If I had a clever title, it would go here

I have painted these trees a few times, but never with snow. The sun was coming in and out, but I was able to catch a bit of the shimmer that was happening when it was out.

 I painted a couple of figurines this week. This one goes along with the season.

 A little clowning around.

 Sunday I joined a figure group for this six hour pose. I went really big with this one at 24x36. It was a little intimidating at first, but turned out to be a whole lot of fun.

Art in winter

This first painting is the result of an Idea I've had for awhile. I wanted to paint a steaming hot cup of something. After some failed attempts to get steam with hot water and ice, I got some dry ice. This didn't work exactly like I planed. The steam bubbled out of the water and spilled over the edge kind of like you'd imagine the steam would act in a witches cauldron. I went ahead and painted any way,  trying to imagine what the steam should look like if it was drifting up. I may try again sometime in the future. I am thinking of bringing a hot cup of Joe outside on a cold day.

 This is from our Study group at the studio.

 Wends. night.

 Friday afternoon at East Boulder rec center.

 On our property on Sat. afternoon. I really like what the light was doing.

12-14-14

I took advantage of the beautiful weather this week to do some Plein Air painting.

I went to Ward where there are many beautiful buildings with lots of character.

 That after noon I cruised up to Brainard lake. This is actually Red Rock lake. What a beautiful spot.

It was so nice, I went back the next day. It usually is blowing 100 miles an hour and cold. This was a great treat to have such nice weather this time of year.

Wends. I decided to draw for a change.

From a photo I took a few years ago in Ohio. 

Just north of Hygiene.

 

December unemployment

My Job has me unemployed for a couple of months. Consequently I get to paint a lot. Here are a few from the last couple of weeks. This first was done in the studio. I enjoyed remembering colors and values to improve on the photo I was working from.

 From last Weds night.

 Thursday My friend Chala set up this model for the full day. I personally find beauty in all sorts of different body types. It was a fun day.

 This is from a PACC paint out in south Denver I went to last week.

 My Brother Dan hired me to do a portrait of his well loved and well missed dog Moot.

 Another portrait from this past week.

 A still life from a Tuesday afternoon study group I have been able to participate in since I'm not working. The light on this one is working remarkably well. I need to fix the fact that the picture on the page doesn't follow the edge of the page.

 This is a barn out on Teller Farm east of boulder.

 Earlier that morning I painted the Elementary School on the corner of 20th and Pine in Boulder. I believe it is called Whittier. Again the light is working quite well on this one

Pet Portraits

I thought I'd practice some pet portraits, and if they were any good, post an ad on Creigs list to see if I might be able to get some work. This is Leo, our dog we lost to cancer early this year.

 This is Prim our one and only pet at the moment.

 Saturday I took my paints skiing up to tree line at Butler Gulch. It was windy and cold, so I felt pretty good about being able to paint this, despite the elements.

 Weds I found this old farm house way out on Valmont east of Boulder.

 Tues. afternoon a few of us at the studio set up this still life.

Cold Painting

I have been working on getting out in the cold to paint. I definitely takes a lot more work. If the sun is out, I have a prayer, a little wind or clouds and my hands start to freeze up. I think it was about 5* when I painted this.

 Friday a few of us hired a model for the whole day. It is way more comfortable painting inside this time of year.

 Sunday I ventured out again. I still need to figure out how to keep my hands warm without affecting my painting dexterity.

 This is the first attempt of an idea I have been thinking about. I painted the right third first for about 20 minutes. Then the middle third for 20 minutes, and then the left third for another 20. The idea is to catch how the light changes over time.

 Tuesday afternoon a few of us set up a still life.

Telluride and more

Well I missed last week and am late this week. But I do have a lot to share. I am not going to describe each one. It is enough to know that all of the landscapes are from a trip to Telluride I took this week end and the portraits, figure, and Still life are from live models at the studio. Take care.

 

 

 

 

 

pretty productive week

I painted a lot this week. It was great!

Weds afternoon I had off so I joined a figure group that meets in the afternoon and painted this. I think it is my best portrait to date. I really like it when they just fall out of the brush like this one did.

 Friday was another good day to not have to work. I went out to Saw Hill Ponds with Sharon.

 

Monday evening I tried to catch some last light at the bottom of Coal Creek Canyon.

 Weds evening figure. sorry about the poor photo.

 My uncle was a photographer when he was alive. My Aunt shared some of his portraits on one of my visits. this past week I dug them out and tried to do some painting from them. The photos are black and white. I am attempting to paint in color with limited success.

 Saturday night I ventured outside and painted my first plein air night scene. I am hoping to do more of this this winter. It is tricky getting my eyes to adjust from the lit easel to the darkness of night. I tried closing my left eye and using my right to paint. then closing my right eye and using my left to study my subject. this worked pretty well, but it is hard to see the depth of my brush touching the canvas with just one eye.

another quick study of some fleeting light in front of our house.