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

Where the Road Meets the Wetlands 6"x 8"

My aim was to take a small canvas out and try to complete it in an hour.  Gosh, I'm so slow.  This was two hours.  The drawing is off but I do like the colors.  I think I will try redoing it inside just for practice.

Fisher Butte Wetlands June 8"x 10"

Generally, I like this one.  It was a gorgeous day and I managed to get out there pretty early.  I tried using Cad red deep which I used to love and haven't used for quite a while.  Now we are scheduled for several days of rain so no more outside painting for a while.

Storm Coming 8"x 10"

Yesterday was predicted to clear in the afternoon and it did for about half an hour.  It was pretty windy and kept getting worse.  I was about frozen when my friend Mona and I left.
I've been mixing colors that are a little "prettier" than the landscape really is.  I'm thinking I've gone too far and will try greying the colors again.

Reed Pond at the Fisher Unit 10"x 8"

I've been painting out at the Fisher Unit so often that I'm having trouble thinking of titles.  As usual I had a lot of trouble with certain parts of this but it sure was a great day.  Real sunny and warm.

Fisher Unit Wetlands 10"x 8"

Yesterday was so beautiful out at the Fisher Unit.  Only saw about 4 people the whole time I was out there.  Lots of birds, ducks, and a blue heron flew right over me.  So grand to be out there!

Ox Eye Daisies 6"x 6"

Rainy weather has forced me to stay inside.  I had to drive out to Stults Road to find these little wild flowers.  I was really surprised I couldn't find any right across the street at Amazon Slough.
Anyway, I really struggled trying to use the view finder drawing method.  So long since I've done it.  The whole thing was kind of a struggle except for the center of the daisy on the left.  It just happened and I really like it.  Wish it could all come together like that.

Lupine Trail--Studio Version 8"x 10"

I think this one really is an improvement over the outdoor version.  Removing the tree and lightening the value of the path really help.

Twilight at the Fisher Unit--Studio Version 8"x 10"

I wanted to try something I read from a Jill Carver workshop.  That's to try painting inside using the the plein air painting and a black and white photo of the scene as a source.  So with the recent rainy weather I did give it a try.  While I think it was useful to do, I don't think I really improved painting inside.  Some parts seem better but others seem worse.

Twilight at the Fisher Unit 8"x 10"

I went out rather late for me--about 3:30 pm.  By the time I walked all the way out and got set up it was probably 4:30 or so.  It was kind of an amazing evening to be out there.  A storm was definitely on it's way in.  I could hear bull frogs bellowing just past my feet.  The wind picked up and it was just lightly sprinkling when I packed up.  It poured as I drove home.  It's often so exciting to paint outside.

Trail at the Fisher Unit 8"x 10"

I've gotten a little back logged in my posting.  This was done about a week ago.  I am trying to think about color harmony and using appealing colors instead of mixing just what I see.  This is a difficult concept for me.  So this came out a little extreme but it is in the direction of where I want to be going.

The Willamette from the end of Stults Road 8"x 10"

Yesterday the plein air group was at the river.  My painting seemed really grey when I got home so this morning I put a little more color back into it.

Rushes at Delta Ponds 8"x 10"

The plein air group painted at Delta Ponds last Friday.  I felt like I was finally getting the idea of how to do distant bushes, trees etc.  I love the water color but I couldn't seem to convey a mass of rushes.  I'll work on that.

Looking West at Delta Ponds 8"x 10"

Delta Ponds is such an amazing place.  So many views.  This is one of 2 I managed to do last week.  We have rain again and the garden is so overgrown and needing attention that I won't be able to paint for a while.

Lupine Trail 8" x 10"

The lupines at Delta Ponds are beautiful.  This is the last painting I did before going  to my dad's for a week.

Delta Ponds with Lupine 8"x 10"

I'm hoping to try using a slightly larger canvas for a while.  It didn't really take much longer.  I really like this composition.  I wish I could get all the values right.  It seems like a good one to try redoing inside.  I plan to go out to the ponds again today but then I have to be out of town for a week.  Seems so sad to leave since we finally have a spell of sunny weather.

Sunlit Dining Room 6"x 8"

I had to do this from a photo because the sunlight was so fleeting that day.

Tree Peonies 8'x 6"

These peonies have been sitting on the dining room table begging to be painted.  It was fun to paint in the main part of the house and Lulu liked having me down there too.

Angela with her Shopping Bag 8"x 10"

Angela posed again.  I wanted to try putting a face in.  I guess the composition is a little weaker than the first attempt.  It was a fun but exhausting weekend.  Glad I'm retired and can rest today.

Tall Trees 9"x 12'

You can see this stand of fir trees looking east from Tamarack Center where we had our workshop. Unfortunately there is a housing development nestled into the area to their right.  I tried to leave the houses out but wasn't able to imagine what the bases of the trees would look like.  I think it has potential.  I'd like to lighten it and work on the sky more so I won't scrape it off.

Woman Seated in a Garden 6"x 8"

Jerry's wife Angela came and sat for us in the afternoon.  Several people liked this one but I scraped it off.  I think that light spot on the left next to the tree is a real composition flaw.  I think if it were a little darker that would solve the problem.

Figures on a Boat 8"x 10"

Our plein air group had a work shop with Jerry Ross this weekend.  It was lots of fun.  If you don't know his work, he advocates stopping before the painting reaches what would be traditionally a finished state.  This maintains the original freshness and vigor of the sketch.  This was my first try from a photo he had taken in Italy.  I love this one.  The placement of the figures, their silhouettes against the sea and sky.  But I can't bring myself to think of it as a painting that can be framed and hung on a wall.

Delta Ponds Late April 6"x 8"

I spent a lot of time on this.  I like the composition and some things work but there are lots of things I'd like to improve

Fadeley Farm 6"x 8"

Our group got invited to a private farm south of Creswell last Saturday.  Beautiful sunny day.  I used my old Easy L easel.  I've had a lot of trouble with paintings coming out dark and this one did too.  I think maybe it's because the palette had medium grey paper under the plexiglass.  I had been using one of James Coulter's palette boxes with very light grey paper lately.  I scraped this painting off and have replaced the paper but I think I may put even lighter color paper in and see if I do better.  Something I'm working on.

Fisher Unit Late April 6 x 8"

This is my favorite of the 4 I'm going to post today.  I'm happy with the bare trees.  I probably should have put the middle trees a little to the right so it wasn't dot..dot..dot, but gosh, I don't think that fast.  Also need some sky holes to make those trees airier.
The good weather came on quite suddenly and I've been too worn out to post til now.  A little blustery today, but not bad.