Susquehanna plein air

8"x10" oil/linen

 

Wandered down to the river this evening and produced this piece. The approach is becoming more clear.

Layers

3 12"x12" panels

3 12"x12" panels

So these are 2 pieces I've been working on. Both done after Moms' passing. I feel different now and the idea of thick juicy paint doesn't make sense currently. I wanted to apply thin paint and really scrub it into the panels. Perhaps getting the most out of what was left...........

Blue Mountain diving into the Susquehanna

12"x12" oil/canvas

plein air

Struggled big time with this one yesterday. Had a narrow timeframe to paint so wanted to do backlit blue mtn. Crazy glare with the sun in my eyes, couldn't see much. The river was hard to determine. Stuck with the original sensation I got at the scene. I liked how the mountain seemed so big. In reality it might be 1900 feet tall here. I only liked this one til about 20 minutes in. Once I was blinded by the sun I felt like it was a total fabrication I struggled to keep it honest. I almost wiped it but was too tired. A day later... I decided to post it. I still don't feel that great about it but it represents the struggles that we continue to battle day to day.....

Winter day on the Susquehanna

3 6"x6" oil/panels

I'm finding a genuine interest in simplicity of stroke....edgework....and atmosphere. As reality moves to the back burner and emotion and personal feeling takes over I feel a freedom of expression. Do I paint trees?......no...........well not literally...........

Susquehanna winter

30"x40"

oil/canvas

I found out that I'll be exhibiting in center city Philadelphia in a major corporate complex beginning in April. On top of normal anxiety now I'm feeling the heat to produce more work. The space is quite large so I want to put in big work. My muscles are aching from digging out of so much snow but one must move upwards and onwards. I tackled this one today. The river always captivates me and I plan on doing a small triptych tomorrow. Doesn't apply to Philly but does apply to my other shows.

application study

30"x40"

oil/canvas

As I am losing interest in reality persay, I did this large studio piece today. It's from the early studies of the river a few weeks back. I'm paying attention to application in preparation for the egads paintings.(every goliath attempt does surprise) I say losing interest in reality. What I really mean is I'm trying to abandon any attempt at drawing and I simply want to create a believable feeling or sensation. Of course, to do this I need to pay every attention to every detail and yet paint almost no detail! I guess it's really about what makes the artist drawn to a scene and conveying it. WITHOUT ILLUSTRATING IT!

Capitol Dome view complementary study

16"x20"
oil/canvas



Did this from yesterdays sketch. The sky and water are more yellow than my monitor is showing. I like the color harmony on this one but sure can't see it on my computer. It's about to pour down rain again so it's off to the van and up the river. I'll try to find a new subject.

Capitol Dome view

9"x12"
oil/canvas



Headed out this morning with a plan of doing a 16x20 view of Harrisburg from the west shore. The park was closed so couldn't take the van in. Drove around a bit and ended up in a business for sale parking lot with a great view of the river and the capitol."yeah, it's a sketch and I have a hard time seeing the dome too. And I painted it!" Anyway, the light was changing fast so I had a 9x12 in the van and mixed rapidly and sketched this. I didn't quite get the light but felt good about freedom of brushstroke. I may do a purple/yellow complementery color larger piece from this study. The backlit scene was really nice and want to capture it. At any rate I found a new place to paint.

Harvey Taylor Bridge

16"x20"
oil/canvas




hang in there. I've found an approach that suits me. The loose mixing and loose application is coming to fruition. This one is close.

Rockville Bridge Deluge

10"x10"
oil/canvas



Ok. So I went to a favorite spot yesterday to paint the bridge during a very heavy rain. Stayed in the van to paint and rain was blowing in through the door. Felt excited to be able to paint in deplurable conditions and remain dry. I asked myself though, "What are you painting ? There's virtually no color, all cool conditions and very little definition." I answered myself "atmosphere." So here is my attempt at atmosphere....during a rainstorm....on the Susquehanna............

Susquehanna winter

12"x12"
oil/panel




This morning was cold...real cold... So cold in fact that iguanas are falling from the trees in Florida. Sorry, I couldn't resist. It was on NPR.I think they would be dying here in Pennsylvania. I did this one out of the van again. I had the propane heater going so my right hand was warm my left was numb. That's the difference a foot makes when the wind is blowing directly through the door and it's in the single digits. I do love the river when it's about frozen over. Not sure I quite captured it but the morning sun hitting blue mountain was quite nice also. The house.........well it's chilly....not frozen... just chilly. The space heaters are preventing a disaster from occuring. New furnace tomorrow supposedly. I never count my chickens before they hatch.

rockville bridge

rockville bridge
12"x12" oil/panel

a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_-9LU2fgpYOWDnC6JQ1z38EamYi4i6fNFxG6RTojEo9DFvwrO4hYvcL01vfxVxiDnWDIOwaHN34fXlRafkkBXi7JGJn4ghWppZSwUr6lsL4GZu8RTHk0Ve-ao9-Vu9unQsrtmIQmz9xU/s1600-h/IMG_1122.JPG">

inside the sprinter. note the propane heater. it's 20 degrees outside with a 25 mph wind blowing.

see the easel and stool. the propane heater is keeping things comfy.

