Snowy Conifer

"Snowy Conifer"
Oil / Canvas
11" by 14"

Landscape Painting Demo

1) Laying in some ground work. I find that having a warm tonality to the ground work for a final image with a cooler tonality really helps with my color choices. A cool ground can work for a warm toned painting as well.

Sometimes I like to place opposite colors down too. It helps me in judging Hue relationships as well. For example, Green grass try a red ground or a blue sky try an orange or yellow.

Getting started is probably the most challenging part. I think a lot about how to start a painting. It dictates the direction of your work a lot. I know it doesn't look like anything but I've got the most basic breakdown of large shapes in this step.

2) Blocking in color. Getting in some darks and lights. General idea of color for large areas. Picking at warms and cools here and there. Keeping it really general.

3) Working from background to foreground now. Sometimes it works to do the foreground first then the background. It mostly depends on your subject. Doing the foreground can work by establishing your value contrast and then you'll know everything else behind it will have less contrast. For this though, I wanted to make sure the tree looked like it is in front of the sky.

4) The Sky is almost there. Adding some more definition of light and shadow to the tree. Making some touches to the foreground bushes.

5) blocking in some more color to the bushes. Making some decisions as to how they will lay out.

6) Adding some more color and texture. Using some dry brushing and my favorite tool, the palette knife.

7) Making my shapes of color look like the objects they represent. Compositionally, I make some of the bush branches point towards the focal point which is the tree.

8) Adding in the tree branches and sky holes. Sky holes are typically darker than the sky surrounding the tree.

9) Making the tree look fuller and defining the mountains. Making some touch ups and it's almost set!

Finished Painting- signed in lower right. Let it dry, frame it, and ship it out to be hung in a gallery.

"Single Tree"
Oil / Canvas
16" by 20"

Peak over Mirror Lake

"Peak over Mirror Lake"
Oil - Canvas
16" by 20"

A better photo of a painting from a previous post.

Winter Creek

"Winter Creek"
Oil 10" by 20"

Where the Wild Things Are Show

"Where the Wild Things Are"
Oil - Canvas
14" by 28"

My painting for the show. Can you see the scratches in the tree and the Monster shadow?

Robert Henri Tees

I've put up my t-shirt design for the master artist Robert Henri. One of my favorite painters.
Check it out here:

http://www.zazzle.com/roberthenri*

Plein Air from Indiana

Recently got back from visiting family in Southern Indiana. Had the opportunity to go out and paint a few times while there. Below are what I did during the visit.

"Midwest Farm"
Oil 8" by 15"

It rained for two days when we arrived. I did this one sitting out the trunk of the car.

"Hay Bales"
Oil 9" by 12"

The second one I did in the morning on a beautiful day after all the rain.

"Back Country"
Oil 9" by 12"

An old abandoned farm house off a back country road

Production

"Production"
Oil 20" by 24"

Plein Air From Yesterday in Granby, CO

"Autumn Creek"
Oil 12" by 16"

I am really enjoying all the fall colors up in the mountains.
It's fun to cut it loose with my Oil Colors

"Golden Tree line"
Oil 8" by 10"

Cloud cover started to move in after I finished "Autumn Creek"
Didn't have much time to do a larger one so I did this small study
before it got to windy and dark.

"Aspen Joy" Plein Air

"Aspen Joy"
Oil 11" by 14"

From Sunday. Me and Karen went up in the mountains to see the changing Aspens.
It was a perfect day the weather was great!

Standing Figure

"Standing Figure"
Oil 11" by 14"

I had done this one a couple years ago. Came across it while looking through my stash of artwork and thought that it still had some potential, so I worked on it some more, adding color and changing some things to make it better than what it was.

Doing this actually isn't unusual for me. I'll pick up a painting I've started maybe a few weeks ago and finish it a while later quite often. Sometimes doing a painting in one sitting isn't always enough.

Red Study

Oil 10" by 20"

Playing around some more with the red monochrome. I think I'd like to try to do this now with some nudes.

"Well Connected" Plein Air

"Well Connected"
Oil 14" by 14"

Another one from Saturday for the Denver Plein Air.
The composition and how the light hit the fronts of those buildings is what prompted me to do this one.

