Sunrise Sketch

I was up right before dawn this morning looked out the kitchen window and saw the beginnings of a quick sunrise. I knew it was supposed to be overcast all day so I had no plans on going out in the 26 degree temps.

But even on overcast days you get a very brief period of time right before sunrise when there is color in the sky. I did a quick sketch on an Aceo card using my cigar box easel.  Within minutes everything was grey in the sky.  Now I can make the coffee.

A little later I did an 8x10 as a practice piece to see if I want to develop it into a bigger painting.

Gathering the last bit of autumn color

I went to Core Creek Park  at dawn last Saturday to try to catch the last bit of autumn color before its gone. I didn't take my paints only the camera because I wanted to record as much as I could during the first hour after sunrise. The moon was setting during this time slot so for me that was a added incentive .
I am looking for ideas, possibilities, inspiration, and I love the light at that time of morning.

The first rays of sunlight lighting up the trees. A lot of times I paint from the spot I'm parked at, I have a view looking down to the lake which is in back of me here. We will be back to this field in an hour.

I liked the shadowed area at the bottom of the brush and the shadow going across the grass.

An explosion of color.

My first thought was to put a deer in the field highlighted with sunlight.

The picture doesn't show the rich colors in the tree, I like the highlighted edges.

The same tree looking from the side.

I was getting ready to leave when I spotted these deer. This is the same field I started at (first picture) an hour ago. This is prime mating season, I guess they wanted a little privacy so they headed into the woods.

A nice 8 point buck.  Wait for me dear.

Plein Air sketches, oh deer what a morning.

I got an early start Saturday morning, when I pulled into the park I was greeted with thick fog from the lake. I slowly drove around looking for deer and when I saw the first sign of color in the sky I went to the small parking spot over looking the lake.

I like this time of morning when you can just barely start making out the colors in the landscape and the sky goes thru its quickly changing light show. I did this sketch as the intense color started, by the time I finished the sky had changed completely.
As I was putting things away to move to the next spot I turned around and saw a herd of deer had gathered in the field  behind me. That explains the dog barking earlier.

I moved around to the back of the park where last week I saw this field starting to get a nice yellow color to it.

As I was setting up these two does decided to investigate why this person was in the corner of their field.

This is the 5x7 field sketch done that morning.

11x14 studio painting done with acrylics

My interest was the field in the middle distance so I darkened the foreground shapes and added more of a golden color to the field to help make a more dramatic picture.

Autumn Landscape Valley Forge National Park

This is a studio painting done from pictures taken at Valley Forge National Park.  Last fall my brother and I went there at dawn to photograph the wildlife and get reference material for future paintings.  Knowing the full moon was out that night I wanted to get there early to do a sketch of it, but I would have to use the light from the back of the truck so I could see what I was painting.

                         5x7 sketch

Saturday Morning Plein-air

Went to Core Creek Park Saturday at sunrise hoping to see this big whitetail buck I saw there two weeks ago. Been trying to get a picture of him but have  not been successful. On my ride thru the area I spotted these trees lit up by the sun  and decided to take advantage of the situation. I like the way the bright colors stood out against the coolness of the frost on the grass. This is a 5x7, a perfect size for capturing the fast moving light at sunrise.

                                                                                                                                                                                      

 The next painting I did is a 8x10. What interested me in this scene was the frost still laying in the shadows not touched by the sun yet. I finished up about 9:30 and  headed out.
I am going to do a larger painting of the 5x7. I like the way it portrays the winding down of the autumn season.



Sunday morning plein-air painting

 Went out this morning at dawn to see if I could find any color left on the trees. I figured the orange light at dawn would enhance any color still around. With the temperature at 35 degrees I planned on painting inside the truck so I only brought the cigar box setup.

The deer kept my attention until the sun rose to where it started lighting the landscape.

After searching a little I settled on this spot. It afforded me a good view of the trees in front of me.

This is the cigar box setup that fits on the seat right next to me. A piece of foamcore acts as a table top for the setup.

This is the finished painting done in about 50 minutes. Its a 6"x8" panel.

Sunday Morning at Valley Forge Park

When we arrived at the park we were greeted by the full moon. 

     When it started to get light out I started a sketch of the moon and the maple tree to the right. I used the light from inside the truck to see by.

 This is the sketch, I finished the rest of it at home. I wanted to capture the lighting conditions at the time when it just starts to get light out. I ran out of time because the light changes faster than I can paint.

 The sun started to peek over the horizon.

 The tree I was painting with a little sun on it.

 We got in the truck and and started looking for scenes to photograph, and came upon this guy, he was curious.

 He did a nice job of posing for us.

 Here was a photographer walking away with a big buck walking behind him

 A spot of  color along one of the trails.

 My brother Phil photographing some scenery.

Spent three hours at the park and captured some good images, not a bad way to start the morning.

Cottontail Rabbit

Cottontail Rabbit 5"x7" oil on RayMar canvas panel $50.00
http://patspaintings.etsy.com/ (SOLD)

One morning I was out painting and this little guy peacefully fed while I painted. I slowly pulled out my camera and got some pictures without disturbing him. It was like he felt at ease being in the shadow area.

Peaceful Morning 8x10 oil

Peaceful Morning 8x10 oil (SOLD)

This was from a trip we took to Saucon Creek. The creek is an hour and twenty minutes away, so we head out while it is still dark and it puts us on the stream at sunrise, my favorite time to be out. I like the slightly orange light at that time of the morning and the way the light starts cutting thru the trees. Thinking of spring.

An Early Start

An Early Start 5"x7" acrylic
My favorite time to be out, just as the sun is coming up. This is a lake we fish at in the Poconos, the boat ramp is to the left thru the opening in the trees. I'll do small pratice paintings like this to work out the design, lighting, and colors, and if I like it I'll do a larger painting using this as my guide.

Sunrise Falls Twp. Lake

Sunrise Falls Twp. Lake 9x12 oil Not for sale.
This lake is about 25 minutes away and right around the corner from where I work. So its a good spot when you only have a few hours to fish. Usually we hit it at dawn and sometimes after dinner we work it till dark. I like the quiet mood and the sense of anticipation in this painting.

Enjoy your day.

Early morning commute Series

Hope on the Horizon 6"x8" oil (SOLD)

I'm going to start a series of paintings dealing with the images I see traveling to work in the morning.

Yes, thats how I get my reference material, I'm always careful, and its faster than sketching. In this painting I was thinking about dealing with cold winter mornings and how a piece of sunlit sky can put a smile on your face and add a sense of hope to your day.

Meeting the Sun II 8x10
Oil on canvas panel $210 not framed

This was painted minutes after the previous painting. You can see how fast the sun moves.
I like being out this early, it is such a quiet time, and the colors are so much richer.

My Route

Meeting the sun 5"x 7"
Oil on canvas panel 55.00

Where I live (Bucks County,Pa.) we have a good number of County and State Parks. Core Creek Park is about 8 to 10 minutes away, so I usually start there to meet the sun as it comes up.