From the Garden

Tending the garden during the hot days of July and August can get a bit overwhelming at times. The commitment to take care of what you have sown is not unlike caring of a dog or cat. We plant vegetables inter mixed with flowers and feast on fresh picked goodies wile also enjoying the lush greenery they provide.

This small 12 x 16 inch oil on panel was painted plein air taking ideas from my surroundings and building a composition. Wile it is of no particular place it must represent many places throughout my life I have seen. Perhaps even the Yellow Brick Road or in this case the sand stone path.

The making of this art took about one hour working wet into wet oil on a 12 x 16 panel. I used one 3/4 inch flat brush and a medium sized pallet knife. Using just the three primaries and white I squeeze out lots of paint on a large glass pallet and begin by mixing piles of warm and cool colors. When painting plein air the light is always changing so you need to put the paint on and leave it alone. I can’t tell you how many paintings I have destroyed in the last five minutes only to realize what I had done to an otherwise nice work. Plein air is not like studio work; it takes determination to set up out side in the elements and attempt to paint the natural world. As frustrating as it can be at first I highly recommend getting out of the studio and painting in the outdoors. It will challenge you.

Happy summer painting

The Colors of a Summer Garden

The colors of a summer garden takes me back to my childhood growing up with parents who loved their yard and gardens. My mother always planted colorful boarder flowers along the walkway edges and in beds circling the giant box elder trees. Caught up in this addictive activity at a very young age I could be seen pushing the old one kid powered lawn mower. The expectation of 25 cents was my motive but the real reward was how beautiful the summer yard always looked.

My painting is called: That Summer Day. The effort was to depict the creative work that goes into such a planed spring planting. Attempting to duplicate such a botanical feast with oil paint in this artist’s opinion could only come close by pushing the color envelope. It is oil on panel 36 inch x 24 inch painted on location plein air. By working fast, wet into wet; with lots of paint mixed on a large glass palette, a one inch wide flat brush and palette knife; I believe I may have caught a glimpse of That Summer Day.

Owyhee Picture Jasper

Last week I took a few days off from work and home chores. Not having seized the opportunity to paint plein air for way to long I loaded the truck with provisions and took off. I met up with my friends Jed and Von. Their home is located 50 feet from the Snake River just across the Idaho border in Oregon. The next day Jed and I took off on an old dirt road heading toward the Owyhee River. I took over 150 images that day. We ended up in the most amazing spot on the shore of the Owyhee Reservoir. The waters are situated deep in the canyons volcanic formations and are a sight to behold. That evening we ate a great meal cooked on my dad’s old camp stove and waited for the evening colors to fall upon us. We turned in just as the almost full moon came over the ridge. The next morning as the sun crested the ridge tops I began to paint. The colors seamed to flow effortlessly from my pallet to my panel. Then I saw it! There is a gem stone found in the region know as Owyhee Picture Jasper and my pallet was looking curiously like this beautiful gem stone. Just like that precious gem this memory has become a precious gem. This painting will always fill my heart with memories of this beautiful place shared with a good friend.

Thanks Jed,