Woodpile II

Woodpile II

12" x 12" oil on board

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I painted this en plein air (outdoors) over a two day span between the hours of 9:30am and 11am.  I got most of it down the first day and then focussed on details the second day.  One subtlety that drew me to the scene was the crisscrossing hills in the background.  

On another note...I've been on instagram for a little over a year, and I'm thinking of getting off of it. Throughout the past year, I've felt more distracted, less focussed and present as well as more anxious and down on my abilities as a painter and even as a person.  I am now completely addicted to my phone, and I hate it. I enjoyed my trip to Highland County less because of my obsession with posting and seeing how many likes my paintings were getting.  I'm thinking about posts and how the paintings will look online instead of just enjoying painting and being in nature. It is fantastic to be able to see the best painters in the world in one place and then scroll down for some rare footage of the Grateful Dead but for all the reasons mentioned, it's just not worth it.  I'm looking for ways to simplify my life and this seems like a no-brainer.  Just have to hit those buttons...

Little Switzerland

 

Little Switzerland

8" x 8" oil on board

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This might sound like excuses, but I think a lot of painters would agree that the most difficult thing to do, especially when painting outdoors, is to keep things simple.  There is a universe of things going on in front of you and you have to figure out how to represent it within a two hour window before everything changes.  And two hours is generous because, really, everything changes from minute to minute.  The impulse when painting a scene is to start right in on that one thing that draws you to the scene and paint it in great detail. But, when you get too fine too soon, everything else suffers and you wind up with mud.  I think this is true no matter what the artistic medium - paint, pencil, music, poetry.  The best seems simple, when in reality, the most difficult thing to do is just the right amount.  

Cattle Gate

Cattle Gate

12" x 16" oil on board

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Conditions went from bright sunshine to long periods of thick cumulus clouds and back to bright sunshine during the two or so hours I worked on this painting.  I think I started around 2pm...The blended lighting conditions might be noticeable if you look closely, which I'm pretty sure is some kind of plein air no-no.  But ya know what?  Don't care...

More and more, I prefer paintings that are not strait forward.  I want a little poetry, mystery and abstraction, and I actually get more of a response when I create that type of painting than I do for more realistic paintings. So I like this one - it's got a lot going on.  

Peonies

Peonies

12" x 12" oil on board

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Once peonies start to go bad, they go bad quickly.  So of course, I decided to paint these on the last day of shelf life after cutting them from my back yard.  Maybe they could have used another sitting, but at least it's not overdone!  

Below the High Meadow

 

Below the High Meadow

24" x 24" oil on canvas

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In real life, I'm an 8th grade special education teacher with two young kids that never stop moving.  So, while it may seem like I spend all of my time painting, in reality, a lot of the painting takes place at 5am on weekends, in short bursts while my kids are doing other things or in rare moments of freedom like my yearly solo trip to Highland County. That's also the reason why most of my paintings are small and completed in one sitting without a lot of touch up once the moment has passed. 

Over the winter, however, I decided to try having a larger painting going that I would visit here and there during spare moments.  I liked this approach at first, however, after the initial excitement, it became a little tedious, and I just wanted to finish the painting.  I may try it again this winter, but I do prefer to paint quickly, preferably outdoors.  

The painting is partly based on an image from a hike to Seneca Creek/High Meadows in the Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia and partly imagined. The imagined part is the top right quarter.  In the image, you can't see through the trees, but it felt a little claustrophobic, so I added the ridge in the background and the little spots of sky. 

The approach felt tedious, but I guess it paid off because the painting was accepted to the Prince William County Art Society's, "best of the region," art show for Fairfax, Loudon, and Prince William County.  I didn't realize what it meant to have a painting accepted into the show until I attended the reception and saw the other pieces.  Amazing! I didn't win, but it was a great experience and I received some great feedback.  A couple of the winners told me that my painting was one of their favorites and that they voted for it in the "people's choice" voting, which is still taking place. 

