TOO MUCH ART Sale: Day 9

For today: two more New Mexico landscapes for your perusal. (Can you tell I love painting New Mexico?) Enjoy your day.

SOLD “Evening View”, oil on gessoed art board, , 3 ”x 9” unframed.
Price $15 + $5 S&H

From Balloon Fiesta Park in Albuquerque, you get a wide, uninterrupted view of the Sandia Mountains, hence the long format of this plein air painting completed in July 2015.

SOLD  “In the Quiet Place #3”, oil on linen panel, 4”x6” unframed.
Price $15 + $5 S&H

This is a view of the Sandia Mountains from Coronado State Monument in Bernalillo (north of Albquerque), painted in plein air July 2013. just before a welcomed rainstorm blew in.

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Text and Images ©2021 Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.

"TOO MUCH ART" Sale: Day 5

While packing this week, I came across a box of several plein air paintings I did back in 2013. So I thought I would send two New Mexico landscapes your way today. One was painted in Albuquerque; the other in Santa Fe. Small paintings like these are perfect for placement on a narrow wall or niche, or can be set on a display easel to sit a bookcase or side table. Enjoy!

SOLD “Landscape Sketch #3” (Sandia Mountains), oil on canvas panel, 4”x6” unframed.  Price $15.

For those of you who unfamiliar with Spanish, “Sandia” means “watermelon” like the deep pink color the granite rock of the Sandia Mountains turns as the sun begins to set. All set up to paint one late afternoon, I was waiting for the mountains to take on that rosy glow to capture in my painting. I was not disappointed.

SOLD“Afternoon Arroyo” (Santa Fe), oil on canvas panel, 4”x6” unframed.  Price $15.

I was up in Santa Fe painting with a plein air group. Can you tell from the painting that it was a hot afternoon in Santa Fe? Thank goodness for the cool of the shade.

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Text and Images ©2021 Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.

"TOO MUCH ART" Sale: Day 4

Good morning! Thank you for letting me share these paintings and my thoughts with you. Have a good Saturday.

SOLD  “House of God”, oil on gessoed panel, 12” x 13” (approx), framed. Price $100.

I painted this when I was searching for meaning in my life, for something greater than my human self, something most people call “God”, “Spirit”, “Higher Power”, or some other moniker. The name doesn’t really matter. Finding it is.

SOLD  “July Flag”, oil on Italian canvas panel, 10” x 8”, framed. Price $100

 

While living in Florida, I painted with a nice group of local plein air painters that met weekly in various locations around Orlando. We were out working just before July 4, in an Orlando neighborhood that reminded me of the Chicago suburb where I grew up.

Perhaps what is captured most in this painting I did that day is the quality of “Americana”, the one that all people in our country dream of achieving, desire living, and deserve the opportunity to have. Let’s hope it is still possible.

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Text and Images ©2021 Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.

"TOO MUCH ART" Sale: Day 2

Thanks so much to all of you who are following my TOO MUCH ART sale. I appreciate you taking a look at my artwork and hope you are enjoying see the different paintings I’ve done over the years. As I go through the process of wrapping and packing, I am rediscovering some work that I had forgotten about. So it’s fun to do this “show and tell" with you all. And I really appreciate the very nice comments you have sent me. Thank you!

Today I have two small paintings to share: a sweet backyard landscape I did in Florida, and a fun colorful "pour painting". Enjoy!

SOLD  “Backyard Blooms”, oil on cradled panel, 8” x 6”, unframed.  Price $25.

While living in Florida, I took up plein air painting—which is setting up your easel in the great outdoors and creating a painting from the scenery that surrounds you. (This is one of the things the French Impressionists became famous for doing.)

The challenge of plein air painting is capturing the color, light, and shadow of the scene before you within a 2—3 hour window. After that, the shift in light, shadow, and color that you began with is gone. So often plein air paintings have a tendency to be done on a smaller sized panel—You either get the painting done or forget it.

“Backyard Blooms” is a painting I did in 2010 during a plein air “Art in the Gardens” tour in Leesburg, FL. It was a lovely event hosted by generous homeowners who made their gardens available to a select group of artists. I was pleased to be one of them.

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“Bird & Leaf”, acrylic on stretched canvas, 6” x 6”, unframed.  Price $20.

