Dock on Lake Austin

Dock on Lake Austin, 6 x 8

We finally had some rain this morning to cool things off and give us some relief from the heat. Another popular way to beat the heat here in Austin is, of course, Lake Austin, and this dock is a good entry point for those at Emma Long Park.  

On another note, I wanted to mention that I'm going to have work in three shows over the summer.  One is a juried show with Austin Art Space called "What Texas Means to Me," another is Plein Air Austin's annual show, and the third is a solo show up in Ashland, Oregon, at Weisinger's Winery.  The openings for the first are on July 11th and 12th, respectively, and the third is August 15.   I've completed pieces for the first two, but am still working on some for the show at the winery--and very much looking forward to all three!

-julie davis

Morning on the Colorado

Morning on the Colorado, 6 x 8

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Morning is about the most pleasant time around here these days, and I do love summer mornings.  I've had a photo of this crossing of the Colorado River for a while--I speedily put this together before dinner tonight.  I'm looking forward to some unbroken painting time (our girls all head to camp for several weeks next week), and I'm going to have more time than I can comprehend, but it will come at a price.  I don't think they'll be homesick, but I'll miss them terribly!

-julie davis

95 and Sunny

95 and Sunny, 6 x 8

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This one just struck me as hot. Perhaps it's the 105 degree heat we're suffering through in Austin right now, because it wasn't 95 when I took the photo I used for this painting. I'm playing around with different compositions of the same subject--I like this one as well as the 6 x 6 I did a few days back. Maybe it's the subject matter--anything along these lines appeals to me!

-julie davis

Ranch Road

Ranch Road, 8 x 10

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Today I did a little larger version of the "Road to the Ranch" that I posted a few days back. I like it expressed in this format, too, though I didn't do justice to the road, which is fairly well important to the painting! In defense of not doing as well as I'd liked, I did start painting mid-afternoon with three kids in and out, have to stop for an hour to go pick up three teens at the movies, then come back to hurry to complete it to clean up and go to a friend's new home. More than I typically like to deal with in the middle of painting, but I figure it challenges me and somehow, will prove beneficial later!

-julie davis

Morning on the Lake

Morning on the Lake, 6 x 8

This is from a photo I took recently from a hill on one side of Lake Austin, looking out at the other side.  Looking at it now, I think I'd prefer it without the foreground, but that's the angle my camera gave me, and at 6:00 this morning I wasn't making any major compositional choices, just taking what my photo offered!  I like the way the trees line the edges of the lake in that spot--an undeveloped section on the lake.

-julie davis

Road to the Ranch

Road to the Ranch

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This was the view looking down the road that ran next to the little Granbury barn I painted yesterday.  It led back to the main highway, but when I see the image now, I like to imagine it leading to any Texas ranch.

-julie davis

Weathered Barn

Weathered Barn, 6 x 6

Can't seem to get a handle on my summer schedule, but, then, that's the beauty of summer, right? No schedule? The heat is overwhelming, so I'm painting from various photos I have, this one from the Granbury trip. A barn off of a main highway into Granbury....liked the looks of it but we were there the wrong time of day--no shade, few shadows, and too hot without the shade.

-julie davis

Quiet Cove

Quiet Cove, 6 x 6

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This is a spot I desperately wanted to get back to to paint, but really didn't have time.  This particular scene was a view from the waterfront of the property of an old Florida plantation. The oaks on the property were incredible, towering things with moss hanging from the branches.  The home itself had been meticulously restored, but the view from the water's edge held my attention.  I guess scenes like this were my unintentional focus for the week.  I have to credit a friend for getting me out to the plantation.  He'd discovered it on a long bike ride a year or two ago, and insisted I join him for a look.  Thanks, Allen!

-julie davis

Western Lake Marsh

Western Lake Marsh, 6 x 8

For a while I'll be posting paintings done from photographs from our trip. All the previous FL ones were plein air, but there are a few scenes I wanted to paint but didn't have the time to get back to in person This is one such scene, and I hope maybe next time we're there I'll be able to go back and paint it from life. I just loved these marsh grasses--especially in large masses---they become a beautiful neutral carpet adjoining the water.

-julie davis

Boathouse in the Trees

Boathouse in the Trees, 8 x 10

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On Western Lake in Watercolor, there is a boathouse where the kids can rent cane poles to fish, or take a canoe or kayak out for an hour. I had a view of it from the pier near our home, and painted this early one morning.  Again, I've got to get a handle on my photography of these greens...bear with me!

-julie davis

Sunrise On Western Lake

Sunrise On Western Lake, 6 x 8

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Well those of you who were so impressed that I was painting and blogging on vacation spoke too soon! I've been unable to post for a while because the Internet connection went down in the home we were in for the week....now we're home and I can catch up! I did continue to paint despite the inability to post, so I was here in spirit.

I painted this one on Friday morning as the sun was peeking through the trees, before my family awoke (not hard with teens). I'd seen this group of five trees from our second floor porch, and they kept catching my eye until I painted them. These greens are a challenge to photograph--I have a bit too much reflection here, but you get the idea.

-julie davis

Western Lake Peninsula

Western Lake Peninsula, 8 x 10

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Another poor photo, but the painting I like. This is the inlet that welcomes everyone to Watercolor from the west. I liked theses five trees and the reeds and grasses that grow out with them. The ocean lies right behind the far trees and the dunes in the distance.

-julie davis

Quiet Lake

Quiet Lake, 6 x 8
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I haven't quite found the best spot for taking photos of my work while here, so this one is a bit shiny....northern edge of Western Lake across from our house. It's been completely calm in the mornings.

-julie davis

East Edge of the Lake

East Edge of the Lake, 6 x 8

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There is a beautiful lake in Watercolor, Florida, that I am lucky enough to be living on the edge of for the week. I painted this after I arrived the other afternoon and the sun was still hot, but heading down. I found a shaded fishing pier with wonderful painting opportunities in every direction. Lots of grass, trees, lily pads. Tomorrow's post will be a morning version of the same lake.

-julie davis

May Morning

May Morning, 6 x 6

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This is the last of my Granbury pieces.  Laurel and I found a shady spot under a tree next to a church parking lot that overlooked a field with a barn (enough prepositional phrases??).  It was Sunday morning, and we got there and finished painting before church started.  This little barn was is such a peaceful setting, with some sleepy cows that meandered over after breakfast (but too late for me).  

-julie davis

Afternoon Shade

Afternoon Shade, 8 x 10

This was one of the locations I enjoyed painting the most last weekend. It may have been the late afternoon that I loved, but I also loved these Black Angus. They were a part of a larger herd that kept wandering in and out of the shade of this lone oak tee in the midst of a large field. They all left once for dinner, but came right back after....very helpful to the three of us who were painting them!

-julie davis

Summer Oaks

Summer Oaks, 6 x 6

My early painting of some beautiful pine trees from Saturday never did get finished......the light changes so quickly at 7 & 8 am that I didn't keep up that morning, so I'll use it as a study later, but am posting one from later that day.  We had the hardest time finding a shady spot to paint for this one, and I didn't get very clever with the composition here (there were some highly mobile cows that wandered in and out of this painting, finally to be left out entirely).  I used a smaller board because of my morning experience of not finishing, thus the 6 x 6.  

-julie davis

A View of the Lake

A View of the Lake, 10 x 8

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I kidded with Laurel that we were like storm-chasers on our trip, but we were really more like sun-chasers. We'd jump in the car as the sun came up, paint, eat breakfast, find a new spot, paint again, eat lunch, jump back in the car for another unknown destination before the sun went down, crashing at night only to get up as the sun rose in the morning. Laurel spotted this little building peeking through the trees on an inlet of Lake Granbury for one last painting of our first day. We'd considered several other nearby spots, but she has a knack for sniffing out the sweetest one, and this one had everything we were looking for. We finished as the light changed, and headed back to dinner with the group.

-julie davis

Freshly Cut Hay

Freshly Cut Hay, 8 x 10

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I haven't posted in several days for lack of time, not lack of painting. I was fortunate enough to get to go to Granbury, Texas this weekend with Plein Air Austin for an entire weekend of painting -- I can't even quantify how fantastic an experience it was. I tagged along with Laurel Daniel, and we were up early and late painting as much as we could of the Granbury countryside. This was a spot on our way to Granbury between Briggs and Lampasas, where the hay was so freshly cut it caught our eyes immediately, and we had to pull over and paint. I'll post the other paintings I did in order over the next several days--a few I'm going to submit to a Plein Air Austin show this summer here in town.

-julie davis