Tuesday, January 21, 2014

CALLECITA DE TESUQUE - 40"x40" Work in Progress (Underpainting)

CALLECITA DE TESUQUE - 40"x40" Work in Progress - more work on the underpainting.  Glazes foreground with Dioxazine Purple and some Holbein Rose Grey.  Reinforced "cartoon" with Prussian Blue, Burnt Sienna and some Mars Black.  Let dry for a couple of days.

Monday, January 20, 2014

LAST LIGHT AT TRUCHAS - Exhibition-quality archival fine art print

LAST LIGHT AT TRUCHAS - Exhibition-quality archival  art  - Now available at the High Road Fine Art Print Catalog.

Sunday, January 19, 2014

FIELD WORK/TESUQUE - 2014

January 2014 - Field work:  Looking around.  Becoming acquainted with my new neighborhood.  Nothing replaces a good friend with whom to "roam" the roads, a good camera, a good eye -- and perhaps a willing spirit.

Saturday, January 18, 2014

LA TIERRA DE PADRE MARTINEZ - Exhibition-quality fine art print.

No. 159 - LA TIERRA DE PADRE MARTINEZ (From the bridge at Martinez Hacienda, Taos, N.M.) - Exhibition-quality archival print now available at the High Road Fine Art Print Catalogue.

Friday, January 17, 2014

WINTER FIELDS AT LAS TRAMPAS - Exhibition-quality archival print

WINTER FIELDS AT LAS TRAMPAS - Exhibition-quality archival print now available at The High Road Print Catalogue.

Thursday, January 16, 2014

UNA SENDA DESCONOCIDO - 12"X24" Work in Progress (Underpainting) - Color Notes

Studio No. 114 - UNA SENDA DESCONOCIDO (A Path Unknown) - 12"x24" Work in Progress (Underpainting)  - Original Oil on Canvas -- Sky:  MG Underpainting White and Yellow Ochre Light.  Trees:  Chrome Oxide Green Opaque, Yellow Ochre, Prussian Blue.  Snow:  Payne's Grey and Underpainting White.  Road:  Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna.

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

ESPIRITU BLANCO - Exhibition-quality fine art print

ESPIRITU BLANCO (homage to my Truchas neighbor, Don Eusavio - 1982)  Exhibition-quality fine art print now available at the High Road Fine Art Catalogue  

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

CALLECITA DE TESUQUE, 40"x40" Work in Progress (Underpainting) - Color Notes

Studio No. 314 - CALLECITA DE TESUQUE, 40"x40" Work in Progress (Underpainting) - Colors are mixed with MG Underpainting White and applied with turpentine.  Sky:  Paynes Grey.  Road: Yellow Ochre/Dioxazine Purple in the Shadows.  Outline/Trees: Prussian Blue and Burnt Sienna.  Brush:  Indian Red.  When I make an underpainting, I try to see the colors underneath the final application of opaque paints.

Monday, January 13, 2014

LA TIENDITA DE ANTIGUA GUATEMALA - Orig. Oil Painting - Special Offer

LA TIENDITA DE ANTIGUA, GUATEMALA - 51"x 39"Donna Clair Original Oil completed in 2001 - Framed with Linen Liner.

My friend Joan Norris, midwife, sent me an e.mail asking if I would help sell this painting to benefit the Northern New Mexico Birth Center.  This painting has been hanging in the Birth Center all these years after I donated it for one of their auctions.  They loved it so much, as did the many, many mothers they have helped through the years, that it has had pride of place at the center.  Times have changed and now with some reluctance, they need to sell this original painting.

If you are interested -- Contact ED, Sandy Campbell, here at the Birth Center: 575-758-1216 or by email: sandy.campbell@gmail.com
Price: $9500 (starting price) it is framed with a linen liner.


Happy 2014!  
Best regards, Donna 

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Saturday, January 11, 2014

CALLECITA DE TESUQUE - 40"x40" Work in Progress (Sketch)


Studio No. 214 - CALLECITA DE TESUQUE, 40"x40" Work in Progress - Sketch in Prussian Blue and Burnt Sienna.  It is my habit to have six or seven paintings blocked in at a time -- each morning I work on the one that calls "Paint ME!"

Friday, January 10, 2014

WINTERLIGHT - 48"x36" Work in Progress - Glaze

Studio No. 214 - WINTERLIGHT - 48"x36" Work in Progress. Glazes.  Hoping this painting will have the feeling of late afternoon light.  Decided to thin Payne's Grey with painting medium (not turpentine) and cover canvas.  This is an experiment!