If you're interested in this one, I'll warn you that the price is a little higher than usual.  It's a big painting and, all in all, I spent over 50 hours on it.  

The Gorge

 

The Gorge

9" x 12" oil on board

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This is the Potomac River Gorge in Great Falls National Park - Virginia Side.  It didn't win a ribbon, but I had more fun painting this one than almost any other.  

After hiking downriver almost a mile with all of my gear, I came to a set of stairs leading down into a gorge cut by a creek and steeply back up the other side.  I didn't want to hike much farther because I would have to hike back the same distance while carrying my painting, but I decided to see what was at the top of the stairs.  My curiosity paid off with a great vista and no one else around - lack of people being equally as important as the vista...although a random guy did ask to take a selfie with me, which I obliged.

The day was spectacular, but the wind was howling down the river and I was perched on the edge of a cliff, so I had to keep my foot on the easel to prevent it from flying into the gorge while watching my own step and making sure no other supplies landed in the the river. 

The cloud shadow was a risk that paid off.  It looked terrible at first, but I kept adjusting it each time a cloud passed and, to me, it makes the painting. Here's a view of my setup and the vista:

Afternoon at the Miller's

Afternoon at the Miller's

12" x 12" oil on board

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This is the flip side to my previous post - the other side of the miller's house at Colvin Run Mill, painted the afternoon of the same day. I polled a number of folks regarding which one I should enter in the Paint Great Falls plein air competition, and this painting won out, almost 2:1, so I went with it.  Still, I'm doubting myself because I kind of prefer the other painting and, alas, it did not win a ribbon. 

Late Morning at the Miller's

 

Late Morning at the Miller's

12" x 12" oil on board

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This is the miller's house, located at the historic Colvin Run Mill in Fairfax County.  The mill was built around 1811, and it still works. I painted the house as part of the Paint Great Falls outdoor painting competition. This was the first time I've entered into a painting competition, and it was a lot for me. If I do anything like this again, I will probably wait until summer because I wasn't able to devote the time to it that I should have.  The competition went on all week long, but I was only able to give it three days, and I completed three paintings. Meantime, I'm juggling a major garden project at my school, working full time, attending my kids sports and practices and generally running myself into the ground. 

Despite all of that, I put way too much weight on earning a ribbon. When I didn't earn one, instead of letting myself feel good about putting myself out there, painting in front of people for the first time, having the chance to hang my work in a gallery for a month, etc., I felt discouraged. I know that's ridiculous, but I still feel it.  But maybe that feeling is necessary when you really care about something and you're determined. Let it drive you or let it stop you.  That's the choice. 

Also, I chose not to enter this painting - I was allowed to enter two, and after much polling, this one did not make the cut...maybe it should have?

Evening Light - Backyard

Evening Light - Backyard 

8" x 8" oil on board

This is one I'd like to revisit or turn into a more finished painting.  I was just trying to get some practice in before the Paint Great Falls outdoor painting competition. I worked on this for under an hour, which may be obvious. Sometimes, though, I like the ones that take under an hour just as much or more than the paintings that take multiple hours. 

Lonely Peony

Lonely Peony

5" x 7" oil on board

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The peony plant in front of our house is usually loaded with blooms but for some reason it only had one this year - here it is! 

Roudy's Retreat

Roudy's Retreat

8" x 10" oil on board

Great little Airbnb cabin in Montebello, VA, that is equidistant to Nelson County wine country and the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia.  I gifted this painting to the owner of the cabin for the cost of shipping and materials.  Hope she hangs it!

River Road

River Road

8" x 10" oil on board

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Route 612 in Highland County, VA, just beyond the low water bridge that cuts across the Bullpasture River. One of my favorite paintings of one of my favorite spots.

Virginia's Little Switzerland

Virginia's Little Switzerland

8" x 10" oil on board

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Another view from my favorite cabin spot in Highland County, VA. 

