30 in 30 Challenge, Day Eleven

Taos Gorge Overlook, 6" x 8", Oil

30 in 30 Challenge, Day Ten

Taos Gorge Overlook, 6" x 8", Oil

30 in 30 Challenge, Day Nine

Taos Gorge Overlook, 6" x 8", Oil

30 in 30 Challenge, Day Eight

Taos Gorge Overlook, 6" x 8", Oil

30 in 30 Challenge, Day Seven

Taos Gorge Overlook, 6" x 8", Oil

30 in 30 Challenge, Day Six

Taos Gorge Overlook, 6" x 8", Oil

30 in 30 Challenge, Day Five

Taos Gorge Overlook, 6" x 8", Oils

30 in 30 Challenge, Day Four

Taos Gorge Overlook, 6" x 8", Oil

30 in 30 Painting Challenge, Day Three

Taos Gorge Overlook, 6 x 8", Oil

30 in 30 Painting Challenge, Day Two

Taos Gorge Overlook, 6" x 8", Oil

30 in 30 Painting Challenge, Day One

Taos Gorge Overlook, 6" x 8", Oil

30 in 30 Painting Challenge Begins Tomorrow!

In my post on January 14th,  I announced that I had accepted 

 Leslie Saeta's 30 in 30 Painting Challenge. 

TOMORROW IS DAY ONE! 

If you have been following my blog, you are aware that this comes on the heels of 

Mary Gilkerson's 5-Day Painting Challenge. 

In the 5-Day Challenge,  I decided to do five 5" x 7" pastels of my favorite scene 

in New Mexico, the Taos Gorge Overlook. 

I will be continuing with the same theme throughout the 30 in 30 Challenge 

but will be working in oils and slightly larger, 6" x 8". The challenge I am presenting myself is to work in a different color palette each day AND to limit each painting to ONE HOUR. 

Some will be strictly palette knife paintings, some with only brushes and some with a combination of the two. I will also be trying a variety of painting surfaces, linen, cotton, gessoed board, some will be bare, some toned and some will be previously textured. 

I am looking forward to the challenge of creating 30 different oil paintings and to what I will learn from this challenge.  At the end of the challenge, I will post a collage of all 30 paintings. 

You are more than welcome to post comments or simply follow along.

Wish me luck!

5-Day Painting Challenge Recap

Here are all five paintings done in Mary Gilkerson's 5-Day Painting Challenge. All participants had between 20-30 minutes to complete each painting. The suggested size was 5" x 7" or 6" x 8". I elected to do mine in a series of 5" x 7" pastels featuring one of my all-time favorite places on earth, the Taos Gorge Overlook.  Here are all five together. I'd love to hear if you have a favorite. Thanks again for coming along on this short but wonderful journey. 

5-Day Painting Challenge, Day Five

Well, this wraps up Mary Gilkerson's 5-Day Painting Challenge. It has been so much fun! Did you have a favorite? I'd love to hear from you!

Taos Gorge Overlook, 5"x 7", pastel

5-Day Painting Challenge, Day Four

Day Four of Mary Gilkerson's 5-Day Painting Challenge. Popping some color on this one!

Taos Gorge Overlook, 5"x 7", pastel

5-Day Painting Challenge, Day Three

Day Three of Mary Gilkerson's 5-Day Painting Challenge. So much fun!

Taos Gorge Overlook, 5"x 7", pastel

5-Day Painting Challenge, Day Two

Day Two of Mary Gilkerson's 5-Day Painting Challenge. I am continuing with my chosen theme.  This series is being done on Clairefontaine Pastelmat. 

Taos Gorge Overlook, 5" x 7", pastel

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5-Day Painting Challenge, Day One

Today is the first day of  Mary Gilkerson's 5-Day Painting Challenge.  I am warming up for Leslie Saeta's 30 in 30 Challenge. Actually, I had signed up for Mary's first and decided it would be an excellent thing to carry out further so, I signed up for both. This particular challenge is to paint a small painting, 5"x7" or 6"x 8" in 20 to 30 minutes. When the timer goes off so do your hands. I have chosen to work in a series from a scene that I absolutely love, the Taos Gorge Overlook. 

Taos Gorge Overlook, 5"x 7", pastel

Challenge Accepted!

