River's Dance at Verde River at Rezzonico Family Park, Camp Verde, Arizona

River's Dance at Verde River at Rezzonico Family Park, Camp Verde, Arizona

“Be like a river. Be open. Flow.”
- Julie Connor, ‘Dreams To Action Trailblazer's Guide’

I had recently discovered the river was only 10 minutes from my house. I was exhibiting my paintings at the Camp Verde Community Library. Rezzonico Family Park shared the drive to their parking lot. To my amazement, the river flowed right there! I couldn't believe I had lived in Camp Verde for five years and never knew this. The inspiration to paint there was seeded. After painting this painting, I coordinated a Plein air workshop. I partnered with the library and the Parks and Recreation Department. How thrilling it was.

I think this painting exudes the joy I felt during painting by the flow of the river. Everything seemed to dance that day. I hope you feel it when you view this painting. 

River's Dance at Verde River at Rezzonico Family Park, Camp Verde, Arizona

5 x 7 x 0.75 inches

Oil on Canvas

Available

Plein Air Painting - Verde River at Rezzonico Family Park, Camp Verde, Arizona

 

Verde River at Rezzonico Family Park, Camp Verde, AZ

This Plein air oil painting is dry and ready for its forever home. Painted down by the river at Rezzonico Family Park in Camp Verde, Arizona, it was a joy to paint. I had recently discovered the river at this location. I was so excited to get down there and paint.

 

I'm accustomed to painting mountains and the desert, so painting water is new. The location was magical.

 

I hope you love it. Please leave a comment and let me know. Thanks!

On-location painting Plein air

For more information on the painting, click here!

New Abstract Painting: Wayfarer

Wayfarer, 60 x 42 x 0 inches, Acrylic on Canvas

 Abstract painting with predominant colors of blue, red, and yellow and accents of green and orange.

Sugar Sweet - New Abstract Painting

 

Sugar Sweet, 42 x 60 inches, Acrylic on Canvas

The color scheme and mood of this painting are childhood innocence. The abstract subject matter reminds me of a dream or a scene out of a children's book. It gives me the feeling of sweetness, sugar sweet.

Enjoy this short video panning the painting for a closer look.

Video of Sugar Sweet Overall Painting

New Abstract Paintings: Bones, Shining, Searching Beyond, The Hiking Chef - Acrylic and Mixed Media Artworks by Artist Mary Rush

Left to right: Bones, Shining, Searching Beyond, The Hiking Chef

From Ryal Canyon - Plein Air Painting

 

From Ryal Canyon, Plein air painting by artist Mary Rush. 11 x 14 x 0.75 inches, Oil on Canvas

Plein Air Painting at Ryal Canyon in Camp Verde, Arizona

September 19, 2022.

One of my favorite activities is getting out of the house in the morning with tea, breakfast, and painting supplies tucked inside my backpack. Then, drive or walk to a beautiful place to paint the scene.

This morning I drove about a 1/2 mile south to the beautiful Ryal Canyon in Camp Verde. The hike is steep and rocky, and the trail is narrow. There was a deep crevice in the path at the beginning of my walk. I noted that this is not a good trail to be on with threats of rain!

I encountered just that after a couple of hours of blissfully painting. The clouds hovered overhead. I knew I had better pack up and get down. I had hiked past the first green gate. I fumbled to get the chain back on as the gate leaned downhill. The trail slopes downward on the way back and can be tricky with the rocks, especially with a wet painting on an easel in one hand. Today, I wanted to save my paint on the painting palette, so that was in my other hand. Probably not the best idea. But, I made it safe, sound, and dry.

Painting: Prevailing

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  Original painting by Mary Rush titled Prevailing
  
  

Plein Air Painting: Yavapai Vista Sedona Arizona

Yavapai Vista Sedona Arizona
11 x 14 x 0.75 inches
Oil on Canvas

Available December 2022
Prints are available now.

I hope you enjoyed the Labor Day weekend. 

Fun for me is getting outside to paint in a beautiful location. So, on Labor Day, I drove to Sedona to a trailhead I rarely visit, Yavapai Vista. I wondered why I rarely go to this wondrous, beautiful place. I found a beautiful spot with plentiful shade. The 360-degree views are dynamite and fodder for future paintings.  I could see Rabbit Ears (center of composition), Courthouse Butte (right in the composition), and Munds Mountain (left in the composition.) 

I tried something new with my oil paints this time. I finally found a combination of non-petroleum-based mediums that work for me. My oil paintings should be available in 3-6 months instead of 6-12 months. Yay! I hope you're as happy about that as I am.

The Southwestern Plein air painting was created using oil paints on gallery-wrapped canvas. The sides are painted so you don't need to frame it.

