CHRISTOPHER O'HANDLEY: PAINTINGS FROM LIFE

"Little Gems" at West End Gallery

2012-01-28T14:36:00.008-05:00

I recently delivered a number of paintings to the West End Gallery (Corning, NY) for their annual "Little Gems" show. As you might guess, the show features...small paintings. The largest I delivered is 8x8, the rest are all 6x8. If you're in Corning, stop and check out the gallery. The opening reception is Friday, February 3 at 5 pm.

"Break in the Clouds", oil, 6x8:

"Yellow Barn, Morning Light", oil, 6x8:

"Summer Tree Line", oil, 6x8:

"Snow Flurries", oil, 8x8:

"Stormy Sky", oil, 6x8:

"Cherry Trees", oil, 6x8:

"Garlic Study", oil, 5x7:

GVPAP Show, 2012

2012-01-08T16:24:00.003-05:00

I wanted to take this opportunity to invite everyone to this years GVPAP plein air show, which is taking place at Barnes and Noble in Pittsford, NY. The show runs through January 27th. I have 5 paintings in the show and was fortunate to receive a Judge's Award for the painting called Streamside. Following are the 5 paintings in the show, some may have been posted previously.

Marsh, Early Spring, oil, 6x12.:

Autumn Sun, pastel, 11x14:

View From Skates Hill Road, pastel, 12x16:

December Snow, oil, 6x8:

Streamside, oil, 6x8:

Some winter studies

2011-03-16T21:56:00.005-04:00

I just realized it's been 2 months since I've updated the blog. Time flies! I have been working on larger studio paintings this winter and have several in various stages of completion. The sizes are not huge, ranging from 14x18 to 16x20...but definitely larger than I'm used to painting. I'm finding this to be more difficult than I expected but hopefully I'm learning from it. I should have some images to post very soon, and need to get them done and out of the way as outdoor painting season is about to heat up.

Because of the studio work, I haven't painted outdoors much this winter. The days I have gotten out to paint have featured challenging weather - with associated time constraints and pressure. It's either been snowing (or raining), or about to snow...so dealing with snow or rain getting into the paint, or changing atmosphere...and the resulting paintings have not been overly successful. I've been challenging myself to paint the "atmosphere" associated with rain or snow, and not worrying about composition so much. I figure I can work that out in the studio later on...

First painting: "Grain Bin Through Snow", 6x8 oil...Light snow was falling this Saturday morning, and even though we were set up under a park pavilion, snow was blowing onto the palette...making the paint difficult to work with. Colors were very muted and there was beautiful harmony in the scene.

Second painting: "Wet Marsh", 6x8 oil...it was raining lightly, which again provided great atmosphere with all the moisture in the air. I was standing in knee-deep snow on a frozen marsh...didn't see much there in terms of composition so concentrated on the color and value relationships especially between the sky and distant tree lines.

Third painting: "Approaching Snow, Genesee County", 8x10 oil. The sun was barely peaking through the thickening clouds this morning, and as we painted the distant hills gradually disappeared in the approaching snow. I really was drawn to the sinuous tree trunks and limbs in the foreground and could envision something like this as a larger painting.

Snow-topped Bushes

2011-01-17T11:25:00.004-05:00

Here is a little 6x8 plein air oil study done in mid December. After several snowfalls, snow had accumulated on the tops of bushes and shrubs. I found the patterns interesting and thought the large clump of snow made a nice focal point, especially against all the surrounding darks in the brush. The morning started cloudy with very flat lighting, but during the painting session the sun broke through, illuminating parts of the snow clumps and further enhancing the patterns. Haven't been able to come up with a good title for this one, still thinking...and may use it as the basis for a larger studio painting.

In other news...I received a "Judge's Award" at this years GVPAP plein air show, for my painting "Finger Lakes Morning". The show continues through January 27th at the Pittsford Barnes and Noble, stop in if you get the chance!

GVPAP Show (2011) and End of Year Thoughts

2010-12-31T14:04:00.004-05:00

These are the 5 paintings I submitted to this years sixth annual Genesee Valley Plein Air Painters show. I'm happy to report that 4 were accepted , only the smaller one in the upper left was rejected. I believe all of these have been posted on this blog previously, except for the one in the upper right called "Windbreak". I forgot to get a good close-up of that but will do so at the show reception, which takes place on Saturday, January 8, from 4 - 6 pm. Hope to see you there! The show runs through the 27th of January and is located at the Barnes and Noble in Pittsford.

It's been an eventful and productive year for me. I received several best of show awards, including the one at the Artist Row festival in September which I'm particularly happy about. Perhaps the biggest event was having my work accepted by the West End Gallery in Corning. They've already sold one painting ("January Thaw" which was previously posted) and are using one of my images on their postcard for their upcoming "Little Gems" show. I'll have a bunch of small (6x8 and under) paintings at that show, so stop by if you're in the Corning area.

I'm not typically one for new years resolutions, but I do have several art-related goals for the upcoming year. A major one is to become more focused and serious about my painting. I'm going to concentrate mainly on studio work for the next couple of (winter) months, and try to develop some larger paintings based on the many plein air studies I've accumulated. I'm also planning to participate in at least one plein air festival this summer, and attempt to get some work into a national show, probably through OPA. I'm looking forward to these challenges and will report on progress along the way.

Finally, I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year and all the best for 2011. I truly appreciate all of the supportive comments I've received, and hope to have many more paintings to share this upcoming year.

Winter Solstice 2010

2010-12-24T13:13:00.003-05:00

Our local plein air painting group has an annual holiday tradition - painting on the day of the winter solstice (December 21). This year we were fortunate to have deep snowcover, a rarity at this time of year (this is actually the first year since we moved up here in 2003 that we're having a real "White Christmas"). The sun actually was out, another rarity, and the moderate temperatures (upper 20s) and light winds made for a very pleasant winter painting experience. I set up at Northampton Park in Spencerport and painted a field of wild dogwoods. These plants have the most amazing red-colored stems and twigs and they absolutely glow in the sunlight. This plein air study is 9x12, oil on canvas. I'm thinking it will probably be used to develop a larger painting in the studio this winter. Note there is some glare on the lower left of the image, I'll have to see if I can re-shoot and eliminate that.

Merry Christmas to all, and best wishes for a wonderful new year.

