Jo Castillo Art Blog

Canadian Thanksgiving Reminds Me of Bolivia??

2008-10-12T23:21:00.003-05:00

I was reading Jeanette Jobson's blog and someone commented that it is Canadian Thanksgiving tomorrow, well today if you are on the east coast and are in Newfoundland like Jeanette.

In Bolivia, way back in the 1970s, we lived next door to the Resurection priests at San Miguel Church. Father Jim and Father Nino were wonderful neighbors and we would supply a turkey, hard to come by in Bolivia at the time, and celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving with them. They were great cooks and we would have a great time with them. We would then have U.S. Thanksgiving in November at our house. Wonderful times.

I have no photos of Bolivia with me and I couldn't find any on-line photos of the San Miguel Church, but found this quickie youtube movie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-ojmZ-L7mk

Papi Nino passed away a few years ago, a loss for all of us but we are left with very special and loving memories. Father Jim is back in Canada and I hope you have a wonderful day, Papi Jim!

So,

Happy Thanksgiving to the Canadians!

Pastel in Progress a la Regina

2008-10-11T23:24:00.003-05:00

I still don't really have time to post. I suggest you take a look at Regina's pastel sky painting in progress. Amazing to see the painting grow to a finish.

Here is the POW/MIA balloon lit up in the Moon Glow/Twinkle on Saturday night.

The balloons are so beautiful to see. I will work on getting some more photos posted before we leave Albuquerque.

Time Out and Award

2008-10-01T22:07:00.011-05:00

I will be out of touch, well, posting and reading blogs, for the weekend. Jennie and Larry our two youngest children will be visiting here in Albuquerque and we will be taking in the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. Sounds like fun, don't you think??

From Jo Castillo Art Blog

This painting, Full of Hot Air, was painted after our visit with Jennie and a trip to the festival a couple of years ago, so hopefully I will get others done this year! This is 12 x 12 inches, pastel on Pastelboard.

I will post a few photos next week for you. :)

Also I was given an award by Susan. We discovered each other during the Virtual Sketch Date for September. Thank you, Susan. I do appreciate your support and link.

I have a hard time with passing the torch on these awards. Instead of trying to pick 6 favorite art blogs, I nominate all of you that have blogs I regularly read. Consider yourselves recipients of this nice award and if you care to pass it on, please do.

You know I try to keep up with at least fifty art related blogs. I will make a list soon and post them, so you can check them out. Some are artists I like and some are marketing and help sites. I also look at some Austin area news when we are away. I use NetNewsWire as my RSS reader. It is so handy to check who has posted something that you wish to read in a glance. If you don't use a reader you are missing out. There are many options for this if you don't have one, just Google Rss Readers.

See you in a few days, have a nice weekend.

Pastel Painting Evetts in the Evening - Finished

2008-09-30T14:31:00.003-05:00

There were some minor corrections to the painting I posted before. I straightened some lines and gave it a few other touches and Gene is framing it now.

Evett's in the Evening
Pastel painting, 9 x 12 inches

This photo is pretty close now to the painting in real life. We will take it to Peppers Gallery in Magdalena next week.

Stop in Peppers to see the artwork and then get a bite to eat at Evett's. You will be satisfied with both. They are on Highway 60 in Magdalena, New Mexico.

Graphite, Sheona Hamilton Grant & Shoofly

2008-09-30T10:56:00.004-05:00

If you haven't seen the work of Sheona Hamilton Grant you are missing some great drawings in graphite pencil. They are so impressive and full of life. She has a couple of interesting blogs. One on her page that looks like it has finished drawings and Black on Grey on White on Blogger. I am sure you will be delighted with her work.

Also check out cowboy artist, Robert "Shoofly" Shufelt. He was an acquaintance of Charlie Force, our good friend. His cowboy graphite work is amazing!

Have fun.......

