August Post

Stormy Night, New Mexico

Well, here we are at the end of August, and I think this 2020 calendar meme pretty much sums things up, don't you?

Anyway, we've been hunkered down for 5 full months now, and while we are grateful to be safe at home, the isolation and constraint definitely get to us sometimes. Really, we'd just like to be able to go to a favorite breakfast place. It's even too hot to go to the beach down here right now. But fall is around the corner, so we will take a deep breath and carry on.

How do I cope? I think you know the answer to that! I paint! I had a pretty busy and successful painting month. I've continued to create what I call Mindscapes - landscapes that represent places I've seen, but are not specific places. They are meant to capture a mood, or the feeling of such places. Sometimes after I've painted these, I don't actually remember doing it....

Toward the end of the month I got into a Purple Phase - for some reason I was drawn to incorporating shades of purple, and boy, I think that worked out pretty well! The first painting at the top of the post is the most extreme outcome of this exploration - most are more subtle. 

And the other thing I did was some studies in shades of gray, which create a Black and White study effect. Those two are at the very end.

As always, you can check out my work for sale with sizes and prices at JRSecorFineArt.com.

Here you go - check my month's efforts out below:

Mindscapes

Dusk Settling In

Morning Marshland

Wetlands

Ocean/Seascapes:

Rise and Shine

Low Tide

As the Day Ends

Southwest Landscapes

Cathedral Rock, Backside

Monument Valley, Beyond the Mittens

View of Cathedral Rock from

Red Rock Crossing

Shades of Gray

Shades of Gray III

Shades of Gray IV

Hang in there everyone! I'll see you at the end of September.

July Post

Sunrise, Gulf of Mexico

Well here we are, more than halfway through 2020. As August begins, we find ourselves continuing as we have been, for four months now, sheltering at home. It's hot down here in Florida, so being out and about in the heat of the day is not an inviting prospect anyway. Most mornings and some evenings, we sit out on the lanai and enjoy pleasant temperatures, breezes, and the beautiful setting of our pond. We have fewer ducks now - the huge flock of whistling ducks has mostly gone north, but a small flock of wild ducks has settled in and seems to like having the place to themselves without all those noisy whistlers around. Each morning they gather on the water and do what look to us like maneuvers - we call them an armada or a flotilla - or sometimes we combine the words and call them an artilla or a flotada....

And of course there are almost always a great white egret and some interesting Ibis varieties wandering the shoreline. One morning we saw our Common Gallinule couple leading their six babies across the pond. Out front we had a morning dove couple with a new baby, whom we watched grow big enough to fly off. And we've got lots of bunnies, who don't bother anyone and like to shelter from storms under our grasses. So, never let it be said that we don't have entertainment! 

In July, we promoted my Fine Art America site, where you can use images of my artwork on all sorts of products, like t-shirts, mugs, tote bags, MASKS - even shower curtains! The masks were pretty popular - as one buyer said, "If we have to wear masks, why not ones with beautiful art work on them?"

Here's Melissa and I modeling two of my southwest landscapes on a t-shirt and a tank. The fabric quality and feel is very soft and comfortable, and the sizing is not skimpy. I'm wearing a size large Men's and Melissa is wearing a size medium Women's. The tote bags are excellent quality - we've given them as gifts and a number of people have gotten them for themselves and as gifts, and they've been a big hit. If you would like to check it out, here's the link: JR SECOR ON FINE ART AMERICA

I've stayed inspired by switching my focus to smaller paintings - mainly 8" by 8" linen canvas panels. I'm anticipating a fall sale of what I'll call "minis"prior to Christmas, so stay tuned. The canvas panels are nice because they can be framed, but can also be displayed on tabletop easels. A nice size for that small space or hallway that just needs a little something, not too big. These are all 8" by 8".

Across the Galisteo Basin II

Galisteo Basin I

Morning Surf

Storm Moving Out

Autumn Starts to Speak

Cedar Point Sand Dunes

Cedar Tree Ridge

Sunrise Surf

Across the Plains

High Country Grasses

Peaceful

Dusk Descends