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".

"Girl on Burro"

I've been a little slow about getting paintings posted here. Thanks for sticking with me. It will probably be a week or so before I get another blog post up.

I'm going to be doing some painting with Scott Tallman Powers. We'll be painting in some very small villages around San Miguel for the next week. I'm sure it will be a lot of fun.

Here is another painting from about a week ago.I used a two different photos of this girl on her burro for reference and changed things around a bit to get the design I wanted.
I'm real happy with the way it came out.



"Girl on Burro", 8x10" oil, Frank Gardner © 2009
Private Collection

"Market Color"

Here is a recent painting. I like the look of this one with all the reds, oranges and yellows.
There are a few detail shots below so you can see the paint marks better. I hate putting up a large file of the whole painting, sorry. You'll need to come by the gallery to see it in person.



"Market Color" 18x14" oil, Frank Gardner © 2009
$1,300. Framed. Available at Windrush Gallery, Sedona, AZ



"Market Color" detail 1, Frank Gardner © 2009
I'm real happy with how the light pants and shoes came out.



"Market Color" detail 2, Frank Gardner © 2009
Frank Gardner © 2009

"Peregrinos", a color and composition study.

There was a fiesta in Atotonilco this past weekend that we spent some time at. The combination of smells, sounds, colors and action was just amazing. The splash of colorful tarps and umbrellas. Vendors selling. Smells of mesquite smoke, roasting corn and carnitas. Banda music and the drums of traditional danzantes and the rattling metal on their costumes. Small bells ringing and women singing as their procession of pilgrims arrives at the church. Men on horseback. Costumed locos dancing. And all of this going on at once. What a sensory rush.
I am going to work on some smaller paintings as studies for larger pieces of the fiesta. This one is a color and composition study. I will probably try at least one other variation on this scene before I work up a larger painting.
These ladies are heading to the church upon arrival in Atotonilco. They were singing and one of the women was ringing a small bell. They traveled by bus from their home state and will spend a week on a religious retreat in this town before returning back home.



"Peregrinos", 6x8" oil, Frank Gardner © 2009
the enlarged image is about actual size.




Detail of "Peregrinos". Frank Gardner © 2009
The enlarged image is larger than actual size.

"Out and About"

Thought that I would lower my vantage point on this one. I really like how the hen's head breaks the horizon line in this one instead of looking down on her.



"Out and About", 14x18" oil on linen, Frank Gardner © 2009
Private Collection

"Little Burro"

I changed my palette a bit on this painting and used mostly French Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Sienna and White. Just a touch of Cad. Red and Cad. Yellow to push the mixes here and there but not very much.


"Little Burro", 11 x 14" oil, Frank Gardner © 2009
Private Collection

"Coconut Stand"

Another painting of a roadside stand near the beach here in Mexico. This woman was selling cold coconuts that she keeps in a refrigerator. When you ask for one she gets it out and cuts it open with her machete like she is doing here. Then she sticks a straw in it and you drink the cold coconut milk. It is really refreshing. We bought a couple from her.
The sunlight coming through the palm frond wall and all of the colors really attracted me to paint this scene.



"Coconut Stand", 18 x 24" oil, Frank Gardner © 2009
Private Collection

I wanted to layer small brushstrokes of color to build up the light effect around my center of interest, like in detail 1.
Compared to the looser approach in the other areas of the painting such as detail 2.




Detail 1 "Coconut Stand". Frank Gardner © 2009



Detail 2 "Coconut Stand", Frank Gardner © 2009

It's been a while

Have not finished any new paintings since my last post. I am doing a little renovation at Galeria Gardner, so I have been down there most mornings plus some afternoons. My painting space at the gallery is occupied by a big pile of sand and gravel and some bags of cement.
Here is a painting I did in March during one of the workshops. Some of the painters were having trouble with their paintings and asked about how to tackle such a complex scene in a short period of time.
My feeling is that you need to remain focused on what attracted you to paint the scene. Simplify, and avoid trying to paint every single detail that is not important to your reason for painting that particular piece. In a different painting of the same scene you may find that a different set of details are needed.



"The Corral", 11 x 14" oil, Frank Gardner © 2009
$950. Framed. Available at Galeria Gardner


I was drawn to the groupings of tall straight cactus and their relationship to the more organic shapes of the tree, the yellow bundle of rope hanging from the tree, and the hose. The upper branches of the tree and the stable were not my focus of this piece, so I painted those with a looser approach.
You can really get into trouble if you lose track of what your focal point is when painting a scene where there is so much going on and so many little pieces of light and shadow. I worked the whole painting at once, but I kept coming back to the area roughly between the hose and the yellow rope. I wanted to make sure I got those relationships accurate. Little details here and there in other areas of the painting keep the eye moving around and add secondary interest.
There were too many cactus for me to try and paint each one exactly as it was on a painting this size, so I tried to simplify the design into a pleasing pattern of light and shadow. I moved things around slightly to get the design to work on my canvas.
This painting required a session of about 2 hours on location and then I cleaned it up a bit later in the studio.

Studio Paintings from Plein Air Sketches

I took two of my beach paintings from this post and used them as inspiration for these larger studio pieces.

