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.  

Historic Sycamores - Harpers Ferry, WV

Historic Sycamores
9" x 12" oil on board


I read that sycamore trees often live up to 250 years, with some living as long as 400-500 years! So I would imagine that the massive sycamores standing in Harpers Ferry National Historical Park stood witness to the battle of Harpers Ferry, which took place in 1852. That blows my mind. It was fun painting them.

Autumn Begins

Autumn Begins

Oil on two, 8" x 8" cradled hardboard panels

$175 plus shipping

I should have taken a profile picture to show the edges of the hardboard panels.  They are 3/4" deep with finished edges, so you don't even have to frame these if you don't want to.  They look really nice. It was such a pain in the ass to arrange these side by side in the blog editor that I was afraid to add another photo.  

The location is the George Washington National Forest right on the border or possibly in West Virginia - the Tibbet Knob hike.  This was a tough subject, but I like the way it turned out and, as usual, they look better in person.  

Here's a closeup of the brushwork:

'Heads Above Water'

16" x 20" Oil on panel
Sold

This is Harper's Ferry, West Virginia.  I guess it was around 3pm, but the sun was already going down on the town because of the steep hills to the south and west.   I tried to exaggerate the contrast of the cool shadows on the street and storefronts against the warm sun on the rooftops still peeking out.

In other news...My show at the Marriott landed another exhibit opportunity in Poolesville, MD at the "Connection Cafe."  Poolesville is a little bit out there, but it's a great opportunity to showcase my work and it sounds as though I can hang as many pieces as I want between January and March, 2011.   Thanks for the opportunity!

Between work and traveling EVERY SINGLE weekend I haven't had time to paint as much.  I do have a few things laying around that I need to post, but my plan, if I get some time over the holidays, is to work on a series of semi-abstract paintings with actual color schemes based on some images from Washington, DC.  I'm hoping at least one of them will be quite large in size...So look out!

'Bridge to Harpers Ferry'

11" X 14" Oil on Panel
$125

I was going for a washed out look and I think I accomplished that.  I also like the light on  the side of the faces...The figures are pretty impressionistic, but you might recognize a couple of them if you look closely.

I ran into an unexpected problem last week that I didn't know was possible...Two people bought the same painting!  In the past, PayPal has sent me a notice when someone purchased a painting, but in this case it did not and same painting was purchased twice. So, if you want to buy something and there is a "buy now" button beneath the painting, just send me an email or make a comment to let me know.  I haven't been using the "buy now" buttons lately because they are a hassle, but  a lot of the older paintings have a "buy now," option.