Sunday plein air sketches

Went out this morning to Core Creek park to do some sketching.

A view looking across the lake as the sun was pushing through the thin clouds.

Went back up after dinner and found a spot affording me a view of the sky and the clouds overlooking the corn field.

I had to stop at this point because the light was changing dramatically, when I turned around this is what I saw. The winds kicked up pretty bad and the sky got dark quickly, time to leave.

The Light Show

The Light Show  11x14 oil

On the walk back to the car after an evening of fishing we always look forward to the light show at the end of the night. Some nights its dull others times its brilliant.

Winter at the Park

 The last time it snowed I took a walk in the park with my camera looking for subject matter. I have painted this tree a few times in the past and this day I liked the contrast between the tree and snow and sky.

I distilled the scene to the bare essentials, leaving out the multitude of trees surrounding the scene. I used acrylics on a 6"x6" Ampersand panel.

Incoming

Incoming Geese  12x16 oil

I painted this based on the study I did last week at the lake. The number of geese that were here last week was three times the number you see in this painting. I had put my camera on the movie setting and let it run as the clouds of geese kept coming. I tried to capture the rhythmic motion of them as they came in for the landing.

First Plein Air Sketch of the Year

             
5x7 oil

I got out for a couple of hours this afternoon to get some exercise and do some painting if a scene presented itself to me. It wasn't the greatest weather for painting, overcast, cold and windy, but I like being out no matter what the weather.
I wanted to experiment with different colors and switched a few colors for the winter months.
I found a spot along the lake where a lot of geese were coming and going and I figured they would add a bit of interest to the scene. It was nice listening to them calling to each other as a new group flew in.

Core Creek Park at Dusk

                                 Dusk at Core Creek Park  12x16 oil


This painting is about the quiet mood at dusk. This night Maria and I were here fishing when she made mention of the pink tinged clouds. I kept the lake surface calm echoing the quiet feeling of the night.

First plein air paintings of 2012

I promised myself I would do a lot more painting on location this year. It felt great getting out today even though it was 38 degrees and a little windy out by the lake when I started. I was glad I brought extra clothing because I ended up needing it later on.

When I started at 8:30 this morning it was overcast but the sun was trying to show. As I looked out over the lake I thought  what a dull colorless scene. I started to walk back to the car to find something else but I stopped and gave it another look. I forced myself to find one thing I liked about the scene no matter how small.
 I liked the area of water in the foreground, you could see the slight blue/grey of the sky reflected there and the contrast of the brown leaves right in front of it.  OK I found a center of interest and then I  built the rest of the painting around that.

I never realized how cold I was till I finished the painting. Your concentration is so focused you are not aware of the cold. One improvement in my equipment are fingerless gloves. The tips are cut off making it easier to handle brushes, palette knives without having to remove the gloves every time you want to do something. I spent about one and a half hours on this painting standing in one place with the wind blowing on me.

On a side note, as I was approaching the lake I failed to notice the two bald eagles up in the tree. A quieter approach might have given me a better look before they flew off.

Edge of the Lake  8x10 oil

Morning painting session

8x10 oil            (SOLD)


Went out at dawn this morning, I had a couple of hours to burn so I went to Core Creek Park to see what the morning would bring. After looking around a little I settled on this spot. I wanted to try to capture the early morning hazy atmosphere. My brother Chris and his son Eric are going to join me at sunrise tommorrow,we are going to get an early start before Mother Nature turns up the heat.

Moon over the Lake

Moon over the Lake 5"x7" oil

I went to the lake before dawn on a cold ,cold December morning to watch the sunrise. I wanted to be in place to photograph the changes in the sky as the sun made its appearance. I remember my fingers being numb that morning because I forgot my gloves. The moon was going down so I decided to photograph that before it dissapeared. This painting is based on the pictures I took that morning.

Threatening

Threatening 5"x7" acrylic $45.00
The weather this year has been so unpredictable, a sunny day on the lake was no sure thing so one eye was always kept skyward.