Sonoma Sonata

Getting ready for Christmas, getting ready for 2 shows in January, getting ready for students...this time of year is all about waiting, thinking, and for me, still doing.
I am drawn to these open, sunny fields and I think that it is largely because I want to be sitting in the tall grass, soaking up the sun and feeling it beat upon my face. That's all. Nothing more.
A word about the paints I use because people are starting to ask. I use water mixable paints. Artisian by Windsor Newton, Lukas, and Max. I love the fact that the clean up is so easy with soap and water. I don't have to worry about turps and flammable rags and the odor. My brushes seem to last longer without all of the chemicals and when I paint outside, taking along a water bottle is all that is needed in terms of something to thin the paint a little. I use the specially made linseed oil and when the painting is dry, I use varnish that I apply VERY thinly over all the work. I have heard some artists say that these aren't quite the same as regular, traditional oils, but I don't find it to be the case. Plus, I am a slob in the studio and inevitably get paint on my clothing and I have had no problem getting the paint out. All of these paints are available at Jerrys, Cheap Joes, Dick Blick, etc.

The Flow

This painting is quite large and is drying in my studio while I think about where the heck I will put it. I love working large, but the fact of is that these canvases are hard for me to transport and hard to hang. Nevertheless, this painting just sort of morphed into a more progressively abstract landscape with the layers of paint, not quite evident here, piling up. It seems juicy and wet and moves quite a bit like a flowing thing.

Abstract Landscape a Natural Evolution

I have done a number of landscapes; outdoors, in the studio, small, large, from photos I've taken, and some from my imagination. For me, painting this abstraction seemed to be a natural evolution of a landscape. The process in my head was the same, the color choices and variations were the same and the depth shown here is similar to my realistic landscapes. This painting is quite large (30 x40) and the color shown here is slightly off. The painting is not quite so yellow. There are small details that cannot be seen here in the photograph and I layered many colors on top of one another. I used an impasto medium as well and the paint is very thick. I guess with all the dreary weather we have been having, I was just looking for a piece o' green and it sure is.

Small Landscape

This landscape is only 5x7. These small little statements are great to do as they finish quickly and you have something ready to go in a relatively short time. With Christmas only days away, it feels good to get things done.