Some Watercolor studies

"Smoky Mountains"

Watercolor 4" x 6"

"Beach Study"

Watercolor 4" x 6"

"Arts Council Study"

Watercolor 4" x 6"

This study was done quickly on a cold day. The perspective lines are off, and there are some other problems, but I wanted a study of one section of this historical house that houses the county's Arts Council and Gallery. This will serve as a study for a larger piece. I will use this and studies from different angles to come up with a composition for a large painting.

My pocket watercolor kit has been put to good use. I have been keeping it in the car to ensure I get some sketching time in daily in case I miss my nightly studio time due to other circumstances. The house sketch was done from life, the other two from memory as I couldn't get out on my lunch break. These are loose and not wonderful, but I am an oil and acrylic painter usually. I am enjoying sketching in watercolor though, and may develop some larger work in watercolor.

Daily sketching kit and some Winter Snow!

We had about 4 inches on snow on Tuesday and temperatures never got out of the twenties, which is unusual for North Carolina, even in winter. Usually after low temps, it gets at least above freezing!

I spoke in my previous post about finding time to sketch daily, when I am rushed. I keep this pocket watercolor kit in my car with a small block of WC paper and a bottle of water. It is so simple - just open the box wet the WC pans and mix on the lid with the tiny brush which fits in the box! I am normally an oil and acrylic painter, but my gear for that is larger and takes longer to set up. With this pocket kit, I can sketch quickly on my lunch break to ensure that I get some painting time in, in case I miss my studio time at night.
These little paintings end up being mostly studies for oil and acrylic works, but they are fresh and stand on their own as a nice little watercolor. I will post some of these studies tomorrow. I may even sell these in the miniature/sketches section of my website for a reduced price after I use them for my larger paintings.



Here is our daughter Sophia on our front porch after playing in the snow. She was not happy when it was time to come inside!

Back to painting after artist's block.

Well, I have been absent from the blog for awhile, and one of my goals this year is to be more frequent in my posting. When I started the blog a few years ago, I was better about posting regularly, but since the birth of my daughter, who will be two in March, life has been so crazy and busy - BUT WELL WORTH IT!

I am back to painting regularly, I just have gotten slack in posting new work and comments to the blog here.
I did have a lull in December, where I would start a painting, and just wipe it down, or go out to paint on location and just pack it up. I think all artists go through this sometimes. I have millions of ideas for paintings in my head all the time, but I was just going through a period where I didn't feel inspired to paint, which is rare for me. I think it was the busy Christmas season coupled with the fact that I am balancing my career as an artist with my full time job and my family responsibilities. It can be difficult to move ahead in your painting when your painting schedule has been moved to late at night and you are tired. But I want to progress in my painting to move towards my goal of painting full-time, so being flexible in my painting schedule is necessary. Could I start my studio time earlier in the evening? Yes, but then I would miss out on the little time that I have in the evenings with my wife and daughter. I would rather spend quality time with them, and paint after they are in bed.
Anyway, I have found a way to get some daily sketching time in that doesn't take much time at all. I will share that and some studies in the next post.

New year, new goals

Hello friends,
I have been absent from the blog for awhile doing family things like getting ready for Christmas and playing "Santa" for my little girl who will be two in March. I have been back in the studio this week and have been doing some plein air studies as well. After the new year, I will start posting those results, but right now - more family time!

paintinglandscapes@yahoo.com - email me with questions/comments

Christmas Exhibit - Alamance Arts Council

"Water Lilies"

14" x 11" Acrylic on Canvas

$300 Framed

"Smoky Mountain View"

5" x 7" Acrylic on Canvas - Plein Air Study

$100 Framed

"Antique Teapot"

5" x 7" Oil on Canvas

$100 Framed

"Winter Shadows"

7" x 5' Oil on Canvas - Plein Air Study

$100 Framed

"Randolph County Farmland"

8" x 10" Oil on Canvas

$200 Framed


The Alamance County Arts Council is having its annual "Christmas at Capt. White's" holiday exhibit. The pieces above are in the exhibit. If you're interested in them, call the Arts Council at 336-226-4495 or stop by if you live in the area. The Arts Council's galleries are housed in a historic painted mansion and it is beautifully decorated for Christmas. Items available in this exhibit are paintings, sculpture, pottery, handmade ornaments, soaps, jewelry.... you name it, they have it! Stop by for a visit. They are located at 213 S. Main St. in Graham, NC, about half a mile from I-85/40.

