Crabtree Falls

 

Crabtree Falls

8" x 10" oil on board

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Every now and then a painting feels like a step forward. Although, sometimes I say that and a month later I can't stand to look at it. 

I don't think that will happen with this one, though. I rarely say this, but I'm happy with almost everything about this painting.

Composition, light, color...it's what I've been striving for. The warm foreground, cool middle, sun shining through the trees...I can feel it, and passing that feeling along has become my goal when painting. 

A couple of things that might have helped this one out. First, the kids were staying at their grandparent's, so it was quiet, and I wasn't rushed. Second, I painted this in two sittings, which I rarely do. It may have even benefitted from a third sitting because I started rushing to finish in time for a dinner reservation, and I got pretty tired by the end.  I love this palette, too. The entire painting is three colors, Venetian Red, yellow, and blue-black. Harmony is created when everything is mixed from the same three colors.

This was a good year painting-wise. There were times when I was frustrated by having to squeeze in paintings and finish them in hour or even half an hour with no corrections, etc. But I realize now that it was good practice for moments like this when I'm able to take my time. My goal for the new year is to have a bigger painting going that I work on in pieces over time. I also want to find some go-to outdoor locations, preferably where there aren't a lot of people. 

FYI, this location is just below Crab Tree Falls down in Nelson County, VA.  

Blue Chair Study

 

Blue Chair Study

5" x 7" oil on board

The desire to paint is strong, but the time is limited, so I've been sneaking in some quick ones.  I've been looking at this guy's paintings, which have been stoking my desire...Still working with the Venitian Red, cadmium yellow light, blue black, plus a blue (phthalo blue in this case) palette, which is limited but versatile. 

We bought some new, "Pacific Blue," Adirondack chairs. My main focus was getting the blues right, but I didn't achieve my goal. I struggled with the highlights in particular. They are nowhere close to how they look in real life.  Note to self, try a tiny dot of lemon yellow mixed with titanium white and pthhalo blue for the highlights next time. 

Dickie Brother's Orchard III

 

Dickie Brother's Orchard III

6" x 6" oil on board

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Just had to satisfy the urge. 

Last Rose Study

Last Rose Study

4" x 6" oil on board

Pretty much everything I did with this painting was wrong.  I started off trying to do a no correction painting, but I wound up vastly overpainting.  I rushed and used the wrong brushes and overworked what was supposed to be the focal point (the flower). My biggest mistake was trying to paint while my kids were still awake. I went in to get things ready, intending to start after I put Carson to bed, but somehow I fell in to painting and couldn't stop. 

But, I did learn from it. I like the color palette, and I added in a blue toward the end that I would use from the beginning if I did it again, which I should. It's tough to tell, but my espresso maker is hiding in the back, and that's my favorite part. Colors were Pthalo red rose, lemon yellow, black, and cerulean blue. Google had a Vermeer theme today. I really like his color palette and wanted to do something similar...not sure Vermeer would approve of this one, though. 

Espresso Maker Study

 

Espresso Maker Study

6" x 6" oil on board

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A while back, I had an idea to try doing a painting with zero corrections. No matter what the composition; put down a stroke and leave it without wiping, painting over, or correcting in any way. Maybe that sounds easy but trust me, it's not.  And it's even harder to post something with zero corrections. 

Coincidentally, although I have a strong desire to paint, I'm also having trouble finding the time and energy to do it. So, this is the perfect time to try some no correction paintings! 

I used three colors: Venetian Red, cadmium yellow light, and blue-black, plus white. It took less than half an hour to paint. I say this a lot, but hopefully that's not obvious in a bad way. I want to do more of these and post them, so if you happen to be looking at this blog for the first time, just know that this is an experiment and please scroll down a little further. I actually kind of like it, though. 

Old Flowers in a Vase

 

Old Flowers in a Vase

12" x 12" oil on board

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I went with a limited palette; four colors plus black, which I usually don't use, and white. It's a little different, but I like the result. 

There are always things I'd change and with this one, I wish I had just cropped it in a little more - there's a little too much empty space in the middle right. 

