A Different Technique

Soft     oil over charcoal on birch panel  11 x 12″  unframed but ready to hang $250

Early one afternoon last summer some beautiful cumulus clouds rolled up.  I sat on the porch and “painted” them with powdered charcoal to which I applied fixative. It was a quick method for capturing fast-moving clouds.  Then I gently rubbed oil paint over the charcoal and put in the strip of landscape at the bottom.  I’ve tried the same technique with larger pieces but haven’t liked the look nearly as much.  Also, it’s a lot of work to rub paint in over a large area!

Above the Barn

 

A Scene Below     9 x 12″  oil on masonite  $200

One day last summer I went out by myself to a spot I’d been wanting to paint from for a long time.  It’s by the road, looking down on the village.  For this one I just concentrated on the house, barn and sheds without putting in the other bldgs. in the distance.  Maybe sometime I’ll be back and paint the whole village.   There are so many gorgeous vistas around here.

Iffy Weather

Sarah’s View   oil on masonite 9 x 12″  $200 unframed

When I went out to paint this one the sky was clear.  But as so often seems to happen, clouds came up and looked threatening.  As the sky darkened the spots of light diminished until just the edge of one bush was lit up.  Then, in the distance, the sun fell on the top of a hill for just a minute,  making  a path of light from the foreground to the background.  Gifts like that are one reason plein air painting can be so satisfying.

Dappled Shade

Dappled Shade  oil on masonite 9 x 12″  $200 unframed

Here’s the second painting I did this spring/summer.  I stood on the edge of one friend’s garden and looked toward another friend’s garden.  It was fairly early morning and I liked the effect of the light against the old white house, the shadows on the roof and lawn.  Unfortunately as I was walking out of the little wooded area where I was standing I tripped on a branch and went sprawling.  The knot on my knee lasted 3 months but hey, one has to suffer for one’s art, right?

Back Again

Christine’s Canvas   Oil on masonite  9 x 12″  $200

I’ve been painting a good bit this past summer but for some reason haven’t been in the mood to blog.  Probably nobody’s still listening but I thought I’d go back and post some of the paintings I’ve done in the last few months.  We still have only a dail-up connection and as the technology progresses we feel more and more that we’re still in a horse-and-buggy world here in the woods.

This painting is the first I did outside last spring.  The woman who owns the house where we were painting is an enthusiastic gardener and says her yard is her canvas.  And what a view she has! I really liked the early spring color of the crabapple tree.  And the rustic chair underneath it looked so inviting.