As always, email me with comments or questions. I would love to hear from you.

paintinglandscapes@yahoo.com

More Travel Pictures & Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope all my friends have a Happy Thanksgiving! These are some more pictures from our trip to the Outer Banks this past summer. I am finshing up some paintings from this trip and a Tennessee trip and will post the results soon.

This is the coastline at Ocracoke Island. Because no development is allowed on the beach, you can look all directions and see nothing but beach, dunes, and ocean. It feels like you are miles from civilization and it is a great place for quiet relaxation, or in my case, painting!
This is Cape Hatteras lighthouse at the Outer Banks area of North Carolina. We stopped off at the various lighthouses on the Outer Banks on our way home from Ocracoke Island.

Here is a shot of a beach access walkway on Ocracoke Island. The island has a quiet beauty to it and I have many photos and reference sketches to use in the future. I am thinking about a whole series of NC Coastal Paintings.

This is Bodie Island Lighthouse. Unlike Cape Hatteras, this lighthouse is not located near the coastline, but near a waterway in the salt marshes surrounding the Outer Banks area.

Hope to show some new paintings soon. I have been painting for Christmas exhibits, but just haven' t got those images uploaded yet. Will do soon hopefully!

Summer Travel Pics, Outer Banks

Well, after a long abscence I am back. I promise to try and be more regular with my posts! My schedule is extremely hectic with working a full time job and having a second career as an artist. Add to that trying to keep up with our energetic 19 month old, and blogging time is last on the list sometimes!

Anyway, as the weather gets colder here, I thought I would post some pictures from our summer travels. I will do this over seperate posts to spread out the different trips. Hope you enjoy them. These are some pictures from a trip to Ocracoke Island back in July at the Outer Banks of NC.
The pictures have descriptions under them.

My wife Lucinda and our cutie Sophia enjoying some great food at a restaurant overlooking the harbor.

This is a view of some North Carolina barrier islands. I took this shot as we were riding the ferry to Ocracoke Island. Ocracoke feels like it is a world away from everything. It was a great place to vacation and paint.

This is similar to the type of car ferry we had to ride on to get to the island. Our daughter loves the water and she was thrilled with the ferry ride.

A shot of me and Sophia in front of the beautiful Ocracoke lighthouse. Ocracoke Island has a great history of pirate stories. It was one of Blackbeard's places to store his loot.

We stayed in this lodge which had just been redone in many of the rooms. This is the oldest hotel on Ocracoke. If you are into high rise condos, then Ocracoke isn't for you. The island has mostly lodges, inns, Bed & Breakfasts, and small hotels, but you won't see any high rise condo towers!

I will post some paintings from this trip as soon as they are finished.

As always, email me with comments or questions about my work!

paintinglandscapes@yahoo.com

New giclee' prints available and some news

I have decided to make some paintings available as giclee' prints. You can purchase them through the Imagekind website. Just go to http://justinholdren.imagekind.com/ and view my gallery of available prints. If you don't use the link above, you must type in the web address as shown or go to http://www.imagekind.com/ and search "Justin Holdren" from the homepage, but the link above will take you direct to my print gallery. You can purchase prints starting it $12.74, and the price increases with size and paper upgrades. Imagekind also offers matting and framing services for an additional cost.
As time progresses, I will add more paintings available as prints. If you need more information or would prefer for me to order the print for you, just email me at paintinglandscapes@yahoo.com .

Some news also! The Alamance County Arts Council is having their annual Beaux Arts Ball tonight. This is an annual black tie fundraiser which raises money for the Arts Council's programs. Two of my paintings will be available in the silent auction. If you are in the area, I think you can still buy tickets at the door. Back to the blog tomorrow with new paintings!

http://www.justinholdren.com/

I am still here.....

