"Taste of Summer" is now available

"Taste of Summer"- 18x24 Original Oil painting

I know that summer is here when I see those large bins of watermelon available at the grocery store.  I'm not talking about the sad selection that we had all winter, but piles of beautiful round, sweet melons.  Cutting into that first melon of the summer is pure joy. 

And of course what is summer without pitchers of fresh squeezed lemonade.  That frosty tangy sweetness is the answer to a hot summer afternoon and believe me when I say that in Las Vegas we know HOT! 

Yes, it is the fruit that I look forward to in the summer.  All winter we have endured a limited selection of apples, oranges and bananas but now we have beautiful berries and melons to add to our culinary delights.  I hope this painting makes you want to grab a straw and enjoy the "Taste of Summer".

This piece was painting in my Las Vegas studio.  The original is currently hanging at The City of the World Gallery at 1229 S. Casino Center Blvd where I have a number of my pieces hanging.  If your interested in the original you can contact me directly and if you would like to consider ordering a print you can find it available at http://fineartamerica.com/featured/taste-of-summer-julie-townsend.html

When You Can't Paint...DRAW!

Often it isn't possible to take your whole painting get up when your traveling.  Add a couple of kids and that Honda will fill up quick. An excellent option in that case is a small drawing kit and a sketchbook so that you can take the time to practice your drawing skills.  This is exactly what I did this weekend.

I have been working on a series of prospector paintings so what better subject for sketching but old dusty characters, worn and weathered.  Sketching gives you a great opportunity to do in depth studies of your subject with very little space needed.  Let me share a couple of pages from my sketchbook with you.

Quick Sketch for a Painting

Practicing

More Practicing

Painting lessons

I think there comes a time in the evolution of artistic growth that you have to receive actual lessons from other successful artists. Today is that day for me. I feel that to accelerate my skill to a higher level, it is necessary to take some lessons and so I have schedule a session with a wonderful local artist, Lily Adamczyk. To check out her work, just follow this link to her gallery album.  https://plus.google.com/photos/114822472710447410577/albums?banner=pwa

Her skill in painting landscapes far exceeds my own and so I am looking forward to my 2 hour painting session with her today. She asked me last night what I wanted to work on during my lesson today and my reply was that I needed to improve specific landscape elements such as water, rocks and clouds. I really feel that I am going to learn a great deal from Lily and so I am going to blog each week about my lessons and share my accomplishments. Right now I'm looking at a blank canvas, white and empty but full of potential. My Saturday stretches before me and I can only dream of that completed piece that will soon emerge. I think that is the magic of painting...the possibility of transforming that blank canvas into a work of art.