Skies

I need to include this painting that I did in late October. My interest here was the dramatic sky over the dark gold rolling hills. I loved the color contrast. I also wanted to practice painting clouds and feel that this one was a success. I may paint a larger version of this soon.

"October Sky", oil, 12x12

I felt that this next sky was dramatic in a different way. I was attracted to the blue violet sky against the old white farm house and the way the shadows on the back of the farm house seemed to melt into the sky color. This is called a "lost edge". I took some artistic license here and left out a few trees, etc to create this composition, but still stayed true to the essence of the scene before me.

"Farm House - November Sky", oil on linen panel, 9x12

November plein air work

November has gone by in a flash partly because I have been immersed in studio work as well as getting out during some really nice days in the first part of the month. The next few blogs will be playing catch-up with my favorite plein air works and then some new studio work.
Holly Sturgis and I went to paint at Klein's Farm and were treated to beautiful afternoon light and color with a great view of rolling hills and orchards. I love the colors of the orchards in fall almost as much as the blossoms in spring.

"Rolling Fields and Orchards", oil, 9x12

"Beauty Road", oil, 12x9

Sometimes I make plans to work in the studio all day, only to see that the day is shaping up fine and I know that I will regret not plein air painting. This day I painted with my friend, Kay Tiedt, in an area that I normally do not frequent, but she had been there a few days before. We met on 4 Mile off of Egypt Valley Rd., and discovered a winding Natural Beauty Road with a few spot to pull over and paint. The wind had picked up, so I was glad to be in a secluded place, with trees all around.

Late October plein air

"Cherry Orchard and Morning Shadows", oil, 8x10

I had the opportunity to paint on a farm that is near the highest spot in Ottawa County. On a clear day you can see the dunes at Hoffmaster State Park! This is beautiful land, with cherry, apple, and other fruit trees in neat rows over rolling hills. The distant views are unique to most of Michigan until you travel north around Traverse City. So anyway, I loved painting here and look forward to do paintings of the spring blossoms.

"Little Stream in October", oil, 10x8

This little stream flows into the Rogue River a few miles from my home. I have driven by it countless times and finally decided to do a painting on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Sometimes you have to see something many times before realizing its potential. Of course, it could have been the late afternoon light and the warm colors of autumn that made it special this day.

Road to Home

In this post I would like to show how two plein air studies along with several reference photos aided in the studio painting "Road to Home". I did the studies several weeks ago, not far from my home, and decided right away to do a larger painting from that experience. Study one:

"Poplars and Sumac", oil on linen panel, 10x8, $500. framed







Study number two on the same morning:

"On the Way Home", oil on linen panel, 8x10, $500. framed



In the studio I set up these studies and photographs up together, and did a small composition sketch. My canvas was 24x36 so I wanted to be sure the composition would work in that format.

This is a photo of my set up and partially finished work. You can see the sketchy underpainting on the bottom half.

The finished painting:

"Road to Home", oil, 24x36, $3000. framed

October Orchards

"Apple Orchard - Morning", oil on linen panel, 9x12

Wow, what a beautiful morning to paint. Last week I went to Robinettes Orchard with two artist friends and we felt so fortunate to be there. The light was great and there was something to paint in every direction. I did two paintings with the help of an apple fritter and coffee. It was delish!

"Peach Orchard in October", oil on linen panel, 12x16

I loved this scene. The peach trees were just starting to turn a golden color and the morning shadows created nice patterns across the grass and hilly road. I had to paint fast to keep my initial inspiration as the sun rose, everything changed very quickly.

Plein air Work

"Red Barns and Pumpkins", oil on linen panel, 9x12 SOLD

The beautiful October weather is starting to fade. We still have some sun, but with it comes the wind and chilly temps. I feel good that I was able to paint on location most of the month, accumulating many studies and finished works. I am going to feature some of my favorite ones in the next few blogs.

"Farm on the Hill", oil on linen panel, 9x12

"Pasture Creek", oil on linen panel, 14x11

A Commission

"Summer Waves", pastel, 24x36 - SOLD

This painting was recently completed as a commission. The client wanted a pastel painting of Lake Michigan with the water and shoreline as the subject, and this was the result.