For a long time I have wanted to do a series of paintings called Back Alley Guthrie. Guthrie was the first capitol of Oklahoma when it became a state in 1907, but not for too long. In 1910 the capitol moved to Oklahoma City and Guthrie was forgotten, but well preserved, so that now it is the largest Historic Preservation District in the nation. Here’s a great article with pictures that I found while researching … Only in Your State
Guthrie has some amazing buildings, but not too many people go around to the back to see what treasures are hiding there. Driving around town one day looking for old historic forgotten back alleys, I came across this abandoned grain elevator down by the railroad tracks. And this became my first inspiration…
“Abandoned” 12″ x 16″ oil on canvas
Some paintings are such a delight to paint and this was one of them. I love the way this turned out.
I said something in my last post about summing up my 30 day challenge in September… the very best part was I started to paint again and that’s a really good thing. 🙂
I think the truck painting and the barn will be worth framing.
Iconic Taos Truck oil on canvas 9″x12″Somewhere on Seward at Sunrise oil on canvas 12″ x 16″
I also realized that I enjoy painting old barns and old trucks and this has inspired me to embrace what I love about the old town I live near… the back alleys.
Today I sketched the barn that leads into our property.
I’m thinking it needs something cute in the front like my grandson playing with his old yellow Tonka dump truck. 🙂
I have really failed in my challenge this last week, but I did work on this painting.
I bet there are some beautiful autumn colors happening in those aspens in Colorado right about this time. The trees around here are starting to turn yellow and fall already. Fall…here we come…
Gray’s Peak in Colorado is a wonderful place to hike. We have gone there many times throughout the years. Some of the family have climbed both 14ers, Gray’s and Torrey’s… I admire them. I only went part way up Gray’s to where there was nothing but slippery shale sliding under my feet and my fear of heights kicked in, so down I went, taking a deep breath of relief when I got back to the car. I painted from one of the photos I took on the road to Gray’s and Torrey’s and sold it at the gallery. I’ll post it here so you can see…
Road to Gray’s and Torrey’s SOLD
After I had completed this painting back in 2017, one of my daughter’s gave me an old acrylic painted canvas that she was getting rid of and I decided to try and paint this same painting, but with a palette knife. Never finished it, so that’s my new project here…making something new from the old.
A couple years ago we went to New Mexico for a little vacation and I took some pictures of all sorts of things that inspired me. I did paint plein air one time up in the Sandia Mountains near Santa Fe, but it was difficult for me knowing that people were waiting on me, even though they were so very nice about it.
While I was looking through my computer pics, I found this iconic truck that we saw near Taos. It’s been a while since I painted a truck and I thought this might be a great time to do it.
I love the aqua color of this truck, and how the color is echoed by the other truck in the background.
When I used to be on IG I made friends with an artist who lives near Taos and we talked about painting this truck.
One thing I enjoy about listening to Kathie Odom talk about her painting process is that she loves to find stories behind the structures and landscapes that inspire her. When I saw this old building next to a corner gas station on a rather quiet road near Guthrie, Oklahoma, it intrigued me, especially with the early morning sun glowing on the old metal sliding door. But the round metal structure really was my focal point, and this morning I discovered something truly unique about it.
Here is a picture to refresh your memory or perhaps this is the first time you’ve seen it and you will now know what I’m talking about…
Here’s my story…
Once again we drove past this building on our way home from watching the sunrise at the lake. I wanted to stop, get out and refresh my memory of the place. It was then that I saw a man walk from the back of the building towards that round metal structure. He disappeared behind it. Bewildered, we decided it would be best to leave. I watched as the picket fence moved, but as we drove past I looked in between the building and the round tower and no one was there. The man had just disappeared.
Hours later we returned to the site and looked in between the fence and the round structure. There was a large section cut out and to our amazement there was an old outhouse inside, a single board with a hole in it. I guess the picket fence is the privacy door? Can you believe it? You could never tell from the road that the round metal structure was an old outhouse.
I have no idea what this old building was. Peaking in the window it just looks like it is full of trash and cardboard boxes. Maybe I’ll do some more sleuthing and find out. 🙂
Back to my painting…now I know that the focal point is an old outhouse. 😉
The palette is part of the process. I’ve decided to follow along with a painting video by Kathie Odom. She’s one of my favorite artists and she paints interesting places that tell a story to her. Today I’m using a palette that is modified from one that she uses.
Here are the colors chosen for this palette from right to left…
Titanium White
Lemon Yellow
Cadmium Yellow Medium
Cadmium Yellow Deep
Cadmium Orange
Cadmium Red Light
Cadmium Red Scarlet
Yellow Ochre
Alizarin
Viridian
Burnt Sienna
Cobalt Blue
Ultramarine Blue
Burnt Umber
Cobalt Teil
Ice Blue
I also did the block in of my painting today, as you can see in the photo. I actually progressed further than this today, but I’ll share that tomorrow.
Simply Painting 