"Finger Lakes Morning" and West End Gallery

2010-12-06T18:11:00.003-05:00

As the snow is falling, I'm thinking about warmer times...like the day depicted in this painting, called "Finger Lakes Morning". This 10x12 oil painting was completed en plein air late this summer at Vitale Park at the north end of Conesus Lake. Beautiful cloud formations created an almost "reverse sunset" experience which I tried to capture. Most of this painting was actually done after the clouds had cleared away, but the vivid colors left quite an impression as you can tell! This may be used as the basis for a larger studio painting this winter.

In other news - my work was accepted by the West End Gallery in Corning, NY! I've got several pieces hanging in their annual holiday show which continues through the end of December. Even better, they've sold one - "Altostratus" which was posted a while back. I'm very happy to have my work in this excellent gallery - stop in if you're in Corning to visit the glass museum (less than a mile) or the Rockwell Museum of Western Art.

Summer on the Farm

2010-11-22T12:11:00.003-05:00

Been busy lately and haven't had time to upload some recent paintings, so here's one from late summer. This 9x12 oil was started on site, but required considerable re-painting in the studio. A day of beautiful clouds, so I chose the low horizon to accentuate the sky. This was painted at Burger Park in Greece, one of my favorite locations. This actual scene does not exist at that location, but most of the elements are there. I just had to move and piece them together to make the foreground more interesting. Getting better at that!

Ignore the vertical join mark on the right side, I had to join two smaller scans. However, I've just obtained a new digital camera, so hopefully I can go back to using pictures rather than scans.

Purple Haze

2010-11-03T12:54:00.000-04:00

A tough one to get a good scan of...this 9x12 pastel done in late August at a friend's farm. One of those magical late summer mornings with haze/mist in the air which gave the distant trees a strong blue/violet appearance - which was enhanced by the contrast provided by sunlight glowing through patches of early fall foliage. OK, I may have gone a little overboard with the violets here, but it was fun and captured my impression of the morning.

Passing Storm

2010-10-28T15:50:00.004-04:00

This is an 8x12 oil painting that was completed en plein air (with only very minor studio touch-ups) in early September. We were set up in a field and I wasn't feeling overly inspired...it was a typical late summer field, with clumps of trees here and there and an empty blue sky. As I was setting up I noticed clouds building up in the distance...they rapidly grew and created a beautiful backdrop for all those greens and golds. I knew what I wanted to paint...but the clouds passed very quickly. I was able to get enough blocked in to finish the painting. Ironically, during most of the painting time, the sky was completely clear.

Dave's Hay Field

2010-10-06T12:32:00.003-04:00

A couple of paintings from late August/early September, both plein air. Same location, but the first one was painted just after the hay had been cut, the second after it had been baled. View toward the west in the first, toward the east in the second.

"Dave's Hay Field", oil on canvas, 10x8:

"Curtis Road Haybales", oil on canvas, 6x8.

Artist Row - Best of Show!

2010-09-23T08:44:00.007-04:00

Finally getting my act together after 2 weeks of hectic preparation for the Artist Row festival. It all paid off, as I was fortunate to receive the best of show award! Not for an individual painting but for my body of work. I was able to sell some paintings as well. Thanks to everyone who came out to the festival, and especially to those who purchased paintings! I look forward to participating next year, and also am thinking about participating in the Clothesline Festival. Stay tuned. I'll post some pictures of my setup when I get them off my wife's camera...

In the meantime, here is one of the paintings from the show. It's a 12x9 oil on canvas called "LeRoy Shadows". This was painted about 3 weeks ago en plein air, with just a minimal amount of studio touch-up. Interesting story...I was with my Saturday morning painting group, and when we set-up the light was actually behind this building, so it was all in shadow. Several others started painting the building right away but I decided to wait until the sun came around, and worked on another painting for a couple of hours. But the whole time I was thinking about this painting, and how good the building would look in the sun. So of course the first painting didn't turn out well, but then once the sun came around - I painted this one in about 20 - 30 minutes. It essentially painted itself, I guess because I had been thinking about it for 2 hours! Meanwhile my painting partners were unable to make their paintings of the building work, I think because the light was so dull when they were painting.

Here are a couple of pictures of my booth...click to enlarge!

Streamside

2010-09-16T11:43:00.004-04:00

"Streamside", 6x8 oil on canvas. This one was completed en plein air earlier this year. I don't even remember where we were painting, but it was an overcast, cool morning threatening rain (and it eventually did rain a bit)...most of the views in the area didn't inspire me, but I kept coming back to this particular section of the stream. Lots of interesting, subtle color in the dark tree mass, and a nice contrast with the rocks along the edge of the stream. This one seemed to paint itself, and I really like the result (there's probably a lesson there). This one might be used as the basis for a larger studio painting this winter.

There was some drama during this painting session as just after setting up, one of my fellow painters dropped about a dozen brushes...tips down (of course)...into the muck. We were set up on a high enough platform that the brushes were just out of reach. They were eventually retrieved but it required considerable effort.

Sunset Studies

2010-09-09T09:12:00.006-04:00

We had some really good sunsets this summer, and I managed to get out a few times to attempt to paint some studies. They are such a challenge, as things change very rapidly during the last half hour of the day. The drill pretty much is: look up at scene, decide what to do on the painting, look down to mix paint, apply paint to canvas, look up and realize all colors and values (and cloud shapes) in the scene have changed! Repeat until dark, or until the painting is ruined! What I've learned is that you must either be extremely fast and efficient, or you must memorize the scene at a particular point in time and ignore whatever changes appear. This is difficult since the colors tend to become better and better until the sun actually sets or goes behind the clouds. Another approach is to sketch in the composition based on the cloud shapes about a half hour before sunset, then slam in the colors at the right time. Of course, the problem is that the cloud shapes change and often look better.

Then there is the whole matter of how to paint the sun itself, making it look both bright and colorful at the same time...using lots of white is NOT the solution! I'm still working on this.

These two studies are both 6x8 oil on canvas boards. In the first one, it was the dramatic cloud formations that caught my eye. I like the resulting study, and feel like I captured the gesture of the dark clouds and also the "controlled chaos" of the sky above the sun. Unfortunately I do see the appearance of some kind of animal head in the dark clouds (with the sun being the eye). The second painting was more about the overall color harmony of the scene, everything was bathed in an amazing peach/yellow light.

These were extremely difficult to scan and get good jpegs - I had to do a lot of color adjusting and they still don't look as good as the originals. But hopefully you can get the idea! I plan on working on some studio paintings of sunsets this winter.

