Lake Catamount Ranch Barns

Lake Catamount, Pleasant Valley, Steamboat Springs - 14x11

It has been a busy summer for me this year so easel time has been few and far between. This is the last painting to post from Destination Steamboat Springs. It seems a long time but it has only been a month ago now that I spent a week with Plein Air Artists of Colorado painting in and around Steamboat. These buildings were on a private gated community. They have all been beautifully restored and/or maintained. The cabin that goes with these barns is beautiful inside and the people who live in this community can use it for entertaining or events. One of the PAAC hostesses for the Steamboat paint out had permission for us to paint in this private reserve for the day.

I was here in the afternoon only. It was an afternoon where the sun played peak-a-boo that ended in rained. I opted to originally paint it local tone, or flat. But once I got it home I was not that happy with the flatness so I turned it into light and shadow. Hence the wait for it to be posted.

The cabin's dining room set up for a dinner party

Save the Date!

PAAC Annual Juried Show
The annual Plein Air Artists of Colorado juried show will open Friday, September 8, 2017 at the Mary Williams Fine Arts in Boulder CO. The Gallery is located at 5311 Western Avenue, Suite 112, 80301. The phone number is 303-938-1588. I have two paintings juried into this show from my joining the group again this past January. I had taken a long hiatus from painting plein air with PAAC but I am happy to be back at it and then getting two paintings accepted. The show will be up through the first week of October so come on down and check it out. Although the majority of work will represent the fine state of Colorado, know that there will be work from other states as well. You do not have to live in Colorado to be a member!
One of the pieces juried in I painted on a lovely day in March at Wynetka Park.

Hope to see you at the opening! Next year I heard that the annual PAAC show will be in Durango in conjunction with the annual Destination Paintout. I think that will be a blast!

Yesterday I had the pleasure of assisting in unwrapping the works that have been shipped to the gallery...the preview shows some real winners...

Destination Steamboat Springs

Last Tuesday I drove up to Steamboat Springs for the annual destination paint out put on by the Plein Air Artists of Colorado (PAAC). The event started with a welcome dinner that evening. It is hard to talk to many people when you are so many seated at a long table, but it is always fun to sit with people you don't know. At least half of those artists that evening I had never seen or met before. Who knew my dining partner that evening would be the husband of a fellow artist from the Springs. A Methodist minister to boot! Now that was fun! I love to talk religion and politics at dinner...really.

Wednesday was the start of the scheduled events and we had permission to go onto a private development and club house in Pleasant Valley to paint for the day. I chose to paint in the morning along the main road on the way to the Club. Here is painting number one:

Stables and Barn, 9x12, oil on panel

I was so happy that I got one done and under my belt I was ready to go and try another for the afternoon. I am saving that for another time.

Thursday I went out on my own as I was less than thrilled with that days painting location. The artists that did stay and paint aspens turned out some nice work, but I was so taken with the vistas of the Yampa Valley that painting in a densely treed location was not going to work. In this next painting I was specifically looking for color and patterns and playing with the cutaways shapes. I have thoughts of playing around with this more but for right now I am letting it sit. I was standing in the shadows of a big display board for the areas recreation of fly fishing and biking. This parking lot was very active for bikers and so I was never alone, so to speak. I met one fly fisherman whom I went down to the river to talk to after I was finished for the day. You meet such interesting people when you paint outdoors. Most are interested and curious in what you are doing.

the Cutaway, 12x24, oil on linen

Friday found me back on road 131 not far from the stables and barn above. That road was so scenic it was hard to not stop and at least take photos the whole length of it. The problem for the most part is having a place to pull over and paint. Two of us set up to paint hay bales and before we knew it, we were joined by 4 more artists. Here are a few of my painting buddies:

and my hay bale painting:

Hay Bale  Harvest, 9x12, oil

A number of cars actually stopped and came by to see what we were doing and the truckers honked their appreciation as they flew on down the road. It really is a kick to be outside painting.

As I am not used to standing out in the sun and the wind and the rain days in a row, I headed home on our last day instead of painting. It was another private ranch we were allowed access to in the Mt Zirkle wilderness area so I am sure it was fabulous. I heard tell that next years' paint out will be in Durango. I had not been on a destination paint out in years. I had forgotten what a blast it can be and so good to reconnect with your buddies you don't see unless you participate in the weekly calendar paint outs. Note to self...get your gear and get out doors!

The Road Home - CR 519

The Road Home-CR 519, 9x12, oil on panel

Last week was spent up in Fraser, CO. A dear friend of mine offered me his home while he and his wife attended a conference. It was rather last minute, but who can resist a place to stay at the peak of wildflower season? With the added bonus of cooler temperatures and the home in question being brand new with a view over the valley below it?

