"Fall Colors Coming on EBAY

"Fall Colors Coming" 8" x 10" oil/linen

This gem of a plein air piece was produced last fall on a drive along IH35 to Austin. It was one of those paintings that most would pass up and, in fact, I had done just that several times on this trip when I didn't think I really had the time to stop and do a painting. I kept passing these fields with the trees changing colors and the sun lighting up distant patches of mowed fields.

I spotted this field, took the next exit, made the u-turn over the highway and came back to it. Then I sat and watched the light move in and out of shadows and after a few minutes of this I told myself, "Now or never" and the next thing you know I'm slapping paint to canvas as fast as I can to capture the scene before the clouds totally obscure the sun and ruin the light effect. And in a nutshell, that's what plein air painting is all about, capturing little gems in paint and spending an hour or so being thankful that Mother Nature has given you this gift.

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NEW GALLERY

I am very pleased to announce that I have been invited to join RS Hanna Gallery in Fredericksburg, TX. I met with gallery owners Shannon and Thad Hanna last weekend and was impressed with their new gallery and the artists I will be joining.















I've known Shannon for several years through her work at Whistle Pik Gallery. Fredericksburg has always been one of my favorite art stops in Texas and to be able to continue to work with her and Thad on a more personal level is exciting. I look forward showing my work along side other great painters like Dan Beck, Kevin Beilfuss, Lindsey Graham, Gene Constanza, Peter Fiore, Frank Gardner, Marc Hanson, John Austin Hanna, Hodges Soleau, and John Poon. Check it out at RSHannagallery.com.

"BALER" NOW ON EBAY

"Baler" 8" x 10" oil on linen

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This plein air study was done for my "35 on 35" show last year. The whole process of baling hay fascinates me for some reason. The gentleman driving this baler actually drove over to me to see what I was doing. Turns out he and his brother have been baling hay year round all over north Texas for 27 years and are now teaching their sons. In a single year they
will harvest 30,000 bales and he says they sell every one of them.

Apparently there was a drought in south Texas six years ago that ranchers are still trying to recover from so Roy and his brother have job security. At the time I did this painting a single bale of hay was $25. Multiply that by 30,000 bales a year and I'd say the brothers have a nice little business. This year hay has been so scarce that a bale of hay cost $100. Now they have a real good business because supply has been low and demand has been high...the perfect business model.

One last fact about baling hay. They would prefer to bale the day after a heavy rain. You can get more bales out of a wet field than a dry one. Interesting.

FROM IPHONE TO CANVAS

"Flatland Cloud Burst" 24" x 30" oil/canvas

One of the side benefits of putting up with 100 degree weather all summer is we get these incredible late afternoon cloud formations. I'm sure my artist friends in New Mexico see these things all the time so it is no big deal, but here in north Texas they are a bit rare. In the past I have chewed myself out (you know, when you slap yourself on the forehead and walk around saying "stupid...stupid...stupid") for not carrying a camera with me at all times because I used to see the clouds and rush home to get a camera only to have it disappear or it would get too dark to take the shot.

Well thanks to modern technology and these nice little cameras in our cell phones, I no longer have that problem and the flat spot in my forehead has healed. I shot the cloud for this painting with my iphone while filling up with gas. The landscape at the bottom is mostly made up and became a design more than a real location. The rain dropping from the clouds gives the whole painting a little drama.

The funny thing is as I stood there at the gas station, with my hands on my hips staring at the clouds, I suddenly realized that other people who had been walking by had stopped and were looking up into the sky to see what I was looking at. I had a bunch of people rubbernecking at the clouds. I left the station with a little chuckle knowing I had just improved the quality of life around me with a little appreciation for the beauty of a cloud formation. In celebration of nature, that's what I'm talking about.






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ANOTHER NEW ONE TO PITZER'S FINE ART

"Goat Barn" 9" x 12" oil/linen

I am so happy to be blogging tonight. After losing my blog yesterday and then spending a couple of hours tonight trying to recover it and then to actually see it reappear...well I'm speechless. Not really, haven't been speechless since I learned to talk or so says my Mom.

This little goat barn is right around the corner from my house right in the middle of the suburbs. I keep waiting for a strong wind to blow it over, but it just keeps on keeping on so to speak.

Anyway, glad to be back. I am shipping this painting to Pitzer's Fine Art in Wimberley tomorrow.

JUST TRYING TO FIX MY BLOG

BLAH,BLAH,BLAH

NEW TO RIVERBEND FINE ART THIS WEEK

 "Shady Parking"  12" x 16"  oil/linen

Next weekend I will be delivering five new paintings to Riverbend Fine Art in Marble Falls, Texas. A reception from 5-7:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 17th will be held in the gallery to introduce the new work, share some good wine and enjoy visiting. If you happen to be in the neighborhood, please stop by.

The above painting is a plein air piece of the Round Rock grain elevator. I actually saw this elevator during my "35 on 35" travels. You can see it on the east side of the highway off in the distance past downtown. I only saw it because I was going through town late in the afternoon and it was illuminated. This is the first time I've tried putting a vehicle in one of my paintings. I think it adds a little life to it and makes the painting a little more interesting.