Russian Olive, 6x8, oil on panel

This was done on a masonite panel which makes a smoother finish. I prefer canvas most of the time. This Russian Olive tree is out back by the irrigation ditch in our back yard. I did this a couple of weeks ago on one of the nice days we had between snow storms. Riley (our dog, not in the painting) and I spent about an hour out there, until I remembered we had seen a skunk lurking around there a few days before. That was when I decided it was time to pack it up. I finished the painting in the house.

Longhorn Steer, 6x8, oil on canvas panel

Here is the study of the steer for the larger painting that I will be doing. I am working out the design of the painting and have begun the abstract pattern block in.

Dry Wash, 6x8, oil on canvas panel

This scene is typical of Wyoming in the summer. Lots of sun and dry ground. The color of the greenery changes subtly as the summer wears on, becoming less intense, moving from bright green to a grayer, yellower green. Not nearly as lush as the springtime!

Longhorn Calf, 6x8, oil on canvas panel

This is my favorite for this week. It's one of the study pieces for a larger painting which will be 24x36. I like everything about this. The darkness of the shadow, the red showing through the green of the grass, the light on the calf . . . all of it. How about you?

Family Portrait, 6x8, oil on canvas panel

Here's my favorite painting of cows so far. I love the Longhorns. They're so angular and have such friendly faces. More next week.

This Old House, 6x8, oil on canvas panel

I like the perspective in this little painting. Its a bit of an upward look. The scene seems so typical of rural homes in Wyoming - a little maintained yard surrounded by lots of wild things like sagebrush and rabbit brush and tumbleweeds and fences, which of course aren't wild at all.

Old Kimball Place 1, 6x8, oil on canvas panel

I painted this sitting in my car in a spot across the road from this house. It used to be a ranch owned by the Kimball family. Its on the way to town from my house and I pass it almost daily. I am going to see if I can get permission to go in and paint closer to all the buildings and house. No one lives there anymore, but different people lease it for pasturing their animals.  Hopefully there will be more paintings from this place.

Hangin' Out, 6x8, oil on canvas panel

This is the first of a number of cow and calf paintings I am doing. I have wanted to work on this for quite some time and now I'm ready. I really like the angles presented by cattle - the way the sun casts shadows across them. I am going to use these 6x8's to do studies of each animal before I make the larger paintings. Hope you like them!

Green Pastures, 9x12, oil on canvas panel

This is one of my favorites. It's from the same general area near my home, where we (me and some women artist friends) go paint often in the summer. It will be awhile before we get up there this year, I think. I heard last week they had gotten a total snowfall of somewhere around 50 feet! Did I hear that right? But for now, the meadowlarks are singing down here and the grass is looking a bit greener. I even saw some dandelions the other day.

Missouri Morning, 12x16, oil on canvas

This is from a photo taken by a friend as she was traveling through Missouri. It has a great misty feeling to it. I added some sunny-ness to it with warm yellows and the clouds. The original photo is pretty cloudy and gray.

March Cottonwood, 8x6, oil

This is a little study I did recently sitting in my car. It was before the barrage of snowstorms we've gotten lately and the wind was blowing very hard, hence sitting in my car. It's good to get out and paint from life. It makes paintings in the studio take on qualities of observation derived from the life studies. Thanks for taking a look - I hope you are enjoying these.

Eagle Rock, Almost Sunset, 6x8, oil

This is a place we call Eagle Rock. It's just a couple of miles from our house. It changes dramatically according to the light. I have painted this a few times and am sure I'll do it again. I like the warm glow of the late afternoon sun.

Muddy Creek, 9x12, oil

This is the creek that runs through our backyard. This time of year its getting full and the water is quite muddy, hence its name. I painted outside for this one, Meadowlarks and Redwing Blackbirds singing all around. Its wonderful to hear them!

Sandy Draw, 6x8, oil

This painting was done from an old photo of a place near a favorite fishing spot. I messed around with the color and texture quite a bit. It was one of those days that I needed to quit being so careful.  I like the shimmery effect on the sandstone wall in the middle ground.

