Drummer Girl 18"x 18"

It's been awfully wintry so I've been working inside.  I decided to do a few larger paintings from photos I have around.  Some parts of this I'm really happy with, others I just wish I could do better.  But I'm calling it finished and will move on.

Edge of the Pasture 8"x 10"

The colors are not so vivid as the photo but I've not been able to adjust them correctly.  This is not an actual scene, just a composition I wanted to try.  It was hard for me to just make it up but a good learning experience, I think.

Off Dillard Road 8"x 8"

I was practicing clouds here.  We have so many these days.  Also thinking about how dark the trees are in Oregon.  How to use that compositionally in moving more toward abstract painting.  The winter grass here is so bright.  I want to use that again too,

Blueberry Field acrylic 6"x 8"

I bought some acrylic paints at the UO trade show.  I've never painted with them before.  I was afraid to use good brushes so used two old scrubbers.  Sure enough the paint was very hard on them.  I wonder what people who paint with acrylics do.
So anyway it's pretty rough but I like the composition and colors better.  I plan to try a few more of these.

photo of the blueberry field

November Blueberry Field 6"x 8"

Finally back to painting after way too long.  I saw these fields near Corvallis on our way back from Thanksgiving in Newport.  It's really just so garish, but I want to work on this scene for a while.  I hope the weather  will let me do it from life one of these days.

Alley Puddles 8"x 8"

This has taken me 2 days to complete.  I'd sure like to paint faster.  Anyway I've been wanting to try puddles and with all the Oregon rain we have plenty of them.
This was my last day to paint for a while.  I need to go keep my dad company for a week or so.

October Clouds 6"x 6"

I did this for the DPW challenge.  I took the photo out at the Fisher Unit parking lot.  I really need to practice clouds so I was glad that came up.

Foggy Morning 6"x 6"

We had a pretty thick fog this morning before the sun came out.  There were lots of interesting value changes.  Also things in the distance were really out of focus but the things close up were really clear.  So I wanted to try painting that.  I reworked this a little to get a little more fogginess into the yellow trees as they recede.  The parts I'm happy with are the background trees melting into the sky and the color of the road.  I hope I get a chance to try fog again.

Girl in Blue Shorts 6"x 6"

I enjoyed doing this one--keeping it simple and the small size made things come together faster than usual.

Eleventh alley at Jefferson 8"x 10

I made a few changes.  Maybe I learned something.  I have a heck of a time with straight lines.  What I really liked about the scene is that group of evergreens catching the morning sun.

Willamette Alley 8"x 6"

I've been trying to find a good place to photograph and finally think I have it, until it starts raining.  I was doing it on the front porch which has a blue ceiling so I was getting a cold cast.  I should probably try to get those verticles a little more perpendicular.  I do love the cheery colors.  Also I am trying to learn to use a palette knife so I used it on the sunny pavement.

Downtown Alley 8"x 8"

I can't really remember exactly where I took this photo, somewhere in the west side of town.  One of my favorite things in the urban landscape is the way the light is so strong on the top of flat hedges.

Fisher Unit--Late September 6"x 8"

I've been painting inside alot lately.  In lots of ways it's easier and more comfortable.  But I went out a couple days ago.  My objective was to not grey my colors and to use rectangular brush strokes (flats).  So this came out not so accurate colorwise, but I  like that about it.  Pretty colors.
They were doing a controlled burn so I actually packed up after I made a sketch, thinking they'd chase me out.  But they said painting where I was would be ok so I went back.  Glad I did.  My alley project is kind of exciting for me so I've been to lazy about going out.

Downtown Alley 10"x 8"

Well, I thought it would be good to try a few new things.  I planned to do this whole thing with a palette knife but I was so inept at maneuvering it that I resorted to the brush for most of it.  I spent 2 days on it and finally decided to just scrape it off.  I'm not sure if I learned anything, but I'll try again.

House Shadow 8"x 8"

I was really taken with the shadow one house cast on the other.  I wish I could have done the car better.

Broadway Alley at Lawrence 8"x 10"

I'm pretty excited about painting this alley series.  I hope I get a few more days to take photos before the rains come.  I thought the guy was going to be the main thing.  That part was really hard for me.  But when I got to the van it was just plain fun, mixing all those slightly different colors.  I know there's stuff I didn't get right but I really like this one.

7th Ave. Alley 8"x 8"

Yesterday I decided to try painting inside from photos for a while.  I'm running out of places to go to paint where there won't be lots of people around.  And I love the alleys in my neighborhood.  I just wish they were all as colorful as this one.  It's right next to the Sweet Life Patisserie looking east.
I just got these 8"x 8" panels from Raymar and I think I'm going to like this size for urban landscapes.
A couple problems I had:  I couldn't really see the color of the shadow side of these buildings in the photo.  I hope to go there tomorrow morning to get that right.  The electric lines, I don't know how to do them.  I tried scratching them in but I was too shakey for it to work out.  I guess I'll use a liner brush once it's dry but that's not the solution I'm looking for.

