Riverside Afternoon O/C 6x8

And this makes seven.

Early Fall Morning O/C 6x8

This makes six for Riverside Park. Four more to go. I was drawn to the warm glow beneath the green and the little slice of sky showing through on the left. Fall really is upon us. Note to self. Wear gloves when it is going to be in the forties or lower.

Sycamore 6x8 o/c

Continuing with the ten-paintings-in-the-park project I set up on Thursday afternoon and really liked the way the sun lit up this lone white tree beside the trail. I was helped in the beginning by a family from Texas whose three kids showed a real interest in the project and made good suggestions about opportunities and details I had missed. All in all a fun afternoon. As is always the case, the more I look around this park, the more I see to paint. I may end up with more than ten paintings just because the place is close and easy for a quick hour or two of losing myself in the beauty of creation.

Morning Sky 10x8 o/c

This makes five. I returned to the park on Saturday morning, and after looking at picnic tables trees, and a few backlit rocks, looked up and saw that the sky was putting on a real show. Clouds are great fun. They make me work fast and working fast can help keep me from over analyzing what I am doing. I sometimes wonder where the resulting painting came from.

Riverside Rocks o/c 6x8

I have spent whole days driving around trying to find something to paint. I finally realized the problem wasn't lack of subject matter. My plan is to do ten quick paintings in a little park near the house. The park provides access to the trail between Mount Vernon and D.C. and it overlooks the Potomac. Trees, cars, picknickers, sky and rocks. I should be able to find plenty to paint. My pochade box and tripod are now living in the back of my car.

Four Trees o/c 6x8

The goal on this morning was to form a composition with whatever was there. Lines, shadows, light. The orange bush was a gift I would not have noticed had I not stopped to paint.

Evening Fire o/c 6x8

I had planned to go to the park and paint after work yesterday. When I got home the sky was so overcast that I gave up on the idea of painting. Then I went out at 6:30 to get the recycling bin and the sky was beginning to open up. I grabbed my keys and headed for the park. In ten minutes I was set up and was able to paint until 7:15 when it got too dark to see what I was doing. Anyway, this makes three.

Across the Bay 6x8 o/c

It has been a long time since I posted anything here. It isn't that I haven't been painting at all. Over the winter I did some large paintings from some small plein air paintings, which I found to be a complicated process. I discovered just how much I rely on the freshness of the moment and the immediate reaction to the scene in creating a painting.

I took a couple of classes in Easton Maryland and didn't really come home with anything I liked. Again, the class process seemed to interfere with painting. I did find myself remembering instructor's words and using things I had thought I had not really learned.

Anyway, I am vacationing at the beach this week and have been staring at my paints all week. Yesterday evening a huge storm came through and at sunset, the sky lit up and I ran to the bay. Didn't have much time, but was glad to be painting again.

The New Bridge o/c 20x24

Another studio painting. I had been thinking for some time that I wanted to paint the new bridge, maybe through the trees from a park along the river. I never expected to end up this close. The curves of these massive structures make them seem organic, as if maybe they belong here.

River Stand, Winter 8x10, oil on linen

After a record snow and record cold temperatures, Saturday was a balmy 50 degrees. I took the chance to spend a little time at the river painting a familiar group of trees. I enjoyed the weather, the light, the encouragement of passers by and the knowledge that Spring is only a couple of months away.

From the Kitchen 11x14, o/c

So what is there to do on a winter's day but head into the kitchen ad look for things to paint? This started as a still life with garlic, onions and a brass pot. I decided to simplify and ended up stringing a few heads of garlic across the table and before I knew it I had a series of garlic paintings. It turned into a good exercise in learning to see colors in a narrow range of color and value and I can't help but think it will help with portrait and figure work. If the weather's bad tomorrow I may head to the local open life session to see what garlic and skin have to do with each other.

Garlic 6x12 o/c

Garlic 6x12 o/c

I moved on to two paintings of the same basic arrangement, one a bit warmer than the other.

and more garlic 6x6. oil on panel

The paintings kept getting smaller. I'm thinking of moving on to single cloves next. I will probably stop and do some cooking before trying to paint smashed garlic.