Autumn Light on the Path

What a gift this beautiful weather is to the plein air artist!  The weather has been unseasonably warm like an extended summer.  As I am busy getting the house ready for the Thanksgiving company, I am also slipping in some plein air time!  I really wanted to paint large today, but that was not in the cards today!   Too many chores, never enough time.   The autumn shades seem to glow against the fresh green color of the mown grass.  I really need to get a few more brushes, as I am now "making due" with some of my more worn brushes.  I have them split up between easels, and was skimping on today's set up!  Next thing you know, I'll be picking up sticks from the ground to paint with!   Painting number 1406 in 1406 days :)

Oil on panel, 10x8
purchase here

Linen in the Line

The neighbor across the street from us at Kangaroo Lake  has the most amazing garden in front of her home.  After admiring them on my nightly runs,  I caught her outside to ask permission to paint them.   As I was talking to her, I caught sight of this lovely scene in her side yard!  I think her husband thought we were crazy, but they allowed us to spend the afternoon "painting their laundry!   Another painting adventure and the 1302 painting in 1302 days!

McCleary Farm

McCleary Farm
Oil on masonite,  12x9

As we drove down Burnt Prairie Blocktop heading south, we saw this amazing farm and had to put on the brakes!  Pulling through the circle drive, I went up to the side door to ask permission to paint. Jimmy Joe McCleary graciously gave his permission, and visited with us all afternoon while we painted!  Sharing his hard pears right off the tree with us, it was a wonderful day spent on a truly fabulous historic 1872 farm!  I hope to make it back next year to capture their three story barn in oils!  This is painting number 1014 in 1014 days :)

Loose Park Fountain

Loose Park Fountain
Oil on canvas, 24x18

I have wanted to paint this scene again ever since I painted there last June.  My first painting sold at the Fountain Foundation Auction - and it was one I really didn't want to part with!  Using my reference photos and image of last year's painting, I set about to recreate it.  I found myself making little changes,  more cools to offset the warms, more varied brushwork - and the colors here really are quite different than the first one.  Is it because the first was painted en plein air - in the heat and strong sunshine of the day?  Or am I simply a different painter than I was last year?  After all, that was over 365 paintings ago.  With such a large painting, I am going to let this one rest on the wall for a while.  It was hard for me to get back from it enough as I worked.  I will live with it a little and see if anything pops out at me. I really do love painting the Loose Park rose gardens - they are amazing!   Painting number 548 in 548 days - and I am keeping this one :)

On the Lawn of the Frontier Mother

On the Lawn of the Frontier Mother
Oil on panel, 14x11
Penn Valley Plein Air Fest
Buttonwood Art Space, KC, MO

One of the best things about being involved in so many plein air events is that I get to see new places!  This wonderful statue is one such thing!  This quick paint was my third painting of that day - and we were just glad to miss the big rain that was headed our way!  I just realized today that I had not posted this one, so I am doing so now.  I am ahead so many paintings, that it has become a little hard to keep track of them!  This afternoon was spent at Art in the Vines out in Louisburg, KS at the Sommerset Vineyard and Winery.  What a wonderful place, so picturesque and with a guitarist playing for the crowd - who could ask for more?  Painting number 509 in 509 days :)

Springtime at Lakeview

Springtime at Lakeview
Oil on panel, 14x11
Augusta Plein Air Festival
sold

On the morning of the Vineyard Hill Paint-out, the weather was cold and the winds rather harsh.  This home is on the adjoining property - which we were invited to paint on as well.  As soon as I saw the house situated so beautifully - I knew I had to paint it!  I love these old houses, and this one had been in the owner's family for a long time.  I set my easel up close to the vehicle - so as to give me as much of a windbreak as possible.  The drawback here is that I had little room to back up and look at the progress of the painting - which I normally do often.  I had to walk over to the side of the car to glimpse my painting at a distance!  I spent quite a bit of time on this one - wanting to accurately capture what I was seeing, which left less than an hour for the next painting!  This was a special day with special people, and I'm so happy I could be a part of it!  This painting now resides in this home - which is where it was destined to be!  This painting makes 503 in 503 days!

