Winter plein air

This is a little 8" X 10" sketch I did about a month ago while there was still snow on the ground. The air temperature was about 45 degrees and I did not feel the cold at all. I painted about one hour and simplified the huge number of trees. As you can see there was a cross country skiier that had gone through before me. I located this spot the previous day while walking my two dogs through here. In the meantime, I did a portrait painting for the Elk Grove Art League in an hour and a half. The painting went well (sorry, I did not take a picture) and I had plenty of time to talk about painting to the twenty five or so members.

Bridge at Fire's Creek, NC

When you find a really nice spot to paint, often you can turn your easel 180 degrees and turn around and find another subject. This is just up the creek to the west of the waterfall at Fire's Creek that I painted two years ago. While I did that one en plein air, this one is a studio painting I did this winter while it was too cold to go out. I am old enough to say that it's too cold for me!!!! Anyhow the motivation for this one was to convey the textures of branch upon branch wave upon wave in a nice clean painterly style. I have three of my works now on exhibit at the Regional show in Dixon, Illinois at the Next Picture Show Gallery. In the meantime I am doing several art classes each week -- teaching them, that is. I will be headed out for North Carolina soon for more painting although I will be taking a wood turning class or possibly a wood carving class, whichever has space ----- (didn't know I did that, huh?).

Secret life of the artist, part 3

I did a pastel of this scene about two years ago from a picture I took in Walworth County, Wisconsin. If I remember right, it's along route 20 west of Waterford. The "secret life" thing has to do with the fact that I have been doing demonstrations for a store (which shall remain nameless) looking to open some painting classes. Since I am still struggling with the acrylics a bit, maybe this is a little amateurish. I decided to use my own source material. This is a 9'' X 12" canvas board that I did in a little less than two hours, excepting set-up, take down and time to chat with the customers. The other remarkable thing is that it's done with acrylics. It's challenging to paint with them since the palette of colors you get from the paint company isn't very good. For the most part, since I thought I would never work with acrylics again (and never do illustration again), I gave my acrylics away to a neighbor. Here I am these many years later using them again. Acrylics dry too fast and just don't have what I like about oils, workability -- is that a word? Keep painting you all --- and, lesson learned --- never say "never".

Bog Marsh, Rochester, Wisconsin

As promised, here is the completed (I hope) version of the painting that I did this fall. I posted two detailed parts of it a couple months ago. This is oil on canvas; 36 X 48 inches. The canvas was a free one, a gift from a friend. I've entered it in a show: don't know yet if it's been accepted. If it has I will have to get it framed. I had a hard time with the background trees: the red and sienna hues kept wanting to come forward, so they had to be tamed. The rest was a lot of grunt work. Since it's the largest I have ever worked, it just took a lot of time and paint to complete. I don't have anything else to post right now: it's been cold and snowy here, I've been busy with work that actually pays (unlike art) and when the economy is bad and nothing is selling I feel less motivation to paint. I like painting whether I sell or not, but things have been slow and making money at this does have its place.

Mystery painting

As I was gathering things in my bag to go painting, checking for turps, towels, etc. I found this little study in between two blank canvas boards. I know I did this last June in north Carolina. Apparently it was dry enough then for me to put it away in the bag, but it was forgotten until now. It's an 8 X 10" oil of a riverbank with the dark foreground-light background scenario. As long as there aren't insects and too many tourists, I could paint here anytime, all the time. Things are very slow right now. There haven't been shows I have been interested in entering. I will continue to look.

Bridge construction

This is a little 6" X 8" oil of a bridge reconstruction. It was done on a very hot day in Brasstown, North Carolina, but I stood in the shade of some trees and did a quick simple sketch. It was hot for me, but how was it for the workers?

Creek at Brasstown, NC

This is a little 8" X 10" oil sketch done while I was at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina. I was out among the bugs on a hot, humid day, but determined to see this through. I did not spend more than 45 minutes on this one, mostly resolved to get the reflection and light on the water. Now, a couple months later, the temperatures here where I live are a lot cooler as we transition toward fall -- no more complaining about the heat! Just to the left by a few hundred yards, is the Citgo gas station and store called Clay's Corners, purveyors of Possum water and cold drinks. Clay also hosts local bluegrass musicians, pretty much all day and night long on the weekend.