good job.  Boy was I mistaken!

This is my original painting that I had completed that I am calling, "A Memory of the Road Home".

I was sure that Lily would discuss a few things that I could improve on to make it a better landscape painting.  After all, there could only be a few minor changes that I could do to improve it because the overall piece was done well, or at least that was what I thought.  It was the last few minutes of my lesson when Lily suggested that we take a look at what I had brought along.  She picked the canvas up and in a matter of 30 seconds or so she said..."Do you mind if I...." and she grabbed a roll of masking tape in her other other and began placing pieces of tape in different directions on the surface of my canvas.

Lily said that when you are painting buildings it is very important that you emphasize angles and lines and the best way to insure that they are straight is by using masking tape.  As you can see, I was blind to the extent that my lines and angles were off.  Only the tape showed me just how crooked they were.

Lily then proceeded to pull out her brushes and paint palette and go to work on the roof of my old homestead.  She explained that the detail of painting each shingle wasn't necessary but what was more important was getting the base colors correct and giving just the impressions of the tiles.  That was also her advise when it came to old wooden slates that the house is comprised of.

Lily giving me a lesson on how to improve my painting

I was amazed by her ability to add a few colors together and come up with the perfect matching color to use for those old green shingles.  She mixed Alizarin Crimson, Phthalo Green,  Black, and White to make the shingles.  We also added a blue tint to the path way to give it interest.  My other notes include- STAY AWAY FROM WHITE...and throw away your fan brush.  An angle brush works great because you don't have to paint every blade grass, rather give the impression of the grass.

My piece in it's current stage of transformation.  We have brought the one tree down into the foreground, added a stone wall, radically changed the grass and my path.  I am still working on lightening the grass and detailing some of the foreground. 

It was a painful couple of hours, but my resolve is to turn the PAIN into GAIN and remember that critique, no matter how painful, will make me a better artist.  After I finish this piece a second time, maybe I will start a second painting of this same house so that I can reproduce this effect on my own from start to finish.  Perhaps this view with some overgrown rosebushes and an old tire swing would make and interesting composition.  Practice makes Perfect...and I need a LOT of practice.

Frustration to Fruition

How long is it in an artists evolution before painting becomes so natural that you no longer hesitate to achieve the perfect grass, trees or rocks? I mean these are the staple to any good landscape.  Here is an example of my question-I started a 24 x 36 inch painting of a series of grass covered hills and find myself painting over my grass twice now and I'm still not happy with the results. This bothers me is that I went to bed frustrated and woke up this morning feeling even more frustrated about this painting. Even if I don't go back into the studio today, I know the half finished painting is there and so are those grassy hills that just don't seem right.

 I find myself still painting at times out of order and thinking to myself, "How long before this process of creating a painting becomes natural and EASY?" I know that I try to paint too quickly and don't spend enough time really thinking about where I am going with my composition, otherwise I wouldn't still be painting a tree before I've finished my background. I think better planning out the steps of my painting will help me with this. I always know the basic subject matter that I am going to paint but I don't spend enough time focused on the steps needed to achieve that painting. The one I am working on now started out well enough.  You can see the progression of the painting as I follow these steps:

STEP 1-Sky is painted w/clouds.

STEP 2-Lay base layer for the distant rolling hills.

STEP 3- Paint the distant grass details on those hills.

 (It is in Step 3 and find that painting this much grass with my fan brush is time consuming, painful to my back and makes me very tired.  This is the step that I rushed through because a 24 x 36 canvas covered with grassy hills gets tiring and then I thought I would like the way the grass looks better if I paint the foreground trees. MISTAKE.

STEP 4- Paint details of grass, dead tree and shrubs in the foreground and maybe add a deer as an additional focal point. 

 Not yet finished because I still need to add much of the foreground details which include the tall grass, the road and the dead tree. I added the deer last night and I think he looks great if I can say so myself.  This one probably will be several more weeks before I feel it is completed and ready to be added to my gallery page, but at least I find myself today warming up to it.

The road is steep here because of the hilly terrain and the overgrown shrubbery hides your view as it descends down the other side.  You can only see a hint of it as it continues around the grassy slopes covered in summer wildflowers.  Suddenly, you stop dead in your tracks as you notice that you have just startled a young buck feeding on the tall grass and you know that at anytime he will bolt but for this moment you both are frozen as you stare in awe and try to memorize the ripples of his muscle, the shade of his fur and the number of points on his rack.  If this painting makes you feel this way, then I have succeeded in transforming my Frustration into Fruition.

The Artist's Vacation

For the past several weeks, I have been working on a piece that got it's inspiration from my Utah vacation last summer.  My husband and I spent some time exploring Marysvale and the surrounding area.  Utah is so beautiful that you can't help but be inspired.  Most people go on vacation for a week or two a year and enjoy their destination, snap some photos and maybe even post some of their favorites on facebook. For the most part, these photos soon are set aside to collect dust on the shelf along with the many other albums and scrapbooks.  Not so when you're an artist.  Those vacation photos are so much more than a pretty collection of sunsets, trees and mountain ranges.  Rather they are important research materials.

So, every time I tear into the plastic wrapping to open a new canvas and I  place that blank, stretched cloth on my easel, I begin to remember those details.  My mind begins sorting out those scenes from the clutter of today's busy life and I soon am dusting off the memories of a pleasant and peaceful Utah afternoon.  Soon I am transported back, walking among the tall grass, surrounded by beautiful trees and the music of the Sevier River moving past.  I can hear the sound of the creaking boards from an old bridge that spans it's banks,  built over 100 years ago and now abandoned.  It is the blessing that artists like myself get to experience when they find themselves deep in the their creation.  How hard I work, trying to capture that moment in time and have my audience feel that same amazement and peace I felt on that beautiful Utah afternoon.

I look at other artists and their amazing talent to paint breathtaking landscapes and know that I may never reach that skill level, but I am so in love with the feeling I get when I am deep in a painting.  That feeling that wakes me up in the middle of the night so that I lay there considering what changes I need to make.  No, I will not give up.  Being an artists is an amazing blessing because I get to revisit my experiences over and over and so while I may be in my studio working, I am actually "Gone on Vacation".

You can read the history of this old bridge at : http://www.marysvaleutah.org/things-to-do-things-to-see-marsyvale-utah/scenic-hotspots/131-marysvale-bridge-sevier-river-marysvale-utah.html

Seasons

I've been a bit distracted the last few weeks, so my current painting that is on my easel is taking a bit longer for me to finish.  I thought I might just give everyone a peek preview...I think I'm going to call this 12x16 acrylic painting "Seasons".  When I was in Utah a few weeks ago this idea came to me to paint the life cycle of an oak tree and have all 4 seasons reflected in one painting.

Now, at this time I have a bit more detail to add but I think you can see composition from this photo that this piece is full of bright colors that draw the eye to the spouting acorn.  I love the rays of sunshine that work their way through the branches to reach the new life below.  You can see in the branches transition for budding in the spring, to the last leaf of the season clinging  and finally giving way to the winter snow. 

$200 + shipping costs