Painting Van Gogh Sunflowers. Special Offer.

Click image to enlarge

After demonstrating how to paint sunflowers with acrylics in a style similar to Van Gogh, I brought the demo painting home and added some opaque oil paint to the sunflowers and vase. You will notice that my version of "Twelve Sunflowers" was inspired by Van Gogh's painting but did not duplicate exactly. My personality always creeps into each painting I do, and so will yours. This is as it should be because as an artist, we each want to develop a personal style. If you are being true to yourself, your style will always show a bit of your personality in each painting you do.

12 Sunflowers (after Van Gogh)
mixed media of oil over acrylic
20" H x 16" W, framed with a barnwood finish
artist Vernita Bridges Hoyt 2016

Click painting detail to enlarge

Purchase at www.TXsauceStudio.etsy.com

V. Bridges Hoyt — painting the sauce of Texas™. 

View my Texas Impressionist Oil Paintings or Gallery Paintings.  

Sign up to receive the new monthly Studio Notes via Vernita.  
Find small paintings, reproduction prints, and note cards at TXsauceStudio.Etsy.com 

 

Sunflower Wash. Watercolor with Ink. Special Offer.

Sunflower Wash.

Watercolor with ink line.

Original art in double mat, ready for 8 x 10 inch frame.

Copyright Vernita Bridges Hoyt 2015

SOLD

Life in Texas has been a little strange this year with first the April flood that caused heavy flooding from the roof down in the DaVinci Artists Gallery where I show my paintings in Tomball. That, of course, put a stop to showings until the gallery is restored to former glory. Aside from teaching a sunflower class to raise funds for replacement of electronics lost in the flood, I have found it next to impossible to paint in 2016.

In the meantime, I resorted to showing existing art in my Etsy shop (link at the bottom of this post), but I'm ready to show paintings on the blog again. I'm hoping to find my muse again through this blog and the sunflower art. Help me by supporting my art, and remember to find your sale coupon.

V. Bridges Hoyt — painting the sauce of Texas™. 

View my Texas Impressionist Oil Paintings or Gallery Paintings.  

Sign up to receive the new monthly Studio Notes via Vernita.  
Find small paintings, reproduction prints, and note cards at TXsauceStudio.Etsy.com 

 

Sunflower Art Trading Cards with Positive Life Quotations

Life has been busy, and today I took a little time to paint small aceo art trading cards in watercolor for one Facebook group where I participate and will need to paint 4x6 postcard paintings for another FB group.  I measured off nine cards to a page of 8x10 watercolor board and decided I would paint one composition and then cut the one painting apart into art card sizes.

The sunflower still life was painted but the background needed something more. I recently had been posting positive quotations on my Facebook page and decided to use some of those quotes on the background for each of the nine art cards.

The quotes made a nice backdrop for the watercolor and ink sunflower sketch.

Now to cut the cards apart and put them in the mail.

This painting is not available for sale.

As a child, I was reprimanded for daydreaming. Today my daydreams morph into paintings.  V. Bridges Hoyt — painting the sauce of Texas™. 

View my Texas Impressionist Oil Paintings.  Subscribe to my newsletter in the top sidebar at Texas Sauce Art Life, or contact me here. I do not share your email address. 

How to Write an Artist's Statement. Fall in Love with Yourself.

 

Red Cow and Newborn Calf • "Under a Watchful Eye"

Red Cow Series: "Under a Watchful Eye"

An addition to her Red Cow series, this recently completed 16x20 inch oil painting by Vernita Bridges Hoyt will be exhibited and available for purchase in the month of September 2015 at the DaVinci Artists Gallery, 315 W. Main St. in Tomball, Texas. 


Special thanks to my friend Alison Goerner for naming this painting "Under a Watchful Eye." Titles can be a challenge after having created so many paintings. I am always grateful for title suggestions.