Thursday, January 09, 2014

WINTERLIGHT (TESUQUE) - 48"x36" Work in Progress - Underpainting

STUDIO NO. 214 - WINTERLIGHT (TESUQUE) - 48"x36" Work in Progress - The underpainting - Turpentine and color mixed with Grumbacher MG Underpainting White.  Hoping this will have the feeling of a late winter afternoon - am thinking of glazing over the entire underpainting with a thin film of Payne's Grey.  Snow - Payne's Grey and MG White.  Shrubs and the Road:  Indian Red, Mars Orange, Burnt Umber.  Pine tree:  Chrome Oxide Green Opaque, Prussian Blue - a little Ochre in the lighter areas.  Planning to block in a few more canvases this week before I begin the final painting on this canvas.  Stay tuned.   

Wednesday, January 08, 2014

IGLESIA DEL VALLE - Exhibition-quality archival giclee

IGLESIA DEL VALLE (El Llano, New Mexico) - Exhibition- quality archival giclee print now available from the High Road Print Catalogue - Click here to preview/purchase.

Tuesday, January 07, 2014

PUEBLO MORNING LIGHT - Exhibition-quality archival giclee print

PUEBLO MORNING LIGHT (Taos, New Mexico) - Exhibition-quality archival giclee print now available - Click here to preview/purchase.

Monday, January 06, 2014

WINTER DREAMS - Exhibition-quality archival giclee

WINTER DREAMS - (Llano Quemado, Truchas, New Mexico - 1982) - Exibition-quality Archival Giclee -  Click here to view/purchase.

Sunday, January 05, 2014

UNA SENDA DESCONOCIDO - Exhibition-quality Archival Print

UNA SENDA DESCONOCIDO (A Path Unknown) - Click here for the High Road Print Catalogue.  

Long, long ago, after moving to New Mexico, I discovered the mystery and fascination of back roads - some led to quiet pastures, and some to old churches, capillas, ghost towns-- old crumbling buildings, broken fences -- signs of lives having lived in another time-- places where all you can hear is the wind and perhaps the whisper of birds' wings as they pass by overhead.......these roads always seem to appear at the beginning of one's journey....... Enjoy!


 

 

Saturday, January 04, 2014

FIELDWORK 2014.......


Una Senda Desconocido (A Path Unknown) - For me all it takes is a good camera and my 20-year old pick-up truck - maybe a sandwich and some cookies!  In every place I have lived and painted - Santa Fe, Truchas, Taos - there has been a period of excitement in the beginning and once I begin to feel at home, I seem to find my heart in that place and it then becomes a part of the story of my life.  Now I am at home in Tesuque - coming full circle....it is important to go beyond what my eyes see.....

Friday, January 03, 2014

STUDIO WORK.....

Once or twice a year I order my paints, canvases and panels. As long as the gesso is mixed, it pays to build an inventory of supplies at the ready.   If in the middle of a "work blockage" -- don't fight it -- gesso canvases, build your source material with some field trips.  Taking a break once in a while is great for inspiration -- most of my work is painted in my head long before the brush ever hits the canvas!

Thursday, January 02, 2014

PREPARING TO PAINT -- GESSOING CANVAS


It is my habit to work on a "toned ground" - years ago I worked on a red ground and sometimes ochre.  Then I found that a grey-blue background worked best for me -- I mix the gesso (if necessary thin a little bit with water to a workable consistency) with Payne's Grey and then apply two to three coats to the canvas in a swirling motion (let each coat dry to the touch before applying the next) - avoid painting in straight strokes.  Let dry overnight before stacking boards or canvas for storage.

Wednesday, January 01, 2014

WELCOME 2014!


NEW YEAR....New palette, new canvas ......anything is possible!

Thursday, December 26, 2013

RIO CHAMA (ABIQUIU, N.M.) 20"X20" Orig. Oil - Sold

3-DAY AUCTION - "RIO CHAMA" (Abiquiu, N.M.) 20"x20" Original Oil (wrap-around painting) - auction ending Sunday  - SOLD

Friday, December 20, 2013

WINTER GIFTS......


To Art Friends Everywhere!  Many of you have been with me a long time and know I love to send this greeting every year.  The original of this painting was "adopted" by some great friends and very prolific art collectors years ago and still resides in a lovely home in Taos.  The street in this painting is the main street in Truchas -- I walked to the post office from my little adobe house every day and still keep the memories of that special time and place very close.  The woman is the memory I've kept of my little Polish grandmother -- she carried a shopping bag with her everywhere -- those were her "gifts" her "surprises".  The words of Fra Giovanni never fail to uplift - especially at this time of the year.  From my heart I wish each and every one of you all the best of this holiday season -- Hug someone special today!  Sincere best wishes, Donna - Tesuque, New Mexico - 12/20/13

"There  is nothing I can give you which you have not;
But there is much, very much that while I cannot give it,
 you can take.

