A Good Day

A Good Day

6 x 8 in., oil on panel

sold

Naming this one seemed simple if I thought of it from a bovine's perspective--which, not to insult the cattle, was relatively easy. Hoping if you're reading this, you're having a good day, too.

-julie davis

Study - cattle

Cow Study

9 x 12 in., oil on panel

nfs

This is a quick study I did from some photos I took out in Center Point, Texas. Though cattle are slow, they aren't ideal models because they tend to move around a bit more quickly than I can manage to paint them. I never thought I'd be studying the anatomy of cattle, but life is full of surprises. I actually enjoyed a new type of figure and a deviation from trees for a minute.

-julie davis

Exciting news

At Rest

9 x 12 in., oil on panel

sold

General Store

11 x 14 in., oil on panel

$900

available through Davis Gallery, Austin, Texas

512.477.4929

After what seems like quite a long time, I'm home from summer travels and obligations and am able to offer a  post -- with news I'm very excited to share! Within the last few weeks I've learned that the above pieces have been accepted into two separate shows of which I'm really honored to be a part.  At Rest was juried into the American Women Artists 2015 National Juried Exhibition & Annual Member's Show, while General Store was selected for inclusion in the 16th National Exhibition of the American Impressionist Society. These are some of my first stabs at national shows. I couldn't be more honored and am truly jumpy with enthusiasm about it. 

The AIS show will take place October 1 - 29 at Trailside Galleries in Scottsdale, and the AWA exhibition will be held November 12 - 30 at Bonner David Galleries, also in Scottsdale.  I'm looking forward to getting to know Scottsdale a bit better this fall:). I will share more as the shows approach, but I'm super motivated going into what is typically my most productive time of year.

- julie davis

The Grass Is Always Greener

The Grass Is Always Greener

6 x 8 in., oil on panel

sold

The weather has been overcast and much cooler over the past few days in Austin--loving it, but as one who is known to light a fire in the summer :), I really have to acclimate before getting outside on these cold mornings!  The afternoons have been gorgeous, and we are thankful for a taste of fall.  

The grasses around here always lighten this time of year.  For the image above, I took my value study from late September and worked it into a more fall look than the "Study 3" I did that was a summer scene.

-julie davis

Third of Three

Study 3, Field

6 x 8 in., oil on panel

sold

This is the third and final of the last three posts on the same scene.  The others were different approaches at studying value and composition.  In this one, I relaxed and just painted.  Again, I really shouldn't post with photos that aren't up to par, but it's been a nutty week, and this is the best I'm going to get right now, so my apologies for the overexposure on the left side.  :)

-julie davis

Paper Towels and Value Studies

This is the study I promised from yesterday (same scene--but you see more detail in this one).  I apologize for the poor photograph.  It's the strangest thing, but I really like "blocking in" / doing studies like this. Using my dark mix of alizarin, raw umber, and ultramarine blue, and wrapping my finger inside a Viva paper towel, I basically draw/paint with my finger.  Just another fine way to do a value study, or even to block in for a painting:)  

-julie davis

Road to the Pasture

Road to the Pasture

6 x 8 in., oil on panel

This piece was a warm-up for yesterday's post. Sometimes you just need that, whether it's by painting, sketching, reading, whatever works!

-julie davis

*and thank you, justin, for contacting me again!

Cattle and Cottonwoods

Cattle and Cottonwoods, 11 x 14 in.

sold

This is another enlargement from a study done this summer based on my time in Wyoming and Idaho. The cottonwood trees group themselves in such a variety of ways. Wonderful windows of space between groups of trees create beautiful forms in what could be called "negative space." I prefer to think of it as not the absence of mass, but the presence of a shape. (Kinda think I'm sounding a little nuts....) But I do think that's what makes the cottonwood trees so appealing to me.

-julie davis

Tree Study 12

Tree Study 12, 6 x 8 in.

sold

I'm playing (studiously, of course) :) with tree groupings. Again, a reference from my trip to cooler country and taller trees.

