Valley View at Iowa State Park

Acrylic on canvas  16" x 20"

Completed May 26, 2010.

Another in the series of lanscapes painted "en plein aire" this was the second of three paintings done in quick succession in one afternoon. It also features a departure from a style of painting that I had previously done and is more loose and and painterly in approach. The sun was getting lower and the light was changing rapidly - I remember feeling somewhat anxious to finish before the look changed completely. It was a fun pursuit and did not intimidate me as it would have in previous years. I was feeling the work in painting figurative models from life over the previous winter was paying off and I was ready for this challenge.

Midwestern Summer

Acrylic on canvas  20" x 16"

Completed May 26, 2010. This is the first of a series of plein aire paintings completed over a span of just a few months. It was one of those windy spring late afternoons that make me excited about the change of seasons after a long cold winter. I was very interested in taking what I had learned through the winter in doing figurative paintings with a live model in one sitting and applying that to landscapes. I was getting more comfortable with working from life in a short span of time and just letting it happen. This painting was the first of many to come where I would set up and just paint with no reservations about what the finished work would turn out like. I was more concerned with capturing the feel of the wind blowing that tree around and doing so in a more loose fashion. This painting represents a departure from attempting a literal translation and a move towards a more painterly approach. I was surprised and happy with the results of this approach.  

CE and Mary's Lake House

Watercolor on Arches 140lb Cold Press 18" x 24"

Spring 1997. My wife's grandparents had always wanted a painting of their house. I decided to give it a try and at this time - it would be the largest painting of any kind I had ever attempted. I was very accustomed to working in small format watercolor and was prepared for how quickly to add more or additional colors to a wash before it would get too dry. This one was entirely different. I was still trying to work with the small brushes I was used to and I found that to be difficult. They would not carry as much water and pigment that was needed. I am happy with how this one turned out. I believe it may have been among the last paintings I have done in this very tight style. I am also surprised that it worked as well as it did considering that I was very close to overworking it with those small brushes. 

Rainy Beach Shoreline

Watercolor and Arches cold press  6" x 9"

August 1997.  It seems now when I go back to look at all these "experimental" watercolor paintings that I did during this period of time I had the notion that a beach must be a great landscape for painting. It is also possible that I was waiting for this supposed perfect time to paint when I had alot of time and nothing to interfere. This is not a favorite painting but does bring back these images of a time of transition for me as a painter. It reminds me of the things I used to worry about while painting that I now do not even consider. I am not sure if that is good or bad - just an observation.

Light House Shoreline

Watercolor on Arches cold press paper 6" x 9"

Summer 1997. This painting was just a grouping of scenes from photos I had taken in various places. It started as an attempt to make more interesting cloudscapes. I remember being very happy with the depiction of the sky and then decided to add the other elements. In retrospect, I never did any actual planning of what composition would really make this work. This is another of the early paintings that I do not like now. I still like the sky.

Surf Fishing

Watercolor on Arches cold press paper 6" x 9"

Late Summer 1997. Another example of early plein aire watercolor painting. I do not like this one but in going back to look at all the early stuff I noticed that this may have been the first time I had ever used a knife to scrape out highlights. I believe that this was done during the time I had been reading alot about Winslow Homer and JMW Turner. I was amazed at all the different techniques they would use to get a desired effect. The knowledge gained made it into this one in the spray of water from the fish and in some of the wave crests. This painting is interesting to me now in that I was very much struggling with how to use watercolor for quick outdoor studies. I had previously been very accustomed to doing everything at home where I could take as much time as needed to prepare and plan every brush stroke. This was sort of a "freeing" moment for me when I made the step to not worry about these highlights and just paint. I had alway had the impression that I must preserve every highlight in advance - so how would I ever be able to doing anything without alot of pre-planning?

Watery Sunset

Watercolor on Arches 140lb. Hot Press  6" x 9"

Summer 1996. From balcony of Apartment in Hendersonville, TN. It was done in a late summer evening and I remember the heat and humidity. It was one of those days where it seemed that the air was heavy and still - like everything was pressing in on you. This painting has annoyed me ever since I finished it. That pine tree on the left with the curving top is my main problem. The actual tree and horizen did look like this but I wish I had not depicted it literally. It reminds me of the art in a Dr. Suess book. This reminds me that it is sometimes a good idea to adjust the composition - I think the problem is knowing that while you are still working on the painting.

Homage to Monet

Acrylic on Arches 140# Cold Press paper  7" x 10"

2001. This was done as an experiment to see how to get a watercolor look when using acrylic paint. I had wanted to be able to combine the look of transparent blending of color in the sky with the more opaque and "oil - like" heavy paint application in the foreground. I happened to have a print of this Monet painting on the wall in front of me at the time, so.. I decided to use it. I think this is the only time I have ever directly tried to copy anothers work. It felt wrong to do it even though I knew this was a time tested method to improve your own work. 

Birds eye view

Watercolor on Arches 140lb. Cold Press paper  4.5" x 15"

August 1998. An early attempt at plein aire with watercolor - in fact, I believe this may be my first. I was on a family vacation to St. Pete's Beach in Florida and was trying to capture the true color of the water so that I could be more accurate when working on the actual painting. All work, at this time, had been done exclusively from photo's I had taken. I was surprised when this turned into doing an actual painting. I do not remember enjoying this process of working from real life very much at the time. The lighting, contrasts, and color seemed to be changing much too quickly for me to use my normal process.

West from Little Terrapin

8" x 10" Oil on Canvas covered Board

A plein aire value study completed on 7/3/10. I was sitting on the back deck of a house near Cashiers, NC just before sunset. It had been very hazy all afternoon. The sun was about to set just over those mountains but still was not visible through the cloud cover. My goal for this quick painting ( approx 20 min. ) was to get the correct values - the different colors just sort of happened. I did not achieve the value separations that were intended, however, the study was not all bad. The finished work has sort of a good feel to it.