Crosshatch Studio

36" x 18" oil on stretched linen

This is the largest painting I have done since picking up a brush again. It was a lot of fun to pull the colors together and design the piece before starting to paint. I was trying to make the day look really cold yet add some warmth through the bird.

9" x 12" Oil on linen panel

A couple weekends ago was whitetail muzzleloader season here in Ohio. My son and I join a group of guys (and one girl) at a camp in Danville, appropriately called, The Joy of Living Camp. It is a great social time for us as much as it is a great opportunity for hunting. This year I decided to pack my plein air supplies and on Saturday afternoon I took a break and painted. This is the first time I have painted outside when it was so cold. The temps that afternoon was about 15. Maybe. The nice thing is that you can drive back into the property so I was actually standing right outside my car to paint this. Two of the biggest does I saw all weekend ran out of the woods to the left and right behind this dead clump of trees while I was painting. They wouldn’t stop and pose for me though. I asked. I really enjoyed doing this and I am threatening to concentrate more on painting next year. I’ll still keep my gun by my side too, just in case.

16" x 12" Oil on canvas

This is a portrait done for the Different Strokes From Different Folks web challenge. It’s always interesting to try something new. I have not done a full portrait painting since I was in college quite some time ago. Enough said. This was a lot of fun and I hope I came close to capturing her character. Once again, I really wish I could get myself to loosen up. I need to practice that. Maybe next year. The fun thing is that I have no idea who this is. I suppose I will find out eventually. Get on over to the challenge web site and check out all the work that is there. There is a great mix of styles to peruse.

Tags: DSFDF, oil, portrait

12" x 16" watercolor

I had started this painting en plein air but ran out of time in the field and decided to finish it in the studio. The sheep were very curious as to what I was up to and stood watching me very attentively. I also made a new friend in some kind of mutt that day.  I’m thinking I may try an oil painting of this same scene as a large painting. So far about the largest work I have done is 16″ x 20″, but I’m thinking much larger which is possible now that I have a studio that I can leave set up all the time at home. I hope you all have had a great Christmas and blessed new year.

Tags: barn, sheep, watercolor

9" x 12" watercolor

This was done for Karen Jurick’s, “Different Strokes From Different Folks” web site. She posts an image there and then challenges artists to paint it and she posts them back to the site. It is amazing to see all the different ways that people interpret the same image. Check it out.

For mine I decided to try a watercolor. Recently, I watched a video on watercolor painting by Alvaro Castagnet. That guy is amazing. Once again, he is loose and captures the essence of a place with as few brush strokes as possible. Something I strive for. So this painting is a result of watching that video. No comparing please.

Tags: airport, DSFDF, watercolor

Ebony Pencil in Japaneese Moleskin

Follow the adventure of this group of artists from around the world, in a Moleskine Sketchbook Portrait Party.

The idea of this is to draw or paint a portrait of the owner of the moleskin and and include a portrait of yourself as well. Then pass the book on to the next person on the list. Eventually, you get your own book back with lots of interpretations of yourself and one of each of the people in the exchange. There are 14 artists from around the world participating in this exchange. This is Lisa and a study of her eyes. My part in this is the peeping eye looking through the square hole in the paper. This has been a fun project but it is moving a little slow right now.

Tags: moleskine, Moly x Portrait Party, pencil

12" x 16" oil on linen panel

This is the same barn as I had painted before. It is a very cool barn so I decided to go back and paint it again with the fall color all around. I actually left work early one day last week to go paint this in plein air because it was such a great day. This was also entered into a competition on Facebook believe it or not. Its called The First Annual Autumn Arts Painting Challenge and Competition on Facebook. Check it out if you want to see a bunch of really nice artwork.

Tags: Facebook, fall, landscape, oil, red barn

9" x 12" oil on linen panel

I found this really cool barn off of St. Rt. 603 in Ashland County. I eliminated a few of the outbuildings to put the emphasis on the red barn. I actually went on location to paint this a few weeks ago but I ran out of time so I just recently finished it in the studio. I am planning to go back and paint this location again with the fall color. The place was empty and is for rent if anyone is interested.

Last weekend was the OPAS Plein Air Competition. I ended up doing 5 paintings. I had a great time painting but was not real happy with all my work. I wish I would have relaxed a little more and just tried to complete a couple really good paintings instead of the quantity of work that I did. Most of these will just be painted over, but at least they are here as a record of what I did. It will be good for showing future growth. I think what I need is a workshop where possibly I can learn to loosen up a bit. Until then, I am enjoying the time i get to get out and paint. I also think I may try some more watercolor which I have not touched for like a year.

1. Lakeside Shuffle - 9" x 12" oil on panel

2. 103 Kenton Row - 16" x 20" oil on linen panel

3. Lakeside Pavilion - 20" x 28" oil on linen panel

4. Pavilion Coast - 20" x 16" oil on linen panel

5. Lakeside Coreopsis - 12" x 9" oil on linen panel

12" x 16" oil on panel

I had an entire weekend with Lanie’s sister and her family in town. They had plans to go to Columbus on Saturday and then to see their aunt and uncle in Toledo. This offered me a great opportunity to do some plein air. It was a great weekend. I had a great time getting out multiple times. I would love to do this more. It was just me, God and and the great outdoors. On Saturday morning, I headed down to Charles Mill lake. There really wasn’t anything very appealing but decided to paint there anyway to see what I could do with it. I added the pontoon boat for interest. Not sure how much I like this one but everyone else in my house loved it. So, here it is for all to see. I ended up doing 3 paintings and also spent some time getting ready for the upcoming OPAS plein air competition. I will post the others later.

Tags: boat, Charles Mill Lake, landscape, oil, pontoon