Open Mic Nite

Let's Celebrate!

'tis the season:)

Open Mic Nite  9x12 oil on museum board

Happy Holidays to all and wishing you a spectacular New Year!

Music is one of the things that Austin does best.

The painting above is Juan De Hoyos

on Open Mic Nite

at Poodies Hilltop Roadhouse.

You can learn more about Juan here:

www.juandehoyos.com

and hear his music here:

http://www.juandehoyos.com/music

Enjoy!

Over the years The Hilltop has hosted music legends such as Willie Nelson, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Asleep at the Wheel, Jerry Jeff Walker, Kevin Fowler and Toby Keith ( among others).

www.poodies.net

Announcing my BIG ADVENTURE in my next blog.

Please stay tuned.

(hint)- part of it involves Santiago!

Until then, continue to sparkle with delight in the season of light!


To follow my newsletter please click here.

To follow my blog please go to
www.brucebingham.blogspot.com
and enter your email on the right to submit.
Thanks for following along!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Pecan Pie   

 oil on museum board

sold

Happy Thanksgiving!

Savor the moment:)

Thanks for following along and I appreciate

your comments!

Music and more....

The Continental Club

9 x 12 oil on museum board

Enjoyed some music recently with friends at the

Continental Club in downtown Austin

where we got to hear Redd Volkaert.

Redd used to play with Merle Haggart back in the day.

FINALLY!

I've got your chair waiting for you so we can relax

and catch up again:) 

Yes, it's been more work than expected, yes we made a huge mess,

and yes I am happy that the make over is finally over.

We went from this to this to this in what seemed like forever but

actually wasn't.

 Big, Big sigh of relief:)))))

We'll be able to see more of each other again!

Thanks for viewing my paintings and following along:)

Carol's Awesome Book!

Carol's Awesome New Book

Daily Painting  by Carol Marine

I got my copy today and it's awesome!

Thank you Carol:)

Of course I couldn't read it all yet because it's so

filled with helpful info.

Carol generously, clearly and honestly shares

her knowledge in her latest book.

You can pre-order your copy

here.

It's a must have!

Thanks for following along.

AIS Show

AIS Show

  Thank you to AIS Pres- Debra Joy Groesser,

the AIS V.P.- Cheryl St. John.

and especially the show chair  Becky Joy

for hosting a fantastic show.

They had arranged a demo by Clayton Beck,

workshops, paint outs, museum tours, 

presentations on materials and marketing

and a great opening.

There were so many wonderful paintings there

that I couldn't even pick a favorite to vote for in the

peoples choice award.

 I met so many

artists and hopefully made some new friends along the way.

My experience couldn't have been any better.

Plus red dots are always exciting!

For party pics click here.

Thanks for following along!

You're invited!

Abend Gallery

2260 E. Colfax Ave.

Denver, Co. 80206

303- 355-0950 & 800-288-3726

If you are in the Denver area please stop by to see

all the wonderful paintings included in the show.

I'll be there and would love to meet you in person.

If you are unable to attend you can view the works online.

click here

or visit www.abendgallery.com

Hope to see you there!

Old Friends

Old Friends  6x6 oil on museum board

click here to see auction

I just loved the gesture of this old woman walking and 

her dedication to come and feed the birds

everyday.

They seemed like old friends and

really kept each other going.

That's what friends do:)

I do love the juicy paint in this one and would like

to try it larger and see if I can keep

the same paint quality.

I'll keep you posted.

Thanks so much for following along and 

letting me share my art/life with you.

Show Time

Show Time:)

Time to ship Porch Swing off to Abend gallery

for the AIS show.

You can click here to see a list of the exhibiting artists or

visit the American Impressionist Society website.

While in Europe I didn't have access to these great shipping boxes.

Shipping overseas made them super expensive so I 

always made my own.

One of the many reasons I love being back in the states!

I chose the Airfloat Strong Box.

It was really easy to pack and cut out the center foam panel

to give the painting a soft comfy place to snuggle in 

for the ride.

Friends tell me these boxes really hold up well and if you have

any comments about this, I'd love to hear them.

Thank you for following along and viewing my paintings.

Three Wheel Drive

Three Wheel Drive 9x12 oil on board
sold

I ran across this old tractor while I was out painting recently.

It immediately inspired me and brought up fond

memories. 