The flowers are left over from our wedding anniversary, two weeks ago.  The leaves are dry, the flowers are wilted, and the kids have pulled off a few of the petals, but I guess you can't tell by looking at the painting. 

Monocacy Island IV

 

Monocacy Island IV

6" x 6" oil on board

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My fourth painting of this same spot on the Monocacy River - I'll just call it my spot, completed almost immediately after the third painting of the same spot. Remember how I said there was a heat advisory in effect and it was 95 degrees? Well, I felt like I had to get one from the same vantage point I've painted before, so I took a dip in that exact spot there in the shade before I worked up the energy to do my next painting. It was about 2:30 when I started, and the sun was starting to angle down to the west, which meant it was directly in my face. Hot. 

Just like the last time I painted here, there were thunderstorms approaching, also from the west. And even though I called it my spot, a Gator-load of the property owner's kids drove up while I was painting, along with their dog who gave me a good sniffing before splashing through the pool right in front of me. He was too fast to paint, though. The kids were friendly, and they told me that there is a bald eagle nest in a tree across the river, which I had not noticed. They swam a little while and then drove off.  Technically, I think my spot is below the low water mark, so I'm within my legal rights to stand there and paint. 

Just as I got everything packed up, the clouds started to build. I was about a mile upstream from the ramp where I put in, and I thought I had time to make a few casts before paddling back downstream.  My "spot" is also right upstream from the best stretch of fishing on this part of the river.  There are lots of submerged boulders in deep water, and I've caught some nice smallmouth bass there. Just as I was thinking I'd make my last cast and head back to the car to avoid the storms, a fairly large catfish grabbed my lure, right as I was pulling it out of the water. I use a pretty lightweight setup when I'm fishing for smallmouth, and this was probably a ten pound catfish, so I spent the next ten minutes or more, fighting it. Mainly, I didn't want to lose my lure.  Finally, I got him/her in the kayak, took a photo and flew back down the river. I got the kayak on the roof just as the first drops were starting to fall.

Here's the catfish and below that is my last painting of this spot:

Monocacy Island III

 

Monocacy Island III

8" x 8" oil on board

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My third painting of this same spot on the Monocacy River, this one done from a distance in the only shady spot I could find within view. It was 95 degrees with a heat advisory in effect. I'm not sure why, but I did this whole painting with one brush, and it was a brush that I've never used before, basically a watercolor brush. The paint was really moving, I guess because it was so hot, so I just stuck with it. And I really like it...Painting outside is usually tough, but this one just kind of painted itself. 

Linville Gorge Revisited

 

Linville Gorge Revisited 

8" x 10" oil on board

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For me, there is no greater feeling of peace than the one I get from staring into an endless range of mountains. Just like a wide ocean view, staring into the mountains or any open vista (as opposed to staring at a phone or computer screen or being trapped in a city) expands your field of vision, which is supposed to reduce stress. I can confirm that it works. There's also something about the contrast between the ground-level, zoomed in, view that you get from hiking through a gorge (as in Linville Gorge), hemmed in by rhododendron and the noise of tumbling rapids and then scrambling to the top of the ridge to view not only where you just were, but as far as the atmosphere will let you in any direction. 

This is the second time I've attempted this painting and while I think it's better than the first, it still has a ways to go. Still working on that sense of peace. 

Garlic on Blue Napkin

 

Garlic on Blue Napkin

5" x 7" oil on board

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Another one painted alongside Camlin.  She's good for about twenty minutes and then it's chatter time.  I like the way the napkin turned out, but I wish the garlic was a little warmer. I had primed the board, which means making a thin mixture of color with mineral spirits and rubbing it on the board, and it turned out to be the exact color of the cutting board I used for the still life.  So, I didn't actually paint the tan parts, and I kind of like the effect. 

Peaches on Blue Napkin

Peaches on Blue Napkin

8" x 8" oil on board

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Today's lesson was one that I have to repeat to myself over and over throughout all aspects of my life:  DON'T FREAK OUT!

Not only does freaking out not make things better, it usually makes them worse.  Such simple advice, yet so hard to follow...

I thought there was no way this one was going to make the cut. I almost freaked out and wiped it. As usual, glad I didn't.

