June

Foggy Day

 Anne's Point

Bass Harbor, Maine

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY EVERYONE!

As I write this, we have both eyes on a developing storm called Elsa. Such an innocent, Disney-sounding name, right? Let's hope this Elsa is a minor event and moves away from shore. We've got the lanterns and a lifetime supply of batteries at the ready, and over the next two days we'll get the hurricane shutters closed. 

Got Batteries???

We always seem to be the only ones in the neighborhood preparing, and it makes me wonder if we are being overly cautious, but I always come back to the old wisdom: BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY! Shingles blowing off a neighbor's roof can become projectiles that can smash your window, and who wants that!

Over May and most of June, I was using a Cpap machine for sleep apnea. I had told the doctor that I feel exhausted during the day, so he said, "take the test," which I did, and which revealed I have a severe case. It was hard to get used to, but when I decide to do something, I do it. But then in early June, I completely lost my voice! So we tried using it without the humidifier, which was better, but not totally. Then I tried not using it for a few nights, and my voice improved a little. Long story short, I seem to have ended up with a sinus infection, and that Cpap is history! Funny thing is, now I am sleeping very well by lying on my side and feel more rested than before!

Despite these trials and tribulations, (Woe is ME!) I had a pretty good painting month! Still using and loving the excellent and affordable SOHO paints. Here are some of my favorites from June. Thanks for coming by, and enjoy the art!

JR

Vermillion Cliffs

Balmy Day

Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge

San Antonio, NM

End of Day

Splash!

May

Today is Memorial Day, so I hope everyone has a good day remembering loved ones and honoring those who served our country. We have much to be grateful for. 

May was a pretty busy month for me. I turned 81 on May 15th, and celebrated by doing quite a lot of painting! 

Melissa has been on a roll recently with ways to be less wasteful and more eco-minded, with a focus on "re-use, recycle and repurpose," so I figured I would get in on the act. After working on small pieces - 8" by 8", 10" by 10" and 12" by 12" canvas panels - I suddenly felt the need to paint BIG, so I pulled out a box of large paintings that I did a long time ago, and started re-purposing them into completely new scenes. 

This is the first one I did - I painted over a southwest landscape scene and now we have ocean!

This one is called Summer Day, and it's 22.5" by 30.25" on heavy watercolor paper, which holds up well to water-based paints like acrylic, with no buckling.

Then I repurposed this one - it was another southwest landscape and still is - I just re-did the foreground and sky to create a completely different effect. Next time I'll remember to take a "before" picture so you can see the change.

This is called Reflections of the Arizona Badlands, also 22.5" by 30.25" on heavy watercolor paper.

I'm still very happy with the new SOHO paints I've been trying - the depth of color is terrific, the tubes are big and they are a great value.

Here are some smaller works I did earlier in the month:

High Country Sunset

8" by 16" on heavy watercolor paper

Along the Mangrove

8" by 16" on heavy watercolor paper

Oh Happy Daze 

12" by 12" on linen canvas panel

Foothills, Carefree, Arizona

10" by 10" on linen canvas panel

Sunset Waves

8" by 8" on linen canvas panel

Across the Plains

12" by 12" on linen canvas panel

Across to the Canyon Walls

12" by 12" on linen canvas panel

Nightfall Descends

12" by 12" on linen canvas panel

As always, thank you for stopping by to read my blog and check out my work. You can also click on the "pages" along the top, which have my various collections - Southwest Landscapes, Seascapes, etc.

Take good care, everyone, and continue to stay safe. 

JR

Apri into May, It's Birthday Month Again!

Well, I'm happy to report that I had a much better painting month in April than in March! 

I've been using the new SoHo Heavy Body Acrylics that I told you about last month, which are much less expensive than the paint I was using before. I absolutely LOVE them! The paint is thick and juicy and goes on easily with both brush and palette knife. I couldn't be happier, and you can see the results in my work, which you can view down below the words. Don't skip over the words though, because it's my Birthday Month again and I'm having another Birthday Sale-abration!