-julie davis

Summer Graze

Summer Graze, 6 x 8 in.
nfs

The cottonwood trees in Idaho and Wyoming are, from my West Texas mesquite-trees-the-size-of-bushes perspective, majestic. (I grew up in several West Texas towns, so this is said with love and passion for that land, though the trees are notably not tall). The lovely thing about the river valley area around Jackson, WY and nearby Victor, ID, is that everywhere one turns, there are beautiful trees, many, many of them cottonwoods so tall they dwarf buildings and especially cattle.

This painting was really an attempt to study pushing the trees off the top of the panel, and to create a less dominant sky. It was such a pleasing little painting to make.

-julie davis

Mid-day Graze

Mid-day Graze, 5 x 7in.

donation to Arthouse 5 x 7 Art Splurge, Austin

Coming back to painting even after a short break, I realize that I will tend to use more palette knife to bring a painting to completion. On something like this, it doesn't take much, but I really love what it adds.

Before I was a painter (four short years ago), the very loose, "edgy" paintings where the brushstrokes were obvious and lush were the ones to which I was attracted. Learning the process of painting and everything that goes along with it takes so much effort, that finely tuning what one truly loves about a result takes a bit to happen. All this to say, I think I'm getting closer....

-julie davis

Cinco

Cinco, 6 x 8

My girls all take Spanish in school, and our middle daughter tends to intersperse bits of it into our conversation pretty often (which is good because it helps me learn Spanish, too). This painting was going to be named "Five," but at the last moment, the Spanish word for "five" felt right. I have to attribute that to her influence. :)

-julie davis

Shady Crowd

Shady Crowd, 8 x 6
sold

On my way to Hunt last weekend I spotted this group of cattle under a shady tree--they appeared so content. I stopped and took a photo and worked from that and memory for this 8 x 6.

-julie davis

Gray Morning

Gray Morning, 6 x 8

sold

The last post or two I've worked with keeping my value range tighter than usual. I'm working on gray days, and it's hard for me, because I'm most often drawn to darks in paintings. It definitely creates a mood to keep the values more closely tied to each other, whether it's a gray day or bright or nearly dark.....all good times to reduce your value range.

-julie davis

Out to Pasture

Out to Pasture, 12 x 16

sold

Here is the color version of yesterday's post. I used a little larger panel than I normally do, which is a time challenge for me, since my painting and all-things-painting-related time is typically 2-3 hours at a time on the days I get to paint. I also paint alla prima, so it's finished when time is up! It keeps me from fussing around too much and helps when I'm painting outside because I'm accustomed to making painting decisions quickly. This one and "Hay Bales" will soon be heading west to Sedona for a stay at Windrush Gallery before hopefully finding homes.

-julie davis

Value Study - Out to Pasture

Value Study - Out to Pasture, 6 x 8

I'm still doing a value study every now and then before I launch into a larger full-color version of a painting. Until I see that I'm really nailing the values instinctively in these I think it's a good exercise for me. It's not only a good warm-up, but ensures I stay loose and draft a good composition as well. This one appears more sepia-toned because I took the photo inside tonight--it had gotten too dark outside by the time I got around to taking it.

-julie davis

Oasis

Oasis, 8 x 10

sold

Have to admit, I feel in a bit of a rut. I went back to an old favorite, and just painted for the sake of painting. I think mentally, I'm distracted right now, so doing something familiar was satisfying.

-julie davis

Daybreak in the Pasture

Daybreak in the Pasture, 8 x 10

sold

My favorite part of  the day--when the sun has just come up and you're grabbing that first, precious cup of coffee, and things are still quiet--even outside.  To be honest, I had a bit of a challenge photographing this with so many greens--the dark ones are definitely the least cooperative.  I can't ever seem to get a away from this issue, even if I change the time of day, direction the painting is facing (I take all my photos outside).  Anyone have any suggestions on this topic of outdoor photography?  Other than setting up lights, etc. indoors?  I'd love to hear them.  I take my photos usually after 5 or 6 o'clock, and set my work upright against an east-facing wall in my backyard.  Is it all just trial and error?

-julie davis

Noon Siesta

Noon Siesta, 6 x 6

sold

This is the only place for cattle to be during the heat of a Texas summer--in the shade of an oak grove. I'd assumed these were taking a nap as well. Sometimes, that's the best way to handle the heat....just ignore it until it goes away.

-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