Plein Air Easton 2010

Some of you may be wondering why I have not posted a painting for a couple weeks. My family and I were enjoying some time in Minnesota visiting my family and doing some painting and photographing. We spent a few days at a cabin in the Grand Marais area on the north shore of Lake Superior in Superior National Forest on Devils Track Lake. It was beautiful and peaceful; loons calling, birch and spruce trees, flowers, and lakes galore. Every morning I got up at 5am and went painting and moose hunting with my camera. Unfortunately we did not see any moose, only a couple grouse which flew away before I could get within "shooting range". But I plan to have some landscape paintings coming out soon from this trip.

I was accepted into Plein Air Easton again this year. Next week I will be in Easton, Maryland painting like crazy with over 50 other artists. If you happen to be in the area stop by. Plein Air Easton attracts some of the top plein air artists in the world and I'm much honored to have been juried into the event. Monday and Tuesday we will be painting all over Talbot County, Wednesday and Thursday we will be painting in the town of Easton with an exhibit on Friday and a Quick Draw on Saturday. It is always fun to see art being created in just a matter of a few hours and the art that is created is nothing short of beautiful. Here is the link for further information: http://www.pleinaireaston.com/. I hope you and yours doing well and staying cool this summer. I will be posting more paintings very soon.

Buttercup Hill, oil on linen panel, 10"x12"

This is a plein air painting I did last week on a perfectly sunny afternoon. The field was filled with Buttercup flowers. The fence was not there but I added it for interest. There was also a small white building in the foreground that was built at a funky angle in comparison to the other buildings, so it had to go. One of the benefits of painting a scene rather than photographing it.
Buttercup Hill, oil on linen panel, 10"x12"
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The Bachelors, oil on linen, 50"x16"

This is one of the largest paintings I have ever done, well at least the longest. 5 Pintail Drakes out on a foggy morning in early spring.
The Bachelors, oil on linen, 50"x16"
SOLD

Spring Silo, oil on linen, 9"x11"

This is a little oil sketch that I did a couple weeks ago during a late afternoon. We drive by this farm all the time on our way to Mass and family gatherings, and for years I have thought that I should paint it. I love how the late afternoon humidity simplified the shapes and gave such a strong feeling of aerial perspective.
Spring Silo, oil on linen, 9"x11"

Painting in Progress, oil on linen, 16"x50"

This is a photograph of a large painting in my studio that I'm working on. It will depict 5 Pintail Drakes. The main duck is finished and I have a close-up of it in the upper right corner. This is typical of how I do many of my paintings, I just tone the linen and then start painting without any pre-drawing. With this one I indicated loosely about where each of the duck's heads would be and then proceeded to finish the main duck's head and then used the head as my measurement guide for the duck's body and wings. I had to make sure the head was the right size so the body wouldn't be too big or too small, as this could have messed up the whole painting. The trick now is making sure I get all the other ducks in correct size proportion to the main duck.

Painting in Progress, oil on linen, 16"x50"

Getting Ready for the Day, oil on linen, 20"x16"

This young lady is putting her hair up and getting ready for the day's activities. This is the final painting based on the monochromatic painting I posted last week.
Getting Ready for the Day, oil on linen, 20"x16"
SOLD

Pintail #3, oil on linen, 9"x12"

This Pintail is crouched near some Cattails on a foggy morning. Painting the duck's head in this position was a challenge and at one point, after over and hours work I had to completely wipe out what I had and start over. Overall this painting was a fun with all the textures I got to experiment with.

Pintail #3, oil on linen, 9"x12"