Cloud Study

2010-09-03T11:40:00.004-04:00

Quick little cloud study (6x8 oil) done a few weeks ago. Trying to apply some of the things learned at the recent workshop. Some of it worked, some of it didn't. The scan of this painting hasn't reproduced the colors or transitions (edges) in the sky for some reason. Clouds are so beautiful and everyday is different, yielding endless painting possibilities. While I feel like I'm getting better at painting clouds, I haven't yet figured out how to make cloud shadows (on the land) work. Always something else to work on!

Otherwise...starting to get ready for the Artist Row festival, which takes place on Sunday, September 19. I'll post my booth number as soon as I get it. I have a lot of paintings to work on, many things that are "close" to being showable but still need a little work...so I'll be in the studio a lot. Will post things as they are finished.

Still-life mini-studies

2010-08-23T10:59:00.006-04:00

Some indoor still life studies from earlier in the year. These are the kinds of things I like to work on during the winter, as a change of pace from landscape work. The first is a head of garlic with one clove removed. The area where the clove was removed had many interesting shadows and color transitions and was the most fun to paint. Size is 6x8 inches, oil on canvas:

Study of a half-peeled tangerine. Experimenting with fading the shaded side into the dark background. This is a 5x7 oil painted on a new surface for me - a baltic birch panel primed only with shellac. I have seen this surface used by other artists and wanted to give it a try. The jury is still out...I have to try more of these.

Another tangerine, viewed from above and set on a folded piece of white fabric. I haven't painted fabric very much, so this was another experiment. It's not easy! Note that the scan has over-emphasized the reflected colors from the orange for some reason...

Gouache Studies 3

2010-08-16T12:24:00.003-04:00

Catching up on some posting, there are a set of small (4x5 inch) gouache studies I did in May. I was recovering from what I think was H1N1, and didn't feel up to standing outside in the cool, windy spring weather - so I painted these in my car. It's kind of cramped, but I can see doing more of these in the future. Each one took about an hour. I've tuned these jpegs to look closest to reality on my laptop screen, so the colors are a little over-saturated (garish) on my older CRT monitor. Some of these may serve as inspiration for studio paintings this winter.

First one at Adams Basin (on the Erie Canal), about 4-5 pm on May 9. This was the second one I did that day, but I prefer it to the first (see below).

This was actually the first one I did, also at Adams Basin, from 3 - 4 pm. Felt quite rusty and wasn't thinking too much about the composition, just wanted to get the "gouache feeling" back.
Last one from May 9, from about 5 - 6 pm. My favorite of the day, unfortunately the subtle colors in all the spring greens don't come through really well here. This one in particular could become a studio painting, I think. Springdale Farm area.

May 12, noon - 1 pm. Braddock Marina. Not much to say about this one...

Kenn Backhaus workshop

2010-07-23T15:24:00.010-04:00

In late June I participated in a 3 day plein air painting workshop in Rochester with Kenn Backhaus. First I'll say to any artists reading this - Kenn is a fantastic instructor. I'd heard this from others but can now say it from experience. His demos were excellent and instructive, his "at easel" suggestions helpful, and his final critiques were insightful. Overall it was an excellent experience. If anyone has any more detailed questions about the workshop, let me know and I'll do my best to answer.

These are a couple of study pieces I painted during the workshop. The first, an 8x10 oil from day 2, was inspired by Kenn's demo and completed in about an hour. I did learn some things about painting clouds and am looking forward to employing them in the future. The cloud shadows on the water and distant headlands were a very exciting aspect of this day/scene. The second study, an 8x6 oil, is from day 3 and was also completed in about an hour. The eyecatching aspect of this scene was the bright white tent canopy and the strong violet shadow on it. I followed Kenn's approach for this one (see below) and even though it's somewhat rough and unfinished, I feel it is successful as a study.

Day 1: We met at an estate south of Rochester with open farmland, interesting buildings, a pond, statues...Kenn lectured for a while, discussing the importance of design and contrast in paintings. He discussed his palette (titanium white, cad lemon, cad yellow, permanent rose, permanent alizarin, raw sienna, ultramarine blue, ivory black) and demonstrated color mixing. He also showed some of his previously completed studies to reinforce some of the ideas presented. He then discussed the approach he wanted us to follow: (1) do at least 3 thumbnail sketches to work out the composition, (2) do quick studies (45 minutes or so) using a "puzzle piece" approach. The idea is to first block in the main masses of color and value first, resulting in a posterized effect, then go in and adjust edges, colors and values to refine the painting.

Kenn demonstrated this approach. He started with the area that would be considered the focal point, the area with the strongest value contrast...this was actually a lit field in the distance between trees. Once he had the big shapes in that area, he worked out to the rest of the painting. Here is his demo piece near the end:

Day 2: We met at a private residence overlooking Lake Ontario. It was a day with beautiful, rapidly changing skies that were featured in many of our studies. We painted in the morning using the same approach as on day 1. After lunch, Kenn did two quick demonstrations. The first was an amazing cloud study that took barely 20 minutes. A couple of participants tried to "paint along" but had a hard time keeping up! I don't have a close-up of the finished piece, but here is Kenn working on it at some point along the way:

Kenn then did another quick demo using an even more limited palette consisting of white, black, cad lemon and permanent rose. This demonstrated the importance of value, and how careful juxtaposition of colors can give the illusion of another color...i.e., no blue paint was used but the sky and water, painted mainly with white and black, still appeared blue:

Day 3: We met in Pittsford and painted either farmland or canal scenes in the morning. After lunch, Kenn did a great demo of an interior woods scene with dappled light. Many of us were wondering about his choice early on when he sketched in that huge foreground tree, but he pulled it off very well. The scene really came alive when he added the touches of sunlight to the forest floor and tree trunk:

We finished out the workshop with a critique of the work done during the workshop, followed by a group dinner. I think everyone had a great experience and came away inspired. I wish we had a couple more days...

Palenville Morning

2010-07-22T10:03:00.004-04:00

This little gouache painting (4x5 inches) was done Friday morning (July 16) in Palenville, New York. On my way to Long Island for the weekend, I stopped to see my friend Jamie, who has a home on the edge of the Catskill Mountains. We didn't have much time for painting, but were able to get out for about an hour and a half. I had only brought along gouache, so I did this little study. Haven't used the gouache in a couple of months so it took some getting used to...the result is OK but I had trouble getting the mountain color correct. The views in the area are beautiful and I would have liked to stay and paint all day...it was amazing how quickly the mountains changed in appearance as the morning progressed.