How to Write an Artist's Statement

"We need to fall in love with ourselves. One of the best ways to do this is to view yourself as a character, one you are fascinated by. If you observe yourself closely enough, you are interesting. Think of the Brontes' novels about ordinary people. With this tool, you will become your own biographer."
--Julia Cameron. Finding Water. The Complete Artist's Way. The Penguin Group 2007.
__________
Writing a personal artist's statement and bio has always been difficult for me, i.e. what to leave in, what to leave out. Having been taught as a child not to "brag on oneself," I end up leaving too much out. I have taken a lifetime to feel comfortable promoting my own work; that level of comfort with my own art has come about slowly since 2005, almost 50 years after identifying myself as an artist. Coming across Cameron's quote posted above, I had an aha moment. Of course! The answer is to write in 3rd person while viewing oneself as a character, "one you are fascinated by." A fascination adjustment is due. This sounds like a subject for deeper exploration.

As a child, I was reprimanded for daydreaming. Today my daydreams morph into paintings.  V. Bridges Hoyt — painting the sauce of Texas™. 

View my Texas Impressionist Oil Paintings.  Subscribe to my blog letter in the top sidebar at Texas Sauce Art Life, or contact me here. I do not share your email address. 

Colored Pencil Drawing of Clematis Flower. Good Plans Aside. Tomorrow is Another Day.

Prints Available
Colored Pencil Drawing of Clematis Flower
Contact Vernita Bridges Hoyt

The good news is that the clematis and crape myrtles are loving the heat and humidity.

My intentions to blog early this morning were interrupted by the Boxer dog. Thor had to have his walk before 8:00 am while the air was still relatively cool, 82 F to be exact. I had great plans for accomplishing a long list of tasks today, but Murphy had other plans. By 9:30 I realized the air conditioner compressor was not exchanging hot air for cold air. I turned off the unit, called the repairman to come back again (he was here last week for a compressor that wouldn't run at all), and I loaded Thor into the car to deliver him to my son's house.

On the way back home, I noticed old Jezebel Jeep's "check engine" light was still glowing yellow and decided to drop the car off at a neighborhood mechanic who would give me a ride home to the house.

Once home, I planned to write a blog post about the dog who isn't as lucky as Thor, walked up the stairs, and decided with the heat in the house that I need to shut down the computer. Years ago the rule was that heat was bad for computers and they were best kept in cool rooms. I'm thinking the heat couldn't be good for today's desktop models either. This room is not cool. I think it's hotter in here than outside where a slight breeze is blowing. I'm shutting down the computer now in hopes of soon having an AC that cools the house again, and this time I hope the fix holds because I'm feeling way too hot.

Tomorrow is another day.

As a child, I was reprimanded for daydreaming. Today my daydreams morph into paintings. 
V. Bridges Hoyt — painting the sauce of Texas™. 

View my Texas Impressionist Oil Paintings. 
Subscribe to my blog letter in the top sidebar at Texas Sauce Art Life, or contact me here. I do not share your email address.

Texas Sauce Art Life … blog about art and life. Published since January 2005. Images and content © Vernita Bridges Hoyt. All Rights Reserved. If quoting parts of this blog, please provide a back link to http://txsauce.blogspot.com/

After the Storm, a Palette Knife Landscape Oil Painting 8 x 8 inches by Texas artist Vernita Bridges Hoyt.

As much as I fear violent weather, the storms energize me to paint. Painted with a palette knife late last night, this painting is oil on a cradled wood panel 8 x 8 inches. The thick paint will take about 10 days to dry thoroughly. 

AFTER THE STORM
palette knife oil painting on cradled wood panel 8x8 inches
copyright Vernita Bridges Hoyt 2015

250 USD, "After the Storm" is available for purchase at TXsauceStudio.etsy.com.
Or contact me directly to ask about terms.

__________

This day has been strange. 

A wrong number caller continued to call even after I tried to help him find the right number (unsuccessfully) and suggested he call Information. Then he called my number again, always looking for someone else with the last name of Hoyt. And again.

Recent storms seem to have thrown everything off kilter. 

A fax came in and was refaxed five or six times without completion. I finally had to turn off the fax machine and reboot it, but by then the sender had emailed the information. I don't know yet if the reboot fixed the fax.

I went to three different stores looking for a Clorox Bleach Gel Pen: Kroger, Target, and Walmart. Kroger had a Tide substitute that had no bleach in it. Target had one that I found online but when I got to the store they had none. Walmart had only five. I bought three. Why a bleach pen? It's for an art project secret until I know if the pen will do what I expect.
__________


'I am seeking, I am striving, I am in it with all my heart.'
–Vincent van Gogh


As a child, I was reprimanded for daydreaming. Today my daydreams morph into paintings. 

