Using outdoor sketches for reference

8x10 acrylic

8x10 oil

These two paintings were done from outdoor sketches I did one morning when I was out with my brother Chris.  ( From the post on Sept 1st ).

The two outdoor sketches from that Saturday morning.

As you can see I changed things up a little. I gave a little depth to the top painting, and changed the lighting on the bottom so the picture reads a little easier.

Our trip from upstate Pa

We had a good week even with the overcast weather all week except for Friday. We lucked out and had no rain except for Monday night. We caught fish at every stream we fished so that was good.

We visited our old campsite when we arrived.

There was still some fall color left along the streams.

The colors of the trout matched the colors of the landscape.

I did some painting in the mornings before we headed out to the streams.
This is a sketch from a small section of a Kousa dogwood tree with its spiked red fruits.

A quick sketch of the maple tree out back.

The one night there was a lull in the action spotting wildlife so I grabbed a knife block and set up a still life.

This painting I worked on over a couple of nights, it was from a painting trip with my brother Chris at a local park.

I couldn't forget about our nightly visitors.

A couple days outside

I got out a couple days last week to do some plein air painting but the weather has not cooperated lately. It seems like we have had our share of leaden skies and rainy weather and these two days were no different.

I settled on a view of a farmhouse at the end of a field because it made a good focal point because of the contrast it provided on this overcast day.

8x10  oil


I stopped off at Core Creek Park to look around and spotted some egrets in a backwater section of the lake. I pulled over where the best view is ( on the bridge) but traffic is buzzing by right next to you so I set up the easel on the passenger seat and did a quick 5x7 sketch

I did this 11x14 painting in the studio the next day.

My brother and I are going on our annual fly fishing trip this week to upstate Pa.
Here are some images from past trips.

Tom and jumping trout

Photographing the night sky

Spring Creek reflections

early morning

our campsite for the first 18 years

the walk back to the cabin after a day of fishing

Autumn oil painting

The Island 6"x6" oil

Maria and I went up the Poconos last weekend to view the autumn colors and do a little fishing at Promised Land State Park. This is a little island that sits in shallow water at the one end of the lake.

Autumn is approaching

Heavy Overcast  5"x7", oil

I stopped off at the park after work looking for something interesting to paint. The skies were heavily overcast all day with breaks in the clouds for the sun to sneak thru.
 I wanted to try to capture the mood of this cloudy day.

The sky kept changing as a new set of clouds came in to replace the one's that were just there. I waited till a good set came by that had some good contrast, fixed it in my mind and painted the clouds from memory.
The whole tree line looked dark with a few individual trees standing out from the rest.
I was supposed to be concentrating on the sky but got caught up in the tree line with a hint of autumn color.
It was great being out.

20 minutes of practice

I was at  Core Creek Park for the last 20 minutes of sunlight today.  This is what it looked like when I got there. I took this picture before I set up knowing I was going to lose the sun shortly.

By the time I was halfway through the painting the sunlight was gone completely, I painted the sunlit trees first before the effect was gone.
I try to keep the major shapes of the painting simple, it helps me cover the canvas when time is limited.

When I got home I cleaned it up a little.

5x7 oil on canvas

Bucks County landscape painting, Cornfields along Rt. 413,

11x14 oil

I was on my way to a local park to paint when I saw this cornfield up ahead, the top of the corn stood out like a neon sign.  With the camera ready on the front seat I was able to get one shot off as I passed by. I make sure the exposure is already set for the light conditions so I can just point and shoot, it doesn't matter if the picture is blurry, I'm only interested in capturing the light.

I find painting the complexities of cornfields is not so hard if you simplify the shapes and values, it helps give the appearance of tightly packed rows of corn.

Plein air practice

My brother Chris and I got out for a couple hours early Saturday morning for a little plein air painting practice. We only had a 2-3 hour time frame before we had to be home to take care of the days commitments.
A ten minute drive put us at Core Creek park right before sunrise. On the drive over  I saw mist hanging over an open field and mentioned that the lake will have a good blanket of fog over it.
I had started my painting before the sun cleared the tree line and stayed with that lighting even though the sun was blasting us in the eyes when I finished.

I didn't or I should say I couldn't take any on location pictures because I broke my rule of making sure I have charged batteries for my camera before I go out. When I went to use the camera it was flashing low batteries. Chris had his camera so he was the photographer for the day.

This is my sketch of the scene, 8x10 oil

                                                                                                   

Chris captured the scene with the sun up over the tree line and got a different effect.

I liked the shadows under the background trees and the fog lit up by the sun.

