Mountain Spring 5"x7"

© Debbi Smith Rourke

Mountain Spring  5x7"

Donated to Arthouse at the Jones Center 5x7 Invitational 2009

Was trying a looser, more colorful and whimsical approach with this one, painting quickly from an old photograph. Not very realistic and that's what I like about it - it starts with the framework of a typical landscape, yet has an air of fun and whimsy - though subtle. Seems cheerful. I may do more like this. NFS

Vineyard Road

© Debbi Smith Rourke

Vineyard Road   5x7"

Oil on canvas. 

Donated to Arthouse at the Jones Center 5x7 Invitational 2009

I painted this scene of Benzinger Vineyards from a photo of our trip to the wine country in a 9" x 12" version a while back and have always planned to do a larger version. This is obviously a smaller version. Still look forward to doing a big one. My friend Bill Oakey purchased this little jewel at the Arthouse 5x7 show!!! What fun we had.

Rose Bud

© Debbi Smith Rourke

Rose Bud  5x7" 

Oil on canvas.  NFS

Donated to Arthouse at the Jones Center 5x7 Invitational 2009

I painted this last Saturday and am now just getting 'round to posting it.  Interesting angle looking down at the vase - really did enjoy painting this and the use of a darker background.

Fruit Basket

© Debbi Smith Rourke

Fruit Basket  16 x 16 x 1.5"

Oil on gallery wrapped canvas. 
NFS.

Donated this to HeartGift Austin for their 2011 Fine Wine and Luxe Living fundraiser Nov. 13. What a wonderful effort!! 
This is one of my favorite paintings. Love the lighting and the background color and the detail of the grapes and the lighting on them. And I just love pears. These are kind of fattened. Maybe I will start a series of bulbous fruit paintings. 

Alaskan Reflections

©2007 Debbi Smith Rourke

Alaskan Reflections 24 x 36"

Pastel on paper. Framed size: 31" x 43" 

$1000 framed

Framed in 3" wide gold frame, with glass!

Contact me for purchase and local pick-up.

Giclee prints available. Contant me for sizes/pricing.

This pastel is framed in a lovely gold frame with UV glass and no mat. I had the image scanned so hope to have some giclee prints made. 

Cream and Sugar

© Debbi Smith Rourke

Cream and Sugar 8" x 10" 

Oil on canvas board framed in wide, decorative gold frame.
$175 + $35 sh/h

This painting currently graces the bar area in my kitchen. Happy to send pics of it framed. My inspiration for this came from an array of vivid colors that popped in my head one night. I saw a vision of glowing lime green surrounded by lots of white, with deep aqua around the outside. So I found some items around the house to design a still life that could mimic the same color combination as I don't typically paint abstract paintings. It worked, though this is clearly more traditional than my vision. But I love this look. Kinda Van Gogh-ish! Enjoyed painting with white - I don't do it often.

A Likely Pair

© Debbi Smith Rourke

A Likely Pair  8 x 10" 

Oil on canvas board. $110 + tax (TX only) + $15 sh/h.

Working in my studio is a pleasure. I'm enjoying creating new still life set ups. So many ideas, so little time. Finding out why odd numbers are preferred in painting. Composition is key - but each day is a new lesson. This looks very nice framed and now sits in my kitchen by the coffee maker. It could sit by yours, too if you like. :)

"For the Love of Art" art exhibit invitation

Pleased to have been a part of the "For the Love of Art" exhibit at Austin Art Space. Was the first art show I've been in since last summer. My parents and neighbors attended and a few more friends. Delightful evening. I had two works accepted. Red Pepper and The Proposal, both now sold!

The Proposal

 

© Debbi Smith Rourke

Proposal  12 x 12 x 1.5"

Oil on canvas. SOLD.

Guess she said "Yes." I submitted this to the Austin Art Space show "For the Love of Art." Yeah - it got in!! As did the Red Pepper painting earlier this month - called that one "One Hot Mamma." (Was all about your interpretation of love.)  In this painting, I learned it's best to complete the painting in one day (ala prima) if possible, for the simple reason of keeping the paint wet, loose and flowing. Otherwise I have to wait 2 days until it is dry to start again. This painting was also accepted into the Austin Lima Sister Cities Juried Show -  Oct. 3, 2009.