V. Bridges Hoyt — painting the sauce of Texas™. 

View my Texas Impressionist Oil Paintings. 
Subscribe to my blog letter in the top sidebar at Texas Sauce Art Life, or contact me here. I do not share your email address.

Texas Sauce Art Life … blog about art and life. Published since January 2005. Images and content © Vernita Bridges Hoyt. All Rights Reserved. If quoting parts of this blog, please provide a back link to http://txsauce.blogspot.com/

Sunflower Ready to Fly Solo. Frame and Ship. Spring is in the Air.

Sunflower Solo. Yellow on Blue.

Sunflower Solo • Oil on linen • 12 x 9 inches
copyright Vernita Bridges Hoyt 2015

I have painted for two weeks on sunflower Solo, the background going from almost white to pure cobalt blue then settling on a soft sky mix of cobalt blue and titanium white. This is one of those paintings that may never be finished; however, I will need to stop. Soon. 

Today the muse was with me. I painted with two additional hues of green on the leaves. Yes, I think Sunflower Solo is about ready to try her wings. 

This might be my last sunflower of the season before I move on to other subjects. 

Frame and Ship.

A couple of weeks ago, I found a beautiful frame at Jerry's Artarama, a frame that would be so beautiful on this painting … if the molding was deep enough to hold the canvas.  It is not.  One day this week I will be headed back to Jerry's for another frame, hopefully a frame in the same style and color of the one I liked so much. The good news is I now have an extra frame that will be perfect for my pastel painting of Mother's Bluebird. 

Spring is in the Air.

Spring is bursting out all over while March winds blow. I so want to work in my flower garden, but winds have kept me mostly inside the house. I know better than to expose myself to too much airborne pollen. Allergies abound. Even poor Thor Boxer boy has a runny nose and red eyes. Maybe in another week or two, the winds will die. Then I will get started in the flower garden before spring is gone and summer is here. We will enjoy this springtime. I hope you will.

Still Life Painting of Turnips by Vernita Bridges Hoyt

Turnips and Greens Still Life Oil Painting

Turnip Greens conjure memories from my past on the farm. Mother always had a garden and made sure she had vegetables of all kinds available for us three children to eat. I credit my mother with teaching me to like fresh vegetables. Good memories! In my mind I can see Mom working in the garden.

If you like the looks of this painting, contact me through the form in the side bar.

Detail of Turnips
16x20 inch oil on canvas
artist Vernita Bridges Hoyt
Click to enlarge image.

Turnip Greens Straight from the Garden
16x20 inches
oil on canvas
artist Vernita Bridges Hoyt
Click to enlarge image.

Turnip Greens
16x20 inch oil on canvas
artist Vernita Bridges Hoyt
various detail images

Contact me through the Contact Form in the blog sidebar. Ask for Vernita Hoyt's Turnip Greens painting.
__________
As a child, I was reprimanded for daydreaming. Today my daydreams morph into paintings. 

V. Bridges Hoyt — painting the sauce of Texas™. 

View my Texas Impressionist Oil Paintings. 
Subscribe to my blog letter in the top sidebar at Texas Sauce Art Life, or contact me here. I do not share your email address.

Texas Sauce Art Life … blog about art and life. Published since January 2005. Images and content © Vernita Bridges Hoyt. All Rights Reserved. If quoting parts of this blog, please provide a back link to http://txsauce.blogspot.com/

Dalmatian Dog Art. Oil Painting of Spots. Texas Artist Vernita Bridges Hoyt.

A Dalmatian Dog named Memphis … 

Recently, I have been painting Dalmatian pet portraits. Oh boy! Have I had fun painting all those spots! Spots are much more than black and white.

SOLD 

MEMPHIS
oil portrait of a Dalmatian/Boxer mix
copyright Vernita Bridges Hoyt 2015

Dalmatian Dogs have Unique Spot Patterns … 

Did you know that each Dalmatian has a unique spot pattern … like a finger print? There is no making up the spots. If you want the dog to be recognized, you have to get those spots in the right places along with the usual features in the face—the look in the eyes, the placement of the nose, the whiskers, the shape of the mouth, the size of the ears, etc. Yes, I am having fun painting the Dalmatian portraits.

