Plein-air sketch for Winter Fields

Another painting in Tyler State Park. This is a pretty big park, with alot of walking trails,open fields,woods. You have to do some walking to reach some of the scenic areas.

I visit this field all thru the year, each time it serves up something different. There is a parking lot right next to this field so it makes it convient for painting, just unload everything and start painting. On this day it was'nt so much cold as it was wet. A wet snow had fallen earlier in the day and I wanted to get out and see how it transformed the landscape. I enjoy moody days like this.

Winter Afternoon

Winter Afternoon 11x15 Watercolor $85.00

I came upon this scene on one of my walks in Tyler State Park.

Reference Material

Icicles 10x8 Acrylic

Every morning when I get up for work I"ll go over to the living room window and check the weather, and every once in a while I'll see a skunk or an opossum foraging in the lawn. One winter morning I looked out and saw these icicles being lit by the full moon. I grabbed the sketchbook next to the couch and drew in the scene and wrote down the value ( how dark or light) of each object. Later on I did this painting using the sketch as my reference.

Gathering Reference Material for Paintings

There are different ways of getting material or ideas for your paintings. How you go about it depends on how much time you have, or maybe the location you are at. If you plan to go out for the day looking for reference material then you can load up on your supplies. I will bring my paint box, sketch pad, and my camera. Some of the best times for interesting light comes at dawn and dusk, the times spent traveling back and forth to work. Theres nothing more frustrating than driving on your way to work and seeing a sunrise with unique lighting and wishing you were there painting it. If I see on the news that it is going to be foggy on the way to work, I will bring my camera and see if I can catch some scenes. It doesn't matter if the picture is not in perfect focus, because I'm only trying to capture a mood.

Bluefish

Bluefish 16x20 Acrylic
A day at the Jersey Shore.

Pop-R

Pop-R 7"x5" Acrylic
Another still life painting. I usually start the morning using this lure when we are out on the lake.

Last Call

Last Call 5"x7" acrylic http:// patspaintings.etsy.com
We have about 8 cardinals that visit the feeders. They stay right up till it gets dark. The last bit of sunlight spotlighted this guy as he got his last drink of the day. I like how the shadow of the unseen portion of the saucer creates the round shape of the saucer, in minature.

Warm Glow

Warm Glow 5"x7" oil

Sometimes I break away from my usual landscapes and paint a still life. The lighting of a subject is what I try to catch in my paintings. What interested me was the way the remaining wax glowed from inside. The flame was suggested by using thick paint, I think it gave it that flickering quality that you get from a dancing flame. (I had the candle set up in a dark bathroom)

Lunch Time

Lunch Time 5x7

Maria always has an apple with her lunch, the peelings she puts out for the squirrels. Its funny, if she is a little late they are patiently waiting there for her. One day I was picking Maria up from work and there was the squirrel on his favorite stump twirling the peel around trying to decide where to start.

Barnegat Light

Barnegat Light
9x12 oil $210

I took a ride to the Jersey Shore looking for some reference material for some paintings. I didn't have anything particular in mind so I was just wandering around looking for something to catch my eye. The one place I stopped was the Lighthouse at Barnegat Light. There were people fishing from land and in boats. The one guy was showing the woman in the red sweatshirt fish he had in his bucket.

BlueJay Bath

Blue Jay Bath

5x7 oil $50.00

We enjoy watching the birds that come to eat at our feeders. The real fun starts when they take a bath and spray water all over the place. I tried to catch his energy in the late afternoon light.

Small Works Show 2008

I will be in the Small Works Show at Canal Frame-Crafts Gallery in Washington Crossing. The show runs from Nov. 9 to Dec. 27. The opening reception is Nov. 9 from 1:00 - 4:00pm

Workshop with Michael Budden

I attended a plein-air workshop today at Washington Crossing Park with painter Michael Budden. It was very informative, learned alot. He finished his demo painting and it started to rain so we found a dry place in back of the visitors center to paint. The bottom picture is what I painted today. I chose the statue of George Washington with the flags along the walkway.

Autumn Shadows with frame

This is Autumn Shadows with the frame. (sorry about the crooked picture,its the only picture I have of it in the frame.)   (SOLD)

Autumn Shadows

Autumn Shadows
10x8 oil
$325.00

This was painted on location. What caught my eye was the color of the leaves laying at the base of the tree and the pattern of the shadows from the unseen trees. When I got home I touched up shadows and added the bright leaves that were caught in the sun spots. I remember I was the only one there that day. You can sense the peacefulness of the place.

This painting comes framed. Available at Canal Frame-Crafts Gallery. www.CanalFrame.com

215-493-3660

Small Fish Contest

Tom and I like to see who can catch the smallest fish, this looks like a winner. This young trout tried to eat a Royal Coachman fly. We returned him to the water, maybe to catch him next year.

Uprooted 2008

This is what the tree in Uprooted looks like now in 2008.

Study for Splash of Color

I used a pallete knife to put on the bright reds and pinks. I wanted the bold color to stand out against the muted greens of the pine trees. It was cold and windy, I remember my fingers starting to take on the color of the reds of the tree.

A Splash of Color

When we pulled up in the car this is what greeted us. After unpacking I did a quick study right before it got dark.

Yearly trip to Northcentral Pa.

When we arrived we had temperatures in the 30s and windy conditions. The streams were low again this year due to the drought they had in the summer. We managed to catch fish here and there. My brother Tom did catch a nice brown trout 17 inches out of Slate Run.