A few years ago, a new painting technique became all the rage. Called “poured painting”, the most basic technique involved layering acrylic paint colors in a cup that was then poured over a stretched canvas.

I did a few of these to try it out. It was fun, easy, messy, and the outcome was an unpredictable swirl of colors—which was the best surprise. However, other than the color variations, all the paintings looked pretty much the same. (Several pouring variations have evolved since then with far more distinctive results.)

Wanting to create a more interesting image, I glued the black cut out elements over the poured painting surface, added some metallic gold edges, and Voila! Bird and Leaf came into being. Can you see it?

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Images and text ©2021 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Happy 4th of July!

"July Flag", 2008, oil on panel, 10x8". Plein Air painting done in Orlando, FL.

Enjoy your holiday!

A Peaceful Place...

Elena Gallegos, oil on panel, 5x7”, $145

On exhibit thru June 2, at Sacred Arts Gallery

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Albuquerque

The Sandia Mountains in Albuquerque are special to me—a quiet peaceful place to rest, rejuvenate my spirit, recharge my inspiration, and to paint. So today’s post—in honor of Easter and Spring—is a painting of Elena Gallegos, one of my favorite places in the Sandias.

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Text and image ©2017 Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.

Busy Time for Exhibits (Part 3)

Quiet Place #2, oil on panel, 6x8”, $195

at Sacred Arts Gallery

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Albuquerque

Last month, the Monday Painters Plein Air group opened a show at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. I have three artworks in that exhibit—one of the Sandia Mountains that I painted en plein air is featured on today’s post.

The Church is located at 431 Richmond Place NE, Albuquerque, 87106. The exhibit, which continues through June 2, can be viewed during Church office hours: Mon—Th, 9am-2pm. 

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Text and image ©2017 Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.

Painting the Season

Bosque Cottonwoods, 2016. Original painting, oil on panel, 6" x 8"

Autumn is my favorite season, no matter where I live. Perhaps it's the cooler weather, the quality of the air, the color changes in the foliage...probably, it's all three.

So, two weeks ago when the Monday Plein Air Painters gathered at the Gutierrez-Hubbell House to paint, I grabbed my outdoor painting gear and joined them. What a lovely morning! And what a lovely location to paint.

Located in the South Valley of Albuquerque the Gutierrez-Hubbell homesite goes back to the 1850's, when it was the home of Julianna Gutierrez and James Hubbell. They had 8 children and their property also served as a farm, ranch, mercantile and trading post for the family business. Having been restored in recent years by Bernalillo County, the house and 10 acres is a historical and cultural site, one of six New Mexico sites named to the Register of Historic Places.

I wandered down to the acequia (the man-made water channel that the Spanish hand-dug for irrigation purposes) to paint the cottonwood trees that were just beginning to take on their yellow tinge of autumn. 

It's been quite awhile since I've painted en plein air. But it was good to refresh my efforts and a wonderful place and day to do so.

FYI: The Gutierrez-Hubbell House is located at 6029 Isleta Blvd SW, Albuquerque. Open Tu - Sat, 10-2pm.

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Image and text ©2016 Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.

Evening View

Evening View (Sandias, July), 2015. Oil on gessoed panel, 3"x9"

It's been quite awhile since I posted a plein air painting. My favorite time of day to paint outdoors during the summer months is after 6pm, when the heat of the day and the blinding scorch of the sun are over.

Living near Balloon Fiesta Park, I have a great view and convenient place to paint the Sandia Mountains at that time of day ... like a ringside seat in Paradise.

Thanks for taking a moment to read my blog. I hope you enjoyed it.
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Image and text ©2015 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Revisiting Coronado

Plein Air Landscape Sketch #12, 2015.
Oil on cartonboard, mounted on panel. 5"x7"

A couple of weeks go, I joined the Monday Painters at Coronado State Monument for a morning of plein air painting. It was warm and hazy, with clouds overhead. We've been having more rain than usual, so the Sandia Mountains are green with vegetation, looking velvety from a distance.

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there! Enjoy your special day tomorrow.–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Text and image ©2015 Carol L. Adamec

Mercury Retrograde Re-do

To the Quiet Place, 2013-2015.
Original plein air painting in oil, alkyd, 6"x8"

As a casual student of astrology, I do pay attention to Mercury retrograde periods and use those weeks to re-do paintings that are unfinished or need an overhaul.

