Road back in Time

The Road to Mandrakia, 24x36, oil on linen SOLD

I have been working on 5 larger paintings simultaneously these past several months, and possible as long as a year! Finally, one of them I am considering done. It has been a long haul. I am going to justify the length of time it has taken me because it isn't that I am a slow painter. The weather here has alternated between gray and rainy and very hot and sunny. Since I prefer to paint without artificial light in my studio, the gray days make it hard to do anything but start a new painting. The hot days drain me, as my studio is on the second floor and I do not have A/C. I do have a ceiling fan, and for the most part that does the job. Yet when it is close to 100 outside, that isn't enough. The difference is temperature when it goes from 60 and rainy to almost a 100 with no segue or steps in raise or lowering in temperature does something to the body, or at least it does to mine. Now that I have justified myself to myself, saying I am not lazy (well maybe just a bit) I will get on with this painting and why I wanted to paint it.

Five years ago I was invited to join my sister-in-law on the island of Milos in the Aegean Sea. This is the road to one of the many little spits of land that jut out around the island. Some have houses, some do not. This particular cove is famous for its Syrmata, or boat garages, which I tried not to highlight, as this painting/ story is not about them. For me it was about the road to the sea. Mandrakia is a little village down on the spit of land, even having its own little church. There is also a Taverna...naturally! The water there is so amazing. Changing colors while you watch. Each little cove or inlet has a unique feel to the water and the beach. I had never experienced anything like it before. In the intervening five years it has experienced much growth as it has been 'discovered' - I have been told there are now more houses in this view than when I was there and took this photograph.

I really got into the rhythms and pattern of the surrounding landscape while doing this painting. The land goes up and down and winds around. I hope you can follow the road that winds to the right and then again to the right by the little memorial then finally to the left and Mandrakia. It is a place special to my heart. I was there in April, and hope to go back this October if all goes accordingly. 

Painting in the Garden - Always an Adventure

Yesterday was a beautiful day. We have had smoke from the fires in Alberta Canada since last week creating a very gray environment. Finally, the air was clear and the temperature was perfect. The iris in my garden have not looked this good in years. In Denver, the weather conditions definitely determine what the garden is going to look like, or not, in any given year. I have not been outside painting, with the exceptions of my field sketches, yet this spring. And here it is almost June! 

All is going well for awhile until about an hour into it. I am enjoying being outside and in the flow. The occasional distraction of my puppy charging the fence barking as people and dogs walk by. THEN, a house a block away and down the street, which has been under construction for the past two years, started using a high power washer to wash the new black brick that this compound was built with. You think, down the street a block, what is the problem? It is the short block, and it is a busy street that slopes up to my house. So this street acts like a megaphone into my property when there is noise going on there. Another monstrosity, being built two doors down, and called THE PRISON by neighbors on the block, has not been half as disruptive as the one further away. It is like a microclimate situation. Living in a neighborhood that has been under constant construction the past 6 years, you would think I would be immune to the noise by now. It is not so. I don't think myself a sensitive type, but I am becoming very reactive to it, which serves no purpose, yet drills into the brain and psyche nonetheless. I had to quit working on the painting, thinking I would set up again today and finish what I could before my afternoon appointment. 

No. This painting was not destined to be completed outside. At 4 PM a wicked fast and furious hail storm blew through decimating my iris, among many other plants. Shockingly, the Particular stems I picked were the least damaged. I believe because the tree above provided some shelter. Iris in other parts of the garden were not so lucky. The good news is, that the buds withstood the assault, so not all is lost.

As of yesterday, not finished

Iris before I started

Noon light is bluer

Iris after the hail-could be worse! Morning light is red!

In the two photos of the iris, you can see part of THE PRISON. Thankfully, that piece of work is finished.

Before and After, Debbie's Place

Debbie's Place, Hopland CA, oil, 11x14

This painting was started as a plein air painting in 2007. Debbie was a neighbor of my in-laws up the road in rural Hopland CA. I regularly brought my plein air gear when visiting and did many paintings over the years of this area. Debbie raised these sheep for their wool which she sold to weavers all over the country. I have sold many paintings of her sheep! This was one of my more adventurous paintings from that time period. My vantage point is looking down the hill from behind the fence, standing on the side of the dirt road that is basically one lane. Traffic was not usually a problem.