Sketching with Pens

2008-09-29T22:15:00.006-05:00

I have been sketching and drawing with pens for years. I have decided that the reason I like this media for sketching is that I am lazy. If I use watercolor, I have to wait for it to dry and pencil or colored pencil has to be colored in and done in many layers for the most part.

From Jo Castillo Art Blog

Sketches with Micron 05 above.

I use several types of pens. For quick sketches I like to use Pigma Micron Pens. 05 have thicket lines and 005 have thin lines. I like both, depending on the amount of detail I want. Zig Millennium are similar but usually available on-line, not in general office supply and art stores. I think their nibs last longer.

From Jo Castillo Art Blog

Sketch with Pigma Brush pen above.

On the sketch for the Virtual Sketch Date, I used a Pigma Brush pen. They are fun but using only one color is a little difficult to keep the lines thin, so difficult to vary your values.

From Jo Castillo Art Blog

Sketch with Pilot ball point pen above.

Sometimes when I don't have a sketching pen handy, I sketch with a regular ball point pen. Pilot pens seem to let me vary the line a little and don't make blobs. These are the kind I keep at my desk and in my purse.

I used to use the old fashioned pens that you dip in ink, but those are more suitable for a finished drawing where you take your time. They aren't convenient to carry around with a sketchbook either. :)

All these pens can be found at art stores, on-line and office supply stores. You might be surprised to find you like sketching with pens. Give it a try.

Pastel Painting Night Scene - Evett's

2008-09-29T22:00:00.000-05:00

I actually painted a pastel painting today. There is an old drugstore in our hometown that I have planned on painting for years. It is a landmark and one of the few original businesses. It was a bank and then a drugstore for years. Now it is a New Mexican Restaurant. I started with the intention of doing a WIP or demo and forgot to take more photos. I was in the zone, I suppose.

I did take one photo before I got too far. I began with pastel pencil sketch and then Nupastels. I painted on Richeson's Unison Premium Pastel Surface on hardboard in gray called Storm. It is a nice smooth sanded surface.

I used several blues and purple for the sky, brick red and deep red for the bricks. Dark blue, purple, green and more for the darks. Orange, yellow, blue, etc. No pure black or white. I work on the sky first and then try to work all over the painting to get some of all the colors in all parts.

I think it is finished. I will let it set for a while before framing. It looks a little off kilter here in this photo. I think that the photo was off and I straightened it and did a poor job. I will double check the perpendicular lines. You can at least get the idea.

Evett's in the Evening
Soft Pastel on sanded board, 9 x 12 inches

Scavenger Hunt 102, Welcome mat/rug, photos of Chile Peeling

2008-09-27T11:31:00.008-05:00

Thought I had better get up a sketch, too much distraction this week. Peeling and packing chile, golf and visiting with folks here has taken a big batch of time.

For Scavenger Hunt 102, Number 7, welcome mat or rug. About a 10 minute sketch in my Cachet sketchbook, 1/2 page with a Micron 05 pen.

Gene picked up the fresh roasted chile on Wednesday and we decided to peel it under the carport in the shade. We had three bags of chile to peel. We started with the medium hot green chile.

This is the green chile, but as it is the end of the season, there was quite a bit of red mixed in. The pan nearest the bottom right is the peeled chile. You can see the black burned peel on the other pods.

Gene's mom, Frances, and Gene peeling. We wear surgical gloves to keep our hands from burning. This chile wasn't hot at all, though. Then we put it in plastic freezer bags and freeze it for use all year long.

We bought fresh roasted red as well and peeled it the next morning. It is good, but has a much sweeter taste as it has ripened. This chile is from Hatch and I feel the chile from there is just sweeter, period. This is our first time to package just the fresh red on its own. We prefer the pure green (the chile from Chimayo is so tasty and not sweet) and then like the red when it is dried and blended into a sauce. The fresh roasted is chopped with salt and fresh garlic and we eat it on eggs, sandwiches, and in stew or just chile with meat. Yummmm on all counts.

