Hoppy Birthday Micah

Thanks for hopping so much for us, Micah!!!!!

What would we do without you, our fearless leader!

Wyoming Pasture Rock

The face of this rock looks to be a climber's dream - solid with plenty of hand-holds. I took a photo of this formation from my truck last summer while crossing Wyoming. The pasture was lush and rolling, the firs were waving gently in the breeze and the picturesque cedar fence followed the terrain for a mile. And then this huge rock rose up spectacularly from out of the earth. A house up there would be way neat, but you'd have to use a helicopter to come and go!

9 X 12 oil on canvas board. $100 from me until it joins the others in the gallery.

Psalm 18:2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Always Eating

A quick little study of a view of my side pasture from a painting I did earlier. I like the color in this one better. We have had several frosts down here and the grass is no longer green, yet my horses are as fat as ever. I am not yet giving them hay or feed. Mike keeps asking me when I am going to start feeding them extra and I answer "When they are no longer so fat." Why mess with nature? Just because the grass doesn't look palatable, it doesn't mean they are getting no nutrition from it. They are fine.

5 X 7 Oil on Masonite. $100 from me.

Genesis 45:18 and bring your father and your families back to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you can enjoy the fat of the land.

Little Brown Jug II

We broke ground on the studio today!!! Got most of the foundation framed and some of the piers dug. The entry is on the other side and that will take a few more hours. I watched the guys work all day from my current studio. I am promised a good view throughout the whole process! Stay tuned.

This little 5 X 7 painting is another still life attempt using my little brown jug that normally resides in my kitchen and hold scissors and pencils and letter openers. I find my drawing skills improving with the number of paintings behind me. It took about a hour to paint, which was pretty fast for me. As a test to see how many of ya'll are reading this blog, I'll GIVE THIS PAINTING away to the first person who e-mails me and tells me where I spent last June (family and close friends don't count!)

Luke 6:48 He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.

Little Brown Jug

I am not known for still lifes, but I have been watching Thaw Malin and Brendy Vaughn and Delilah Smith and Liza Hirst and Tom Brown and Carol Marine and Jelaine Faunce and Irene Corey and Qiang Huang and other Daily Painters who are so versatile - they can paint ANYTHING and are really good at stills! I wanted to try it, too. So I set up a little box covered table top 3 feet from my easel, ironed a piece of muslin, gathered stuff from the kitchen, pointed a lamp at it and started to paint. Tomorrow I may try something more complicated. I know from experience that it is MUCH EASIER to paint something from life than from a photograph. Photos don't pick up all the details like you would expect, plus they have no depth, but just try to get my horses to pose for a painting!

This 8 X 10 oil on Stretched canvas can be purchased directly from me.

Proverbs 6:23 For these commands are a lamp, this teaching is a light, and the corrections of discipline are the way to life.

Heading For Home

I'm not really finished with this one yet, but I wanted to post it anyway. I'll swap the improved version later.
I seem a bit obsessed with clouds and storms and turmoil lately. Perhaps I am reflecting the mood of the stock market or maybe it's the fact that we are starting construction on the studio Saturday. I am not in turmoil over that, just anticipating the usual construction dilemmas. Hopefully Saturday we'll be getting the foundation forms in so the sand can be delivered and the plumber can do his work. We have one more tree to move and both my horses to another pasture - where there is no barn for winter shelter. Oh well, I guess they'll have to be horses! If the weather turns really bad, I can put them in stalls in the barn. But they both hate being locked up, so we may settle for blankets.


This painting is a 16 X 20 oil on stretched canvas, and I have a gorgeous free-form Texas Mesquite frame for it. Contact me before I send it to the gallery if you are interested.

Ecclesiastes 7:12 Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: that wisdom preserves the life of its possessor.

Run For The Hills

MERRY CHRISTMAS! Yesterday I was able to paint for several hours and I think I am settling in to a style that I really like. I'm making the colors work for me. This action-packed painting shows a herd of horses running across the plains in anticipation of the storm that's coming. Sometimes I feel I do the exact thing - running before the storm arrives, rather than preparing for it so I am ready. The storm is not here yet, but the panic has already set in.