I recently reworked it yet again as I can't seem to get it where I want it. I think it is as good as it is going to get. When I can't get motivated to paint on the current round of canvas's I have going, revisiting an unsold painting is an easy way to get me interested. Nothing is ever finished around here until it goes out the door! There is a wedding in the family coming up and I was wondering if I should do a new painting for the happy couple or one that the bride would relate to from her childhood. That was the motivation on picking this particular piece to revisit. Some of the photos below are darker than the painting would have been due to the changing digital photo technology but they are not tampered with.

Original, plein air, 2007

First Revision, 2008, looks like a yellow filter! but not

It looks like I corrected some of the drawing on the sheep's shed and took out the blues and dark greens from the grassy hill. I wonder if that was shadows from the trees originally as the roadway was bordered by trees? It is too long ago now for me to know what is was that I was doing as the photo I took has the hillside in sun.

Second Revision, 2011

I have not included the 3rd or was it the 4th revision as it is very similar to the second except I added the dark sheep in the middle ground in the middle. The original plein air is not as bad as I expected it to be, but then, I have a history of not liking what I do on site and can't keep my hands off of it. Either I wipe it off then and there or I keep finding fault in it. I have gotten better about these high expectations over the years, but I don't paint outdoors as much and I have learned the hard way that they are not normally as bad as I think they are if I let them sit for awhile. Those painting that do end up being as bad as I thought, I have been painting over, which I enjoy doing.

Sunset over the Mesa

 

Sunset Over the Mesa, 18x24, oil available

 

On the last evening of my visit to Arizona in April, my friend Debbie and I took our gear to the high school parking lot in Cottonwood to paint the sunset. Instead of painting, as it took its own sweet time to show up, we sat and talked and watched the sky. Never did set up to paint. But the sunset did not disappoint once it came on. I was content with taking photos. If we had tried to get our paint mixed to be ready, I would not have come up with this color scheme based on what came before it. Nature works on its own time and in its own way. Stunning in its variety!

I took a road trip to Arizona staying mostly in Cottonwood. We did go out and paint most days, and it was good to get out in a totally new environment. I did do one painting of the red rocks that surround this area (just south of Sedona) as much as I didn't want to paint red rocks. It is the best of the paintings I did, in my opinion. Of course it fell face down as I was trying to balance everything not having a carrying case with me. None of the paintings are anything to write home about which is why I haven't posted them. Nevertheless, I enjoyed being outside painting, something I don't do enough of anymore.

Cathedral Rising

 

Cathedral Rising, 18x36, oil Available-contact me

This one has been a long time in the making. It is hard for me to fathom that I have been working on this painting for 2 years!! I just could not make it work for me despite many friends and family telling me it was fine. One would not think such a 'simple' scene would be so hard for me to get right. It is because it is so straight forward that I felt it had to be a certain way. Can't tell you how I studied snow, and the light on the snow at a certain time of day. No two days are the same conditions but to get a feel for it. I still did not delineate details, going for an overall sense of a bright, yet crisp winter morning.

I clearly remember this morning. My walking buddy and I were at Washington Park in Denver bright and early. It was one of those crisp but beautiful blue sky winter day. As the sun was rising. Hardly any one else at the park. It was magical. We walk the park every day, most always in the early morning. I know this park so well, yet some days it takes your breath away. 

Morning Glory - EAST

 

Morning Glory-East, 24"x24" oil - available - please contact me

 

Here is another one I started over a year ago. I think I have determined I really don't like this canvas, that I once thought I did. I have a hard time taking good photos of any paintings I do using this substrate. That alone is not the problem, as it just reveals things to me I don't want to see, which is a good thing overall. I just don't like how the paint works on this slick linen. I am currently working over an old painting on cotton and on a board substrate and those paintings are coming along swimmingly. 

As I was raising the blinds in my bedroom one November morning this scene was a beautiful reminder of how unique each sun rise is. I ran to get my phone and then ran out to the back deck, and thankfully, the sky was still spectacular. This is looking East on Iowa Street towards Downing St. That is my garage in the lower right hand corner. When I was working and had a dog that needed to be walked prior to going to work at 7 a.m. I saw the sunrise way more than I do today as a retired and a dog-less individual. So I am far more moved by them now that I see them less often, and I have always been in awe of the beauty of nature.

I painted the whole street scene trying to keep it within a certain value group; enough variety to know what it is and differentiate between the houses, but still reading overall as a whole. The lighter values help you move within this larger dark shape. but not enough to take away from the sunrise. Hopefully, they compliment each other.