April 5th, 5pm

April 5th, 5pm

8" x 8" oil on Board

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Fairfield Porter has a painting called, six o' clock (linked). I haven't researched the meaning of the name, but I'm guessing it was chosen because the viewer can look at the painting and, based on light and shadows and other details, guess the exact time it was painted and maybe a lot more about what was going on in and around the scene. I don't mean to put myself in the same sentence as Fairfield Porter, but it is my goal to pass along a sense of time and place.  Can you tell that it was one of the first warm evenings of spring, or that my kids were squirting themselves with the hose behind me? Or maybe that my wife was sitting in a chair to my left, having a drink? My dog was wandering around? I could hear lawnmowers and cardinals and bumblebees buzzing in the redbud behind me. I was stressed out because I had just finished doing the taxes and we had to pay a hell of a lot, while our 401K's and index funds were bleeding out money. But I didn't think about that for a while. Did you get all that?

Farmhouse

 

Farmhouse

8" x 8" oil on board

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This is an image of the farmhouse that we used to rent in Highland County, VA, that is sadly no longer available for rent. I tried out a new palette from another favorite painter, Richard Oversmith, that I'm really liking.  The palette I was using from the workshop with Jon Redmond had a couple of colors, cadmium red light and sap green, that I just don't find much use for.  Richard Oversmith's palette uses a different red and green that match better to the way I see things and result in a fresher look, in my opinion. I'm happy with this one and hope to turn it into a larger painting. 

I'm going to email the owners of the farmhouse to see if they'll let me on the property to paint this June when I'm out there for my annual solo painting retreat. 

Nelson County Back Road

Nelson County Back Road

9" x 12" oil on board

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Although I used a photo reference for this painting, I tried to paint as though I was outside - meaning, quickly and without a lot of thinking in the moment. That's my favorite way to paint and one of the reasons why I prefer to paint outside. Outside, conditions change so quickly that you don't have time to overanalyze, which is what I do when I have too much time on my hands.  I do think it has a fresh look to it. 

Strickler Knob

 

Strickler Knob

9" x 12" oil on board

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Strickler Knob is a great but difficult hike that involves a lot of rock-hopping - not great for little kids or dogs, but the views are spectacular. The gap in the mountains is Route 211 near Luray, VA. 

Would my paintings be better if I didn't do them on Friday night after a grueling week of teaching and little sleep? Maybe...

Seldom Seen

 

Seldom Seen

6" x 6" oil on board

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I like this painting and it was fun to paint. I painted over an old painting, which is always satisfying, especially when it's a terrible painting as was the case here - a muddy old painting of sardines in a bowl.  

It's tough not to fall into the trap of painting "things." Things, meaning trees, mountains, individual leaves, etc. When you're painting "things" a painting is much more likely to become muddy and dead. 

What I like about this painting is that instead of painting "things" I suggested them with shapes, color temperature, and values. I'm always afraid that my judgement is completely wrong but to me, this reads mountains and trees with light on snow just as much or more than a photo-realistic painting does. The longer I paint and the more I study painting, the more I prefer paintings that are abstract and a little mysterious - paintings that force the viewer to make his or her own conclusions. 

Valentine's Boquet

 

Valentine's Bouquet 

11" x 14" oil on board

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These flowers were a Valentine's gift for my wife, Sarah, but I'll admit that I had this painting in mind when I bought them.  I bought a nice bottle of wine and made a lobster dinner, too, so it wasn't totally selfish.  I may still make some changes to this because the background colors distract a bit from the flowers. 

One more thing: It seems I did not know how to spell bouquet before this post.  In addition to making a dumb grammatical mistake on Instagram when I posted this involving duel vs. dual, I just realized that I spelled bouquet incorrectly.  