9 X 12 Oil on Canvas Panel $125.00 Frame Included

Deuteronomy 20:3 He shall say: "Hear, O Israel, today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not be terrified or give way to panic before them

Tag You're It

I couldn't stand it - I said I was on vacation, but I just HAD to paint today. My family was here yesterday for an early Christmas and I will be in a good mood for weeks now, and that makes me want to create. I do not know how I could have been blessed with such a thoughtful, caring "in-law" family. God has certainly looked after me and for that I am grateful beyond expression!
My little dog Georgia just loves playing with my big ole race horse, Easy. He jumps and kicks, and she dodges and ducks. I cringe and cover my eyes just knowing she is going to get clobbered, but it never happens. They both know the rules of their very own game, and I can't interfere. But a problem occurs when I ride Easy, and Georgia still wants to play! He bucks and kicks and rears at the dog - not a good thing while I am on his back! Guess we'll have to work on that....

This 5 X 7 oil on Masonite is available from me for $100.

Merry Christmas!

Psalm 103:19 The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.

View From the Top

I am on vacation and revisiting old paintings that I have SOLD.

My fellow artist friend, Laurie, amazes me in her commitment – to painting, to her family, to her God (he’s mine, too, by the way – and yours). She paints a painting every day and posts to her blog and accomplishes all the myriad of things necessary to keep a family running. She also teaches art and guitar and piano (and recently moved). And as busy as she is, she still welcomes me and offers to help me in my desire to become more like her. Mike and I participated in a study of the religions of the world recently. It was conducted by our pastor and we will investigated Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam and Judaism. The Methodist church does not hold an exclusionary belief that only Methodists are going to Heaven – in fact, they don’t believe that Christians know the only path. They believe that God and the desire to know Him is in all of us and just because one has not had the opportunity to know Him, that does not exclude a person from eternal life with the Father. Only God knows what is in your heart and only He can judge you. As the Lord said in Jeremiah 29:13 – You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Merry Christmas!

Little Cowboy

I am on vacation until after Christmas and am posting paintings from the past.

This little boy and his pony were at a rodeo I attended a couple summers ago. His daddy was the roping announcer and this young man pretty much had free rein of the arena between events. He was so attentive to his pony - like a teenager with a brand new car! Adjusting his saddle, picking his feet clean, making sure he was tied up properly - he was constantly doing something. And he could ride him like a pro!
I still have this painting and it remains a favorite of mine - particularly because it reminds me of the last summer that I spent almost entirely on my horse and we did well in some competitions. But more importantly, I made some friends and saw some awesome animals and their owners compete.

Proverbs 12: 10 A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.

New York Barn

I am on vacation, so we are re-visiting some paintings I have alredy posted and SOLD.
Twice a week I spend the morning at a lady's house - in her bathroom, to be specific, where I am painting a fanciful mural on her walls. This bathroom is at least 300 square feet with 1o foot ceilings, so you can imagine the wall space I am dealing with. We started with an imaginary vine growing out of the air ducts and twining its way around, over and through the fixtures and light switches - and I have added various creatures that are common in this part of the world - and some not so common. I'll show you some of the results in the future.

This little painting could have been inspired just about anywhere - but I painted it after a trip last summer to upstate New York - the Fingers Lakes area to be exact. New York doesn't have the corner market on great barns, but it comes close! After I offered it for auction and it sold quickly, I discovered that a lot of people collect barn paintings. I should probably do more.

Luke 12:24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!

These are part of the bathroom mural. The last one is the beginning of a roadrunner. Upper left is the actual size drawing I made first. Taped on the wall next to it is a reference photo. I painted the silhouette first and will come in with detailed colors next. Can you see the tile lizard in the baseboard? That's what the roadrunner is going after!

Greener Grass

This is a re-visited painting - one I did before I was invited to join the Daily Painters. I am taking a painting break until after Christmas - have a Merry one!

