Getting adventurous!

My last post was a painting of an animal and in this one, I have people! This painting is only 6x8, so they are actually just a couple of brushstrokes, but I don't often put people in my landscapes. This painting is a study to work out the composition for a larger piece, and yes, I know the fishermen are right in the middle! Does it bother you? I look at the people, the yellow bushes to their left and the colorful tall tree behind them as a triangle that is the focal point, rather than just the fishermen. I may change my mind when I do it larger and I might move them over a little bit, but why not break the rules?

I see other artists who do it all the time, and it works, so hopefully this will too.

More Colorado

This 6x8 oil painting is called "Heading Home" because it is from a photo I took last September as I headed back to Summit County from Westcliffe, Colorado. The road follows the Arkansas river a good part of the way, and in places, has cut canyons that you drive through. It was about 5pm as I came out of a canyon into the sunshine and I had to stop and take photos because the light was so nice. I do this drive every year, and I always look forward to it because the leaves are peaking at the end of September.

Summer will be short and sweet

Where I live, in the mountains of Colorado, summer is always short, and therefore, sweet! But this year it is shorter than usual. My last post, about a week ago, featured a snowy photo from my studio window. This week I have daffodils! The painting above was done from a study and photos I took at Mayflower Gulch one June, and you can see even then there still was a lot of snow. It stays on the peaks for a long time, but lower down, the wildflowers are incredible.

This year I am working on the "Art and Wildflower Celebration" a benefit for The Continental Divide Land Trust. It will be in mid July, and we have about 14 or 15 plein air artists who will paint at trailheads and other parts of the area known for wildflowers during the week prior. To me, painting plein air is plein frustrating, so I am the coordinator rather than a painter. I will submit one piece into the "studio" segment of the event, and will be one of about 14 more artists with studio pieces. We hope the artwork will sell out and raise lots of money for the land trust. This is the third year for the event and each year it gets bigger and better. I have really enjoyed getting to know some of the artists, among them Beth Erlund, Amy Evans, Tricia Bass, Debby McAllister, Ann Weaver, Ginger Whellock, Barrett Edwards, Kate Keisler, Kim Barrick, Sandi Bruns, Mary Lou Johns, Joan Hilliard, Marty Rohde, Mark Johnson and CJ Chadwell. Lots of good Colorado people!