All in a days work!

Boy, it's been a busy day!  I've deconstructed a barn, built it back up, removed a mountain and replowed a field :)  All in a days work for a painter - and still not done yet!  I'm trying to apply my new process to an old painting I wasn't exactly thrilled with.  I know it looks better than it did, but it's going to look even better by the time I am done.  Problem solving.......it's a heck-of-a-job!

A Beautiful Day!

This little 9x12 linen on panel piece was finished up at Pineview Reservoir en plein air!  I got together with my painting gang for our first day out this spring.  As I have been telling you, my paintings are in transition right now.  I'm really playing with heavier paint, more palette knife, a more abstract process.  This was my chance to apply all my new tools to some field studies.  This is a little quiet piece, but I love the repetition of planes and the play of warms and cools.  I hope you enjoy looking at it as much as I enjoyed painting it :)

Early Spring

This is a piece that is a contemporary approach to one of my all-time favorite painters - Dwight Tryon, from the early 1900's.  The landscape is from a trip to Virginia and a theme I have explored from a tonal point of view many times over.  I am working almost exclusively with palette knives and using paint in a way I have never applied before.  My goal is to work very spontaneously, making quick decisions once the painting starts.  I've been doing thumbnails first to fine tune the composition, deciding on a basic palette and them diving in.  Rather than overwork, I'm trying to allow the spirit of the piece to come through and leave it be.  That might be the biggest challenge, as I've been knows to rework a painting a dozen times.  Like I stated previously, I have no idea where this is going to take me, but the process is keeping me excited and passionate!

What a Journey!

Ok, so maybe this is a bit more edgy than I am completely comfortable with, but it's a journey right?  And what   a journey it is becoming!  I am having such an adventure, playing with edges, line - paint.  I have no idea where this will all take me, but it certainly is keeping me on the edge of my seat.  I call this one "Edges" - right???  Any feedback would be certainly welcome - so far the feedback on these more abstracted landscapes has been positive and that keeps me strong and moving forward.  My mother used to say to me "We shall see what we shall see..."

Today's Painting

Summer Lace, 12x12 oil on panel

Snoqualmie Blues

Snoqualmie Blues, 8x12 oil on panel

Painting A Day Works

I just finished another of the small abstract landscapes and am having such an exciting time liberating my style, I've decided to keep it up for a month straight and see where the road leads me!  I'm working primarily with a palette knife and I must say that I have been influenced by the phone application "Instagram" and the photography that I have taken and adapted with filters.  I have always loved doing my photography and even considered showing it before, but it was always saved for my work. This process is just another step to the separation of abstraction.  Who knows where it will lead, but I'm getting down to the studio a little earlier, staying a little later and getting excited in a way that feels really great!
I hope you enjoy!

Primary Colors, 9x12

New Abstract Landscapes