As a child, I was reprimanded for daydreaming. Today my daydreams morph into paintings. 
V. Bridges Hoyt — painting the sauce of Texas™. 

View my Texas Impressionist Oil Paintings. 
Subscribe to my blog letter in the top sidebar at Texas Sauce Art Life, or contact me here. I do not share your email address.

Texas Sauce Art Life … blog about art and life. Published since January 2005. Images and content © Vernita Bridges Hoyt. All Rights Reserved. If quoting parts of this blog, please provide a back link to http://txsauce.blogspot.com/

New Art! Sunflower in Red Vase

New oil painting — Sunflower Red: 

SUNFLOWER RED • oil on panel 10x8 inches
copyright Vernita Bridges Hoyt 2015

I continue to paint brushstrokes of sunflower colors for the month of February. You can view the full image of Sunflower Red at vbhoyt.com and read more about the painting. You'll find the painting in my TEXAS Gallery.

For a direct purchase, contact me through the Contact Form in the blog sidebar. Please include my name and the title of the artwork in the subject line.

Always leave enough time in your life to do something that makes you happy, satisfied, even joyous. —Paul Hawken 

As a child, I was reprimanded for daydreaming. Today my daydreams morph into paintings. 
V. Bridges Hoyt — painting the sauce of Texas™. 

View my Texas Impressionist Oil Paintings. 
Subscribe to my blog letter in the top sidebar at Texas Sauce Art Life, or contact me here. I do not share your email address.

Texas Sauce Art Life … blog about art and life. Published since January 2005. Images and content © Vernita Bridges Hoyt. All Rights Reserved. If quoting parts of this blog, please provide a back link to http://txsauce.blogspot.com/

Sunflower Garden Oil Painting

Sunflower Garden

Wanting to paint sunflowers to get me through the winter doldrums, I have been painting on this canvas in bits and pieces while taking care of other commitments. I called this one "Sunflower Garden" because I was inspired by the sunflowers that grew in my garden one summer not long ago.

SUNFLOWER GARDEN

oil painting on canvas wrapped panel 8x10 inches

copyright Vernita Bridges Hoyt 2015

Our weather here in southeast Texas is semi-tropical. The weather is mostly warm and humid, but winter brings weather where one day is warm and the next is freezing. Temperatures are up and down, changing almost daily. Painting sunflowers in February reminds me of summertime.



Claim this sunflower painting as yours! The painting is available for purchase at http://vbhoyt.com where I show oil paintings.

As a child, I was reprimanded for daydreaming. Today my daydreams morph into paintings. 

V. Bridges Hoyt — painting the sauce of Texas™. 

View my Texas Impressionist Oil Paintings. 

Subscribe to my blog letter in the top sidebar at Texas Sauce Art Life, or contact me here. I do not share your email address.

Dog Days of Summer. How to Improvise.

"Dog Days of Summer"
Lab in Kiddy Pool
watercolor 10x8 inches

Dogs know how to improvise, how to make the best out of what they have. When a Lab can't find a large body of water to jump into, he will improvise and climb into the kiddy pool. That is a lesson we, as people, need to remember. When one thing doesn't work out, we need to improvise.

Some of us find it easy to fall into a rut and follow the same routine day after day, but January is the perfect time to improvise. Think outside of the box. Stir the pot. Find a different way to go about the day. Add a little spice to life. Pick up a new attitude. Smile. Laugh. Follow a different route. Shuffle your typical schedule. Take an artist's date. Look at the sky. Look at the ground. Listen to birds. Notice the moon. Enjoy the good in this day.

This painting, which I have titled Dog Days of Summer, was a commission painted before Christmas for a client who gave it as a gift to her daughter.

__________
As a child, I was reprimanded for daydreaming. Today my daydreams morph into paintings. 
V. Bridges Hoyt — painting the sauce of Texas™. 

View my Texas Impressionist Oil Paintings. 
Subscribe to my blog letter in the top sidebar at Texas Sauce Art Life, or contact me here. I do not share your email address.

Rottweiler Dogs in Texas Bluebonnets, watercolor art

This watercolor painting of Rottweiler dogs sitting in a field of bluebonnets was a commissioned painting to be used as a Christmas gift for the client's mother. I enjoyed painting this as it included so many of my favorite subjects, i.e. the dogs, the background landscape, and the field of Texas bluebonnet wildflowers.