Lone Tree

 

Lone Tree, 14x11, oil

I needed something fun and simple to work on and so I went browsing through my phone to see if I could find anything on it that fit the bill. I came across this lone bare tree taken in the Fall of 2016 in Sedalia Colorado. It was exactly what I needed. I picked up a plein air painting I had done in the fall of the Boat House at Washington Park which was no great shakes, turned it on its side, and went to work. I let some of the color come through from the boat house painting which can be very difficult for me to do. There was more I wanted to do in this painting initially, but this is one time I actually stopped myself before going any further to leave more of the under painting elements come through and add to the interest.

The story behind the tree. I was in Sedalia for a 2 day silent retreat. My first time doing a silent retreat. I knew no one else there and we were not to talk to anyone outside of our group meet ups a couple of times per day. I went wandering around the vast property there as I meditated. I was going through divorce and I think this tree captured how I felt. Alone, bare, stripped down to the bare skeleton. A time for reflection and rebirth. Solid, buffeted by the winds, yet still standing.  Maybe this is why I was able to stop before I normally would. To remind myself that I am still a work in progress - that some of the old is still showing through but that is what brought me to where I am today.

The wee Western Grebe

 

Western Grebe, 12x16, oil

This juvenile Western Grebe was seen in Washington Park here in Denver where we often see birds stopping by on their migratory journey. It is rare to see a grebe, though, so it was a day to note. I took a number of photos before this was immediately 'the one' to render in paint. The patterns in the reflection reminded me of  a tapestry or damask fabric. Verifying that it was a Western grebe took me some time before I stumbled on a photo of a juvenile. Then it was Bingo! I knew the beak was right, not that I am a birder.

 

I started off painting over an ugly snow scene I had done a few years back from my office window on Lowry. Not a beautiful view, but it was 'my' view. I started out figuring out where I wanted the bird, and since I wanted the bird to stand out I flipped the painting upside down so I could keep my eye on it while developing the water around it. . Then started to indicate the movement. This next image was taken under lights in the evening hence the different lighting, but I am using it to show how I started to build up the water thinking in shapes and leaving negative space. It might have been easier to paint the water a solid color and then add the reflection but this is how I see: very abstractly with shapes and negative space.

I was thinking of a title using a tapestry term as the water does have a somewhat damask feel to it. Yet nothing is sounding good to me. If you have any ideas for a title besides my uninspiring Western Grebe, I would love to hear it! Many thanks.

Plein Air - oh how I miss you

Last week I went up to Evergreen Colorado to paint with some mountain artist friends. It was a glorious fall day. We were fortunate enough to have access to a private retreat location that was previously a camp for girls. Bear Creek ran through the property, it was well kept and just an amazing spot to have all to ourselves (with the exception of one lone workman). My first one was done from one of the bridges crossing Bear Creek. We are not talking high art here, but rather a study. The bridge was concrete and I can only stand on concrete for so long so I whipped this thing out concentrating on large shapes of color and hoping to get a bit of the movement of light and water. I had found this masonite panel laying around the day before so I quickly gessoed it to take along with me. It has been a long time since I painted on masonite and even with gesso it was a slick and slippery surface. Always fun to have extra challenges along with painting outdoors. The paint just did not want to stick to the surface. A bad brush contributed to the struggle.

Upper Bear Creek, oil, 8x12

This second one (and of the 4 of us I was the only one to do 2, telling you how fast I did the above study) I found a chair so was able to take a load off my legs and sit in the shade. There was this long out building that was full of fun shapes the whole length of it which I may someday play with in its entirety. I chose to crop this bit off for a myriad of reasons. Of course I loved the truck door leaning against the wall as well as the pink doormat to go with it. That it is a Wash House only added to it and of course the diagonal ladder and the yellow whatever it is diagonal was an extra treat.

Wash House, 9x12, oil on panel

Being Catholic I love the idea of this retreat house. It is a perfect place to go and be with God in all his handiwork. Peaceful with one way in and one way out. Come on your horse, there is a hitching post. We were allowed access to all the buildings  with the one caveat to be sure all doors were closed! Oh my. To paint outdoors and have toilets and running water is always a bonus. The Lodge is beautifully furnished and includes a game room. I could not interest anyone in a game of fuss ball much to my chagrin. I do hope to get a chance to go back there, sooner than later. Already have my spots picked out. Another reminder to get my butt in gear and paint outdoors more often.

