An Inspirational Spring Break

The Church of the Holy Cross

This year we were very fortunate for "Spring Break". First of all because UW-M where my daughter Taylor attends was off at the same time as Kaylene and McKenzie and the Plymouth School district. Next we were fortunate because we were able to swing a trip to Scottsdale, Arizona.
On the agenda was a trip to Sedona and Brewers Spring Training. The trip provided plenty of inspiration for paintings. The painting to the left I started in the wee hours of the Arizona mornings with my coffee, while I waited for the sun to rise. The Church of the Holy Cross is a beautiful place and the views were amazing. I was truly looking forward to photographing the natural beauty with the intent of painting it. But I think I found the most inspiration at a Mexican Market named Tlaquepaque. While our expectation was Mexican goods being sold, the reality was some very nice art from all over. But most inspiring was the "Village" itself.
I hope to paint 4 or 5 paintings from this area alone. Including a portrait of my daughter.
The other big part of our trip was Brewers Training camp. I have had a painting in mind featuring Brewers for a long time, so this provided a lot of opportunity to get some shot for that.
Most importantly we had some nice family time. It was very nice to relax and explore a new area. We hope to get back again we definitely have things we still want to see and do in the Scottsdale/Phoenix area. We also want to see more of the nature in the Sedona area. 
Now comes the tough part. Finding time to get all of the paintings I want to do done!
  

Finished and Working

My Paul Jackson Workshop Painting -Finished!

I finished my painting from the Paul Jackson Glass and Shiny things workshop a little while ago but hadn't posted it here on my blog. So there you go. I have had a couple people ask if it was available for sale, yes it is!

When I go to a workshop I really work hard to take in everything I can.I get very serious about learning and paying attention. A couple of things my high school teachers probably thought I wasn't capable of doing!

I actually start to work on a painting for a long time before I ever start drawing or getting a paint brush wet. Right now because I have so much to learn I really think about what I am trying to learn from each painting, or how I am going to use the painting to apply what I learned differently.   I have started drawing a still life I set up and photographed. It's of some of my Dad's fishing reels and lures. It has a lot going on in it. We've got lots of little pieces, shiny stuff, reflections, contrast, interesting shapes. I think it will be a challenge and hopefully will turn out nice. The more I worked on the drawing the more it reinforces something of been told been many artist friends; Art is more about learning to see than learning to draw.

If you are at all interested in art I encourage you to look for something new in something you've seen a million times. A shadow, a reflection, a color shift. It is amazing how the simplest can take on such interest if you really see it.

Finish out the week strong!