Monday, May 30, 2011

White Rock in shadow

"Wilson Mountain"
8x10; oil
Not as easy as it sounds.....

No revelations -- when I get one about this, you'll be the first to know


Plein air study: "Wilson Mountain"

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Near Home.....



"Home Away From Home"
8x10 study; oil
In need of a break from red rock madness, I looked around for something a little different. At this point in my fledgling painting life, I'm just looking to paint anything from life....but in this case, after four days baking in the Arizona sun, I was being a wimp. What I was really looking for was: what can I paint without leaving the cover of my patio?

Since we live full-time in our RV in a beautiful park on the banks of Oak Creek, the most obvious choice was: an RV. Not all that exciting...but it made for a good exercise.

A friend and I always talk about critical elements to paintings. In landscapes, it seems important to me that someone viewing the painting should feel that it would be someplace they might like to spend some time. Several months ago, I saw a painting of an RV park in American Artist magazine that had exactly that feel to it....I tried to capture a modicum of this as best I could in this little sketch. It will definitely be a guiding concept when I do some future paintings from the comfort of home....

sketch: "Home Away From Home" 8x10; oil

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Red Rocks are your friend

Schnebly Hill
6x8; oil
They are my friends......they are my friends.....
If I don't show them any fear, maybe I can learn to paint them
Red Rock study 3: Schnebly Hill

Friday, May 27, 2011

Insanity of Red Rocks

From Schnebly Hill
6x8

Don't get me wrong...I'm having a great time trying to figure these guys out. But as anyone who has been to Sedona - or the rest of the Colorado plateau for that matter - these rocks screw with you. The light changes about every twenty minutes, you start to lose yourself in the cracks and crags, and then there's the whole temperature thing.

I'm not talking about the desert heat. I'm talking about the fact that there are cool green colors in front of warm red colors -- something quite different than the usual cool colors receding into the background.


Second study: from Schnebly Hill

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Plein Air

Steamboat Rock - study
6x8; oil on panel
I know, I know....I've been very remiss in posting of late. But I have a good reason: plein air. I'll just say one thing -- I get it! Not that I get how to be good at it -- yet -- but I get why it's so important...and fun. Hell, it has even made me go out and paint something that I thought I would not even want to try -- the red rocks around Sedona. Again, I'm not professing that I get HOW to paint these iconic structures...but I get why it's important to try and paint them.

First attempt...."Study: Steamboat Rock"