SOLD

My neighbor regularly has this uninvited bull visit their place. Somewhere there is a hole in their fence and he comes in to graze and leaves when he is discovered. They know who the owner is and he is unconcerned. My experience with longhorns have proven them to be either very friendly or very wild. This one is in the latter group. As soon as I started taking his picture, he disappeared into the woods and I assume returned to his own pasture...like the prodigal son in Luke 15, although I doubt he has learned his lesson!

Where to Take Cover?

SOLD

I have taken lessons from several wonderful artist/teachers and James Spurlock, John Pototschnik and John Poon have all been inspirational - both spiritually and technically. A calendar of John Pototschink's paintings arrived in the mail yesterday and it gave me new boost to continue painting. It also reminded me to pay attention to the basics and the rest will follow.

The title of this painting is self-explanatory. When a storm rolls across the plains of New Mexico, there is no where to take cover, and I often wonder where the animals hide.

This 9 X 12 oil on canvas panel can be purchased from me for $100.

Psalm 27:5 For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.

My Studio

The Daily Painters decided that they wanted to view each other's studio and decided that this was the day we'd do it. My studio is my married daughter's old bedroom. It measures 16 X 14, and I added the white built-in storage to the right and the wood floors nearly 2 years ago. I paint mostly standing before a small easel on a huge old drafting table I acquired back in my desktop publishing years. Larger canvases are on a floor easel on the other side of the room with a rolling taboret. My lap-top computer is on all the time next to me. I use it for reference photos I have taken and to respond to e-mails quickly. At any given time, I probably have 3 to 5 paintings in various stages of completion.
I have no room for packaging and shipping stuff, large framed paintings, blank canvases, large frames, drying canvases or a printer. In addition, the ventilation and light in here is dreadful (windows face North West and South West). So we are adding yet another room on to the house (starting this week, hopefully) that will be twice the size of this room, have good North light and should be able to contain all my artistic related stuff. We hope. I am really looking forward to a larger, flat screen monitor and a printer, too. There will also be a large bathroom, a work counter with a utility sink, high ceiling to provide lots of room to hang paintings and an outside entrance. My current studio will revert to a guest room and also have an entry into the new studio.
I know some of the DP's manage to put out incredible work under much more trying conditions than this, and it amazes me! I know the studio does not define the artist, but it sure is easier to think of yourself as a professional if your space looks that way.

Matthew 1:18[ The Birth of Jesus Christ ] This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.

Big Bend Overlook

I never get tired of painting Big Bend. Mike and I have visited once - and it took 2 LONG days to journey there. A friend spent part of his summer recently as a tour guide. He took many pictures and shared several with me. After the initial shock of seeing no trees for miles and miles, the vastness becomes quite appealing. Big Bend National Park consists of over one million square miles of incredible desert wilderness - and right in the middle is the Chisos Mountain range with an oasis of pine and fir trees and its own highly specialized ecosystem.

This 18 X 24 painting is available for purchase directly from me. dglincoln@embarqmail.com

Isaiah 49:10They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the desert heat or the sun beat upon them. He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water.

Get a Horse

Here we are in Terlingua near Big Bend again at the Mercury mine. Can you see the rider in the distance? I guess when the mine played out, the owners just abandoned everything including a bunch of vehicles. There are some really neat buildings in the area, too, which will be painting subjects in the future.
This painting has an alternate title. The body of this old car is a rusted heap, but "The Chrome Still Shines". It kinda makes me think of Mike's wonderful Grandma who I miss the most during this time of year. Despite her failing eyes and body, there was still a spark in her that shined until the very end. Bommy, I sure miss you.
Contact me directly about this 16 X 20 oil on stretched canvas.
Luke 11:36 Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be completely lighted, as when the light of a lamp shines on you."

Crossing New Mexico

One of the reasons for my anticipation of trips we take out west is that we get to cross New Mexico most of the time. A lot of people don't like New Mexico's stark emptiness. I do. I also like counting the antelope, and I look forward to August when the cholla cactus are in bloom.
We generally make our first overnight stop at an RV park 30 miles east of Raton at Capulin Volcano State Park. Last year we climbed to the rim of the volcano and were treated with a spectacular view of the valley and crystal clear New Mexico air.

This 8 X 6 oil on canvas panel is available from me for $100. Frame is $20 extra.