5x7 oil

We went to another part of the park to scout another spot and as we were setting up I noticed the sun starting to fade so I quickly put down a quick sketch of a patch of light and some trees.

When we looked up thru the trees it had completely clouded over.

I did get one picture of Chris with his sketch on the easel before my camera quit.

Core Creek Park, landscape oil painting, 12x16

Core Creek Park  12x16 oil painting

This park is only ten minutes away so it is a convenient place to paint. It provides me with subjects to paint all year round as long as I keep my eyes and mind open to the possibilities.
It helps to have a place close by where you don't have to do too much traveling to paint.

The Pond, Nockamixon State Park,16x20 oil painting

The Pond, Nockamixon State Park, 16 x 20 oil painting



I had a few days in July to gather material for some new paintings. I spent one day at Nockamixon State Park, they have a small  pond in the one area of the park where I was able to sit at the picnic table and do a  5x7 sketch to help familiarize myself with the scene.

This cigar paintbox is very portable and great for when you want to do a few sketches even though you will be doing a lot of walking. The block of wood in the middle of the palette keeps the paints from smearing when the lid is shut. I have a t-nut on the bottom that attaches to a tripod when I want to use it that way.

Falls Twp. Park, Sunset

Lakeside Flowers, sunset, oil painting, 11x14

Maria and I went fishing at the lake in Falls Twp. Park. The lake is bordered by bushes and flowers with openings where you can stand and cast from the shoreline. We were walking back from a slow evening of fishing when I spotted this section lit up by the sun.

Caladiums in the Yard

8x10   oil over acrylic

This is a study of one of my wifes flower beds. I was getting dinner ready one evening and saw this flower bed lit by a shaft of light.  I  shut off the burners on the stove and went out and snapped some pictures. I learned from experience that when you have a chance to capture something do it before you lose it.
There is only a small window of opportunity to paint this flower bed  on location because the lighting is very short lived. The next two days had cloud cover during this time frame and the third day I wasn't able to be home. So I'm glad I took the pictures when I did.

Tributary to Kistler Run,Pocono Mountains

Tributary to Kistler Run 8x10 oil

This is a small tributary to Kistler Run from two posts ago. I enjoy these little out of the way places, we were walking thru the woods and came across this small feeder stream running through the forest empting into Kistler Run.

I liked how the sun found its way thru the trees lighting up parts of the stream bottom giving you a quick glimpse into its world.

Grizzly and Salmon

Grizzly and Salmon 6"x6" oil painting.

I had watched a documentary recently on the life cycle of the salmon but was always amazed at the dexterity the bears have at skinning and eating certain parts of the salmon.
 This bear shows his catch off just like a fisherman does.

Kistler Run, Pocono Mnts.

Kistler Run  5x7 oil

My brother Tom and I went to the Pocono's to do some fly fishing for trout. After all the rains we had the streams were running hard and high. The first stream (our primary stream) was to fast for safe wading with all the big rocks you have to traverse.

We went to out backup stream Tobyhanna Creek that was also running quick and high. Tom caught a nice brook trout but you could only wade so far, so we went to a smaller feeder stream that empties into the Tobyhanna.
Tom caught 3 or 4 brook trout from this area that a beaver had dammed up.

We went a little deeper into the forested section of the stream where I had caught 2 trout from one of the deeper pools. It was tight casting in this section of the stream.

I wanted to capture the filtered light that was present in the woods that day.That is what the painting is about.

Wild Turkey, Spring Gobbler oil painting

Wild Turkey  Long beard 6" x6" oil painting.  (SOLD)

I had shot video of this turkey at a bird feeder in a state park in the Pocono mountains.
In this painting I wanted to experiment with trying to capture the iridescence's of the turkeys feathers.

I  changed the lighting so it would show off the iridescence of the feathers and I also changed the setting to make it look like he wandered out of the woods to feed in  the field.

Fly fishing art,

I haven't posted anything in a while, I have been painting…. just not posting anything.
I find myself looking at finished paintings (or what I thought was finished) and seeing things that could be improved.
The painting below went through three different changes, I think this is the final version. This is one of the streams we fish in upsate Pa.

Young Womans Creek 11x14 oil

Still Life painting, Strawberries 6"x6"

Still Life Strawberries 6"x6" acrylic

I wanted to move away from the drab colors of winter and do something with a little punch for a change of pace.

Winter Fields at Tyler State Park

Winter Fields,Tyler State Park 16x20 oil

This is one of the local parks I like painting at. It has numerous trails you can walk that take you thru different habitat from open fields to areas of woods with a creek running thru.
This is that in-between time from late winter with the last remaining patches of snow and right before spring.