Grand Canyon, Moran Point Demonstration
STEP 1. I decided to photograph this demonstration right after I started it, so I lost what I would consider the actual first step. Before this, would be just a quick line drawing like what you see at the bottom of this step. I loosely outline the integral shapes and think about how those shapes interact with each other. Also at this step I think it's equally important to think about the "unseen" lines that tie parts of the composition together. STEP 2. I start filling in the shapes. I first think in terms of 2 values: the light family and ...
Telluride Ski Area
I recently dropped off a frame to some clients (and now good friends) of mine in Ridgeway, CO. They had invited me to stay a couple of days and I gladly took them up on their offer. If you have never been to Ridgeway, Ouray, Telluride, or the Dallas Divide area, you must try and get there. I think that the northern end of the San Juan Mountains that exist in that area, are some of the most beautiful and rugged mountains in all of CO, if not the world. I was able to stay with Jim and Celia Clark for a couple ...
Autumn Grove Demonstration
This is a step by step demo of one of my approaches. Of the approaches that I like to paint in, this one has the most natural looking finish. There is a lot of pallet knife and varied brush-work on top of a strong drawing done in the color harmony of the piece. While this is a small painting, I think it exemplifies this process to a tee. I let the subject matter, and the varying amount of detail dictate my approach. For instance, in a foggy or heavy atmospheric scene, I may go a lot thicker with my paint application with ...
Governor’s Invitational Show in April
While I was in Estes Park competing in the plein air festival they have there, I attended a party at Judy Archibald's lovely house on the hill for the attending artists. Judy sits on the board of directors for the Governor's Invitational Show and I asked her if she would take one of my brochures and let me know the protocol for entering the show. Well low and behold, I get a letter of invite a couple of months later. YAY! Above is one of the paintings that I will be submitting for the show. I think Fern Falls is one of the best waterfalls I've ...
South Colony Lakes
In July, my dad and I saddled up our iron horses (yamaha xt225s) and met up at the vehicle staging area before where the road turns to 4WD. I had my painting gear and my dad had his fishing gear and we took off up the trail for a perfect day in the Sangre De Cristo Range outside of Westcliffe, CO. A little over 5 miles, a couple of creek crossings, and a couple of breathers on a pretty rough four wheel drive road led us to the trail head just below timberline. I'll tell ya, a motorcycle is the way ...
Augusta MO Plein Air Event
The Augusta Plein Air Event is a 10 day festival held in Missouri's rolling wine country. This year it was held from April 22-May3. Every day had a special "paint out" event and was very well organized. The people seem to be very interested, hospitable, and genuinely proud of their ...
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July 25, 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 ...
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March 11, 2009
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 ...
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February 18, 2009
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