Early Fall Cedars, Artistic Trekkers, Vinland, KS

I loved looking up at this cedar field from the Nitcher's Farm in Vinland, Kansas. The early fall colors in the cedars were just beginning to show and the deep grasses were moving in the wind as a rainstorm was beginning across the field. The cedars were full and their beautiful colors mixed with all of the colors in the wonderful tall grsasses that had yet to be cut. I loved the way the clouds moved over the field.Vinland Kansas is one of my favorite places to work. I have been taking students to Vinland for five years and still feel we have not seen all there is to see in this very small, very rural collection of historic buildings which is fifty miles from Kansas City.

Available for Sale
Oil
18x24
$475.00

"Jeans and Mary Jane's"

"Jeans and Maryjane's" is a work that was completed in Houston, TX. Houston is an interesting place full of images of the Modern West. This piece came to me as I contemplated the odd mix of Houston's western culture with a contemporary heartbeat. The old oak chair was one of several chairs I found in a garage while I lived with my husband in Wyoming. I had thrown my jeans across the chair and took off my Mary Jane's just under it. The light was an afternoon light that was just manifesting across the room and I loved the play of the light on the walls and in the deep creases in the jeans. It was very demonstrative of Houston's western culture seen in the wonderful mix of burnt sienna walls and the old oak chair with a pair of well worn jeans tossed across it. The Mary Jane's are also a bit nostalgic.

"Jean's and Mary Jane's"

Oil 16x20

$550.00

"Morning Flowers"

Morning Flowers is a wonderful painting that the light hit just right. I love working with dynamic still life paintings that are full of color. The Mums were laying down next to my jeans and I felt they made a wonderful contrast against the deep blue of the jeans. The light was just coming in from the top left and the intricate folds of the fabric against the fullness of the flowers told a wonderful story of how light and color can create so much beauty in such a simple subject.

"Morning Flowers"
Oil
18x24
$450.00

"Hunt Morgan Garden House". I loved this garden house and all of the color that came forward in flowers that laid against the old bricks. I painted this on site and the light moved into the garden house as I was painting it. The Hunt Morgan House is located in Lexington, Kentucky and is one of the many historic homes in the city. The day was very bright and hot and the light reflected  all around the interior of the bricks. The flowers seem chaotic due to their wild growth and the explosion of color against the brick gave the whole scene over to just an expression of bright and brilliant color.

"Hunt Morgan Garden House"
Oil
18x24
Sold

"Early Fall at Keeneland" Lexington, KY

I grabbed my oils one afternoon in the early fall when the weather was just perfect and went out to the Keeneland Race Track in Lexington, Kentucky. There are some wonderful friendly horses out there and I found this old stone wall surrounded by thick trees. The light was spectacular as it filtered through the trees and it was just perfect for working with oil. It was a fast and exciting piece to do. The light was chaotic and penetrating and the colors were rich and vibrant. I used a palette knife for most of the painting. This piece was later published for the cover of Nougat an arts magazine in Lexington, Ky.

"Early Fall at Keeneland" Lexington, KY

Oil

16x20

Available for Sale $450.00

"Draw at the Kaw Indian Reservation"

I painted this piece on the Kaw Indian Reservation with a group of Plein Air students from Council Grove, KS. The Indian Reservation is vast and beautiful and full of color. Nothing interrupts the distances where the land meets the sky. The long views of unspoiled land brings the sky closer to you. You are not separated from the earth and it becomes a breathing living soul that you meet as if for the first time. This deep ravine was full of the colors of the earth. Water caused the erosion and exposed a crack that was full of beautiful lively color that told the story of how this beautiful place came into being. The wind moved the color onto the canvas for me.

"Draw at the Kaw Indian Reservation"
Oil
18x24
$475.00

"Cedar Fields" Vinland, KS

"Cedar Fields" is an oil. I love this area of Kansas. It is only 50 miles from downtown Kansas City, but it is a very remote and rural area. It is just south of Lawrence, Kansas where I teach at the Lawrence Art Center and where Kansas University is located. The Lawrence Art Center is an artistic engine in the region and many artists working in a variety of different mediums have come to this area due to the growing arts culture. Vinland is a community and consists of one street that circles a small cluster of historic buildings. I love it here and always bring students here to work painting Plein Air. (You can view their work from Vinland at artistictrekkers.blogspot.com). It is unrestricted. Many of the beautiful farms and scenery are just there and don't require someone's permission to access the areas. In the fall when this was painted there were lovely colors and vibrant meadow grasses that reached up into this beautiful grove of cedars across the road from the 100 yr. old library. It was a windy day and the colors in the tall Kansas prarie grasses were vibrating with the changing light created by the wind. I believe I could paint in just this one area for the next five years and still not capture all there is to see.

"Cedar Fields", Vinland KS
Tricia Spencer
Oil 24x32
Available for Sale $550