Plein Air Season

The long awaited nice temperatures for Phoenix have finally arrived. I have wanted to get out and paint at least one study a day since attending Christensen's workshop in June. Too blasted hot. Well it is finally possible. Here are a weeks efforts.

This was a favorite little fishing hole here in the urban lakes. I did a littl multitasking and fished whild I painted. I caught 4 catfish, 2 bluegill and a white amur. They put copper oxide in the water to control the growth of algae, so the water is actually this goofy color.

This a little spot about a block away from the house. A mother and her daughter were quite entertained by my painting effort and she asked if she could photgraph the progress. I felt a bit like a performance artist.

After getting the kids off to school, I grabbed my kit and headed down to Saratoga lake to watch the morning light wake up on a pontoon. I was pleased with the water on this one.

This one I wanted to try a real high key painting. I have been looking at Bato's artwork and have been fascinated and blown away with how he handles the suttle transitions.

Not real happy with this one. It got later into the afternoon and it was pretty warm out. I think the temp blew my mood.

I went to the park up at Scottsdale and couldn't resist this tribute to Robert Indiana. A lot of lookers and interest in what I was doing.

Saratoga Lakeside

It has been about 3 and half months since I have had the plein air kit out. It has just been too blasted hot this summer. We finally got a break and the temps is about 5 clicks below 100. Squeezed out some grease and ran down to one of the local urban lakes to find a scene and see how rusty I have gotten.

Now that the weather seems to have opened up, time to try for one a day until it gets too hot again. Plein air season is here.

9 x 12 oil on board. for a larger image, click on photo.

First Light at Red Rocks

24 X 30 oil on stretched canvas. Fora larger image, click on photo.

The objective on this piece was to capture feeling of cool damp air with mornings first light. I have been working on creating a bit more of a tonal feel to the paintings and asking myself, "Where do I want the viewer to go."

This area outside of Sedona is one of my favorite places to go scouting for ideas. The red rocks and Junipers make for some interesting subject matter.

Comments and crits always welcome.

When the Wagons Stopped Rolling

Wanted to do a painting that was about not fussing with it. I have been doing some fairly tight work as of late and wanted to plow through one in a single session "Alla Prima."

The objective on this one was to capture the heat of a July day without burning up the canvas. More warms than cools.

I found this old wagon on my way back from Jackson this summer in an area that I am familiar with the history of it. It was 107 degrees that day and I couldn't help but think of the courage of the homesteaders that come west for the promise of a better life.

Drawing is a little wonky, but I thought that might add a little flavor.

For a larger image, click on picture.

Targhee Meadow

For a larger image, click on photo.

On my vacation this last summer, My wife and I drove up to the Targhee Ski Resort. The sky at that elevation, The stark white of the aspens and the groomed meadows seemed to scream paint me.

I am working on being conscious of having an objective when I paint. The objectives that I was working on in this piece were to keep the influence of the blue of the sky dominant over the local color. Unequal distribution of shapes, sizes and color. Orchestrate variety with a temperature shift instead of a value shift. In the forefront of my mind, where do I want the viewer to go in the painting.