I have been absent from blogging for longer than I expected due to on overwhelming schedule right now. I have been painting and will have some completed pieces posted soon. Tomorrow I am off to a private farm in Graham, NC to go to an artists' paint out. I haven't been able to get any plein air (on location) painting done since our beach and mountains trip. I am looking forward to it, and hope the weather brightens up a bit... it is rainy and gloomy right now.
Be back soon with pics of new work!

paintinglandscapes@yahoo.com
www.justinholdren.com

Finally home and missing my daughter

Well, my wife and I arrived home from Tennessee on Wednesday and I will have some pictures for you tomorrow on the blog here. My inlaws are staying in Tennessee through Saturday and since my mother in law watches the baby while my wife and I are at work, she is staying with "Grandma" in Tennessee until tomorrow. She is in good hands I know, but this is the first time my wife and I have been apart from her for more than a day and it is killing me. I miss her so much that I can't even concentrate in the studio. She has been our joy for the last 17 months and I can't wait to see her tomorrow.
Most of you know that I am primarily a landscape painter, but since my daughter was born, I have felt the urge to start working on more portraits. I will show some portrait work here soon as well.

paintinglandscapes@yahoo.com
http://www.justinholdren.com/

More fun in Tennessee

Well, tomorrow my wife and I will be driving back from Tennessee to come home to North Carolina. I did squeeze in a small 5 x 7 acrylic plein air painting yesterday, but I am on my inlaws laptop here and don't have a way to post the pictures of it( no memory card slot)!
Also very sore today as we did some white water rafting yesterday. I couldn't carry the camera or paint from the raft of course, but my mind's camera captured scenery for future paintings. Anyway, Im will have more pictures to post when I get back home to the studio. Be looking for some new paintings when I return.

paintinglandscapes@yahoo.com
http://www.justinholdren.com/

Tennesee Trip Update

After a beautiful drive through the Smoky mountains yesterday, we arrived in Tennessee. We normally stay in a private cabin, but are staying with inlaws at their Wyndham Resort Condo. We are in the Pigeon Forge Area, so it might be a challenge to find a quiet spot to paint because we are staying in an area that is really developed, unlike staying in a cabin in the back roads, but I will sketch when I can and post it here soon.
Be sure to check my website and blog soon as I will have many new paintings from my recent travels here in Tennesee and from our recent trip to Ocracoke Isalnd and the Outer Banks, NC.

paintinglandscapes@yahoo.com
http://www.justinholdren.com/

Off to Tennessee!

Hello friends! I know I have been absent from the blog, but life has been pretty hectic lately! I have been painting and have some new work to post, but it must wait until I get back. I am off to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee with my wife and baby girl and my inlaws. I will be back late next week and hopefully I will get some quick sketching and painting time while in the beautiful Smoky Mountains. As usual, you can go to my website to see some avaialable work or visit the galleries listed on my website if you are local to see the work I have there. Be back soon with some pictures and paintings!

http://www.justinholdren.com/
painitinglandscapes@yahoo.com

Back from trip and artist's life stuff

Hello friends!
I will be posting some new work and sketches I did on my trip to Ocracoke Island 2 weeks ago. I have been busy catching up on emails, and general studio cleanup. My studio is always a mess after a trip! I still have paintings that I haven't unpacked yet.
My time has also been taken up because I have switched positions at the non-profit ministry I work for, and so I am learning my new responsibilites. But you say, " I thought you were an artist?" Ahhh, I am but I am a young artist who still has not made the plunge to painting full time. Once my pricing gets higher, and I build my collector base a bit more, than that may become a reality. I have a daughter to think about, so at the current time my wife and I must both still work while I continue to sell my work through websites, exhibits, and galleries.
Most artists I know that paint full time, are doing so after "painting on the side" for many years and have built their clientele and gallery relationships. It does take time, but sometimes exceptional talent like that of Scott Burdick or Jeremy Lipking finds collectors very quickly.
If only I was full-time now, but I will keep on painting and doing my best to raise the value of my collector's purchases.
Anyway, hope to have more work posted this week.

paintinglandscapes@yahoo.com

Ocracoke Island Trip this weekend!