Ahh . . . Summertime, 8x10, oil on panel

Well, I have been painting, just not posting because I haven't been very happy with the results, although there are a few I may post. 

We had a blizzard yesterday and about 2.5 feet of snow on our deck this morning so it seemed like a great day to paint a summer scene. It was a good time, during which I took a break after each "step" to refresh my perspective and assess what I had done up to that point. It was pretty successful overall. I made myself a note of each step, particularly stopping to assess things. Tomorrow after work I will do another. 

Nestled In, 6x8, oil

This was done from a photo taken in the spring. It was a rainy morning and these clouds were just lifting and beginning to clear. I liked the bright green against the red barn and sienna fence posts.

Fixer Upper, 6x8, oil

I took a photo of this place on the way to camping a few years back. I like the slope of the falling down porch roof and the loneliness of the prairie around it. There wasn't another house in sight for miles. In painting it I tried to portray the interesting angles as well as the friendliness of the place even though no one lived there. It just seemed like a place looking for some inhabitants. Want to move in?

The Gate is Open, 6x8, oil

This is yet another painting from a series of photos taken in the spring. The wind is blowing here today and we have a couple of months of winter weather ahead, so its encouraging to paint these spring scenes. Sometimes I look at these and can hardly believe it ever looks this green here - but it does in May and June, sometimes April and July, too. 

I like this little scene. I am always drawn to sagebrush, dirt roads and fences, and this has all three! Maybe I'll do a larger one later.

Red Barn, 9x12, oil

This was done from a photo taken awhile ago. I am ready for spring!! And some green! Anyway, it was interesting to paint a landscape without any sky and still make it work. Lots of artists are good at it. I like the more intimate feeling it gives. Out here there is so much open space at times it seems thats all there is to paint. And it can be very haunting and wild feeling, which I usually like. It was good to do this type of scene for a change.

Rocky Hillside, 9x12. oil on board

Well, here's a larger painting from the small color study. I think the study is better simply because its fresher.  I should have left this alone after the initial painting was done. Going back to nit pick often causes the painting to lose its freshness. Perhaps I'll try another one and leave it alone when I get the feeling of the subject right and not try to correct little details.

study in oil, 3x5

This is a bad photo of a little study I did in order to decide if I wanted to make a larger painting of it. It is a good way to work out the problems and composition before committing to a larger painting.

A Load of Aspen, 16x12, oil on board, $425

Well, this painting was done from a photo of this man and his load of wood. I was out getting some good photos with some friends one spring day and we came across this gentleman. He could hardly believe that we actually wanted a photograph of him. He really thought we were a little crazy, but he also seemed a somewhat self-consciously pleased. 

I'm back to landscapes again though. My favorites!

Natural Bridge 2, 12x9, oil on board, $225

So, here is the oil painting of the same scene. Speaking of wanting to paint without caring about the results, I think there is some value in it, in the sense of removing the pressure to produce. The flip side being that its important to always strive for excellence and development of the skills you've acquired. A double edged sword, this painting process. I wouldn't have it any other way!

What do you think of the difference between the two paintings? Do you see any difference worth mentioning?

Natural Bridge, 12x9, pastel, $225

So, here is the pastel, which was done from a photo I took a couple of years ago. It was refreshing to use a lot of broad and energetic strokes. I felt greatly satisfied after the endeavor. Sometimes you just have to paint without caring about the results, which is what I did here. I just wanted to move my hand and make marks and see what happened. I'd like to always paint without caring about the results in some ways. I'll post the oil tomorrow. 

Wow!

Well, so much for almost daily painting! But after the holidays and 3 birthdays and the arrival of a brand new grand daughter on Dec. 29, I am finally back to painting. It was a bit of a struggle to regain my confidence. I have been alternating between pastel and oil in order to get my bearings. I find working in pastel a no brainer for some reason and oil is a great challenge. So, I did one piece in particular in pastel, then a small oil, then a larger oil. It was an effective way to work out the problems.