The Studio

Trees at the Overlook

July 10, 2009 by kellywalkerstudios

Stand of Trees at Overlook new

Trees at the Overlook is an oil on masonite panel measuring 9″x12″ and is available by contacting me at kwalker@doubledogdesigns.com

I love the way the fog sometimes settles in the valley here.

Posted in daily painter | Tagged daily painting, impressionism, Virginia Artist | Leave a Comment »

!st day home 2 Jed came to live with us on January 5th of this year. He was found as a stray in St. Clairsville, OH and was at the shelter there. We found him on Petfinder, a wonderful website that helps thousands of pets find homes each year.

We had just lost our beloved Rosie in December and I thought Truman would like having a friend around. Little did I know that Truman was lobbying to be an only dog !

Jed & Tru

He and Jed did NOT hit it off right away and while Truman still bosses Jed around, they get along a little better now.

In WIndow 3

When Jed arrived in Virginia, you would have thought that he had lived in our home his entire life. He just settled right in…especially into the window seats in the living room and bedroom. He took those over as his.

Our dogs names have a presidential theme but I didn’t want to change his name again so we bent the name rule with Jed to include fictional presidents. He is named for Jed Bartlett from The West Wing, a wonderful tv series.

Jed sleeps in chair 1 The vet estimated that he was about 1 1/2 years old when I got him so we decided that his birthday would be in July. Since I was also born in July and to make the celebration especially fun for both of us, it came to be that Jed has the same birthday that I do.

So Happy Birthday to us, Little Man. I am so happy that you have made your forever home with us.

And remember, when you party too hard this is what you look like at the end of the day!

Posted in Dogs, Small Town Life | Tagged Dogs | 2 Comments »

A Morning Walk with the “Boys”

July 8, 2009 by kellywalkerstudios

Morning Walk in WV 1 One of the things I love about going over to the cabin in West Virginia is the beautiful views that we have on that gorgeous old apple orchard. This weekend I took the “boys” up to the top of the mountain and we walked each morning by the apple trees. On the first morning though, this was the view….a blanket of fog hanging in the valley with a bright sun ready to burn it off.

Morning Walk in WV 4 There wasn’t one bad vista…everywhere I looked there was beauty. The mountains peeking up on the far mountain range; the heavy fog like marshmellow creme; and the green, lush trees heavy with apples were all there for us to take in.

Morning Walk in WV 5 Morning Walk in WV 6 But this is mostly what I see when I walk. Jed leading the way out in front….

And Truman not too very far behind not wanting to miss any of the scents of rabbits, groundhogs, and deer and who knows what all else.

And watching the “boys” running and having such fun is just as beautiful as the views to me.

Posted in Dogs, Small Town Life | Tagged Dogs, West Virginia | Leave a Comment »

A River View

July 7, 2009 by kellywalkerstudios

A River View is an oil on canvas panel measuring 9″x12″ and is available by contacting me at kwalker@doubledogdesigns.com .

I love painting landscapes of the local area. We live where the two forks of the Shenandoah River merge so there are many beautiful river scenes to paint.

Posted in daily painter | Tagged daily painter, daily painting, impressionism, Shenandoah River, Virginia Artist | Leave a Comment »

Pepper Steak Supreme

July 6, 2009 by kellywalkerstudios

Pepper Steak 1

I don’t cook a lot. Sadly, we do a lot of fast food. 😦

But from time to time I get in the mood to cook and when I do it has to be something that is easy and delicious, usually a recipe that my mom gave me. One of my favorites was Pepper Steak Supreme. I made it last weekend and took a few photos along the way. The pepper photo here will undoubtedly become a reference photo for a painting.

Here’s how you make it. (The full recipe is below.)

Pepper Steak 2

Cut the bell peppers and onions into squares about 1″.

Ingredients for Pepper Steak Supreme

2 lbs. round steak, cut into 1″ strips

1/3 cup cooking oil

1 teaspoon salt and a dash of pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 large bell peppers ( I use different color peppers)

1 medium onion

1 can bean sprouts

4 medium tomatoes (quartered) or you can use a can of stewed tomatoes

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

3/4 cup of water

Pepper Steak 3

Brown the steak strips in the cooking oil. Add all remaining ingredients except cornstarch. Simmer for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until steak is tender. Mix the cornstarch in a tablespoon of water and add to thicken.