I spent part of my

childhood on a farm, way back when, and this looked

just like the tractor I used to drive when I was a kid,

(and way too young to drive). 

I remember I had to stand up to reach all the pedals

and the gear shift.

It was so much fun and I felt soooo grown up!

Priceless:)

Thanks so much or letting me share my artwork with you.

Your comments are welcomed and appreciated:)

Flower Festival

Flower Festival  9x12 oil on board
sold

I did this plein air painting in France last spring when I took

a workshop with Ovanes Berberian,

a true master painter and student of

Sergei Bongart.

There were only four of us in the workshop

which was great!  Very unlike the large groups

he has in the states. It was wonderful to get so much

personal direction from a master's perspective.

The best thing about a workshop IMHO is

to be able to focus on painting and not worry about

anything else.

With so much going on about my house I really

relish these memories of the moody French

countryside and just painting, painting, painting!

Thank you for viewing my artwork, your

comments are encouraged and appreciated!

Shed at Wenmohs

Shed at Wenmohs 9 x 12 oil on board

I loved going out plein air recently and meeting

some new painting buddies from 

Plein Air Austin.

(my link should be on their website soon:)))

We met at Wenmohs Ranch

which hosts some fantastic art workshops.

There was only a handful of us there, probably due

to the 100 degree plus weather forecast.

I had a wonderful time, despite the heat,

and found it peaceful and quiet.

It's been pretty loud around my house lately with the

extensive remodeling going on.

Drills, jack hammers, saws, and more add to chaotic musical mix.

Looks something like this on the outside:

And this on the inside:

Unveiling to be announced sometime in the future.....

Exciting!  The storm before the calm.

Thanks so much for following along.

You comments are welcomed and appreciated!

Man Up

Man Up  12 x 12 oil on museum board

Did I mention where I've been lately?

Did I forget to tell you that we are in the middle

of a ton of reconstruction?

Tons and tons, you get the picture;)

Thanks for following along and viewing my art!

Best Wurst

 Best Wurst

8x10 oil on museum board

I am crazy about these crazy little food trailers

that are popular all over Austin. 

It's lots of fun getting to know this city with

 such a great sense of humor.

It's given me a sixth sense-

I see paintings everywhere.

LOL 

Thanks for following along and viewing my art.

Your comments are welcomed and appreciated:)

Wiggy's Wooden Indian

Wiggy's Wooden Indian

9 x 12 oil on museum board

TGIF

I thought this painting of a local liquor

store would be appropriate for a Friday post.

It a hide and seek title 

about the cool wooden Indian

that I like so much.

Thanks for viewing my blog.

Comments are appreciated and welcomed:)

Cheers!

Inspired

Porch Swing 12 x 12 oil on board

This painting was accepted into the

American Impressionist Society 

15th

 Annual National Juried Exhibition 

Abend Gallery, Denver Colorado 

October 2 – November 1, 2014 

Saying I'm excited to be in this show would be an

understatement.  I'm THRILLED!

If I had a bucket list this would be on it!

I was inspired to paint this after visiting my new friend

Dena Wenmoh who lives close by.

She is a wonderful artist and runs world class workshops

that you can check out here:

http://www.wenmohsranch.com/

Thoughts about competitions:

My feeling is that the most important thing

about painting is to be inspired and enthusiastic

about your own personal journey.

That being said, the occasional external validation

does feel encouraging! 

Yippie!

Thanks for viewing my art and following my blog,

comments are welcomed.

Mean Eyed Cat

Mean Eyed Cat Bar

12 x 12 oil on museum board

Getting to know my new home town a little better.

The Mean Eyed Cat Bar is popular

for Bar B Q, booze and beer,

with a Johnny Cash kicker.

When in Austin, check it out!

Thanks for following my blog and viewing my paintings.

Comments are welcomed and appreciated:)

Tacos on 5th

Tacos on 5th  

12 x 12 oil on museum board

Austin is a city with a sense of humor and a funky style.

I really love all the wacky architecture I see

around town.  This painting was inspired by

old bus, painted blue and repurposed as

a taco stand.

Why not?

Thanks so much for viewing my artwork,

comments are welcomed and appreciated!

Porch Swing

Porch Swing 12 x 12 oil on panel

Happy summer to all!