Rotties in Texas Bluebonnets
watercolor 11x14 commissioned painting
© Vernita Bridges Hoyt 2014

There is a story with this painting. When I paint a commissioned piece for a client who plans to give the painting as a Christmas gift, I'm very careful to keep the painting under wraps until the gift has been given. However, I almost spilled the beans on this one. A couple or three nights before Christmas I had worked very late after a long day. I was tired, extremely tired, but decided to write my blog ahead of schedule. When I closed the compose window, I clicked "publish" instead of "save draft" and that was not a wise decision. The image went to G+, Daily Painters site, Facebook, and other places I never dreamed to find it. I searched and think I deleted all of them before the gift recipient saw the painting. Whew! Lesson learned: never, never post an image before I am ready for it to show up all over the internet.

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!

To hear pronunciation of Rottweiler (and read a short description), click on the speaker icon at this dictionary link.

Contact me through the Contact Form in the blog sidebar.
Please include my name and the title of the artwork in the subject line.

As a child, I was reprimanded for daydreaming. Today my daydreams morph into paintings. 
V. Bridges Hoyt — painting the sauce of Texas™. 

View my Texas Impressionist Oil Paintings. 
Subscribe to my blog letter in the top sidebar at Texas Sauce Art Life, or contact me here. I do not share your email address.

Painting of Rescued Brown Pelican on Galveston Bay

I have been busy painting commissions due before Christmas, and I'm still painting. I do promise to be better about blogging in the New Year 2015, which is fast approaching.

One recent painting was of a rescued brown pelican at Smith Point on Galveston Bay, Texas. The pelican had been tangled in a fishing line and was untangled and rescued from certain death by my client's husband and their son. Mrs. H (my client) commissioned the painting for Mr. H's birthday. Both were happy with the painting of the rescued brown pelican. When my clients are happy, I am happy!

We are all extra happy the brown pelican was rescued from the tangled fishing line.

Only six more days until Christmas 2014!

As a child, I was reprimanded for daydreaming. Today my daydreams morph into paintings. 

V. Bridges Hoyt — painting the sauce of Texas™. 

View my Texas Impressionist Oil Paintings. 

Subscribe to my blog letter in the top sidebar at Texas Sauce Art Life. Questions? You can reach me through the Contact Form in the blog sidebar. 

Sugary Sweet Watermelon, oil on wood, 8x8 inches

"Sugary Sweet Watermelon" 

SOLD

copyright Vernita Bridges Hoyt

oil on cradled wood panel, painted with a palette knife

8x8 inches with 1 inch deep sides painted red

(subject was a watermelon from Wade Pennington & Sons, Grapeland, Texas)

I'm so pleased that my Facebook and real life friend Greta Faulkinberry purchased my watermelon painting in the silent auction fundraiser at the Genny Wood Fine Art Show & Sale last Saturday in Bullard, Texas. Thank you, Greta!

As a child, I was reprimanded for daydreaming. Today my daydreams morph into paintings. 
V. Bridges Hoyt — painting the sauce of Texas™. 

View my Texas Impressionist Oil Paintings. 
Subscribe to my blog letter in the top sidebar at Texas Sauce Art Life, or contact me here. I do not share your email address.

People Walking in Watercolor

The Lonely Crowd
9x9 inches
Maimeri Blu watercolor paints on white Strathmore 140 lb. professional grade, cold press paper
Artist V. Bridges Hoyt

I painted this watercolor sketch of people (and a dog) while in Florida in a watercolor class. The class was conducted by Wyna Woodford, Montana. We painted a town street in one-point perspective. I will show you my street painting after I've completed it.

We could crop the image above to derive a vertical composition or horizontal composition as shown in the two images here and below.

The mat may not appear orthogonal to the edges, but you will get the idea. This is an old toss around mat I keep for trying out different compositions.








Cropping this painting creates a new mood and composition. Or show it all and frame as a square, as above.

As a child, I was reprimanded for daydreaming. Today my daydreams morph into paintings. 
V. Bridges Hoyt - Painting the sauce of Texas
www.vbridgeshoyt.com

Geranium Art Squared

Impression of Geraniums 11x11 inches square watercolor on Arches 140# cp paper artist Vernita Bridges Hoyt
SOLD
http://www.dailypainters.com/artists/artist_gallery/946/Vernita-Bridges-Hoyt

After watching a Kay Smith demonstration on direct painting with watercolor, I ventured away from the given drawing to paint my impression of geraniums with the direct painting technique.