Isaiah 35:2 it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the LORD, the splendor of our God.

Hiding His Tracks

Here is another painting inspired by the movie Lonesome Dove. I guess I'm stuck with the old west images for a while! Walking in a creek is a good way to make tracking more difficult - especially if the stream bed is rocky.

Most internet artists seem to sell their work unframed, and I would like to change that trend - at least for these little paintings. I can buy plein aire and other really nice frames for around $20 and these paintings look SO GOOD when they come to you already ready to put up! Those of you who have already purchased from me also know that these paintings look 500% better in person. It is so hard to photograph them and get the image accurate. I don't like to do color correction either, since in some ways that's deceptive.
This 6 X 8 oil painting can be purchased for $100, $120 with the frame.
Psalm 78:16 He brought streams out of a rocky crag and made water flow down like rivers.

Where's My Drink!?

I still have visions of Lonesome Dove in my head - I painted all day yesterday getting this one out.
In the Daily Painter's gallery a counter reveals to me which of my paintings attract the most attention - and the landscapes seem to win. But I have more fun painting this kind of image.
This 12 X 16 oil on canvas panel can be purchased from me while it dries and then can be found at the Thurber Smokestack Gallery in historical Thurber, Texas. There's a fantastic restaurant next door and another across Interstate 20 (New York Hill). Worth the trip for the food - and even better to see what's in the gallery.
Acts 2:17" 'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.

Cutting Practice

I know as many lady cutters as I do men, although I do believe the men dominate in the area of training. Most of the good riders are quite versatile as well - they can cut cattle, rope, run barrels and ride western pleasure.

This is my neighbor, Jane, and she falls into that category AND she is a teacher, too.

This is a large, colorful 30 X 36 oil painting. Contact me directly if you are interested in it.

1 Timothy 4:8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.

Lonesome Dove

One of my favorite novels and made for TV movies has been Larry McMurtry's "Lonesome Dove". I cried and cried when Gus died - both when I read it and when I viewed the cinema rendition. The visuals from the movie are so inspiring painting-wise. I CANNOT WAIT to get to Montana again. We are going to Glacier National Park this July - not by horseback following a bunch of rangy longhorns, like Gus McCrea and Capt. Woodrow Call, but in an RV with all the luxuries. Still I can't help but imagine what it was like to do that trip on a horse, behind hundreds of cows kicking up dust, fearing constant attack from Indians and not knowing what lay over the next ridge.

This 9 X 12 painting was inspired by a scene in the movie. I can't tell you exactly when or where, but if you watch all 8 hours, you'll see it!

Luke 3:22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."

City Slicker 3

SOLD to a collector in Pennsylvania

Continuing in the "City Slicker" series - a country horse existing in a man-made world.
This 18 X 24 Oil on gallery canvas is ready to hang and can be purchased from me for $100.
Exodus 34:10 Then the LORD said: "I am making a covenant with you. Before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the LORD, will do for you.

City Slicker II

The abstracts are popular, no doubt about it. I sold another painting similar to this one recently and was contacted by a new collector to do this one for her fiancee for Christmas. The young lady is moving from Texas to Chicago and wants to take a bit of it with her.

I don't blame her. Mike and I lived in northern Illinois the first 5 years of our marriage. It was tough, but probably the best move we ever made. It was us against the world and we won. This summer we'll be married 35 years and I think the best is yet to come...

This 30 X 36 painting is sold. Commissions are welcome.

1 Corinthians 13:2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

Kiss My ......

I have already posted this painting earlier (forgive me, Micah) but it didn't make it into Daily Painter's Gallery because I wasn't a member then! I didn't get to paint today because I was readying 13 paintings for a gallery and this is one of them, and, I might add, one of the better ones. This horse just materialized on the canvas as I painted her. She epitomizes what a good, no great, Quarter Horse should look like. Well developed forearm, powerful rear, shapely neck and attentive, attractive face. She KNOWS she is special.
If you want this painting, you'll have to get it from the gallery. It's 16 X 20, on thick, gallery wrapped canvas and looks really great in the natural mesquite frame that it's in or can be hung frameless.

