"Go Big Train"

"Go Big Train" 9" x 12"

You meet many people when you are painting outside. Most people are great and very encouraging, but a select few can be very strange and even puzzling. I discovered a few of the "strange" ones the day I painted this train.

A couple walked past me not noticing or commenting on my progress. After reaching their car about twenty feet behind me, the woman carrying a half full plastic cup of water, asks me if I want her water. I turned and told her "No thanks, I have my own". She walked toward me anyway holding the glass straight out and looked me straight in the eyes and asked, "What should I do with it?". I paused and said "You could pour it out on the street" and she did. Then looking at me holding the cup straight out asks, "What should I do with this?"  I looked around seeing a couple different trash cans well within walking distance, paused and told her "I can take it from you". She seemed satisfied with my answer and turned and walked off.

What was that?

A very large truck was sitting and just idling behind me. After a while the truck pulls right up beside me and stops. A man behind the wheel and his two kids sitting beside him start waving and telling me how great I was doing. I thanked them and smiled. After watching me paint for a few minutes the large truck pulled forward towards the train and stopped, almost completely blocking my subject. They 100% knew what I had been painting. Surely they would move? No reason to stop right there? During this time a man walked up and asked me what I was doing. I guess it looked kind of weird for me to be standing in a parking lot painting an unseen train while looking at the side of a diesel truck. Around fifteen minutes later the truck pulled away while the kids waved at me.

Not every outing is that weird, but it is almost always a challenge. At least I like the painting.

Going Grey

"Going Grey" 8" x 10"

I have been working on adding more greys into my paintings. I have four tube greys that I put on my palette prior to star, mostly to remind myself to use them. Portland grey light, medium and deep, plus Holbeins "Grey of Greys". The first three are colors that Kevin Macpearson uses frequently and the Grey of Greys is a color that I picked up from a Kaye Franklin workshop earlier this year. I try to subtly bend these shades warmer and cooler. The more grey I add, the brighter my main color will appear.

Port Aransas Shrimp Boat 2

"Old Whistler"  9" x 12"

 I braved very high winds and rough weather to get this one. I was camped out to the left of a little boat shop, trying to get some kind of protection from the wind. The whole time I was painting, I heard a very loud whistle in the background. It was driving me crazy. The pitch was moving up and down like a bad song and it wouldn't stop. Near the end of my session I discovered the sound was coming from the wind blowing through the boats rigging and nets. 

Sometimes, late at night I still hear the whistling while I try to sleep.( Fake & added for drama)

Port Aransas Shrimp Boat

"Shrimp Boat on Break"  9" x 12"

I have fallen in love with painting Shrimp Boats!  They have so many cool angles. I love the weathered paint jobs, but painting the rigging is the funnest part. 

I have more of these on their way.

Port Aransas Paint Out

"Shrimp Boat" 9" x 12"

I went to a paint out with the Outdoor Painters Society at Port Aransas, Tx. 

This was the first time for me to go to Port Aransas and my first time to paint Shrimp boats and palm trees. I was pumped to go and ended up making several new friends, but the weather tried it's best to ruin my trip. 

The wind was so strong that I used bungee straps to tie my waist to my easel and my legs to the tripod! It was pretty ridiculous feeling and I bet looking. No photos available, thank goodness!

I had mixed results painting in those conditions, but I absolutely love painting shrimp boats. They have cool angles, tons of ropes and masts and really look worn. I had to remind myself that they are the equivalent of a work truck and not made to cruise around in.

Quicker is Sometimes Better

"End of Day Glow" 9" x 12"

I wanted to squeeze out another painting before dark. This time of year it gets dark around seven so I knew I was going to have to get moving. I went straight to my default location, Nash Farms and began setting up. I  realized I only had 9" x 12" panels with me. This is my standard size, but being in a giant hurry, I thought I should have done something a little smaller. The sun was setting quick, so after sketching in the tractor shape, I went straight into the background and then established the long ground shadows. That turned out to be the right choice, because the light disappeared right before my eyes. I finished the tractor as it got dark and fought to remember what it looked like just minutes before. I used only one 3/4" wide painters brush for the entire painting.It's amazing what you can do with the right brush. 

My wife had gone with me and walked around the farm land. When she approached me she was surprised to find me finishing up. She then pointed out that from set up to take down, I had done this painting in forty-five minutes!     

I am going on a four day paint out with several other painters to Port Aransas, Tx. as part of my Plein Air Southwest show I am a part of. So I hope to come back with tons of new work!

Another very hot day!

"Blacksmith at Work"  9" x 12"

Finding  this scene was part luck and part magic. Grapevine has a local Blacksmith that I have been dying to paint, but I had never seen the doors open, let alone someone inside. I was lucky to finally have this happen, but why did it have to be 105 degrees outside when it did? I think you can see the heat in the painting!

There where two men inside, but nobody was as stupid as me to stand outside directly in the sun, so I had to move them there in my minds eye. So the "magic" came from my imagination. 

Do me a favor and don't tell anybody.

Stockyard #2

"Leddy's Boots"  9" X 12"

Here is another painting from the Ft. Worth Stockyards. I haven't done many street scenes, so it was a challenge. Like always, there are things I like about it and things I don't. I was drawn to the sign. You would think twenty-five years of designing signs like this one, would make me find a different subject.  Well, you don't see many of these on my Blog do you. :?)

Large Plein Air

"Things Are Always Brighter" 12" X16"

I painted this at my default stomping ground, Nash farm that is blocks from my house. This is a little larger than my normal size, but I had no problems finishing it. I think I will try this painting again. I would like to loosen up the barn wall and add more color shifts. I did luck into some interesting "junk" on the left side that is not normally there. This was a very strange looking tractor that doesn't have the normal large radiator up front.  I think it would have helped me render the form and make it more recognizable if it had. Next time I may magically place it in there. That is one of the perks painting has over photography.

Painting at the Ft. Worth Stockyards

"Texas Caddy"  8" x 10"

I was invited to go paint the historic Ft. Worth Stockyards with a group of painters the last couple of weeks. This car was sitting on Exchange Blvd. right in front of the Stockyards. I get asked all the time how I choose my subject. I was drawn to paint this just because I wanted to paint the horns on the front grill. Sometimes a complicated scene like this gets painted for the tiniest reasons.

A very hot day!

"Burned Out"  9" x 12"

I've been wanting to paint this old firetruck for some time now and finally did. To make it more of a challenge I waited for the temperature to be 105 degrees. If I hadn't managed to find some shade, I may not have been here to share this post. The siren on top was reflecting right into my eyes and I hope I was able to capture that.

"Getting Married" 11"x 14"

After completing an oil painting of the this same subject a few months ago, I was approached to do a watercolor version. The difficult part was the oil painting and reference photo were in a cool blue palette and the lady commissioning me wanted more warm colors and less blues to go with her home decor. Unfortunately, the church is too far away for me to paint it plein air, so I  was forced to paint from photos.

I was not able to locate any other photo references that helped me out, it seems the church is always in shadows. I ended up working from the same cool photo as before and just changed it in my head as I went along. I was confused on what to do with the sky so I ended up just de-emphasizing it. You would think painting from your mind would be easier, but for me it is very difficult and I realize why I prefer to paint on location.

In the end she was pleased and that was my top priority.