Tetons

Well I made it to the Tetons. What a magnificent place to do some plein air painting. There is something to paint at every turn of the head. I am not sure I can do it justice. It is quite humbling just to be here. I spent the day yesterday scouting some possible locations and snapping some pictures for possible studio works.

I woke up this morning to a temperature of 32 degrees. Brrrrrr......... When I left Phoenix it was 85 degrees at night. I brought along an extra quilt but didn't think I would need it last night. I know better now. Today marks the first day of boot camp. I am a little nervous. I get a little uptight at these workshops. I told Melissa yesterday that I just don't want to look stupid. It is kind of rediculous, if I already knew everything I wouldn't need to be here.

Ying Yang Grove

24 X 30 oil on canvas. for a larger image click on picture.

This will be the last studio work for a while as I am packing to head for Jackson Hole, Wyoming tommorrow morning to attend Scott Christensen's 10 day painting workshop. I am retooling again for another plein air adventure. It seem to be an ongoing process to find the ideal setup for outdoor work. I put together a setup that is light and fits into a backpack.

I haven't had time to let this one settle in to go over with the final value and color adjustments, but it is close enough to post.

This is yet another scene from the White mountains of California. The sky does some uniuqe things at 11,000 ft of elevation. You get a sense of being immersed in the sky. The sky is also a purer blue than I have ever seen before. The title of this piece is in reference to more than the obvious dead and live tree. The bristlecone are the Grandfathers of conservation. They survive the harsh elements an sparse rainfall by allowing the windward side of the tree to die off and keep the needles alive on the protected side. The found fallen trees next to living trees that were 7,000 years old and still intact. It makes me wonder how old the dead standing tree is in thin scene?

10,000 Ft Grove

For a larger image, click on picture.

After painting some real dogs as of late, it was a pleasant surprise to get one that I like.

This is a scene painted from a photo that I took on my honeymoon a couple of years ago. My bride and I drove up to Shuman's grove to take a hike through the trees that rewrote time. Scientist finally had an accurate organic sample that was 10,000 years old to calibrate radio carbon dating equipment. On the east side of the White Mountains hiking back to car, I stumbled across this little scene. The trees and shrubbery were out of this world. I felt like I was on another planet. The pinon trees and creosote bushes were like none I had ever scene before. The park ranger said that the most amazing thing to her was the fact that creosote bushes at this elevation could live as long as 10,000 years. Everyone comes to see the bristlecones and overlooks the oldest living specimens in the grove.

I have no idea what kind of trees these are in this little grove. They had the darkest colored bark I have ever seen on a tree. I don't know if this due to the difficult slow growing nature of the plants at 10,000 ft above sea level or not. All I know is that I liked the contrast they provided against the distant mountains. This was taken in late October and I wonder if the maustard green foliage was caused by frost.

This is the first bank of clouds I have been happy with in a long time.

Thanks for looking.

Leaning Tower of Mesquite

For larger image, click on picture.

It has been a painting or two since I have painted something that wasn't just a frisbee. Time for another tree portrait. That will usually break me out of a slump. Something theraputic about attempting to capture the personality I feel in the presence of a tree. Joseph Campbell once wrote that God is the experience of looking at a tree and saying Ahhhhh. I guess it is kind of that way for me since church is not a place I frequent.

This was a grey day in early spring in the desert and all of the light was soft and diffused. I was walking along the Salt River and happened to look up on the bank and saw this honey mesquite that contained alot of character. I simplified the heck out of the branches on this scene and still felt like it was required to to put alot of them in order to capture the lyrical quality of this tree. It is alot less color than I like to put into a painting, but I made a decision to keep it as truthful as possible.

Thanks for looking.

Petroglyph Ironwood

For a larger image, click on picture.

I managed to put the finishing touches on this piece this am. This piece was walk through memory lane as I have painted this scene before. This was a piece that was purchased for The Sonoran Desert Museums permanent collection. The piece they purchased was done in acrylics and this one is done in oils. A very different feel to this piece and more truthful to the location.

A friend of mine picked out a piece for purchase and then decided that he wanted to have two paintings. The second piece he picked out was this painting which was already sold. I couldn't have it work out to sell something from my already painted stock that is growing out of control. I retained the rights to the painting in the event I wanted to do a printing of the piece someday. My hope has been that after they get the collection of painting published that it would possibly have appeal for that. Might be a pipe dream. Anyhow, with owning the rights, I can paint a piece for his home.

This scene is from the Petroglyph trail in the Superstition Mountains here in Arizona. A group of us hiked up the trail to catch the sunrise and meditate next to the petroglyphs in the canyon they are located in. On the way up to the location, this ironwood tree caught my attention because of the interesting burl growth in the midsection of the tree. When I got home and developed the pictures, I noticed that the burl had the resemblance of a dragon head. I didn't paint the piece for a long time because I thought it might be a little too Bev Doolittleish. Oh well, I wasn't adding in something into the paiece that wasn't there.

The ironwood tree is an amazing speciman. It is a nurse species for over 650 plants and animals. A real central plant in out Sonoran Desert. They can reach ages of near 2,000 years old. With all of the urban sprawl, developers would go in and level the ground for homes and began destroying these magnificent trees on a grand scale. Congress finally passed a bill to make them an endangered species several years ago. A major milestone in desert conservation.

Tagged

I have been tagged. My initial response was "not going to do it, feel too much like a chain letter." Upon further thought, I decided it could be a fun thing.

I was tagged by Bart who has been a faithful poster on my blog. He describes my work as "wonderful warm paintings, carefully made." Hey, hey I am trying to loosen up. Famous last word of every painter that has ever viewed Schmid's lovely loose work.

Part 1 SECRETS

If I share them they are no longer secrets. How about little known facts that anyone who doesn't know me wouldn't know.

1. In my second year of painting, I had work purchased from me for a Museum's permanent collection. (Tooting my own horn there.)

2. I have not had any mood altering chemicals in my body for over 18 years.

3. I enjoy meditation as a way to connect with my creative path and work out being stuck.

4. I grew up in Sturgis, South Dakota. The ever infamous Bike Rally in the heart of the Black Hills.

5. I dedicate a minimum of 4 hour a day to painting and studying art. It usually exceeds that.

6. I am going to study with Scott Christensen in June. I love his work and this is a goal that I am really jazzed about.

7. I have a book that I am writing but not making a lot of progress on.

Well that is done. Hopefully everyone is still awake.

Part two - tag 7 other bloggers.

Here are my seven bloggers.

1. Michael Chelsey Johnson-A fellow plein air painter that I had the privilege of meeting at a Ray Roberts workshop. His work has alot of air and is worth a look.

2. Danny Griego - another plein air painter, figure painter that does amazing work and is very dedicated to his craft.

3. William K. Moore - A very prolific artist that has a blog that is a very interesting read about Bogata.

4. Frank Edwards - Another Plein air painter whose work has a terrific amount of life and expression.

5. Michael Pieczonka - A Wetcanvas patron with a wonderful painterly style.

6. Mick McGinty - A daily painter that is from my home state that does incredible work that I would like to get to know.

7. Karin Juricik - Another daily painter that does incredible little scene that are full of stories.

All right there are my seven secrets and seven bloggers and I am still alive.

Fallen Prairie Ash (update)

Here is an update to this piece. With some help from my friends on Wetcanvas, I lightened the russian olives behind the prairie ash. It helped cool the scene tremendously and give the painting alot more air. This is a difinate move in the right direction.