Big Prarie Meadow

Big Prarie Meadow, oil on gessobord, 5x7"

This is a quick "sketch" if you will of Big Prairie Meadow, an area of Bernheim Forest and Arboretum that is filled with wild grasses, wild flowers, butterflies, various species of birds and forest rodents, and is the home to quail! It is also filled with sunshine most of the day. When I set my easel up on a hilly overlook this particular morning, a controlled burn was taking place at the farthest point away from where I was. I chose not to add it too the painting because it would have been confusing. But it added beautiful wafting silver smoke in the distance to the already bright and colorful landscape.

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.

Lowland vineyard

Lowland Vineyard, oil on gessobord, 5x7 inches

I have said before how much I enjoy painting vineyards as much as I enjoy being in them. I wish I could combine the two....paint in the vineyards while I drink a glass of wine (or two). :-)

Cypress

Cypress, oil on gessobord, 5x7 inches

I began painting again one year ago this month, and I started with similar subject matter as this. Conical trees sitting amongst a vast landscape. You see them everywhere, but do you truly notice them? These trees are lucky to live in California, in the Napa Valley, surrounded by hilly vineyards. The property they rest on contains a 13th century Italian castle that was built after it was brought from its homeland and pieced together.  Wrought iron hardware made by artisans centuries ago hold it all together. I don't know how long the project took from start to finish, nor can I imagine the cost of such a project, but it is fascinating nonetheless.

The driveway to the castle winds up the Napa hillside (where else would a castle rest), and is lined mesmerizingly with these cypress, catching the light and casting their shadows.

New River Highway

New River Highway, oil on gessobord, 5x7"

On the drive back from DC to Louisville, we decided to take a detour in West Virginia to cross the New River bridge. The New river, ironically, is one of the oldest river systems on the continent. It passes through an incredibly deep and beautiful gorge that, since the 70's, has become an outdoor playground with some of the best whitewater rafting, rock climbing faces, and camping areas in the eastern US. The state road leading to it has a steep trajectory with curving, converging lines. I took a rather bland photo from the drive and turned into this little interesting painting. Upon finishing it, I felt as if I had captured all the natural forces that one feels in this vast, ancient area.

Winter Valley

Winter Valley, oil on gessobord, 5x7"

I took a leap of faith this week and committed to an Art Festival, date and more info to come later.  I have been wanting to do a festival but parameters of all kinds (life!) weren't right, but this one .... is! So with it comes the need to produce many, many frames to display the work as well as how to hang/display the art itself, without spending an arm and a leg.  This fair supplies the tent and table so that part is taken care of, so it will be a good intro into the whole world of Art Fairs and Festivals. With that said, I may not be posting as much, maybe one to two times a week until after the 3rd week in May. 

This painting doesn't necessarily resemble a normal winter scene but it was produced from a photo taken on a colorful  winter day.  Painting this pine forest was similar to the methods I was using for the cattails, just less lively foreground. As always, all my paintings are for sale. Contact me here or through FB for details. Thanks for visiting my page.

Chardonnay Fields

Chardonnay Fields, oil on gessobord, 5x7"

I needed a little change of pace from the cattails and reeds, even though they are fun to paint and require a lot of thought on my part.  So what better subject matter to explore than a vineyard. The title actually refers more to the color of the vines rather than the varietal. And they looked like parallel roller coasters. 

Crooked

Crooked, oil on gessobord, 5x7"

This is painted from an intense zoom of a photo, of the plant life lining the water's edge of Lake Nevin at Bernheim. The crooked reeds drew my eye to them over the cattails I have been painting.  I worked with four colors which made it challenging and fun.

Snow Tracks in the Alley

Snow Tracks in the Alley, oil on gessobord, 5x7"

The winter has been hard, long, gray but it has given me a lot of ideas and photos to hopefully paint from until spring rears it's beautiful head.  There are two old garages across the alley from my own old garage. On one pitifully gray, snow falling day, they gave me a nice jolt of color when I was taking the garbage out.

Grand Haven

Grand Haven, oil on gessobord, 5x7 inches

Painting 23/30 for my challenge of 30/30. I am still trying to figure out when I will have the time to post two paintings in one day, to make up for my lost day due to bad photographic conditions. 

I moved about 30-40 miles up the coast of Lake Michigan from yesterday's post, to Grand Haven. All of the coast is beautiful. Hey, I might be on to something!!

South Haven

South Haven, oil on gessobord, 5x7 inches

Yesterday I failed to post, and I broke the chain of my 30 paintings in 30 days challenge. Boo! This then becomes 22/30. 

