Pond Reflections

 This is a favorite painting spot near some beaver ponds in the mountains.  In the morning the light hits the hill, now yellows and golds, behind the pines that are still in shadow as the sun rises.

Mary in Maine

     I wanted to practice what I had learned, hopefully it will help the lessons stick better.  This is a painting I have wanted to do for a while just because she was lit so beautifully and also those lovely eyes.  I had turned around to look at someone asking a question and Mary was sitting next to me in this very pose.  I immediately grabbed the camera and snapped a pic, the photo is still one of my favorites.  I prefer to working from life when possible but for these practice pieces a photo will do.

High Country Snowfall

     This is a plein air done up near Barlow Creek.  The snow was coming down pretty good that day as my palette, pictured below, will attest.  I use a Open Box M with a light camera tripod.

Leave The Light On Please.

This was the porch of guest house I was staying at while attending Plein Air Moab.  I would leave the light on because sometimes I would come back after dark and it is really dark in the country when there is no moon out.  I got up early one morning before sunrise and painted this familiar rustic scene. This painting won a Award of Merit at the Plein Air Moab this October.  I would like to give a shout out to my friend Sonya Johnson who also won an Award of Merit at Plein Air Moab for her beautiful pastel painting "Late Afternoon Glow on the Monocline".  Way to go girl!

Although I haven't been posting for a while, I have been painting.  I have been in a slump and not many good paintings have been coming out.  The good news is that I recently returned from a workshop with T.A. Lawson, a brilliant artist and pretty nice guy too!  This class was a good kick in my slump and got me thinking in the right direction.

This was from the first day.  I never expect to get a good painting in a class but this one turned out okay.  I probably should have been working on landscape or structures but I got enamored with this hasp, its honest, down home quality with rust, peeling paint and all.