Blue Lake

Blue Lake, oil on gessobord, 5x7 inches

A picture of a very moody lake, painted when i was a little...moody. Maybe it was the super "blood moon" yesterday morning. Regardless, I am behind on painting which beyond not having a painting to post each day, makes me regret not having had the mental or physical energy to paint. I need to clear out time and space to paint henceforth. And go back to the forest

Green Lake

Green Lake, oil on gessobord, 5x7 inches

I have been exploring painting forest and natural scenes for a couple weeks now, and it's not getting any easier.  But, it is very exciting and definitely works your brain's ability to see and abstract space and depth with color.  I do hope to continue because I'm a nature lover but also because I hope to improve my painting.

Shadow Webs

Shadow Webs, oil on gessobord, 6x6 inches

There are unlimited possibilities for shadows in a forest, as I have been fortunate lately to find and attempt to paint. Often I even find shadows within the shadows.  These turned out looking like a large spider web.  I'm glad I didn't meet that spider!  

Shadows

Shadows, oil on gessobords (diptych), 7x10 inches

I have a memory from my early high school art class from when  we were learning the color wheel. The teacher was explaining that certain colors on the spectrum are used to oppose each other (thus opposites on the actual wheel) in certain situations, for contrast.  I was intrigued by this, because it brought to light the fact that my humble artist eye had always sought out contrasting visuals.  Later I would bring this into discussion regarding black and white photography, trying to convince an old friend that the best b/w work comes from high contrasted light....she disagreed.  Oh well, you can't win 'em all. 

This painting, Shadows, doesn't necessarily support color contrast (the colors are more triadic when using the color wheel), but light contrast.  I actually pulled my car over in the middle of a busy street because the light was so striking,  and I hiked up and down to photograph this entire hillside.  When I later viewed the image, one gessobord just wasn't going to do it, so I used two. 

This is also one of the few times I have attempted to tweak the color on my computer because of how difficult it is to photograph these colors.  I'm sorry to say, I don't feel like the  image above is a good representation of the actual paintings, but I'm not sure if I can get a better image without professional lights or photoshop.

Bernheim Lake

Bernheim Lake, oil on gessobord, 6x6 inches

This is fresh off the easel, painted just this morning.  Hopefully I won't look at it at some point and feel the need to tweak.  I started using solvent-free oil paints for this painting, by M. Graham company, and am loving the buttery feel and purity of these paints.  So as a test, I went back to an older, symmetrical photo from last winter of the lake. Wish I was there right now!

Deck seat over the Vineyard

Deck seat over the Vineyard, oil on gessobord, 6x8 inches

sold

I painted this of my brother-in-law's deck overlooking a field of grapevines near Napa. It's is a place for me that allows complete decompression from the real world, and definitely a world away from Louisville. The best thing about it? It's the serene, natural mental environment that demands a glass of wine. 

Over the Rhine

Over the Rhine, oil on gessobord, 6x6 inches

When I was a child, there were more soulful, pre-20th century buildings similar to this all over Louisville, mostly in downtown and the neighborhoods surrounding the old city.  Sadly, a large percentage of them were torn down in the 1970s to make way for newer structures (some of which have already been torn down as well) as part of the city's Urban Renewal movement. Many buildings that were salvaged were abandoned over time for various reasons and the owners refused to renovate them. Their structures decayed, often times the building collapsed and the facades were saved. A weird twist to saving a bit of history. 

Fire escapes always added an interesting, zig-zaggy, non-architectural element to the facade or rear...some visual movement to compositional order.  

I am always thankful to find cities who were not renewal-happy. I took this photo in the Over the Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati, where FEW buildings were torn down at all.  I am happy that it has been placed in the hands of a wonderful revitalization effort that is keeping with the integrity of the original neighborhood. 

The painting looks as if it were a quick sketch, but the architectural composition was very demanding, took a bit of time to paint and fun to bring to life.