Psalm 32:1 Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.

Horse Play

SOLD to a collector in Arizona

This is the painting I finished after "Left Over Paint" and it went very quickly, too. My horse, Easy, loves to play with our dog, Georgia, but I can't ride him with the dog around because he does this little rearing, pawing action! Looks fancy, but not fun to ride through! PJ, my other horse, kicks her heels doing a kinda bucky thing when the dogs play with her, and that's an easy motion to ride.

Thinking about my horses makes me want to go play with 'em and today is a beautiful one in Texas...so bye!

This painting is an oil on 8 X 10 stretched canvas with painted sides and can be purchased directly from me for $100.

Job 40:20 The hills bring him their produce, and all the wild animals play nearby.

Left Over Paint

I think the title says it all. Between paintings, I clean off my palette, of course. Often I have a lot of paint left over, though - and I just hate to throw it away. So sometimes I prime another canvas with it and use it as an undercoat. And that's actually what I had in mind for this canvas but some colors took shapes all by themselves.
I rarely paint totally abstract. As a dear artist friend said recently "It's harder to paint nothin' than it is to paint something." She is right. Sometimes it's fun, though.
This painting is oil on an 8 X 10 stretched canvas.
John 6:12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted."

Fort Davis Revisited

This is the second time I have painted this image. I sold the first little one on a 6 X 8 panel and had a request to do another. This is a test in consistency for me. Rarely do my larger paintings look exactly like the small versions. I always seem to change something - color, composition - something. This one I kept fairly close to the first, although I "zoomed" in on the house a little more.

This is one of the officer's homes (I think there were at least 4 like this one) at Fort Davis, Texas, near Big Bend National Park.

This 8 X 10 oil on canvas with painted sides can be purchased from me for $100 or can be found in a gallery in Thurber, Texas, when it dries.

1 Chronicles 4:10 Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, "Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain." And God granted his request.

Bad Hair Day

This is another painting one of my blue-eyed neighbors. This mare is actually a paint - from a distance she is solid white, though. Up close you can see some pigmented spots under the white fur - and both her eyes are Paul Newman blue. She has a spectacular mane and tail, too - lush and thick that flows in the wind quite elegantly. I'll bet she looks pretty flashy under saddle.

This 9 X 12 oil on stretched canvas can be purchased for $100 directly from me or can be found in a gallery in Thurber, Texas next week for much more! Yep, I am getting in to a gallery...wish me luck!

Proverbs 25:18 Like a club or a sword or a sharp arrow is the man who gives false testimony against his neighbor.

Live Oak

SOLD to a Texas Collector
This live oak is about 20 miles north of me on Hwy 281 on the way to Mineral Wells, Texas. I have painted it several times, but this is the first at this season - right after the first frost and before honest-to-goodness-winter hits.
It's been a struggle for trees this big in this part of Texas. We have had below average rainfall and have been teetering on edge of desert-like conditions for the past 6 years. Large trees have been tested in their ability to survive. We have lost several in our own pasture. This spring was wetter than usual, though, and we recently were blessed with an additional 2 inches of welcomed rain. I could almost hear the trees breathing sighs of relief.
This 6 X 8 oil on Masonite can be purchased directly from me for $50.
Psalm 147:16 He spreads the snow like wool and scatters the frost like ashes.

Mugging - Two Against One

In rodeo "lingo" a mugging is an event where a calf is turned loose in an arena and given a head start before two cowboys chase after him on horseback. One cowboy ropes the calf and the other throws and ties him up. After tying, the calf has to remain down for a specified amount of time for the run to count. Fastest time wins. It's a combination of calf roping and team roping and is a whole lot of fun to watch - especially in a big arena with a fast, dodging calf! I have seen horses throw their rider and the cowboys take off on foot to get the calf. I have seen calves REFUSE to lay down. And I have seen skillful, successful runs like this one. Nobody lost their hat and the calf was tied in record time.
This 8 X 10 oil on canvas can be purchased directly from me for $100. It has painted sides and can be hung without a frame.
Ecclesiastes 3:1[ A Time for Everything ] There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven