5" x 7" oil on board
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.
8" x 8" oil on board
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.
6" x 6" oil on board
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.
8" x 10" oil on board
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
9" x 11" Oil on Board
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.
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8" x 10" oil on board
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...
12" x 12" oil on board - Sold
The native plant garden in my backyard - still mostly green. The kids were watching Raya and the Last Dragon, so I had two hours. I got it done in about ninety minutes...It was cloudy, so the light stayed pretty consistent, but it was still bright - good painting conditions. Another summer vacation begins.
5" x 7" oil on board
Could not get a good photo of this one. It looks less terrible in person.
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6" x 6" oil on board
My five year old daughter, Camlin, joined me for today's plein air excursion. We hiked in (1/2 mile), carrying our supplies. Camlin toting my portable paint storage bin, stopping several times to rest...
Let's just say that my expectations are too high, both for a five year old on a plein air excursion and for myself with a five year old on a plein air excursion.
She was very patient with me, though 😊 and somehow I scratched out what I think is the best of the three paintings I've done of this tree. A great day.
4" x 6" oil on board
I know a lot of people would look at this painting and assume it was done by a five year old. But it's actually of my favorite paintings of the year. And in contrast to yesterday's painting, it was much more enjoyable to make.
When I'm starting a painting, I tell myself I'm going to put down a stroke and leave it. I'm going to use thick paint and I'm going to quit while I'm ahead. I rarely ever do what I tell myself to do. With this one, however, I did.
The purpose of painting, in my mind, is to pass along a particular moment in time and the feelings I felt in that moment. When painting from photos, I feel like that job is much more difficult for a number of reasons, including the fact that you're compensating for the camera's deficiencies, the least of which is its inability to accurately capture light and shadow. As a result, I have come to dislike painting from photos.
This painting was done in the moment. It took less than 30 minutes. I used thick paint, put down a stroke, left it, and quit before I screwed it up. I wish all paintings were this enjoyable!
8" x 10" oil on board
It's getting harder and harder to find a few hours to paint. And I feel more and more guilty for sticking my wife with the kids while I do it. This might have been better, but it was rushed and I was distracted.
