5 x 7 oil studies

Here are the small (5x7 inch)studies I did during the Moab Plein Air event. They are my favorite paintings accept for the one of Castle valley. I think the reason I like them so much is the fast freshness of them, the strong technique..which may be more evident at a small scale. Its funny, they are painted on MFD primer with one layer of gesso, really an after thought, but I enjoyed painting them: That might be the Key.


This first one was painted in the morning as the sun was rising. The shadow was racing down the side of the cliff.



This last one is a Nocturne. I have painted many paintings of night, just never at night. It was hard because I would look at the landscape lit up with a full moon, then use my flash light muffled by my hand to illuminate my palette and painting. It takes a while for your eyes to become readjusted to the moon light. I had a hard time determining if I was actually seeing color; I knew there was value, but when I tried to assign color to a certain area my mind and eyes played tricks on me. "is that red...???"


This is what my set up looked like, I took the photo the next morning.

Moab Plein Air

I just returned from Moab and Arches National park yesterday; I spent Wednesday, Thursday, and part of Friday painting 'en plein air (French for painting outside). There are those who swear by the virtues of painting from direct observation and shun working from photos. I agree that observing colors outside is superiour to photographic references, however recording that color has always been my biggest hurtle; my canvases always look washed out. I think I am better equipped to deal with this issue after this week.

Here is my work from the last few days.


In all the times I have been through Moab I have never driven route 128 that follows the Colorado River. Beautiful! I could set my easel anywhere and find something awesome to paint.


This is a 10x15 inch panel, I started about 1 in the afternoon, and ended about 4 pm. The light changes so fast especially in the canyon. The shadow on the cliff on the left side of the painting had covered 80% of the painting by the time I was done!


This one is a 12x20, a large area to be sure, but I really like the longness of it. This image is from the park... Arches is incredible and a bit overwhelming when you look at all the picturesque things you could paint there. I had in my mind what I wanted to paint (standing on slick-rock with junipers popping up in the sand and from behind rock mounds) My internal vision and the final product don't match up yet, I was hoping for a bit more dynamic movement across the landscape. I flattened it out too much. I have noticed while I am refining I lose the energy my sketches had.

More watercolors from the mosquito pond

I am still working with the mosquito pond images, I like the warm sky and the greens and oranges, My watercolors feel washed out, I keep adding pigment to pop the colors, but it seems to always fade...frustrating...
This first WC is a larger version of one I have been working on for a while..I am going to do an oil of it next, the colors are a bit amped up here...



This last painting is the one I was working on in past posts. I am not sure I love the composition. I went with a taller format and I am thinking it should be more square...

Big Finish for the U

I worked on the HUNTSMAN CENTER floor last month, I had the family come and help me peel tape on the last day. they thought that was pretty great! Aaron peeled the "s" in huntsman, and has been telling everybody about it.


The "UTAH" is ready to paint,just need to sand the surface so the paint will stick....


Final Product from the camera boxes, Kevin and his guys still have the final coats of urethane to apply....


Here we are on the last day peeling tape...


The U is now in the PAC 12 conference....

Spring City Plein aire

Its not too hard to get back in the mood to paint. I spent two days this week in beautiful Spring City, Utah for the Spring City plein aire compitition. I painted two semi OK oils and one awful watercolor which no one will ever see. I forgot to get a shot of the first oil which was painted up Fairview caynon... the second oil was a hour long study, which not surprisingly was fresher and ...well not so stuffy.





It rained on me while I worked on both paintings, my good 'ol maxima is turning into the paint mule.

update

If you are reading the date on this post you will realize that it has been a while since I posted... but I have been painting! I promise


I used a wax crayon here to soften the mask...


and a Friskit mask here, I like the hard edges for the leaves.


I need to make a new easel, mine is reaching the end of its life!

Stay tuned for the finished painting.

New Watercolor

I am still working from some images of a new pond (a bi-product of the recently built Pioneer Crossing Highway). I have done a few sketches of this clump of trees perched above very still water. I did this very fast color study to identify what color direction I was going ... in hind site I should have done a color wheel with a clear color scheme and swatches, maybe even on watercolor paper.



I have a few images I am working from, as you can see. I am eventually going to render some of these in oil, but I am liking the process of watercolor, and its unexpected detours. My goal is to work looser but with more focus on emotional color and complex values. The series of paintings will help with that.



This represents the first hour of the painting; loose and colorful. I am planning to use some masking fluid to isolate these initial values, in a few places; in the top of the tree for example. I hate the hard edges and non-graceful shapes that Friskit makes, I might try some white crayon in combination with liquid masking.

Well, it's a start!!!

I would like to dedicate this first post to my friend Kyoung. Yes I know that is weird to dedicate a post,but she and I will probably be the only ones who ever read it!

For about 6 months now I have been in a painting funk. I started this blog as a way of keeping myself accountable to post new paintings and talk about problems and overcoming my horrible studio habits!



So I took a series of photos a few months ago at a rural containment pond. It cost me dearly in mosquito bites, and a car that smelled like roadkill skunk for weeks. I have been doing a few thumbnails and sketches, but today I finished a small 5x11 inch watercolor.



I notice that it still seems overworked, dry, and overly textured; all things I am trying to adjust in my work. I tell my watercolor students all the time "let the paint and water flow and do the work." I need to follow my own advice! I do however think that the foreground/background relationship is nice.


I used a slightly longer format, more than a double square(11x5) I really like that extra bit of "landscape"ish longness. I think that I will do a few more watercolors and then start an oil.