A rose by any other name would not make you think of hot dogs

"Mustard and Ketchup Rose" or is it Ketchup and Mustard? I am not sure.. but I already named it so there it is... I painted this rose for my Mom for Mother's Day. I have to say. it was definitely a challenge, this one.. I scraped the canvas clean THREE TIMES before I felt it came out okay. I actually really like the way it turned out, and I think my Mom will be pleased.. It's her new favorite rose. Happy Mother's Day, Mom! I love you!!!

Oh, yeah.. the painting is 16"w x 20"h, oil on canvas - applied with a pallet knife.. so how do you spell pallet anyways? Okay, so this whole time I have been spelling it all wrong. Apparently, I worked at the Home Depot for too many years! The correct spelling is "palette" Ha.. sorry about that to all those that care about spelling things correctly!

"Mustard and Ketchup Rose"
16"w x 20"h
oil on canvas
palette knife work
Painted for Mom for Mother's Day 2013
copyright Raette Meredith 2013

Crazy for color in our new home!!!

Okay so the big move is over and we are officially residents, here in Montana. What makes us residents? Well, we have fishing licenses of course! Ha.. no seriously, TOTALLY can't wait for fishing season to start in May!  It's the 25th of April, and I think have painted more in one month than I EVER have. I am learning A LOT and loving every minute of it. Every time I complete a painting, I can't wait to start another. But alas.. I have a family to care for too.. sooo.. one a day is good.
Let's see.. I have tons of new paintings to show you... but I think the best option will be for me to share the album with you.. or you can take a look at it on my website in the "Montana Views" gallery.

Okay, so what else is new? A couple of people like using my greeting cards, and I REALLY appreciate it! So I finally updated my "Cafe Press" site with current paintings and some old fav's. You can order them directly from my website now, and they will be delivered right to you...

Umm.. Oh yeah.. I also found a professional photographer for my artwork. My goal is to have one painting each pay check scanned / photographed so that I can make supreme quality limited edition prints available. I have one scanned so far..Wahoo! :) Of course, any time a painting sells, I can get one or two more photographed, sooo.. I guess it depends on how much you all like these! :)

There is so much inspiration here in Montana. .it is so pretty, and it's Spring! The grasses are just now starting to turn green and I can't wait for the flowers to pop! My neighbors have daffodils and a few have other bulbs too.. and I SO appreciate them!!! I miss my tulips in Redding! Will have to plant some here!

Okay, so here you go.. COLOR! :) WAHOO!

Montana Views - Finally here!

Well, we did it! We moved to Montana! There is so much to see here, I am pretty overwhelmed with where to begin. I decided to start exploring really close to home. It is the beginning of Spring, and the grasses haven't turned green yet, so the dominant colors are browns, golds, oranges and reds, purple and dark green.

So today I got up, got the kids to school and took my dogs out for a walk. I decided to do a little exploring and found the Lone Pine State Park trail heads. I found single track bike paths along with walking trails that are nicely groomed. The dogs got a great walk, I got to see some fabulous moss and rocks, all in the solitude of the woods. Then I came home and took a nap for an hour. Feeling unproductive, I grabbed my easel and paints and decided to go paint.

The first Montana painting is below. (I actually did this one yesterday from a photograph I took a couple weeks ago. It is of a ranch on the Upper Thompson River. My husband and I took a drive out there the first week we were here.

"Upper Thompson"
oil on canvas
11"x14"
copyright Raette Meredith 2013

This second painting I completed today. It is literally within a mile from my house. At about the middle of the painting, in my head I got kind of frustrated, so I just said "Whatever" and just let the paint glide. I liked grabbing the dominant colors and just focusing on that instead of trying to get nitty-gritty accurate with the painting. It worked because I am not accurate with anything I do anyways. I am still not sure how I feel about the painting, but I like the colors and it was fun to do. 

"Three Mile Drive and Spring Creek"
oil on canvas
20"x16"
copyright Raette Meredith 2013

A Quiet Place near Keswick Dam

Today I decided to paint up near Keswick Dam, in Redding, CA. I found this great big tree - oak or cottonwood - truth be told, I'm still not sure, because it was on the other side of the River. Under the tree was this peaceful spot, perfect for a picnic! Every time I passed this spot, I longed to sit under that tree and read a book, take a nap, and simply enjoy the quiet.

Of course, I am constantly thinking of different ways to paint things I have already painted.. that's what makes me a forever student, but I enjoyed painting this one. 

Here it is:

A Quiet Place near Keswick Dam
oil on canvas
pallet knife and brush
16"x12"
copyright Raette Meredith 2013

New Years Crags - Plein Aire

Yesterday we went to the Crags again, the most dramatic mountains around here, I just love to paint them.

"New Year Crags" (detail) 10" x 30" oil/pallet knife copyright Raette Meredith 2013

"New Year Crags" 10" x 30" oil/pallet knife copyright Raette Meredith 2013

On location "New Year Crags" 10" x 30" oil/pallet knife copyright Raette Meredith 2013