Hello friends! I will be away from the easel for a few days because my wife, daughter, and I are going to Ocracoke Island this coming weekend. We will be gone this weekend through part of next week.

I am of course taking my painting gear and look forward to squeezing in time for some small canvases. I am taking my paintbox for oils and acrylics, but I might end up using only my pocket watercolor kit for some quick sketching.

When I am on a trip solely for painting, I use my paintbox and all my gear, but since this is a family vacation and my 15 month old daughter's first beach trip, I don't want to spend much time away from her and my wife. That is why the pocket watercolor kit is great! It fits in my pocket and has a single brush inside and you only need a small pocket watercolor pad. It is great for quick sketching with a minimum of gear. Since I am primarily an oil and acrylic painter, I normally use my watercolors as studies for oil or acrylic works. Keep checking the blog here and I will post work done on my trip when I get back.

We are not leaving until this weekend, so I will try to post a few more paintings this week before I leave.

As always, email me at paintinglandscapes@yahoo.com with any questions about my work.

Palm Trees Daily painting

"Nassau Palms"

7" x 5" Acrylic on Gallery Wrap Canvas with painted sides

Wired and ready to hang

$75

Email me at paintinglandscapes@yahoo.com to purchase

Two palms stand tall on a cloudy day in Nassau, Bahamas. Done from sketches and photo reference from a past trip to the Bahamas. Thanks for looking!

Sunset Daily painting

"Approaching Sunset"

5" x 7" Acrylic on Slim Gallery Wrap Canvas with painted sides

$75 wired and ready to hang

Email me at paintinglandscapes@yahoo.com to purchase

This is not the usual sunset scene you see. Most artists focus on the part of the sunset with the glowing red and orange sky, but I chose to paint the scene when the sun was almost completely gone and darkness was starting to fall. It makes for an interesting array of darker colors with a hint of the sun left.

I have missed posting a couple of days due to working on some pieces for a local coffee shop, but I will have more to show you tomorrow. Thanks for looking!

Happy 4th and a palm painting

"Mombasa Palm"

8" x 10" Oil on Canvas Panel

SOLD

Happy 4th everyone! I posted a past sold painting here and will not post through this weekend due to family time for 4th of July weekend, but I will be back Monday with more small daily paintings and some new larger works.

paintinglandscapes@yahoo.com

Coastal Marsh Daily Painting

"Coastal Marsh"

5" x 7" Acrylic on Panel

SOLD

This is a coastal marsh scene that I did from sketches and memory. I love painting near the North Carolina coast and the coastal marshes.

Chatham County Pond Daily Painting

"Chatham Pond"

5" x 7" Oil on Gallery Wrap Canvas

Sides are painted and this is already wired for hanging

$75

Email me at paintinglandscapes@yahoo.com to purchase

This is a pond that I pass by every morning on my way to my inlaws house to drop off the baby. Thanks for looking.

Bahamas Scene Daily Painting

"Bahama Breezes"
5" x 7" Acrylic on Gallery wrap Canvas
$75
To purchase, email me at paintinglandscapes@yahoo.com
Sides are painted for optional display without a frame and the canvas is already wired for hanging.

Lavender Harvest Celebration, Plein Air Painting

Me painting on location during Sunshine Lavender Farm's annual harvest celebration. Read more about it below all the pictures.

Our 15 month old daughter Sophia enjoying the lavender farm

"Annie's Lavender Farm"

8" x 10" Oil on Panel

$150 unframed, $200 framed

email at paintinglandscapes@yahoo.com to purchase

Sunshine Lavender Farm in Hurdle Mills, NC had their annual harvest celebration this past Saturday. Visitors come to tour the farm and artists come to do plein air paintings of the farm. I had a great time and was joined by my wife Lucinda and our daughter Sophia. Sophia even put a few strokes on the painting pictured above so I should double the price! Anyway, we had a great time and you can see that my daughter loved it as she was clapping in this picture.