Jamie did a larger oil painting which can be seen on her blog.

As a side note, I've been very busy lately with the Kenn Backhaus workshop (I'll be posting about this shortly), some art club business, and the trip to Long Island. However, that stuff is all done and I should be painting a lot from now on, so check back for updates!

Suburban Rochester Art Group Show

2010-07-12T12:02:00.004-04:00

My painting "Ramshackle", pictured below, received the "Best of Show" award at this years Suburban Rochester Art Group (SRAG) Summer Show. This is an 8x10 oil painting that was started on site (plein air) and finished in the studio. I also received a "Third Place" award in the oil/landscape category for "January Thaw", a 9x12 oil painting also pictured below. A third painting received an honorable mention, but I forgot to take a picture of that one before delivering it to the show.

The show runs until July 29th at the Pittsford Barnes and Noble.

Ramshackle

2010-06-24T09:57:00.003-04:00

Well, it has been a while since my last post! I've been busy with a number of things...had lots of spring yard work to catch up on (was way behind due to my illness in early May), been organizing a workshop with Kenn Backhaus (next week), working on a studio painting that has been giving me fits. As a result, I don't have many completed works to show right now, but there are a number of smaller, mostly plein air paintings that need a little tweaking. Things should calm down after mid July, so I hope to be getting to those eventually.

This 8x10 plein air oil painting was done earlier in the spring, on one of the first really warm, sunny days (I even picked up a little sunburn). A collection of run-down old buildings nestled in the trees. I wound up painting them much "nicer" than they appeared in real life, not sure why! Just the way the painting evolved. I don't know how well it comes across on your monitor, but in person this one has a very nice warm color harmony and is one of my better recent paintings. The door shadow, and the mysterious dark passageways (door and partially hidden windows) were the main factors that caught my eye.

Something a little different...castaway!

2010-05-13T17:05:00.005-04:00

It's been a while since I've posted anything...haven't been painting much due to a number of issues - mainly lots of spring yard work followed by a nasty bout of the flu. I haven't painted very well the few times I've been able to get out. I'm hoping that will all change in the near future.

Anyway, now that I'm devoting myself to art full time, I decided that I needed to work on some basic skills - especially drawing. So I joined a local atelier program. It's really an "accelerated" atelier program which will last 2 years and progress from cast drawing through figure drawing, followed by monochrome painting and finally full color. I didn't attend art school and thus have never really studied the basics in an organized, logical way.

Since I don't have any paintings to post, here are some cast drawings (in pencil) from the first few weeks of the class. The nose was drawn first, and I found it very difficult because there really weren't many well-defined features. The hand was done second, and the head last. The idea with these wasn't to be "perfect", but to focus on the steps of the drawing process: (1) get used to the idea of starting with the big envelope shape, and gradually work down to the details, and (2) break down the drawing into the shadow and lit areas before working on the detailed halftones.

I'm enjoying the process, and have developed a new level of respect for those who do figure work in pencil. I never realized how difficult it was to get nice, consistent shading with pencil!

Sunset Snow

2010-03-25T15:57:00.007-04:00

Probably the last plein air snow painting until November (hopefully! though you're never safe until May around here!). I did this one on March 8 or 9. The location is a farm field across from my house. I've looked at this scene for 7 years and thought there were painting possibilities, but my previous attempts generally haven't turned out too well. Then, one evening near sunset my wife and I were walking through the field and I was captivated by the color contrasts as the warm evening light lit up the trees and snow. It was too late to paint that day, so I had to hope for similar conditions before all the snow melted. Fortunately, the next day was clear and as the evening approached I knew I'd get similar light conditions. So off I went.

The only problem was wind...a weather front was approaching and the winds were gusting over 30 mph. Almost blew my easel over a few times, and the wind chill was pretty nasty despite temperatures in the low 40s. Of course, the previous evening had been completely calm! Anyway, I was going to finish the painting no matter what! I thought it looked pretty good on site, but wasn't sure because there was so much orange light out there. When I got inside I was pretty happy with it. The subtle colors didn't reproduce very well in the scan, so it doesn't look as good as the actual painting. I'm quite satisfied and am thinking about working up a larger studio painting from this one, which is 6x12 oil on canvas board.

Ice Painting

2010-03-23T15:20:00.003-04:00

This is the second of my "sunny snow" paintings, completed on site on March 6...a clear sunny day with no wind and temperatures in the 40s. I had an idea in mind before heading out - for a painting with a lot of sky and the land concentrated near the bottom. Found my subject at the beach at Braddock Marina...the near shore waters of Lake Ontario (out a hundred feet or so) were frozen and snow covered, so I hiked out a bit and found this nice view to the west (thus the title...ice painting as opposed to ice fishing). Beautiful subtle colors in the distant headland contrasted with the sunlit willow trees glowing on the left. An added feature of interest was the area of partially melted snow and fissures in the ice in the fore and middle ground. I feel I captured the true colors of the day, though I'm not sure I'm satisfied with the sky...it's very thinly painted without a lot of variation. I think it offsets the interest in the land pretty well, though.

10x12 oil on canvas panel. If you look too closely you'll see a vertical line where I had to join the 2 scanned images of this painting. It's not there in real life...

Salmon Creek in the Snow

2010-03-22T09:44:00.004-04:00

After a winter of cloudy skies and wind, we finally got a few days of warmer weather, sun and deep snow cover in early March. I was able to get out to do some painting during these rare, beautiful conditions. This is the first of 3 paintings I was able to finish outdoors. It is an 8x12 oil on canvas, and was painted at Salmon Creek Country Club, which adjoins our property. After tumbling through some "mini-gorges", the Creek passes through some flatter land where it makes some beautiful, long S-curves. It was that S-pattern that attracted me, along with the contrast of the dark blue water against the snow. The resulting composition may be a little symmetrical, but I kind of like the result.

Despite the sun, it was still on the cold side this day (mid-upper 30s). After an exhausting trek through a foot of soft snow, I realized that I probably need to invest in some snowshoes, something I've been thinking about since moving up here 7 years ago.

Despite the deep snow cover, I was not alone out there...in addition to the birds, the ground was covered by some kind of small insect. They were all over the snow, just crawling around. I remember seeing them in past years, and always find it interesting that they are out in the snow. If anyone can identify this bug, let me know: (edited to add: this appears to be a type of stonefly, which emerges from cold streams in early spring, and are often seen crawling on snow)

January Thaw

2010-03-11T11:13:00.004-05:00

This 9x12 oil painting was done during our "January Thaw" this year. It was started en plein air, but I had trouble with the foreground and had to essentially re-paint that entire section at home...still not sure I've got the perspective of the furrows right, but it'll do for now. We had a lot of snow in early January, then a mild period with rain...so the air had a fair bit of moisture in it, giving those background trees an interesting, warmish glow in the sunlight. It was a very beautiful mid-winter day.

