dipping my brush in my soul - jana van wyk: March 2009

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Cottonwood Afternoon

"Cottonwood Afternoon" 8x10 oil $350 framed

Painted on location at Ghost Ranch near Abiquiu, New Mexico during the Autumn season of golden cottonwoods.

"Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures." -Henry Ward Beecher. This is my journey of dipping my brush into my own soul and painting what I find. I have a passion for our American West and those landscapes are my primary focus. But, averaging 6-8 weeks of travel a year, I will paint whereever I am. I usually paint on location, i.e. plein air, but also revel in taking a plein air study and my photographs and using them to create a large, more thoughtful, studio work. In addition to bold brushwork and vibrant color, the power of the composition is becoming more important to my work. The work of Vincent Van Gogh, Maynard Dixon, Edgar Payne, Birger Sandzen, and Walt Gonske has been a huge inspiration to me.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

"Autumn Cottonwoods", 11x14 oil, $750 framed

The sun was low -- near evening-- in northern New Mexico; the shadows were deepening and the glow of the sun was golden. Painted on location at Ghost Ranch.

Jana Van Wyk

Friday, March 6, 2009

Local Color Paint Out and Show, Raleigh, NC

On April 18, 2009, Local Color Gallery in Raleigh, NC will hold their annual Local Color Paint Out competition with a show of the paintings created that day. The photo above is of a painting I did at the event last year on Boylan Avenue. And the photo below is of me while I was painting it.

I will be painting in this event again this year. The official paint out locations have changed this year to the southern area of the neighborhood, and I'm excited to paint these historic areas of Boylan Avenue in Raleigh, NC for the first time. Let's hope for great weather like we had in 2008!