Monday, August 31, 2009

A few from last week.

These are three of my paintings from when Scott was here. There are a few others that I am making some adjustments on.
We had a lot of fun painting together. We also did some horseback riding and camped out one night too.


"Open Gate", 6x8" oil, Frank Gardner © 2009
$500. Framed. Available at Windrush Gallery, Sedona, AZ

The open gate leads to a cattle corral. I'm going to use this one as reference for a larger painting.




"Canelo", 8x10" oil, Frank Gardner © 2009

Canelo means cinnamon in Spanish. He was tied up, but moved around constantly. We used bits of apple to lure him back into place every so often so we could paint him. The rest of the time we painted the background.




"Nopal and Tree", 8x10" oil, Frank Gardner © 2009
$720. Framed. Available at Windrush Gallery, Sedona, AZ

The light hitting the cactus spines really attracted me to paint "Nopal and Tree".

19 comments:

Diana Marshall said...

love all 3 paintings, the scenes remind me so much of Spain where I used to live, the burros and the cactus are the same.

Art with Liz said...

It's really great the way you give the rest of the world a glimpse into your Mexican world. Beautiful paintings.

Michael Chesley Johnson, Artist / Writer said...

Beautiful work! The bottom one is my fave.

Kelley Carey MacDonald said...

These are great pieces, Frank. I love the cactus one the most because it seems to radiate with the light
caught on the tips of the plant. I think the burro is great, too. You have such empathy for the animals, and it shows in your work.

Christine Mercer-Vernon said...

great paintings frank, looks like you had a great week. wonderful burro, especially since he was moving around. he looks so sweet. i'd stand still if someone fed me apples too. ;)

Pam Holnback said...

They're all 3 great. Really great job w/ the corrugated roofs on the the first one, and love the highlights on the cactus in the last one.

Frank Gardner said...

Hi Diana, I hear there are parts of Spain that look very similar to this area. I've never been.

I love sharing my views of Mexico. Thanks.

Thanks Michael. Glad that a few people picked that one as their favorite.

Thanks Kelley. I appreciate it.

Had a great week and even got some painting done. I wish I could say I got a ton of painting done, but there are only 4 others. One of which may not be salvageable. Yeah, I don't think we could have pulled it off without the apples for a bribe. He was as stubborn as a burro.
I'd like to wish you a Happy Birthday a day early amiga!!!!!

Thanks Pam.

Christine Mercer-Vernon said...

hey that sounds like a productive week to me! ;) thanks for the bday wishes. ugh. birthdays. LOL

Solvay said...

The bottom one's my fave, too.
But, of course, I love the sweet burro - reminds me of my kitty, Girlie.
(Will Jimena be affecting you as far up and in as you are?)

Marian Fortunati said...

Love them all, Frank, but the nopal painting is my favorite... You hit the mark when you decided what it was that attracted you and painted it... (LOL... I think YOU taught me that!!)

Stephen Magsig said...

Beautiful work Frank, I like the last one with cactus the best too.Everything just works. Thanks for sharing your part of the World with us.

Frank Gardner said...

No Jimena here Solveg. We've been getting some rain though, as it should be this time of year.

Ahh, so someone was listening to my workshop ramblings. Thanks Marian!!!!

That one seems like the favorite of the three pieces Stephen.
Thanks.

Bruce Sherman said...

Hi Frank!....Your plein air tour with your pal was obviously productive and stimulating. The two landscapes are exquisite in design and colour...as always. You even get away successfully with breaking "the rule"....stay away from centering your subject in this piece...which puts the rule to sleep!HAHA!! Love the addition of the cattle "diagonal"...a dagger to the gate...Wonderful stuff!
Cheers! Bruce

Anonymous said...

I love Canelo.

Paz

kathrynlaw said...

These are all beautiful and so inspiring. Those color temperature shifts on Canelo's body are to die for. :)

Frank Gardner said...

Hi Bruce. Rules??? I love to break rules.

Glad you like the lines in the Open Gate II piece.

Hi Paz, thanks!

Thanks Kathryn. Are you back in the US now?

Mary Sheehan Winn said...

these are fabulous. This top one is perfection, if there is such a thing!

Jennifer Bellinger said...

Hi Frank, I love the little Canelo painting, the dark/light contrast so appealing and the red/oranges in your festival paintings..Yummy! Glad to see you are as busy as ever. Best wishes

Frank Gardner said...

Thanks for the kind words Mary.

Busy as I can be Jennifer. Don't want to work TOO hard though.