Fire Workers

Local ranchers working the fire.  Strong lines and shapes make for a more powerful painting.  Here I was trying to grab the eye with the barn roof in the background then circle around the workers and finally settle on the lower center (the eye resting point) at the end of the shovel. To keep the brain interested, the fellow on the left with arm outstretched--what is he doing?

16"x20" oil on canvas

Two Girls on Bench

I sometimes think about what they must be discussing--romantic problems, school, private issues....This is one of my favorite styles--dark/light; loose and sketchy with some scumbling technique.

Tulips in Spring Garden

 

Oil on board, 6"x 8"

Bicycle in Alleyway

This oil on board plein air painting was done for the Crested Butte Open Plein Air competition Shoot Out.  Lovely day with lots of folks strolling about in town, stopping by for a chat and then back to the Gallery (Ode to Joy) for the show. Great gallery, town, folks and event!

Hot Summer Day by South Platte River

As a plein air artist, I find myself in unbearable conditions such as this one!  So hot that my oil paints almost ran off my palette. I look back at these paintings and recall every detail of that painting session!  Grass, bugs, heat, quizzical looks from passerbys, trying to balance the darks of the shadows in the tree against the cast shadows in the grass....in theory, the vertical shadows should be a darker value than the horizontal shadows....hmmm.

Small landscape, oil on board, 6"x8". Hope you enjoy this as much as I did painting it...and yes, I love the process, heat, bugs, etc

Still Life with Oil Sketch

A still life of tomatoes, garlic, apples and an unfinished sketch of a man's head in oil.  8"x10" oil on board.

Bailey's and Garlic

Small still life composition of a Bailey's bottle with garlic, pear and peppers.  6"x8" oil on board.