Conglomerate

Today I am playing a bit of catch up. First, here is a photo from the August First Friday pop up show that I participated in with Cherry Creek Art Gallery.

Thanks to Larry Pritchard for this photo

This is me and my wall. We each had a section of wall and a post. As the sun set the lack of lighting became a problem as evidenced by the spotlight on the floor only shining on the bottom section of the wall. Still, there was a constant stream of people coming in for a solid 4 hours and I talked to a lot of people. I was fortunate enough to be closest to the windows on this side of the space so had more light than most. We picked our 'spot' by pulling a number out of a bag. There were 15 artists participating in this one night art show.

study in apple green, 6x6, oil on panel

Here is a little study I did this past week of this little apple I found on the ground while walking my dog in the neighborhood. It must have just fallen as it was still looking so perky. I set it up on the ledge of my easel for a study in apple green. We were hit with such hail this year that very few fruit trees in our area have any fruit on them so this was somewhat of a surprise to find.

And then shockingly, I went out to paint plain air last Friday. I really cannot remember the last time I did that. I went up to Evergreen and 3 of us painted this little cabin. It was a beautiful day. I did this profile facing North, Betsy painted it facing almost due East (ie the front porch) and Debbie was facing south, so on the other side of the cabin.

Here is my first sketch of the cabin. I painted it over another landscape (maybe from the last time I painted outdoors) of a tree with fall foliage. I turned the old painting on its side so the cabin is over the orange and golds of the tree. I was told to stop right here so I did.

This is my second sketch, again painted over another, much older plain air painting of church spires and a one way street sign. By this time the sun was getting to me so you can see, the cabin has lost some width! Both of the boards are the same size, 11x14.

Lenten Rose

Lenten Rose, 9x12, oil on linen panel

Here is a painting I started this past spring. The other name for these perennials is Hellebore. They reside in my garden and they are a great flower for low light areas. These are on the north side of my house next to the sidewalk. They have great leaves that grow larger as the flowers fade. But as you can see, they do get some sun in the middle of the day. I did this painting for a friend of mine for her birthday. I will be celebrating it with her for the first time in too many decades to count. We went to Jr HS together in Munich, Germany and have been in contact all these years as we live in different parts of the US. I know she likes flowers and I do hope this will fit in the new house she just moved in to after selling the family home.

Lenten Rose in the beginning

She reads my blog so I am scheduling this post on her birthday.

Then and Now

An acquaintance/collector contacted me today. Here is what her email said:

I haven't seen you in a long while but did want to let you know how much I am So So ...enjoying your partings in my home on - going - ly!  I just moved one from downstairs upstairs to my office to so that I can look at it as I work at my desk.  I thought of you and how much I wanted to let you know.  Much love to you and our old investment group too!... Love... M

I have attached a photo of the one I look at now everyday in a new way...

Painting Along Cherry Creek, oil

I looked in my art files to see if I could find the images for this painting and its name. I could not! It is from before the age of digital photography! Oh My. It is my only palette knife painting and painted plein air back in the day when I was just starting to paint outdoors. It is very gratifying to know that it is still being enjoyed after all these years.

Spring Reflected, 36x24, oil on linen

And here is a painting I just sold to someone who found me via Nextdoor! One never knows how you will be found. I had responded to someone months ago who was looking for local art to furnish their office. I was never contacted from that post. Last week I had a private message from new neighbors looking for local art to hang in their new home who had seen my response. They are so happy with their new painting and it just so happens to be of their alley! Isn't it amazing how things work out? 

Have a Seat - View of the Aegean Sea

Have a Seat, 12x16, oil on panel   available

A few months ago I posted a painting of the Path less Taken. I mentioned in that post that my son suggested I do a companion piece so that we could all see what was at the end of the path and I included the block in of the new painting. I personally like the idea of the path leads where each individual decides what they want to see at the end of the path, but like so many mothers, I aim to please. So here is the scene where that path led. It is on the island of Milos in the Aegean Sea. The ice plant flowers were supersized adding a wonderful splash of bold color here and there.

New Years Day-Roxborough

New Year's Day- Roxborough State Park, 16x20, oil on panel

So Here We Go Again. I had just decided to not do anymore 'before and afters' on my blog. Afterall, I consider myself a 'professional.' Professional artists don't make mistakes of such an egregious nature. Of do they? I know this artist does.

