SCENES FROM BIG BEND

"Near Panther Junction" 9" x 12" oil

Been awhile since my last post. Took a
week-long paint trip to Big Bend then
came back and had knee surgery. Just
now getting back into the studio to work.

I am painting in the Plein Air Southwest
competition this year. There are four
paintouts including Big Bend National
Park,the Texas Hill Country, Ouray in
Colorado and Canyon De Chelly in Arizona.
In December there will be a show and
sale at Southwest Gallery in Dallas, Texas.
Over the next two weeks I'll post the
plein air pieces I did at Big Bend.

I produced fourteen paintings over five
days. Half of the paintings will never see
the light of day. The others are worthy
and will be posted here.

I also produced a video which is now
playing on YouTube, BlipTV and YahooVideo.
The YahooVideo is actually the best quality.
As soon as I figure out how to make
a link I'll put it here.

SALON ENTRY ACCEPTED

"Cape Royal" 20" x 24" oil on canvas

My painting "Cape Royal" has been accepted into the
Salon International at Greenhouse Gallery in
San Antonio, Texas. The Salon International show
has become one of the premier events and is
always a strong show. Jim James and Mark Smith
do a great job and the Greenhouse Gallery is
a great place to view art.

BIG RED

"Big Red" 9" x 12" oil

Big Red (my name for him) lives on a working
farm in Stonewall, Texas a few miles east of
Fredericksburg. I say working farm when it is
actually a living museum where the family
occupying the farm live life as it was found
on a typical Texas homestead at the turn of
the century.

They wear period dress, have no running water,
raise their own farm animals and vegetables. It
is a great place to paint and collect photo reference.
I have four to five paintings still to do from
this location.

Big Red struts his stuff around the barnyard
with an attitude. It is obvious after watching for
over an hour as I painted that he rules the roost.

LARGEST PAINTING EVER

"Santa Elena Canyon" 48" x 60" oil

This is my first attempt at a really large painting.
It is 48" x 60" and was painted from a field sketch
and a few reference photos. Santa Elena is one
of our state's most famous canyons. I have not
taken a float trip into the canyon but I've heard it
is quite the ride.

The challenge in painting the canyon as a plein air
piece and in the studio was lighting the canyon.
The only light came from reflected lights coming
off the wall of the right canyon wall and the sky. There
was no direct light anywhere in the canyon.

Photography was useless. Everything was black.
My plein air sketch saved me because I had
captured the light and remembered it when I finally
got around to producing the studio piece.

MORE BIG BEND

" Big Bend Washout" 9" x 12" oil

Can't seem to get enough of Big Bend. Got to admit
the place impressed me. This gulley is typical of
the ones running throughout the park. After a ten hour
drive I had just entered the park about an hour
before sundown. The gulley was catching the late
afternoon sun and the mountains had started turning
various shades of blue and purple. There are no
mountains in north Texas where I live. The scene was
was surreal and definitely worth the paint time.

PORT A PAINT-OUT

Along with fellow artists David Moreland Bates, LaNell Arndt,
Roy Murray and Lynn Dicky, I participated in the first annual
paint-out sponsored by Port A Gallery. The event included three
days of painting in and around the historic fishing village, harbor
and jetties. There was a Quick Draw event and my painting
"Port A Harbor" won the competition.

Port A Gallery put on a successful and heavily attended artists
reception and show. Gallery owners Rick and Cameron Pratt
put on a great event and I look forward to going back next year.



Painting the jetties

Port A Gallery owners Rick and Cameron Pratt
next to their fully restored MG




Rick announces the start of the Quick Draw
with a bagpipe tune. The bagpipes could be
heard throughout the harbor as he drove around
in the convertible MG




"Captain D" 8" x 10" oil on linen


Rick Pratt, David Moreland Bates and me



Rick Pratt and me at the opening

NEW BOOK by Bob Rohm

"The Painterly Approach" by Bob Rohm

Bob and I have painted together for about four years.
We've painted all over Texas and Colorado. I can tell
you from my own personal experiences with Bob, he is
the "go-to-guy" whenever I have questions about
painting, especially plein air painting outdoors. Bob is a
master craftsman, excellent communicator and knows
how to paint with the best of them.


There are certain kinds of people I like to paint with.
If you want to get up before the sun comes up to
catch a good morning painting, paint throughout the
day out of fear of missing something good and then
catch that last ray of light as it disappears over the
horizon...then give me a call. We should go paint. Bob's
that kind of guy and I enjoy the heck out of
painting with him


He has a gentle way of telling me I just painted a dog
without making me feel like crap and if I have any
questions about turps, varnishes, painting surfaces,
freight companies or framing...he's got the answer.


Me and Bob painting in Big Bend National Park

Nuff about Bob more about his book. Published
by North Light Books, "The Painterly Approach"
is an excellent how-to experience written in a
straight forward, easy to understand "workshop"
style. If you are new to painting this is the book
for you. If you are a seasoned professional with
years of outdoor and studio painting under your
belt...this is the book for you.

Bob paints in oils, oil pastels and acrylic and handles
each medium expertly. The book is full of large
color plates so you can see the brush strokes
and painting surfaces. He discusses color theory,
design, types of brushes, mediums, painting
surfaces and much more. I can't say
enough...you gotta have it.

To order the book go to Bob's website or your
nearest book retailer.