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