Along the Walterville Canal 8"x 10"

Today I went back to Walterville.  Lovely day.  I tried drawing on a clear viewer and then transferring that to my canvas.  It worked reasonably well but I think I'll modify the viewer to make it more stable.  I don't like the way the road goes off the side.  It would probably be a lot better if I hadn't included it.  Next time I think I will work on trying to simplify the subject matter.

Summer Morning in Walterville 10"x 8"

I painted this scene 2 days ago but just couldn't get it right.  There were lots of distractions but mostly I just didn't have the skill.  So today I used a photo in my studio to get the drawing right.  I was shocked at how far off I was.  So I need to work more on drawing.

Walterville Canal 8"x 10"

Mona and I went early out to Walterville.  Very hot day.  The sun was orange and the sky kind of a golden color.  A fellow came by and told us it was because of the fires down in Oakridge.  We'll probably go out there again.  It's not far but there is no shelter from the sun.

Summer Morning on Jefferson Street 6"x 6"

I really enjoyed doing this one and like how it turned out.  I may be painting inside from photos for a while.  So much more relaxing than plein air.

Red Truck 6"x 8"

I painted this truck from Carol Marine's photo.  It was so nice to be in my own house with my dog sleeping on the futon..  I used a grid to get the drawing where I wanted it.  I really enjoy that since my drawing skills are so shakey.

Fern Ridge Reservoir 6"x 8"

I did this probably a week or more ago.  It was so horrible that I couldn't seem to get myself to paint again until the red truck came up.  I was standing on the edge of 11th with cars whizzing by.  It was cloudy with a tiny bit of blue when I started, then quickly opened up and I couldn't remember how it was before.  At the end I stuck the sailboat right in the middle.  What a dope!  Well, that's enough whining.
When I finished I walked across the road to see if I could find a view there--no, it was all water, but there was a dried out bull frog on the edge of the road.  It was really interesting to see what those guys I'm always hearing look like.  He was pretty big, about 10" long.

Afternoon Phlox 6"x 6"

I was encouraged at being able to find something to paint at Sladden Park so I tried my own yard.  I wish there were more possibilities but I think this is about it.  There might be something in the front if the sun ever comes back. 

View from Sladden Park 8"x 6"

I'm happy with this one except the foreground shade is too piecey.  I don't want to mess with this one but will try to think about that next time. I really like the shape of the sky and the sky holes. (which have been hard for me to get right)  I also like that the brush strokes look casual.
It looks so quiet but in reality there was all kinds of activity going on all around me:  There was a group of kids doing crafts in one of the city's summer programs, boys playing basketball just a few feet away and a relentless grounds person mowing with his ride on mower.

Near Pleasant Hill 6"x 8"

I saw this scene a couple times driving out Hwy 58 and wanted to paint it before they pick up the hay.  When I got there yesterday there was a cloud cover.  I stood on the edge of the highway sketching the scene and realized I wouldn't be able to paint there with all the traffic that was going by so I pulled into the nearby gas station and thought I would just try to get the colors on a little canvas. After a while the clouds lifted.   I actually like how it came out.  So now I'm hoping to do a 12" x 16" using all the info I have.  We'll see.

Looking East Across Meadowlark Prairie 8"x 10"

When I decided to paint this, I was really enchanted by how pink the clouds looked.  But I didn't get them pink enough.  I think those clouds meant they were likely to have thunder storms in central Oregon.

Cloud Study 8"x 6"

I went out to the Fisher Unit to try painting the red grass again--and it had all gone brown!  What a shock.  Oh well, a next year.
So we had a lot of clouds.  The overcast was just breaking and I've been wanting to learn to paint clouds.  They are so rare here in summer.  I learned some but have a lot more to figure out.  I've been looking at them a lot since this painting and have noticed that the distant ones have a horozontal dark shadow line while the ones that are overhead show a lot more of their shadow underside.  That's kind of "Duh," I guess but I hadn't put any thought into it before.  I also have been noticing that the shadows on the distant ones tend toward blue and the shadows on the closer ones are warmer and more burnt sienna.
I hate to get too optimistic, but it looks like we may have several sunny days coming.

Where the Road Meets the Wetlands Studio Version 9"x 12"

Well, this was kind of a disaster but maybe I learned something.  I thought I should put the center of interest in one of the "1/3 spots".  Maybe it would have worked if I had gone for the right side instead of the left but I think my original composition was probably better than either.  Can't believe I have that water running right out the left side!
But then I did work out a few other things.  I'm really happy that I tried putting some light blue and light red tones on the mountains.  I'm also happy that I figured out how to paint the red grass instead of just making one big red blob like I have been doing.  I still don't get how to paint all those masses of grassy stems.  I want to go toward a mass, not individual stems.
Well, there's bound to be another sunny day and that red grass should last awhile so I'll try again.
Our Plein Air group will be hanging a show today at the library.  It will run through September.  I get to help hang it.  Should be fun to see what everyone has submitted