This is a plein air piece that I painted up in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains back in May of 2013. I was never quite satisfied with it. So a few weeks ago, during the recent Mercury retrograde (May 18-June 11), I put the painting back on the easel and reworked the composition and color. I'm much happier with it now.

Thanks for visiting my blog and taking a look at my artwork. Have a great week!
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Text and image ©2015 Carol L. Adamec

The Land of Enchanting Weather

Landscape Sketch #11 (Elena Gallegos, Albuquerque) Original plein air painting, oil on panel, 6"x4" To purchase, click HERE

Landscape Sketch #11 (Elena Gallegos, Albuquerque)

Original plein air painting, oil on panel, 6"x4"

To purchase, click HERE

You won't hear local folks grumbling about the weather we have been blessed with in Albuquerque this week. It has been sunny, in the high 50's and 60's every day—unusual for January—and we are loving it! 

I was up in the Sandia foothills, painting with the Monday Plein Air Painters, just a few days ago. While enjoying the late afternoon light on the mountains, I completed the painting posted on today's blog.

To all the folks out there coping with winter cold, ice. and snow, be careful!

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Text and image ©2014 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

The Long View

Landscape Sketch #8 (San Antonio Oxbow),  2013.
Original oil on gessoed panel, 4"x6"
(NFS: Artist's Collection)

Besides meeting very nice artists to share an outdoor painting session, the great thing about being in a plein air group is that you get to paint in places that you might never discover on your own. That was the case when I painted with the Monday Painters about a month ago. 

We gathered around 4:30 in the afternoon on the west side of the Rio Grande River on a sandy cliff. Spread out before us was an incredible long view looking to the east. The San Antonio Oxbow is directly below the cliff, and extends to the bosque, speckled with old cottonwoods in various stages of green-to-yellow color changes. 

Beyond that are the treetops of Albuquerque's neighborhoods sloping up to the Sandia Mountains, that were just starting to take on a pink blush of the coming sunset.The light and air were perfectly clear. 

With the sun warm on our backs, we all painted away for the next two hours, enjoying this unique view. A truly fabulous day for plein air painting, and I was pleased with the painting I completed, too.

Thanks for taking a moment to visit my blog. I hope you enjoyed this post. Have a great day.

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Image & text ©Carol L Adamec, 2013

Truth or Beauty?

Landscape Sketch #7 (Nightfall),  2013. Original oil on panel, 4"x6"
(Private Collection)

Most of the time I go out during the day to paint en plein air. However, with the days getting shorter and the light having such a different quality now than during the summer months, I've been painting in the late afternoon.

A few weeks ago, just about 45 minutes before sunset, I drove down the road from home to a pull-off that has a great view of the Sandia Mountains. I set up and quickly painted the mountains while they still had some fading light on them. I intended to wait for moonrise, with the light coming up behind the mountains, to capture the full moon that evening.


I had checked the moonrise time for that day (You really can find out everything on the internet!), which meant waiting another an hour and 40 minutes before I could finish my painting. I had a little lantern to provide light on my palette for mixing paint and seeing my panel. I waited, and waited, and waited. One by one the stars came out, faint blurs of light in the sky until the night deepened. But no moonrise. Hmmmm....

So I packed my gear up, drove home, and again checked the information on the internet. Moonrise was at the time specified, but on the east side of the mountains. The moon did come into view that evening, about 45 minutes later than I expected, but behind the clouds that had rolled in. So my intended painting remained unfinished.

A few days later in the studio, I painted in the sky with a color that appealed to me and added a sprinkling of silver points of starlight that I had seen that night. Not entirely a truthful rending but still a beautiful result, I think.

Thank you for taking a moment to view my blog. Hope your week is off to a great start.

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Image & text ©Carol L Adamec, 2013

Plein Air Fingerpainting

Plein Air Landscape Sketch #6,  2013. Original oil on gessoed panel, 4"x6"
Private Collection

As I've mentioned before, autumn in New Mexico is truly beautiful. The air is clear and crisp, and this year is especially colorful with all the cottonwoods decked out hues from bright yellow to deep gold.

