California Sky

Sold
11 x 14

Oil on board

This is from a photo taken by my niece Alyssa who lives in Southern California. I took a few liberties and turned the tree on the left into a palm tree and slipped in a mission where a house stood. Trying to "California it up" a bit. But the amazing sky is all there although this painting still doesn't do it full justice. I think I'll try this again later and take a bit more time with it. This is Day 5 of my goal to paint every day.

Out to Lunch

6 x 11.5

oil on panel

This is Day Four of my attempt to paint every day. I'm kind of proud of myself. My husband and I were taking our cat for a ride out in the country. Yeah, she loved it. Not. I want her to see that car rides are "family fun times" and not always the dreaded trip to the vet's. Anyway, we came upon these gals having a little snack and I have really wanted to paint cows, so here we are. This little lady in the foreground was kind enough to pose for a photo. 

I'm putting all of my paintings on sale this month for $150 plus shipping in hopes of raising $1000 to send to Texas for Hurricane Harvey Relief. In light of the catastrophic enormity of loss, it's just a little, but every little bit helps. If you see this and are interested, please contact me at terri_buchholz@yahoo.com. The paintings are unframed and also they are fresh and will need some dry time of approx. 6 weeks, before they can be varnished.

Thank You

Morning Shot

8x8

oil on cradled panel

Not a great photo, but this is day 3 of my effort to paint every day. Leslie Saeta offers a challenge to do 30 paintings in 30 days and this year, happily, several of my friends have joined in. See it here.    30 in 30.

This little teacup was discovered in an antique store recently and I've been anxious to paint it. I kept it loose and took great effort to "lose my edges". What is it about teacups? They are certainly nostalgic and very cute. Just not hearty enough to manage my coffee addiction. I bought a couple, so I'll be trying this again in the days ahead.
All of my paintings posted for this month of September, are on sale for $150 plus shipping. In the original painting world, that's a bargain. I know in the rest of the real world, that much money buys a lot of groceries. And that's the point I guess. If and when I make $1000, it will all go to the Texas Hurricane Relief. I'm checking into appropriate charities and thinking the Red Cross. If a buyer has a preferred charity, I'll certainly honor that choice. For purchase, please contact me at terri_buchholz@yahoo.com.

Susan

 Gifted
7 x 5

oil on panel

This portrait is a thank you gift to my friend Susan who is the uber publicitymeister of our art guild. This woman makes things happen! In July, when I won Best of Show at The Annual Ventures in Creativity, she contacted the newspaper and the next week they ran a very generous sized color photo of it. She also recently gave me a fabulous book on one of my heros, John Singer Sargent. A note just didn't seem adequate for such marvelous things. 

I took this reference photo for her portrait on a lovely, sunny day and there were interesting shadows across her face. I'm not sure they translate well, but it was another fun challenge. Speaking of challenges, this is DAY TWO of my quest to paint and post every day.

Tea with Rosemary

 Sold
8 x 8

oil on panel

My friend lent me her beautiful brass tea pot for a paint subject. I set it up in a light box with a sprig of rosemary for this classic little still life which I think came out very nicely. I choose it for my first work to kick of a challenge to do thirty paintings in thirty days. I've tried this before and have never hit the goal, but regardless, it creates a nice tension to paint daily, so here we go again.  Wish me luck and a little self discipline!

Embracing the Up Moments!

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   Painting can be a personal challenge. The journey is full of ups and downs and I think we all doubt ourselves at times. When a painting is in progress, we ride the self critique roller coaster in our heads that sounds like this, "Ah, nice, no wait, shouldn't have done that, I've ruined it, no, got it,...that's it, better,...there we go, looking good, think this will be a winner, wait, those values aren't talking to me, that composition is crap,...hate this, I can't paint,...whoa,..maybe it can be saved,...there we go, hey, this is good!" Then throw in the extra adventure of painting outside with changing light, uncooperative weather, bugs, sometimes creepy, uninvited company, and you, or I should say "I", really understand what a challenge is. Plein air is hard for me and I fully admire the artists who have conquered it.

