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.