In September 2009, I was in Carmel, California for the grand opening celebration of Mountainsong Galleries, who represent my work. While there, I completed five paintings, including "Garrapata Glory", painted on location at Garrapata State Park...one of my favorite places to paint. Normally, I get so engrossed in painting that I don't think to take photos of the process...however this time I decided (and remembered!) to do so and thought you might like to see how the painting progressed.
  
Above left is the location where I was standing...the cliffs here are so beautiful and I love the shadow and light patterns at this time of day (mid-day). This next photo, above right, shows my pochade setup...an Open Box M on a tripod. Note that I placed my easel so that the canvas and the majority of the palette were in shade. This helps me to see the colors more accurately. I find if I paint with it in the sun, the colors are very washed out when I get the paintings back in the studio.
  
Above, left, you can see that I've blocked in the shadow shapes and can see part of the initial drawing, done with a brush and thinned paint. I toned the canvas with a light wash of cadmium red light before I started. This gives a nice warm glow to the finished painting, as some of that underpainting ends up showing through. This next image shows the light shapes including the water having been blocked in. I then went over the entire painting, painting in smaller shapes of color and value within the larger shapes. I left the foreground until last in this painting since it was in sunlight the entire time I painted and didn't change much. I was more concerned with capturing the light and shadow on the cliffs first since that was changing quickly. Finally, below is the finished painting..."Garrapata Glory", 8x10 oil on linen panel. This painting is available at Mountainsong Galleries, Carmel-by-the-Sea, www.mountainsonggalleries.com.

I am thrilled to announce that my painting, "Laguna Cliffs II," has been accepted into the Oil Painters of America Western Regional Juried Exhibition which will be held at Howard Mandville Gallery in Kirkland, Washington from August 8th through 30th. For complete information about the exhibit, please visit www.oilpaintersofamerica.com. "Laguna Cliffs II" is a 14x18 oil painting on a linen panel, painted in the studio from a small plein air study I did in Laguna Beach, California last fall. This painting won an "Honorable Mention for Artistic Excellence" in the Salon International 2009 Juried Exhibition at Greenhouse Gallery, in San Antonio, Texas, last April.

I am one of 40 artists who have been invited to take part in the Door County Plein Air Festival which takes place in Door County, Wisconsin next week (July 20th through 26th). There are events all week long where the public will have the opportunity to meet the artists and watch us work. The event culminates in a Gala Auction event on Friday, July 24th; a "Quick Paint" event in the park on Saturday morning, July 25th, and a public opening reception on Saturday night. For a complete schedule of events and list of participating artists, please visit www.doorcountypleinair.com.

I was thrilled to learn that my painting, "Hill Country Morning," above, has been awarded First Place for signature members in the Plein Air Artists Colorado Juried Exhibition at Abend Gallery in Denver. A total of five of my paintings are included in this exhibit.The exhibition runs through July 25th. For more information, please visit either www.abendgallery.com or www.pleinairartistscolorado.com. "Hill Country Morning" was painted on location near Fredericksburg, Texas, in April, during a paintout with members of Plein Air Artists Colorado and a local painting group. This farmstead had so many interesting things to paint...there has to be at least a thousand paintings here! Many thanks to the owners for allowing us to spend a day there.

The National Academy of Professional Plein Air Painters national exhibition of plein air and studio landscape paintings, "Natural World Observed 2008" is currently on display at the Adam Whitney Gallery in Omaha, Nebraska. Eighteen members of NAPPAP are participating in the exhibit which runs through December 31st. These artists are nationally recognized, with most having had articles written about them in major art magazines, some have books published, many are national and international workshop instructors, and some have lectured at such institutions as Harvard and the Smithsonian. I am very honored to be a member of this organization and especially proud to have been able to arrange for an exhibition of this caliber to come to Omaha. Five of my paintings are included in the exhibition, including "Majestic Morning, Lake O'Hara," which was painted in the studio from a plein air study. Many thanks to Deborah Macdonald, owner of Adam Whitney Gallery, and her staff for agreeing to host this exhibit and for their hard work and outstanding efforts in hanging the exhibit in such a beautiful manner. "Natural World Observed 2008" can be viewed at the gallery, located at 8725 Shamrock Road in Countryside Village Shopping Center in Omaha, through December 31st, and can also be viewed online at www.nappap.org.