Three of a Kind

© Debbi Smith Rourke

Three of a Kind  8 x 10" 

Oil on canvas board. SOLD.

Just painted this yesterday. Haven't cooked the apples yet. Hope to get another painting out of them first! Also hope the photo shows the variety of hues and temperatures I worked to capture in the reds. Was fun. Love the depth - feels like you an just pick one up!

Red Bell Pepper

© Debbi Smith Rourke

Red Bell Pepper 8" x 6" 

(aka Red Hot Mamma for Love of Art exhibit)

Oil on panel. SOLD.

Today I got to do two things I love. Paint and cook. First, I painted this red pepper in my studio - and was quite pleased. Love it when the painting seems to paint itself!!! Then I took the pepper, cleaned it thoroughly, diced it and put in in my roasted corn and shrimp chowder. Yum. We needed something hearty for our colder evenings (had been pretty warm here lately, until now). Was a good day and we had a lovely dinner. 

"Lake Travis"

© Debbi Smith Rourke

Lake Travis 10"x10"x1.5" 

Oil on gallery wrapped canvas. SOLD. 

This is a piece from a memorable paint out last summer with friends on the lake that I finally finished in my new studio. There were a couple things I wanted to touch up and now I love it. I definitely plan to paint a larger version of this piece.

Golden Meadow/Purple Mountains

© Debbi Smith Rourke

Golden Meadow/Purple Mountains  12 x 16"

Oil on canvas panel. NFS

I now have track lighting in my studio! Well one side is up out of 2 tracks. My husband put them up during the Fiesta Bowl last night. Yeah, Horns! I am adjusting a landscape I started on a plein air day last summer. So, until it's perfect, here's "Golden Meadow/Purple Mountains." This was a complimentary color study I did in Laurel Daniel's class. Simple but people seem drawn to it. (Gifted to my brother for Christmas 2009 since he love it so much.)

In the Spotlight

© Debbi Smith Rourke

In the Spotlight  6x8"

Oil on panel. NFS

Enjoyed this simple still life. Was a Christmas gift to a dear friend. I have so many great photos now of Lake Austin and the 360 bridge, I think I may start some landscapes next.

Japanese Garden

© Debbi Smith Rourke

Japanese Garden 17 x 22"

Pastel on paper. Original SOLD.

Giclee prints on archival paper:  $275 + tax (TX only) + $16 sh/h.

Giclee print framed in glass with matte: $425.
Recommend local (Central Texas) pick up. Contact me for purchase.

I enjoyed Thanksgiving so much, I never painted. So I'm posting this pastel painting I did last year. It was accepted into AVAA's 30th Anniversary Exhibit in the summer of 2007.  The original has sold but I do have several very high quality giclee prints printed on a beautifully thick archival paper - which makes them look like originals! Happy to send larger images to review. 

I was recently tagged by Kelley MacDonald, an art pal I met in Carol Marine's Santa Fe workshop. It's an honor to be tagged because it comes with sort of a blessing from the sender. It is an affirmation of friendship, good wishes and blog-love. So thanks for sharing the blog love, Kelley!!! 

The Rules:

1. Put a link in your posting to the person who tagged you.

2. List 7 unusual things about yourself.

3. Tag 7 other bloggers at the end of your post (*including their blog link*) and comment on their blogs to let them know they have been tagged.

Now....I'm tagging:

1. Gorgeous landscapes by Judith D'Agostino

2. Jann Alexander and her Vanishing Austin blog

3. Watercolorist John Wright

4. Colorful and distinctive works by Karen Schmidt

5. Canadian artist Sylvia Jenstad

6. Carol Schiff- check out her "Just an Apple." It's anything but.

7. Austin artist Carole Sikes 

Bull Creek

© Debbi Smith Rourke

Bull Creek  12x16"

Oil on canvas board. Framed size: 17 x 21"

$295 framed + tax (TX only) + $17 sh/h.

