"Shimmering Heat"

Oil on W/C paper

5" x 5"

(c)2011 NL Matus

More heat. More Agave. This time in oil on heavy, gesso-coated watercolor paper. I liked the raised perspective, and the way this worked well with the square format. This is a studio painting, done from watercolor sketches done on site in the desert.

"Red Agave"

Acrylic on Canvas board

6" x 4"

(c)2011 NL Matus

I am in love with the Agave. There are so many varieties of Agave, and this one, with the yellow bands along the edges, is particularly interesting. The heat of the day makes the color shimmer and sizzle, and this is one of a series I am doing exploring my feelings about this hardy plant in the harsh desert environment.

Blooming desert. . .

Oil on Canvas

(c)2010 NL Matus

Spring has been quite wonderful here. . . . . and summer on the way now. This is the time of year I love to get out and paint plein aire, before the really hot temps of summer make that unpleasant. Here's an oil on canvas that I painted on a trip to Sahuaro National Monument just outside of Tucson, AZ. I can hear the ciccadas chirping and buzzing as I look at this even now. . . . . .

. . A Couple More Views. ..

"Agave Dusk"

36 x 36

Oil on Canvas

(c)2010 NL Matus

(Commissioned piece)

Here's a shot of the painting on my easel in the studio. I have several easels set up and paintings on each, and I can move from one to another as I am called to. This makes for a good working arrangement for me, and I like being able to let a painting 'breathe' for a while before I resume work on it. This lets me approach it with fresh eyes and resumed enthusiasm.

Finished Commission Piece

"Agave Dusk"

Alkyd Oil

36" x 36"

This is a commissioned piece I finished last week. I have been exploring the Agave in several mediums, and painted this in a rather large format, 36 x 36 on stretched canvas. This painting takes on different colors as the light of the day changes, so it is quite interesting to see how it 'morphs' as the daylight evolves.

"The Portrait Project" at The Arthouse

Art lovers mingling at The Arthouse's show "The Portrait Project" in New York.

My self-portrait is in the very lower right corner, to the right of the red heart. . .

Another view of Arizona. . .

"Angler's Paradise - Lee's Ferry"

Acrylic on Canvas

6" x 12"

(c)2010 NL Matus

I finished this piece the day before yesterday. You see it here on my small easel setup, which is a stack of my various field boxes set upon my Yarka french easel as the 'table'. This arrangement works out very well when I am working on small paintings.

I loved how the sunlight/shade of the canyon seemed to draw one's eye down the river, and I really enjoyed painting this scene. I now need to get it re-photographed, or possibly scanned.