The Autumn Drive

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I altered the road from the original photo to give the painting depth.

6x6 Oil on Raymar Panel.

Fall Colors

The fall colors are not as vibrant as they have been in the past. This scene is with the early morning light and I think that added some color.

6x6 Oil on Raymar panel

Kitty Kitty Kitty

My sister has several cats and last time I stopped by I took a photo. I admit I don't have much experience painting cats so this did take some editing. The original photo had them under the porch which was also edited out of the painting. I also experimented with the pallette knife on this one. Sometimes I need to paint out of my comfort zone.

6x6 Oil on Raymar panel.

Building the Sand Castle

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Today was the second day of the studio tour. I was a little braver and painted this scene on site and it went smoothly. I will need to fix the details when the paint dries.

6x8 Oil on Raymar panel. 

Don't Push Me

I got a little bolder yesterday with this scene. I did have to edit the background, since the original photo was taken in a feed lot.

6x6 Oil on Raymar Panel.

Red Wine and Green Grapes no 5

Yesterday I participated in the South East Iowa  Artists' Studio Tour. I selected this subject matter because I am familiar with it. When painting in front of crowds I usually select something I can pull off successfully.

6x6 Oil on Raymar panel

Red Wine and Concord Grapes

My sister dropped off some concord grapes that she picked up from a local vineyard. These are perfect for this still life. I may have to go back in after it drys some to put more quinocridone red in the grapes.

6x6 Oil on Raymar Panel

geode creek no5

This is a version of the creek that I had been painting.

6x12 Oil on Raymar panel.

Red wine and Green Grapes 4

6x6 Oil on Raymar Panel

Geode Creek no.4

I decided to try this creek scene again. I love the creeks in the area they bring back memories. They are difficult to paint and usually I avoid subjects like that but not these. I probably have more creek scenes in my reject pile than other subject. I am still debating this one.

Red Wine and Green Grapes 3

This last week's Daily Paintworks Challenge a value study.

This started out as the Daily Paintworks Challenge using 4 monotone values. It started out as a set up outside but I could not reproduce the set so I just used my imagination. Working off a value study helps.

Staring Contest

This is the previous trail riders painting after I edited it. I am not sure of the composition, possibly the palomino should have been on the right with the chestnut in the middle something that would lead your eye around the painting.

Creek no 6

I am brushing up on my water painting skills. I have this commission that requires a water scene that I basically have to make up. This is a scene I created in my head as a warm up for the rough sketch below.

The commission requires three guys swimming across the Mississippi. I needed to convey the sense of distance. The bridge is blocked in on the left; which after looking at it seems out of perspective. The waves will also have to be adjusted to gradually transision from large to small. I may have to go plein air painting to get a better grasp of the details.

Smile

I once read a column in which the writer talked about his wife turning 50; he therorized that she could easily be a spy because no one noticed her nor would remember what she looked like. I normally share this gift of ananomity, and use it to get candid  pictures of people. The Tri-State Rodeo is in town this week; it draws large crowds and big time entertainment; there's also a great parade. I went to the parade by myself ( I was tired and grumpy.) I sat down with my camera, blended into the crowd,  and waited.  A red pickup came by with this famous rodeo clown; he looked right at me and said, "Smile it doesn't cost a thing". My first thought was "Is he talking to me?' Indeed he was; as he gave me a big thumbs up, I laughed, picked up my camera and shot this picture, The result is this painting of Leon Coffee doing what he does best, making you smile.

6x6 oil on Raymar panel. NFS

Brahma Bulls and other sketches

The rodeo is in town this weekend. This is from a photo I took last time they were in town. I was up on the fence when I took this and they were laying down.

I bought a bamboo dip pen and walnut ink. I once borrowed someone's bamboo dip pen and just loved it. I have since tried to find one with the same feel but no luck. This was tricky but you can get a variety of widths in your line.

This is from a photo of my daughter when she was 18.

Red Wine and Green Grapes 2

The last bottle of wine I bought was white which I liked better but it was harder to paint. So I bought a bottle of red wine and even if it doesn't taste as good it made a better painting. Either way I'll still get to drink a glass of wine when I finish. I'll admit I don't particularly like the grapes, so they are used in the next painting.

6x6 Oil on Raymar Panel.

Getting Ready to Show

This is a recent sketch done in pen and ink wash. When I sketch I don't draw a rough draft in pencil. You will see several lines on the outside. I am just warming up for painting and these are just practice. Just fast and loose, and this one is fairly accurate for anatomy. They are not always sucessful and usually I will just quit in the middle and move to another one if it is really off.

Three Big Pigs

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This is my entry for the latest Daily Paintworks Challenge which is to paint a pig. It could be a cartoon, toy or ceramic pig. That would be the best ideas, because pigs are not that photogenic. They don't look at you unless they think you have food. They don't have that cute face like a calf or fluffy fur and who likes looking straight into a nostril. Years ago I wanted to enter a local contest, Pigcasso art contest, which required a picture of a pig in some form or shape. I took many pictures of these uncooperative animals. None of the pictures had a ready made composition and I never did enter the competition. So when the challenge came up I decided to suck it up and try. This is a composite of three different pictures, and a made up background.

6x6 Oil on Raymar panel.

Sliding Stop

I would often go to the local Rodeo for reference shots. This is a sliding stop and I seemed to have gotten the photo at the right moment. This is another example of a challengeing subject matter. I had to scrap the horse's head off two times and move it up to get the right length on the neck. Also the hat another tough one had to be scraped and repainted. Again I will come back to this one and reevaluate it.

6x6 Oil on Raymar Panel.

Trail Riders

This is one of the those paintings that I will do to really challenge myself. Painting the front view of horses is something I don't do enough of, note the back legs of the last horse on the right. Also cowboy hats are tough, mine sometimes look sort of like Stan Laurel's(was he the skinny one?). This is a painting in progress, I had corrected it too much and now have to wait for the paint to dry to fix it. I also need to walk away for a day and come back to it.