South Platte River Plein Air

"South Platte River"

16" by 24"
Oil / Canvas

Another from today for the Denver Plein Air Show. A little bit of rain during this one so I found this dry spot under a bridge. It was fun to attempt a larger size outdoors than the usual.

Urban Light

"Urban Light"
Oil 12" by 16"

From today in downtown Denver for the Denver Plein Air event.

Had two goals in mind for it. Wanted a composition with a dark shape surrounded by two light shapes, and try to show the quality of the light in a city area.

About 90% of the painting is done in palette knife. It started out with a brush but I wasn't getting the texture I wanted so I switched to the knife.

Tomorrow I think I may do one of the river off of Speer St. I'll post it up!

Femme Fatale

"Femme Fatale"
Oil / Canvas
10" by 20"

Peak over Mirror Lake

"Peak Over Mirror Lake" Oil 16" by 20"

From our backpack hike that I created in the studio.

Cascade Trail Adventure

Me and Karen at the beginning of the trail. The trail starts out at Monarch Lake which is a beautiful start!

Monarch Lake

One of the first falls we saw on the way up.

Cascade Trail had these fantastic falls all up the hike

Me and our Friend Mike. Mike's very experienced in backpacking and for me and Karens' first time backpacking we learned a lot. I learned that I need to get a lighter paint box!

One of the views as we got closer to camp

Karen, rocking it up the mountain

Our campsite was surrounded by Mountain Peaks!

Crater Lake!

Mountain Peak above Crater Lake

"Crater Lake Patterns" Oil 10" by 12"

Sketch I did up on Crater Lake before we packed up to head back. My goal for this one was to get a simplified look just getting the basics in. The Mosquitoes were swarming me when I started this painting. After about 30 min they went away- I think after they got their fill of me!

I would love to go back to this area and spend another day to explore more. There were so many beautiful views all around our campsite. Backpacking was rough at times but it was well worth it!

Back Packing Tomorrow

Tomorrow, on the 7th, Me, Karen and our friend Mike will be back packing, overnight, up the Cascade Falls trail in the Indian Peak wilderness area. Hoping to do some painting there. I'll post photos and artwork when I get back. Should be fun!

"Wide Open" Oil 10" by 20" Plein Air

From a couple days ago. Painted with my friend Brett Weaver at this location nearby my home.
The light didn't present much contrast but my goal was to capture the yellow green harmony in the scene.

Karen's Skate Deck

Check out artist Karen Watkins Skate Deck. I think it's Awesome!

http://fatallycute.blogspot.com/2009/06/skatedeck-group-show.html

Portrait Sketch

"Portrait Sketch" Oil 12" by 10"

SkateDeck Group Show July 3rd

July 3rd me and my wife, Karen Watkins, will be participating in a Skate Deck show at Plastic Chapel in Denver. There are three venues showing the work Plastic Chapel, Indy Ink, and News Speak. It should be a lot of fun. I really love what Karen put together for it, I'll post hers up soon. Below is what I came up with- a simple figure with a black dress, seemed to fit the shape of the board.

Recent Field Sketches/ Studies from Wyoming trip

Welcome to my Blog!
OK, for my first post I'm putting up the sketches I did on my recent Wyoming trip. It was a lot of fun! Me and my wife spent the week with her parents and in the morning I was able to sneak out and do a few sketches while there.

"River Study" Oil 6" by 8"
First study I did, which was right by the camp we stayed at.

"Window through the Trees" Oil 11" by 14"
down the road from where we stayed. My attempt at a mountain view with some back lighting behind the trees.

"Mountain View" Oil 8" by 10"

"Over the Hills" Oil 9" by 12"
I did this one entirely with the brush at first and didn't like the way it was going so I scraped it away and then did it entirely with the palette knife.

"Pond Reflections" Oil 6" by 8"
First one I did when we arrived at the Tetons

"Mist over the Tetons" Oil 11" by 14"
I had to do a painting of the Tetons before we left. I think I'd be happier with this painting if it had a better composition. However it was fun being out and painting those beautiful mountains!

"Back Light Hills" Oil 8" by 10"
This is a piece I did when I returned home to Denver. The trip was a lot of fun and can't wait to visit again and maybe do more sketches now that I'm more familiar with the area.

Thanks for reading my new blog. I plan on posting all kinds of new work, new events, photos and features on other artists. Hope you sign up to follow!