Catherine Lindberg Artist: Guardian at Wood Ranch

I am a landscape and seascape oil painter. I have been painting for over 30 years. Inspired by the beauty of nature that surrounds me. I try to paint daily while life continually gets in the way! Life? What is that? It's what happens when I am not painting! Being a wife and mother, finding the remote, the shoes, signing permission slips. Where is the permission slip? "Mom why is there alizaran crimson on my permission slip?" I paint en plein aire as often as possible, and studio paint when I can't, like at 1:30 in the morning. Often enlarging small plein aire paintings onto a large canvas. I hike all over Mt. Diablo and the surrounding hills gathering field notes for my large paintings in the form of sketches, notes, small oil sketches, and photographs. I have been chased by cows, tangled up in barbed wire, soaked in rain swollen creeks with slippery crossing rocks, and all the while I have to make sure I am back in time to pick up a kid from school! Back in the studio, I get to work on the day's information I have gathered. Recreating it on a large canvas. When I hear, "what's for dinner?" Dinner? What's for dinner? I should know this. My mother always knew this. It should be on the table in about ten minutes from now, and I haven't a clue as to the answer of that question. I am still trying to figure out how I got alizarin crimson on the permission slip!

Please enjoy my work, I will post as often as possible. Feel free to leave comments or to contact me by e-mail.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Guardian at Wood Ranch

This was painted on location at the Don Wood Ranch in Danville. This big eucalyptus seemed to be standing guard as it stood at the entrance to the ranch on the driveway. The size is 10x8" oil on canvas. Beauty can be found in almost anything. For me that day the gnarly bark was my muse. Just calling for me to paint it. The ranch was full of barns and silos, old fences, out buildings, windmills, etc. Almost too much to take in. I tried to simplify for the day and start with just one tree. Keeping my brain from overloading. Look for this painting in the Pioneer Gallery in Danville as the historic Danville show will be going up soon.