   Then there are times when everything clicks and I'm in love with the process. Things work, I'm happy with a painting, others compliment a painting, something sells, something wins, all is good. I do love art, always have, and I feel blessed to be part of a community of friends who share that passion.

This weekend I took part in The First Annual Kekionga Paint Out and was shocked and delighted to win second place. The road wasn't without it's moments of frustration due to those self doubts, but the good things about it were absolutely AWESOME! The event was terrific, the weather was perfect, I was in the great company of old friends and new friends at all times, no bugs landed on me, and then to top it off, won an award. And got a great parking place.

Not Ready to Let Go

24 x 18

oil on canvas

A mother and her baby, getting ready to embrace the next step but perhaps neither are quite ready to let go. Available at The Castle Gallery Fine Arts

Taking the Shortcut

Sold
14 x 11

oil on board

Another moment from The First Brush of Spring paint out week in Southern Indiana last spring. As we were cutting through a shady alley, I was taken by this scene of late afternoon sun breaking through and making patterns on the buildings. The bright red truck appeared to have a spotlight of sun on it.

Thinking it Over

Gifted
14x18

oil on canvas

I've known Lennon since she was a bump and I've wanted to paint her since she got here. This baby is just as photogenic as her beautiful mom, whom I've painted several times. She's at that fun, busy stage now where she's toddling and curious about everything. Here she's seems to be taking a break in her reading to contemplate something. I love how babies are all plump spheres, rosy, heart-shaped lips, and button noses.

The Ladies Won!

I'm so happy to announce my painting "Waiting for the Show", won Best of Show at the Ventures in Creativity Juried Art Exhibit last weekend. The judge was the Ohio OPA artist, Carolyn Lewis. I liked this painting but winning this award was a complete surprise and I have to admit, pretty sweet.

The Way Home

16x16

oil on canvas

A view of the last post from a few steps up the street. This is slightly bigger and obviously in a square format with a bit warmer colors. This canvas surface is also more "toothy" and absorbent, so it required a heavier hand and thicker paint. This, again, was captured in New Harmony at that golden hour of the evening. For an person like me with an small town, Indiana childhood, it evokes familiar, nostalgic memories of heading home after a day of playing outside in the neighborhood. Available at The Castle Gallery Fine Art

Day's End, New Harmony

14 x 11

oil on linen

This is another painting that came out of my trip to New Harmony, Indiana, during The First Brush of Spring. At the end of the first full day, while the expected rainstorms were still holding out, I walked around with my friends scouting for scenes to paint the next day. The sun was going down and casting those beautiful long shadows while I snapped photos and caught this moment. The rains indeed arrived that night, so this view had to wait until yesterday when I painted it in studio.

Bring Me a Dream

11 x 14

oil on canvas panel

A friend modeled for this figurative piece that presented some nice challenges with foreshortening.
Figure drawing and portraiture have always been my preferred subjects, both as an artist and as an art lover, so this was a project I loved tackling.

A Workshop With Time Horn

 Tim Horn is such an amazing artist and teacher. I was so lucky to be able to attend his workshop last year and jumped at the chance to go again when he came back to his hometown of Yellow Springs, Ohio. In both classes, I not only learned valuable lessons in plein air painting, but was also fortunate to be in the company of very nice and fun loving workshop mates. Here we are all at the end of the third day, just before going our separate ways. Tim's work is captivating. Check out his website here - http://www.timhornart.com/

Here are a couple of my paintings from the workshop. It was seriously HOT out, but we could hardly complain since the expected rain never materialized.

 "Ohio Barnyard"

10 x 8

oil on canvas board

"Old Homestead"

8 x 10

oil on canvas board

Pie Birds on a Hankie

6 x 6

oil on board

New Harmony is a tiny little town but has great shopping. There are only four restaurants and one of those closes after lunch, but there's a shop run by a dulcimer luthier and a collective of shops that include a stained glass place, kitchenware, antique stores, and the best clothing place I've found in a long time. During one of the rainy days, we shopped and I found these little gems.