Welcome Autumn!

When the weather turns cool I feel the need to paint in oranges, golds, and browns. My favorite time of the year urges me to head for the woods paint the glories of Autumn. When I can't get out, I bring the harvest to me in the form of pumpkins, gourds, Indian corn, and mums.

I never tire of their beauty and variety!

Autumn Still LIfe   oil on canvas  12 x 16

A Moment in Time

Conventional wisdom by conventional artists says that morning light is cool and afternoon light is warm. But the other morning, as I started out on my morning walk, I hadn't even gotten out of the driveway before I was stopped in my tracks by the light shining on a group of tree trunks. They were lit with an intense reddish light that was made all the more dramatic by the cool blues in the mist shrouded background.
I couldn't get it out of my head and so I painted it as best I could. I wish I could paint with light instead of pigments so that everyone could see what I saw.

September Morning Light   16" x 20"

Sometimes conventional wisdom needs to be ignored.......

I've got four hours....so paint!

Hiking in Trexler Nature Preserve is always a balm to the soul. This painting is done from sketches and photos taken on the trail. Deep summer is SO green....but there are a thousand different greens. I recently read that the human eye can see 10,000 different colors. How marvelous!! I will bite my tongue the next time I am tempted to complain about the color "monotony" of a scene.

Initial sketch in yellow ochre on a toned canvas.

After two hours of painting.

After four hours of painting.

At the two hour point things slowed down considerably. When I reach that point in a painting decisions become more critical, and so I become more careful. I put the painting away and let it "rest" overnight. Next day I studied it again (with fresh eyes), made a mark here or there, then signed it. Done!

The painting is 16" x 20".