Coffeeshop Fun
Or "Who's that creepy guy over there taking pictures?" Omm, that would be me. Coffee shops are wonderful places to people watch and get some 21st century painting material. It's amazing how coffee has become such an integral part of our modern existence, and how, in turn, people relate to these types of scenes. My favorite paintings of this subject by other painters are always handled loosely. I think it's so important to capture the emotion of a place, and the feeling of the subject rather than getting too hung up on perfectly rendering the details. Here are a couple ...
Painting Wildlife in to a Scene
I've been putting some wildlife in my paintings lately and having some fun doing it. As one can imagine, wildlife is very figurative and some knowledge of mammalian anatomy is very helpful. Anytime you add a living breathing element to a painting it sort of changes the compositional dynamic. The animal naturally takes precedence in terms of focal point, though other shapes can effectively guide the eye through the rest of the painting. For the elk painting,"Eligible Bachelors" at right, I combined two photos taken at Rocky Mountain National Park during the Estes Park Plein Air Festival. It is so rare for a great landscape ...
Doing Field Studies At A Ski Area
Painting at a ski area can be lucrative, fun, and a great way to market yourself as an artist. Monarch Ski area is the ski area closest to where I live (about 20 minutes). I write off the expense of a season pass because it's a "business" destination. It's a win-win situation on a lot of levels. For one thing, there is very little, if any, hiking involved to get some breathtaking views. A lot of times I'll just take my plein air backpack up right on the ski lift and ski down to any number of great overlooks, but not before getting ...
An Autumn’s Drive
Early this Fall, before the "Autumn Road Trip Out West", my family and I took a most amazing Fall tour through some of Colorado's best country. We traveled over four major mountain passes and just had a great time taking as many photos as possible with the leaves turning. Starting out in Salida, drive North on HWY 285 to HWY 24 North and through Buena Vista. At the turn off for Twin Lakes, HWY 82, turn left in order to go over Independence Pass and in to Aspen. Independence Pass is one of the best high alpine passes in Colorado. At its summit your above the tree-line ...
My New Favorite Place to Paint
Salida, CO is nestled in what has become known as "The Heart of the Rockies." It's a small mountain community in the Collegiate Mountain Range of the Central Rockies, and like many other high altitude communities, it used to be a large mining town. It lies along the Arkansas River at the mouth of Bighorn Sheep Canyon to the East and is named "Salida" for that reason. Salida translated from Spanish means "Exit" and it really is the only exit from the Upper Arkansas Valley without going over a mountain pass. Poncha Pass lies to the South; Monarch, Tincup, and Independence to the West; Freemont and Tennessee to the ...
Coffeeshop Fun
Or "Who's that creepy guy over there taking pictures?" Omm, that would be me. Coffee shops are wonderful places to people watch and get some 21st century painting material. It's amazing how coffee has become such an integral part of our modern existence, and how, in turn, people relate to ...
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March 11, 2009
Painting Wildlife in to a Scene
I've been putting some wildlife in my paintings lately and having some fun doing it. As one can imagine, wildlife is very figurative and some knowledge of mammalian anatomy is very helpful. Anytime you add a living breathing element to a painting it sort of changes the compositional dynamic. The ...
1
March 11, 2009
Doing Field Studies At A Ski Area
Painting at a ski area can be lucrative, fun, and a great way to market yourself as an artist. Monarch Ski area is the ski area closest to where I live (about 20 minutes). I write off the expense of a season pass because it's a "business" destination. It's a win-win ...
0
March 9, 2009
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