Thursday, October 31, 2013

Santa Fe Holiday ©

©2013 Debbi Smith Rourke
Santa Fe Holiday 24"x30" 
Oil on 1.5" gallery-wrapped canvas / unframed (no frame needed)
$1300 + sh/h 
Contact me for purchase
DebbiSR23@gmail.com

Isaiah 1:18
"Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow;
- See more at: http://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Snow#sthash.24Ln6wYv.dpuf
Isaiah 1:18
"Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow;
- See more at: http://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Snow#sthash.24Ln6wYv.dpuf
Isaiah 1:18
Isaiah 1:18
"Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow;
- See more at: http://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Snow#sthash.24Ln6wYv.dpuf
It was so thrilling to enlarge this image I have painted twice as an 8x10". My goal is to bring the same simplicity of form to my large works that exists in the small, with very little new information. I call this an abstracted landscape because the shapes, forms, textures and colors become more important than capturing the true representational nature of the scene. I'm trying to express the FEELING of being there rather than seeing every detail that was perceptible. And that is thrilling because I remember the glowing of my very full heart that day, at this scene on my Santa Fe holiday! So much love, fun and fantasy gets wrapped up in paint and canvas! All wonderful! 
Happy to meet you for coffee @ Bruegger's Bagels in Westlake if you want to see the show with me. Up for just another 25 days!! 

P.S. Today is my mom's 76th birthday! Happy Halloween birthday, Mom! Love you!

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Winter Holiday II ©

©2013 Debbi Smith Rourke
"Winter Holiday II" 10"x8"
Oil on canvas, framed in natural wood and black frame
$350 framed + sh/h
Contact me for purchase

I decided to try a vertical of this photo I snapped from my trip to Santa Fe in December 2011. My friend Nancy Hartley and her husband Brian took us to visit some artists friends who lived just outside of town in a winter wonderland. We had a lovely visit with Bunny Tobias and Charles Greely and toured their home and gallery. Special memories. I also have a horizontal painting of this same scene.

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Sweetie Pie ©

©2013 Debbi Smith Rourke
Sweetie Pie 8"x 10"
Oil on canvas panel
SOLD

I set up this still life for my 9-year-old art student for her last still life class. A split-complimentary painting. She did an amazing job. So I decided I should paint it as well...before my husband ate all the pie. I suggested this title and he laughed. He had a great back-up title: "Life of Pie." We know around here that the life of this pie was quite short, but indeed sweet!

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Autumn Gold ©

©2013 Debbi Smith Rourke
Autumn Gold 30"x24"
Oil on gallery-wrapped canvas 
NFS
Bill Oakey and I have enjoyed collaborating in our artistic endeavors since 2007. This year's "Side by Side" work offers new views into this theme of parallelism. My fascination with abstracting the essence of a scene is more pronounced in this years' body of work. We also have some solo pieces in our October exhibit, so some of my purely abstract works will also be exhibited.
Autumn Gold was painted from a photograph Bill shot in Illinois. When you see this in person, it feels like you can just step right into the scene. It feels to me as if the natural world is inviting us to venture beyond the open meadow and into the mystic woods. Aren't you curious what lies ahead? I am. I want to just slip away into the magic.