2 or 3 years ago version

But then last night I had a call from a dear friend of mine. She is also an artist and I value her input and her eye. As we were talking she mentioned how helpful she found my 'before and after' posts. That they contain valuable information. Jeez Louise. Now what? I laughingly told her how I had just vowed to do no more of those as I spent the last week or so excitedly redoing paintings I found to be flawed in one way or another. Some of them I wasn't even sure what it was that bothered me but I just knew they were  not for public consumption. I was telling how much fun it was to all of a sudden 'see' with such clarity what was wrong in a number of these 'face to the wall' paintings.

Here is one such failure. The bottom one was done from a photograph (yes, you read that correctly. A 3.4 x 5' photograph to be precise). This scene is from before digital cameras if you can even remember back that far. I came across it as I was culling my old morgue file. Before throwing this photograph away I decided to paint it. From a photograph. Like I used to. How we did that is so hard to fathom these days.

Let me start with the fact that the shadows are not united in form. Add to that the fact that the grasses are so bright against the purple and are not reading as they should; that some of those plants are in fact, in the shadows. If I remember correctly, I was in a hurry when I painted the original. Looking back I do see that the photograph is brighter like the original version is. So at least I got that right. That dark bullseye purple shadow in the middle did nothing but detract from the whole, drawing your eye right to it. How did I miss that?

In the new version my first step was to change the sky color. I darkened it down a wee bit in value and put some violet in it. Then on to unite that shadow shape and tone down the purple, adding value and temperature shifts within the shadow. Adding a variety of plants-they are not all grasses! In the plants I added greens and cooler yellows and some deep reds as well as keeping some of the oranges and warmer yellows. I remember that originally I wanted the deer to blend in to the scenery and now on this version I want them to stand out. Even though it is not overall as bright and sunny as the original, I believe the new toned down version reads better overall. And if I did not show the original you would not know the difference. It is always a crap shoot redoing a painting. Always someone who prefers the old vs the new. But though I may still decide to brighten it up and add more warmth to it I am much happier with it now.

The Path Less Taken

I am back! It has been awhile. It isn't that I haven't been painting. It is that I have been unable to believe that anything is finished...is that being stuck? Or is it just that I have been too distracted with other projects that this area of my life has suffered? If I am honest, it is both. It has been a summer of electricians, contractors, energy auditors and getting roommates. In all honesty, that is enough to keep anyone very busy.
Here is a painting I did last week; another one from my series from my trip to Milos, an island in the Aegean where I went this past Spring. This little seaside path to the sea is in Pollonia.

My son said he really liked it but he wants to see where the path leads. So I may just do a companion piece, but my thought is it leads to the sea and we all have our ideas about what that looks like. That being said, I must admit that the Aegean Sea is like no other I have encountered!

For me it is more about the journey than the destination. It is a sunny day with the threat of a cleansing rain, the island is abloom with spring flowers, and the sea beckons.

After adding the photo above, the image seemed too light. Some of that is from the lighting conditions when I took the photo. But it made me think it wasn't dramatic enough. I put the painting back on my easel this morning and redid the sky as I wanted the piece to have real feeling to it. The only other thing I did to it was to redo the dark hedges along the the horizon line. I wanted them to read more of a unit. Other than those changes the rest is the same. The photo below is darker, taken inside at my easel but is truer to the original than the washed out image above.

Looking for a Title, 12x16, oil on linen panel. Available. Contact me for information

After wrapping this up I blocked in the companion piece. It is the same size, same surface but I am going for a more abstracted landscape approach. Let's see if I can pull it off. I am happy with it so far. Here it is:

Roughed in companion piece

A Journey Back in Time

Earlier I had mentioned that I was on a roll and had started all these new pieces. So here is another one of those starts from early January.

Last year about this time, I went through all the old slides my sister had pulled out of our mother's closest when she died 10 years previously. They had been in my basement all these years as I did not quite know what to do with them. Should I just toss or should I take the time to go through them all? Our mother was a traveler and I knew if I took the time to look at what was there I would find some treasures. They were still in the trays from her old slide projector and meticulously documented where they were taken and when.

So, after going through her slides, I also went through MY slide collection. I had quite a collection as well. Once I sorted through both collections, I picked 50 or so to take to Costco and turned into digital images. This is the second image from my mom's slides that I have picked to paint. This one is from France in the mid 60's. She is in the painting with her close French friend, Beatrice at Beatrice's family farm in the countryside outside Orleans, France, where we lived for 5 years. I picked this image to do for a number of reasons. One, it is my mother as I remember her as a preteen. Beatrice was a woman she met at the Franco American Club, a place for women to meet and cross the cultural divide in new friendships formed. Beatrice became part of our family and after we left France and moved to Germany, my mom often went back to visit Beatrice. I know, because I went with her once.