You are missing out if you have never had New Mexico chile, in a class all its own. New Mexico has an official State question, "Red or Green??" Restaurants here call it Christmas if you order both red and green on an enchilada.

Now I have to go eat some chile.............

Shucks, Paul Newman died...

2008-09-27T10:10:00.005-05:00

One of my favorite actors just died. Sigh.... You can read a nice article here about Paul Newman.

Virtual Sketch Date - Tree Peony

2008-09-27T00:30:00.001-05:00

I joined in another group participation sketch, Virtual Sketch Date. The reference photo provided by Sharon, a beautiful tree peony. You can see the reference there. It is fun to see all the different styles and media. Check it out to see all the variety of work and many artists. All should be posted today and the list will be on the Virtual Sketch Date blog on Sunday, September 28.

(Added Sunday, September 28) Note: Tthe results of the participants can be seen here on the Virtual Sketch Date main page.

Jo's Tree Peony

I planned to do a very detailed pen and ink, but as usual I didn't get it done so settled for a quick sketch with a Pigma Brush pen. In a way it is good to use a "brush" as I can't get bogged down in detail using the thick lines of the brush point. This is in my Cachet sketchbook, 7 x 10 inches.

News a la Karin Jurick

2008-09-24T22:31:00.006-05:00

Daily painter followers and collectors know about the work of Karin Jurick. She is such an interesting artist and has developed a great on-line and professional presence. My favorites are her paintings of people looking at paintings. Karin's blog is one of the most popular daily painter blogs among other artists and collectors. She recently started a new blog, Different Strokes from Different Folks, one painting by many artists. She posts the photos every Wednesday and artists have a week to paint and send their paintings to Karin. It is very interesting to see the many styles and media that are used on one photo. It started with her dog, then a beach scene, and this one that I have submitted an entry, News Photo.

This is the painting on my easel out on the carport beside the photo I was working from. What a great day for painting, nice and cool there. I worked on it for about two hours. The deadline was about 10 minutes from now, so I hope my painting arrived in Karin's mailbox in time to be posted.

News a la Karin Jurick
Pastel, 5 x 7 inches

The finished painting. I see many corrections now, but I did want to get it posted and it isn't too bad for a quick, freehand painting.

Abby the Cat, Pastel Painting

2008-09-24T00:01:00.004-05:00

I have been working on a painting to send to the lovely landlady we had in Silver City. She had three dogs and a cat. I rarely paint animals, even though I love them, especially horses. I was not ambitious enough to take on three dogs, therefore I chose the cat, Abby. I am not fond of cats, I have an allergy and I am especially bothered by Siamese (which Abby obviously isn't). I have never painted or even sketched a cat that I remember so here goes!!

Abby
Soft pastel, 5 x 7 inches

Abby is quite stately and posed for some lovely photos. She just sat there in the dappled shade and looked one way and then the other. I never received even a glance from her. I chose this over the shoulder look. I'm not quite sure I captured her attempt to pretend she was ignoring me, but I tried.

Scavenger Hunt 102, Tape and More

2008-09-23T13:56:00.004-05:00

Back to Scavenger Hunt 102. I hope to get a few more sketches done this Hunt as I am hosting. Please read about why I do the Hunts here in Why Be a Sketching Scavenger. I sketch freehand (no pre sketching and erasing), usually with pen and ink, and hope to become faster and more accurate with my practice. For the most part, I am doing just that. I do, however, fall into old habits when I am bored and tend to plunge in without thinking about perspective and composition. Of course, sketches are not intended to be finished work, just practice. I would still like to be more accurate the first time round. Sketching helps me in painting, especially in plein air, as I tend to "see" better and get the light and main shapes down quickly.

Yesterday afternoon I sketched while visiting with Gene's mom. All in my Cachet sketchbook with a Micron 05 pen, about 10 minutes or so each. I never time them, but I can get 2 and a bit more done in one 30 minute TV program.

#2,tape. I sketched a roll of artists tape on my knee over the corner of my sketchbook while Gene's mom, Frances, played Bingo.

