"Tree Study"

Oil     6"x8"     Canvas Board

This is a quick little "warm-up" painting I did from a sketch....no photo involved. I really like it, and I enjoyed the freedom of not trying to paint every leaf that a photo would have documented. I think that's what I love about the look of plein air paintings. There's an uncomplicated freshness about them that sometimes gets lost back in the studio. On location, you can't possibly include all the details. You have to try for the essence of the subject and be happy when it occasionally all comes together. Below is the sketch I was working from.

“Mobiloil”

Oil     6”x8”     Canvas Board    

I bet this old gas station saw many a family like ours pull up in their ‘58 Chevy Bel Air, fill ‘er up, and head back out onto the open road, in search of the next tourist attraction or a roadside cottage to spend the night. One of these days, I’m going to paint the neon sign they would have seen from the road.

"Cocoa Beach Pier"

Oil     6"x8"     Canvas Board    

I would love to have set up my easel and painted this right on the spot, but there was too much wind and too big a crowd of people milling about, and there were too many more places to see and things to do. So I did this little painting from photos and just imagined I was back there.

"Big Valley"

Oil     6"x8"     Canvas Board    

A hazy June afternoon, looking down on a green valley that stretched for miles in each direction.

"Long Shadows"

Oil     6"x8"     Canvas Board

This was painted in the late afternoon as the shadows stretched across the yard. Seems like only yesterday that these two trees were the size of the little ones just getting a start. I tried to capture the sense of distance with the ridge receding into the background. In this high, dry climate, the cool of the evening was already settling in.

"Poplars"

Oil     6"x8"     Canvas Board    

I painted these young trees at midday, battling a very gusty wind, but savoring the rustling leaves and far-off blues of a mountain range.

"Red River Greens"

6"x8"     Oil     Canvas Board

This week's painting spot was along the banks of the Red River. It was another cloudy day so there was a softness to the landscape with no strong sunlight to define the shapes of trees and grasses. This distinctive tree, whose branches were bending toward the river, is what caught my attention, along with the gray sky's reflection on the quiet river.