Oil Painters of America National Show

 

"Train Crossing'

11"x 14"

 

This is going to be a big week for me. I had my painting "Train Crossing" chosen for the Oil Painters of America National show!  The show happens to be in my home state of Texas in Fredericksburg, so there was no way I could miss this. I was estatic when I was accepted into the OPOA, but my jaw literaly dropped  to the floor when I learned I was accepted to the national show and on my first attempt! I'm not taking this blessing lightly. The talent in this group is outstanding and the compition for the show is unprecidented. I know literaly hundreds of incredible painters that didn't make this particular show and it left me wondering "why me"?. I'm trying to get past those thoughts and just accept God's gifts and try my hardest to get the most of this opportunity.

I am attending the national convention starting this Wednedsay and it kicks off with a "Pampered Paint out" hosted by Southwest Art magazine. Among other events and classes there will be demos by the likes of Kenn Backhaus, Scott Burdick, John Michael Carter, John Cosby, Elizabeth Robbins and Sherrie McGraw!   

 

22nd Annual National Exhibition Opening Reception

Location: InSight Gallery — Saturday, May 18, 2013 — 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Free and open to the public
Collectors, artists and art lovers are cordially invited to attend the opening of this year's 22nd National Exhibition at InSight Gallery featuring over 200 of the top artists from the United States and Canada. Come enjoy complimentary wine and celebrate the beauty of representational work at its finest. The exhibition will be on display from May 18 to June 17, 2013.

Wow! One of the top 200 artists from the U.S.! How cool is that?

GOD is GREAT!

 

 

Here is a link to view all of the outstanding paintings that I have been blessed to be included with.

 

 One of Texas best galleries, the Insight Gallery is the host for the show. This is a drop dead gorgeous 2 story gallery that until now, I could only dream of hanging in.  

 

 

 

 

It's cooler at night...kind of.

"Last stop and Last Light"

11 x 14 Oil

Texas is so hot it has slowed down my plein air painting, but I did manage to go out a few

nights ago and found this scene. It was still 100 degrees at 7:30 at night! I haven't been out much, but I have been working on several big studio paintings that I will share very soon. I'm finding that my studio work never feels finished. I always think I can do something a little bit better, where my plein air work finishes itself when the light changes or it flat out goes away like this one.

Reason #214: Why plein air painting is tough.

"Depot"

9 x 12

Painted this late in the day and was surrounded by photographers taking family photos. Grapevine is a very photographic town and I'm lucky to live here, but nothing is as annoying as listening to a photographer shout baby talk to get the little ones attention...over and over and over. I tried to immerse myself in my work, but it was tough.

Christmas Painting Exchange

"All the Live-Long Day"

8 x 10

This is the painting I selected for the Outdoor Painters Society Christmas gift exchange. We wrap our paintings in brown paper, pile them up and play a white elephant Christmas game. It gets pretty heated, because you can steal paintings from other people and everyone gets pretty attached real fast. This will be my fifth party and I have really enjoyed the paintings I received in the past. I got an Ann Hardy, a couple from Cecy Turner and a David Moreland Bates. All are signature members of our group...not too shabby.

I hope I don't disappoint someone that gets this one.

Painting Challenge: Train

"Train Crossing" 

11" x 14"

This painting was done for an online painting challenge from my good buddy Lee Brown over at
A Day Not Wasted. Lee has a great site that features his beautiful photography from his world travels.
I dare you to visit and not get inspired.

This train passes close too Lee's home in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Follow the link to see the challenge photo, the other artist interpretations and to possibly join in the painting challenge fun. Thanks Lee!

This is my second challenge I participated in. Here is my first one.

When I saw the photo I knew it would be a challenge. All the detail caught my eye first, but what I really wanted to paint was the light on the left side and the depth of the distant background. I tried laying down a monochromatic underpainting, but this time I didn't wait for it to dry before applying the color. At first it caused me some grief because the color kept picking up the grey beneath, but in the end all it took was a second round of good clean saturated highlights to not have it too washed out.

How does it look?