River Daylilies III

River Daylilies III
16" x 20" oil on board
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The third of my daylily paintings, appropriately titled, completed using all palette knife.

River Daylilies II

River Daylilies II
9" x 12" oil on board
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The original River Daylily painting was completed years ago and although this is called River Daylilies II, it is actually my third daylily painting...this was completed using all brushwork.

The GMC

The GMC
8" x 10" oil on board
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Painted en plein air near Rigby Island on the Chesapeake Bay, Mathews County, VA.

Sarah, Erik, and Riley

Sarah, Erik, and Riley

5" x 7" oil on board

Not for sale

A little value study that turned out well. 

River Pine Grove II

River Pine Grove II
11" x 14" oil on board


Sorry about the glare in the upper right corner.

Passing Storm

Passing Storm
8" x 10" oil on board
Commissioned - sold

This is the second version of this painting that I've done; the first is hanging in my bathroom.  My brother requested the painting, something with water and boats, for a coworker who's moving to the northern neck of Virginia.  I had already emailed a photo of the painting to my brother when I realized that I'd made a mistake. The horizon on the right was much lower than the horizon on the left...not physically possible.  So I scraped it off, got rid of a dock and boathouse and added a new horizon. The painting's called "Passing Storm," and I feel like the revised version does a better job of creating that effect.  Here's the original:

Here's the first one that's hanging in my bathroom:

The Shed

The Shed
8" x 10" oil on board
Sold

My sister described my painting as "sloppy."  One of many qualities that my sister and I share is that things don't always come out of our mouths the way we intend them to. At least I hope that was true in this case.  She went on to clarify that it was, "sloppy in a good way."  Still not exactly the description one wants to hear about ones painting style, but I think I know what she means.  These days, I'm really focussing on clean, bright colors and correct values, possibly at the expense of technique. Painting outside forces you to make decisions about color and value quickly. It's great practice, and hopefully as I am able to make those decisions more quickly and accurately, some of the "sloppiness" will fade and I'll be able to focus more on technique.

One decision I made with this painting that I think represents a step in the right direction was to stop looking at the scene in front of me after about an hour of painting. The light had changed so much that I found myself reworking things that didn't need reworking. I focussed on working within the values that I set out initially, and I think I was successful. I usually don't say this, but I love this painting.  When I look at it, it makes me feel the way I do midday at the river when I'm engulfed by warmth, humidity, good smells, and the anticipation of good times with family and friends. Plus, I got to paint with my sister.

The Porch

The Porch
5" x 7" oil on board


I had a lot of extra paint left on my palette after painting the sunrise, so I turned around and painted the porch.   The sun was partially obscured by some clouds, and it created a nice little glow. The light was changing so fast that I only had time to get down the basics. It's incredibly simple, but I like it, maybe because it's not over-worked or over-thought.

Remnants

Remnants
5" x 7" oil on board


When I was a kid, there was a dark and dense tangle of vines and trees separating the river house property from the property just up river to the north.  There was one path, tunneling through the darkness to a sand road that wound through corn fields, growing all the way to where the bank angled down to the river.  The path through the woods was sandy but strewn with holly leaves.  Always barefoot, I chased many a ball and frisbee into those prickly woods.  Usually, my brother and I would fight over who had to go in after.

Now, there's a mansion hovering over our cinderblock shack, and the woods, once home to foxes, raccoons, and all manner of tiny animal, have been thinned to make visible some of the larger oaks and sycamore trees. The trees are ancient and beautiful, but it also makes our neighbor's house much more visible.

This painting is what's left of the woods between the properties.  The corn fields have transitioned to alfalfa; that's the golden streak you see running through the middle of the painting.

Piankatank Sunrise

Piankatank Sunrise
5" x 7" oil on board


The mattress in my room at the river house is probably as old as the house. It's like sleeping in a creaky hammock with springs poking you on either side.  As usual, I couldn't sleep, so I decided to catch the sunrise. All in all, this took about 10 minutes to make. Hopefully, that's obvious in a good way, not a sloppy, ugly way. If you look closely, you can see a gnat flying into the heart of the sun.

Clothesline

Clothesline
8" x 10" oil on board
$70 plus shipping

This was the last of my Memorial Day river house paintings, painted the morning of my final day; the specter of packing and Memorial Day traffic with no air conditioner haunted this painting.

