Twilight Along the River Path

 

I seldom paint a twilight sky - but this was fun to capture the movement in the clouds, as color shifted from warm to cool.  Why don't I paint twilight?   Perhaps because it is even more fleeting than a flashy sunset?  There is something very beautiful and serene about this time of day, where all is quieting down and the walkers are heading back home as they share their day.  So lovely and peaceful - I wish I had time to run this trail before leaving.  The low light also made it difficult to get a good photo.  Painting number 4366 in 4366 days. 

Colorado Sunrise

Sunrise is magnificent in Estes Park!!  Day 6 of my Artist Residency and I'm exploring why Colorado is the COLORFUL state!!  After a late night waiting for our youngest son to arrive in town, I planned to sleep in a little.  The early dawn light woke me, and the outrageous red orange in the clouds had me popping out of bed and grabbing my paints!  Sunrise waits on no one, so I threw on clothes, a heavy jacket and my winter coat, turning on the teapot for my return.  I started first with the color notes, wanting to mark them accurately, then the darks and highlights.  One must work fast with big brushes and deliberate brushwork, to match the movement of the clouds.  What a glorious morning, even at 37 degrees!   Day 16 of the #stradaeasel painting challenge, and painting number 4336 in 4336 days. 

Clear Skies Coming

 I feel like I've been running a race for days now - so I had the tiniest of painting windows.  Using that time for a quick oil study of the skies, I squint down to see the masses and hues, then start adding the color.  When I'm in a hurry, I don't even sketch out with paint - just a fast application of the media.  I want to focus more on cliudscapes this year, so the more practice, the better. Painting number 3372 in 3372 days. 

After the Rain

I am forever drawn to a glorious skyscape!  I don't often take the time to paint them, because it means dropping everything on a time to capture the sky.  So, today I am making that effort, and hope to do more of this.  There's nothing like practice to improve those skills!  Painting number 3370 in 3370 days. 

August Sunset

The colors of the sunset are fleeting and can be a real challenge to nail down quickly.  Using Richeson oils, I laid down thick strokes of paint to echo what I saw in the sky.  I really like how creamy these paints remain, no matter how long they stay on my palette.  Some of my "worms" of paint have been on there since December, when I first started using their oil paint. They don't seem to oxidize as quickly as some of my others, and I love that.  I put my palette in the freezer every night, and I have yet to scrape skins off any color other than brown. Pretty awesome.  Painting number 2427 in 2427 days.

Cloudscape in May

The skies are a constant source of inspiration, especially with so many color variations.  Needing a few larger pieces for upcoming shows, I am working on a 16x20 panel.  After blocking in the masses, I start laying in those loose strokes of color as they reflected from ground and sky.  I'm not sure this one is finished, but I will let it rest until tomorrow.  Fresh eyes are always clear eyes!  Painting number 2317 in 2317 days.

Little Barn by the Creek

On really busy days, sometimes I can only slip in a miniature painting.  Using my acrylics, I chose a 4 inch square gallery wrapped canvas as my substrate.  These tiny surfaces are perfect for small painting windows, and the  bonus of acrylics is that they dry quickly.  Really looking forward to painting a beautiful snowfall tomorrow!  Painting number 2200 in 2200 days.

Clouds over the Barn

A gorgeous sky gets me every time.  From the stormy to the sunset, each cloudscape is a work of art that I can only hope to justify with paint.  With only a little painting window, I am painting very small - 4x4 - and using smaller brushes than normal.  I am also using acrylic for this, instead of my normal choice of oils for clouds.  I find that I have to use thicker paint and apply with a heavier hand, to achieve the depth so easily to get with oils.  The biggest bonus with acrylics - the quick dry finish!  Painting number 2162 in 2162 days.

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Fairfield Water Tower

This quick paint from the charming town of Fairfield is on deck tonight.  I loved painting this place, just thinking about it brings me there in my mind.   We still wait bedside with dad, retelling  the memories of better days.  Cherish every moment.  Painting number 2109 in 2109 days.

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Sunrise at the Milk Barn

Another day of sunrise painting, does that make five now?  I find I'm looking more closely at the colors in the sky, the edges away from the sun are different than those nearest.  Distant clouds are flatter and warmer than those closer and higher in the sky.  There are subtle color shifts in each cloud, today I see four.  So much of painting is just training the eye to really see!  I am giving myself about 30 minutes to complete the sunrise and sunset studies.  Any more time than that, I feel like the light is just too different. It helps that I'm working small, as well!  Until this becomes like second nature, I will not be using large panels!  Painting number 2070 in 2070 days.

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Clouds Over the Red Barn

Mid day, the clouds started building with the heat, and I watched and waited.  As they grew thick and the winds kicked up, they were ripe for the painting!  I chose to paint towards the north today, where the color was rich.  To the south, they were far more washed out, with very little value difference, though they were rimmed in gold light - which was tempting!  When I approach a cloud painting, I squint down my eyes and start applying the masses that stand out, mindful of the values.  When the clouds are blowing, I do this quickly, hoping to put down all that information before they are out of view.  Once the panel is covered, I start checking edges.  Where are they soft?  Hard?  Always, I'm checking the sky, trying to capture it's likeness.  I REALLY do love painting a cloudscape.  Painting number 2066 in 2066 days.

