finally some good plein air painting weather

  This week was beautiful weather wise. I got a lot of plein air painting done. If I had to choose a favorite, it would have to be this 12x 16 painting I made Friday evening over at Walker Ranch looking west. It was partly cloudy, so the sun was doing a song and dance with light and shadow on the mountains. I was able to stick to one moment in time when the sun was shinning off the snow just right.

Today I got up early and drove to Brainard Lake and made the 2and 1/2 half mile walk from the winter gate to Brainard Lake proper where I painted these two. The first is 8x10 and the second 11x14.

 I was surprised, it actually got quite crowded. People were talking to me, commenting on my paintings. The kids seem to enjoy it the most. Bicycles were zipping by. I had to be careful not to back up suddenly to look at my work with out looking down the road for on coming cyclists first. The weather was fabulous. Not much wind, plenty of sunshine and warm temps.

Earlier this week, I stopped at the bottom of Coal Creek Canyon to get some painting done. This 10x8 is my second attempt at this scene. The first didn't turn out at all.

This 10x8 is another from Walker Ranch

going bigger

 These first two paintings are 16x24 Quite a bit bigger than I have been working, 8x10 and 12x 16. It is kind of freeing to work with big strokes.

 Weds night.

 This is some of the rock formations just to the west of Boulder. It is 12x16

 This is a quick study of a really good friend. I am trying to go straight into color as apposed to working out the values first. Also 12x16

sold right off of the easel

 I spent a long weekend in New Mexico, visiting my Aunt and Uncle. While there I was able to get some painting done. While I was set up on the side of a country road painting this old abandoned house, I had a few people stop and see what I was doing and talk a little. When I was almost done a couple stopped and was really taken with this painting. They lived right down the road and new the history of the place. after they talked a little between themselves the lady came to me and said sir, you've sold that painting. Yee Ha !!!!

This is my Aunt and Uncles house. I had looked and looked for a good angle to paint their house from and was having trouble because it is surrounded by trees. Finally I settled for this view.

  My blog post wouldn't be the same without the weekly figure. So, here you go.

 On the way down to New Mexico, I spotted this old abandoned home on a road running parallel to the highway. I got off at the next exit and doubled back to see about painting it. The weather was a bit iffy, so I set up in my car and painted from the front seat with my canvas propped up on the steering wheel. While I was painting I noticed out of the corner of my eye that someone in a truck pulling a horse trailer had stopped on the highway. A gentleman came up to my window to see what I was doing. He was concerned that I was planning on trespassing. When he saw what I was doing, he decided I was harmless and left me alone.

Paintings for 5-5-13

 In a way this is a plein air painting, in that I painted it with the natural light coming through our kitchen window.

I painted this from the same kitchen window. It was a cloudy over cast day. In the past I have had trouble with colors on these kind of days. So today, I studied and studied this view until I started seeing a pinkish hue in the sky at the horizon that slowly faded to a blueish color. 

 Here is one I painted last summer. It never made my blog because I hung it up at Nina's Flowers and gifts the day after it was painted. It is one I really like and it kind of makes me feel as though I am not getting any better and maybe even a little worse.

 This is one from last week's trip to Red Rocks, but didn't make the blog because, I left it in Sharon's car and didn't get it back until today.

And finally the painting from Weds. night. Definitely not my best.