Knowing that the leaves won't stay on the trees forever, I was itching to get out to plein air paint but had commitments for paintings that required time in my studio all week. Finally, I broke away on a Sunday afternoon and headed for the Sandia Mountains. I got all set up, ready to paint, and realized I had forgotten my paint brushes at home. Ugh!

Going back home was out of the question. The daylight would be gone by the time I made the trip there and back. I scrounged around in my car and came up with one #8 flat brush, a Q tip…and my finger…just enough to get this landscape sketch "painted."

When I got home, I cleaned up a few edges and added a few details. Not bad. I may try this "technique" again.

Thanks for taking a moment to view my blog. Have a great day.

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Image & text ©Carol L Adamec, 2013

Plein Air Evening

Landscape Sketch #5, 2013. Oil, alkyd on 4x6" gessoed panel.
Private Collection

A few weeks ago I joined the Monday plein air painters at Elena Gallegos. It was late in the afternoon, just as the sunset was fading into evening, and the moon was beginning to glow over the Sandia Mountains.

Thanks for visiting my blog and I hope your weekend is enjoyable.

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Text and photo ©2013 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Los Poblanos Plein Air

Plein Air Landscape Sketch #4, 2013. Original oil on gessoed panel, 4"x6" Plein Air Landscape Sketch #4, 2013. Original oil on gessoed panel, 4"x6" I recently joined the Monday Painters group. The group was organized by Jean Kondek, who is also a member of the Plein Air Painters of New Mexico and has a studio around the corner from me at the Harwood Art Center. She arranged for us to paint at Los Poblanos Open Space in Albuquerque on Saturday afternoon, October 5.

I hadn't been to this location, even though it's right in town near the Rio Grande, and I've driven by the entrance many times. The land is flat and open, used for organic farming, and has a nice view of the Sandia Mountains, which I very much enjoyed painting that day. 

Thank you for taking a moment to view my blog. Have a good day!

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Image and text © Carol L Adamec, 2013

Just Before Sundown...

Plein Air Landscape Sketch #3,  2013. Original oil on gessoed panel, 4"x6"

Just a short drive from the house (I often ride my bike to this location) is a great view of the Sandia Mountains. So around 5pm on September 25, I jumped in the car with my plein air gear, drove to this location, set up and began painting the view.

"Sandia" in Spanish means "watermelon", which is similar to the deep pink color the granite rock of the Sandia Mountains turns as the sun begins to set. I was waiting for the mountains to take on that rosy glow so I could capture that rich color in my painting; and I was not disappointed.

Amazingly, as the sun began to head below the horizon, a purple shadow crept along the landscape toward the mountain. Within a minute or two, it reached the foothills, ran up the mountain side, and engulfed the entire mountain range in darkness. Quite a transformation!

Thank you for taking a moment to view my blog. I hope you are enjoying a wonderful day.
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Image & text ©Carol L Adamec, 2013

Another Plein Air View...

Landscape Sketch #2 (Sandia Mts), 2013. Original painting, oil on panel 5x7.

This is another view of the Sandia Mountains, painted on Sunday September 22, between 4-6pm from Elena Gallegos Open Space in Albuquerque. There is already a change in the light, now that it is officially "autumn."

Thanks for visiting my blog and I hope you are enjoying a great weekend.

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Text and photo ©2013 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Landscape Sketch #2, measuring 5" x 7", is painted in oil on gessoed panel, varnished and ready to frame or display on a small easel. Available for purchase on Daily PaintWorks  Click to Bid

September Plein Air

Plein Air Landscape Sketch #1, 2013, Original oil, alkyd on panel, 4"x6"

Ahhhhh, September in New Mexico—a perfectly lovely time of year to be outdoors, painting in plein air. 

Over the past few weeks, I've taken to painting in the late afternoon, as the shadows and clouds provide more dramatic light and color variations. I'm working small (4" x 6") and keeping it loose. This is a view of the Sandia Mountains, painted from Elena Gallegos Open Space in Albuquerque.

Thanks for visiting my blog and hope your week is off to a great start.

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Text and photo ©2013 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Landscape Sketch #1, measuring 4" x 6", is painted in oil on gessoed panel, varnished and ready to frame or display on a small easel. Available for purchase on ETSY at www.ArtByCarolAdamec.ETSY.com