I'm back to my painting and loving every minute.

Solar shades are wonderful.

That's how I solved the glare problem I had in my studio.

They cut the glare but you can still have a view.

I leave the north light windows open when I paint and put

them down while I work on the computer.

Plus they save you money on A/C-

pretty awesome:)

Welcome to my new studio!

I've missed keeping in touch with you. It's been a process with lots of things happening

around my house as I try to get settled and reclaim my creative routine.

Big hugs and thanks to all of you who have checked up on me:)

Here's how the studio project began:

 Lots of boxes....

 And more boxes, so many boxes I'm not even going to bore you with them all.

Basically I decided to just empty them all and start to organize things

into categories:  blocks, cloths, 

odd little things,

paints, brushes, metals, ceramics, books, etc.

My new computer and I are beginning to get to know each other

and play nicely together.  The only problem is that she insists on doing

every thing her way, all the time, so we're working on our communication issues.

One of the most important things is a comfy spot for Robi and I to take alot of

must needed breaks, we're pooped! Moving is hard work,

but really worth it after all.

My next post is about studio direction, lighting, color and the problem

of glare and how I'm dealing with it.

Talk soon!

Geraniums and more geraniums.

  My French Geraniums  20 x 20 oil on canvas

This painting will be available at the Painted Garden art show

at Beach Gallery in Va. Beach, Va. on April 5th. I'll 

announce details closer to the opening.  It will be running in conjunction

with Historic Garden Club week.

To warm up for the painting I did a small version that is available now

in auction format via the link below the painting.  Each painting 

turns out uniquely and there are qualities that I like about each one.

I'm curious which one you prefer?

      My Little French Window  6 x 6 oil on museum board

purchase info click here

Thanks for much for viewing my artwork and I appreciate 

your comments.

Lucky Hat

Lucky Hat 5 x 7 oil on museum board

to purchase click here

This was a cure for the winter blues and

to capture the warm feeling of sunlight on my back.

Thank you for viewing my artwork.

Double, double, toil and trouble....

Happy Hour  9 x 12 sold

The genie has popped out of the bottle and she's not gonna fit back in.

Secretly in my hidden French laboratory, I've been working on a magic potion to enhance

creative powers.  I've experimented with many different ideas and had some recent successes with a particular formula I'd like to share with you:

two parts your favorite beverage

plus

one part violet liqueur

stir with magic = delight!

It's best if your favorite beverage is light and clear, even bubbly.

But it's the violet liqueur from Alzace that turns it into a wonderful

purple concoction.

It is widely known:

Most everything with a splash of lavender is downright delightful.
Works like a charm!

Window Filled With Color

Window Filled With Color  20 x 20

for purchasing info click here 

After and extended holiday where I took a break, I'm back to

painting and loving every minute. I didn't do absolutely nothing,

I did lie around alot and read books about 

goal setting and achievement.

I received a Fitbit for Christmas (that wirelessly tracks your activity level)

and that might have been a hint for someone special;)

It actually thought I was in a coma for a while and would

have called in a medical alert if it could have.

I'm re-energized and ready to create a wonderful 2014.

Hope you are too!

PS- prints for my European friend should go out the first of next week.

Happy New Year

Grazing 8x8 oil on museum board

for purchasing info click here

I'm experimenting with a new auction format for my smaller paintings.

I think the element of chance will make it fun so check it out by 

clicking the info link above.

It's always green in Burgundy no matter what the season.

Not all the cows are in the barns so I can still catch a few 

roaming the fields and grazing.

Your FREE print update:

For those of you who opted in for the print as a thank you for your support

that was offered in my last newsletter here is the update-

Everyone that is state side should be receiving their print by the end of the week.

For my friends in the UK, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland,

Spain, Portugal, Japan and Israel- (I hope I didn't leave anyone out)-oops
and Malta,

I will be sending yours out myself as soon as I have them in hand,

so hopefully you'll have them in January.

I'm sorry you have to wait a little longer but I hope it will be worth it.

Please contact me if you don't receive it so I can check the status of your order.

brucebingham@gmail.com

Oh- and if you missed out on the offer and would like info on specials in the future, 

just sign up for my newsletter on the right hand 

side of my blog that says- receive my newsletter- and you'll be

the first to hear.

Happy New Year and may this be your most creative year yet!