River Pine Grove

8" x 6"
Oil on board
Sold

There's a pine grove in the southwest corner of the river house property.  I love all vantage points that the river has to offer, but I especially like the view from the pine grove.  You can see it all; the river, the house, the fields in back.  And because it's surrounded by low, grassy hills on three sides, it's kind of still and warm back there.  The pine needles on the ground add to the warmth.

However, I'm not sure I captured the warmth in my painting. I painted this on a Monday night, pretty quickly.  Sometimes I just get the urge. I think I'd like to turn this one into a larger painting and really try to warm it up, especially the grass to the left; it should be warmer.

Pooh's Woods

Pooh's Woods
8" x 6" Oil on Canvas Panel
No longer for sale

This is the sand road that runs through Pooh's Woods - so nicknamed by me or my brother because they are dark and deep like Pooh's Woods.  The road leads to Iron Point on the Piankatank River, just upstream from our river-house. 

Normally, I tone my canvases with a thinned out mixture of phthalo red rose and indian yellow.  But, I decided to leave it white this time, and I like the effect.  In some places, I didn't put any paint down at all and just let the white canvas show through. 

Morning and Evening

8" x 10"
Oil on Canvas Panel
'Evening'
$35 each - $65 for both

I had a bunch of paint left over after I finished "River Kayaking" so I squinted my eyes at a couple of photos and slapped on the paint as fast as I could in a loosely representational style.



8" x 10"
Oil on Canvas Panel
'Morning'

This one's really abstract, but I like it.  These would look nice side by side in wooden floater frames.

River Kayaking

8" x 10"
Oil on Canvas Panel

My Aunt Diane is in the Kayak next to her dog, Marley. Sister Katherine is wading toward her off to the right. I wanted this painting to be a lot less realistic and representational than it ended up, but it's really hard to paint that way. I'm trying to avoid replicating photos.

The River

6" x 8"
Oil on Canvas Panel

I have painted and photographed this image countless times, but there's no end to the enjoyment I get from seeing it.  I painted this during my week at the river this August.  Sarah was reading, Riley was rolling around in the grass nearby, and I was sitting in the shade painting the view.

River Paintings

The Point
8 1/2" x 11"
Watercolor on paper
Sold

River Cypress
8 1/2" x 11"
Watercolor on paper

River Chairs
8 1/2" x 11"
Water Color on paper











Sarah and I painted these during our river trip over the 4th of July holiday.  I painted the top two, and Sarah painted "River Chairs."  I like her painting the best.

I haven't done a lot of watercolor painting, but I'm really happy with how these turned out; especially The Point.  There is nothing I would rather do than sit by the water and paint. A beverage or two helps the process.

'DIFFICULT Run'

8" x 10" Oil on canvas panel


The scene is Difficult Run about a mile up from where the stream empties into the Potomac River in Great Falls State Park.  I painted it on site and the conditions were challenging...This was the first time I had ever tried hiking to a location with my travel easel so there was a bit of a learning curve.   To make matters more difficult, a small piece of the easel that keeps the paint and brush tray from sliding out broke off and all of my supplies emptied onto the ground...then I had to figure out a way to keep the tray from continually sliding out while I was hiking...Once I worked through the glitches though, I really enjoyed painting outside and hiking to my location.  The day was really overcast, which may have made the painting easier because there were fewer lighting changes.  All in all, I like the way the painting turned out and I can't wait to get outside again!

River Daylily II

6" x 8" Oil on canvas panel
$15 plus shipping

Almost didn't post this one because I didn't like the way it turned out...It's kind of interesting though.

'River Chairs'

5" x 7" Oil on Canvas Panel

I was anxious to use my new travel easel over the Memorial Day weekend at the river-house, but also anxious to fish, kayak, windsurf, catch crabs, ride bikes, and...relax. So, I designated two hours of my Sunday afternoon at the river for painting...Painting counts as relaxing so I killed two birds and downed a few Coronas in the process. Quite enjoyable I must say.

As for the painting...Conditions were tough, but such is outdoor painting. I mixed my paints beforehand because I wanted to get the scene down quickly before the light changed, but as soon as I had mixed my colors, the sun went behind the clouds. I tried to compensate, but may have overcompensated. Either way, I enjoyed it and I left the painting at the river-house for others to enjoy as well.