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.

Green House

Green House, oil on gessobord, 7x5"

So many angles. So many straight lines.  I think this will be the final architectural piece for a little while to give my honing skills a break.  Despite the fact that they are small, they require more attentiveness and attention to detail then I'm accustomed to.  I have produced nine works all together

 and am extremely proud of myself for sticking with it even though it wasn't easy. Here they are in the order they were painted in starting from bottom left (sorry for poor photo). I'm also happy with the variety of the painting and content.  Now back to broad landscape until the next series idea strikes me.

Red Shutters

Red Shutter, oil on gessobord, 7x5"

This painting almost required nearly the entire thing to be scrubbed, but instead I scrubbed the necessary parts (nearly all of it in the end!) to make it the symmetrical neighborhood home that it is. This house was so "perfect" that the mulch even matched the shutters.  

One of the difficulties I have been having that I didn't mention before is, with this series I switched back to small, small gessobords. I had been painting larger finally, throughout the summer, and as I had originally planned on doing a 30/30 challenge, I cooked up as many small boards to complete a months worth of paintings. When I changed my mind on the challenge, I used the boards anyway. What a difference 4-6+  cubic inches makes with a brushstroke. All in all, the work has been successful if I may add, in my humble opinion.

Purple Plant

"Purple Plant", oil on gessobord, 7x5"

This house had a streak of light dancing across it when I took it's photo. It was also framed in green, which often happens in my neighborhood which thankfully contains old-growth trees.  I had to rework this one a couple times to get angles right and lines un-crooked.  It was such a sweet little house, I wanted to do it justice.

Labor Day

Labor Day, oil on gessobord, 7x5"

I started this painting on Labor Day but wasn't satisfied with it in order to post that day. So here it is, tweaked here and there.  Labor Day weekend was a very productive painting time period for me. This is the last one that came out of that binge and I like it! It's like icing on a cake!

Red Shutters

"Red Shutters", oil on gessobord, 7x5"

I have been making the rounds lately in my neighborhood, searching for subject matter for the latest series "Local Architectural Color and Elements". This is a cute little bungalow around the corner from me. I see it daily and take in the sweet factor of it, and its age (nearly 100!). The red shutters first caught my eye years ago, and now with subsequent passings-by.

Red Row

Red Row, oil on gessobord, 7x5"

Here is the second painting in the series "Local Architectural

Color and Elements". I felt like I got the perspective mostly right with this painting.  The details are hard, I have to admit. 

But it's only #2 so hopefully progression will show itself. 

Country Road, oil on board, 7 3/4" x 12"

This was a fun one...I think I used every shade of green. I had to organize the patches of shade vs. light more than I am used to before I started painting. My sketch looked like a checker board!

 purchase info: http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/celia-kelly/country-road/393440