Illinois

Illinois, oil on gessoed hardboard, 8x10"

I've been wanting, for my own knowledge and ability, to start pushing to the abstract end of the spectrum of painting, without abruptly changing immediately. I don't think that would be good for the thought process that goes into each work.  I found a reference photo that I took while driving through Illinois on the way to St. Louis, that is geometry all the way. As I told my son, the artist, I used a palette knife, not to apply paint (brushes only at this juncture) but to take it off exposing other color underneath, or to manipulate texture in other areas. 

This painting is dedicated to my friend Shawn, who left this world on Tuesday. He had been living in Iowa for a few months. These fields reminded me of the Iowan heartland. 

Morning Shadows and Red Bud

Morning Shadows, oil on gessoed paper, 12x9"

I was walking my dog this morning on this cold, clear day and returned to find the sun blasting my neighbors garage. I ran inside, grabbed a piece of gessoed watercolor paper, brushes, turp and medium, and I threw some paint on my palette. I moved quickly because I didn't want to lose the light.  Twenty minutes later (I was moving really quickly!) and with frozen hands and legs (I was standing in shorts) I finished this little painting. I am quite happy about a few things here: that I was able to pull this off so fast - actually the majority of my life has been pretty spontaneous so I shouldn't be so surprised, and that I improvised in a few ways I wasn't used to and it still worked. My hands have warmed up enough to type so I will just say, maybe another quick painting later today.

After the Harvest, Kansas

"After the Harvest, Kansas", oil on gessobord, 18x24"

I finally finished this landscape over the weekend. Was fun to paint larger with this one. My next landscape attempt will (hopefully) drift to more abstraction...I have tinkered with this lately on oil paper, but may use these as the references for a larger work. Stay tuned!

Sunlit Vineyard 2

Sunlit Vineyard 2, oil on canvas, 8x8"

NFS

This is my 300th painting since I started my blog in April 2014! I have not necessarily been painting and posting everyday but a lot more then I thought would be posting when I started.  

This is a second go at this vineyard scene. This painting, as well as its counterpart, will be a donation to the Louisville Art Association's ArtSquared fundraiser in April. I will write more about that later. 

When I realized I had to paint a second version, I left the original packed up, interested in seeing how I would interpret the scene again. I was just comparing the two, and even though there are some similarities, I am really pleased at their differences.  It shows that one any given day, my brain is wired to see color, shapes and points of interest differently.

Patches

Patches, oil on canvas, 9x12"

It hasn't snowed here in a while but when it did I went out to photograph some fields and a small lake nearby. Even though I thoroughly enjoy painting outside in the snow, it was much too blustery during this last batch.  Here is an active field, shut down and enjoying the peaceful silence.

Uphill

Uphill, oil on canvas, 12x16"

This is the fourth of my vineyard paintings.  I have them all lined up near my easel so I can keep checking on my own progress. A little "checks and balances" I guess.  This one is a bit smaller, only because I ran out of the other size.  The light on the vineyard was making the vines in the foreground sparkle!