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This Triptych was a challenge as the three panels would not fit on one easel. But with the help of two other easels I did match up edged. The colors are actually the same in the foreground in all three panels, but the lighting, when mounted on 3 easels to photograph make the left one appear darker.

Whew....it is fun but really hard to make a triptych work...alignment! After I lined them up on 3 easels (different makes, a real challenge to align), and took a picture I realized that there are some adjustments between the first and the second panels...those naked branches in #2 need to carry over to #1...Well, it is only 95% done so I will let it rest a bit and take another look. (In reality but not int he photo the color of the sky is uniform across the 3 panels.) This by the way is 25x55 so it is a relative large painting. But it has been fun, as I tend to paint mostly large sky landscapes and some buildings...not so much on forests even aspen forests. It was those Henning paintings that got me going.

This time referring to Hennings I spent several hours on the middle of the triptych, tough I have started the 3rd one, also. As always every painting is a chance to learn and repeat old lessons. I started out with too much chroma...then compared my work to Hennings and realized that I needed to mute the colors and concentrate on the value range. I like it better now...also realized I needed to really work on color harmony...needed a bit of the Naples yellow in every color.

I think I have painted 22 or 23 paintings for Vicki Shuck and my series, "A Sense of Place." This last one (maybe I will do another...really into this) is of old rail way cars at the end of Hood River. They were there one sunny afternoon and just called to me. I must have been channeling my "William Wray." He is one of my painting heroes, so why not?

I have decided to take a break from my larger project...A Sense of Place, the show Vicki Shuck and I are preparing for...and start a rather large triptych. I am enchanted by some of the aspen paintings by Hennings, so I looked through my photo scrap (over 4000 photos!) and found one that I liked. The colors were extremely high chroma (deep cerulean sky, lots of rust color, etc.) however, so I am neutralizing them, and including Naples yellow in each color. It is still high chroma but I think I can get some unity with the addition of this subtle yellow. eventually this will be a 30 by 50 triptych...all three of the canvases in one frame. Experiments like this keep me agile, I hope!

Yesterday I thought I had completed Pickers' Cabins...but today in the studio I realized that there were some minor touches to be made...just a small change in shadows, more highlights on the top branches of the trees...so here is the "final" version.

For our project (renamed: A Sense of Place), Vicki and I have been asked to give a talk. I thought it would be interesting for people to see how a quick field sketch is painted. In this series I actually used a sanded over 8"x8" linen artist board. (This is not only "green"--re-purposing---but saves $'s and when finished is like painting on a triple oil primed canvas!)
First I sanded down the old/unsuccessful painting,turned it on its side (to avoid being confused by any sign of the former image); then I laid in a wash of transparent iron oxide and turp. Next a charcoal sketch. (I with don't always do this, but when there are structures and the need for accurate perspective I find it saves correction time.)

Then I blocked in the major shapes starting with the darkest, then the basic colors of the shapes and finally detail. (I may go back and revisit this painting in the studio and crisp up some detail...but this was a "pochade.")

This is a very simple piece but I hope it is fresh and communicates an afternoon view of fruit pickers' cabins...simple but sun dappled.

I recently had a talented carpenter build some great storage for my many paintings (amazing not everything is sold!)...this has provided me with the opportunity to find "old" paintings...or lost paintings. (Two are still lost.) This is one of them...painted in Grand Teton National Park this summer. I had one from this site and spent a lot of time looking for this one. It was hidden at the back of some very awkward storage I had in my studio. I also found a good frame...
I am embarrassed to admit how disorganized my former storage was.

Here is the finished painting...it sort of painted itself, like most pleasurable paintings...it just to take on a life of its own as I painted...I remember the evening so well...

While Vicki and I have been focusing on ranch and farm land and the orchards and agricultural happenings in Hood River for our April show (see section on A Sense of Place), it occurred to me that one of the dominant features of Hood River is the mighty Columbia.
So I am starting a painting on this beautiful river. I caught some great shots at twilight and they just speak to me. I will post this painting as it progresses...this is the first layer--the under-painting.

Favorite lyrics to a very old song...
I love rail road stations, the more rural the better. This is from Merrill, Oregon...way down near the California border. My love of train stations must come from my childhood. When on vacation (road trips,where my dad was sort of competitive about the miles covered in a day...600 was nothing to him, nor what ever V-8 we were in--gas was not $3.50 a gallon!), at night we would go down and watch trains. Pretty simple entertainment...but it brings back wonderful memories of fireflies, the sound of a distant train and the smell of the heat on ranch and farm land pastures.

This painting is of Merrill...mid day...not a huge crowd of people!

My prior blog was about getting encouragement from my friend and co-painter Vicki Shuck. Well, after one success I went for another....this is a view of Odel, late afternoon. I am so attracted to the dramatic light, especially the shadows that create mystery.

If you have followed this blog you know that I am working on a series of paintings with my friend and wonderful painter Vicki Shuck (do go to her blog!)..we met for a status meeting yesterday. I complained that I was just not sure I could meet my own standards when trying to execute a city scape...especially a nocturne. I showed her some work by William Wray (one of my favorite artists) and some equally good work by Jennifer McChristian...Vicki said that she was sure I could do it. I just had to remember to block in the darks, and then work on the hi-lights. As painters we all know this...but hearing it from her, and her confidence gave me the push I needed. This emphasizes the need for all of us to have good friends who are painters, too!

I have been working on this rather large project, chronicling selected small rural towns in Oregon. Working with noted painter Vicki Shuck has been great. We have about 3 months left to complete 40 paintings. As I have been focusing on the Hood River area--so lush and green, Diamond, Oregon--real remote cow country and the land around Merrill, Oregon (farm country) I continue to realize that I am at heart a desert painter. Merrill is a perfect example...the irrigated portions are really rich farm land and have a wonderful beauty...but I did make a side trip one morning to catch the light on some land that is not under the plow. Wow....the vastness of the west still charms me, like nothing else!