10.75" x 13.75" watercolor on Arches w/c board

I went painting with the Ohio Plein Air Society last Saturday. It was a little crisp but the sun came out and there was some beautiful light. I fought through some thorn bushes to get this angle across the pond back into the barn and I think it was worth it. Still experimenting with watercolor and really liking the experience.

12" x 16" oil on canvas

This was my entry into the Ohio Plein Air Society competition last Sunday. I tried something new by trying to focus most of the attention on the foreground pumpkins. It was an interesting morning as the sun was out most of the time but then I got rained on about half way through as well. I also had the local newspaper stop by for pictures and a short interview. The link for that is here. I only got up there to paint on Saturday due to a busy schedule.

8" x 10" oil on canvas

This was the other painting that I finished during the competition weekend. It was a bit overcast for this one. I had a lot of great visitors during this one. One of the things I like about plein air is the people you meet.

12" x 16" oil on canvas

I did this painting last Saturday as part of the White’s Mill challenge sponsored by the Ohio Plein Air Society and Russell Chamberlain, of Athens Real Estate Company. Thanks to he and Jeff Risner for setting this up. It wound up being a nice day although a little overcast at times. There was judging at the end of the day along with wine and cheese. I was honored to receive an honorable mention which means my painting will hang at the real estate office for the next month amongst some other great paintings. And they are for sale too. If your in the area, get on down there and check out the show.

8" x 10" oil on canvas

I was able to get out for a few hours to do this plein air painting of a farm’s grain silo’s yesterday afternoon while it was so nice. I drove around a bit until this caught my eye. Finished in time to get home and get cleaned up for Friday night football. You could smell it int he air.

This painting is available. As are most of the painting on here. Contact me if you are interested.

12" x 16" oil on linen panel

Yesterday I took a day off work to take my son Sam and a couple of his friends to a LEJGA Golf Tournament at Thunderbird Golf Coarse in Huron, Ohio. I dropped the boys off and then I went and painted while they got started. I went into town and hit one of the marina’s in town. This fire boat was just begging to be painted. It was a great day and very quiet down there in the morning. This was the result of my morning.

BTW – I went back and followed Sam for the back 9. He was 7 over on the front but pulled it together and was even on the back for a final score of 79 which got him 4th place. Not bad for the first tournament of the year.

Sam - 4th place

9" x 12" oil on canvas panel

Painted as a part of the Creative Chateau‘s paint Ashland. I wasn’t able to paint with them because I went to church and went to my son Sam’s choir concert, “May Fiesta.” However, I was able to capture an evening scene looking toward the bridge. There was some great light on the bridge that evening. I ran short on time and needed to put ont he final bling in the studio. Looking forward to the next outing. I probably should have added the ducks since this is the duck pond but they were all on shore bugging me instead of in the water.

9" x 12" oil on canvas panel, ©2010

Went out a few evenings ago and completed this painting. The trees caught my attention while driving down the road and then the little out building became the focus with its aqua colored roof. I still need work on the way I handle trees, that’s for sure. But each time out is another practice session and a chance to improve.

Moore Farm, 9" x 12" oil on linen

This past Sunday was an OPAS paintout event in Hartville, Ohio. It was very well organized with maps and painting locations already mapped out and permissions already granted. I painted at the Moore farm which is a tree farm and also a place to go and cut flowers. What I saw was mostly day lilies, but I hear they also have quite a hosta collection as well. One thing I really liked about this paintout was the critique at the end. That was handles by Dino Massaroni and a few of the other artists that knew what they were talking about also chimed in. Dino is a pro and it showed in his comments and assessments of each painting. Not a job just anyone can handle. Being a graphic designer, I’m used to criticism and being relatively new to painting, especially with oils, I really appreciated it. What you see here is the revised painting. I came home and made the changes right away. Some of things they commented about for this painting was needing more separation between the paintings, Needing a darker sky to separate from the roofs of these two buildings and also less detailed so as to not take the emphasis away from the subject of the painting. Another artist also commented that I needed less of a ladder effect on the right side with my darks and lights. I tried to even that out the best I could.

Lakeside Hollyhocks: This was the first painting that I did for the weekend on Friday morning. Mostly this was painted under an umbrella as it rained off and on all morning. That’s why it looks a bit gray in the painting. BTW – the shadow at the top is from the easel. This painting sold at the wet-paint sale. Thanks.

The Whitehouse: This painting was started on Friday afternoon after the rain cleared out and the sun came out nice and bright. However, it is right along the lakefront and the wind got to be too much for me. Plus, I needed to head back to Ashland to coach a semi final Pony league baseball game for my son Sam’s team. We were in the looser’s bracket. We won. I ended up finishing this one on Saturday afternoon. I waited until afternoon to try and catch that same light as on Friday afternoon. I also had to leave to coach another tournament game on Saturday. This one was the finals. We won the first game which meant we had to play another game as it was double-elimination. Unfortunately, we lost in the second game 2 – 1. This one was purchased by the homeowners. Thanks guys. I appreciate it.

Hotel Lakeside: This one was started on Saturday morning. It was a little cooler on Saturday and it showed in what everyone was wearing. I think I got a little crazy with the shadow coming in from the right side. They were pretty intense but not like that. I think I may try to fix that. We’ll see.

Wooden Boat: This one was done on Sunday around noon when the boats came in for the wooden boat show that was going on in conjunction with the wet paint sale. I decided to try to loosen up and did this one purely with palette knives. Not sure how I feel about this look but there seemed to be a fair amount of interest at the sale.

9" x 12" oil on canvas panel - Lakeside Hollyhocks

12" x 9" oil on canvas panel - The Whitehouse

9" x 12" Oil on canvas panel - Hotel Lakeside

8" x 10" oil on canvas panel - Wooden Boat

Again, I am still really trying to find my niche in the art world. And these two paintings are the two routes I am exploring right now. I think this weekend I will do a little of both and then hopefully get somefeedback at the sale at the end of the 3 days. The sale will take place in the park near the pier from 3 -5 on Sunday afternoon. Come on out if your nearby and offer your opinion as well. I will post the paintings I do this weekend at some point. Maybe even as I go. Although, I also need to coach two baseball games over the weekend, so i will be plenty busy.

8" x 10" oil on panel

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