Sun Tree

Sun Tree, oil on gessobord, 5x7"

This was the first of five paintings that I worked on when I went to Lake Patoka two weeks ago.  The other four have already been posted - I inadvertently went in reverse order. 

I tried to capture the sun radiating on the trees that morning. The water still had more of a green/dark tone to it because the sun was still on the rise. This little scene provided me with the perfect warm up.

On another note, my daughter Reid received a college scholarship from the St. James Art Festival high school competition for her portfolio entry. There are 6 scholarships offered from local foundations associated with the St. James Art Festival given to talented students.  Reid won the Dot Wade scholarship, which coincidentally was same one that her brother Hugh won for his 2-D portfolio last year.  I am extremely proud - times 2!! Here are a couple photos from the reception last night:

Old Cedars

Old Cedars, oil on gessoed board, 6x8"

I mentioned in a previous post that on one side of the cove I was painting on this day, there were thriving green cedars, and on the other there were worn out, last-leg cedars. This painting is of the latter. Despite their days being numbered and nature reclaiming them, they were the first colors of Fall I saw, and in the sunshine, they glowed!

Kayak Cove

Kayak Cove, oil on gessobord, 5x7"

I parked my easel at the bottom of a small-craft launch last week, at my favorite lake in Indiana.  I have kayaked parts of it, as it is very large.  For this painting, I turned my easel to face a tinier inlet within the cove. Some wild grass hugging the shore was mid-day illuminated.  The lake and the sky, at this time of the day were virtually the same color.

Cove Jut

Cove Jut, oil on gessobord, 9x12"

So I had a few days in a row of painting en plein air which was so rewarding.  I got to be outside for entire days, and I got to paint for entire days, which I rarely get to do.  I went to a lake in Indiana, and because it was a Monday in September, I could have counted the people that I ran into on one hand.  Due to high water, some of the areas I would have sought out were closed.  I did find a small-craft launch, like kayak and canoe size, that had enough flat to set up my easel. The ramp had these little juts on each side of me, so I painted them both as the sun moved overhead.  They caught my eye because each was lined with cedar trees, one with living trees, the other with dead and brown trees. These are the living. 

Lake Cove

Lake Cove, oil on gessobord, 6x6"

This is the second painting that I did on my latest visit to Bernheim Forest and Arboretum. It is one of my favorite places to go when I have a day off or a weekend morning with nothing to do but hike.  There is a lake near the entrance that has many great, quiet places to set up to paint. I only turned my easel a little from "Lake View", to zoom in to get these illuminated reeds.  

Lakeview

On Sunday, the weather in Louisville, KY seemed to cooperate for the first time in 2015. Really!
So what's a painter to do but paint...outside where it was perfect.  I actually took the photo above of the lake only, after I had finished my painting.  The easel photo was taken after the ground was put on.  The light changed each minute I was there, but it was all a wonderful experience. Even though they did not make it into my painting, the clouds were the best part. 
Here is what I came up with:

Lakeview, oil on gessobord, 6x8"

Arches

Arch, oil on gessoed board, 11x14"

I painted Arch on a much larger sized gessoed board than I am used to.  The grand, yet simple scene allowed me to gravitate in this direction.  I actually took about 10 progress photos as I worked through this painting, documenting my actions.  I tried to put them all together so the viewer could "flip" through with your arrow keys on the computer, but I couldn't find the correct way to format it.  So here's the finished product. I am very proud of this one.

Capital Reef Cows

Capital Reef Cows, oil on gessoed board, 9x12"

Capital Reef National Park in Utah is an amazing place to be visually overwhelmed, in a good way. I had an amazing panorama that changed throughout the day, depending on the light, clouds and winds that passed through it. 

On the roads around the park, you see "Free Range" signs signifying cows are found everywhere.  There was a wire fence outside the boundaries of the hotel that I stayed in, probably to keep the cows from knocking on our doors, but they were there, always hanging around.  Most of what I saw were mama cows and their babies. The calm landscape was filled with their calls if their babies ventured one sage bush too far.

Road to Moab, 2

Heading into Moab, 2, oil on gessoed board, 9x12"

These red rocks are embedded into my heart. It is the same part of the chain from my pastel drawing Heading into Moab from earlier this week. The colors, formations, sage and sky speak for themselves. 

Sprague Lake Reeds

Sprague Lake Reeds, oil on gessoed board, 9x12"

Sprague lake was one of those places on my recent trip that put me on senses overload.  We were finally to Rocky Mountain National Park by evening and had enough time before the sun set to take a small but beautiful hike.  Sprague is a shallow lake that attracts fly fisherman who stood like statues, casting long shadows.  It has several layers of illuminated reeds and shore boulders on one side.  And that was just the beginning of the trail!
This painting, however, almost bit the dust several times during the process of painting.  I am not that adept yet with painting water....despite giving it many shots.  I took a photo of the painting in progress and sent it to Hugh, now in college in St. Louis, telling him I was at a standstill. He gave me some simple advice on "fixing" the water, and 10 minutes later I had a painting that I liked. Just a bit more touch-ups and it was done.  I will say that I normally don't get so detail-y, but felt with the reeds, I couldn't do them justice without it this time.  I am thrilled though, at how "un-detail-y" the background is, basically the initial wash I put down, with a small bit of touch-up.

Heading into Moab

Heading into Moab, pastel on paper, 9x12"

I enjoyed the pastel sketches I did on site(s) during my trip trip.   I have been feeling under the weather today, so I decided to take a paint-break and work with pastels again. This "wall" of red rocks was one of the views on the twisty road into Moab.  I was taking non-stop photos as we rounded one amazing turn after the other. I liked them all, as usual :-)