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.