Enjoy this Video of the Location at Yavapai Vista, Sedona, Arizona

Original Will Be Available

PLEASE NOTE: This is an oil painting and will need to dry (cure) for at least three months. It can be shipped after December 5, 2022.

Prints and Other Goodies are Available Now

Yavapai Vista Sedona Arizona
Canvas print

Yavapai Vista Sedona Arizona
Framed print

Yavapai Vista Sedona Arizona
Insitu print

NEW Painting: Wizard of Oz

After finishing this painting and searching it with my eyes for a title, I saw all the characters emerge from the Wizard of Oz. I was going to call it "There's Gold, Silver, and Bronze," which is appropriate also. I like "Wizard of Oz" better. What would you call it?

About This Painting

This painting used up the last of my roll of canvas. It was my first roll after painting for three decades. How can that be? I began painting in 1992, so that is 30 years ago!!! Shocking! Anyway, I must have another roll of canvas. It's been a fun adventure painting flat on the floor, sometimes on the ground on the hiking trail. It's also a wonderful storage-saving idea. They roll up and store quite compactly.

Since it was the last painting from the roll, there is a vertical crease that didn't come out. I thought it would flatten after being wet with paint. But it didn't. Maybe it'll flatten out after stretching it over canvas stretcher bars.

Please Comment

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this painting. What would you call it? What do you see? Do you like it or not?

Signed!

I signed this painting after the photo shoot!

New Plein Air Painting: What Did the Gate Say to the Tree?

 

I finished this Plein air painting up in the studio. You can read more about this painting in my previous blog post. 

It's a scene I've long admired and was so happy to finally paint it. What did the gate say to the tree? Post your answer below, along with any thoughts you might have about this painting. I welcome your comments.

Buffalo Spirit - My Newest Painting

 

Buffalo Spirit. It's acrylic on canvas, 60 x 60 inches. An abstract painting with the feeling of the wild west. If you tune in, you can see American Indians and buffalo roaming the land with the sun shining.

The buffalo spirit is a strong, gentle mighty presence. The American Indian's spirit attunes to the natural world flowing with the rhythms of Mother Earth and the elements. The strength of the wind carries both the spirit of the buffalo and the American Indian forward. A deep abiding respect for life is honored between them. Life is sacred on the plains of the Southwest where buffalo spirit roams.

Survival, stamina, and strength is required for life in the wild wild west. Living from the wild place within is advised. Rock steady presence in tune with your center, ready for anything that comes your way. Buffalo spirit aids your journey.

This painting is available. Inquiries can be emailed to Mary@WildfeatherFineArt.com.

Pilgrimage Art Prints and Art Pillow

"Pilgrimage," 12 x 12 inches, Acrylic on Wood

Sedona! The scene is Cathedral Rock as seen from Bell Rock on the Courthouse Butte Trail. Cathedral Rock is the 2nd most photographed rock formation (behind the Grand Canyon) in Arizona. You can see it from most of Sedona, in spite of the fact that many times you can't recognize it because it looks so different from the many angles and perspectives you might be looking from. It's a photographer's delight, especially during the full moon when full moon drumming circles can be joined each month at the top of Cathedral Rock.

"Pilgrimage" was the first landscape painting I did of Sedona. And it was Plein air, although, I didn't know that term at the time. I finished it up in the studio. The original is not available. It's available as a print and many other products such as the pillow (shown here) and as a puzzle.

I titled it "Pilgrimage" because of the gold path on the painting. Many come to Sedona in search of themselves. I imagine Cathedral Rock to be a place of pilgrimage. In my mind's eye, while painting, I could a cloaked figure walking the path.

Refer to my blog article to see in-process photos and more about the painting:

Pilgrimage Prints, Pillows, Puzzles, and More

#sedona #sedonaaz #sedonavortex #sedonahiking #pilgrimage #cathedralrock #cathedralrocksedona #pleinairpainting #artprints #artpillows #arthomedecor  

Plein Air Painting Alongside the Road

Yesterday, I did a Plein air painting situated alongside the road. I have admired this scene on my daily walk for years. You might not see, in the photo, what I see from the road. The energy is charming with the gate on the left and the tree on the upper right. They have lovely conversations; I imagine. What did the gate say to the tree? Comment below. Let’s have some fun.

Three people stopped in their vehicles to look and chat. Two were on their way to the river. One was a couple of young men with a kayak in the back of their red late-model Toyota pickup truck. They got out and asked me if I sell my paintings. Silly me, I had no business card to give them. I’ve packed them for next time.

