Sheriff Samuel Stout - #32215 by Candy Barr

11 x 14 inches Oil on birch ply

This has been revisited from Glendale Plein Air competition last year during the Glendale Chocolate Festival.  And from the Glendale AZ tourism: Territorial Sheriff (bronze sculpture) At the Public Safety and Courts Complex, Bill Nebeker’s 1990 sculpture commemorates Samuel Stout, a Glendale resident and Maricopa County’s 14th sheriff. Glendale dedicated the sculpture to the “men and women of today who, as members of the Court and the Fire and Police Departments, continue the honorable tradition of preserving the peace and enhancing the public safety.”

Fire Station #1 Casa Grande - #22814 by Candy Barr

16 x 20 inches Oil on canvas

Last weekend there was an all day Casa Grande Plein Air Event.
Over 50 artists participated with 3 winners.  The Captain at the fire station wanted my
painting if it didn't go for the purchase awards.. so there it proudly hangs!
Love chatting with the firemen in between their outings all day. They are such pillars of our communities.
So many coming and goings, and cases of mental illness emergencies rather than
fires if you know much about what too many of their calls are for.
Services provided:

• Fire
• Emergency Medical Services
• Hazardous Materials Response
• Search and Rescue
• Extrication

Twenty five years ago false alarms were half the number of fires, today false alarms significantly exceed the number of fires.

According to Nightline it costs $3,500 every time a fire truck pulls out of a fire station in Washington, DC (25 calls in a 24 hour shift is not uncommon so this adds up quickly).  Moreover, most of the time the call is not for a fire but for a minor medical problem. In many cities, both fire trucks and ambulances respond to the same calls. The paramedics do a great job but it is hard to believe that this is an efficient way to deliver medical care and transportation. A few locales have experimented with more rational systems. For example:

- See more at: http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2012/07/firefighters-dont-fight-fires.html#sthash.oivTNtTA.dpuf

Salt River At Turn - #12014 by Candy Barr

8 x 10 inches Oil on canvas board

Finding intense hot colors in the desert is always a tad startling, as everything tends to be understated.
When leaves turn, or some flower is in bloom, it's especially beautiful.

Let the beauty you see be who you are.  _Rumi 

Resting #11914 by Candy Barr

8 x 10 inches Oil on canvas board

Painting at a horse ranch in Cave Creek... this fellow didn't get to go on the trail ride with the others, so he kindly posed for me....

Big Mountain at Salt River #11614 by Candy Barr

  11 x 14 inches Oil

 Facing east in the morning this view is dark and in total shadow until about 9am or so, when the sun starts cracking over the mountain ridge which runs north into Bulldog Canyon. This is part of Tonto National Forest and luckily for us is still open after many park shut downs.

Here's another done of the Salt River at same spot, and I'll post again in a few days by itself.

8 x 10 inches Oil on canvas board

Gold Canyon #11514 by Candy Barr

 11 x 14 inches Oil 

A few of us met in Gold Canyon nearly in Superior AZ to paint.
So many interesting views of washes, far away mountains, and plenty of cacti everywhere.

Eating on the patio of the Gold Canyon Golf Club felt very civilized.  Sounds like a varied and challenging course.  With my daughter Trillium Sellers as a professional golf instructor, I have to keep up with this side of nature! (Proud mama alert: There is a full page with her in this month's Jan 2014 Golf Digest, p 25 as Best Young Teacher, with lesson
 "Your Go-to Greenside Shot (make your first option the simplest one).
She's good.  )
Which makes me remember when my 2 kids were in middle school during one summer they played in JR Golf League.  That meant once a week, they would play at a different golf course.  After I watched their drives and walked part of the first hole with them, I would meander off to paint some vista along the course, finishing in time to watch them play out the 18th hole.  Everybody had a good time! And certainly it was fun for me to see a different course this way each week.  I remember her coming in fifth in her division at the end of the summer.

Elephant Butte -l #11414 by Candy Barr

 18 x 24 Inches Oil

Off the Trail #32313 by Candy Barr

 8 x 10 inches Oil on canvas SOLD 

I love to paint horses, so let me know if you have a special one you'd like me to capture

Weekends in Arizona are especially good times for group rides...

