Here is what we will be finishing up tonight at Art Class. We started this piece last week and just have a few details to add to finish. You can see the photo above the painting. This lesson is a photo from an ad in a magazine.
We find photos and inspiration from many places.
As I have said before, anyone can paint. It doesn’t take talent but rather desire. If you want to learn to paint, or improve your painting skills, email me, kwalker@doubledogdesigns.com , and join us on Wednesdays at the Blue Ridge Arts Council. We have great fun!
Bridge Over River is an oil on canvas panel that was an art lesson for the Wednesday Night Painting class. One of the most fun parts of painting together on Wednesdays is that sometimes we paint the same thing. This was a picture brought in that several of us painted.
I picked them.
And washed them.
And cooked the pitted plums with a cup of water to get all that good juice going.
And once the cooked plums cooled a little, I squeezed the wonderful plum juice.
And then back into the pot the juice goes with sugar and Sure Jell. I’ve used Sure Jell for years and it always makes great jelly. Just follow their directions.
Ladle the cooked jelly into the prepared jars…
And then you have the finished product ready to share with friends. (Notice Truman, always in the background, giving instructions.)
Cactus amazes me. I don’t understand how it works exactly but it is beautiful in its own way. 
Cactus makes a nice foreground for landscape shots in the west.
I love the way it looks in the landscape of the west. 
I’ve always wanted to see the Grand Canyon. Everyone who had been to it said that it was amazing….not possible to describe…you had to see it to believe it.
It was a beautiful clear day when we were there and you could see for miles and miles. There were huge puffy clouds hanging perfectly over the cliffs. It was almost fake looking. I said that the same people who perpetrated the fake “moon landing” must have painted a huge screen and hung it up here for people see. It just didn’t look real.
But it was real. We had a great view of the Colorado River running through it. Unbelievable!
The tower overlook at the southeast end of the canyon gave wonderful views of the canyon not to mention that it was quite photogenic itself.
Allen and Bob didn’t miss an opportunity to read about all that we were seeing.
And Sally risked standing on the edge of the world!
Just back from the Labor Day Weekend in Sedona with friends. I hope to post some red rock paintings soon. Saw many wonderful views and landscape there. It’s hard to believe how different everything there looks compared to the Shenandoah Valley.
We hiked each day. Bell Rock and Cathedral were right down the road from our hotel so we were able to hike there easily. We saw rattlesnakes on one walk. I HATE snakes!!!
I’m not crazy about lizards either but we saw lots of them so I had to get at least one shot.
So many nice landscape views with the arid countryside in the foreground. I hope to paint many of them.
And yes, I did paint while I was at the Paint-out. There were so many wonderful feature to photograph that I did take some time to walk around the yard and by the river and creek and get some reference photos for my file. 
This is the start of the painting, the part that I got done that morning at the Paint-out. The painting shown in the photo is stored in the canvas carrier of the easel. I am waiting for the oil paint to dry a little more so I can go in and put some of the details in the tree trunk. As soon as it is done I’ll post the results.
This is the little creek that feeds into the river (See Monday’s postings) at Robin’s house. There was so much beauty – everywhere you looked, especially along this little creek.
And terrific features to paint like this little bridge that leads to the main house. 
As I walked along the river and the creek to take these photos, I saw tons and tons of smooth river rocks. But I was fascinated by the way the creek had etched out this slate and made it into long flat pieces. And the moss growing on it was just a bonus.
Robin’s beautiful home near Romney was the site of the Paint-out on Saturday. How wonderful that she shared her wonderful location with us. 
There was several buildings on the property that are unique. I love the boards on this one. 
And lovely settings like this that would make a great painting.
And this one too! Where to start???!!!! That is always the problem when you go to a new location that is rich with subject matter. It’s hard to know what to paint first. That is why digital cameras have been such a useful tool for painters. All those pictures…so little time to paint.
The Studio 