Castlewood Canyon Parking Lot

The Bird Box, oil on panel, 8x10

My daughter and I had planned to go hiking yesterday at Castlewood Canyon State Park near Franktown. Unfortunately as the time drew near to leave I realized that would not be in the best interest of my knee, which is giving me problems. So she and my husband hiked, and I took my paints along to enjoy being outside on a glorious winter day.

The top one came first. This was not what I had intended when I began. My original idea was to make it more abstract and flat. The textures in the grass got the better of me as the wind kept them moving the whole time I was out there. I see now some things that will be altered from this field sketch such as the dark green at the bottom. That needs to be softened down to be as one with the rest of the field.

Plains Study, oil on panel, 6x8

This second smaller study I was going again for flat color but the undulations of the sky and the fields come through. I hesitated to add the photo with my painting as I see so many accomplished plein air painters do this and their painting looks just like the scene they painted. I can't say the same for me...That field looks mighty monotone and mono color compared to what I 'saw.'

Rooftops -Cesky Krumlov

Cesky Krumlov, 30x40, oil on linen

Last year I saw the photo of this scene posted on FB by my sister-in-law. I Really Wanted to Paint it. But last year, it intimidated me. I downloaded the image (with her permission) and saved it for a later time. In April I decided to go for it. The rooftops are so catawampus who would know but me where it is off and really, in this scene, who cares? Not only did I want to have a few routes through and around this intriguing place but I also wanted to see how many different colored and textured orange roofs I could get out of it. In the end I think I used 3-4 different reds and yellows with blues added where needed. It was a maze to figure out but I did enjoy painting this piece and I learned a lot doing it. I have a few paintings unfinished that I think this piece has given me the information I need to finish them up.

I looked up Cesky Krumlov and it is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. I believe this was shot from the castle overlooking the old town.

This has been a tough painting to photograph. Some of the reds I cannot get the camera to read correctly so I may repaint them to see if that helps.

A Day Remembered...

Out of the Dark and into the Light, 16x10 oil on linen

This is a smaller painting that had me stymied for a number of years. I started it and then let it sit; then I would pull it out, and dabble, and then back away it went. FINALLY, since I am trying to not start too many new paintings right now and just try to salvage what I have laying around that I never finished, I think this one is now done. It looks so simple, so why the struggle? If I tell you, it might bother you too, though now it does not bother me, I don't want to plant those kinds of seeds. If you see something that niggles at you, post a comment. I will let you know. The thought behind it was to do a black and white painting, so, along the lines of dark/light pattern. This one is more local tone with the light and the mediums tying together.

We were spending Christmas in Germany that year, staying at a German farmhouse in Bavaria. We were close to Salzburg, Austria so we drove over on a Sunday to spend the day. I am not sure if it was the gluhwein we drank at the Kristkindl market that may have drained the blood out of our extremities, but it was the coldest day ever. Oh my word. The cold that gets you right through to your bones. We don't get that kind of cold here in Denver. Here is my daughter at the Salzburg castle that overlooks the city. What a view it was and a nice hike to try to warm us 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.

Burghausen Castle

Burghausen Castle, a microcosm view; 20x30", oil on linen

A number of years ago our family spend Christmas in Bavaria. This is one of the castle's we visited and it is a marvel. It is located above the town of Burghausen and serpentine's along the top of the hill. It is the longest castle in Europe. I really am happy with how this painting turned out. I took it to work yesterday and I was pleased with the positive response. It was very well received by all who saw it and went home on a trial basis for the weekend with one of my co-workers!