Pepper Steak 4

Serve over rice. Delicious and healthy. Really!

Posted in Recipes | Tagged Recipe | 2 Comments »

Happy Independence Day

July 4, 2009 by kellywalkerstudios

Truman-patriotic Truman wishes you all a safe and Happy 4th of July!

Posted in Dogs | Tagged Dogs, holiday | 1 Comment »

Plein Air Painters at the Bowen Farm

July 3, 2009 by kellywalkerstudios

There is a group of plein air painters in the Northern Shenandoah Valley that meet each Thursday for painting and fellowship. Since opening Delilah’s a year and a half ago I have found it difficult to make my schedule work to be available to go. But yesterday was different. I was off and in town – a rare occurrence and was excited to join the group again to paint. Susan Bowen from Rockland was kind enough to welcome us to her beautiful farm to paint. Here’s what I did: View from Bowen Farm Reference This is my reference photo. I always take one before I begin.

View from Bowen Farm 1e

And you can see from where I am set up that sometimes you have to work around things that are “in the way” to make the composition you desire. In this case there were barns and even a tractor that I didn’t want to include. But that’s not problem…you just leave them out. View from Bowen Farm 2

Several of you wrote comments last week when I posted a series of photos from a plein air session and asked if bugs bother me. Well, see the fly in the middle of this photo? You just wait for them to fly away….or shoo them if you are impatient. I’m not a patient woman. Shoo! I started this painting with a loose sketch – basically where I want the tree and fences and mountains. View from Bowen Farm 3

Then I begin laying in the color….the sky, the tree, the mountains, the meadow – working my way down the canvas. I find this works best for me on this type of landscape.

View from Bowen Farm 4

Still working my way down until I completely cover the canvas and then I can go in and add a few highlights and details.

And then suddenly there is completed landscape painting. It was such a joy being out in the Rockland area to paint. It was a beautiful day and the weather was perfect.

“View from the Bowen Farm” is an oil on canvas panel measuring 9″x12″ and is framed and available for $275. Just contact me at kwalker@doubledogdesigns.com

Posted in daily painter | Tagged daily painter, impressionism, Virginia Artist | 4 Comments »

Squash

July 2, 2009 by kellywalkerstudios

Squash A friend of mine plants the most beautiful vegetable garden every year down by the river. And his generosity is enjoyed by so many of his friends. Often in the summer I will find a bucket of delicious veggies on my front stoop. Today it was yellow crookneck squash (Joe knows this is my favorite) and cucumbers. What a treat!

I stewed them up with some fresh green onions that I got at the farmer’s market and a little butter, salt, and pepper. Now summer has arrived! Thanks Joe.

Posted in Small Town Life | Tagged vegetables | 1 Comment »

Truman & Jed

July 1, 2009 by kellywalkerstudios

Tru & Jed Truman and Jed love to go for a ride in the truck. And I try to take them with me as much as I can. I did a quick sketch of the way they look with their little heads at the window. This was an exercise to loosen up for another painting that I’ve been working on. Plus it was fun.

Posted in daily painter, Dogs | Tagged Dogs, impressionism, Virginia Artist | 3 Comments »

Serendipity

June 30, 2009 by kellywalkerstudios

One of the questions I get asked most as a daily painter is how do you find something to paint everyday. And the answer is fairly easy. I live in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley and am lucky enough to have a little cabin in the mountains of West Virginia on an old apple orchard so I see things everyday that I want to paint. And I never walk out the door without my camera. (Well, sometimes I forget and then I see something I need a photo of and I have to beat myself up for a while which is never any fun!)

Across the Bridge

This is a view we see almost everyday as we come across the Shenandoah River into our town. I snapped this while driving along (don’t tell Allen) so it’s not the clearest photo ever but it will work fine as a reference photo.

Road 3

And Truman, Jed and I drive down miles of roads all over the old apple orchard in search of great views.

And Jed and Truman are both experts at sniffing out a great location to set up and paint!

Sniffing Out a Location Jed

Old Truck 2

And sometimes when you least expect it you drive around a bend in the road and there it is, serendipity! The thing you least expect to see but can’t wait to take photos of so you can preserve it to paint later. Or maybe because you just can’t believe your eyes…..

Posted in daily painter, Serendipity, Small Town Life | Tagged Old Truck, Virginia, West Virginia | 3 Comments »

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