I just completed my first version of “Corona Arch Morning”. It is an oil painting. It is a 30 x 40 inches on stretched cotton canvas. The painting was inspired by a trip Rhonda and I took here in October of 2009. We tried to get to the arch near sun up, we were close but we just missed it. Even though we missed the sunrise we had the entire area around Corona and Bow tie arch all to ourselves for more than an hour which was amazing as Corona is a popular hike. By the time we hiked back to our car there were two dozen people including one group that was rappelling down in the window of the arch. It looked kind of fun.
I plan on doing a more expressive and colorful version of Corona in a few weeks. Next up for my studio project is “Oil Paintings of Utah” which is a “cool” snow covered view of the South Window at Arches National Park. Come back tomorrow and I will post the time lapse video of the Corona Arch painting. Check out the little painting I am selling now on Ebay. If you are interested in this or similar Utah landscape paintings e-mail me for details.
Here is the video link to my new Corona Arch painting time-lapse video. I enjoy watching my own Utah oil paintings grow! You can see the first two phases of painting which I use both in the studio and outside”en plein air” First I draw the basic shapes and fill them with value (dark or light) using turpentine or a similar medium. Second I block in large areas of color usually avoiding the edges or any real “detail”. In the next video you will see me make adjustments and do what little detail I include. I like to shoot for suggestion instead of description this is a battle for me as it is for many artists.
I hope you like the video. If you like the painting or one like it e-mail me for purchase details. Check my Ebay store this week I have a palette knife painting of delicate arch up for auction.
As you might have guessed from my last post, I finished my latest Utah landscape painting of the south window in the windows district at Arches National Park. I am calling the painting “November Light”. If you are interested in purchasing this Utah landscape painting e-mail me for details. You might have read below that this oil painting was inspired by a Thanksgiving week trip Rhonda, Dan and I took to Moab. Another trip to Moab is in the works I need to sketch and photograph a couple of the Arches as well as other parts of the Canyonlands with snow. I love the value and color contrasts created when the earth and the snow do their visual dance as the snow melts. Right now in my studio, I am working on another 30 x 40 oil painting of Utah, a morning view of Corona Arch. The painting was inspired by a hike Rhonda and I took there in October. Corona Arch is located downriver (the Colorado river) from Moab. The trail is accessed form a large parking area off of the “potash road”. It is a short Hike about a mile and change one way. The hike is exposed and can be blisteringly hot, Take water! I will post a time lapse video of it as soon as I complete the painting. I had several request last summer about plein workshops. I am a busy guy, however I plan on making some short tutorial videos that will give some insight on my approach to plein air painting. The new year is a good time to set goals or make changes in life or lifestyle. Check out my new year resolution post soon.
Wow! that was fun. I liked seeing myself in action. I plan on video taping again when I work on larger paintings. When it warms up outside I’ll need to pack an extra tripod and a few SD cards and catch the fun of plein air! Watching myself finish this painting made me think about how or when a painting is finished. In my work it is usually a point in the process when things I try make the painting look worse instead of better or when I look at it and it says all it can about what I saw or thought while I was out with my sketchbook or camera. Enjoy the Video.
If you would like a painting like this or like any other on my web site shoot me an e-mail. visit my ebay store and see what I am auctioning this week.
It has been a busy week for me. I was able to work on my “South Window” painting. I did a quick block in which is pretty much normal for me in the studio. I like to see everything kind of complete so I can judge my color and value choices as I complete the painting. The video below is step two in my studio process. Step three is by far the most difficult and time consuming part of my studio painting process, I plan on doing a time lapse video of step three also. I will post it next week.
I will be posting a few more of my “found paintings” along with descriptions of where and how I paintined them in the next few days. Watch for them in my Ebay store.
Here is a short( 2:24 ) little video of me starting a painting from my Arches National Park, Moab series of studio paintings. When I start an oil painting in my studio I like to start out with a very basic turpentine and oil paint “drawing” which remains wet and adjustable for several hours or even days. The oil paint and turp behave a lot like charcoal, so I can modify my design as I see it unfold in full size on the canvas. I like to work using sketches from my sketch book, plein air oil studies and photographs.
Next week I will post the finished painting along with another video documenting the rest of the painting!
Here are a couple of knife paintings from the Moab trip Rhonda and I took in October. We love the hike up to Delicate Arch and even though we have done it a number of times over the years it is always fun. Here are a couple of paintings I made after the hike I really need to haul my paint box up there and give it a plein air attempt although I am not sure how environmentally friendly oil paint and solvent is on that slick rock. I would need to be extra careful. I find that there is something quite seductive about how thick oil paint behaves on a palette knife. I love the way it lets me create patches of color. The only problem is it took these two paintings three weeks to dry enough for me to safely photograph them!
RSS
Comments (0) 
