Awakening - Ruth Andre

Today I started a commission of a Great Dane. I have to say my heels have been pressed to ground procrastinating on working with brushes rather than the palette knife. My client wants brushwork  so brushwork it is. After getting the first color down for the pup I took a break and painted this small landscape, "Awakening". My recent small paintings are giving me ideas for larger paintings. I do feel an awakening when the paint flows and blends to make a quiet statement of change. Hope  you enjoyed your day. Awakening has made for, "A Painting Day".

News Flash:  My new landscape palette knife paintings have been requested for exhibit at my galleries in Texas and Utah. Am I thrilled? YES!

"Awakening" 5"x7" o/c by Ruth Andre

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Fire Storm - Ruth Andre

There is something about red that fills you up and breaths life into the air. Red has always been a favorite color. I started liking red as a child and the love affair never ended. It is intense and it is fiery. My father loved wearing red. He would always ask if I liked his green jacket or shirt and of course they were red. Being intense and fiery runs in the family and I have been accused lately of being my father's daughter. I take these words to be a compliment. It has been, "A Painting Day".

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Just A Whisper - Ruth Andre

This is a quiet painting and one that might take you in and let your mind wander. I have been working on small studies that may work for larger paintings. I truly just want to paint what I want and if I go here there or everywhere it is going to be fine with me. Quiet thoughts made for, "A Painting Day".

"Just A Whisper" 6x6 inches, oil on canvas by Ruth Andre

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Fence Row Catalpas - Ruth Andre

While living on our farm in Missouri this was a scene I saw ever summer as I headed from the house to the barn. The Catalpa trees stood between our farm and our neighbor's farm. The neighbor grew cotton for several years and then switched to corn. The land was flat and the corn was a sea of green during the summer months. I had never seen a Catalpa tree when we move to our farm but grew to love them for their resiliency and their shade. Summers are hot in the Bootheel of Missouri and Catalpas were a welcome haven for a lunch break when working in the fields. Being a farmer's wife made for lots of memories and made for, "A Painting Day'.

"Fence Row Catalpas" 5x5 inches, oil on canvas by Ruth Andre

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"Whispering Valley" - Ruth Andre

I painted a small 4x5 inch study, "Hill Country", and then today I tackled a larger painting using the study as a guide. I have had the drawing ready to go for over a week but realized I needed larger palette knives and a larger palette for larger paintings. It was quite a lot of fun to take a 5 inch palette knife and just dive in and start painting. Below you will see my makeshift palette and the palette knives in waiting. I have more palette knives than I will ever use but my husband went shopping with me and was having a great time adding knives to the shopping basket. He had what I call "Art Store Frenzy". Moving up to a larger canvas made for, "A Painting Day".

"Whispering Valley" 12x30 inches, oil on canvas by Ruth Andre

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Afternoon Serenade - Ruth Andre

The end of the day with the sun making a silent good-bye is a time for reflection for the day and maybe for days past. The sky is vigorously alive and then quietly descends to reappear for another day. I have found that as dusk approaches I feel a need to come together with those in my family circle. Quiet reflection made for, "A Painting Day".

"Quiet Serenade" 4x6 inches, oil on canvas by Ruth Andre

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Deep Into the Forest - Ruth Andre

I have been away for a few days and have missed my painting time. I took a Qigong workshop with Qigong master Li Jun Feng. Qigong is similar to Yoga and Tai Chi that helps cleanse the body, mind and heart by activating and increasing the body's circulation. The class was quite a unique experience and I am now doing daily Qigong movements to improve my health. The class was amazing because after each day of exercise I felt more energy than I have felt in a long time. The meditative powers of Qigong have made for, "A Painting Day".

"Deep Into the Forest" 8x10 inches, oil on canvas by Ruth Andre

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Dry Creek - Ruth Andre

Just a few months ago I was in Joshua Tree to look at property my father bought several years ago. It was a perfect day, warm not hot and the view went on for ever. The land was completely untouched except for the property markers showing where one lot stopped and another started. The land was covered with desert shrubs and I noticed what appeared to be a dry creek meandering its way across the property. I am sure in winter after a rain storm the dry bed is filled with rushing water. There is a a quiet solitude in the desert that speaks to me with no apologies. It is what it is and you take it and like it or you don't. My father loved visiting what he called his "Sand Hill" and walking the land made me remember him and how much he loved the land. Visiting Joshua Tree made for, "A Painting Day".

"Dry Creek" 6x9 inches, oil/ canvas by Ruth Andre

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Just Before Dusk - Ruth Andre

The days have been glorious here in the valley. It is warm and there is a quiet breeze. I love the subtle movement of the wind blowing through the trees. Today I decided to paint a partial view of a painting that I would like to paint much larger. I am working up my courage and decided to start with a smaller canvas.  If you have been following my blog you know I am moving in a much different direction with my painting. Most of you do not know that when I started my art making I worked as a print maker and did serigraph prints. The art was all abstract. I have always loved color, form and texture. These latest paintings have been an awakening of another part of me that has been dormant for sometime. Searching the soul has made for, "A Painting Day".

"Just Before Dusk" 8x10 inches, oil on canvas by Ruth Andre Sold

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Song of the Sea - Ruth Andre

I lived in Encinitas, California for  a few years and each morning as I headed for the kitchen I would look out to the ocean to see what the day had in store. It was always a treat to see the ocean or on those cloud filled days, the grey mist and fog. The ocean view was alive with daily changes and always beautiful. Today's painting, "The Song of the Sea" gives a glimpse of the never ending changes of the sea. Living on the coast made for, "A Painting Day".

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Blue Mountain - Ruth Andre

The poltergeist is back. Truly this was going to be a painting of trees. Then I took a turn and the painting became another color study that is going into the "Mountain Series". I do have another painting for the mountain series in my head and really need to get it painted. Maybe tomorrow? Thinking of the Blue Mountains made for, "A Painting Day".

"Blue Mountain" 6x6 inches, oil on canvas by Ruth Andre

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River Oak - Ruth Andre

I had a couple of days of errands that kept me out of the studio so this painting was a little warm up study. It looks rather delegate as if I was testing myself to paint again. Lately it seems there is a Poltergeist guiding my painting. I start to paint one thing and another comes alive on the canvas. Maybe this is something that happens? There was also a wasp in the studio and a few mosquitoes that I wish would find another flight pattern. Moving paint and dodging things that fly made for, "A Painting Day".

"River Oak" 6x6 inches, oil on canvas by Ruth Andre

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