dipping my brush in my soul - jana van wyk

Wide Open Spaces

2011-11-04T08:57:00.001-07:00

Wide Open Spaces 20x24 oil

Cottonwood Glory

2011-11-04T08:56:00.001-07:00

Cottonwood Glory 16x20 oil

Autumn Evening

2011-11-04T08:50:00.001-07:00

Autumn Evening 16x20 oil

Windy Day II

2011-10-25T14:02:00.001-07:00

Windy Day II 24x30 oil

San Geronimo Apple Tree

2011-10-23T11:57:00.001-07:00

San Geronimo Apple Tree 16x20 oil

Painted from a photograph taken in Taos, NM in Spring of 2009. There are apple trees near the San Geronimo Lodge that burst forth in glorious color for only a few days in the Spring. I didn't get a chance to paint them on location and have been waiting for a time to paint them from my photographs in the studio. Today was that day.

Along the River

2011-10-22T13:10:00.000-07:00

Along the River 16x20 oil

Rio Hondo

2011-10-20T08:35:00.000-07:00

Rio Hondo 16x20 oil

This is a rio and early Spring scene viewed from the road between Arroyo Hondo and the John Dunn bridge, north of Taos, NM.

Near Grand Teton National Park

2011-10-19T07:09:00.000-07:00

First the glazes...

Then the opaques. This is a scene along the Snake River in Wyoming as seen from our whitewater rafting.

Marsh at Dusk

2011-10-18T13:43:00.001-07:00

Marsh at Dusk 20x16 oil

Completed in the studio Autumn 2011

On location in Taos, NM

2011-10-18T09:39:00.001-07:00

Taos Morada in Spring 12x16 oil

I painted this scene on location in May of 2011 on a beautiful Spring morning.

Mariposa Ranch 12x16 oil

This is the Mariposa Ranch north of Taos, a beautiful vista of ranch land. Painted in the Fall of 2010.

Pink Barn 12x16 oil

This pink barn is also on the Mariposa Ranch; this painting was done on location in the Spring of 2011.

Windy Day

2011-10-18T07:55:00.000-07:00

Windy Day 11x14 oil

Painted on location in Spring of 2011 in Taos, NM - north of town.

Sky paintings

2011-10-18T06:51:00.001-07:00

Golden field and clouds 12x16 oil

I love these simple subjects that pack such a punch of delicious color and joy. I'm doing a series of sky paintings and enjoying this new subject very much.

Joy in the sky 16x20 oil

This larger painting is based on the first painting in this post. For this second larger painting I enjoyed making the clouds more geometric and also allowed a red underpainting to show through. These points of red make the painting more active and interesting.

"Cathedral Rock"

2011-10-17T13:09:00.003-07:00

Cathedral Rock 16x20 oil

This is "Cathedral Rock" which is on the road to Taos. Behind the bushes is a cemetery, and, yes, there really are crosses on top of this rock.

"Cottonwood and Pine"

2011-10-17T13:09:00.001-07:00

Cottonwood 14x11 oil

Pine 14x11 oil

I tried a new technique with these two paintings. First, I painted the subject in greys only - to make a value study. Then I painted high key, opaque paint over the greys. The result is more muted color than I usually use.

Red Still Life

2011-10-17T09:28:00.000-07:00

The Pedernal

2011-10-17T08:22:00.001-07:00

For some reason when I am on location at Ghost Ranch NM I do not often paint the Pedernal itself; when I am there I think it seems too obvious. I had a great photo of it so I painted this version in the studio last week. This is the time of year when I normally visit NM for a week of painting on location but I will not be going this year. So I am painting scenes of Ghost Ranch in my studio and dreaming of that magical place.

Church in Placita NM

2011-10-17T06:27:00.001-07:00

Painted from a photo on to an 11x14 panel: the charming church in Placita, NM is set amidst farmland on the High Road to Taos.

La Santisima Trinidad

2011-10-17T06:08:00.001-07:00

This 16x20 painting is of the church "La Santisima Trinidad" located in Arroyo Seco, NM. I painted this larger version using the 12x16 version that I painted on location.

Kathryn Stats instructional dvd

2011-10-17T05:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I watched Kathryn Stats' instructional dvd "Overview - Mountain Scenery". During the six hour video she painted a scene of mountains just outside Zion National Park in Utah. I am a big fan of her work, and it was interesting to watch the video.

"A Russian Night in Taos" show

2011-10-16T08:14:00.000-07:00

I'm pleased to announce that the painting "Ghost Ranch at Dusk" was juried into the "A Russian Night in Taos" show at the Taos Art Museum in Taos, NM. In addition, it was purchased by the Executive Director of the museum. A portion of the proceeds benefits the museum, and I am very happy to support this wonderful, southwestern museum. It's one of my favorite places in NM.

Painting on location in Pilar, New Mexico

2011-06-14T15:58:00.000-07:00

Aspen Trees - final phase

2011-06-07T16:44:00.000-07:00

Aspen Trees 24x18 oil

In the final pass over this painting, I toned down the darks, gave the foreground more definition, and gave some detail to the tree trunks. I also softened the edges of the trees to show more leafy patterns. I'm pleased with this final result!

Aspen Painting - second Phase

2011-06-06T07:56:00.000-07:00

Here after the second phase, the second pass over the painting surface, you can see that I filled in the trees, putting in the shadows and giving them shape and color. During this second pass I also did a bit of over-painting of the background to tone down the mountains and give them depth. Depth is created when I let some of the first layer of paint and colors show through while placing a slightly different color on top of that layer.

Aspen painting - first phase

2011-06-04T06:22:00.000-07:00

I've taken photos of my latest painting in progress and would like to share this with you so you can see the methods I use when I paint. First, I used many reference photos to study aspens and then I drew my invented scene on the canvas using pencil. Next, above, is the first layer of painting where I put down the big shapes. I painted the background behind the trees first since this will be darker than the trees themselves. My first layer of paint is the darks of the painting and I will come back later and make some of them lighter.

Juried into "Scope: the North Carolina Lanscape" show

2011-05-25T04:53:00.000-07:00

I'm pleased to announce that "Carolina Marsh" has been juried into the annual, national "Scope: the North Carolina Landscape" show at Visual Art Exchange in Raleigh, NC. The show was juried by Allie Pitcher, Curatorial Assistant, Taubman Museum of Art, Roanoke, VA.

Join us at the opening on June 3, 2011 6-9pm at Visual Art Exchange during the First Friday Gallery Walk event in Raleigh, NC!