Last Light On Challenger Point - Plein Air

Last Light On Challenger Point
Oil 8"x10"

Plein Air painting from yesterdays Sundown.

What I like about where I live is that I've got the Collegiate Peaks facing east for sunrise painting and the Sangre De Cristo range facing west to paint at sundown.

The light changes really rapidly at sundown. I think sunset painting is tougher because everything gets darker. You usually have to be prepared to continue to paint even when the light is gone and rely on what you remember seeing.

Heavy Snow

Heavy Snow
64" x 24"
Oil / Canvas

Twisting Aspen

Twisting Aspen
Oil / Canvas
8 x 6

A recent plein air painting from one of my favorite aspen painting spots up at the Shavano Mountain trail head. You can easily paint at this spot all day

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Autumn Aspen Grove

Autumn Aspen Grove
Oil / Canvas
24 x 20

Majestic Alpine Glow

The paintings below are of a view of Mt Princeton early in the morning above the valley I live in. The smaller one is the one I did outdoors on location. I camped out at this spot in order to get up at 5am to capture this light on the mountains. It doesn't last for long, the plein air painting took about 20-25 min to complete.

I then used a combination of photos and the plein air piece to complete the larger painting. I decided to paint it when the light is just beginning to hit the top of the mountain when the colors are the most saturated.



Oil - 18x24



Oil 6x8

Shining Through

Shining Through
Oil 16" x 20"

Experimenting with color some more....

The Intensity Of Fall

The Intensity of Fall
24" x 18"
Oil / Canvas

The Fall colors here in Colorado are so intense. It can be hard to believe how bright the colors really are, but they really are this way.

Lately, my interest in painting has been in color. I'm interested in how the impressionists used color to represent light. I've been enjoying studying the California Impressionists work. Particularly, I've been focusing on William Wendt's work. I've also been finding inspiration in Russian painters such as Sergei Bongart. I'm finding how it's so important to build a visual memory from outdoor field studies when you do work in studio such as I did for this piece. I had a photograph handy, but I relied heavily on my memory and imagination for it. You can't get much color from a photo. Photographs can control you, but when you use your memory you'll be free to push the limits.

Wildflowers

Wildflowers
12" x 20"
Oil

Took an impressionistic approach on this one. Played with thick paint - building thick paint on top of thick paint in order to make a more tactile look and get more variety in color. Detail picks are below:

Alpine Sundown

Alpine Sundown
Oil 8x10

Mt. Princeton Vista

Mt. Princeton Vista
Oil 8" x 10"

Plein Air from today. This is a view of Mt. Princeton above the valley I live in. It's challenging to drop in shadows from clouds while painting outdoors. They are always moving so it can be tricky to make observations of how they work. I had to conserve my white paint because I forgot to bring it, luckily I made it without using it all. The wind got really chilly towards the end of the painting, started to have shivering hands while painting (maybe the shakiness can be seen in the brushstrokes)

Autumn Brook

Autumn Brook
Oil / Canvas
16" x 20"

I've painted a couple Plein Air studies of this spot before and have always wanted to do a little larger studio painting of it. Plein Air is fun but I also really enjoy being able to layer paint in the studio and build up some texture and color.

Fiery Skies

Fiery Skies
Oil 18" x 18"

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River Foliage

River Foliage
Oil / Canvas
16" x 22"

Fresh Powder (once more)

Fresh Powder
Oil Canvas
27" x 34"


This is a painting I've posted before. I've revised it and put in some fall colors, made the barn look a little more interesting and completely painted over the mountains. I felt like I needed to punch it up a little more. Sometimes paintings aren't finished they are only abandoned, as Leonardo da Vinci would say.

Taking Flight

Oil / Canvas
8" x 10"

The Sangre De Cristo Range is certainly one of my favorite mountain ranges in Colorado. This little painting is from a view by Westcliffe which is about an hour and half away from Salida.
This piece is availabe in my gallery for just $200 framed plus shipping. Call me at 216-409-3679 if interested.

two 6x8's

Autumn Tree Friends
8"x6"
Oil / Canvas





Morning Light on Mt. Shavano
6" x 8"
Oil / Canvas

Pinons and Mountains

6x8
Oil / Canvas

A little plein air painting from yesterday. We've had great weather up here in Salida, CO. Karen and I hiked up a path into the hills behind Salida. It's now one of my favorite trails in the area. There is so much just on that trail would make for good painting. Expect to see more from this location soon.

Painting Commissions

Posting a couple painting commissions I've done several months ago. Both are of real places nearby where I live in Salida, CO


Twin Sisters





Arkansas River