Back at long last, and new plein air paintings

I am back to blogging after a long abscence. I have still been painting for gallery shows and promise to start posting again regularly. Taking the time to post is a challenge these days with my busy work and painting schedule and trying to keep up with our 14 month old daughter, Sophia. Below are some recent plein air paintings. Enjoy!

"Stokes County View"

8 x 10 inches

Oil on Linen Panel

$200 Framed

email at paintinglandscapes@yahoo.com to purchase

This painting above was painted on location in Madison, NC from the front porch of the studio of artist Frank Duncan, who is my wife's uncle. A storm had just passed and the colors were just great. Green grass in the foreground, orangey-ochre overgrown reeds and grasses in the middle ground and the colors of the distant mountain in the background.

"Woodland Clearing"

10 x 8 inches

Oil on Panel

$200 Framed

Email me to purchase

I painted this on location in rural Chatham County, NC on my inlaws property. This small path came to a clearing with weeds and grasses and I even spotted a deer in the distance. This one was great fun. Just me, God, and nature - a quiet moment to reflect on the beauty of this world.

It's been a long time!

It's been over a month since my last post, but I will be back at posting more regularly. My daughter( our first baby ) just turned a year old, and I had a large solo show of 50 paintings back in February and have also been painting work for a new gallery. Whew! Finding the time to post has been challenging to say the least!
I will be posting new work here and will be updating my website as well to show new work avaiable in the studio and in galleries. Stay tuned!

paintinglandscapes@yahoo.com
www.justinholdren.com

Impressionist Oil Painting

"Clouds Near Lake Mackintosh"

5" x 7" Oil on Gallery Wrap Canvas

Wired and ready to hang

$75

Golden sunlit fields and colorful clouds near Lake Mackintosh in Burlington, NC. Purchase by emailing me or purchase at http://www.justinholdren.com/ .

paintinglandscapes@yahoo.com

New Gallery Partner!

I will now have work available at Raleigh Street Gallery in Siler City, NC. You can view their website at www.raleighstreetgallery.com . To find out which paintings I have there and at other galleries, you can go to my website at www.justinholdren.com and click on the "paintings" link. I have portfolios of pieces in galleries as well as a portfolio of pieces available in my studio.

www.justinholdren.com

paintinglandscapes@yahoo.com

Solo Exhibition at Mebane Arts

My solo exhibition is now on display at Mebane Arts and Community Center in Mebane, NC. Thanks to everyone who attended the opening and to those who purchased paintings. 50 paintings will be on display until March 7. You can view them at Mebane Arts Center Monday - Friday from 8 - 5pm. If you are interested in purchasing any pieces you see, contact the Alamance Arts Council at 336-226-4495. Above are some shots of the exhibit.

paintinglandscapes@yahoo.com

http://www.justinholdren.com/

More Lavender painting

"Field of Lavender"

5" x 7" Oil on Gallery Wrap Canvas

This is another painting of lavender that will be in my upcoming show. It will not be for sale until that time. I will be posting more previews of the work in the exhibit for you to see up until the show opens.

paintinglandscapes@yahoo.com

www.justinholdren.com

Back to blogging!

As many of you know, I have not been posting here lately because I am the proud parent of a 8 1/2 month old baby girl that has taken up quite a bit of my time the last few months. Anyway, I am back at it and I will be posting new work I have been doing as well as adding some new things to this blog. Stay tuned!

www.justinholdren.com

New Plein Air Landscape Painting

"Afternoon Light, Liberty Farm"

8" x 10" Oil on Canvas Panel

$200 Framed

I painted this a few weeks ago on location near Liberty, NC. The afternoon sun was fading fast and I wanted to capture the great light and shadow patterns of the afternoon. I had great fun doing this one.

paintinglandscapes@yahoo.com

www.justinholdren.com

Haw River Paint out

"Beginning of Spring"

11" x 14" Oil on Linen Panel

" Haw River Garden Shed"

8" x 10" Oil on Canvas

Painted on location at a paint out in Haw River, NC. We painted on a 23 acre historic property that had a Queen Anne style 100 year old mansion and many outbuildings and patures. This piece isn't quite finished and the colors in the digital pic are reading a bit off.