Rambling Redbud

Rambling Redbud
Oil on panel, 14x11

On location

This is the first day of the Augusta Plein Air Festival - and our paint out today is one of my annual favorites at Augusta Shores!  This glorious redbud is located just up the street from where I stay - overlooking Hickory Lake.  The weather was the best ever in the history of this location - and I made full use of it.  Finishing two paintings before the driving rain made it into town, the artists were treated to cheese and wine before the amazing chili supper.  Is it any wonder this event has grown to 130 artists this year?  It is just like a family reunion to come back here and see so many friends!  I probably could have completed a third painting if I hadn't visited so much!  The best part about this day is that I felt like I had all the time in the world to paint!  My painting windows are SO small in my normal, everyday life, that when I am given from dawn until 5:00 to paint - I hardly know what to do with myself!  I will bask in the glory of all the time tonight, because tomorrow will be a different story!  I have 3 painting windows tomorrow - and the first two overlap!  I must get up at 3:40am to leave by 4:40am to arrive at Mount Pleasant Winery by 5:00am - I will be painting the sunrise with a few artist friends while Channel 2 News in St. Louis films the process!  So exciting!  This painting makes 478 in as many days - I had better get some rest!

Blush of the Flowering Plum

Blush of the FloweringPlum
Oil on panel, 10x8

My intention for today's work was a charcoal rendering of horses and riders, but when I awoke to find the plum and pears in full, explosive bloom......my intentions changed!  With storms moving in, and the sky creating this wonderfully moody backdrop - I couldn't help but capture a little bit of this glory in oils.  This is a purple leaf plum we planted almost 20 years ago in the side yard, and it has the most delicious grape flavored plums in summer.  I have added a couple colors to my palette that I don't normally use - viridian green for that new spring grass and permanent rose for the pink blush.  This painting makes 467 in as many days.  I think spring may just be my favorite season to paint!

Redbud on the Lawn

Redbud on the Lawn
Oil on canvas, 5x7

Weekend days are especially busy, full of basketball games, family activities and always unexpected chores that just pop up!  While out, I had picked up some small canvas boards (5x7) - for those days when time is short.  I never paint on these without first priming with a gesso tinted with acrylic paint, with some kind of a ground added in for boosted texture.  Well, today I did, first time in all of these 400 plus daily paintings.  Once I had picked out my subject matter, I really wanted this format for my composition - not the 6x6's that were already primed.  Taking one of these naked 5x7's, I washed it with burnt sienna thinned down with safflower oil, wiping it off once applied with a paper towel.  I never, ever use turpentine or mediums, so the oil was my only option.  From here, I used my stick pastel to sketch out the painting - and to my surprise, it did not get all "oily" and unusable.  The pastel just merged over the top of the wash.  The paint went on smoother than normal, because of the light wash.  I normally apply the oil right onto the dry surface, so more paint sticks readily without sliding around.  With all of the crazy little things I did differently tonight, the painting still flowed right out of my brush.  I am so looking forward to spring, and this one puts me in the mind of the Augusta Plein Air Festival!  Painting number 432 in as many days :)

Song of Spring

Song of Spring
Oil on panel, 12x6

As a misty drizzle coats our streets, quickly turning to ice, I am toasty inside and painting the view from my window.  The cool, violet skies drew my attention, but the harsh dormant colors of winter really didn't.  Not today.  Using my artistic license, I simply painted the gardens coming into their spring glory - instead of their winter sleep!  The honeysuckle on the fence remains deep green in the winter, and the "dog path" is a little wider here than in reality, but all the new spring growth is completely from memory.  This is a plein air painting - in the warmth of my home and with all the extras I felt like painting today!  Who needs to stick with reality all the time, anyway?  This is painting number 396 in 396 days :)

Autumn Pin Oak

Autumn Pin Oak
Oil on panel, 8x10
"Looking Out My Front Door" Contest

When I read about the "Looking Out My Front Door" contest, I went out in search of the perfect composition.  Wishing I had 200 feet from the door to work with, I instead had to stick with the 50 given as the rule.  This pin oak is one of a dozen we bought and planted 25 years ago.  These beauties have grown straight as arrows, and their colors vary from gold to red this autumn season.  This one is at the southwest corner of the front yard, backed right up against the south pasture.  Today, I am letting loose with the impressionistic strokes - first with brushes, following with my new friend, the palette knife. The paint is thick and juicy on this one - and it is so fun to apply it with such reckless abandon!  This day was another start and stop painting day - oh how I wish I could start and finish at one sitting!  This is painting number 305 in 305 days.  I may just paint the grand old oak that my grandma planted tomorrow - now THAT is one glorious oak!

Outside the Garden Wall

Outside the Garden Wall
Oil on panel, 14x11
Kaufman Legacy Park
Brush Creek Art Walk

Today's painting adventure included an early lunch at the Cheesecake Factory and a little shopping on the Plaza with Michaela.  Day three of the Brush Creek Art Walk found me painting in zone 2 - just south of the gorgeous Kaufman Legacy Park.  The light was amazing, and all was fresh and washed from the brief, but heavy, rain during lunch.  To the west of me, music from the south lawn of the Nelson Atkins Gallery serenaded me as I worked.  Pretty posh painting day - if only they were all like this!  My 255th painting in as many days and Day 15 in the current 30 day painting challenge.

