Color Field

“Color Field”

Oil on canvas, 24x18”

Three solid days... that’s the most amount of time I’ve put into a painting since post-college days. I’m pleased with my effort and the size. My paintings , although using the Kentucky Tobacco barn as a common focal point, are becoming a vehicle for more geometrical compositions and color choice, and happily, they are losing focus of the a typical horizon line.

Kentucky Stone Fence, Winter

Stone Kentucky Fence, Winter,

Acrylic on Arches Watercolor Paper

8x10"

Fooling around with acrylic. Not sure me and their viscosity meet in the middle. An “Oh KY”sceene with the endless rock walls and tobacco barn.

Lonesome Pine, Crosscurrents

“Lonesome Pine, Cross currents”

“24x18” oil on panel 

Lonesome pines always draw my attention. I guess I can identify with them.

I worked on this one for almost two weeks but finally got it to where I can actually call if finished.

Cold Walk

“Cold Walk”, oil on canvas, 18x14”

I’ve been sitting on this one for a few days to make sure I was happy, and decided it was finished. It’s the second larger one I’ve done and am acclimating nicely to the size change.

Decommissioned

“Decommissioned”, oil on canvas, 18x14”

As I drive Kentucky’s country roads, I view the old tobacco barns of my state’s former life and fertile ground, as abandoned structures slowly turning into grey weathered sculptures. They evoke a loneliness of land, forgotten by time and lawsuits, beyond their control. I wish I could buy one and renovate it as my home❤️

Ziggity

Ziggity, oil on canvas, 9x12”

I’ve worked on this one for a few days, having finally found the correct color scheme for the crooked creek. I believe I changed it, succumbed to various challenges, at least four times. In person, it is the life of the party.

Tobacco Storage

Tobacco Storage 

Oil on gessobord, 8x10"

Here is the third of three paintings done last week at Camp Nelson, in Kentucky. The wheat field I was overlooking was full of incredible color that changed with the light. The barn at the top of the hill is what drew my attention. It was a weathered grey, but in the light of the day, and against the brilliant wheat field color it was almost periwinkle. The sky was a similar color so the two blended together effortlessly.

One Tree Hill, France

"One Tree Hill, France"

Oil on gessobord, 8x10"

When I received this photo from my sister, who often visits France's vineyards, I loved the ancient stone structure and neatly tended rows of grapes. However, I was really drawn to the single tree waving in the wind. While it was overshadowed in a landscape of beauty, it became my focal point. When I search vast fields for my own composition, my eyes are often drawn to a single object. And often, it too, gets lost in a field of beauty.

Concealed

“Concealed”

Oil on panel

14x11”

This was a do-over of a painting I started last week while the weather was warm, and I was painting outside. I took it down to my studio this morning and redid just about everything other than the composition. A recent trip to Maker’s Mark distillery provided me with the photo reference, Wolf Kahn provided the color palette inspiration, Gamblin supplied me with paint and the rest is history.

Dissolve

“Dissolve”

Oil on panel, 14x11”

It’s been a while since I worked on a series of any kind. I’m not sure if this second painting, with photo references from Makers Mark in Loretto, KY will evolve into one, but it seems to be leading me in that direction.

Maker's Barn

Makers Barn, oil on panel, 11x14”

Some days are diamonds. Some days are shinier diamonds. Sometimes I have to start over after a wiper in order to create a painting to my liking. This is one of them.

Season's Overgrowth

Season's Overgrowth, oil on panel, 10x8"

Not anything to blog about with this painting, other than it is a great way to start my morning off with.

Sunswept

"Sunswept", oil on gessoed board, 11x14"

If you have ever scrolled through my paintings on the CeliaKellystudio page you will see over the last two years I have painted a lot of vineyard scenes. I have always love the symmetry and organization it took to plant and maintain rows and rows of fruit. And it helps to have a sister who sends unlimited photos of various Sonoma, Napa, Healdsburg, St. Helena and everywhere in between!!

Peace in the Valley

Peace in the Valley, oil on gessoed board, 20x16"

During a recent trip to Harpers Ferry, I hiked two days in a row in sudden onset thunderstorms.  It was an exciting experience that forces you to find your mettle within the forces of nature.  The second day, cover was sought under the Jefferson's Rock near the Harpers cemetery. Watching rain blow sideways, and the fog spurs rise across the Shenendoah, Maryland Heights and the town of Harpers Ferry below, was something I won't forget. 

Dog Hill, Cherokee Park

"Dog Hill, Cherokee Park"

11x9", oil on canvas

I have been thoroughly enjoying painting from sketches done on location, much more then plein air painting lately. Maybe it's a phase, but I feel I am having good results. I still get the outdoor experience but can tweak a painting to my liking in the studio. It's the best of both worlds.

Springhill #3

Springhill #3, oil on panel, 11x9"

Here is the third of 3 paintings from my jaunt to Springfield,KY a few weeks back. This one ended up my favorite. I really loved working from sketches and memory over my normal photographic references, so hopefully I will find some more inspirational landscapes to work from.

Springhill #2

Springhill #2, oil on panel, 11x9"

Here is the second painting produced from a multitude of plein air sketches a couple weeks ago. It was interesting  painting from sketches.... really allowed for the creative process to take over in all aspects.

Springhill #1

Springhill #1, oil on panel, 11x9"

A week or so ago, I traveled to a small vineyard an hour south of Louisville. It was a beautifully hot day, and in an extremely quiet country setting. It was the best medicine I could have given myself. I sat in various shady spots creating pen and ink drawings, breaking in a new larger sketchbook. It was nice to walk around undisturbed and focus. The greens were brilliant, and the shadows cool. From the ten or so drawings I produced, I decided to create a series of three. Instead of painting them in a linear fashion however, I set all three panels on the easel side-by-side. The idea was to work on them simultaneously (something I drew from my visit with landscape artist David Skinner in Asheville) so the color values and palette are not disjointed. Here is the first of three...

C & O Trail

"C&O Trail"

Oil on board, 24x18"

Last week I posted a couple sketches that I did at the C&O museum in Maryland, before a storm ran me out. This painting is produced from a reference photo while working that day. For a while the light was brilliant as I sat below the bridge that crosses the canal. There was just enough shade to work under.

Harpers View

"Harpers View" 

oil on canvas, 12x9"

I spent part of last weekend in the Northern Va area, painting in the cemetery at Harpers Ferry, WV. It is such a beautiful location. I edited the scene a great deal, for artistic and sacred reasons. Still the painting turned out much to my liking.