Day 21 Slate-Mail

14"x11" acrylic

I love the simplicity of this.

Autumn Crossroads

7"x7" oil

This was a challenge for our art group for this month.  We are having a meeting later this month and will share our results.  It is from the center of the crossroads in Chittendon, VT.  Like so many Vermont towns, it is a lovely community made up of crossroads and various  roads winding through the mountains.  One of the coolest PK-8 community schools is located here.  It is an old school built in 1933 that has been added to in an architecturally consistent way, maintaining its charm.  It has a fabulous playground that has a premier view of the surrounding mountains.  I think the kids must adore playing in this environment. 

Resurrection

8"x10" oil

I decided I needed to thin out my loser box.  That is where I put paintings that just aren't right and make me uncomfortable.  Using a razor blade I scraped off edges of the brushwork that showed.  I did this instead of sanding to reduce dust, and breathing toxic chemicals.  Then I painted a solid color over them.  A few of the paintings I decided had good enough starts to try and resurrect them, and this was one. Originally I painted it plein air (outside on the spot) but I finished it in the studio letting the painting tell me what to do, instead of looking at a reference photo.  I am pretty happy actually with the results.  It is a small church in a beautiful and picturesque town in southern Vermont. It is for sale by auction on Daily Paintworks.  Click to bid on the button under the image.

Church

original oil 8"x10"

IIt was such a lovely day when I painted this.  The sun was bright and the sky blue and it was just a tad bit cool.  The white against the blue and green and the plum colored maple out front all charmed me!

To find out more about this or purchase it click here.

Poles

11"x14" original plein air oil

This is a plein air oil painting I did while attending Susan Abbott's workshop.  It is a church in Plainfield, VT, a lovely, quintessential Vermont setting.  Susan emphasized having a visual idea to work with and having a plan that includes the structure of the space. There are a lot of things I like about this painting, including the three strong verticals with the poles and steeple.  The large masses of red and green trees with the white of the building and the electric/phone lines that dissect the space.  I highly recommend Susan as a teacher.  She structures her workshops with studio exercises and outdoor painting and she focuses on specific concepts to work with.

To Purchase this painting go here.

30-30 14,15,16

I am heading out to a Randall Sexton workshop today at the landgrove Inn.  I chose his workshop because I fell in love with a painting he did of an industrial landscape.  I am hoping to pick his brain as we head out for 4 days of plein air painting.