Tuesday, November 11, 2008

"Sol Dorado"

I have not had much time to work on the blog lately. The screen on my Powerbook has finally broken and is dangling like a loose tooth ready to fall out. I can only work on it when it is propped up against something.
Here is a recent painting done on location.



"Sol Dorado", 8" x 10" oil on linen, Frank Gardner © 2008
Private Collection

19 comments:

Alicia Padrón said...

Oh no.. that is just too sad amigo! Have to get a new one soon! Remember that is your window to the world.. so to speak.

I can't help compare your screen story with the leaning tree in your painting. When I read about it, the tree helped me get the feeling of frustration ;o)

I very lovely painting. I really love the hill. Reminds me of the ones we have here. And the darker bushes or lower tress with those bold green strokes are fantastic :o)

Oh.. and I think today is Eric's birthday. I just read someone's comment congratulating him. He kept it very quiet. Maybe now that he is a dad he feel older ;o)

Boy this turned out long.. haha, sorry!

Frank Gardner said...

I'm working on it.
I thought maybe you were going to offer to send me one of those new Macbook pros.
Oh well, maybe my next commenter will.

Funny comparison. I did the painting before the screen broke, but I knew it was on it's way out.

I dropped Mr. Orchard an email. He is not old.
I, on the other hand....

Good to hear from you.

Nos vemos!

Anonymous said...

Yup. That solves everything!
: )
Solveg

Anonymous said...

Nice painting.

Hope you're able to fix the screen soon. ;-)

Paz

Anonymous said...

The way you caught the fading light on the craggy mountain from pale at the top and brightening at the base is really subtle and wonderful.

And the directional brush strokes that suggest....

Attention attention readers of " MY PAINT BOX"- calling for a stimulus package that contains one box with an apple logo on the outside and a slim silver case on the inside...

( doing what I can Frank...)
For me, it's panic when the machine goes down, so I can empathize.

Don Gray said...

I love the subtle suggestion of the building, and the way the tree follows and just barely breaks the ridgetop behind.

Marian Fortunati said...

Another lovely one painted under Mexico's golden sun. Was the laptop just well used or did it get mishandled on all of your journeys.. Hope you can get it fixed soon!
Love the contrast between the darks of the tree trunk and the faded greyed out colors behind it. I like the grasses in front as well...
Be well.

Anonymous said...

...Love the brush work in this piece, Frank. The whole piece,IMHO, reads very well.
As a former editorial cartoonist, the humor in "True Blue" is not lost on me. Good one ! :- )

take care..

Frank Gardner said...

Thanks for checking in Solveg.

Thank you Paz. I don't know if it is worth fixing. The color is bad on my screen anyway.

Hi Bonnie, thanks.
At least I have not lost any data, that would hurt.

Thanks Don.

Thanks Marian. This is a place we will paint in March.
The laptop is well used and has seen some travel and daily treks to the gallery.

Thanks Frank, well you HO counts a lot with me.
Glad you liked "True Blue".

Dean H. said...

Another great one, Frank! I like how the dashes of color, like a tapestry, make up the landscape. Also the negative spaces between the branches are wonderful.

Dean

Jack Riddle said...

Frank--I have the feeling I've seen this place recently...
As for the laptop, I can bring mine down anytime if you can work at the gallery. It has got a lot of paint specks on it, but it's in one piece (not a Mac btw...)

Daniel Corey said...

Hi, I just wanted to let you know I am out here and enjoy your paintings and blog, Dan

Christine Mercer-Vernon said...

first off, the donkey avatar is quite nice, humorous and profound! first time i've been to your actual blog page in a while, usually preview it through my feed reader.

that's a really great tree. some really nice warm colors in this one, and i agree with bonnieluria, nice value changes in that back hill. you tucked that little house in there nicely, i almost missed it.

second, bummer on the laptop, i know it's been barely hanging on for a while. i can't believe it still works though! too funny. you know, duct tape works wonders...i hope it keeps hanging on!

Frank Gardner said...

Thanks Dean. Tapestry is a good word for it. I love weaving the little patterns of color and light that are in the landscape here.

Hi Jack, Seems familiar huh?
Thanks for the offer, but this one is still ok if I am careful with it.

Thanks for checking in Dan, I appreciate that. I always like to know who is looking.
I checked out your site, Good stuff there.
Have you painted with Colin? Some of the scenes look familiar.

Thanks Christine! Avatar, THAT"S the word I was trying to remember. Yeah, thought it was time I had one after a year of blogging. I did that yesterday.
Glad you like that hill. It was the toughest part since most of my value range was used up front and middle. The house seems like such a part of the landscape, I did not want it to stick out too much.
Duct tape! That's a good idea.

Cooper Dragonette said...

Frank
Really enjoy all your work and loved reading about your time here in Vacationland with Jeremy, Colin, and Co.. Great stuff!
Wonderful simple details in this latest painting. Well done!
Cooper

Jennifer Thermes said...

Hi Frank-- I love the way that tree tilts. My sympathies for your computer woes...

Alicia Padrón said...

Ha, ha.. well does an illustration of the new Macbook pro's count? I can send you one of those ;o)

Mike said...

Frank . . .Am I asleep or something? I just saw your new photo in your profile!! Hilarious!

As for the powerbook . . . I hurt with ya. Nothing worse than a limping computer.

Looks like nothin much is keeping you down, tho. Your paintings don't seem to be suffering, that is for sure!!

Hang In!

Frank Gardner said...

Hi Cooper, thanks! How's that new baby?

Thanks Jennifer!
Yeah, now I feel more like it is a desktop than a laptop.

I'll cut you some slack Mike, I just added that image yesterday.