Money Creek Small Plein Air

6" x 4" Oil on mounted canvas.

This is a small version of the creek from yesterday. It is a similar view looking upstream toward Temple Mountain.

Money Creek October Afternoon

8" x 10" Oil on mounted canvas.

If you read a few artist's blogs, you will often hear the plein air people gush about how much they learn working in front of nature. Well, it's true. I had an enjoyable time this afternoon and the challenge of changing light was good. Of course, a beautiful day helps make it enjoyable. This view is from the bank of the creek looking toward Temple Mountain with the sunlight bouncing off the water and the tree leaves. Contre-jour as they say.

New York Stock Exchange

8" x 8" Oil on mounted canvas.

This is another image from Karin Jurick's Different Strokes challenge. There is a lot of red on those screens at the NYSE, lately.

"She touched me..

and I blushed."


10" x 8" Oil on mounted canvas.

When I have a blushing pear and a leaning pear, I think they just belong this way.

Join my mailing list and make me an offer on this painting. I'll ship it when it is dry. I think I will turn to something more serious next.

Temple Mountain Plein Air

8" x 10" Oil on mounted canvas.

This plein air could be subtitled "our front yard"; it is the view from our front deck on Saturday afternoon. This is a south view and the sun is going behind the hillside to the right along with the thin veil of clouds you see. So, the light was softening as I painted.

We are currently in emergency mode here since our main and backup generators have failed. The batteries are coasting toward empty, so hopefully we will get something working today.

The Bride and the Bean

10" x 8" Oil on mounted canvas.

$100 - Shipping to US included.

Here is my answer to this week's Different Strokes challenge. I really like the cloud gate sculpture in Chicago's Millennium Park. Karin's photo had the bride from a wedding party that I could not resist including. Is she marrying the Bean?

My trip to Chicago this year was an extended layover that allowed us to visit the Art Institute of Chicago. We did really enjoy the visit even though the Impressionist paintings (which would have been my highlight) were mostly in Ft Worth while the museum is undergoing expansion. Luckily we knew about the show at the Kimbell so we visited it in DFW from where we just traveled. Otherwise, it would have been an uncomfortable irony.

The cloud gate on our visit looked even better than Karin's photo. Its surface was completely polished and you could not detect the seams as you can in her photo. I certainly chose to not depict any distracting seams. I am still wondering if the sculpture needs maintenance over time or if Karin's photo was from before it was completed.

I highly recommend a visit to the Art institute area. The impressionist paintings remain at the Kimbell until early November.

Fall Color

16" x 8" Oil on mounted canvas.

Fall color has arrived in Sky Valley. The trees turning yellow dominate the valley with some bright punctuation of red crowned trees. As an artist, I am enjoying the color harmonies of the first and the strong complementary colors of the second. This long composition is a compilation of what I have been seeing. I am thinking about exploring this further with a larger diptych splitting this in two.

Generation Gap

10" x 8" Oil on mounted canvas.

I had lots of titles for this one floating in my head. Variations on "The kids are so different" and "kids these days". The two little apples are similar yet so different from Mama and Papa pear. I do like how the leaves look like some crazy hair style.

I will give a nod to J. Matt Miller for the inspiration to use personification. His motifs are quite fun. I've had his blog on my blog-roll for a long time. I hope he gets his new site active soon.

Great Wall at Night

20" x 16" Oil on mounted canvas.

The Great Wall of China just west of Beijing was a highlight of my wife's recent trip for the Paralympics. This evening view of the Wall shows how IT is highlighted for visitors. The photographic reference I worked from is stunning with several interesting views. The wall is certainly a deserving icon for the area with its history and imposing size.