I was asking myself this question the other day? Is it strange to paint from old photos? Are they dated somehow? I am betting this farm house is still standing and hasn't changed all that much. I wish I knew exactly where it was located.

Here is the progression to date:

Peg and Beatrice, 20x30, block in stage

Peg and Beatrice, 20x30, oil, coming together

The slide made digital image is overly purple. I tried putting different filters over it to see what if any improved it or made it more natural looking, but none of them improved it enough for me to want to go that direction. I am enhancing the warm oranges that are already present and graying down the overall purple color. Believe it or not, that is what I have done here and it still appears purple, but I am okay with it.

Block ins!

After a dearth of inspiration, the new year has brought me back to life! It is my favorite part of the whole creative process for me and that is, The Block In phase. In the first week of January I started not one, not two, but FOUR new paintings. It is my habit to have multiple canvas's going at any one time and as it has been so long since I have felt any motivation to work, the ideas kept flowing out of me. I still have 2-3 unfinished pieces from when I left off but I needed a fresh start for the new year. They will find their place in the queue as the spirit moves me. One of them I am thinking will just have to start over a new life just as I am endeavoring to do. I have moved on and it just doesn't work for me anymore.
The first one of the new year is local. Walking Washington Park for the past three decades still brings new things to light. Our winter has been so warm, that fall extended way into December if not early January. I took numerous photos of this one particular view and many of the images clamored to be done until I settled on one that is a challenge for me. It is half graphic and half soft edges. I do not normally share the photograph, but I will this time.

What attracted me to this scene was the symmetry and the very, almost blocky shapes of the houses interspersed with the softening effect of the trees in winter.  But I can also just keep those trees very graphic as well. This stumped me initially, as to what to do, which approach did I want to follow? You will have to stay tuned to discover how the story ends. Here is a foretaste but no necessarily a clue.

Looking for the dark shapes

Working out the rhythms and patterns

In this bottom version I noticed that the cloud in the reflection is a bit too angled, so that will be rectified. A tree does go in front of it but that does not alleviate the need for adjustment. 

Crossroads - in process

Crossroads, 36x48, oil on canvas

I am still working on this painting, the largest to date that I have attempted. This year has been one of great transition and I feel like I have been at the crossroads for quite some time now. Once I pick a direction another crossroads is before me. My 'plan' for this piece is to keep it very abstract. It was also to be another attempt for me to allow the under-painting show through for a layered effect. My intention was to document each layer to track myself. However, as is often the case, once I get working I do not think to stop and take a photo. I am very pleased with the fact I still have some of the original under painting showing through as I fight my tendency to cover it all up with the new layer. The left side is a bit more complete than the right at this juncture.

Here we have my first layer which took on a rainbow theme. IF truth be told, I was cleaning off my palette, but who needs to know that? I still thought it would create a nice color transition going across the canvas. This next image shows my beginnings of blocking in and placement of the crossroads. How high, how wide, how thick, how thin. You would not think something so simple would require much thought, but as I work on this piece, it has a mind of its own and I find myself going in directions I had not initially even considered. It has been a wonderful journey thus far despite many roadblocks. One of self-discovery. A road trip without ever getting into the car...

As I write this, it is drawing me back and into it.

The Cutaway - Quilted landscape

The Cutaway, 12x24, oil on linen panel Original as painted plein air

I knew when I painted this that it was not done. I was wanting to play around with exaggerating the lines and colors of the landscape with the intention to add subtlety and cohesion later.  I have been working on it in bits and pieces the past few weeks adding texture and unifying big shapes. Leaving some of the underlying colors to come through. Let's see how I did on that. Below is the 'finished' painting.

The Cutaway, 12x24, oil on linen panel

I realized this is not a normal thing to paint. For some reason I am drawn to cutaways and how roads intersect the flow of the landscape. I love the underlying rhythms of the earth and the flora that grows with it. I also prefer to include how man puts his mark on the land. The parking lot where I stood to paint this was very busy with bikers. This road seems to be a destination to go riding along for the locals and visitors alike. It had the added benefit of a port-a-potty which is a must have for artists and bikers alike!

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!