#3 TV and #4 Heater. Frances' TV and wall heater (partial) that is like a heater/airconditioner in hotels.

Number 5 Footstool, a good example of just plunging in and not paying attention to the perspective. Sigh..... Number 6 Painting on the wall. There are two collages on the wall here in our rented house, about 30 x 36 inches after framing. Very nice.

Don't forget, I post more than once a day. Scroll down. :)

Rose and Pay It Forward

2008-09-23T13:32:00.004-05:00

I am soooooo slow. Way back in January, Rose Welty, the instigator of our Fine Art Friends group, had a post about paying it forward. Her post, FREE STUFF, caught my eye, of course. I sent in my name and lo and behold I ended up with a beautiful painting.

My Pitcher and Jo's Peppers

8 in x 10 in colored pencil on drafting film
copyright Rose Welty

How much fun is that? Perfect for my kitchen.

In the PIF meme, (you can read about it on Rose's blog, link above) the idea was for me to then pass on something to someone else. I pondered for a month or so and decided to finish my New York sketchbook, which was a gift from Regina Burchett, and give it back to her. I didn't finish it until this summer and then it was another month or so before I finally sent it off to Regina. She is such a generous person, always donating her art to great causes and finding and sending special gifts to her friends and family. She has been a volunteer with Hospice and other charities, too. It was the least I could do to send her sketchbook back filled with memories. Most of the sketches in the book, you have seen here on my blog as part of the Scavenger Hunts.

So if you all have the inclination to pay it forward, go for it. You don't have to tell us about it, just pay it forward.

Hunting and Hosting, Scavenger Hunt 102

2008-09-22T11:17:00.005-05:00

Scavenger Hunt 102 starts today and I am hosting. I recycled the list from the first hunt I hosted in February of 2007. I started sketching for the Hunts in June of 2006. It is interesting to see how many artists have come and gone. We have had participants from all over the world and about every media. I will post more about this in the next nine days. I thought I had better get at least one sketch done.

Number 1, pasta. This is the best gluten free pasta I have found. Very similar to regular pasta in texture. The ones made with just rice or corn fall apart and are sticky. Anyway, this was about 10 minutes in the Cachet sketchbook with a Micron 05 pen. I sat out on the back patio (slab) as it was nice this morning and did the sketch there.

We are in Albuquerque, New Mexico, for a while for those of you that are stopping by for the first time. That means balloons starting on October 4. The huge Balloon Fiesta starts then. Wow!

Reference Photo Hints a la Maggie

2008-09-21T10:29:00.005-05:00

You probably know that "our" Maggie Stiefvater is now a famous author and pulling back somewhat from her painting and drawing. She is offering up some helpful hints on Sundays so as not to abandon us, the faithful followers. Today's post is about using photo software to help you use a photo reference in painting.

I often use her ideas and should use the check for value by changing the image to black and white more often. You can immediately see the areas that need work. You can see in this painting a good variety of values. This painting is a mid value painting with touches of highlights and dark values.

San Miguel Church
Colored Pencil, 8 x 10 inches

Try taking snapshots of your WIPs (Work in Progress) and looking at them in black and white to see how the painting is coming along. You may be surprised. Take a look at this post about value on my painting, Pears on Red, for a little more insight.

Plein Air Pastel Demo on Creative Spotlite

2008-09-17T22:56:00.003-05:00

I told you I was working on a special project on a previous post. It was a pastel demo of the City of Rocks painting. I finished the demo and Ralph Serpe was kind enough to post it on the Creative Spotlite Art Instruction Blog. This blog is very informative and has a great deal of information and instruction. I'm sure you will find some new ideas and discover some new artists there. You can read my full article there with the work in progress photos.

