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.

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.

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.

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.

Hilltop Barn

Hilltop Barn, oil on canvas, 36x24"

This is one of the largest paintings I have done in years, and I love working this size again.  I feel like I may need to do away with the tiny paintings for a while, and regain my footing a bit larger.  I've been working slowly towards one of the cliches that are thrown around a lot, "emotional color palette" within my work, without being overly emotional!?!  But with that for me comes expansive space.   The combination is actually where the emotion lies. 

Spencer County Farm Lane

"Spencer County Farm Lane"

Oil on canvas, 14x18"

I went out sight seeking a couple of days ago, to seek both inspiration and composition. I didn't end up with a whole lot of material, but I had enough to work with to be able to combine photographs together, to make several potential paintings. This is the first.

Yellow Field Streaks

"Yellow Field Stripes", oil on canvas, 18"x14"

I haven't posted any new work in a while, so here's to breaking that streak. I have been mostly working on some drawings to change my pace. Settling back into painting over this weekend has been good for me, and working on canvas as opposed to panel, is feeling more natural.

Montreat Lake, oil on board, 14x11"

As I was leaving the western Asheville area last week I drove to the town of Montreat, home of the small liberal arts college. There appeared to be a very beautiful mixture of architecture for a tiny mountain town. To enter the town, one has to drive through an arch made of creek stones found in multitude close by. On the grounds of the College, I found a pond and a few places to take some reference photos. It was a peaceful paradise and a great place to study.

Black Mountain and Lake Tomahawk

Black Mountain and Lake Tomahawk, oil, 14x11"

I used a much bigger brush for the majority of this painting, and it was liberating.  It was a size 16 filbert instead of a 4 or 6 that I normally use. I found the 16 among some leftover supplies that my college kids didn't take with them and decided to give it a good home. It worked.  This photo reference is from the NC mountains, and a small lake.

Black Mountain, oil on board, 14x11"

I returned yesterday from NC full of inspiration. As a landscape painter, I am always invigorated by change of scenery, large expansive spaces containing small intimate shapes.  I tried to capture the light that took over the area for a few moments. The fields were illuminated and shaded by the swift clouds which made for some nice patchwork.

Rose Island Tributary

"Rose Island Tributary", oil on board, 14x11"

I am very pleased with this painting. I had been working on another painting for two days, and it was slowly getting the best of me.  Still, I was trying to make it work. This morning I wiped it off, very discouraged. I came across this reference after looking through some photos from a couple months ago.  I took it at Charlestown State Park in Indiana, where you can access the old Rose Island summer getaway spot from the turn of last century. They are conducting a lot of archeological research currently, to establish where all the buildings stood. There are oral history speakers now, which are helping to bring the memories back to life. The painting is of one of a tributary that feeds the Ohio River east of Louisville.