No heaven can come to us unless our hearts
find rest in today.  TAKE HEAVEN.
No peace lies in the future which is not hidden
in this present moment.  TAKE PEACE.

The gloom of the world is but a shadow.
Behind it, yet within reach is joy.
There is a radiance and glory in the darkness, could we but see,
and to see we have only to look.  I BESEECH YOU TO LOOK.

Life is so generous a giver, but we, judging its gifts by
their covering, cast them away as ugly, or heavy or hard.
Remove the covering, and you will find beneath it
a living splendor, woven of love, by wisdom with power.

Welcome it, grasp it, and you touch the angel's hand that
brings it to you.  Everything we call a trial, a sorrow, or
a duty, believe me that angel's hand is there; the gift is there,
and the wonder of an overshadowing presence.
Our joys, too, be not content with them as joys.
They, too, conceal diviner gifts.

And so, at this time, I greet you.
Not quite as the world sends greetings, but with
profound esteem and with the prayer that for you now and
forever, the day breaks, and the shadows flee away."

Fra Giovanni, 1513 AD

Thursday, December 19, 2013

FROM MY TESUQUE WINDOW - 12/19/13

This morning - from Tesuque window - I see a painting in there - taking shape - loved the light coming in through the garden gate on the patch of snow.....

Thursday, December 12, 2013

TAOS WINTER DREAMS, 6"x8" Orig. Oil Framed - Sold

TAOS WINTER DREAMS (Santistevan Lane, Taos, New Mexico) - 6"x8" Original Oil, Framed in Silver - Sold

Monday, December 09, 2013

DEEP RIVER DREAMS, 9"x12" Original Oil, Framed - Sold

DEEP RIVER DREAMS (Rio Grande at Pilar, New Mexico) - 9"x12" Original Oil Framed in Silver with Linen Liner. SOLD

Monday, December 02, 2013

TESUQUE BLUE - 12/1/13


12/1/13 - Getting acquainted with my new neighborhood!

Saturday, November 30, 2013

100 Small Paintings No. 72 - RANCHITOS PASTORAL 8"X8" - Sold

100 Small Paintings No. 72 - RANCHITOS PASTORAL (View from the field at Padre Martinez Hacienda, Taos, New Mexico), 8"X8" Original Oil, SOLD

100 SMALL PAINTINGS NO. 73 - PUESTA DEL SOL, 6"x8" Framed - SOLD


100 SMALL PAINTINGS NO. 73 - PUESTA DEL SOL (One of the last paintings of the view from my Taos kitchen window) 6"x8" Original Oil on Gessoed Panel, Framed in Gold -  SOLD

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

OUR DAILY BREAD.....

OUR DAILY BREAD (Taos Pueblo, New Mexico)

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity.  It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.  Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."
- Melody Beattie

A very happy and peaceful Thanksgiving to family and friends everywhere!  Best regards, Donna

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

HARVEST MOON RISING, NEW 30"x40" Original Oil, Framed



Studio No. 2113 - HARVEST MOON RISING, 30"x40" Original Oil on Belgian Linen, Framed in Silver with Linen Liner - Completed 11/19/13 - Now available at Online Gallery .

Thursday, November 14, 2013

HARVEST MOON RISING - 30"x40" Work in Progress (The Glazes)

STUDIO NO. 2113 - HARVEST MOON RISING - 30"x40" Work in Progress (The Glazes) - Glazes are transparent or semi-transparent colors thinned with painting medium and worked into the underpainting.  Trees:  Combinations of Chrome Oxide Green Opaque, Yellow Ochre, Prussian Blue, Burnt Sienna and Cadmium Red.  Sky:  Ultramarine Blue, Violet Lake, Thalo Red Rose and Yellow Ochre Transparent.  Because there is turpentine in painting medium, the glazes have to dry before going in with the opaque colors. 