Here are a couple of my favorite April creations, and as I said, there are more below. As you can see, the depth of color I'm getting with this paint is amazing!

Acadia Cliffs

Canyon Sentry

So, last year when I turned 80,  we celebrated big-time with the creation of an art book and a month-long sale. I remain grateful to all of you who joined the fun by making a purchase or just bothering to look at my work! 

If you do the math, you'll quickly figure out that I'm turning 81 this year! I think that deserves celebrating too, so I am having another sale. Throughout the month, I'll feature different things here, and Melissa will also share them on her Facebook page. 

The first Sale-abration is that I've created a DISCOUNT for purchases of items using my images over at Fine Art America. This is one of those sites where you can use my art to create things like tote bags, prints, t-shirts, coffee mugs, phone cases, beach towels - all sorts of fun things for yourself OR to give as gifts. We've created items ourselves and have found the quality to be really good!

The discount is 18% (that's 81 inside-out 🤣). 

This link will take you directly to my page. JR Secor on Fine Art America.

Use DISCOUNT CODE: JJKRBL to get the 18% discount when you check out.

Coffee Mug using Canyon Sentry:

Throw Pillow using Boca Bliss

Gallery-wrapped Canvas Art Print using Native America Pot with Decoration

I'll be sharing more about an upcoming 8" by 8" small painting sale, and special prices on all of my recent work throughout the month. In the meantime, have a look at what I did in April. As always, thank you for coming by, reading my words and checking out my work. You have no idea how much I appreciate it!

April's efforts:

Across the Canyon Walls

12" by 12" on linen canvas panel

Boca Reflections

12" by 12" on linen canvas panel

Boca Bliss

12" by 12" on linen canvas panel

Receding Tide

12" by 16" on linen canvas panel

Outside the Canyon Walls

12" by 12" on linen canvas panel

Thanks for stopping by!

Stay tuned for more Birthday Sale-abration Events!

JR

 

March-April 2021

 Hi Everyone!

Spring has sprung, March is gone and April is here! Hope you are all doing well and riding out what I hope are the final months of the pandemic in safety.

I did not do much painting in the second half of March, because I took a nasty fall as I was getting up from my comfy chair. I started to turn to my right, and immediately felt myself falling. I tried to turn my body so I would land on the leather couch, but instead I managed to crash into its big, hard, rounded arm. You would think a leather couch would be soft, but that rounded arm was like a boxing glove with a fist in it. It caught the bottom of my rib cage and my right kidney. OUCH! I ended up sitting down on the floor instead of the couch, and it took a while before I managed to get myself back up with Melissa's help. 

I'll be 81 in May, and have many years of medical self-diagnosis under my belt, so I determined that there were no broken bones and no visits to see any medical folks were required! 

But there was a BIG UGLY bruise and some impressive swelling. It took about a week for the pain to diminish and another week for the swelling to fully go down. This put a damper on painting efforts, since I need to be able to move and swing my right arm.

Oh well - falling is just part of the Parkinson's adventure! I try to be careful, and it's never a case of tripping over something - it's simply a question of balance - or imbalance - particularly when turning or backing up. The doctor says there is no medication to help with this - the one I take helps with what is called "frozen foot" or "stutter step" but not with the feeling of imbalance. I just have to make sure that I have my feet solidly under me before I take off....

In better news, both Melissa and I have had both our doses of the Moderna vaccine! Yay! We won't change our behavior much for a while, but still it's a relief and a sign of hope that this thing is finally getting under control.

And in art news, because this is, after all, my art blog, I am trying a new brand of paint. I have been using Chroma professional acrylics, Australian-made, for more than 10 years and have always loved the products - still do. But they are expensive! On WetCanvas, the artist's forum I visit to share and learn with other artists, people were talking about SoHo paints, which are also professional grade, American-made, and much less expensive. I am reluctant to make changes when I've been happy with a product for a long time, and suspicious when something is priced so much lower. Despite my reservations, I decided to give them a try.