In "Evening Mist" I changed the spacing between the palms a bit and lowered everything just a little so I could include more mountain in the distance. The larger painting size gave me more room to play around with color and include a few more elements to add to the sense of depth. I really enjoyed painting the effect of the ocean moisture in these pieces.


"Evening Mist", 14 x 18" oil, Frank Gardner © 2009
$1,300. Framed. Available at Galeria Gardner


"Evening Mist", 6 x 8" oil, Frank Gardner © 2009
$720. Framed. Available at Galeria Gardner


The obvious compositional change in the "Hammock, Playa Buena Vista" painting is the removal of the stick coming out of the sand. On site, I decided to use what I saw at the beach in order to have a darker element up close. Something that would help show how the mist off the ocean was affecting the values of everything and setting it all back in space. In the studio painting I wanted to see how the design, and sense of depth, would work without it. Instead, I put some dark brushstrokes and some grasses in the foreground to get some darker notes up front. I am still toying with the idea of maybe laying a small stick on the ground in the lower right foreground. Similar to the one in the plein air piece, but not sticking up in the air.
I had a heck of a time trying to getting accurate subtle color in the photos of the studio pieces. They look better in person and are visually pleasing hanging together.


"Hammock, Playa Buena Vista", 14 x 18" oil, Frank Gardner © 2009
$1,300. Framed. Available at Galeria Gardner


"Hammock, Playa Buena Vista", 8 x 10" oil, Frank Gardner © 2009
$500. Framed. Available at Galeria Gardner

Two recent street scenes

These are two recent paintings of streets here in San Miguel.
I have been working on some other paintings that are not ready to photograph yet, so I thought I would put these up.
The top one is a studio painting from a few weeks ago and the bottom one was done on location back in March.



"View from Top of Correo", 18 x 24" oil, Frank Gardner © 2009
$2,300. Framed. Available at Galeria Gardner




"Aldama View, March '09", 14 x 11" oil, Frank Gardner © 2009
Private Collection

New painting of a roadside stand

I have been working on this painting for a few days. This is one of the many roadside stands near the coast that sell fruit, cold cocos, tamarind and other tropical treats. The yellow posts in this one with the coconuts hanging really attracted me to this one. Getting the value and the intensity of the yellow in light and in shadow just right was tough. I ended up printing the painting in progress out in black and white just so I could see the value correctly.
I'm working on a title for this one still.



18" x 24", oil on linen, Frank Gardner © 2009
Private Collection


Below are a few details.

Paintings from the Beach

We took a quick trip down to the beach last week. Schools were closed in Mexico because of the flu scare and we wanted to get out of town for a while. The drive down to Playa Buena Vista, in the state of Guerrero, is about 6 hrs. Some friends of ours have a small house there that they let us borrow. I took my paint box and was able to sneak in a little painting time when I was not swimming, relaxing, or keeping an eye on the kids while we were on the beach, ( we took Erin's two cousins with us too ). The beach is isolated and we the only ones there most of the time. Needless to say, we had a great time.
Here is a photo of the beach and below are three paintings. The forth was pretty unworthy of posting. The light changed on me too quickly and I abandoned it.



Playa Buena Vista



"Hammock, Playa Buena Vista", 8" x 10" oil, Frank Gardner © 2009

All of the moisture in the air inspired this view looking down the beach. The hammock under the palapa gives that nice lazy day feel. This one might get turned into a larger painting too. I'd like to have more room to play around with that color. You can only squeeze so much into a small painting.



"Morning Palms", 6" x 8" oil, Frank Gardner © 2009

This is the view looking toward the beach from Anthony and Laura's house. The sun was coming up behind me and it cast a nice light on the palms. I tried to simplify the foliage but at the same time wanted it all to line up in the right spot. A tough one for a 6"x8" panel.



"Evening Mist", 6" x 8" oil, Frank Gardner © 2009

There was a lot of moisture rolling off the beach and I loved the variety of cool colors looking back into the jungle in shadow.
This could make a nice larger painting. I can imagine how it would look if it were bigger and I moved a few things just a bit.

Finished "Evening on Garita"

Here is the finished painting from the last post.
I think adding the wires helped.
The colors work for me in this one, and I don't think that I picked at it too much. It still has a nice loose feel.



"Evening on Garita", 11" x 14" oil on board, Frank Gardner © 2009
$950. Framed. Available at Galeria Gardner

new work in progress

It's been a week since I last posted something.
Thanks for reminding me Christine.
I have been working in the studio this week. Schools are closed because of the flu scare and we have been trying to stay in the house.
This is what I was up to today. It is a street that I have recently painted, but a different design. I like the way the light and color is coming along in this one. There are some wires that I want to add in tomorrow, and a few more things. I am going to try and not pick at it too much.



Work In Progress 11" x 14", Frank Gardner © 2009

An adjusted plein air painting

This is a painting that I started when Jerome was down visiting last month. We were painting the church and field with some cows in it. The cows kept moving around really really fast. I tried to catch at least the gestures on the spot. I was not real successful with all three of the cows.
It looked rather busy and unfocused when I got it back to the studio, so I reworked it a bit. I decided to take out two of the cows and add the guy who was spreading out these dried corn stalks for the cows. It is a smart way to get the fertilizer where he wants it. He put piles of the stalks here and there in his field and the cows did all the work.