The main attractions to me were the way the cluster of buildings sat in the landscape, and the "rivers" and puddles of water in the foreground. On the jpeg, the whites have translated a little too bright and cold, especially in the buildings...and the blue tones in the puddles aren't quite right. But you get the idea.

Radishes

2010-03-04T17:50:00.002-05:00

These are some radish paintings I did a while back. They are all oil paintings, size 6x8. The first and third are on canvas, and the middle on is on board. I can't remember what order I painted these...but the duplicate composition in the first two is intentional...I liked the arrangement and just wanted to try two different surfaces. I prefer canvas but for small paintings like these, the weave pattern is often too strong (that's why I tried the smoother board). I think I need to find a finer canvas for the small stuff.

One thing I've learned from painting vegetable - any leaves wilt really quickly under the spotlights! Gotta remember to get those greens indicated before that happens. Also, creating interesting compositions is difficult...my main purpose here is to improve painting/rendering skills, so the composition is of secondary importance but it cannot be completely ignored.

North Road Sentry (Krenzers Barn)

2010-02-18T09:27:00.004-05:00

Another painting from a few months ago...this is the first decent sized acrylic that I have painted outdoors. It is 12x16 or 14x18 (can't find my notes and the painting is currently on exhibit). It required 2 visits to the site and a little work in the studio between those visits.

The first time I drove past this barn I knew I wanted to paint it. I love the way it sits alone in the landscape, both imposing and lonely at the same time. And in the afternoon sun it just glows, especially against a typical brooding Rochester sky. I tried to capture those feelings in the painting, and thought I had succeeded...but this was the one painting of mine that was rejected from our recent show. Anyway, it was an interesting experiment in the use of acrylics...I'd like to develop a level of comfort with them so that I can use acrylics when traveling, to avoid having to deal with wet oil paintings. We'll see how that goes.

The owners are talking about taking it down. Another piece of history soon to be gone! Admittedly, it is in bad shape - the roof was heavily damaged by fire (not evident in the painting, but you can see through large areas of the roof), and the entire structure leans severly downwind - it's hard to believe, but look at this photo showing the end-on view!

Otherwise...I have been painting almost every day (not Sunday, for the most part). Doing a lot of small "studies" of objects (roses, fruit, that kind of thing). Also doing figure painting one day a week. Also working on the occasional plein air painting. I am about to start a couple of larger studio paintings, and will be posting them as they develop.

Summer Memories

2010-01-30T10:22:00.004-05:00

On this frigid snow-covered morning I've decided to go back in time to a summer plein air painting. This is one that I worked on for 2 or 3 sessions - after the first outing I wasn't happy with the lower part of the composition, so I adjusted that at home - then went back to finish the painting on site. It was done early in the morning, the atmosphere was humid and I was looking toward the east...so everything had that beautiful morning glow, with the wonderful subtle blue/violet in the distant tree line and a nice rosey glow to the lower part of the sky. The sparkles on the water in and amongst the vegetation were also an attraction.

I like the overall mood in the piece (which probably doesn't convey well in the jpeg - it looks a little harsh on my monitor compared to the subtlety in the painting, especially the lower part of the sky). I'm thinking I might try to create a larger studio painting based on this, but will have to modify the composition and figure out how to vary the greens some more. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

Oil on canvas board, 8x12.

Also, I recently found an artist whose work I really like, and wanted to post a link to his blog. His name is Qiang Huang. He primarily paints still life's, often very simple ones with only a couple of objects - but I love his use of contrast and color, and his descriptive brushwork. Check out his work!

Gouache studies 2

2010-01-21T20:34:00.002-05:00

Had a frustrating day in the studio today, trying to paint a bunch of carrots. Nothing to show for several hours work, but hopefully learned something! Will be back at it tomorrow.

Took a 1-day gouache workshop on Monday with Rochester artist Valerie Larsen. To prepare, I broke out my gouache pack and did some painting in the car Friday and Saturday. These are all 4x6 studies on matboard. I'm still trying to figure out which medium I like best for "quick studies" in the car when the weather doesn't allow outdoor painting. I've also got some casein paint (don't like the smell, though) and there's always watercolor.

Anyway, out of these I like the first two...think I successfully captured the essence of the scenes. The first was just before sunset on Friday when some beautiful cloud formations appeared in the western sky. The other two were from Saturday...top one mid-afternoon (roughly 2-3 pm), the bottom one from around noon. Not happy with that one, a very busy scene that I got lost in but some of the light effects aren't bad.

GVPAP Show, part 2

2010-01-08T15:16:00.003-05:00

I'm happy to report that my painting "Quiet Evening Outside of Le Roy" (pictured in the previous post) received a Judges Award at the current GVPAP show. The judge was Rochester artist Val Larsen. Unfortunately, I did not make it to the reception; it was snowing heavily and the roads on my side of town were very bad. The show is still up until the 28th of January, so check it out if you get the chance.

Otherwise...my long-awaited transition to doing art "full time" has arrived! I made the resolution that I would be painting/drawing every day starting on Jan 1...well, really Jan 4 because of the weekend (procrastination, anyone?) :) Anyway, what I realized on the 4th was that my studio was a mess, really disorganized...so I thought it would be smart to spend a few days getting that taken care of. But I have been doing some drawing, and today finally put brush to canvas. During the winter I'll mostly be indoors, working on still lifes and developing some larger paintings from plein air studies - something I've never done before, so it should be challenging. I don't know how many of these paintings/drawings will get shown here - we'll see how that goes. So check back!

I'm also trying to think up a new name for this blog, since not all of my work will be from life, and I'll also probably be posting some drawings. If anyone has any clever suggestions, let me know!

