The view I will never tire of . . .

I have painted this scene across the road from us a dozen or more times.

Each time, it will sell at the next art show. Go figure.

It's the view outside my shop window and it changes weekly.

This week the dried blonde distant field is slowly greening while the rusty Bluestem is remaining red. Last Spring this field was burned to clear out the weeds and it came back beautifully.

Waiting for the grass to lie down and the green grass to overtake it again.

I cannot get enough of this view.

 And time to start on a few flower watercolors - out of my element kind of.

I tend to stick with landscapes and buildings that allow me more looseness.

The flowers seem to tighten my hand and it will be good to make myself loosen up and let the water do the work.

Mums in a vase. Reference photo from the new Pottery Barn catalogue.

Below - iris stems. I'll try this one again in more iris colors. These are a little too rose-y.

Too critical?

Daily inspiration . . .

I get inspiration from all places if I pay attention but one of my favorite places
is a daily post on Facebook by one of my friends, Katherine Endacott.

She posts a daily photo of her surroundings and calls it Good morning, Pleasant Dale.
Usually a photo of the fields around her home or of a drive into town, she uses her iPhone
as her instrument and takes the most beautiful shots
of whatever inspires her. 

Yesterday was such a day that she inspired me to paint this foggy, snowy, grey field
with a few cows sprinkled in for Nebraska-ish elements. 

I'll be doing this scene a number of times as it is stuck to me like glue.

Day 24 : An Oil a Day 30 Day Challenge . . .

Day 24 : Salt Marsh Evening

Okay, so this challenge has turned into 30 paintings without

regard for the 30 days.

Still.

24 paintings and well on my way to 30!

This is from a photo reference that I've taken some liberties with.

I am trying to improve my grass technique and my trees seem to be improving.

I'd give anything to be able to take a class with Carol Marine.

I so envy her brushstrokes and try to copy them in my own work.

Someday.

When I've been painting for as long as she has.

Maybe there are people who say that about my metalwork.

Get 15 years under your belt and come see me then.

=-)

Detail : Oil on canvas

12"x12"

Day 22 : An Oil a Day 30 Day Challenge . . .

Day 22 : Milkweed

Since we live in the middle of farmland, it's only natural that it is my first choice for a subject to paint.

Just up the road a ways is this neighbor's field.

Very soon it will be dusty golden yellow from harvesting corn and beans but for now,

this field is blooming with milkweed throughout.
And summer haze.

Details : Oil on canvas

6"x6"

Day 10 : An Oil a Day 30 Day Challenge . . .

Day 10 : Two Farms

Maybe I should title this "Farm vs Farm"

Another expansive, vapor of a sky with grassland far and near.

One the left is the traditional farm with two silos, barn and outbuildings.

On the right are three windmill power generators.

(In need of a little more definition.)

The war will continue for some time over the land and the wind.

Details : Oil on canvas

6" x 6"

Day 6 : An Oil a Day 30 Day Challenge . . .

Day 6

Okay, here's the deal.

Sometimes the magic works and sometimes it doesn't.

Here it doesn't quite make it.

Yesterday I started this landscape three times and three times I wiped it off.

Today, I was determined to stick with it.

I'm not happy with the way it went but I am happy that I 

held in there and finished the job.

Details : Oil on canvas

5"x7"

Day 3 : An Oil a Day 30 Day Challenge . . .

Day 3 and I learned today that doing something a little different is hard.

This little painting originally had a diagonal road running through it but 

(and I say 'but' because I wiped it clean off the face of the earth)

gravel roads can look chalky and artificial.

I don't quite have the technique down, yet

(and I say 'yet' because it will come, it will come.)

For today, another landscape from a photo I took of the field across the road from us.

It is wide and open and the skies have been gorgeous this Spring.

On this day, high cirrus clouds and hard sunshine.

Details : 6"x6"

Oil on canvas

Day 2 : An Oil a Day 30 Day Challenge . . .

Day 2

 What did we learn today?

We learned that in just a few strokes of the brush, 

a painting can go from okay to a little less than okay.

This one had a good feel to it until I messed with a cloud stroke. Sad face here.

But I learned some good stuff, too.

Like greying out the treeline so it isn't so harsh.

So back away from your computer screen a little and squint.

It'll all work better.

Until tomorrow and Day 3 of the Oil a Day Challenge.

Details : 5"x7"
Oil on canvas

Day 3 . . .

Day 3 : watercolor study snowy field

Doing these quick little studies is a big confidence builder and seeing them on a computer screen lets me see where I have room to improve.

Unless and until my style of watercolor changes, these will probably lean toward the wash with fat detail. Broad strokes of suggested shapes.

The tiny brush I am using for these 2x4 paintings in my little watercolor Moleskine won't allow for much detail that isn't broad. Yes, I have lots of other brushes, tubes of paint and papers but I'm sticking with this little kit for now with its 12 hard cakes of paint. It challenges me to mix cake paint and water to achieve the color and tone I need.
The end.

Scrap . . .

I just could not bring myself to throw away this little scrap of Arches paper even tho' it measures less than 2" wide by 12".  I taped it to a board trying to leave anything white to paint on and ended up getting about an inch to play with.  Clearly not a masterpiece but working smaller scratches my 'tightness' itch in my hand/eye and lets me get as much impact in a small area as possible.

Thinking I'll have this matted and framed and see how it turns out. 

Late Winter . . .

Late Winter

Another one hour (more or less) painting I did last night.  I had a strip of watercolor paper that was going to be used as a test strip, something I keep at hand when painting so I can see value and color on paper before I apply what I've mixed on my brush.  But I loved the size (3ish by 8ish) so I taped it to my board and dug into my photos to see what worked.

I'm hooked on Nebraska and South Dakota landscapes right now after our little trip over Mother's Day weekend to the Black Hills by way of the Nebraska Sandhills.  I wish I knew how far we could see into the distance as the low hills and bluffs faded away into grey and pale blue sky.  Twenty miles?  Thirty miles?  More?  The expanse gave us a sense of how small we really are in comparison, you know, and I could not quit taking pictures of it all.  For me, the mountains just got in the way of the view and almost all of my photos are of the broad expanses of grasslands and skies.

This particular scene is no more than 50yds from my front door, however, Big Traveler that I am.  A late winter snow was coming in from the west and I put on my parka and ventured out the drive to the middle of the gravel road and took this photo.  The sky was lowering and grey and in the distance the snow was starting to blur the horizon, not yet blanketing the fields and cedars.  Love playing with skies and atmosphere and remembering that a sky doesn't have to be blue to be expressive.