Dawn's Early Light

Dawn's Early Light, oil on gessoed board, 16x20"

One of the interesting things about waking up beside a large lake is the amount of space available for natural light and color to present themselves on a minute-by-minute basis.  Yesterday's painting showed a near colorless scene right as the morning has broken. The scene for today's painting is after the sun has gathered some energy and illuminated  everything on the horizon. 

Artful Alley

Artful Alley, oil on gessobord, 12 x 12"

Here is another alley scene, composed with the intention of continuing to practice and hopefully improve my drawing skills, but continue to pull knowledge on form, color, and perspective from the broad landscapes I have been working on.  I am about half-satisfied with this painting. I had trouble with the actual alley and its trajectory and kept reworking it. As I look at the image of the finished product while I write this, I see I still didn't quite get it. Win some, lose some. I think I learned some as well.

Crossings

Crossings, oil on gessoed board, 24x18"

I've been working on another moody palette landscape for a few days.  My goal in the next few months is to get a phone or camera that will take better pics for the blog.  There are layers here that just can't be seen. I often have people say that the paintings are so much more colorful in person, so hopefully better images coming in the near future.

Fishing Lake

Fishing Lake, oil on board, 20x16"

I finally feel like I am headed in the right direction with this one. It's probably hard to tell by the photo , but there are layers of color interacting with each other in the painting, as well as the gestural mark making, which I've always been drawn to.  These isolated lake scenes are becoming my favorites and have allowed me to not feel so inhibited.

Open Road

Open Road, oil on gessoed board, 24x18"

I've been working on this one for the last three days.  It is not one I felt rushed to finish, and allowed myself the time to think about attempting new things and changing others that I felt weren't working. The photo I worked from was taken on my trip last summer where we drove from Louisville to Colorado, Utah and New Mexico and saw non-stop beauty along the way. This was a simple highway scene, to contrast the grand-scale beauty within those states, but it was it's simplicity that brought me to it.  Sometimes the simplest things go unnoticed within the grand scheme of things. As Ghandi said, "Simplicity is the essence of Universality"

Landslide

Landslide, oil on board, 14x 18"

Rows and rows of uphill vines acting as earths sun catchers.

Evening Vineyard

Evening Vineyard, oil on canvas, 14x18"

The photo of this painting is actually much duller then the actual painting. I am not sure how to remedy this at this moment. Just imagine it very vivid and alive. While painting it was difficult at first to switch from a vertical orientation of the vineyards to horizontal.  But it was fun because of the light and brilliance that help guide my brush.

Symmetry

Symmetry, oil on canvas, 14x18"

I'm on a roll with vineyards as subject matter, but I don't feel as if I've exhausted the subject for a while. I am thoroughly intrigued by how simple it seems when evaluating a photo reference to paint, to how that turns into something that requires so much more focus then expected. In other words, I am loving it. Despite how detailed vineyards are to paint, I feel like I have been much looser and freer with my painting style.

Long Shadows, Vineyard

Long Shadows, Vineyard, oil on canvas, 14x18"

The rows between the grapevines in a vineyard are equally as manicured as the vines themselves.  They are living, breathing natural artwork, representing painstaking symmetry and balance. 

I dedicate this painting to Peter Mondavi, who along with his brother Robert(who would later leave to start Mondavi Winery) turned Krug Winery into a quality wine growing/making facility. They were early leaders in helping Napa Valley become a premier wine growing region in the world . Krug is also my favorite winery in Napa. Peter lived on the property that now houses their tasting room in a  restored historic structure. The several visits I have made in the last few years, I always hoped to see him and take a selfie with him. But it wasn't to be. Peter died Saturday February 20 at the grand old age of 101. Cheers to Peter Mondavi and the delicious, bold Cabs his winery has given us. 

Bundled 2

Bundled 2, oil on canvas, 14x18"

"Bundled 2" came right off the heels of "Bundled". I felt I had to keep the momentum going.  This one was a bit harder to paint because the hay bales were smaller and more numerous.  The color promotes the serenity of the scene but still allows the drama of it to come out.

Bundled

Bundled, oil on canvas, 14x18"

I have been wanting to do a haystack painting for a while. I was going through the photos I took at the end of the summer, and I came across the reference for this painting - a photo I took in Kansas while traveling west.  I am starting a few larger ones to see how it "feels" and to include them in an up-and-coming solo show I will have at the Polvino Art Center in historic Nicholasville, KY during the month of January. I hope to see you there!

Bike Zone

Bike Zone, oil on hardboard, 24x24"

This is the first BIG painting I have actually completed in a long time! Woohoo!  I have started many but they are all in the "defeated" pile in the studio.  This may become a favorite subject really quickly.  The painting itself was fun, remained loose, and neutral enough to highlight the riders.