Latest progress

The next phase on the Tiare 24x30 painting. Adding more glazing for color and details in areas such as the shell necklace.

Tiare, the painting so far .....

A few shots showing the steps on my latest painting, Tiare 24x30.

I started with a mono base painting, taking everything to a fairly finished level.

The rest is thin transparent glazes, building up color slowly. Not yet finish but getting there.

Fire Goddess

Mystic Forest series continues.

Mystic Forest series

Mystic forest series continues. I am working on a series of these starting with digital to get a sense of the concepts and themes. Then on to creating some of these in oils which should be a real challenge.

I worked with Tiare Tashnick on these. We are both fans of JW Waterhouse and I have always wanted to do some of that style of art so this was a great fit. I have some wonderful source material to work with now : )

Ravenwood

Something a little different, Ravenwood. Digital collage from many many photos of mine.

New figure work Dark Stare

Latest figure work, 16x20 inches oil on linen.

New plein air 9x12

Another piece from last week, Corn Fields 9x12, oil on board.

Nice tonal style piece, with long shadows.

New plein air Sauvie Island, Oregon

Country Brook 11x14

Fall Road 11x14

A couple new plein air works from this week out at Sauvie Island on the Columbia River in Oregon. We have had some very nice fall days lately so I have been going outside to paint. These two pieces are both 11x14 in oils on board.

Pearls And Lace

Pearls And Lace, 16x20 inches. Oils on linen.

This is the latest in my figure paintings. I did this one with many transparent layers to build up the color, a more classic approach. My base painting was done in warm mono tones for the most part. Worked out pretty good so I may try this again on the next one.

Why I like plein air painting.

From last week, about 75 degrees out. Birds singing, calm sunny day and here I am painting in a field.

New figure painting, Red Wrap

This is the second of my 15x30 figure paintings, Red Wrap.

I love the beautiful curves that flow from her hair line, down her back and the matching flow of the crimson wrap. I am fortunate to have a wonderful model to work with and we both enjoy getting all these lines and shapes just right. We end up creating beautiful photos with great compositions to work from. I love the vertical format of this very classic style pose. Now I just need make the paintings as nice as the real life pose!

New figure work Crimson And Black

The latest piece from my figures series is a larger work, 15x30 inches. I felt it was time to get serious and start on some larger figure works so here is the first larger painting in oils. I am already working on the next painting which is the same size at 15x30 inches.

More figure work

Still 11x14.
At Rest 11x14.

These are the latest from my figure works. I started with the figure as my new subject for this summer. Still working with a very limited palette on these. Both of these are in oils this time around. The At Rest piece has a very heavy texture base which was fun to work on. For the texture I used acrylic heavy gel medium on a toned board then painted in the figure with thin layers of oils.

More figure studies

Head Study 9x9 inches.

Sargent Girl 4x6 inches.

A couple more figures. Sargent girl, 4x6 inches is from a John Singer Sargent portrait. Head Study, 9x9 inches is from one of my model shots. Both if these are in oils on board.

Tonal 9x9

Another Urban 9x9 tonal piece, Street Level in oils. Same process here, putting down paint over the whole board and wiping out the light areas. I then added some yellow ochre and raw sienna to some places to add a bit of richness.

Urban study, Looking South 9x9 inches in oils on board. This one is basically a wipe out painting. I put down Raw Umber to cover the entire board then wiped off the paint with small towels and old stiff brushes to create this piece. I added a touch of ochre in the distant buildings and added a few small highlights at the end. Click on image for a larger view.

Peach Lace 11x14

Another figure piece, 11x14 in acrylics. I did many layers to build up the tonal flavor of this piece. I am working on figures this summer, a new area for me. Very fun but challenging.

Afternoon Rest 16x20

Afternoon Rest 16x20 in oils. More figure painting working with soft neutral colors. Click on image for a larger view.

Tonal texture Misty Day 9x12

Another small one, Misty Day 9x12. This piece is in acrylics with many transparent layers on top of the base palette knife painting. The focus of this piece was to get soft greens that were not too hard and build up the light in layers. Please click on the image for a larger view.

Summer Lupine 9x12.

Today's painting, Summer Lupine is 9x12 in acrylic. Working on soft greens and keeping the overall color harmony consistent on this one. I like this approach because I can achieve a nice rich retro flavor to the painting.

Deep In Thought 16x16

Something a little different from me. I have been working on figures for while now and I am going to try and start posting some of these from time to time. I goal is to really focus on the figure over this summer along with my landscapes. I like doing the dark moody tonal thing with these, keeps them romantic and mysterious. This one is 16x16 in oils on board with a very limited palette of three colors plus white.

Plein Air Peony Fields 9x12

A recent plein air piece from a couple weeks ago out at a peony farm on a cloudy day. I punched up the sky and background back in the studio for the finish. Please click on the image for a larger view.

More Recent Places In Oregon Wine Country

Some scenes from today, Saturday June 13. Don't worry, I am actually doing some painting out here too. I think some of these shots will make for some great larger studio paintings.

Places I Have Been Recently

Some recent finished plein air works

Some recent works from from my earlier posts, now finished ( And I use that term loosely).

The Old Truck 9x12 oils.

Summer House 12x12 oils.

Clover And BArn 9x9 oils.

Afternoon Light 9x12 oils.

Misty Light 24x36

A recent studio piece. Moody evening light painting in oils 24x36 inches.

Plein air by day, studio by work by night. In the evening I can take my time with my favorite microbrew ale or a glass of Merlot.

Click on image for a larger view.

Plein air for Thursday

Now I have the main color shapes of the barn and the truck so I am ready take this one home to finish. I have a pretty good base study to work from now.

Next I have added the sky and ground areas. From here, I add the mid tone shadow areas on the roof and the truck.

My block in start is about getting the tree shapes and barn down for my composition.

Also starting to indicate the darkest shadow areas.

Here is today's scene. I am going to work on a 12x12 square board for this one.

Found a great old barn with an old truck in the front so this was today's stop.

Please click on the images for a larger view.

Plein Air May 27 Wednesday

The final quick field study. From here I can finish this piece in the studio.

In the next step, I am adding in the base colors for the shapes in the composition.

This is my rough block in. Only about 10 to 15 minutes into this study. I am using basic lines for the house to divide the shapes and large areas of color for the trees. This gives me a fast layout of the composition which I can refine and add more color to in the next step.
This is today's farm scene. I just love this setup; there are many paintings I could pull from this one scene. I am thinking today will focus on the house with the nice shadows.

 
Today is a 12x12 square format oil painting. I am starting to work on some country farm house paintings for something different. The square format is nice for these paintings, I think it helps give the piece a nice contemporary feel. I am also trying to paint this series with a little more high key color.

This scene had some great shadows happening so I thought a quick study would be fun to work on. These shadows wouldn't hold for long so I had to move quickly and I only wanted a quick rough base painting anyways. I will do the finish in the studio.

As always, you can click on the photos for a larger view.

Plein Air May 15 Friday

Out and about again, a 9x12 on a beautiful afternoon.