Road Trip?

The new museum of American Art that just opened a few months ago, Crystal Bridges, looks like it will warrant a road trip. Here is the New York Times article on this new museum. I think the road trip must wait until the pools are running with water but other than that, I am ready!

The Alley Reflected

Reflected Alley, 36x24, oil on linen

Here is a new alley in the continuing alley series I have been working on for the past 2 years. I am not tired of alleys yet (although you all may be) as there is so much to discover. I keep thinking I should move out of my neighborhood, but each time I think that I find another scene worth doing. It sure is easy when you can paint a scene so close to home. If I get stuck, I can walk back over and just check it out. This one presented me with a few questions that I needed to venture out to solve but overall it was fun. I can't wait to find out how many people tell me this is just like the alley where they grew up!

Burghausen Again

Burghausen Castle, 20x30, oil on linen

I discovered a funny thing while painting this piece. We were in Germany in December 2003 so I was still using film cameras at that time. I used Seattle Film to develop my negatives, and with that they offered digital images as well that they kept in albums online. So I went to the website (now owned by Shutterfly) to download the digital image so I could work from the computer. On screen there was this odd green light in the sky which is barely visible in the bottom photo and a bit more in the top photo, going across the sky about midway. In person, this green really drew the eye to it. I was trying to explain this to someone at work, as I do take paintings to work to see them from a different point of view. I sent the digital photo to my work computer to show her, but the green did not show up on my screen at work. Go figure. So I then dug around in my photo albums and found the print. The green light was not in the printed version either. But what I did discover is that the print (4x6) showed way more detail than the digital image. So from the original photo of Burghausen that I posted a month ago, I went about adding the details that were lost to me on the screen. I made the wooden covered stair way more interesting and not so flat by suggesting the boards; I discovered window boxes under the windows; and a red door in the shadows under the walkway. I had put a door there anyway but now I knew there was one and that it was red. The dark blue window bothered me so I lightened them all up a bit. I also decided to put more detail into the whole wall and lightened the tree somewhat so it wasn't quite so dark.

Denver Street in Winter

6x6, oil on canvas panel

Here is the second painting I did thinking I would submit to a juried show where all paintings had to be 6x6. It is a challenge for me trying to keep all the values so close to give the effect of a snowy gray day. So typical in my neighborhood to have only one set of tracks down the street but I must have been in my car as there aren't any traffic lights where I normally walk the dog.