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

HARVEST MOON RISING - NEW 30"x40" Work in Progress (Underpainting)

HARVEST MOON RISING -  30"x40" work in Progress (Underpainting) - Original Oil on Canvas.  Trees:  Chrome Oxide Green Opaque, Yellow Ochre, Prussian Blue.  Sky:  Ultramarine Blue; Cadmium Yellow, Thalo Red Rose, Cadmium Red.  Earth:  Mixed all colors together to get a wonderful "mud".   All colors mixed with Grumbacher MG White and thinned with turpentine.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

TAOS SUNRISE - NEW 36"x36" Original Oil Completed 11/12/13


TAOS SUNRISE - New 36"x36" Original Oil on Belgian Linen - Wrap-around Canvas.  Completed 11/12/13.  Now available for purchase at my Online Gallery/Store.

Friday, November 08, 2013

TAOS SUNRISE - 36"x36" Work in Progress (Opaque Colors)

STUDIO NO. 2013 - TAOS SUNRISE - 36"x36" Work in Progress (Opaque Colors) - Worked on this canvas all week and dropped the idea of using only five colors.  Added Cadmium Yellow Light to the area where the sun is rising and will add some dry brush Holbein Rose Grey to the sky next week.  Also added some Burnt Sienna and Alizarin to the grasses and trees.  The paint is laid on rather thickly and needs to dry before I can work to bring out the early morning light.  This is not a New Beginning as I thought when I blocked it in - it is the last painting from my kitchen window on Santistevan Lane -- that makes it very special in my eyes.  Hope you are enjoying this process.  DC

Thursday, October 31, 2013

TAOS SUNRISE - Work in Progress - the Middle Tones.

10/31/13 - Second day of work on this canvas - "Scumbled" (rubbed in) colors in all combinations.  Laid in branches with combination of Burnt Umber, Ultramarine Blue, and Prussian Blue.  Concentrating intense light in one area.  Let dry for a day or so.....Stay Tuned!

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

36"x36" Work in Progress - TAOS SUNRISE (Underpainting)


STUDIO #2013 - TAOS SUNRISE, Work in Progress (Underpainting) - On Toned Ground:  Whole canvas is covered with mixture of gesso and Payne's Grey.  Allowed to Dry.  Loose sketch:  Darks - Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Umber - some Prussian Blue.  To lighten add MG Underpainting white.  Light areas:  Yellow Ochre Pale and Grumbacher's MG Underpainting White. 

New 36"x36" Work in Progress - "TAOS SUNRISE (Palette)

COLORS:  Yellow Ochre Pale, Payne's Grey, Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Umber and Prussian Blue.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

200 Small Paintings No. 88 - TAOS SUNRISE (Study), 6"x6" Original Oil, Framed

200 Small Paintings No. 88 - TAOS SUNRISE IN FIVE COLORS - Study for larger painting, 6"x6" Original Oil on Linen Panel, Framed in Silver - Now available at Online Gallery. 

Sunday, September 29, 2013

100 Small Paintings No. 85 - LLANO SAN JUAN, 8"x16" Original Oil - Sold

 100 Small Paintings No. 86 - LLANO SAN JUAN, 8"x16" Original Oil on Gessoed Panel, unframed. Sold

Thursday, September 26, 2013

100 SMALL PAINTINGS "CAPILLA DEL NORTE", 6"X8" ORIG. OIL - Available


100 Small Paintings No. 85 - "CAPILLA DEL NORTE" 6"x8" Original Oil on Gessoed Panel, framed in gold.  Available.

Sunday, September 15, 2013

RIO CHAMA AT ABIQUIU, New 20"x20" Original Oil

Studio No. 1513 - New RIO CHAMA AT ABIQUIU, Original Oil on Canvas, 20"x20" (wrap-around painting).  Now available for purchase at Online Gallery.

Friday, September 13, 2013

RIO CHAMA AT ABIQUIU, 20"x20" Work in Progress (Underpainting)


STUDIO NO. 1513 - RIO CHAMA AT ABIQUIU, 20"x20" Original Oil on Canvas, wrap-around paintingWork in Progress (Underpainting) - Pinon Trees:  Prussian Blue and Burnt Sienna for the darks, chrome Oxide Green and Ochre for lighter areas.  Trees:  Cadmium Yellow, Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna.  Water:  Indanthrone Blue with Permalba White and touch of ochre to grey the blue.  Stay tuned.  DC

Thursday, September 12, 2013

LAS AMAPOLAS, NEW 24"x30" Original Oil - SOLD


STUDIO NO. 1613 - LAS AMAPOLAS, New 24"x30" Original Oil, Framed in Gold with Linen Liner.  SOLD

Monday, September 09, 2013

LAS AMAPOLAS - 24"x30" Work in Progress


STUDIO NO. 1613 Work in Progress (Underpainting) - LAS AMAPOLAS, 24"x30" Original Oil on fine Belgian Linen.