I have had such a hard time taking photos of my work because of lack of daylight, before and after my 8-5ish job, and indoor lights are throwing glare.

So this morning I enlisting the help, once again, of my trusted son who came to the rescue. Voila... No glare!

This is South Haven beach, Michigan, in all it's summer glory...how it will be the next time I see it. I am quite happy with this painting. It was produced quickly a few evenings ago, when I was in an overall crappy mood.  Once completed, my spirits were lifted.

New Year Fog

New Year Fog, oil on gessobord, 5x7 inches

I took some photos before Christmas at a park along the Ohio river while my daughter was skateboarding nearby.

The boat dock that borders the park looked lonely and in need of attention, and me, the eye behind the lens immediately saw a serene painting in the near future.  As I write this, the weather is 1° so going out on any water is not in anyone's near future unless you are a coal barge captain!

Stop Copying Me

Stop Copying Me, oil on gessobord, 5x7 inches

This is part of Leslie Saeta's 30 day challenge. 

I did a quick and fun drawing of one of a bunch of flowers given to me over the Holidays.  I hope to do more flowers, which I continually struggle with, because this was enjoyable.

Geraniums and Friends

Geraniums and Friends, oil on gessobord, 5x7 inches

I started this painting the other day after attempting 3 others and completely wiping the paint off of the gessobord. Yes, there are (many) days that I cannot get it together. Actually, I can get it together it's just an incredibly busy time of the year, both mentally and physically for all, me included and other things are taking up my time. I was almost to the point where I was going to stop painting this particular night and chalk it up as a loss for the evening, and then this little one appeared from somewhere. It's wispy and light, and reflects my fatigue in some ways. That's not always a bad thing considering what preceded it. All in all it's a happy one :-)

Unlimited Fog

Unlimited Fog, oil on gessobord, 5x7 inches

We have many bridges in Louisville, due to bordering the Ohio river.  On this day the other side of the bridge faded away into the fog. It was quite beautiful.  As much as I want to complain about lack of color associated with winter, I appreciate a good grey scale landscape such as this one. And, it was calming to paint which I always appreciate.

From Mary's Garden

From Mary's Garden, oil on gessobord, 5x7 inches

sold 

My friend Mary grows these beautiful Japanese eggplants in the summer. After she bought one of my paintings earlier this  month, I couldn't resist doing this commission for her.

Eggplants are such a beautiful vegetable, have gorgeous whimsical leaves, and the color is rich, like none other. The only problem I had when painting these handsome creatures was trepidation that it might not turn out to her liking. But she loves it, as do I, so all is well :-) 

Bungalow 4

Bungalow 4, oil on Ampersand gessobord, 5x7 inches

This is the last in my Bungalow series. As far as the style of the house, this is my favorite.  Chunky and subtle are what I see within this humble home.  I've always looked at old buildings and houses as having a soul, so I can only hope this one has been well taken care of. From the outside it appears this way. Maybe the curve of the roof is a hint of a smile :-)

Bungalow 3

Bungalow 3, oil on Ampersand gessobord, 5x7 inches

This bungalow caught my eye because of it's craftsman details. This style always reminds me of the beautiful architecture that you see throughout Bavaria, minus the extreme pitched roofs. I had to tweak the color because the 21 century owners were not kind to it with their color choices, unfortunately. The landscape was interestingly shadow striped the day I took the photo. Busy, busy.

Bungalow 2

Bungalow 2, oil on Ampersand gessobord, 5x7 inches

Here is the second painting in my bungalow series.  This is a stucco covered white bungalow that has been the apple of my eye for a while now. I walk or ride my bike by it quite often.  I love the pillars that resemble sturdy tree trunks, larger at the base than the top, holding a roof that provides an extra living space to the house.  As I mentioned yesterday, I love the simple esthetic of the bungalow home. They have stood the test of time and patiently protected their residents for over 100 years.

Bungalow 1

Bungalow 1, oil on gessobord, 5x7 inches

I am a lover of the bungalow, whether from the Arts and Craft movement or the more readily available Builder bungalows.  It was a style started by the Greene brothers in California, emphasizing simple, yet well-crafted features like butler's pantries, dormer windows, large front porches for additional living space, and beautiful natural floors and woodwork throughout the house. They were usually two bedrooms and one bathroom, served medium to large families; small by today's McMansion standards. And entire neighborhoods of them are beautiful! I have lived in one for 17 years. Now they make great subject matter for painting, so for today and the next 3 postings, be looking for my small bungalow series.