After nearly two years in the works, author Edythe McLeod and I have a new children's book available! We are pleased to announce the arrival of "A Mouse Tale: Meesee and the First Christmas." This is the second Christmas book that Edythe and I have collaborated on about Meesee, a curious little mouse. In this story, Meesee watches the family in his house decorate their Christmas tree and hears them talk about the first Christmas. Meesee falls asleep as he lays on the floor admiring the beautiful tree. He suddenly finds himself transported back to Bethlehem and is a witness to the very first Christmas. I did 24 illustrations for this book, which are drawn with sepia colored pencil and then watercolored over the drawings. The books are $10 each  plus shipping and are available through my website, www.debragroesser.com. Just go to the "Works" section, then scroll down to the "Books" collection. Our first book, "A Mouse Tale: The Christmas Mouse," is also available there. We are in the process of distributing the books to area bookstores...I will post those locations as they become available.

     

My husband and I just returned from a long road trip which included seventeen days in St. Andrews, New Brunswick. I painted with mentor artist Kevin Macpherson for the first week and John Cosby the second week as part of the En Plein Air Masters program. I came home with a total of 21 paintings! Not all were finished of course, but overall I was pleased. Above are two of them, "Work Boats" and "Coastal Morning"...see the "My Latest Works" section of my website for more. The mentor artists, who included Macpherson, Cosby, Kenn Backhaus, John Burton, Joe Anna Arnett, Gil Dellinger and Betty Carr, were tremendously affirming and encouraging with their critiques and feedback. Many thanks to each of them! It was also great to meet so many fellow artists from all over the country, and to get reacquainted with several we have met in the past.

    

St. Andrews is a very quaint town right along the coast on the Passamaquoddy Bay, about 28 miles across the border from Maine. This part of New Brunswick brought back so many childhood memories for me…I lived in Maine and on the coast of Newfoundland for about four years when I was a young child. The people there were so friendly and helpful, and very interested in all of us and our work. Many invited us to paint in their yards and gardens, and gave us tips on other great places in the area to paint. The most incredible thing was the tide there…it goes up and down 28 feet! In fact, there is one island there that at low tide a road appears that you can drive on over to the island. We literally would begin a painting with boats floating in the water and by the time we were done the boats were on dry land (and vice versa). The two photos from nearby Deer Island, above, give you an idea of how dramatic the tides are. A couple of times we found ourselves chased up (and off!) the beach by the incoming tide. It really was an amazing sight to behold. When the tide was going out it almost looked like the incoming waves were going backward…just unreal! There was an endless number of interesting things to paint there, from the fishing villages,  to the working boats, lobster shacks and traps, gorgeous architecture, the islands and so much more.

Giclee prints on canvas are now available of my painting "Evolution of Earth Moving Equipment". Image size is 24x30, same size as the original painting. The price is $350 unframed and $600 framed in a dark walnut 3" wide frame. Price does not include tax or shipping. Please contact me through my website, or call me at (402) 592-6552, if you would like more information or to order. Thanks!

The National Academy of Professional Plein Air Painters (NAPPAP) is pleased to announce the publication of "A Year in Review: National Academy of Professional Plein Air Painters 2007" by Deborah Chapin. The book highlights the accomplishments of NAPPAP and it's members. I am pleased to be a signature member of NAPPAP, which was begun in 1995. Please visit www.nappap.org for more information about the book, the members and to view the members' portfolios.

I'm thrilled to post this update on the painting above, "Evolution of Earthmoving Equipment." As mentioned on my previous blog entry, this piece was commissioned by the Associated General Contractors of Nebraska in Lincoln and was auctioned off at their convention two weeks ago. The painting sold at auction for a whopping $21,000 (no that's not a misprint!)! I want to thank the AGC so much for their support of my work. Giclee prints are in the works...stay tuned for further updates.