August in the Garden

August in the Garden
Oil on canvas, 8x6

The front porch garden is in all of it's glory as August ends.  The days have turned very hot - 99 degrees expected today, but the abundant blooms simply mock the sun.  Tonight is my youngest daughter's birthday party and sleepover, so I am painting early!  Cool in the morning, it makes the perfect time for a quick paint from the porch.  The hardest part - keeping the cats out of my stuff - especially that nosy Wesson!  One must always be on guard when he is lurking about! This is painting number 239 in as many days, and there is another 30 day painting challenge starting in September.  That was the challenge that got me started on this daily painting in the first place :)

Front Porch Garden

Front Porch Garden
Oil on panel, 16x12

When I walked out the front door this morning, this is what awaited me.  With all the rain we have had this summer, the flowers have been absolutely gorgeous!  I like to grow my flowers with reckless abandon, the fuller the better - no boundaries!  So, they spill over their edges and onto the bricks - at least until the first frost.  I added red salvia this year, and I wonder why I ever stopped putting it into the beds.  It is so showy, and only gets better later in the season.  This is painting number 234 in 234 days.  Maybe, I'll get to those panels tomorrow.....

Hydrangeas by the Shed

Hydrangeas by the Shed
Edgehill Orchard Gallery
Door County, WI
Oil on panel, 8x6

Several locals told me I must see this gallery, even if I don't see one other place on the peninsula.  It is amazing!  The grounds, gallery and lanscape was simply picturesque.  When I started this painting on location at the beautiful Edgehill Orchard Gallery, the rain had only started to fall.  It increased quickly to the point of flooding the area in which I was standing.  I moved my easel back a little, and a little more, and finally into a corner I could not get out of!  I had to take off my shoes and carry my easel through the water barefoot - to higher ground!  You just never know what the day will bring when painting on location.  Painting number 208 in 208 days :)

Confectionary

Confectionery
Fish Creek, Wisconsin
Door County Plein Air
Oil on panel, 14x11 - sold

At the top of Cedar and Main Street in Fish Creek, Wisconsin, is this lovely little candy shop.  As I have driven through the villages dotting the landscape, I have noticed that almost every town has a candy shop!  They often don't have grocery stores, but they are covered when it comes to confections.  So many children went in and out of this store as I painted it from the front lawn!  Huge trees sheltered me as I worked, as the constant stream of passers-by chatted and watched me work.  It is such a wonderful environment for painting.  I have met so many wonderful people up here while painting.  This one was bought off the easel - my 206th painting in as many days.

Cascading Roses

Cascading Roses
Oil on panel, 14x11
Loose Park Rose Garden

I simply adore the Loose Park Rose Garden!  This painting is of the outer circle of arbors that surrounds the water fountain.  These roses are  overflowing with blooms like cups running over!  When I picked out this landscape, I wondered which size to choose for my panel.  I erred on the side of logic, picking a 14x11, as 16x12 would take longer - and I didn't have that much time.  Oh, how I wish I had chosen a larger size!  This landscape is so regal, it simply begs to be in a grand size!  I will get to at a later date........painting number 158 in 158 days.  What shall I paint tomorrow?

Fountain of Loose Park

Fountain of Loose Park
Oil on panel, 16x12
Fountain Festival Plein Air Paint - sold
purchase prints here

What a perfect day to paint en plein air!  Perfect temperature, perfect breezes, PERFECT rose gardens!  As part of the Fountain Festival, I am one of the area artists creating artwork for a special auction in August.  50% of the proceeds go to the Fountain Foundation for much needed repairs on 7 Kansas City Fountains.  This amazing landscape is the Rose Garden at Loose Park.  The roses are absolutely bursting with blooms - and the fragrance was  heavenly as I painted!  I love roses, and I can not believe I have never been to this park before now.  This is only the first of many painting trips in my future!  Painting 157 in as many days :)

Fountain Festival
(3 paintings to left are mine)

On Lora's Lawn

On Lora's Lawn
Oil on panel, 12x9

On this warm, beautiful day in the 70's, I am thinking of Augusta and a day last April of plein air painting.  On this lawn I painted two paintings, and only had time to sketch this one out.  Today, I work from that sketch and my photo reference to paint the morning light streaming in from the east.  The Lindsey's were gracious hosts, allowing me to paint in their secluded location.  This little slice of heaven is right out the front door.  I will adjust a few details tomorrow, but for now I am letting this one rest.  This painting makes 70 in 70 days :)