Trumpet Vine - Highland County

 

Trumpet Vine - Highland County

6" x 6" oil on board

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I'm proud of this one considering the conditions under which it was painted. Trying to sneak in an hour of painting while the kids were splashing in the baby pool on the other side of the house. It started off cloudy and breezy but became sunny and bakingly still. Then a storm blew up so it got cloudy again and then my easel blew over in the grass.  It never rained but the wind kept up, so I went around to a less windy side of the house to try and finish the painting without looking at the scene (I do that a lot when conditions change and I don't want to muddy up my painting by trying to make it match the changes). But the less windy side of the house was where the kids were playing.  And then I realized I was looking toward the kitchen where my brother-in-law was making faces at me through the window.  You get the picture.  So I quit while I was ahead.  Highland County and this farm property, in particular, might be my favorite place on earth. Trumpet vine is kind of like daylillies, except that it's a native plant.  It's super invasive and everywhere, but I think it's pretty, especially when it's growing along a fence with a mountain in the background. 

Daylily

 

Daylily

8" x 10" oil on board

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Yes, I like daylilies.  They're super-invasive and they're everywhere, but they are a symbol of summer, and they remind me of the river house where I spent my summers, growing up. And did you know they're edible?  Yep, all parts of the daylily can be eaten. 

I had the towel ready to wipe this one, but I decided to do some finger painting first.  The final version is totally different from when I put down the brush.  Do I love it? Not sure...but it's kind of interesting.  

Fruit and Veggie Basket

 

Fruit and Veggie Basket

9" x 11" Oil on Board

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When it comes to painting, my powers of observation are greater than my ability to convey my impressions through a paint brush.  Hopefully, one day they'll match up. And if that's not a metaphor for my life, I don't know what is.

Green Tea Pot with Mug, Paper Towel, and Linseed Oil

Green Tea Pot with Mug, Paper Towel, and Linseed Oil

8" x 10" oil on board

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Camlin was begging me to paint with her, and I didn't really feel like it because we had just gotten back from a pretty long outing. But, I gave in and just decided to paint with very low expectations and without correcting any of my "mistakes." So I did this with no touch-ups, no painting over or wiping off and redoing, etc., while Camlin chattered away beside me. I like how it turned out. It may not be beautiful, but at least it's not overworked. 

There's a style of painting, popularized by a painter named Duane Keiser, called premier coup (I attended one of his workshops a few years ago - he's amazing). Premier coup means something like, "first strike," and in painting, it just means finishing a painting in one sitting.  Turns out I've been painting premier coup all along and didn't even know it! Almost all of my paintings are finished in one sitting, usually under four hours. Hopefully that's not obvious in a bad way...

First Day of Summer Vacation

First Day of Summer Vacation

12" x 12" oil on board

The native plant garden in my backyard - still mostly green. The kids were watching Raya and the Last Dragon, so I had two hours.  I got it done in about ninety minutes...It was cloudy, so the light stayed pretty consistent, but it was still bright - good painting conditions. Another summer vacation begins. 

Paint Mug with Peony

 

Paint Mug with Peony

5" x 7" oil on board

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Could not get a good photo of this one.  It looks less terrible in person. 

Lake Fairfax Oak Tree II

Lake Fairfax Oak Tree II

6" x 6" oil on board

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My five year old daughter, Camlin, joined me for today's plein air excursion.  We hiked in (1/2 mile), carrying our supplies.  Camlin toting my portable paint storage bin, stopping several times to rest...  

Let's just say that my expectations are too high, both for a five year old on a plein air excursion and for myself with a five year old on a plein air excursion.  

She was very patient with me, though 😊 and somehow I scratched out what I think is the best of the three paintings I've done of this tree.  A great day. 

Blue Chairs II

Blue Chairs II

9" x 12" oil on board

Post one, year twelve.  The urge to paint has been strong lately, but the time has not been there.  I bought my daughter a cheap table top easel that she allows me to use.  It's handy for setting up on the sun porch and painting the views in my backyard. There should be a swing set in the top right, but I left it out because the light was changing so fast.  My portable French easel is beyond repair, and I'm trying to justify the expense of a fancy new travel easel...Should I do it?