Direct painting involves painting with a pigment-loaded brush so that the first value laid on the paper is the final value. No layering occurs with the direct-painting method. Opaque paint is used freely since transparent washes are not the focus. Direct painting with watercolor is much like alla prima painting with oils. In other words, get in and get out quickly while painting from dark to light. Producing a painting quickly is the focus.

I want to paint another piece using the geranium drawing Kay provided in her workshop. Kay does a terrific direct painting demonstration which you will want to watch if you ever have the opportunity.

As a child, I was reprimanded for daydreaming. Today my daydreams morph into paintings. 
V. Bridges Hoyt - Painting the sauce of Texas
www.vbridgeshoyt.com

Dalmatian Pet Portraits in Oil Paint

Progress has been slow on the four dalmatian portraits. Inevitably, when art commissions are begun, jobs simultaneously arrive on the other business front, and I must schedule my 18 hour days tightly. I am appreciative. All work is good! 

The first two pet portraits of Daisy and Molly have been completed. I am working on the third one of Memphis now, leaving one more to paint after Memphis. 

Molly Dalmatian
oil on canvas, 8 x 10 inches
copyright Vernita Bridges Hoyt 2014
sold

Daisy - Molly - Memphis
oil on canvas
Sold

I hope to be more diligent about blogging, and that means I will be at the easel more to have paintings to show you. 

Use wisely what you have been given and you will be given more.  MATTHEW 25:29

As a child, I was reprimanded for daydreaming. Today my daydreams morph into paintings. 
V. Bridges Hoyt — painting the sauce of Texas™. 

View my Texas Impressionist Oil Paintings. 
Subscribe to my blog letter in the top sidebar at Texas Sauce Art Life. I do not share your email address.

Still Life of Turnips. Oil on Canvas. Blue, Green and Deep Pink.

Still Life of Turnips. 16x20 inches. Oil on canvas. Available.
copyright Vernita Bridges Hoyt 2009
For more information, send me a message.

This is one of those paintings from my imagination, the "Out of my Head" series. My mother always had a veggie garden, and I remember digging turnips out of the ground when I was a child. I had a lot of fun painting this in 2009. This painting has been stored in my archives and is as good as new, actually better than new since the paint has had time to cure and can now be varnished to add that high sheen, if desired.

Use wisely what you have been given and you will be given more.  MATTHEW 25:29

As a child, I was reprimanded for daydreaming. Today my daydreams morph into paintings. 
V. Bridges Hoyt — painting the sauce of Texas™. 

View my Texas Impressionist Oil Paintings. 
Subscribe to my blog letter in the top sidebar at Texas Sauce Art Life, or contact me here. I do not share your email address.

Art Cards, Editions and Originals

Use wisely what you have been given and you will be given more.  MATTHEW 25:29

Halloween is upon us! Zombies attempt to outnumber ghosts and goblins. The air is cooler in southeast Texas but ragweed allergies prevail until Jack Frost makes a first visit. Late October ushers in Autumn. Thanksgiving and Christmas follow all too soon—then the New Year 2014. Time travels faster and faster with each passing year in my life ... and yours. 

ACEO Collection #1
copyright Vernita Bridges Hoyt 2013

For this holiday season, I offer mini-prints of art sold in past years. These small Art Cards, Editions and Originals (ACEO), are perfect Christmas stocking stuffers, affordable and fun! The trend of collecting art cards continues across the USA and worldwide.

As of today, I have three art cards listed at eBay auction at a low-low price and an even lower start bid if you prefer to take a chance and save $. My auction items can always be found at the top right sidebar of the blog, but for those of you who subscribe to my blog eLetter, here is the auction link. More art card items to be added daily. 

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Vernita



As a child, I was reprimanded for daydreaming. Today my daydreams morph into paintings.

V. Bridges Hoyt — painting the sauce of Texas™.  View my Texas Impressionist Oil Paintings. Subscribe to my blog letter in the top sidebar at Texas Sauce Art Life, and while there check out my Etsy shop listings in the sidebar.