clouds

5" x 5 1/2"

acrylic on panel

I've been having fun playing around with clouds.  I took a lot of reference photos of clouds while I was up in Cooperstown, NY this August and I am just now getting around to painting them.  The clouds are so amazing up in the mountains.  They seem to change every minute, or maybe that was just the weather while I was there.

Swiss Village Farm, Newport, RI

5" x 7"

acrylic on panel

This summer I was able to visit Swiss Village Farm during their annual Visitors Day, the one day a year when they allow the public onto the farm grounds.  The scenery was amazing and my reference photos don't do it justice, never mind my painting.  But I will keep trying...

Day 8 - Moulton Farm

"Moulton Farm"

4" x 4"

mixed media, acrylic

Still obsessing on this little farm photo...  

I think I have too many (painting) balls in the air.  I'm still learning about color, and color temperature, and I've never really done a landscape so I'm having a hard time with this one.  There is just something about it that makes me want to keep trying to capture it.

So, today I thought I'd eliminate one of the issues (drawing) and paint directly on a black and white photocopy of the photo.  One of the things I really liked about the farm was the jumble of building all lumped together.  But each time I painted it I just simplified them to one or two buildings, and even then they were not rendered well.  I think I'm just working at way too small of a scale to have room for all the information I'd like to present.  Not to mention the fact that my favorite paintings have very little in the way of detail, and are more about an overall feel, or gesture. 

Day 7 - Stripey Landscape, take 2

"Stripey Landscape, take 2"

8" x 8"

acrylic on panel

Today I attempted the farm photo again, larger.  Still not completely happy with it...

Day 4 - Stripey Landscape

"Stripey Landscape"

4" x 4"

acrylic on panel

This farm really caught my eye as we drove by... I loved the way the rows of crops created stripes on the hill in front of the farm's buildings.

This is just a little color study/trial run for a larger piece.  I was excited to try to capture what I saw but I don't think it's there yet...