For those interested in the whole paint quality business, here's a bit of information:

There are many brands and grades of acrylic paint out there, which can be classified into three categories:

Professional

Student

Craft

I use only professional grade paint for my work, because it is manufactured using only the highest quality of input products, and will stand up to the test of time. When learning to paint, it's good to use the student grade because you use a lot of paint when you are learning and students don't have a lot of money! But it doesn't have the high quality of professional grade. Craft paint, as the name implies, is best used for craft projects.

Anyway, I decided to give the new SoHo paints a try, without high hopes or expectations. And you know what? I LOVE THEM! They are just as good to use as the Chroma. Here is a painting I did with the new paints - you can see the depth of color is terrific, and they were a joy to work with. 

Canyon Sentry

16" by 20"

Acrylic on Heavy Linen Paper

Because of the fall, I don't have many works to show you since my last post, but here are the few I managed during the second half of March:

Winter Aspens

8" by 8"

Acrylic on Linen Canvas Panel

Caribbean Waters

18" by 24"

Acrylic on Heavy Linen Paper

As always, thank you for stopping by and taking the time to read my post and look at my work. You can check out my collections by clicking on the tabs across the top (Seascapes, Still Life, etc.)

Happy Spring and continue to stay safe out there - we are almost through this!

JR

February - March 2021

 

Wind, Clouds, and Waves

18" by 24" on heavy linen paper

Hello! Its March 9th and I didn't get out a February blog post at month end, so this one is February and March combined.

Have you ever gotten completely LOST in what you were doing?

Well, that's what happened to me in February. 

Sometimes, my Parkinson's, being a neurological disease, causes me to get what I call "brain fog," which results in me getting LOST IN TIME. It's like I go missing, but don't really know where I've been. Melissa swears I've been here the whole time, so I don't think it's a case of alien abduction....

This fogginess sometimes kicks in when I'm painting. I keep painting, but am not 100% present and when I'm done I don't really remember doing it. Melissa says I do some of my best work in this state!

So, with that explanation, you can now see how February ended and March snuck in right under my nose, without any announcement or fanfare to tell me it was here. Must have been in one of my fogs when it slipped in!

Fog or no fog, I still show up at my easel most mornings and fully enjoy throwing paint in its direction. 

The painting at the top of this blog post was done in March, and these ones following were all done in February. Some of them were done in a FOG, but I can't remember which ones!

As always, thanks for stopping by, taking the time to read my post, and checking out my work. Take a peek at the Pages along the top of the blog to view my various galleries.

JR

Waves Breaking Offshore

18" by 12"

on gallery-wrapped canvas

Waves Crashing

18" by 24" 

on heavy linen paper

Across to the Mountains

18" by 24" 

on heavy linen paper

Aspen Grove

10" by 10" 

on linen canvas panel

January 2021

 

Mellow

18" by 18" by 1.5"

Acrylic on Gallery-wrapped Canvas with 1" white border

  Well here we are, one month into 2021, and still hiding out at home!

January, obviously, got off to a shaky start with upsetting things in the news. I don't know if that was a factor weighing on my mind, or if I just needed a break, but I found myself struggling with the paintings I was working on. Melissa reminded me that every time I've taken some time away from the easel, I've come back to it refreshed and my work seems to take a leap forward. 

So I ended up taking two weeks off, during which I read several of the Martha's Vineyard mysteries by Philip Craig. They are a lot of fun, and the best part is there are 19 of them, so put them on your list of Books to Read During a Pandemic.

I also spent some time studying the techniques of other artists, either by reading their articles or watching online videos. I like hearing what they have to say about their thought processes and approaches. It's a good way to relax my overactive mind and get inspired by what other people do.

