OPA or Other People's Art

I can't help myself, I buy art.  I mean I'm an artist and I have "some" of my paintings hanging on the wall, but mostly for self defamation and to have a reason to get better ;)

Seeing the Elephant by Penny Otwell
Oil on Canvas -All rights reserved
Private collection of Jim and Kay Zahn

Do YOU SEE THE ELEPHANT?

Recently I've been online a lot (only recently? to my friends, that's funny) and in those travels I have come across some art that I not only like, but I couldn't live without.  So I decided to share some of the OPA (other people's art) that can be found on MY walls at home and the office.

For example from a wonderful artist in Northern California, Penny Otwell who until just recently lived in the Yosemite Valley.  My husband and I honeymooned in the Yosemite Valley.  Camp 5 ? the rock climbers camp, in 1984.  We were cool ;)

But when I saw Penny's painting Seeing the Elephant, I had to have it.  It's personal, and I'm saving up for a larger more iconic painting of Yosemite but for now, I See the Elephant everyday and I couldn't be happier.

View Of Scottsdale, Arizona From Pinnacle Peak
by Warren Keating
All rights reserved.

I'm sharing this now, because today I purchased another "must have", from an artist whom I found chatting on a Linked In Group about marketing your art, named Warren Keating.  In looking through his online gallery, I found another personal MUST have.  It's a painting of Scottsdale, Arizona looking down from Pinnacle Peak where hubby and I spent a lot of our local Rock Climbing years before all the houses filled in the landscape below the Peak.  We were actually married right there.  At the base of the Peak.  Looking up at our beloved rocks, and some of our friends who didn't make it down in time for the ceremony. 

Can you tell I like Rocks?

Speaking of rocks, I'll share now one of my own paintings (one of my first larger pastels) it's called Patagonia High Tide, because in fact there's a lot more rock down under that high tide, and someday I want to paint Low Tide there.  My reference was from a rock climbing equipment catalog.

Patagonia High Tide by Kay Zahn
12x16 Pastel on Sanded Paper

I DO have other things on my wall, and I have a Gallery Wall filled with ACEOs.  That of course is another conversation all together, but suffice it to say, I'm obsessed over OPA.  Big or small, I love them all.  In addition to all of the OPA I do own two (yes I said TWO) Bob Ross Originals.  One from well before he was famous, and another CLASSIC Bob style, both with Certificates of Authentication.

Bob Ross 1981
Personal Collection of Jim and Kay Zahn
All Rights Reserved

Bob Ross - date unknown
Personal Collection of Jim and Kay Zahn
All Rights Reserved

Isn't that just a place you'd like to be right now.  Look at those happy trees.  These are happy trees before Happy Trees were popular.

It has been authenticated by the Bob Ross Company (Bob Ross, Inc) from 1981 because he put the date in the signature.

Something that didn't do after he was a television icon.  At least not on the television show. Here is my other Bob Ross Original.  Also authenticated by the company, but harder to date.

Clearly his standard style and as such I don't like it as much as his earlier one.  I can look at both and compare what I know, what I do, and what I see, and realize that Bob has helped me tremendously along my journey to learn to paint.  

Unfortunately I can't stay awake long enough to watch him much anymore (even on Saturday morning I can doze right after it starts) but I feel good that I take that TV watching time and just DO IT.  I paint.  Because I can.  I buy OPA because I can, but more because I want to touch it and hold it closer than I can in a book or on a website.  

Speaking of websites of course.  Thanks for coming to this one.  Share the Joy,  Kay