plein air musings plus

The following are some pieces I did outside of my studio. I'm still working on the theme of painting- that -which -normally -doesn't -get -a- second -thought but, I find particularly beautiful.

"Blu Where There Shouldn't Be"
6"x8" Oil










On this morning the weather went from sunny and warm to dark and rainy to sunny and, well you get the picture. It really wasn't the best idea to pick reflections on those conditions. Again I struggle with getting too expressive and loosing the bit of form which gives the viewer a clue as to the fact that it is reflections in water and not purely an abstraction painting.







"River North" (Unfinished)
The sun was out, it was warm for the first time in weeks and weeks so instead of finishing the piece I was distracted by the day.

okay so this isn't a plein air piece but she is "musing" about something.

12"x9" head study in oil w/ a limited palette

plein air paintings

"Still Waters" Oil 6"x8" ($145.)


I made these paintings over the last couple of days and decided to post them together. The theme is paint-what-normally-doesn't-get-a- second-glance.

The river flooded but has started to recede leaving pools of water in the woods. It has opened a whole new world of painting possibilities. I hope to paint more before it all dries up.




"Reflections of Blu Skies" Oil 6"x8" (sold)

I never knew how much a blue sky could change the colors of muddy water.
















"Morning Glow" Oil 8"x6" ($145.)

Tried to capture the sun light as it just starts to touch some of the buildings in the morning. Normally I focus on the watertower which is shown to the right but cropped off. The smaller surrounding buildings have much charm themselves so I hope to paint them from different angles.

can you guess what it is???

Yesterday I finally got to paint this area that I pass by daily but haven't found the time to stop and paint. My primary concern was to create a simple simple composition/design with my subject matter. But now I'm wondering if the simplicity made it too abstract. If so, I probably should consider painting in a more highly realistic manner and minimalize my loosy-goosy style. So, can you tell what it is I painted???

6"x8" oil on linen mounted on 6 ply archival museum board

I love quick sketch in oils. This is one of my favorite models. She's long and lean with a pixie-like personality.

12"x6" oil on linen NFS

"On the Dance Floor"

I painted this from a small "blop" painting and added more of the floor because I wanted to show the dramatic sun-spot from the large window. I'm a bit concerned that I elongated her body a bit too much. What do you think?

11"x14" oil on linen

head study in oil

Definitely my favorite and biggest challenge are these portrait studies. There is so much information to try to capture and also the decisions on what not to paint. I want to get accuracy but keep it "painterly." I took the photos about every two hours to keep track of my progression.

14"x11"

oil on portrait linen

blop,blop, blop

This is a tiny piece and done quickly before the teen bounced off to do whatever these kids do. My hope was to get the size and placement in that bit of light from a side window, as accurately as possible. I'd like to do more of these "blop" pieces and then see if I can successfully make them larger in my studio. I call them blop pieces because that's what I feel like I'm doing, just blop in the values in the right place the first time cause there's no second chance.

6"x4" oil on linen

head study-"DaLawn"

I feel very fortunate to be a part of the Palette and Chisel Art Academy and Gallery. They have over 60 hours of open studio/live models. This young man can sit hours, literally, without a break. Finally we artists were just too hungry and needed a rest.
9"x12" Oil on Linen