From Jo Castillo Art Blog

City of Rocks Pastel

9 x 12 inches, plein air demo

Sketches Hunt #101

2008-09-17T11:39:00.004-05:00

A few pen and ink sketches I finished yesterday with a Micron 05 pen in my Cachet Studio sketchbook, each 1/2 page. Gene's mom and I visited while she made a rosary and I sketched. She is 91, if you remember, and has made a rosary a day for years. Sometimes she makes more than one a day. She has mailed them to missions all over the world. I will get a photo of her and her work. I didn't take the list for Scavenger Hunt 101 along with me and sketched randomly. With a little stretch of the imagination they fit the new list.

#1, Energy - the lamp on a table.

#2, Center of something - a little stand with her digital photos and phone. Perhaps this stand is the center of attention?

#3, Off the wall - a double corner sketch with a couple of little pictures that can come off the wall.

Hot Damm Chile Photos in Hatch, New Mexico

2008-09-16T14:05:00.007-05:00

Yesterday we traveled from Silver City to Albuquerque for another month of New Mexico. It was sad to leave Silver City. The climate is so nice and we had such a comfortable house with a covered front porch to sit and have coffee and watch the rain. The deck out back was nice for evenings.

To get to Albuquerque with the pickup in tow we drove through Deming (buy gasoline at $.40 savings over Silver City) then Hatch and up I-25.

There are several or actually many chile stores in Hatch. I like the looks of this one.

If you look closely you can see the red chile peppers in this field. When the chiles are first ready for picking they are green and the farmers pick green chile for a month or so.

Then they let the peppers ripen and turn red on the plants and then pick these and let them dry for sale as red chile. You can see them drying on this roof.

This is the chile store I painted last year. It has moved and looks a little different.

From Jo's Paintings

This is the painting, Tiendita de Chile, pastel 16 x 20.

The Rio Grande near Hatch.

The Rio Grande nearer to Truth or Consequences.

Plein Air Comparison

2008-09-13T11:35:00.004-05:00

It is interesting to look back and see what we did before as artists. Is there any improvement, change in style, etc.? Linda Blondheim has a couple of great posts lately and this one about plein air painting brought this to mind. Linda's post has helpful information for plein air enthusiasts. She is also having a contest to give away a painting, check that out.

Here is a painting I did at the City of Rocks two years ago.

On the Rocks

Pastel 9 x 12 inches

This is the latest painted in the same park.

City Rocks
Pastel, 9 x 12 inches

The first one is more finished. I did some tweaking on it before framing.

Give plein air painting a try. It is lots of fun and you learn so much from painting from life. I have been working on a plein air demo that I worked on with the City Rocks painting, when it is posted, I will let you know.

Big Fish and Fine Artist

2008-09-10T19:31:00.003-05:00

I had to make a link to Kasie Sallee's blog for "fishing guy" a regular reader of my blog. He is a fisherman, country music fan and photographer. Kasie is one of my Fine Art Friends, see the sidebar, who help and give each other encouragement.

Kasie went fishing in Canada and caught a "little" twenty-four pound Northern Pike. Go check it out and discover some fine art as well.

fishing guy, are you jealous?

Sketchy Sketches for Hunt 100

2008-09-09T19:07:00.006-05:00

It seems I have been in a rush and my sketches are very sketchy to say the least. I am happy that I have completed some, but they aren't up to standard. Bear with me! I will get back on track.

For Scavenger Hunt 100, the list is bilingual in Thai as well as English. These are in my regular sketchbook.

Number 1, Horizontal (naew-non), sidewalk. 5-10 minutes with a Pilot ballpoint pen.

Number 2, Vertical, (naew-tung), fence. 10 minutes with a Pilot ballpoint pen.

Number 3, Half empty (wang-kreung), Gene's glass, the live in pessimist and Number 4, Half full (tem-kreung), my glass, the optimist. About 20 minutes total with the Pilot ballpoint pen, which has to be abandoned for sketching, it is starting to leak a little. You can see where the lines got dark and thick. First time for me that one of these pens has gone bad.

Number 5, Ice (nam-khang), an ice tray that is blue plastic. Poor perspective, I was just lazy. Sigh.... 10 minutes with a Micron 05 pen.