This month, we've also been trying to get in line for the vaccine, like everyone else. Here in Florida, it's being distributed through the Publix supermarket chain. But, like everywhere else, the supply is limited and the demand great. So every Wednesday and Friday morning, Melissa has been getting up in the wee hours (we've also been watching the series, Shetland, so I've developed a Scottish accent and picked up the vocabulary), so as to be on the website when it goes live at 6 a.m. This past week she got lucky, and was able to get me an appointment. I had my first dose on Friday, and haven't experienced much in the way of side effects - just a little bit of fever and shivering in the night that didn't last long. 

So, one shot down and one to go - I am half-safe!

The time off definitely reinvigorated my painting, because when I returned to my easel, it felt great  and I created some pieces that I love. One of my earlier problems was that I was working small, and the truth is that I just don't like that as well, and I think it's more difficult with the Parkinson's. I much prefer the big canvases, or 18" by 24" sheets, where I can take great sweeps with the palette knife. It feels much freer and is a lot more fun!

Lazy Hazy Daze

18" by 24"

Acrylic on Heavy Linen Paper

If I had the space, I'd work on really big canvases - three feet by four feet! 

I'm phasing out my JRSecorFineArt.com page over at FASO, because it's easier to post my work in just one place, and I can do that here on this blog. We've created "Pages" which are essentially "collections" of paintings in the different categories in which I work. If you look up above this post and just below the blog heading, you'll see Home, Seascapes, Southwest Landscapes, , Mindscapes, and Still Life. 

By clicking on a heading, it will take you to that collection page. 

Instead of putting all my January paintings into this post, I've shown you just a couple, and invite to you to please look at the new Page Galleries. My most recent paintings appear first on the pages. This month, most of my paintings were Seascapes, so start there!

Ocean Blues

10" by 20" by 1.5"

Acrylic on Gallery-wrapped Canvas

with 1" white border

If there is something you like enough to want to make it yours, send me an email at rvpainter@gmail.com and we can exchange details. I take check, Paypal or Venmo.

As always, thank you for stopping by and taking the time to read my post and look at my art. 

JR

December 2020 Blog Post

 Hello Everyone!

Well, collectively, we have made to the end of 2020! 

In the past 10 months, I have been inside the bubble of our home and car, except for two trips to the beach, where we were able to sit far from anyone else and enjoy the sun and surf. I know we all hope that 2021 will bring us a return to the simple pleasures of life that we may previously have taken for granted. I don't think we ever will again!

I have noticed physical changes from my Parkinson's this year that affected my painting. The main problem I encountered was that, if I tried to back up to look at a painting I was working on, I felt myself falling backwards. Apparently this is common, and my doctor even told me that one of his patients wears a bike helmet around the house because this happens to her so often!

The problem is that I have been painting standing up for 25 years, so having to adapt to painting while sitting in a chair had some challenges. The main issue is that it is harder for me to take the broad sweeps with my palette knife that I could take when standing, and this feels awkward and inhibiting. I felt as though I couldn't achieve the same looseness of style. For a while, I stopped using the palette knife and took up the brush, but this felt very constricting and not at all like ME.

I also had times when my mind would freeze so that, afterward, I had no memory at all of creating the painting! 

So that was weird.

The chair has definitely solved the problem of falling backwards, though I have occasionally fallen a few times getting up out of the chair! It's taken some time, but I feel like I've been able to adapt to the set-up so that I can move my arm freely, and so I've returned to using the palette knife.

I took some time off from painting in December, but look forward to getting back to my easel in January. 

Below are two paintings I created in December.

I hope you folks have a happy, healthy and prosperous 2021, and that the weight of the pandemic will lift off our shoulders sooner rather than later. 

Thank you for following and supporting my artistic ventures - Happy New Year!

J.R. 

Autumn Setting In 

12" by 9" on Heavy Linen Paper

$65

Sunset, Gulf of Mexico

12" by 16" on Linen Canvas Panel

$125