August

New Mexico Colors

9" by 12" 

Heavy Watercolor Paper

Hi Everyone!

Well, Labor Day is upon us. I have to say that I am very tired of COVID still being an issue, and it's weighing me down! It's not like I want to go out and party, but I would like to be able to go out to breakfast!

I painted a lot in August, but I think I have to start to slow down because my Parkinson's seems to be progressing. I tire very easily now when painting, but the worst part is that my concentration is not as good as it was. Each painting becomes a longer journey than the last, requiring more concentration, and it's the concentration that makes me tired, not the physical effort.

I am lucky though, that my hands do not shake much. I paint with my right hand and my thumb twitches and sometimes the hand shakes, but never when I am painting! I think that has to be because painting is a happy thing for me, and that affects my neurological system. It's like when I do what makes me happy, my body forgets to be sick!

So it's a Catch-22, kind of, because painting makes me happy, but it also makes me tired! So, I'll be cutting down to 2 painting days a week from 5, and we'll see how that goes. In the meantime, I continue trying new techniques, and am back to using the palette knife. I watch several artists who have good videos on YouTube - I could watch them paint all day!

That brings to mind the question, "What is an artist?" I found this quote that sums it up nicely:

Below are some of my August paintings. As ever, thanks for stopping by. I'm still in the mode of "If you see something you like, make me an offer," as far as pricing and selling goes. You can email me or contact Melissa through Facebook. 

Take care, my friends. Stay safe and enjoy life.

JR Secor

Between the Rocks

12" by 12"

Linen Canvas Pane;

Distant Mangrove

10" by 20" Gallery-wrapped Canvas

Summer Waves

12" by 16"

Linen Canvas Panel

Sunset Waves

12" by 12"

Linen Canvas Panel

Toward the Canyon

12" by 16"

Heavy Watercolor Paper

High Country Autumn

10" by 10"

Linen Canvas Panel

New Mexico Gray Skies

12" by 16"

Heavy Watercolor Paper

 

July

 

Pasture

10" by 20" on heavy linen paper

As August begins, I realized that although we've pretty much been confined to the house for the past 16 or so months, the time has gone by fairly quickly. The thing that I miss most is going out to breakfast! We had a ritual of going to breakfast after seeing my chiropractor down in Fort Myers - there's a great place right on the road that takes us there. I am finally going back to see him again, and thought I might be ready to try a breakfast out - being fully vaccinated and things looking up, but I chickened out! And now we've got another go 'round with the Delta variant, so I guess it will be a while longer. I've been saying to Melissa all along, "We'll go out to eat again sometime in 2022!" Sorry to say, it looks like I was right!

This is a photo Melissa took at the cafe...well...a long time ago now. It doesn't tell you much about the place, but it's a cool photo. You'll have to take my word for it that the food is good.

Red Umbrellas at the McGregor Cafe

It's good to be seeing the Doc again, because he adjusts my cervical spine to line everything up so the messages from the brain can get through to the body. When I'm "out," my mind does not work so well, and neither do my feet!

On to the update about my July painting efforts!

I painted quite a lot in July and was again trying something new. I wanted to loosen things up even more, and like using a "dry brush" technique. This gives the work a mellowed appearance.

Usually, acrylic paint is applied using a dampened brush, but the dry brush (as you may have guessed!) means you don't use any water! The paint is applied straight from the tube, thinly and quickly, with a kind of staccato motion. For someone with Parkinson's that's kind of helpful! I've also returned to doing more work with the palette knife, which I love.

Sometimes I get discouraged because I look around and see how many paintings I have hanging and stored in my studio. Then I saw an article about a well-known artist in one of my art magazines, and he had hundreds of paintings, framed and unsold, on his wall, and hundreds more stored. So I felt a little better...just a little!

We're at the point where we need to winnow down the collection again, so if you see a painting here that you like, just make an offer! Don't worry about insulting me, I'd rather have a good piece find a home for a modest sum than get stored away - or thrown away! 

Let's just say the minimum offer on anything you see here should be $40 - so throw something out there, and let's see if we can't find homes for some of these. If you aren't local to us, you will have to pay shipping, so we can figure that out. Email me or ask Melissa via Facebook. Paintings on linen canvas panel can be displayed on easels, which saves on framing. Or frame them! If you buy one, do whatever you want with it!

Okay, here's what happened in July!! Thanks for stopping by and taking a look.

Calm Surf

12" by 12" on linen canvas panel

Dusk in the High Country

12" by 12" on linen canvas panel

High Desert Sunrise Magic

12" by 12" on linen canvas panel

Nightfall Descends

12" by 12" on linen canvas panel

Pasture

10" by 20" on heavy duty linen paper

Sedona Blue

12" by 12" on linen canvas panel

Storm Forming

12" by 16" on linen canvas panel

Summer Waves

12" by 12" on linen canvas panel

Taos, NM Plateau Volcanic Field

16" by 20" on heavy linen paper

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