Plein Air - Sand Point State Park Boat basin

This is a small oil sketch done Plein Air (outside in one sitting) at Sand Point State Park boat basin.  I did this back in November in about 2 hours.  I set up an easel on one of the docks.  I was with Rob Brennan, another painter from  New Jersey.  The weather cooperated and was not too windy, which is usually the biggest problem painting in the great outdoors, though not the only problem.  Bugs, dogs, wind, rain and snow all make it a challenge.  The skill from observing from life and painting is one of the most important for improvement and development.

Navajo Horsemen

This is an ink sketch of Navajo Horsemen.  It is modeled after the work of Don Perceval, he has a great series of ink and watercolor sketches from the Desert Southwest.  Happy Friday Evening.

Meadow study

This is a small meadow study in oil paint.  It is a decent start but it will need some work and refinement before I will be happy with it.

Wind Blown survivor tree

This is an oil sketch not an original design but, its a practice piece of a wind blown survivor tree.  I may make some adjustments on it but it is a good exercise and something I need to do more of in the coming days.

Atmospheric Perspective part 2

I have been doing a lot of drawing but not enough painting.  I have taken some art classes and I have not been satisfied with the results so I have decided to paint more.  This is an initial lay in of the colors for a mountain scene.  It has the basic depth but will need some additional work in the ridge lines and I plan to work the rock cliffs with detail and closer trees which will have more than blue for color.  Stay tuned to see the improvements as they come in the coming weeks.

Atmospheric Perspective

This is a small Atmospheric Perspective oil painting in red.  Colors get cooler and lighter as they progress away from your view, so I decided to play with this in red ridge lines and mountains back to the sky.

Sand Mountain, Steamboat Springs, Colorado - Oil Study

This is an Oil Painting of Sand Mountain from Steamboat Lake, Colorado.  The reflection is in the lake and this is the view from the campground.  This is a preliminary study for a larger paining.  I try to work out the problems at the smaller size before trying to do a painting in a large size.  The smaller format takes less time an is effective for working out problems.  If you cannot get it to work small, large will be a disaster.