Euphorbia Abdalkuri

6 x 6 inches Oil on birch ply SOLD

This particular plant was originally planted when the owner was 15 and 40 years later we have a gem of a speciman. It's from Africa, Abd-al-Kuri island, next to Socotra Island (South Yemen)

Here were some of my paintings at the Desert Botanical Garden 3 day show with the Scottsdale Artist League~!

Desert Home Courtyard - #32811

24 x 36 inches Oil on canvas

Here's final version of Desert Home Courtyard, having taken it back last Saturday to complete.

I sat on bench and had a viewer take my picture. It just seemed to beg for a relaxing repose.
All's right with the world... well in some worlds.

Courtyard DBG 2 - #32711

8 x 10 inches Oil on canvas mounted
This was earlier version painted last year that benefited with some additional color.

I love this spot of a garden in a courtyard with the architecture surrounding it.

Agave Parry - #32611

5 x 7 inches Oil on canvas board SOLD

Our last Saturday paint out at the Phoenix Desert Botanical Garden. Next weekend will be the 2 day exhibit and sale. If you're in the area come on by!
I'll have 11 paintings in it.
The comraderie of this group is wonderful, with a variety of styles and techniques and experience.

Friendship, love of nature and a joy of painting bind us together!

Saguaro - #32511

5 x 7 inches Oil on canvas board

These two saguaros captured my attention on this glorious day.
I'll post the one on right tomorrow.

Agave study - #32311

6 x 6 inches Oil on birch ply

Fish Hook Barrel Cactus - #32111

6 x 6 inches Oil on birch SOLD

Fish Hook Barrel Cacti - #32011

6 x 6 inches Oil on birch SOLD

Todds hiking guide :
The Fish Hook Barrel Cactus is found throughout southern and central Arizona at elevations between 100 and 4500 feet along sandy desert and gravelly slopes. Smaller populations may also be found in southern New Mexico, western Texas and northern Mexico. The cactus is easily identified by its thick (2 foot diameter), barrel shaped body (which usually reaches heights of 2 - 4 feet, but occasionally reaches over 10 feet), and long hooked spines. The cactus grows singly (as opposed to clusters, like the hedgehog cactus) and will have approximately 20 - 28 ribs. Two types of spines grow out of the ribs, the reddish, hooked spines (for which the cactus is named protrude outward from the body, while more slender, radial spines criss-cross flat along the body between the ribs.

Fish Hook Barrel Cacti typically bloom in late summer (July - September) and produce a cup shaped flower at the top of the plant. Flower color is usually some shade of orange, but is occasionally yellow or red. Cactus bees pollinate the flowers. The fruit remains on the cactus until it is removed by animals and may remain on the plant for more than a year. Birds, squirrels, deer and javalina are the main consumers of the fruit. The plants usually grow fairly slowly in the wild and live for about a 100 years. It is a myth that you can cut open a barrel cactus and water will pour out. While the plants do retain moisture, it is contained within a slimy alkaline pulp. Native Americans have used the juice as an emergency water source, but drinking this liquid can produce undesirable health effects such as diarrhea and joint pain. The sour rind and seeds are edible, as are the flowers and fruit.

Superstition Trail Study - #21711

5 x 7 inches Oil on canvas board

Didn't really have much time for this second one... but a nice vista looking south.

Riding in Desert - #21611

8 x 10 inches Oil on canvas

$175. + S/H

Painting out at Superstition Mountain today on a trail that we hiked a bit in. A bunch of hikers and these two riders passed us. I couldn't help throwing a horse into my view, but it looks like this one would have posed for us!

Sage Heat ~

58 x 72 inches Oil on canvas




16 x 20 inches Oil on canvas

The large one commissioned from my earlier smaller version. It was shipped to DC today.
We're heading back east Thursday, so the studio is getting put away till next winter.

Courtyard ~ Desert Botanical Garden

8 x 10 inches Oil on canvas

$150 + S/H




another beautiful day at the DBG painting with the Scottsdale Art League.

Next weekend is a 3 day sale of the 40 artists who painted in March on Saturdays.

Thanks DBG!