BIG BEND SCENE #4

"Starlight Theater" 9" x 16"

The favorite gathering spot for our
painting group at Big Bend. This is
the back side of the theater. I became
intrigued with the roof line and the
vent on the side of the building.

I couldn't help but think of Jennifer
McChristian's work as I drew out my
design. I wanted to keep the painting
fresh and my brushwork thick. I usually
start a painting with thin layers and build
to thicker paint as I go. But this one begged
to be painted with thick paint from the
get-go. I liked the experience and will
continue to push my technique in this
new direction.

NOMADES DEL ARTE ENTRIES

"Goodbye to the Sun" 11" x 14" oil

The two paintings featured today are
showing this month at the Nomades
Del Arte show at Southwest Gallery
(swgallery.com) in Dallas. This is a
great plein air show with numerous
talented artists represented,
many of whom are OPS members.

The challenge in "Goodbye to the Sun"
was the moving light source. Clouds
were constantly moving across the
tops of the distant mountains and lake.
This required committing early to a
shadow and light pattern then sticking
to it regardless of the changes that took
place as I painted. Then the sun started
to set off to my right dropping the
foreground into shadow.

This actually worked to my advantage
because it helped light up the distant
lake and mountain. Sometimes you
get lucky and things work out.




"Taste of Fall" 8" x 10" oil

"Taste of Fall" was a lot of fun. Unlike
"Goodbye to the Sun" this one just fell
into place with little effort. The yellow
maple against the green trees and reddish
under brush was a ready-made painting.

Painted at mid-morning, I knew the
shadow patterns would hold for a while
and the only design thought I had was to
be sure and keep the maple off center.

SCENES FROM BIG BEND #3

"Terlingua Adobe" 9" x 16" oil on linen

Just West of Big Bend is the small
town of Terlingua which served as a
mining community in the mid-1880s.
The only remnants of the mining days
is the ghost town which once housed
the miners for the Chisos Mining Company.

There are about a dozen abandoned
adobe houses like the one depicted above,
a cemetery and the Starlight Cafe where
hot, sunbaked,smelly after a day of painting
in the Texas heat artists like myself
migrate to for a cold beer, country
western music and a nice dinner.

After a few beers and a hearty meal me
and my travel companions will mosey
(Texan for move about) out to the porch,
sit in rocking chairs and gaze at the
brightest stars seen anywhere.

SCENES FROM BIG BEND #2

"Santa Elena" 9" x 12" oil

No trip to Big Bend is complete
without painting Santa Elena Canyon.
The Rio Grand River makes its final
push to the Gulf of Mexico through this
canyon. You can cross a small creek
and climb a man-made catwalk to
get a good view down the canyon.

I've painted it several times now and
just like painting the Grand Canyon
or the Tetons if you don't get it
right there are plenty of people to
tell you just how bad you messed up.
So on this trip I walked further up
the dried creek bed and painted it
from a different angle. Those familiar
with the canyon will immediately
recognize it. Those that aren't can
enjoy a nicely designed and executed
painting of the canyon entrance.

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.