Hidden Hollow

 

Hidden Hollow

12" x 12" oil on board

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I like the way this turned out, considering how it started. This is another one from the Seldom Seen property that I visit out in Highland County, VA. To get to the hidden hollow, you have to hike up and over a small mountain.  I did this with all my painting gear on my back - no big deal...this was during Virginia's first real cold snap back in early January and deep in the mountains with no urban radiational heating, it was cold! My poor dog Rainey, faithful as she is, sat by my side the entire time.  I could tell she was getting cold and on top of that, she had munched down on some cow pies and wasn't feeling her best. I was getting cold too, so I reached a point where I thought I could head back to the cabin and touch it up there (although I forgot to take a reference photo).  But, once I had everything packed up, I realized the painting wouldn't fit in my panel carrier.  That meant I had to carry the painting back down the small mountain in my hands without dropping it, which I did...Until I got to the cabin door and a gust of wind blew it out of my hands and onto Rainey's back.  Rainey was covered in paint and my painting was scratched up and covered with dog hair. I picked out the hair, but it took a few weeks to get around to fixing it up.  I tried to build on the colors that were there and since I didn't have a reference photo, it was mostly by feel.  I did leave a small patch of scratchiness in the lower left just because. 

Melting

 

Melting

8" x 8" oil on board

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The plan was to practice and explore with this one, but I wound up liking it, so here it is. One idea that I'm trying to keep in mind moving forward is that shadows are not opaque. When I look at some of my older paintings, the shadows are black, opaque (ugly), curtains and in real life, that's not the case - shadows are transparent. So I'm trying to build shadows through layers of transparent paint, allowing the lower layers and even the toned board to peek through.  If I did anything right with this one, it's that.  I particularly like the shadow in the lower right, which is my house. 

Seldom Seen Ridge

Seldom Seen Ridge

12" x 12" oil on board

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I had a day and night by myself at the cabin in McDowell, VA before my friends met me the next morning. It was glorious - I spent the day hiking around and painting. This is the second painting I completed.  I'm still working on the other one but it should be up soon.  

I painted the first draft of this as the sun was setting behind me to the left, and I had to quit before it got too dark. It was also the first really cold weather of the year and even though I was painting next to the fire and warming myself with bourbon, it was still damn cold. 

The bourbon also tricked me into thinking the painting was finished, which led me to post it, prematurely, on Instagram.  I took it down a couple of days later after I realized it needed some touching up.  I've also had Jon Redmond's voice in my head, telling me to "finish" my paintings and make them more interesting, so I spent quite a bit of time on this at home.  Of course, I forgot to take a reference photo, so I had to build on the colors that were there and do a lot of things by feel. I even pulled up the location on Google Earth to see if the shadows were created by ridges or clouds - I thought they were ridges, and they were.  Here's the fire I painted beside and I posted the original just because.  Painting by the fire with a cup of Knob Creek might be the ultimate freedom.  

Backyard Snow

 

Backyard Snow

6" x 6" oil on board

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I have three paintings currently in progress.  Despite completing this painting in one sitting on the sun porch yesterday, I'm trying to spend a little more time "finishing" my paintings: adding some washes or glazes, thinking of more interesting ways to say things, etc., which was the advice I received from Jon Redmond.  It's a bit of a quandary for me, though, because pleinair is my favorite way to paint. And when I paint outdoors, I feel like it's a snapshot or memento of a particular place and time and to go home and mess with that takes away some of the freshness of the moment and somehow detracts from the freedom I felt in the moment, although I'm sure no one cares about that.  Not to mention the fact that the more I fiddle with paintings, the worse I usually make them. So, I'm trying to find a balance, and I'm still getting the hang of some new techniques.  One new technique or tool that I feel has added another dimension to my paintings is using a scraper tool or paint squeegee.  That's what I used to create the highest value parts of this painting - I just scraped away the paint down to the toned board and voila, sled tracks/footprints. I also used it to create the little highlights at the top of the painting. Almost all of my recent paintings have felt like a step forward, and I have more ideas than I have time for, so that's a good thing.