2017----something new

      2017    Happy New Year   all - -- -I  haven't been painting, and I have missed it a great deal..   June 2nd,  2016 I had a mishap with my dog, Ruby, and dislocated my shoulder...  I had no idea what that can do to a person. let alone one my age!!  But I am fine,  had surgery on Dec 1st that made all the difference in the world for my problem,  I didn't hurt or tear my rotator cuff tho, just messed up some biceps and a tendon.  Sure made my range of motion impossible for a time.  I can now reach my easel in front of me,  I paint while standing and like to reach forward which was very hard to do.
      I got these two done a few days ago - -both paintings I have done before, but I thought it would get the creative juices going.   One in watercolor, and used a different way, so an experiment of sorts.   The one with the clouds this time was painted in gouche on stretched canson paper, Moonstone, in color.    Then it was finished in pastel.  I had done these both a few years ago so it was fun to do them in way different mediums and also techniques.  The old barn painting is in watercolor, was our old barn and is gone now.

                         

                                   

First 9 x 12 pastel for the year.

This was a plein-air painted this January, 2016, a time of day I normally avoid painting in as the light is cool--and mostly flat.   Its everywhere, and hard to connect shapes by shadow---also the color is not as dynamic.  Its a hard time of day in which to paint.  The reason this was painted is painters from Reno drove out to paint on this sunny day in January which is usually a very cold time of year,  we had some snow but very bright skies.   It was fun, and as we normally do, we searched and searched for just the right place to paint in---could not come up with anything so I chose a familiar place thinking it would help me at least get something done.   Very interesting to paint in this light, values are so close and looked quite plain even tho its a great scene.  It is much better with those late afternoon shadows for sure.

It was  a great way to start the new painting year----So get ready everyone!  let's paint.!

My few summer plein-air pastels

   I have 5 pastels I completed over the summer and would like to post them with a few comments.  Each one has been a fact searching project.  Always have had a difficult times with trees and getting them to set in my paintings as they should to express the feeling I was trying for.  We all love trees, and they should be as you want them to be.  And sometimes they are just in the background, and still should appear natural.  Color for them is hard, so much green!  And ruggedness, and tangly, and so on - -largeness is a big problem.  Well, it all is, but a great journey.

   

So here is an assortment of trees in different places done over the summer.  That is Wolf creek meadow, the forth one down.  I love this place, so many trails come out of this area along to the east where the Carson river runs.  The little pinion tree is near my house,  and the bright one with the willows is actually a lake!   Its so dry here, and the lakes are very low as it was done in Sept. on an outing with the Reno Tahoe Plein air painters at Silver lake.  

It was  a great summer with experiments made into Plein-air painting but still I should of worked much harder!  I did reduce the colors in my small double sketch box made by Heilman, and put in many greys and neutrals, and still got plenty of color!  The one done at Silver lake was mid-morning, and on a reclaimed piece of Uart with a orange-red wash of acrylic paint which helped brighten it a lot.  I do use watercolor under paintings as well.

Also this bear was in my yard this summer, mid-morning, and I got this picture from my kitchen window!  He was quite large but didn't stay long.

Can't wait until the snow flies, to try and paint then. Hope you are all painting!

across the pasture in Dutch Valley

This was done this morning in pastel on  small piece of Sansfix, dark blue.  I had gotten a small tablet of this for just sketching and thinking.  I have been thinking about something a friend had gone through while attending a clinic.  That was the color of the mountains in a lot of the west that are covered with sage. As they go out in the distance its easy to pay attention the the atmospheric appearances of these hills and mt's and blue them out - - -but when they are not even 1/4 mile from you you tend to try for the colors that you see.  We have had a lot of rain lately and there is a lot of color!!  Trying not to get too hi-key, I wanted to play with these thoughts.  I did the mt. first with a mouse grey (almost purple) shade, and then added a little local color over it.  It made you think a lot - -sage can be so many different shades of sage-greenish purple, and when rained on can look lush. This range had burned off in 1985 and so most of the pinions are gone, leaving a lot of sagebrush to take over. I just st in my yard under a patio umbrella and day-dreamed the morning away!  I have many more things to try - -like now do something like this with Oils, getting distance, and matching values to show the sun touched color. The sun was almost overhead in this one, just before noon.  Still, the mt. had to be darker in value than the foreground or sky.  More to come.

Tuesday, June 9th's try

Well -  -- Here is the last oil painting I have tried to do.  I am still not using any black, and and a split complimentary palette.  I did use Transparent Yellow oxide to tone the canvas and leave a nice yellow glow under the sky and ground planes.  So many thing s to try - - -and to remember!  This was about 9 am until 11 am on a grey cloudy-skied Tuesday.   A few of the Ladies from Reno came out this morning to paint also.  They were down by the orchard, and close to the road, I was in the brush to learn brush colors - -how to get paint off my brush - -and to keep my dog safe.  She spent the time hunting squirrels!!!    The comp. on this isn't to great - -- just getting the colors for the time of day was enough for me this time I guess.  I sure miss judged the middle range of hills, with that spot of green!!  Well, it did help to get out there.    Happy painting!

Reno Tahoe Plein Airs painters came out to Paint!

I  am happy to say  the Reno Tahoe Plein  Air painters, a group of Plein air painter brought together by an BlogSpot post created by painter Carolyn Thompson from Reno made the trip out to the Carson Valley to paint  on June 1st.    It was great to see them all with their easels set up in various places that morning.  I was too excited  I guess to get pictures of them,  I am sorry.   3 ladies came from Fallon Nevada, and most from Reno, some from Carson City  and then myself.  This is always fun, and I love to see what they paint.  This is what I was able to do,  in pastel , 

on pastelmat, 9 x 12

 

I was surprised I was able to get these old building and the above ground gas tanks we have on the ranch , from their back sides.   I have never done so many buildings at one go before!   Going out with a group like this sure does get you going again and I am ready now to continue.  And Carolyn did 2 paintings, small, in Oil.  She did the cows in the corral, and the big tractor!  She said she might send me one and if she does I will post it here.   Happy painting!

 

Spring Sage--mid-morning

Yesterday in the mid morning, out painting to learn to deal with sage brush. I had a great time, and now feel a bit better about it and will do more. There is so much to learn using these oils. I did use a small palette of primaries on a burnt sienna toned ground. I do want to get more color into the brush, but this is a good start. So interesting learning these new things, I. E. color mixing - -catching the light--recession,---and even local color--as well as foregrounds!!!  Thanks goodness it's fun!  Hope you are all painting!