And the other, in a new green Jeep with two dogs, smiling in a friendly manner, drove his vehicle as close as he could to see the painting. I guess he didn’t want the dogs to get out. A friendly chap, he reminisced about his own experience in painting and drawing, which he had put on the back-burner for years. He was going fishing, which brings him peace, he said. After seeing me out there, he will consider getting back to his art.

I escaped the wind until the very end when I was packing up. It threw the easel with my painting attached. In catching it, luckily only the sides of the canvas, which I had painted, brushed across my arms and hands. I had already packed everything up, so I simply walked back home with paint all over me.

Art teaches nothing, except the significance of life.
Michael Korda

Original Painting: The Zen of Tree

I'm happy to share a recent painting called The Zen of Tree. The simplicity of a tree inside a circle intrigued me. The limited colors add to the feeling of peace and harmony.

I created this painting using the soak stain technique developed by Helen Frankenthaler.

The Zen of Tree, 22.5 x 30 inches, Acrylic on Canvas.
Ships flat rolled in a tube.

Now available on WildfeatherArtsy.com.

A Prayer Vigil

I’m happy to share my latest painting, A Prayer Vigil.

Hitting my stride on a familiar hiking trail one day in Camp Verde, Arizona, about halfway in, a new pathway caught my eye. Curious, I and my embellished hiking stick turned right to investigate it further. 

Another trail in Camp Verde gifted me the hiking stick. One may access the Clear Creek Trailhead from the gravel parking lot past the campground off Highway 260.

I hadn’t used a hiking stick in five years. But the path near the creek insisted I have it. Shortly I found it handy to steady myself when crossing the roaring sap green creek water on a log.

I began the stick’s embellishment by wrapping a ripped strip of painted canvas around the top of it and down about four inches. I like the aesthetic of the wheat color of raw canvas with the colors of turquoise, lime green, and red-brown. The cloth guards from splinters and aids my hand’s comfort. I’ll add beads or other beautiful adornments over time - a walking stick-in-process.

I returned in a few days to paint the newly discovered scene on the opposite side of a much-loved mountain I had painted twice. This new vista intrigued me.

A shapely pine tree sits at the bottom of the white rocky hill where the path leads to it. Sedona’s red rock mountains appear pink, seen far off in the distance. The blue and green mountains of Camp Verde are near in sight.

“While Sedona is famous for its red rocks, the landscape surrounding Camp Verde is known for its stark white rock.” - Visit Camp Verde website.

Bright white rocks comprising minerals and sediment lend a loose texture to the hill. Wildflowers in blooms of varying hues of yellow, shocking red, carnation pink, and matronly mauve dot the hillside. Their leaves in cool and warm shades of green add contrast and interest.

The sunlight shining just behind the hill cast long shadows, adding dramatic flair to the view. I finished the painting afterward in a couple of studio sessions. 

Article Source: The Land of White Rocks

A Prayer Vigil, Oil on Canvas, 11 x 14 inches.

This original painting will be available 6-12 months after it dries.

You may purchase it now as a print, a greeting card, and more.

The Conversation at Cathedral Rock - Plein Air Painting - Now Available

The Conversation at Cathedral Rock
8 x 11 inches, Oil on Paper

This Sedona plein air painting began on the trail on Thursday at Cathedral Rock. This is where it ended up as I hustled to beat the rain. I situated myself off trail thinking I would be safe from other hikers. Ha! Much to my chagrin, crazy tourists who don’t know the trail were making beelines straight toward me!

Cathedral Rock
Sedona, Arizona

I had some beautiful socially-distanced conversations. They were kind enough to compliment me on my painting. The Sedona mountains have always challenged me. They have so many intricacies. I have to really work to keep it simple.

Get the Painting Here

The Meeting - Sedona Plein Air Painting - Now Available

 Back to Sedona to paint. Ahhhh…feels so good! I was listening to Dr. Alberto Villoldo. He said that our blood is made up of 70% iron. That must be why Sedona feels so good to so many. Iron in the rocks is what makes them the red color. Our bodies feel more in the flow when in the red rocks. Iron meeting iron, like meeting like, like old friends, comfortable connections. Life just feels good in Sedona.

The Meeting, 11 x 17 inches, Oil on Wood

I love this spot because I can always find a rock ledge to sit on while I paint. My easel sits comfortably in front of me while I enjoy the scene before and around me. Imagine your favorite scene and how it makes you feel. This scene makes me feel serene and well-nourished.

Sedona, Arizona - Courthouse Butte Trail

Shop for the Painting

Now Available: Ascension Oil Painting - Imagined Landscape

This oil painting is now dry, varnished, and available just for you! This unique painting with its unusual color scheme will add magic to your space.

Ascension, 11 x 17 inches
Oil on Paper-covered Wood

Check out my video on YouTube for a part of its process.

The painting is available here.