Red Trailer

Red Trailer

6 x 8 in., oil on panel

sold

Sorry I've been posting inconsistently lately. Spring for students is as busy as Christmas is for adults, and therefore it's busy for mothers of students, too. I spent most of last week on the road to a golf tournament in Houston to watch our girls play and in Waco helping our eldest move some things out of her dorm before the end of the year (and taking our middle daughter on a college tour).  Luckily, the latter two were on the same campus. :) So I haven't pushed much paint consistently in the last month, but I did get to a small piece today.  I really love the energy of line, and I got to play with that a bit in this one.

-julie davis

Long View

Long View

6 x 8 in., oil on panel

sold

After nine long, cold days the sun finally returned to Austin this morning, so I thought I'd post a warm and sunny Texas ranch scene.  I don't know how folks who live with cold temps and cloud cover all the time do it, but I know I'm not the only one in town who is celebrating the sunshine today!

-julie davis

Uphill

Uphill, study

8 x 6 in., oil on panel

sold

This study came from a photo I took while in Center Point, Texas, at the Kerrville Outdoor Painter's Event.  My winning paining, Better Days, was painted at the same ranch--a piece of land with truly breath-taking views--it must have been one of the highest points in the area.  This was a little dirt road that ran uphill along one of the internal fence lines.  

I find it interesting to explore the abstract shapes in foregrounds, and the edges and indirect lines created by the intersection of grasses and rock, fields and fences, and even the clouds and sky.

-julie davis

October Wildflowers and Quick Draw

October Wildflowers

sold

Guthrie Building

8 x 6 in., oil on panel

sold

Remaining from my trip to Kerrville for KOPE are these two pieces.  The first is from the last day of the competition, and the second is a building on Earl Garrett Street, right across from the Kerr Arts and Cultural Center.  It's a charming building, and was a fun subject to paint during the Quick Draw--though I can't say the Quick Draw itself was fun--it's like playing that old game, Perfection.  Anyone remember that?

-julie

Hay Bales

Hay Bales

Forgive the original title....this was named in a hurry before submission at the Kerrville Outdoor Painter's Event.  You can see the lone cow to the left of one bale...I kept trying to name the piece something to do with the cow (like Breakfast, or Head First, or Back End), but my friend, Laurel Daniel, talked some sense into me and helped me get to something less risky and more straightforward in the short time that we had--thank you, Laurel.  

I painted this piece in the company of cattle...they were an active bunch that morning, constantly moving in and out of my view.  At one point, three made their way to within several yards of me and happily ate while keeping an eye on things (and I kept an eye on them).  

-julie davis

"Better Days" - Best In Show - 1st Place Winner at Kerrville Outdoor Painter's Event

Better Days - Best in Show at KOPE

 11 x 14 in., oil on panel

sold

I'm thrilled to report the news that my painting, "Better Days," took first place at the Kerrville Outdoor Painter's Event this past weekend!  To win last year was a huge boost, and to have another judge regard my piece this year as the best again - well, I'm riding pretty high right now.  My friends Jimmy Longacre and Laurel Daniel took second and third places, respectively, and it was a blast to be able to share the experience with them.  

A big thanks to the judge of this year's competition, Phil Bob Borman, and to those who organized and sponsored the four-day event, as well as to those who opened their properties to us for painting. 

-julie davis

@ the Collins Ranch in Center Point

very excited with the blue ribbon :)

with Laurel Daniel and Jimmy Longacre

Hill Country Restaurant

Hill Country Restaurant

sold

You know your favorite restaurant.  The one where they make that dish you crave, that has the perfect atmosphere, where you see happy, familiar faces, or where you can almost always sit outside?  When our family visits Kerrville, Texas, that place for us is a downtown corner spot called Francisco's.  The blue umbrellas are closed in this cloudy-day painting, but most of our meals there are eaten underneath one of them.  The building is an old one, brought up-to-date to make a cozy, happy place to eat out.  

-julie davis

Three in A Row - Best of Show

Three in a Row - Best of Show

8 x 16 in., oil on panel

sold

This is my winning piece from KOPE (Kerrville Outdoor Painters' Event) in the hill country (October). (My apologies that it took me a month to post--between high school-age daughters, a new puppy, a cat we had to put down last week, Thanksgiving, the holiday show at Davis Gallery, and many other excuses, I haven't posted it and it's well overdue.

The judge for the event was Joe Anna Arnett- of the PBS series "Passport and Palette".  I was thrilled to win, and still am.  It validated a lot for me, and I'm excited going forward what that means for my confidence in my approach to my work in many ways.  

I've completed several new pieces (now a part of the Holiday Show at Davis Gallery) that I'll post over the next week or so.  The show is up through January 4, so please stop by and see it if you're in the Austin area - 827 W. 12th St.

-julie davis

End of the Line

End of the Line

8 x 16 in., oil on panel

nfs

On the second day of KOPE I painted at a farm that I'd been to last year--lots of goats roam freely on this one.  Unfortunately, goats aren't my subject of choice or I'd have been in heaven.  :)  There was, however, this old garage and shed behind it at the end of a drive with a little bridge leading up to them.  I found shade in a field under the hatchback of my car (is that even the right word anymore?) and painted among the goats.  I kept this format throughout the competition, and love the way it suited the landscape.

-julie davis

KOPE participation 2013

Surrounded by Sunflowers

8 x 16 in., oil on panel

The show for the Kerrville Outdoor Painter's Event in Kerrville, Texas, in which I took part earlier this month, came to a close this weekend.  At the close, I was able to get some better photos of the pieces I entered (the ones I took initially were, frankly, terrible quality, so I haven't posted them), but I'll post the new ones over the next week.  This was the first painting I did during the competition; I kept all of them in this 1:2 format for the remainder of the week.

-julie davis

Old Smokehouse

Old Smokehouse

sold

This week I've played around with some of the scenes I came across at the Kerrville event.  I loved this one, and felt like exploring it again, though there is something so special about the energy of painting a scene for the first time, problem-solving and all.  Anyone know what I mean by that?  I could be crazy.....or just very tired.....:)

-julie davis

Quick Draw and Reception photos

And my wrap-up of the Kerrville Outdoor Painters' Event...

The Hill Country Camera Club was on hand at the Quick Draw to document our fun:)  They were seriously some of the nicest people!  I don't know which member took this photo, but it ended up on the  Kerr Arts and Cultural Center e - newsletter this week.  I'm painting in front of the beautiful KACC building.

my Quick Draw piece

Me with two of my three paintings....credit to Laurel Daniel for the lovely photo...:)

-julie davis

Evening Shadows

Evening Shadows

12 x 9 in., oil on panel

sold

Some of the most fun I had painting last week at KOPE came while doing this piece.  I realize not everyone gets as excited as I do about trees.....but I really get a little geeked up on painting them. :)

I loved playing up the verticals (diagonals here, really) in the shadows and then up into the tree foliage. The shadows provided more entertainment for me, and I love an excuse to use darks in a painting.  So it was a virtual trifecta of fun.....and it sold during the Saturday night reception!  

-julie davis

Guadalupe Tree Line

Guadalupe Tree Line

9 x 12 in., oil on panel

I was lucky enough to get access to paint on the beautiful grounds of Camp La Junta in Hunt last Friday during the Kerrville Outdoor Painters' Event. The Guadalupe River runs through the property, and provided endless opportunities to compose a painting.  Laurel Daniel and I spent the day there.  Here's my set up as I finished:

In the Shadows

In the Shadows

12 x 9 in., oil on panel

nfs

The beautiful weather of the past week made for a near perfect first experience of a plein air painting competition for me.  I participated in the three-day Kerrville Outdoor Painters' Event (KOPE) in Kerrville, Texas.  The organizers arranged access to exceptionally paintable properties for the artists--I thoroughly enjoyed each minute, and finished with some strong paintings and some new artist friends, and reconnected with others I don't see often enough.  

This painting was my first of the event.  We painted on a ranch a few minutes from Kerrville that had numerous old structures--this was the old smokehouse.  

-julie davis