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

June Post

Hello!

Well, the year 2020 is half over and most of us are still trying to process how quickly life changed once we hit the month of March. Melissa and I have been Safe at Home since March 24th, so that's three full months-plus for us. I know there are some who have been in quarantine even longer. Because I'm 80 and have some underlying health issues that put me at high risk, I really don't go anywhere. And Melissa keeps me safe by not going anywhere except to the grocery store once a week.

There are times when the lack of freedom to do things chafes a bit. I'd like to be able to go out to breakfast at our favorite places, like Joe Ski's House of Breakfast or the MacGregor Cafe - or just do something spontaneous. But fortunately, we both spend most of our time on creative endeavors and that keeps our days from being boring. Mostly. Sometimes it's boring.

I painted a lot in June! Many pieces are what I call "Mindscapes," which are landscapes that are partly memory of real places and partly from my imagination. I was so pleased with these and created enough of them that I added a Mindscape Collection on my website. You can check it out HERE.

The mindscapes started with a piece that Melissa named "Ethereal." I painted it during a kind of Parkinsonian episode of "No Mind," - I was in a funk and have no actual memory of painting it. Melissa said I should go into those funks more often because she liked what I created when I was in them. HaHa she thinks she's so funny!

The last week or two, I've been working on small paintings - meaning 8 by 10. These are landscapes and seascapes. I am envisioning a SMALL PAINTING SALE come early fall - so stay tuned.

Here's a whole bunch of paintings from June. I wasn't joking when I said I'd been prolific! Enjoy!

Ethereal

Purple Sunrise

Pink Sky at Morning

Clam Flats

 

Upward Reflections

Path Between the Grasses

Gentle Surf

Tide Receding

Florida Marshland I

Florida Marshland II

Florida Tidal Marshland

Tidal Marshland

In the Midst of the Aspens

Big Sky over the High Country

May Post

Well, my 80th Birthday Month is over, and what a success our 80th Birthday Celebration Sale was! In normal times, we might have gone away for the weekend, and out for a nice birthday meal. But these aren't normal times, so we just tried to do something fun and celebratory. I have to say that I enjoyed celebrating my 80th birthday this way as much as I would have enjoyed doing those other "normal" things - maybe even more.

We sold all the art books that Melissa created, 23 paintings, and some cards and tote bags (which can be created from images of my art work).

Back when I started painting 25 years ago, one of my idols, Judi Wagner, gave me the best advice. She said, "Use paint as if you were a millionaire!" Well, I took that advice to heart! I primarily paint with a palette knife, and I layer paint on thickly to create texture in my work.

Judi lived in East Boothbay, down the road from our house and gallery. She has passed away, but was quite well-known and a major influence on my painting style. Believe it or not, when I started, my style was very tight, and more than anything I wanted to loosen it up. Judi Wagner and Tony van Hasselt were major influences in helping me do that.

I'm not a millionare, so it helps if I can sell my work from time to time to keep my habit going. I'm happy to say that, after the expenses of creating the books and packing and shipping the paintings, I should have enough profit to fund my paint and canvas habit until my 81st birthday.

We also gave away two paintings in a raffle and will make a nice donation to an organization that is near and dear to my heart: The St. Labre Indian School. It makes me feel good to be able to do that from my own earnings and not from the joint checking account.  :D

A big THANK YOU to all who purchased my work - long-time collectors, first-time buyers and everyone in between - it means the world to an artist when someone wants to buy your art. So again, THANK YOU! And to all who simply appreciate the art or the artistic journey, THANK YOU for the kind words and for coming along for the ride.

Despite being very busy filling the orders, I still found some time to paint. Here are some of the paintings I created in May:

Clouds Over Taos

Hill Country

North of Taos

Beginning of Autumn

Shoreline Waves

Tranquil Surf, Boca Grande