River Copse

 

River Copse 

8" x 10" oil on board

Inquire by email

Today was not exactly a pretty day, as you can see from the sky in the photo below - and maybe from the painting...But, an overcast sky actually makes for less challenging painting conditions, even if it's not as colorful as a sunny day. It's less challenging because the light and shadows don't seem to change as quickly when the sun is blocked by clouds. The last three days have also been 100 degrees +, so upper 80's and overcast felt like a spring day. Still, painting on a rock in the middle of the Potomac River is not without its challenges.

One challenge faced was that my normal put-in at Violet's Lock, which lets me launch below the broken down dam, just upstream from the copse pictured in this painting, was blocked by a massive deadfall. This meant that the first thing I did this morning was navigate some fairly challenging rapids with all of my painting and fishing supplies, food, etc., strapped to my kayak. The uncertainty of the route and not knowing extent of the rapids, however, was scarier than reality, and I made it through just fine.  Later in the day, I was sucked into a much larger drop while bouncing around, casting for smallmouth and not paying attention to my route through the boulders. 1.5 feet doesn't sound like much, but when you're caught off guard in an overloaded kayak, it's disconcerting.  I got a little sideways, for sure. 

Fishing may have been more successful than painting today! I caught one decent smallmouth after another with some big boys mixed in - one of the best days of fishing I can remember and an all-around great day. 

 

Crabtree Falls

 

Crabtree Falls

8" x 10" oil on board

Inquire by email

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.  

Dickie Brother's Orchard III

 

Dickie Brother's Orchard III

6" x 6" oil on board

Inquire by email

Just had to satisfy the urge. 

Monocacy Island IV

 

Monocacy Island IV

6" x 6" oil on board

Inquire by email

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

Inquire by email

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. 

Garlic on Blue Napkin

 

Garlic on Blue Napkin

5" x 7" oil on board

Inquire by email

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

Inquire by email

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

Inquire by email

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

Inquire by email

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

Inquire via email

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

Inquire by email

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...