It's been a little while since this landscape painter posted here on my blog. There have been some system problems since the server guys sold to another provider, yadda, yadda. You know how it goes. The issue for me has to do with changing a post because that causes all subsequent posts to disappear! Think I've figure out a "work around" so here goes with an update on what I've been working on in the studio.

The 20 by 36 inch painting of Borrego Badlands in springtime is finished and so here's a photo of it. I really liked working on this one so it's a little sad to see it finished... is that strange? The desert in bloom is not to be believed... makes you consider all the miracles that happen around us every day!

"Borrego Badlands in Bloom", 20 by 36 inches, oil on canvas.

Here's a real kick and a good reason for me to clean out the studio more often. Was organizing the finished paintings according to size and checking which still need a final finish coat, and found a painting that was almost but not quite done! Have not the foggiest idea why it got in the finished stack a bit too soon! But have to say that I really like this one of the fall sycamore trees at Mission Trail Park. So here it is.

"Sycamore Trail", 14 by 18 inches, oil on canvas.

Have started a 24 by 36 inch painting of a back country lake that's turning into a lot of fun to paint. I shouldn't jinx it by saying that and the fates will probably get me back later;) Will post some progress photos in a while as soon as it looks like something I'd want anyone to look at.

This landscape painter has been spending many an hour finishing up a 20 by 36 inch painting of the Badlands area in the Borrego Desert. Not one to be drawn to desert scenes - usually too forbidding - I found that the desert in bloom is too magical to resist! This particular location is near Ocotillo Wells in the southern area of Borrego and when it blooms it comes in later than the northern section and with different wildflowers. On a good year with a lot of winter rain the lupines are plentiful!

So here it is for your amusement. I took this snapshot as it stood on my easel and a more professional image will surely follow in a couple of days... so I make no promises about color accuracy! But at least this newly finished painting already has a title and that's a real event for me!

"Borrego Badlands in Bloom", 20 by 36 inches, oil on canvas.

As a landscape painter I rarely get blocked. Some artists, and I saw this a lot when I was teaching at the college, get blocked in their work frequently. Not me. Quite to the contrary, there doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day to do all that my active mind envisions! Sure, sometimes when I have the sniffles or just need a day off, the brushes stay in their big ceramic pots waiting. But most of the time very little gets between me and the tubes of paint.

I appreciate my luck in this regard because I see how some of my artist friends struggle with blocks. We're all thrown a road block what with active family lives and the demands of attention and time from those who depend on us. Some excellent artists I know have day jobs in addition to family responsibility and that puts the largest limit on time left for art.

Psychological blocks are the most fascinating to watch play themselves out. I often told student facing blocks that art is a great big mirror into ourselves and that the problems that block our creativity are the same problems that block our lives. Learn to overcome your art block and you have a coping skill that will serve you in life.

Just another reason why art should be taught in schools!