The Challenge

I have decided to jump on the bandwagon and do Leslie Saeta's 30 in 30, which is her Thirty Paintings in Thirty Days Challenge. An ambitious undertaking, I know, but I am convinced it will reap great rewards. I am a big proponent of doing studies so this challenge will be right up my alley. Participants are asked to post their first painting on February 1, so I have a lot of decisions to make before then.  Among the things to consider are the medium, the theme/subject, color palette, tools, surface and lastly, how large to work. None of these need be written in stone but I feel being consistent for these 30 days will yield the best results.  Another consideration is whether to not to set a time limit per painting and, if so, how long? Twenty minutes, an hour, three hours? It will depend on the size of the painting. I'm leaning toward an hour at the most because it will be a tremendous help in my goal of distilling a subject to its essence and will hopefully, result in something strong and beautiful in its simplicity.  It's a little scary making this announcement but I'm doing it to keep myself accountable. I'm not expecting any masterpieces but I am expecting this to be a very valuable and rewarding endeavor. I have a feeling it will reveal things that are presently hidden, which is both exciting and motivating. I plan to keep a record throughout the process and will share a recap of the experience upon completion. Along with posting on Leslie's 30 in 30 blog, I will also be posting on mine, gayesekula.blogspot.com. I invite you to subscribe if you would like to be notified as posts are made. It is a separate subscription from my newsletter. You have my word that unless I do another 30 in 30, you will never receive this many blog posts in such a short amount of time ever again! If you don't want to see them come day after day, you will be able to view them all at the end of the challenge.  Now off figure out what to paint..... Gaye

Holiday Wishes from Our Home to Yours

Wishing You a Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2018!

Autumn's Deeper Meaning

Pecos, New Mexico

It is almost the middle of November, the weather is cooler now and autumn leaves are falling. I used to dread this time of year but now it is my favorite season of all. It is a time to slow down and reflect. It has been an amazing year... I don't know when a year flew by so quickly. So many wonderful things happened one after the other, almost too quickly to savor fully.  The time has come for reevaluation and the setting of new priorities. I have taught Beginning Oil Classes for well over a decade. In recent years my focus has shifted to portraits, which led to teaching Portrait/Figure Classes, as well as starting a monthly Portrait Group. It was no easy decision to make the announcement that I would no longer be teaching my Monday morning class.  I still have many irons in the fire and will be using this time to put things in order of importance. Social media is something that has needed to take a backseat for quite some time. I will continue sharing announcements for art organizations and checking in from time to time but social media has become a dark, black hole that saps my creativity more than feeds it. It is time for a change. There will be no waiting for New Year's Day to make a resolution...I am beginning today, right now at this very moment to slow down and be more mindful. I will be in my sacred space, my studio, more often now and more mindfully present. It is autumn in more than just the time of year, it is also the autumn of my life and the timing is perfect.  Wishing you all peace in your hearts and in your homes this holiday season.

"Sydnie" was Selected as a Jury Favorite!

"Sydnie", was selected as part of the FAV15% (jury's favorite 15% of the entries) in the August 2017 BoldBrush Painting competition by Fine Art Studio Online (FASO). Thank you, FASO!!!

Click here to read more about "Sydnie". 

Face-Off in Fredericksburg!

You are invited to the RS Hanna Gallery in Historic Fredericksburg, Texas!

Please join us as eight Texas Members of the Portrait Society of America 

                                         "Face-Off" in Fredericksburg, Texas. 

"Sydnie"

"Sydnie" 11"x 14", Pastel

Sydnie is the daughter of one of the members of our portrait group. This was her first time to sit and she did a marvelous job.

Simplicity is my manta, which a limited palette suits perfectly. 

I used Blue Earth's Portrait Sample pastels and found the only colors I missed were orange and blue. Upon reflection, I am so happy they weren't included or the feel would have been very different. 

I am very pleased with Sydnie... the model and the painting!

Taos Hollyhocks

"Taos Hollyhocks" 10"x 8", Pastel

You may have noticed that I have been doing a lot of florals recently. I love flowers...in the garden and in a vase on my table, but they have not been something I cared much to paint. My passion is painting people and New Mexican landscapes. 

One of the lecturers at the Art of the Portrait Conference emphasized the importance of painting things you don't necessarily like to paint in order to strengthen your skills. I'm glad I took his advice because this has been a lot of fun.