GVPAP Annual Plein Air Show, 2010

2010-01-02T15:11:00.007-05:00

I had 4 paintings accepted for the annual Genesee Valley Plein Air Painters show. This painting is the only new one (not posted here before). I called it "Quiet Evening Near Le Roy". It's a pastel over watercolor on watercolor paper, size 9x12. Painted on a beautiful fall day south of Le Roy...I had painted a watercolor earlier in the day that turned out OK...this one was also intended to be a watercolor but it didn't work out so well so I broke out the pastels and was able to save it. I actually really like using pastel and watercolor together this way, it can result in some lovely broken color effects. One of my favorite artists, Ray Balkwill, does this a lot. Check out his work, it's fantastic. The sky didn't photograph too well - it looks too unsaturated on my laptop screen and overly saturated on my standard monitor. Also, the line down the middle is an artifact...I had to scan this in two sections and piece them together. Not sure why I got a line though!

The other paintings accepted were posted before, but I'll put them here for reference:

Salmon Creek Spring (oil)

Cloud Patterns (oil)

Braddock Marsh, Autumn (oil)

Altostratus

2009-12-20T18:32:00.005-05:00

Went out painting yesterday in winter conditions for the first time this season. As I drove to the designated meeting spot, I was almost mesmerized by the sky...it was an overcast (altostratus clouds for those familiar) with the sun weakly showing through, kind of the "frosted glass" effect. Really beautiful. I knew I wanted to try to capture that effect. It's tricky, like with a sunset, because the sun is the brightest thing but it's not white. It actually looked a little greenish, with a halo of faint red around it. I used those colors and was able to get the effect (not sure how well it translates here), but didn't capture the apparent brightness of the sun. I'll have to experiment in the studio.

It was about 20 deg with a light wind...not too bad but the paint does get thick at those temperatures. So it's hard to get much detail. I was in a bit of a hurry to get the sky, and didn't pay as much attention to the rest of the composition as I should have...see some things I'd change (probably the sun is too far up in the corner, for one thing). This may serve as a reference for a larger studio painting this winter. Oil on canvas, 8x10.

Updated My Website

2009-12-11T20:35:00.003-05:00

No paintings today (will have some real soon, just have to make jpegs), but wanted to let people know that I've finally updated my website (homepage), after almost a year of letting it get stagnant. I changed things around a little, added a "recent paintings" page and condensed the older oil paintings onto one page. Have a look if you get a chance and let me know if you like the new format: http://home.roadrunner.com/~cohandley/ or if something doesn't look right.

Braddock Marsh, Autumn

2009-11-18T21:32:00.007-05:00

This 8x10 oil was painted a few weeks ago, on a beautiful sunny fall day. I went to Braddock Bay park and set up at the end of a short walkway that extends out into the marsh. I've always had trouble painting marsh grass in the fall...never able to get the color right. I first tried painting a different view (to the left of this one), and actually painted it twice...quite unsuccessfully. I was getting tired, but when I looked to the north the dried marsh grasses glowing in the sun called to me. The colors were extremely intense this day - the water an incredible dark blue, the grasses glowing orange/yellow, all contrasted by the dull greens and yellows of the distant tree line.

I quickly put in the sky, water, and trees...then realized I still had 75% of the canvas left, and it was all marsh grass! Thinking about past failures, I decided to try two things differently - using a palette knife, and pushing the colors in the grass. I really like the result.

Fall Morning, Backlit

2009-11-11T16:52:00.006-05:00

This 6x8 oil was painted in October, just as fall colors were coming to peak. The location is somewhere in Wyoming county. It was a mild morning, with enough moisture to create a nice haze in the distance. This haze was especially pronounced looking toward the southeast, into the morning light. The combination of the distant blue merging almost imperceptibly into the more colorful mid-range hills, and the back/rim lit nearby trees, was too much to resist.

There's a good chance I'm going to try to work this up to a larger painting, so any thoughts or suggestions would be welcome.

Durfee Road Study, re-post

2009-11-01T13:15:00.009-05:00

I managed to get a better image of the painting "Durfee Road Study", and am posting it here. It looks better on my laptop monitor - better captures the light and contrasts. However, there are some problems with the scan...in particular, in the painting there is a slight touch of yellow in the sky...but the scan over-emphasizes this a lot. Also, the painting has a warmer tone than the scan. I almost wonder if it's even worth trying to post images of paintings, it's so hard to get a faithful reproduction. This painting was sold at the recent Artist Row show, but I have it back temporarily for varnishing.

Cloud Patterns

2009-10-16T10:47:00.006-04:00

We had another one of those summers with spectacular skies...many showery days when the cumulus clouds rapidly built up into thunderheads. Makes for tricky painting, but potentially great atmospheric effects if you're quick enough. I spent a lot of time this summer trying to do paintings featuring the sky. Most of them didn't turn out very well. Even though I've been studying clouds my whole life, they are still mystifying to paint.

However, sometimes things just work out. I did this little 8x10 study sometime in July, and I really like the way the sky turned out. I painted it fast and did no touch ups afterwards, so it's a pure plein air piece. It's a really simple composition, but I think it shows off the main feature (the clouds) nicely. I've been thinking about trying to work it up into a larger studio painting, but am not sure how well that would work - I feel it might need some additional elements at a larger size, perhaps more structures. Let me know if you have any suggestions.

Wyoming County Revisited

2009-10-09T21:53:00.006-04:00

I'm going to post 2 paintings done this summer on Durfee Road in Wyoming County. This area has some wonderful views of the Genesee Valley, along with great farms and barns. It is the same general area where I painted "Wyoming County Vista" a couple of years ago, as well as "Goldenrod Vista".

The first painting is an 8x10 oil study called, fittingly, "Durfee Road Study". The morning I painted it I thought I had done a great job - until I got it home! Then I realized the colors were too dull and the overall contrast too weak. So I worked on it at home, then went back to the same location a few days later. Unfortunately that day was much hazier than the first, so rather than work on the same painting I started the second one posted here - a 10x12 oil called "Durfee Road Summer". This one also required re-working at home. Unfortunately, the jpegs of both paintings aren't very good, and I almost didn't post them because of this. If I get a chance to take better pictures I will post them...but the first painting sold and the second is currently in the Legacy show.

I used to be very reluctant to work on plein air paintings at home, but lately I've realized that many of these studies could be greatly improved - oftentimes the painting has a good structure but is lacking color or contrast, mainly because the bright light outdoors fools me into thinking the colors are so bright on site. Maybe someday I'll be able to consistently account for this when painting outdoors, but I'm not there yet!

Papaya!

2009-10-07T21:52:00.005-04:00

OK, this is the last of the little (5x7) still life studies, as I haven't done any in a while. It's oil on canvas board, half of a very ripe papaya. I had intended to paint this one more loosely, but wound up rendering individual seeds. Old habits...I do like the way it turned out, though there needs to be more variety in the orange tones.