Happy to send a photo of this one framed. A favorite among my family members. Original post: Since boxes still surround me and I haven't been able to set up my easel, I am posting a painting I completed before moving. Love this one! I painted it in Laurel Daniel's plein air class and it was exhibited this summer in an AVAA juried show at the Scarborough Building in downtown Austin. As for the studio - the good news is my art board is up, and my next-to-the-easel table is up. Just have to set up my easel and buy new paints. I learned in Carol Marine's workshop that it's not optimum to buy paints with the word "hue" in them - it means they have added some filler to the paint preventing you from achieving the richest color. So bye-bye Cad Red Hue and Cad Yellow Hue! Hello cad red and cad yellow.

Ceramic Cup on Doily

© Debbi Smith Rourke

Ceramic Cup on Doily  10.5 x 8.5" 

Pastel on paper. NFS.

I did this little pastel still life in Dianne Grammer's class in 2005. It was a subject she set up, but I chose the composition. I must admit, she did help me with the values of the shadow. I love it!  I am keeping this one for myself.  Now for news on the home front: I am finally getting to my studio to organize it and get it operational. It will indeed take a couple of days until I can paint, but at least I've made it into this room now that the upstairs is organized! So, look for more new works to come. Thanks!

Vineyard Road

Vineyard Road  9x12" 

Oil on canvas board.

SOLD

Well it's Nov. 4, election night. As I watch the historic returns, I realize it is also a good time to look forward to new beginnings in my world. Seems the perfect time to get my art blog going again. Here is a piece I did last year in Laurel Daniel's class, then came home and adjusted it in my studio. I gave this to a good friend as a gift but plan to do a larger version. It's inspired from  a photo I took at Benzinger Vineyards while we were touring the Napa/Sonoma wine country in 2006. 

Cake Slices

© Debbi Smith Rourke

Cake Slices

Oil on canvas. 

SOLD

I painted this painting in Laurel Daniel's still life painting class in 2006 when were studying Wayne Thiebaud. This painting is loose and whimsical and I love that with this subject matter. It was also accepted into a juried art show at ArtSpoken Gallery and Studios in Austin. Hope this made you hungry!

Santa Cruz Lighthouse

© Debbi Smith Rourke

Santa Cruz Lighthouse 12x12"

Oil on gallery wrapped canvas. SOLD.

While I love painting still life works, I also love painting landscapes. Must have something to do with growing up in the Texas Hill Country. I met a lovely woman named Nancy in my Santa Fe/Carol Marine workshop who is from the San Francisco area. Hearing about SFO reminded me of the trip my husband and I took to that area 2 years ago. I was able to paint four 12" x 12" paintings from that trip and sold 3 of the 4. One was this Santa Cruz lighthouse I saw on our drive to Monterrey and Pebble Beach. So pleased it sold to a friend who had a sweet memory or touring a lighthouse with her son, and this reminded of her of that special time. Love stories like that and find that often there is a link like this that creates that special desire to not just admire a painting but to indeed purchase it! Happy to be part of that circle of joy. I do hope to paint a larger version of this in my new studio - move date is Oct. 10 so I hope to be painting in 3 weeks! Until then I am just reflecting on past work, lessons and ideas for future works. Enjoy!

Three Vases / Back from Santa Fe

© Debbi Smith Rourke

Three Vases 14" x 14" 

Oil on gallery wrapped canvas. NFS

Update: This was gifted to my dear friend and talented artist Amy Hillenbrand for her 2010 Christmas gift. She got to pick it out from everything in my studio. So happy this sweet painting found it's home - it's a favorite of mine as well. 
Original post: I just returned from Santa Fe where I attended a one week workshop with "painting-a-day" artist Carol Marine. Was fabulous! I am now inspired to get back to painting regularly, as this year my husband and I have been building a house and  painting time has been hard to find. Will be challenging during a move...but very soon I'll get those brushes in hand!! Decided to post one of my still life images I painted in Laurel Daniel's class in late 2006.