Plein Air Provo

This week has been really busy; I have two Plein Air competitions in this week, and I have been working on frames to supply them.

Plein Air Provo is running Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday (paintings due Friday before 1pm), So I have been in Provo painting the cool old houses in the Maeser and Joaquin Neighborhoods.

Update 10/4/13- this painting was awarded 3rd place in the show!
Update #2 (later) it was also awarded People choice!

Spring City Plein Air

The Spring City Plein Air event happened the last week of August; I am just getting around to adding some picture from the event... My bad.

 

 You can't help but be inspired around this place, the combination of old houses, farm land, and mountains makes for magnificent scenes.. pictures and paintings rarely portray the full beauty; you have to be there sucking it up to really get it.

 This was my first painting, felt sorta choppy, but I like the variety of textures not only in the garden but the home that was an amalgamation of many eras.

 Holly Hock with Shadow, I might paint this sometime....

 

Using the back of the Maxima for my studio, it has been a good car studio with 230K miles on it...

When I wasn't painting I took the time to go explore and find photos to work from later. I like these trucks, so retro, I bet I could get this green truck up and running again...

The mountain range in the back ground always seems to be an Ultramarine or cobalt blue that subtly changes throughout the day and into the evening...

 

I asked some very nice folks if I could paint this rock wall from the inside, as I could not see very much from the road








In the end this painting did not need the big red barn in the middle...



 

Here are the 4 paintings I completed for the main competition. Saturday was a tad rainy but the 3 hour paint-out stayed 99% dry. I was painting this old granary that was next to Randal Lake's Studio, about 1/2 way through the painting, just as I was feeling nervous about my composition and time left, Randal came out to talk to me and inspect my painting. He's a nice guy, but it was a little intimidating painting while he watched. (I have always admired his work, but only met him that day)

Progress shot.....and then I forgot to take more progress shots.....

 

My new collectors that bought both this painting, and the garden house at the top of this post. I went to their house before I left Spring City and got more acquainted, great people.

Every Tree with a Golden Lining

I know it is sorta a cheesy title, its a play on the the cloud/silver lining saying, and it seems appropriate in my life right now.

The frame is one of my own creations, a molding I have been building and a finish I have learned from my frame building guru buddy Rett Ashby.

here are a few of my favorite "moments" in this painting. I was sad to see it go, it was a commission.

Tetons

This is a painting I am working on. If the Tetons don't look quite right that is because they are painted from the west side of the mountain range (or as the locals say "the Drigg's side"). I am going to try and figure out how to make a movie of all the progress shots I have been taking along the way.

Update: I was not diligent in my recording of the steps of this painting.... sorry. here is the final image and some of my favorite "moments". Enjoy!

A small painting 4 Vern

I have a friend that is organizing a thing (can I be any more vague?) for a good Artist contact, my Mentor, and all around good guy Vern Swanson. She has asked a number of artists to submit 3x5 inch paintings that she is going to present to Vern today at Krieger-Ricks Gallery in Springville. He is going in for some major surgery and this is sorta "we love you and are behind you" type event. This is my small painting from my Colorado River series... 3x5 inches.

ZIONS Bank show in Provo

I was excited about being invited to participate in the annual Zions bank show for the first time this year. I really wanted to have more work ready for the show, but alas only so much work can fit on a 8'x 8' wire backing. I was great to meet new artists, talk to old friends, and greet people who came to the show to check out the Art and have a bite from the awesome catering that Zion's had brought in. 5 floors of artists (over 60 of us). I didn't sell any work that night but it was a good time regardless.

available paintings

A link to current available paintings HERE.

Summit Gold

Oil 2007

36x72

sold

Lapping all the way to the River Bank

I have been very productive the past month but have not been very good posting new paintings here! Sorry about that. Here are two paintings I finished before my family and I went on family vacation, I submitted them to the Spring Salon in Springville, but they were not accepted...Drat!

I think they are some of my best work.

"Lapping all the way to the river bank"

20x40 inches Oil

sold

This is a painting I have done before on a smaller scale, you can see it below, I called it " a running start" I called this one "Rock Curtain". It has some great things happening in it. I love the dark foreground. This is longer than a double square... I like the long format too.

"Rock Curtain"

16x36 inches Oil

$4200

Its been a while....

Its been a while since I did any thing productive in the studio... I have no good excuse either. here are a few small paintings (9x12)

I'll get some more stuff up soon!

Manilla Mustangs

I finished up some work in Manilla Utah last week. Manilla is just west of the west end of Flaming Gorge. Its a small town. The High school has this great Axillary Gym, we replicated the mural from the main gym in the school. This Aux gym has 2 main courts, both courts have 2 of these mustang murals. The horses took about 10 hours per each set; airbrushing takes a lot of time.

The Endzones had a 33 inch "MUSTANGS"  lettered on the perimeter track. I didn't get a shoot of the finished product, Mountain Heights was finishing up the paintings and finishing of the floor.

Fall colors series... to start

I have been working a new series of paintings focusing on the colors of fall. These two images are from near my Parent's cabin in Mantua, Utah (just East of Brigham City). I have been listening to Lord of the Rings audiobooks so I imagine Orcs and Hobbits all over in the hills.

 "Limited Access"

10x15 inches  Oil

sold

 "Trail of Red Trees"

20x24 inches Oil
$2200

 

Not totally convince about the frame... might need to be darkened a bit.

Details

this is one of my favorite square inches of the painting...

..this part too, and see, look real close you can see Frodo and Sam hiding in the red bushes...