83. Grandpa's White Pony

5x7 oil/linen

Did ya think I'd fallen off the face of the earth?  No,, just springtime is so full of chores!  I've been trying to catch up on some work around here and putting in a garden and building a patio...

You might recognize the horse and rider in this one,  - I've used them before in an earlier painting, with some changes this time of course.   Here's the older version.

I tried for more colorful shadows and better brushstrokes in the newer version.

81. and 82.

 81. Early Color  5x7

82. Feeding Ducks

I have been so busy that I just didn't have time to photograph and post these, both little 5x7's.  Unfortunately, trying to photograph at night with light is never as good as using natural light... which means I'll probably have to do this again... but since it's been a few days since I posted, thought I better let you know I'm still around.

Besides painting today, I ran 9 miles with the pooches, raked about half the yard (I hate pine needles) and spread the pine needles on the driveway (dirt) to get broken down. (you can't compost those suckers)

 Cleaned out the flower bed and fluffed up the mulch, transplanted a few things from the cold frame to the garden,  raked out the chicken pen, and cleaned the kitchen. Whew!

80. Lazy Autumn Day

5x7 oil/linen

One more little panel for a special event - I was playing around with some ideas, and these little ones are a good  chance to experiment with a few things.... This one has alot of thin wash - in fact the whole tree line is basically just the initical wash of paint. I wanted this to be quiet.  

79. Loose in the Garden

5x7 oil/panel

Again, too small a panel, but I gotta do a couple of these small ones for a special event.....

78. Who Dat??

5x7 oil/linen

Okay, I should have known better.. 5x7 is simply too small for this subject matter, at least the way I want to paint and swish that brush around....  but I still had a bit of fun.  The title came to me because these guys are looking mighty intently at that person with the camera.. friend? or foe? or maybe they have a treat in their hand?

76. and 77. Cluck, cluck.....

Decided to post these together...  both small, 5x7, oil on panel, and the photos could sure be better.... but it is what it is at this point.  Trying to find the fundamental essence of the object and paint that without trying for detail.  

75. Arroyo, Dry Season, and a Re-do of an older one

8x10 oil/panel

This little arroyo is one that we cross frequently in our "winter training grounds".  These trails are lower in elevation than our house, and not that far away, so when we're socked in with snow everywhere, we can drive down a bit and reach dry trails.   Everytime we cross this wash, I think "I want to paint that".  So I did remember to snap a photo one day, and working from that, and alot from memory, I painted today's work. This took about 2 hours I'd say - had to simplify alot of things...

Backlit scenes are fun, and reflected light is so exciting to paint. This one was a real exercise in color temperature and reflected light and color. Sorry there's a bit of glare in the upper left I couldn't seem to avoid.

One of these days I'll get a photo box... maybe.

Next is a re-do of another daily.  It accidentally got smeared, and it's been sitting in the studio waiting for me to fix it, but I decided to change it up a bit.  The original looked like this:

I liked the feather alot.. it was fun to do.  but I felt it was too crowded, so I changed the foreground and here's the result. That is a Santa Clara pueblo seed pot, and my turquoise necklace and cross.

So, which do you like better?   

74. Cooling Off

5x7 oil/panel

This one really was done in the spirit of the daily exercise.. about an hour's time total, with concentrated effort of making each brushstroke right.   I am pleased with this one, even though its just a simple scene and small (5x7 because I'm out of my 8x10 panels).  

The fun thing about painting something white, especially something white where there is lots of light bouncing around.. is seeing all the color in it.  You can intelligently deduct some of these color even if they are not real obvious in what you are looking at.   As mentor Stapleton Kearn's says, "it's not WHAT a painting is about, but HOW it is about that makes it art".  So, enhance some of what you see to make a beautiful statement.

In this case, the sunlight is warm, so everything in direct light is going to be a warm  white ( I used cad yellow light and white)

Everything in shadow  is a cooler blue, but, because of the surrounding elements, some of the color of the water, etc. can't help but creep into the shadows, so it's got a bit of warmth in it too. I used a blue with a whisper of an earth red - 

The reflected light is where it really gets fun.  Things on the bottom of the horse, where the sun is hitting the water and then bouncing back up to the horse, will be warm.    Areas of the horse where his form turns upward towards the sky, will have sky color reflected, so you'll see some stronger, purer blues there.

Hope that gives you some ideas to try on your next painting... I'm planning a larger work with this same horse in it . We'll see how that one works out...