Christmas Bear 11"x11" gouache   Merry Christmas until my next post in January - Mary

Looking West  9"x 9" oil    This is a from a sunset over the ocean awhile ago. The intensity of the color seems a good way to start the almost Christmas week.

Santa & Friends   14"x11 gouache     Where would Santa be without his best buds??

Santa Baking  14"x11" gouache     This is my multi-talented Santa doing some baking for the holidays. His helper below is ready to provide the taste test.....

Santa & Lights tempera  14"x11"     Another of the whimsical santas that I've done for the season. I wish this Santa would come untangle our lights.......so many things to do........my list is getting longer...

Santa on Skates tempera 14"x11"  You might think you've stumbled onto a completely different artist when you see this entry! I sometimes just break out and work in this completely whimsical style and have fun inventing characters. This santa is one of those. I'll post a few more of santas and snowmen in the next few days :)

Eagle Sunset  12"x 12" oil     sold   Back from traveling and a holiday break. While in southern Idaho, I saw again, several beautiful sunsets that are frequently part of the Boise Valley evenings. This is one of them in Eagle, the day after Thanksgiving.

Grape I   14"x8" acrylic   I am beginning work on a larger painting which will take time away from daily painting. So, I am posting this sketch that was done a while back. There were about 6 done in a series, which worked out well. I always enjoy painting grapes and vines. Must be those colors!

sold Ruby Geraniums 8" x 8"  oil     This study is as much about the silhoutte of the bouquet as about the color. It's a bit like a miniature tree shape with the branches like arms reaching outward. It might be one to develop into a larger work??

Barely There  11"x14" oil  Yes, the cold has set in, but it's still nice to look for color out there, even on the cold days. Just looking at shapes alone....all the negative spaces between the branches, makes for a lot of interest.

Watching Sunflowers  20"x12"  oil     These sunflowers do seem to be watching the viewer, but  I did them as a demo piece, so they ( and I ) were the ones being watched :) Coeur d'Alene had it's monthly artwalk last night and our first snow didn't seem to diminish the crowds one bit. The town was lit up and looked very festive! I did this piece as a demonstration at Angel Gallery - start to finish about two and a half hours. Met a lot of very nice folks and talked to several fun friends I hadn't seen for awhile.  Thanks evreyone for coming out and all the nice comments and support

Reflections  8" x 10" oil     Relections of a different kind. This one is a sketch done for Rocky Blues on my main site. www.marymaxam.net   That painting is done in blues and translated into a 36" by 48" painting.

Silver Gift Box 6"x6" oil      This little box is about 2" square. It's always fun and challenging to paint reflections and this was no exception. A series of gift boxes of varying kinds might be a fun change of pace about now. Everyone has their own idea about the possibilities of what's inside.

Preparing To Dance 14"x11" oil -not for sale   Here, two dancers help each other with costume details in anticipation of a performance.

The Jota   14" x 11" oil - not for sale   I'm glad to get back to painting after a bit of a break and this  is a fun one to start with. This is my niece and nephew dancing the Jota, probably the first dance that every Basque kid learns. I will still probably tweek this a bit on edges and background. Thanks Julie for some great source materials :)

I will be away from my daily posts for about a week, but meanwhile...... Here's a call, out to all of you in the Basque community...While I'm not accepting  painting commissions, if you have a photo that incorporates the Basque theme, email it to me at art@marymaxam.net  and it might wind up in a painting!  By submitting a photo, please remember that you are giving me permission to use it as a photo source in my work. Please keep in mind that I may not use it at all but, I'd love to see what's out there.
Thank you  :) Mary
P.S.- Do  not send hard copies

First Cast  8" x 10" oil   Here's that early day light that creates just a few sharp edges and a soft almost monochrome palette.

The Day's Last Cast  14"x 11"  oil    The color of this sunset was blazing, at the end of this day in B.C. Sunsets can dazzle  the eye a little too much. When this dries a bit, I think I need to reduce the value contrast in the figure. It will help put focus back onto the color of the scene. Just wanted to post it for now and think about it.