For whatever reason, roads still attract me as subject matter, so here is the straight and narrow, well graded road off which I stayed. I painted this scene last fall after my last stay up at this house, but in that painting played it a bit more abstractly. In case you missed that post, here is the painting as comparison from a slightly different angle.

I wish I could say I painted this plein air, but alas, no. I had ventured out to paint the wildflowers but realized rather quickly that without bug spray this was a losing proposition. I came home with a number of mosquito and horse fly bites and no painting to show for it. In a few weeks I will join PAAC for their annual paint out trip which this year is in Steamboat Springs. I have already made sure bug spray is included. I will also try a homemade chemical free recipe I found on Facebook but will take the chemical weapons as back up. I do not like being eaten alive.

Winter Still Life -revisited

Winter Still Life, 16x20, oil on panel

This painting below that was posted this past winter needed to be reworked. I did this painting from an old slide I found from decades ago. I always liked this image so I was happy to find it after years of being packed away in the basement.

I wanted to put it in so you can see the difference as I explain what I did. the most obvious is that I lightened up (or added atmosphere to) the trees across the way. then I added more color and warmth to the overall painting. More reflected light gave the overall structure less heaviness and the birds now are more interesting.

Here is an interesting note. In my spring cleaning I came across a photo I had had made from the slide. I had forgotten all about it, but then remembered having framed it to hang on my wall. The photo was much better visually but it was also a mirror image to that of the slide! So though I had this improved image, I had to switch it visually from the photo to the painting. A mind bender to be sure.

Let me know your thoughts.

Racked Sea Kayaks

Racked, 20x30, oil on linen

Here is a painting recently uncovered in my basement as I continue to cull through my life's work. It is not that old in the scope of things and for some reason I did not give much credence to it when I painted it. But now, looking at it, I am trying to figure out what it was that made me dismiss it out of hand. I showed it to a few people yesterday to see what they thought and it met with very positive responses. Who knew? Just goes to show we can be our own worst enemies. I have not shown this painting since I painted it and now it is up and on display at Gallery 1505 on South Pearl Street. It is very different subject matter for me. But here is why I was attracted to consider painting kayaks.

Italy's Adriatic coast was on my agenda when I went to Italy 4 years ago after not having been there in decades. We were in Venice and I wanted to go to the beach to give myself a few days away from the crowds of tourists that we were a part of in Paris, Venice and next, Rome. I was interested in Ravenna, the mosaic capital of the world, which is a 3 hour train ride south of Venice. We stopped there for a night and then down to Pescara from there. Pescara is a very popular beach resort area in the summer, but we were there in October so the season was over. The weather was still warm enough to walk the surf, if not swim. I walked that beach each morning and evening. The locals are bundled up in coats and us foreigners in t-shirts. I consider mid-70's perfect! I saw these sea kayaks on one of long walks (the coast line extends 12 miles at this particular area) and saw great abstract patterns. There were a number of these racks lined up but I liked that this particular rack had the cabanas behind them adding to the pattern and throwing in that yellow.

A side note; in hind sight, this stop to decompress was pure genius. When we arrived in Rome, not only was it the day of the Rome Marathon, but it was also a day the Pope beatified 13 saints from around the world and there were pilgrims from every corner of the globe that day!! Took us over an hour from the train station to our lodgings by the Vatican because the roads were blocked for the marathon and then the papal dismissal came as we were trying to get to where we were staying. Just goes to show, check out what is happening in the big cities when planning your itinerary especially when going to Rome! Lesson learned.

From Here to Eternity II

From Here to Eternity II, 12x24, oil on linen panel

As a movie I was watching was beginning recently, I noticed the beautiful abstract landscapes of the intro with the credits. The images were so abstract that they did not at first read as a real place in any landscape. I had to go back a number of times to really note what these photographs were saying. They so impressed me I decided to translate them in my own way. Here is the first of these images that so captured my imagination. I call it From Here to Eternity II for, I think, obvious reasons. The road is straight for miles without end. The film took place in Australia. The II is because I named another painting recently the same title, also of a road. In the blogpost it did not have that title yet.

It is a good vehicle for me to keep things simple; to try and add visual interest to very basic shapes.

I think it does beg the viewer to ask themselves some questions. For me, I was thinking about the road I am on. It isn't really as straight and narrow as I would like. In fact, the next painting from this movie inspiration is more like the road I believe I am on which is full of circles which I hope I can break out of soon to get on this road in the twilight of my life. Much calmer and straight forward.