June 21, 2012

Juniper Pass1 16x12 oil

Oil Painters of America sponsored a paint out in the Evergreen area today.  There were many great locations to choose from, and I think Juniper Pass was one of the more popular.  It has great views of the distant mountains, contrasted with the rocky cliffs in the foreground.  I painted this view in the morning.

Juniper Pass2 16x12 oil

In the afternoon, I moved the other side and painted the view showing where I stood in the morning.  Neal encouraged me to add the little snow fields in the distant mountain at the end, and I'm glad I did.

June 20, 2012

Cabin View 12x9 oil

Southwest Art Magazine and Oil Painters of America (OPA) sponsored a "Pampered" paint out at a beautiful cabin in Morrison.  They provided a wonderful location, company, food, and even live music for around 100 plein air painters.  It was a great atmosphere for painting, and I enjoyed meeting many fellow artists.  In contrast to yesterday's heat, today was very cool and cloudy.  This was nice, because the light stayed consistent for much longer than usual.  I painted the view from the porch of the retreat cabin in the morning.

Aspen and Spruce 9x12 oil

In the afternoon, I moved down by the main cabin and painted the trees from the cabin lawn.  Every now and then, the sun would come out from behind the clouds and light up the scene.

June 19, 2012

Bear Creek 8x10 oil

PAAC paint out at Lair O' the Bear Park.  I've been wanting to go to this park since I started looking at the PAAC paintout locations.  Now that I'm painting full time, I could finally go.  It was a very hot day, but I found a nice shady spot down by the creek.

June 16, 2012

Farm View 30x40 oil

Joellyn Duesberry workshop. I spent the week painting in Joly's garden. This is one of the views from her driveway.  It was a wonderful experience, and I learned so much it was difficult to process all of it.  She has spent her life painting, and does very large paintings outdoors.  Her world is very whimsical and colorful.  We're very lucky to have such a talented artist living here in Denver.

This is the largest plein air painting I've done so far.  It was done in two morning sessions.  The white horse in the upper right was gracious enough to stand in the same spot for hours so I could include him in the painting.

June 7, 2012

Flyin' B Ranch 12x16 oil

PAAC Paint Out.  We went to the ranch the morning after a big hail storm, and everything was a bit damp and hazy.  This place has a lot of interesting things to paint.  The park rangers stopped by and told me that this old farmhouse was almost accidentally torn down.  They had started with the back porch, but were caught before demolishing the rest. I had to hurry to finish this painting, because storm clouds rolled in from the west around lunch time.

June 5, 2012

Mountain View 8x10 oil

PAAC Paint Out at Alderfer/Three Sisters Park.  I walked up the hill to get a good view of the distant mountains.  It was very windy, but I was still able to use my umbrella.  At one point, I stepped back and caught a corner of my roll of paper towels.  The wind grabbed the sheet, and in a few seconds unrolled about half of the roll.  It was like a child gleefully running away with it.  Once I got that under control, I enjoyed capturing the different shades of greens, blues, and purples.

May 31, 2012

Summer Creek 8x6 oil

PAAC Paint out at East Plum Creek Trail.  I walked for about 20 minutes to get a good view of the creek.  It was a long haul, but the path was concrete, I had my stuff on wheels, and I could use the exercise.  This was a peaceful scene, with some nice variations of color in the water.

May 30, 2012

Verbena and Sand Cherry 6x8 oil

This was a quick, small painting in my back yard.  Both bushes are backlit by the morning light, and the Verbena was in full bloom.  I left out the split rail fence so the attention could be focused on the bushes.

May 29, 2012

Bottles 20x24 oil

Don Sahli Color and Temperature class.  This is the last class with Don until August for me.  These classes have been great exercises in seeing color and drawing with the brush.  The most challenging part of this still life was making the apple read as being behind the bottle.  The color difference behind the bottle was very subtle, and the apple didn't go behind until I put in a stroke to define the right side of the bottle.  The most fun part was painting the square blue bottle - it had so much going on.

May 27, 2012

Georgetown 16x20 oil

This was an informal PAAC Paint Out.  I convinced Steve to take a trip up to Georgetown this Sunday.  He wandered around the area and took pictures while I painted. It was windy, but not as much as the day before.  This building caught my eye, with the bright orange in the roof.  I might work on it some more, because it seems a little deserted.  Maybe add some benches, people and pots with flowers.

May 24, 2012

Hidden Mesa 12x16 oil

PAAC Paint Out.  I hiked a little way and found a pocket garden in the rocks where a bunch of little plants found a place to grow.  This spot also had a nice view of the front range.

May 22, 2012

Teapot on Blue Tray 20x24 oil

Don Sahli Color and Temperature class.  It was too hot to paint outside, so we were back in the classroom.  This painting seemed very dull to me until I added the sunlit area of the tray and the reflections on the teapot.  One person in the class said "you've got a party on your teapot".  The tray was black, but the sunlit area looked very blue.

May 17, 2012

Purple and Orange Iris 12x16 oil

PAAC Paint Out at Hudson Gardens.  The Iris were in full bloom, and it was a very hot and sunny day.  I sat down for this one, so I could be at eye level with the Iris.

May 16, 2012

Allium and Roses 20x16 oil

I painted this scene in my backyard in the early morning.  It was very pleasant, except for the squirrel who kept scolding me for being in his space.

May 15, 2012

Pitcher on Bench 20x24 oil

Don Sahli Color and Temperature class.  This was a fun challenge.  First, Don set up the still life with just the pitcher and bowl on the bench, and we sketched the scene.  Then he added the fruit and the cloth.

May 8, 2012

Purple Teapot 20x24 oil

Don Sahli Color and Temperature class.  This still life was set up outside in the rose garden.  The roses were blooming very early this year, and it was a beautiful spring day.  I was drawn to the color of the teapot, in relation to the other colors.

April 17, 2012

Green Still Life 20x24 oil

Don Sahli Color and Temperature class.  The still life was set up in the window, with cool light coming in.