Lucas Barn

I painted this little barn this weekend, in the small town of Lucas, TX.  I liked this scene for its simplicity.  The barn was stark white against the winter greens of the cedar trees in the back ground. the winter grasses and the old road in the front made an interesting contrast.  9 x 12 oil on masonite panel.

Plein Aire Day in Wylie

Yesterday, I decided I would paint this little barn very near my home in Wylie.  The colors were intriguing and the day was gorgeous. I was going to paint the horses in the forground as I decided on a composition.  I lost the telephone wires in the forground and decided to make the scene a late spring composition.

I sketched the scene onto a masonite panel, gessoed with 2 coats of gesso and toned with a warm Raw Sienna wash.  I simplified the scene by removing the mish mash of fence parts and trailers that were scattered about.  I added the hay bail that the horses were using, as well as adding a horse that was standing alone.  The drawing was very loose and free.

I began adding color to the sky.  the day was a bit over cast with some nice cool blue undertones.  I began laying the the background trees and the distant barn.  I was still debating what to do with the horses.  I didn't like the way I had started them, and my animal painting skills are suspect at best.

As I built up the colors and layers, it was quickly becoming apparent that the horses were not going to work out.  The barn colors were coming together, but the perspective was off.  I was going to have to deal with it, which I did by adjusting the right side of the roof.

Here is the finished painting.  I lost the horses and adjusted the roofline.  I tried to keep this as simple as possible, in and out before moving to the next passage.

9 x 12 on masonite panel, water soluble oils, en plein aire.

Taos Pueblo Less Society

Taos Pueblo Less Society
16 x 20 Water Color

I painted this while in New Mexico for the Tony Couch workshop.  I saw a nice photo, but I hated all the modern additions to the site, the parking lots, vendor shops, tourist traps, all built around the area.  I got rid of all of it and sketched out what I liked and wanted.  I added more trees behind the pueblo, and some faint mountains in the background that are not there.

Panited in water colors on a 16 x 20 half sheet of Fabriano 140# cold press.

Vignette

Adobe Church

16 x 20

I painted this scene during a workshop with Tony Couch.  Its a mish mash of images that I put together to make it.  It's my first ever attempt at a vignette, an older style design, used a lot in magazine ads from the 40's and 50's.  As you can see, 4 areas of the painting run off the edges, leaving large blocks of white paper.  I really enjoyed this painting.  It was well received by Mr. Couch and drew several positive responses from the members of the workshop.

This is painted in watercolors, on a 16 x 20 half sheet of Fabriano 140# Cold Press.

                           "Spring in the Rocks"
                                   9 x 12

Hello again.  This painting is taken from a vacation image.  The original photo had a tree in the bend of the trail and alot more brush in the foreground, but I chose to remove all this when I did my sketch.  I always sketch my scene on paper in either pencil or pen, before I decide to paint it. This gives me the opportunity to shred the scene to just the shapes and items I want.  I'm not classically trained, so trying to recreate nature is difficult for me.  Besides, if I want realistic pictures, I use a camera, not paint.  I paint with an impressionistic feel, "First, fast, impression of whats out there without all the nitty gritty details.", as Tony Couch likes to say.

I painted this on masonite panel, that I covered with two coats of gesso.  i lightly brush the gesso on the last coat in a linen pattern to give the panel a bit of tooth.  My palette was limited for this, as it is for most of my paintings.  I have a warm and cool red, warm and cool yellow, warm and cool blue, raw and burt sienna and white.  These are all I use.  This was painted with water soluable oils.  I have no studio, so this works well for me, as I have no mess chemicals or noxious smells. 

I started by sketching out the scene, adjusting the road and mountains a bit, then put in my darker colors first.  I did a quick 3 x 5 value study and was able to set my values.  I chose a simple foreground, middle ground, back ground pattern, with the foregound being the lightest (save the sky) and brightest.  Once the dark values were in, I started building the painting from the background, forward, to get me where I needed.

I am pretty happy with this one, just need to work on my photography of my art.

Thanks for stopping in.  More to come soon.

Hello to All

Hello.  This is my very first post on my brand new blog.  I hope to have some paintings posted and a little about what went through my mind as I laid the inspiration on canvas, board, or paper.  Thanks for swinging in and I will have more out soon.