Any Rises? 14" x 11" oil   This is a scene from the Willimson River that runs through Yamsi Ranch in Oregon.  I did a brief sketch and took photos. The light was soft but bright and it showed up the lightstruck edges of the figures nicely. This couple was staying at the Ranch, and were just about to go out and try their luck.

Fish On the Pasagshak  8"x 10" oil   sold This is a sunny,  cold day on the Pasagshak River in Alaska.
I may go back in and punch up the blues a bit. Overall, it seemed to work.

Winter Reward 11"x 14" oil    Here's a composition using a cold day of fishing and a neutral color scheme. I used a few warm tones to contrast and bring a little life to the figure and dry grass in the forground.

No Begonias   14" x 11" oil   sold  I really enjoy painting fly fishermen and am beginning several more  fishing figures for daily paintings. So Steve, lest you imagine that I'm painting too many begonias at the expense of fly fishers, here's one you might enjoy!

Jaialdi Musicians  14" x 11"  oil     Here are two more of the musicians providing entertainment and great color at Jaialdi.

Jaialdi Musician 14" x 11" oil    Every few years the Boise Basque community sponsors Jaialdi , a festival celebrating our culture with music, dance and food. This is one of the musicians from a past Jaialdi who was kind enough to pose for me.

Blue Swirl 10" x 8" oil   Here I was trying for the graceful position of the dancer and that blue swirl of the skirt as it bells out when she turns.

 
Dancing At St. Inazio II 11"x14"  oil    I put a fair amount of energy into the brushwork here in order to try to capture the movement of these two. I may post a larger image of this as it doesn't quite show some of the edges and bits of color.

Red Cap  8"'x 10"  oil   sold  Here are two more Oinkari dancers getting ready to perform. What painter could resist those red berets?!

Dancing at St. Inazio 8"x 10" oil  NFS    I am of Basque heritage and it has been too long since I've had fun painting the wonderful color and culture of our family. This is one of my handsome nephews, dancing at a festival this last summer in Boise. There are several good websites and books about the Basque people if
you're interested.One place to start is http://www.oinkari.org/ and for some excellent contemporary folk Basque music, look up Amuma Says No on YouTube.

 sold This is  from a photo and sketch done in the spring.
The weather right now doesn't quite match the optimism
of this bright painting, but sometimesfor me, that's the
best time to paint something like this.

Another pear still life. I went for more harmony this time
 in both color and value.

We've been trying to eat a box of pears before they go south.
So, I thought we could spare this one for a little still life...fun

On the way home from a fishing trip, this sunset started a blaze across what
seemed like the whole sky. The farm silhouette made for nice contrast-y
shapes in the foreground . This is about 30 minutes west of Spokane.

As promised, another sunset. I washed on Cad.yellow med. before
going into the deeper tones. A bit more like the handling of a watercolor,
but it seemed to work out.

This boat was one of many waiting to go on the Big Hole River
 in Montana. I painted it on a hot sunny afternoon, but left
out the mosquitos that were buzzing everywhere that day.

sold Sunflowers are one of my favorite subjects.
Everytime I think, "Oh, I shouldn't really paint another one,"
 I remind myself that there are no sunflower police. These
were some giants from our friend Travis's garden.

Some of the best hollyhocks are always in alleys or vacant lots......which is where I found and photographed these.

This is a spot north of Wisdom, Mt. I was looking down over some ranch land that had just a bit of the blue water reflections running through it. Everything was this amazing green early in the day and receded to softer layers in the distance.

While walking toward a beach area in Westport Washington, these trees caught my eye. There was a kind of pink and blue foggy sky behind them that created an interesting backlight for these trees.

This painting is larger than my usual daily posts. I haven't worked with a sky like this for a long time and couldn't resist the color. I'm certain I'll work in this sunset/sunrise subject matter again soon.

My iris were fewer this year, so it's probably time to divide bulbs. These blooms were nice, although I think I put them in a little too much shade in this composition.
I like the depth of color though.