White Pine Sketch

Another tree sketch, I spent the day under the weather and this is the only thing I did today art wise. White Pines are a threatened species of tree as they are vulnerable to beetles and warmer weather.

Tree Sketch - Willow

I have different sketchbooks for different subjects.  I have started one to study trees and different ways to capture their essences.  This is one of the practice sketches as part of the 10,000 hours necessary to master a subject.

Oak Sketch

Tonight's sketch is a little practice sketch of an Oak.  It is more designed than natural observation but it represents the species.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!  Enjoy the day, your family, and all the things you have to be grateful for this day.

Quick Sketch practice - Virginia

This is a quick sketch to practice the techniques of quickly capturing landscapes.  It is rough but does the job.  I don't remember where exactly it was but it is representative of the countryside in Maryland and Virginia in the central to western part of those states.

New Mexico

This is another quick sketch of a New Mexico landscape.  The wife and I spent our honeymoon in the Enchanted State.   It is a state which lives up to its nickname, and has many funny stories of geographically challenged Americans not knowing it is one of the 50 states of America.

Pike's Peak from Garden of the Gods

This is a value study I did while trying to work out a painting of the view from Garden of the Gods looking towards Pike's Peak in Colorado Springs, Colorado.  This is an iconic view and it will make a good painting.

Eastern Shore Fishing Boat

This is a quick sketch of a fishing boat out on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.  I spent part of the day painting but nothing is close enough yet to finishing to post.

Virginia Hill Country

I some times have an idea and I try and work it out in pencil and with chalk on toned paper.  This is from a sketch and photos I took out in Virginia.  I greatly simplfied the tree and will need to change the fence to make it more interesting.  The clouds need to be varied more also.  I did this a few months back, but I could not tell what was bothering me.  So I let it hide for awhile and come back to it.  I will redo this sketch again and improve it.

Franklin Booth - Old School Illustrator - Hand of God

Franklin Booth was a self-taught artist and illustrator from 100 years ago.  He was a master of line.  This is my rendition of his Hand of God, which is subtly hidden near the top of the drawing.  The small airplane is flying above the thunder clouds and probably that pilot needs help from the weather.

Maryland - Eastern Shore study

This is another oil study of the Eastern Shore of Maryland.  This is part of the weekend activities.

Work in Progress - part two

This is another start of another oil painting of fall foliage.  It is a work in progress and something I will loop back to for completing.

Newest study - Maryland Eastern Shore Fall

This is my latest oil study from Maryland's Eastern Shore

Work in Progress - Fall foliage

Oil Painting of fall foliage, or at least the start with basic lay in of colors.  I have not developed my technique enough finish this up in one go.  At least not without screwing it up and turning it to muddy colors.  I will finish it and then post it up.

Gerald Cassidy sketch

This is a sketch I did after a sketch originally done by the artist Gerald Cassidy.  I really like and respect  Cassidy's art, which is mostly New Mexico based art and southwestern.

Trout Steam sketch

More of the evening sketching series.  These are part of the things I do each evening.  It relaxes me and does not expend anything but pencil lead and a little time.

Adobe shed sketch

This is practice sketching and evening activity of an Adobe shed with old wood door.  I did most of it and felt I did the most interesting part.

Canyon de Chelly Sketch

More sketches for sanity and practice.  This is part of my evening relaxing and work on my skills.  Canyon de Chelly is in New Mexico.

Enchanted Mesa - Carl Redin

This is a pencil sketch I did of a Carl Redin's painting of Enchanted Mesa in New Mexico.  These sort of sketches are a good way to develop your understanding of tones and how better artists handle translating nature in to the language of painting.

Another Birthday

Earlier in the month,we had another birthday for my niece, Julia.  She is obsessed with the Minions and I help feed the obsession with these sketch cards.  I did not post this on her actual birthday because I was in the midst of the Red Feather Lake series of posts.  So Happy Birthday Julia.

Peyton and Pippa - the Pugs

These are colored pencil sketches of my sister's Pugs, Peyton is on the bottom and is the boy.  Pippa is up top and she is the little girl.  These were done for the sister's birthday.

The final Red Feathers Post

This is the final Red Feather's Post.  I did these quick sketches of my sister, her husband, my two nieces, and My wife and me.  We have all gone a spent time in that area of Colorado and it is well worth the trip.  I hope you have enjoyed the total set of postings on Red Feather Lakes.  I plan to do similar posts but those are still in my head or roughly in my sketchbooks.

My Kids in the Mountains of Colorado

So I have continued the tradition and have taken my kids up to the mountains in Colorado to include fishing and camping up at Red Feather Lakes.  Kerri, Tiffany, and James also can't just fish, anything which looks like a beach gets a sand castle built.

Family at the cabin - part two

This is two colored pencil sketches of the parents and grandparents at Red Feather Lakes.  The irony of this picture is they are based on photos.  My parents on the left are actually older in the photo than the picture of my grandparents on the right.  Additional irony, I am probably about the age now of my grandfather when this photo was taken.

The family up at the cabin

I have great memories of the times up at the cabin.  We have photos of me on Dad's shoulders, fishing derby with my Cousin Troy and me with our trout, and my mother with my sister as a toddler.

Collectable Colorado Fishing Gear

Wright & McGill, Humpel, Magic Reel are all the names of colorado fishing manufacturers.  Most are lost gone but not forgotten.  Wright &McGill is one of the few still around.  There are still men and women tying flies for the trout streams of Colorado.  This watercolor is of some of the collection.

Our Cabin at Red Feather Lakes, Colorado

We did not go to the cabin much in the winter, but the Rocky Mountains are notorious for their contrary  weather.  A couple of times we did get snow in the spring or fall.  When I went back as an adult with the wife and kids, we did get a quick fall storm which gave us some snow and then melted away the next day.  Such is the Western life, be a good boy scout and be prepared for anything.

James's Birthday

Today would have been your 29th birthday, James.  We celebrated without you and drank a toast in your memory.  You will not be forgotten.  Dad

A series of First - Fishing Pole and Bulldozer

Rudy Weiss was Dad's boss and lunchtime cribbage partner.  He was the one who let the family now about the cabin being for sale.  Ruby gave me my first real fishing pole and I got to ride on the bulldozer which excavated the basement of his larger cabin.  I was probably about 3-4 years old and I got to ride on a bulldozer.  The vignette above is from the photograph of the occasion.  I was scared to death because it was loud and jerky, it was definitely an experience especially once I was safely off the loud machine.

Fishing Gear

Certain Fishing Gear brings me back to the early days of fishing at Red Feathers.  Wright & McGill fishing poles and hooks, Pulaski's Salomon eggs, metal hook holder, the red hook remover, the standard red and white bobber and split shot are all things which bring me back to those days.  Any time I see them it is an instant transportation back.