I've got a bunch of plein air paintings from the past few months that I'll be posting soon, I've almost caught up with everything...

ARTIST ROW SUMMARY

2009-09-23T11:14:00.002-04:00

I wanted to take the opportunity to thank everyone who stopped by my booth at Artist Row this past Sunday - it was a beautiful fall day, with a nice-sized crowd...a great way to spend a day! And a special thanks to those who bought paintings - I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed painting them.

My work was chosen for the "Outstanding Achievement in Painting" award. I consider this quite an honor, as there were many terrific painters at the show this year.

I'm looking forward to participating again next year, and I hope to see some of you then! In the meantime, check back for updates on upcoming shows...

Chris

ARTIST ROW TOMORROW! (SEP 20)

2009-09-19T13:03:00.003-04:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that I'll be participating in the 5th annual Artist Row show at the Rochester Public market tomorrow (Sunday, September 20). I'll be located in shed A, booth 75 which is just past the bend. I will have approximately 40 framed paintings on display (for sale), along with some unframed "bargain bin" works and notecards. The weather looks great, so stop by if you get the chance! The show runs from 10 am to 4 pm. The public market is located on North Union Street, just north of downtown.

This will be the 3rd year I've participated. It's a nice, small show with a mixture of fine arts and crafts. There is food (try the pierogies at "Cherry's European") and entertainment, and there is no admission charge.

Hope to see you there!

Mango y Mango

2009-09-12T22:17:00.003-04:00

Returning to the still-life theme...here is a painting of a couple of mangos, which are one of my favorite fruits - both to look at and to eat! They have amazing coloration, often with vivid reds and greens side by side and interspersed. Plus more subtle yellows and ochres. This is an oil painting, 5x7 oil on canvas. It is painted very thinly, more of a stain than a paint layer. In the future I'd like to paint these with thicker paint...well, not these because they've already been eaten (and were very good). I like the way the mangos turned out, but am not sure about my choice for the fabric and background colors...may have made those a bit too warm. Any thoughts about that?I also tried a painting of a cut mango with the slice next to it, but am not happy with the way that one turned out. I will be trying that again.

Studies of Green, Part 2

2009-09-10T22:40:00.004-04:00

Some additional studies of green from earlier this year...these were all painted within a week or two of each other, I don't remember when...probably May or June. The first one is 6x8 oil on canvas panel, painted in the morning looking toward the east - so it is partially back-lit. When I brought this one indoors I found that it was a much darker, duller painting than I expected. I didn't get the relationship right between the tree masses and the foreground vegetation. The latter was very strongly illuminated by the sun, the edges glowed...that's an effect that I have not yet mastered.

This second one is 10x8, again oil on canvas board. Here I was looking toward the west around or a little after midday - so the sun is high and to the left. I got closer to the effect I wanted here, but by the time I got around to painting the tree trunks, the sun had moved enough so that they were all in shade

The final painting is a scene looking southwest late in the afternoon...so the sun is lower and to the right, with other trees casting shadows onto some of these trees. I really liked the one shadow across the lower half of the middle tree, and think that effect turned out OK. Not so happy with the foreground. 6x8 oil on canvas panel.

Planning to spend a lot more time doing these kinds of studies next spring and summer. In one of Kevin MacPhersons books, he talked about doing a painting every day of a pond on his property. Basically the same scene, so the problem becomes how to make each painting different and interesting. I don't have a pond on my property, but I've got plenty of trees!

Studies of Green, Part 1

2009-09-08T21:50:00.009-04:00

During some painting sessions this spring, I found myself having trouble with all the greens in the landscape. A couple of painting attempts turned out to be disasters...scenes that were not only all green, but very complicated - lots of trees, shrubs, grasses, etc. I realized that I needed to scale back and try something simpler. A clump of hosta in shade caught my eye...I liked the relatively simple composition of the dark foliage against the brighter sunlit grass behind. And it was all green...a chance to practice with a simpler scene. So I painted this little 5x7 oil on canvas board.

Thought it was looking pretty good outside, but when I brought it in I realized there was not enough contrast in the painting. This is something I often have trouble with, especially when I'm not painting a lot outdoors. It's easy to forget that even in shade outside (I was under a tree when painting the above), the overall light is much brighter than most indoor light. This causes one to paint too dark, and it only becomes evident when the painting is brought indoors.

So I tried again on another sunny day...trying to push the contrasts. I think the result more accurately conveys the high contrast of the scene. I had intended to do this scene again on a cloudy day, but never got around to it. Next year!

A Pair of Pears

2009-08-23T23:06:00.000-04:00

Spent some time trying to paint a couple of red pears. In the first painting I set up the pears so I was looking down at them, and arranged them at an angle. I had a very difficult time getting the pears to look dimensional. Colors were tougher than I thought also! Painting realistic looking fruit is turning out to be more difficult than you might expect. For the second painting, I decided to try a more classical still-life type of arrangement, with a very dark background. I set the pears up side-by-side so there was slight overlap, with one of the pears throwing a shadow onto the other. I also consciously played around with lost edges, allowing (or trying to allow) the darker areas of the pears to blend into the background. Not sure how well that comes across in the jpeg, but it worked pretty well and I do like the actual painting.

Both are 5x7 oil on canvas panel.

Cipollinis

2009-08-21T21:33:00.004-04:00

I found these neat looking onions in the grocery store...they're shaped like little spinning tops. Apparently called cipollinis. In any case, they were a lot of fun to paint...lots of subtle coloration, reflections, etc. Both are painted on 4x6 Sourcetek linen panels that I am experimenting with. For the first painting, I placed the onion on a sheet of aluminum foil, which provides partial reflections. For the second painting, I placed the onions on a piece of glass with something dark underneath, to enhance the reflections.

I've really found these little studies to be challenging but also surprisingly fun to do, and I plan on doing a lot more of them during the winter. I originally became inspired to do these small paintings after seeing the work of Duane Keiser, who is generally credited with starting the "painting-a-day" craze. More recently, a friend told me about Carol Marine who has been doing these kinds of paintings for about 3 years. Check out their work if you get the chance.

Early Spring, Burger Park

2009-08-20T21:06:00.003-04:00

Catching up on some old paintings...the study here was done sometime in early spring - probably March (but maybe April) - at Burger Park in Greece. The trees were just starting to show their color - not green, but the subtle reds and yellows that appear as the buds swell. It is a beautiful time of year. I remember that I trudged out into the fields and set up a long way from the car...it was fairly warm for the time of year. However, about halfway through the painting the wind switched to the north and the cold air over Lake Ontario swept in. Fortunately I had an extra sweatshirt!