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Clouds Over Brush Creek

With every intention of painting the Benton Boulevard Bridge, I could not ignore the cloud show in the sky.  I switched out my ink supplies for my oils, and started laying in that color.  The cloud lingered for the 45 mintues it took me to capture the scene.  It seems like my recent cloud study is really helping me to understand their forms and colors.  I had so much fun, I did another before leaving for the night!  Painting number 2064 in 2064 days.

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September Clouds

oil on panel, 5x7

The skies this afternoon were made for painting!  Planning to paint a local creek, the cloud show changed my mind, and I had only to step outside for the best view around.  I have recently been studying clouds, trying to capture their essence in oils.  It seems that every sky is different in value and chroma, even the cloud formations are ever changing!  I'm hoping that practice really does make perfect, with every painting bringing me closer to the expression in oils I long for.  Painting number 2059 in 2059 days.

Storm Clouds

Every unique cloudscape is another opportunity to study the values and colors that create their forms.  With an eye to the sky, I isolate each mass, and drop in the hues where I see them.  The forms emerge on their own.  Using a soft brush, I soften some of the hard edges, especially at panel's edge.  Would you believe my favorite brush for this purpose is a cheap 1 inch bristle brush from the hardware store?!  Painting number 2054 in 2054 days.

oil on panel, 6x8
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Sunset over the Prairie

The skyscapes have been nothing short of amazing lately!  Tempted daily by their beauty - I have once again taken up my brushes to capture them!  Sunset color is so fleeting, it is always a mad dash to mark those masses, and one can never truly start until that color starts to ripen.  I try to get the blues in first, and then I begin placing that cloud color in fast and loose. As the color deepens, I adjust with thicker paint, laying those strokes on top of the previous ones, blending only where needed.  Before the color fades from the sky, I am checking all the masses, with a loose drop in of the foreground. It is normally too dark to get a photo, they never turn out right.  Maybe one day I'll be fast enough to get that shot at the end!  Painting number 2053 in 2053 days. 

oil on panel, 14x11
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A Distant Rain

I love the misty atmosphere that envelops the landscape with an approaching rain.  Up on a hill like this, I can watch that rain for miles as it moves across the prairie.  Every sky is different, and each cloud holds it's own color.  The heaviness is part of that local color, as is the reflected light bouncing up from the ground. This sky has layers of clouds - and even a lovely warm blue behind the cloud show.  Clouds are challenging, ever changing, and the struggle is to capture their color before they are gone.  I think I could paint the sky every day of my life.  Painting number 2036 in 2036 days.

Clouds Over the Lane

The skies have been SO exciting the last few days!!  I'm afraid I'm driving my daughters crazy with all my cloud comments (while shopping, getting pedis, buying snacks). I just can't keep my eyes off the sky!  Arriving home too late for paint, I grabbed my ink and got busy.  I've rarely inked clouds before, their very softness has me grabbing the paint every time.  So, the challenge itself was as exciting as the sky show! I sketched lightly, then let my water brushpen fill out the clouds.  I left the overhead lines out until the very end, but had to put them in.  This is the eastern view down my lane, and as such, they just needed to be included.  Such a Midwest thing, after all.  Painting number 2033 in 2033 days. 

Clouds Over the Flint Hills

I seldom work from color studies, but I do so now.  After so much time in the field, I find it limiting.  Though I've been there, sketched and painted a small panel, I long to paint the whole thing in the field!  Surely, this is a wonderful way to expand and learn, but it feels more like homework.  Perhaps I am just too spoiled with the wind in my hair, sun at my back, surrounded by the beauty of nature, breathing it, feeling it, immersed in it.  How can I return when the sky will never be as it was on that day?  You can be sure that I now keep larger panels in my car as well.  I will not find myself without one again. Painting number 2024 in 2024 days.

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Rainclouds over the Water

What a rainy, moody day for painting!  This painting is one of two I painted for demos this afternoon in "cloud painting", class.  It is helpful to start with an acrylic underpainting in the approximate color of the sky.  When this is completely dry, a dry brushing technique  in oils is used to achieve the airy cloud strokes.  The ground plane is not the focus, but is only there to bring the eye back to the sky.  Who knew those one inch bristle brushes could be so useful? Painting number 1894 in 1894 days.

Clouds Over Farmland

I've been gazing at the clouds since I was very young.  I love the movement, the way their forms change in fluid fashion.  The colors are as countless as the clouds themselves, and such a challenge to capture with paint.  On this one, I begin with an acrylic under painting that loosely renders the gradating sky plane and the land plane.  When this is very dry, I use my oils with a dry brush method of applying the paint.  I am using 1 inch and 3 inch bristle brushes to softly form the clouds.  When the composition is in, and I'm happy with my shapes, I push and pull the paint, tweeking edges as necessary.  This is such an effective way to paint clouds, and a fun shift from the bold palette knife work of yesterday!  Painting number 1886 in 1886 days.