"Feed for the Cows", 11" x 14" oil on linen, Frank Gardner © 2009



As it came home from the field , © 2009



The scene

Little Demo

This is a little 8" x 10" that I painted the other day. I took some pictures along the way again, so I've posted them below.
Step Four is how it looked when I stopped working on the spot. The light had changed a lot and lunch was ready. The next day in the studio I worked a bit on the large tree on the right. There were just a few other minor changes. I think I made a few more strokes after this last photo was taken, but I don't have the painting here right now to compare. There is a little pump house hidden beneath the tree on the left.


"Sol Dorado Looking East", 8" x 10" oil on linen, Frank Gardner © 2009


Scene and Step One, Frank Gardner © 2009


Step One, Frank Gardner © 2009


Step Two, Frank Gardner © 2009


Step Three, Frank Gardner © 2009


Step Four, Frank Gardner © 2009


"Sol Dorado Looking East", 8" x 10" oil on linen, Frank Gardner © 2009

Finished "View of Rancho del Sol Dorado"

This is the finished painting that I started one morning of my painting workshop. You might remember that I posted a photo of the setup in a post called on the spot. I made a few adjustments to some values and added a dab or two of paint here and there when the lines were just in an awkward placement. Other than that I pretty much left things alone. I really like the look of this painting.



"View of Rancho del Sol Dorado", 18" x 24" oil on linen, Frank Gardner © 2009
Private Collection



The set up, Frank Gardner © 2009


There are some photos of me working on this one in this blog post by Marian Fortunati. She was nice enough to post quite a bit about my workshop on her blog.

Another Day of Painting Out

Last Saturday I spent the whole day out painting with my friend Jerome. After a morning of landscape painting in the direct sun we decided to paint in town somewhere so we could get some shade. I wanted to take him over to El Chorro because he had enjoyed driving down this steep windy street the other day. There is a lot of history to the area that I wont go into right now. There are also a lot of tall trees for shade.
We settled on a spot and set up our gear. I wanted to paint a statue of The Virgin of Guadalupe and Saint Juan Diego. Jerome chose to paint the tower part of the building surrounded by trees.



"The Virgin of Guadalupe and Saint Juan Diego"
10" x 8", oil on linen, Frank Gardner © 2009
$720. Framed. Available at Galeria Gardner




My painting toward the end of the session.
Frank Gardner © 2009




Jerome and his painting.


One thing about Mexico is that no matter where you go it seems there is something going on. We thought that this would be a pretty quiet spot on a Saturday afternoon. Turns out there was a big wedding reception a few doors down below us so we got to listen to music the whole time that we were painting. Then we heard some sirens and a running race came by us heading up the steep hill. Then some mariachis strolled by on their way up to play for another wedding at the church up above us. There was also a folkloric dance class on the balcony one up above us. Plus all of the families and couples out for a walk that passed by to see what we were doing. We also got to watch an old VW Bug slide down the steep cobble stoned street almost bashing into the wall and a few brave kids fly down the hill on their bikes, obviously getting a big thrill by doing so. All of this, plus some lively joking back and forth between Jerome and me, made for some good times.
Oh, and we also had fun painting!



The lead pack of runners.




Mariachis walking up the hill to another wedding at the church.

On the Spot

Lots of new work, but not lots of photos of the finished paintings. Here are a few on the spot photos from the past two weeks.


Untitled, 14" x18", Frank Gardner © 2009

This one is from today. Not quite finished yet. I am going to touch up the tree a bit when it is dry. Maybe a few other spots here and there too. I love this scene and have been wanting to paint it for a while. My friends Holly and Mario from this ranch wondered why I wanted to paint the ugliest spot on their property. I think it has a lot of good color and shapes.





Untitled, 11" x 14", Frank Gardner © 2009

Last night Jerome and I were invited up to a rooftop to paint with two of my students from the workshop last week. This photo is about 5 minutes before I had to stop painting. There were some rain showers drifting around. It made for great light and a dramatic sky, but when the sun sunk behind a big cloud bank my light was gone. I'll finish this one up soon. I worked on it for about 45 minutes I guess. You can see how I approach the block in stage.
Below is the sky looking back the other way.



Frank Gardner © 2009





Untitled, 18" x 24", Frank Gardner © 2009
Private Collection

I set up my Gloucester easel (Take it Easel) on one of the mornings of my workshop to demo a larger painting. The class worked on their own while I painted this landscape. Jerome helped the class with their paintings so I could keep going on this one. I need to adjust a few values, but this is about how I left off. There was a lot of great color in the atmosphere earlier in the morning. It has pretty much flattened out in this photo.





"La Capilla, March '09", 11" x 14", Frank Gardner © 2009
Private Collection

This is the same scene from a demo a few weeks ago. I was asked if I would do a similar demo for the second class. The composition is a little different. Again, you can see how much the light has shifted from the time I started the painting.