High Wide and Lonesome moving on

I finally am ready to send this painting in to the juried show, Paint America. Since they only accept 100 paintings into this show, the probability of being accepted is not high, but if I don't try, the answer is surely no. It has been widely exclaimed over by those who have seen it. I have taken it in twice to be critiqued and thus, reworked. I am ready to see the end of it for awhile at this point and I will have just made the deadline for posting in the mail.
The last critique had me lightening and simplifying the road, again.

Saturday in Review

November's assignment was to do a gray harmony, explained in a prior post, but the gist is you have a "mother" color that is a neutral gray color and mix some of this into every color you put on the painting. This painting was successful in that, but the one thing Kevin did say to do was to clarify the darks and don't confuse the surface with breaking it up so much. My "mother" color was a mid-value gray, so my darks didn't stay dark when I added the gray. I brought it home and did the quick fix-its (above).

My pumpkin painting also needed some tweeking, although, again, I got the gray harmony part right. What I failed to do in this one was to have a clear light source. My shadow shape needed to be stronger and united with the shadow side of the pumpkin. I may have made my pumpkin too orange in the rework (below) since I grayed the background and bottle so much more.

New Discovery

Today I was once again trying to photograph some paintings. I tried to use natural north light. Interesting thing happened as you can see in the photo above. The one I was trying to photograph, came out totally washed out; the ones on the other easel in the middle of the room actually look true to color...So, it looks like I need to move the paintings further away from the window rather than closer. Took me long enough.
The paintings on the easel were just painted this weekend. The top one is another attempt at the homework of gray harmony, as is the washed out painting in front. The pear was just something I wanted to do last night after dinner. A 25 minute study.

A Great Fall Day

This morning there was an email with notes on this month's assignment for Kevin's Saturday's class. Since I have taken a few days off from work, I thought I would go ahead and do the assignment to loosen up after 3 days of intense days on the computer. The assignment is to do a color harmony painting using a grayish "mother color." ie every color used must have the "mother" in it as well. At least that is my understanding not having been there for the demo and lecture. I was intrigued. I had set up this "still life" inadvertently - just getting the pumpkin out of my way for another project - and have been looking at it for days thinking what a cool juxtaposition it is. It became my subject for the assignment even though it sounds like photo reference was supposed to be used. I don't know if I did the assignment well (next class is 11-21) but I like it and I think it works. This piece is a 12 x 9 and I did it in about an hour. I may have to do a few more of these...
After lunch, being that it was a beautiful Colorado fall day, I went outside to see what I could see. I set up in the alley by my neighbors fence and faced north. I am pleased with this study, done in just over an hour and 15" on an 11x14 panel. I may use it to do a larger version. What a wonderful day it has been.

Second Place Emerging Artist category

Urban Serenity, 9" x 12" for $400 won second place at the GTMD 3rd Annual Denver Plein Air Event. I painted this at the Urban Roots garden center located at 10th and Acoma in downtown Denver. Thank you to the judges for the event.

2009 Denver Plein Air Exhibition

The GTMD Plein Air Exhibit opens on Tuesday, November 10. To view the invitation, click on the link. This year they are requiring a RSVP so if you are planning on going, just give them a call. I have two pieces in this year and I will be at the reception. Hope to see you there!

Carl W. Peters

A few months ago, while on the Judson Art Outfitters website, I checked out a blog I saw as a link. The entry I happen to remember, was on a forgotten American Impressionist painter, Carl W. Peters. I was so enamored of the photo posted with the article that I ordered the book it came from (by Richard H. Love) through prospector at the Denver Public Library. The book is due back on Saturday so I was busy trying to get through as much as I could this evening. Carl was an amazing plein air painter of NY and the harbors along the upper East Coast. Here are a few images I happened to find online this evening - although not the ones I would have preferred to have found, they still show what I am trying to elucidate. I have been struggling with doing cityscapes, ie buildings, in a manner I find pleasing. He, on the other hand, does an amazing job, while making it look like child's play. Very abstract, but he builds one upon the other in unifying way that is starting to make sense to me. I am inspired to take on my French village with renewed vigor. Kevin had suggested I study Richard Diebenkorn for this painting, but I think Richard and Carl are not unlike each other in approach to this subject. And I did study the Diebenkorn book I have, but I think Carl's work pushed me that much further into understanding. Now if I can come close to what I envision will be the question.