Number 6, Quick (raiw). Ducks on the move at the golf course. They don't look like ducks, maybe swimming chickens?? 5 minutes, Micron 05 pen.

Number 7, Slow (chaa). The twosome ahead of us that were slow, giving me time to sketch them and the ducks. 5 minutes, Micron 05 pen.

What warms your soul? a la Jeanette Jobson

2008-09-07T21:33:00.004-05:00

If you have a moment drop in on Jeanette Jobson's blog and see if you can find the answer.

My soul is warmed by family, friends, music and a little art here and there. How about you?

Here is a little heart warmer from Friday at the City of Rocks.

City of Rocks Pastel Painting
Plein Air, 9 x 12 inches

Scavenger Hunt 99 Complete! 26 Sketches done.

2008-09-07T13:46:00.005-05:00

A first for me on the Scavenger Hunts, I sketched all twenty-six items! Wow. I will review the Hunts and how and why of my participation later this week. The present Hunt, Number 100, is quite an anniversary. I have participated in most, more about that later.

For Hunt 99, I realized that I had 17 items done, so I hurried to finish. These last sketches are sketchy-er, by that, I mean they aren't as finished as usual. None took over 15 minutes. Now I will probably return to my habit of sketching 5 - 15 items of normal Hunts. These were done mostly with the Micron 05 sketching/artists' pen.

#17 Zig zag, shoelaces, Micron 05. You have seen these shoes a few times.

#18 Loose, different sketch of shoelaces, Micron 05, same old shoes.
#19 Dent, below tail light. Gene suggested this sketch and says it doesn't look like a dent. Hard to show on a white pickup. Micron 05.

#20 Junction, on the inversion table. Micron 05

#21 Sweet, Hersheys Micron 05
#22 Odd, tea pot in the collection here, colored pencil over the pen sketch. There are probably around 50 teapots scattered around this house. This one is ceramic about 4 inches tall.

#23 Kept, silver watch of 20 years plus. I got this watch in South America. It still works, but I rarely wear a watch.
#24 Young, flower buds and shoots. Some of the artists sketched children or animals. None of those here. :)

#25 Quiet, Gene reading the Sunday paper.

#26, Going, blades on ornamental windmill in back yard.

Sketches Ink and Pastel and Photos of a wonderful day.

2008-09-06T15:10:00.006-05:00

Gene and I went to the City of Rocks yesterday. Gene biked from a little ways down the road, about 30 miles! I drove the pickup and I stopped and sketched with my pen on the way and with my pastels at the park. I also painted a pastel painting, plein air, for a special project.

For Scavenger Hunt 99, which is based on words this Hunt instead of specific items. You can see the list and rules here on my blog.

Number 14, x-word. I don't have and x-ray or a xylophone so I substituted this railroad crossing with the x signs. Some of the artists did x-acto knives and one did a xylophone. I think you have to have young kids to have a xylophone laying around the house. Micron 05 pen in my sketchbook.

Number 15, winding. On our drive back we found this curve on the winding road. We found a better one later, but ..... Micron 05 pen in my sketchbook. I didn't finish it, we were on the way back. The background curves are trees along the river. Beautiful little valley along the Mimbres River.

Number 16, rusty. A grill at the park. Enclosing a photo so it makes sense. About 20 minutes with pastels on watercolor paper. Not intended to be a finished painting, a practice sketch.

A Micron 05 sketch of the rocks from the other direction where I sat to paint and do the sketch of the grill.

The City of Rocks from the entrance.

Some of the rocks near the edge of the city and the information center.

Here I am painting in the shade at a picnic table. When I paint plein air I try to be as comfortable as possible. Why not when you can? The park has the picnic tables scattered around the edges of the City so that you can picnic in the shade and have close access to walk and explore the rocks.

Gene relaxing while I finish up my painting and sketch a while. I also read for about 20 minutes. We left home about 10:30 a.m. and got home about 5:30 p.m. A wonderful day!