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.

Painting My Country Roots

I moved out west to Las Vegas back in 1978 from my childhood home of Eldon, Missouri.  I was only a teenager at the time, but there is something about one's childhood that shapes and influences your life, perhaps more than the rest of your years spent as an adult.  I may have lived in this large city for all of my adult years, but in my heart I still identify myself as a country girl.

That is why I'm painting a series right now I feel I have a strong connection to and that I am calling "Down Country Roads."  I lived the best years of my childhood on a dusty dirt road surrounded by trees, flowers, wildlife and farming.  I love old farm houses, gardens, livestock, barns, porch swings, old mail boxes, barbed wire fences and fence posts covered in morning glories dotting every dirt road and 2 lane highway across this amazing country and they are my inspiration.

When it feels like crazy is becoming the normal,  I have to only return to my roots to find that this country is still full of good folk that appreciate the freedom to work hard and get their hands dirty, to raise their families and take care of their neighbors. This series of paintings are my tribute to that way of life and looking at them, frankly makes me smile.

"Fence Post Curiosity"- 36 x 24 Original Acrylic

This is my newest piece, just finished this week.  I'm calling it "Fence Post Curiosity".  Cows are curious creatures and will often watch you as drive by, especially if all your children are hanging out of the windows yelling, "MOO."  I just couldn't help myself and found that I had to add the cow licking her nose to the composition.   The consistent themes of blue morning glories are present as they are in the previous two pieces along with cheerful Black-eyed Susans.

This piece was a real challenge as I have never painted such large animals before.  The canvas measures 36 x 24 inches so this jersey cow is at least 2 feet tall.

Lunch Under the Mailbox- 36 x 24 Original Acrylic 

My second piece in the series that I have painted is called "Lunch Under the Mailbox".  I've blogged about this one previously and so if you follow me you know that I loved little box turtles growing up.  They were everywhere in the spring and summer.  They may move slowly but they are so persistent.  I remember many times just running in for a moment to get a drink or snack, certain that I could return in time to prevent my little reptiles escape on to find that there was no longer any trace of him.   

Life at the Fence Post- 36 x 24 Original Acrylic

This is the piece first piece that I came up with and at the time that I painted it I wasn't thinking about a series.  I simply was painting a piece that reminded me of summer.  The predominate color of green makes me think of Missouri in the summer.  Everything is SO green unlike the Mojave Desert that I call home now. 

This series will be presented together as part of a solo show that will be held in the month of April at the Boulder City Art Gallery in Boulder City, Nevada.  My goal is to have at least 2 more pieces completed by that time along with a number of smaller related paintings.  It will be a show worth seeing.  All these piece can be found on my website where you can find a link to order prints and see the rest of my work.  Just visit JulieTownsendStudio.com and click on the gallery tab.