Purple Iris

"Purple Iris"

7" x 5"

Acrylic on Panel

$100 Framed

www.justinholdren.com

I painted this piece from some sketches and photos I did of my wife's iris beds. I love it when spring rolls around so I can paint these from life outdoors. Email me to purchase.

paintinglandscapes@yahoo.com

More paintings on the way!

Hello all! I have not been posting much to this blog lately because my schedule has been crazy! I have been busy painting new work for galleries and my wife and I are expecting our first baby(a girl) any day now. I will have some new work to show you soon.

paintinglandscapes@yahoo.com

www.justinholdren.com

Afternoon Light

"Afternoon Light, Lake Mackintosh"

9" x 12" Oil on Canvas

$250 Framed

Studio painting of the afternoon light backlighting these trees by the shores of Lake Mackintosh in Burlington, NC. Purchase at www.justinholdren.com .

Beach Seascape Painting

"Tropical Cove"

5" x 7" Oil on Canvas

$100 Framed

It's been cold and windy lately, so I've been painting from sketches and photos in the studio. Too cold to paint outside! This is from a sketch and memory from a past trip to the Bahamas. Email me to purchase.

paintinglandscapes@yahoo.com

Studio Sale on Ebay

Every year I have a studio sale via Ebay to get rid of older work and studies that I do for larger works. This is a great chance to get some originals that would normally be more expensive!

Click the link below to see the sale. It will run about 10 - 12 days.

http://search.ebay.com/holdren

Captain White House Garden

"Captain White House Garden"

5" x 7" Oil on panel

$75 Unframed

I painted this piece on location last week at the historic Captain White House. The house is home to the Alamance County Arts Council and Picasso's Gallery and Gift shop. I painted this in the side courtyard garden. It was about 35 degrees and the water in the fountain next to me was frozen solid! I braved it for as long as I could, them packed it up and went home.

Purchase at www.justinholdren.com or by emailing me at paintinglandscapes@yahoo.com.

Landscape painting Lavender Field

"Lavender in June"

24" x 36"

Oil on Slim Gallery wrap Canvas

$600

Spent this week working on some larger pieces inlcuding this one. This is yet another lavender painting. I have many field studies and photos from Sunshine Lavender Farm that I will be using to make a series of these paintings.

www.justinholdren.com

Beach Grasses

"Beach Grasses"

5" x 7" Oil on board

SOLD

This is a piece I did from photo reference and memory. This is part of the North Carolina coast near Atlantic Beach. Email me to purchase or purchase at www.justinholdren.com via Paypal.

paintinglandscapes@yahoo.com

painting a day

daily painting

fine art

Lavender painting

"Summer Lavender"

24" x 36"

Oil on Slim Gallery Wrap Canvas

$600

Sorry about the crooked picture but I was in a hurry. I will repost a better shot when I have a few minutes to spare.

www.justinholdren.com

This is a shot of the piece above our sofa. I sometimes do this for potential buyers that are purchasing from me online so they can get a sense of the scale of a piece before they buy.

We just moved in this house last year, so the walls are still white, but we have plans to paint soon.

paintinglandscapes@yahoo.com

More miniature paintings

ACEO Miniature paintings

Acrylic on watercolor paper

$20 each, framed in easel back frames. Great for a desktop or mantle!

paintinglandscapes@yahoo.com

www.justinholdren.com

painting a day

landscape art

Sky over Kenya

"Sky Over Kenya"

5" x 7" Acrylic on Board

SOLD

This was done from some photo references and sketches from a trip to Kenya, Africa. I remember it like it was yesterday. A fantastic sky over the scrublands of the African bush with the mountains in the distance. Email me to purchase or purchase via Paypal at my website.

paintinglandscapes@yahoo.com

www.justinholdren.com

landscape art

painting a day