Brutal wind and cold today. Looks pleasant. It's 20 something degrees with a huge wind, plus I'm along the river at fort hunter. Big wind along the river. Inside the van.... nice..... propane heater is kickin.....I'm parked so the wind doesn't enter the truck. This piece is ok but I'm more excited about future work out of the van. Come summer the van wil be full of show stuff but for now it makes a great studio!

Winter Sycamores along the Susquehanna

12"x12" oil/panel




I find these mighty sycamores to be great subject matter during the winter time. On a side note The Art Association of Harrisburg's "Figuratively Speaking" show is coming up in the middle of January. I'll be exhibiting "girl in the striped dress" and I have an idea for the second painting to enter. I was going to enter my 3ft square Longhorn painting. Decided to dig out a figure study I did at Pratt Manhattan many years ago and paint over it with the new thick juicy style and see where it goes. I'll post before and after. I have to get it done soon so it will be dry. Perhaps tomorrow....I found out a few weeks ago that I was accepted into the OPA. Oil painters of America. A great group of artists keeping representational painting alive while appreciating the many different styles so many of us use to convey our visual world.

youtube link

Just a test to see if youtube link works. I think I prefer this version. The blogger video is a bit too small. When I finally put together a real demo/video I'll go with youtube. Any input would be appreciated if there are issues viewing these. Remember, I only had a poor camera to use. You can't even see brush strokes!There might be a way to change size of video. I'll look into it. Hopefully I can get my hands on an actual video camera. Heck, my regular camera might have that option. I'm not very technically savvy. But I'm working on it. I've added the triptych on the end of the video.

A river runs through

6"x6" oil/panels




















































atmosphere, shape and geometry seem to be of particular interest again.

Gallery walk river paintings

3 6x6" panels
plein air

I went back to the river today and did these. Paint Annapolis begins Thursday so I'm heading down tomorrow to check in and find some painting locations. I may or may not post during the competition, but will take the stuff along just in case.









3 6x6" panels

I no more than got home from the Bethany Beach show and found out I had one first place in the Art Association of Harrisburg members show for my painting of the Louvre. Yes, I was excited but I wasn't able to paint everything I wanted to for gallery walk. I attended the awards ceremony and decided to focus on the river for my painting. I taped up 3 little canvases and ended up scraping down 6 versions and ended up with these pieces.

City Island Marina

30"x40" plein air




Back in studio I break out the brushes... Do some edge work.... More boat markings..... By applying so much paint on site I was able to keep the same atmosphere back in the studio. Just had to push a little paint here and there. The energy that goes into these big plein air pieces is hard to describe. I felt like I was back racing mountain bikes!












As I slowly make markings for the boats, the thunder is getting closer. Since I'm on top of a building.... on the river.....With a storm approaching... Probably wise to pack up... So I do...The sky lets loose just as I cross the river in my car.... Close call....
















Mixed some more values......Decided to include the foreground tree...tweaked the buildings... Pondered just exactly how to tackle the boats.... Way too busy to attempt detail.... I decided to just use markings and forget about the fact that they are boats....Thunder gets my attention...















Brought out my studio palette, cans of paint included. Going big... using lots of paint....mixed my darks and knifed them in....

Yikes, That's alot of canvas. 30"x 40" to be exact. Saturday morning....on top of the parking garage...on city island....in Harrisburg, PA.... I decide to tackle a big plein air piece. I checked weather radar.....Storms were in State College...

river at sunset

24"x24" oil/canvas



















24"x24" oil/canvas

finished the two paintings for the conference room. The river is a predominate subject around here and it never gets old. Visually, I find it to be the most outstanding thing in Harrisburg. The bridges are a strong second but incredibly challenging to paint. The river proves calming in summer yet can flood almost the entire city at times.

susquehanna summer

16"x20" plein air

20"x16"

plein air

I had to get back to the river for some plein air work. I've been doing alot of studio work and will now be doing even more. I'm exhibiting at Martin Sacks in Linglestown PA. September through November. I just talked to the organizer and she said they have big walls so bring big work. I'll be checking the site this week to see just how BIG. As I've mentioned I'm doing larger scale work for the outdoor shows and they are about to really kick in for me. I'll be showing practically every weekend from mid August through early October. I've also been asked to exhibit in a 3 person show at Lynden gallery, Elizabethtown PA. The theme is 3 different styles from 3 direct observation painters. More on that show as the details get ironed out.

The posted paintings were both done yesterday. The horizontal first the vertical second. I was very focused with the first one and very happy to be back in a familiar spot painting. The second painting had less light and I stuggled to find form in the tree mass. The sky began to grab my attention. The humidity was extremely high so the variations in value were diminshed and with the decreasing light the scene was almost flat. I mixed colors on my palette and added straight stand oil right onto the palette mixed in with colors. I used knife to apply then brushes to orchestrate the arrangements. The focus put into painting one affected me in painting 2. I got a little sloppy.

Orange at night

6"x6" oil/panel

Finally was able to get another quick sunset in. This time the sun was still above horizon. I plopped down behind a tree, blocking the sun from my eyes, held my panel and painted rapidly. This scene was absolutely beautiful while I painted. The river was very much alive as were the trees around it. I was very focused and calm while painting. In fact this is the best I've felt while painting in awhile. No wind! I know, yet again I've fallen behind on the award duties. I'm working on it and will say that one thing I love is painting the Susquehanna River.