FEBRUARY POST

It's Leap Year, so this February is giving me an extra day to paint!

I have been experimenting with using brushes as "mock palette knives." I received three beautiful new brushes from my sister-in-law for Christmas and that inspired me to buy a few more. Believe it or not, I haven't bought any new brushes in about 20 years! We painters become very attached to our brushes, and typically to one or two out of the ten or so we have. Not only that, but in recent years I have mostly been using palette knives to paint. so I haven't really needed to buy brushes.

I have found though, that my Parkinson's makes it a little harder to control the palette knife - sometimes the big swooping clouds in my paintings are not on purpose! So, I'm back to using brushes more, but as I said, using them like palette knives, with quick, directional motion rather than going for precise detail.

Adding a heavy gel medium to the paint makes it quite thick, so I can apply it with a quick directional motion up, down or sideways, leaving as much paint on the surface as desired. The quicker the motion, the more painterly and textural the effect. I'm having fun playing around with the new brushes to see what kinds of effects I can create.

Here's an example of a piece I did using this approach. It's called Llano de San Juan Farm. Llano is a small New Mexican village nestled in the Truchas mountains.

And here are a few more examples of what I've been up to this past month. A little bit of the southwest, and a little bit of southwest Florida.

String of Distant Mesas

Autumn, Low Southwest Desert

Cathedral Rock Semi-abstract

Fog on the Horizon

Three Big Guys

January Post

I have started the new year and new decade with a lot of painting mojo! In January, I was very busy and productive. Most of my works this month are what I call "Mindscapes," which means that they are scenes (usually landscapes) that capture my memory and feelings of places that I remember seeing, or that I just think I saw! So mindscapes are reminiscent of a place, and may look like that place, or they may just look the way that place made me feel.

I have also been following a couple of artists who put instructional and informational videos on YOUTUBE. These artists have a loose style and presentation that I admire, and which inspires me to be looser in my own work. The looser I paint, the happier I am!

The artists are:

* Walt Gonske (my favorite): www.waltgonske.com. You may remember that I posted about meeting Walt at his home studio in Taos, NM last September. I have the photos to prove it! 😄

* Michael Chamberlain www.chamberlainpaintings.com. This fellow is fun to watch because his videos are a combination of art instruction and travel log, and he visits some interesting places.

I created a lot of work in January. I won't show you all of it, just a few of my favorites. These and others are available at my beautiful new website on FASO at  JRSecorFineArt.com. I have three collections on my website: Southwest Landscapes, Seascapes and Still Life. Please check it out when you have a chance.

January Favorites

Cool Spring Day, 12 by 16 on canvas linen panel. The cold of winter has left the high desert, and the smells and colors of spring are starting to emerge.

The Livin' is Easy - Southwest Grass Plains. 18 by 24 on Heavy Linen Paper, done with large brushes.

And a few more selections from my January exploits.

Winter Peace

12 by 16 on gallery-wrapped canvas

Dusk Settles on the Desert

12 by 16 on gallery-wrapped canvas

High Country Winter

12 by 16 on canvas panel

I hope you've enjoyed this update. Thank you for coming by and please come back and visit often, and don't forget to check out my FASO website at JRSecorFineArt.com.