This is oil on canvas, 8x10. I like the way it turned out, but the sky needs a little refinement and the water looks too dark to me. What do you think?

Some apples...and an update

2009-08-19T21:36:00.010-04:00

Well, I'm finally getting around to updating the blog. This has been a hectic year to say the least. Since my last post, I spent about a month on Long Island, fixing up my parents' house for sale. We got really lucky, the house sold quickly and at a good price. But it did take a lot of time, several trips back and forth. All of that is done now, and I have been doing some painting - but there is so much other stuff that has piled up.

Anyway, these studies of apples were completed several months ago. All three paintings are of the same scene...I got very frustrated with the first one (the paint wasn't behaving), which is 5x7 oil on board. So I got out a smaller panel (4x5) and painted it again. Had better luck, so I gave it another try at 5x7...and I do like the way the third one finally turned out. I have quite a few more paintings that I will be posting in the near future, so check back often!

Beginnings and Endings

2009-04-10T22:40:00.005-04:00

I've been thinking about this post for a while, trying to figure out exactly what I want to say. Anyone who's been following along knows that I recently left my job to pursue my artistic interests. I've been looking forward to doing this for a long time. However, it's been a rocky start, to say the least. As mentioned in previous posts, I hurt my back in September...nerve root compression in my neck that left that left me unable to do much of anything for almost 2 months. That in turn set back my work schedule and delayed my "retirement" by over a month. But I finally finished up at my old job at the end of January and began preparing to paint paint paint...cleaning and organizing my studio, ordering some supplies, and even doing some small studies to get back into things.

But then life threw another curveball. In mid February my father became very ill. He'd been battling myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) for about 5 years. MDS is a disorder of the bone marrow that causes problems in the blood. In his case, it mainly affected his red blood cells, causing anemia that made him extremely tired and weak. Over the past year he had been in and out of hospitals with various problems. Then in mid February he went in for what was supposed to be a blood transfusion...but he was also complaining about stomach pain. After several tests it was found he had an intestinal perforation which required emergency surgery. He made it through that (the surgeon used the term "miracle") and seemed OK for a few days, but then went into a rapid decline. He passed away on March 12.

The last 4 years have been rough. My grandfather (my mothers father) passed away in March 2005. A year later my mother was diagnosed with cancer, and she passed away 2 months later (May 2006). We're thinking about doing away with the month of March in our family. Anyway, since both of my parents are now gone, we have the estate to deal with. They lived in their house on Long Island for over 40 years, but never did much work on it. So we have some renovating to do in order to prepare to sell it. I'll be heading down there for about 3 weeks to see how much we can get done...clean up, paint, replace kitchen cabinets, etc. I'm hoping to be able to start spending some serious time painting (art, not walls) sometime in May.

We (myself and my brother and sister) used to joke that going home was like entering the dark ages, as my parents never got a computer or internet service. In fact, I don't know if either of them ever looked at a web page. Well, they may never have made it onto the information superhighway while they were alive, but they will now...the picture below shows them in 2002, at my house in Virginia...a few days after my 40th birthday. Happier times for certain.

William and Sandra O'Handley

Just Some Garlic

2009-02-11T22:31:00.006-05:00

Today's mini-study was this 5x7 oil painting of a clove of garlic resting on aluminum foil. The foil provided some reflection, but getting the color and value of the foil compared to the garlic was quite tricky. I can see that I need to paint some metallic/silver colored items.

The colors on a clove of garlic are very subtle, it's almost like painting an egg or egg shell. I'll be returning to this subject. This one was painted on gesso'd matboard, but with a touch of pumice added to the gesso. This provides a little texture and "grab", so the first paint layer sinks in and doesn't slide around so much. It's nicer to work on, but can be tough on brushes. The key is to add just enough pumice to get the benefits, but no more.

I also spent some time trying to re-work the plein air painting from the other day, but that didn't go to well. Need to do some thinking about what I'm doing wrong.

Just Call Me "Rusty"

2009-02-10T22:19:00.003-05:00

Well, since I last posted I have left my job and am now devoting all my efforts to painting. Obviously I have a lot of work to do! It's been 4 months since I've even touched a brush...first because of my back injury (which is better but still doesn't feel right), then because of the backlog of work that accumulated. Took me a few days to get the art room and supplies organized, but now I'm pretty much done with that. Time to put them to use!

On Friday I broke out the gouache and did a couple of "car paintings". Very rusty (I won't show them). Later in the day I dragged out the oil paints and did a couple of very small studies...partly just to get the feel of painting again, partly to try out a new canvas. Those studies won't ever be seen either! However, in the interest of almost full disclosure, I'll post the two I did yesterday. The first is an 8x10 oil painting, painted on site. It was great just being out there on a sunny, mild (35 deg or so) February day, listening to the creek and the birds. As for the painting, well I kinda missed with this one. It looked pretty decent outside in the bright light, but indoors it's rather dull and lacks contrast. I had lots of trouble overlaying tree trunks and branches onto wet paint, ran out of paper towels...as I said, rusty! But I like the scene and think I'm going to re-do the painting in the studio, to figure out where I went wrong. I think that's going to be the biggest benefit to having more time for this - the opportunity to try new things, solve problems, and not always feel rushed.

The second one is a simple study of a radish. It's also oil, 5x7, and painted on gesso'd mat board. This surface is very slippery and now I remember why I stopped painting on it...the first layer of paint slips all over the place and is hard to paint over. I eventually managed to make it work reasonably well. I'm planning to do a lot of these small, simple studies to improve my skills.

I'm also planning to post more often - at least once a week for now; more often when I start doing decent paintings again. Hopefully that won't take too long! Stay tuned as the journey begins...

4th Annual GVPAP Show

2009-01-04T20:51:00.004-05:00

Just a quick post to update things...I had 5 paintings accepted into the GVPAP 4th annual show at the Pittsford Barnes and Noble. The show is up through January. The paintings on display have all been posted previously - "Pines Over Rocks", "Goldenrod Vista", "Cross-Country Trail at Salmon Creek CC", "Icy Marsh", and "Pittsford Roses". Pittsford Roses received a Merit Award, which surprised me because I like the other 4 paintings better. But what do I know?

One month left at my current job...counting the days until I can paint paint paint. It can't come fast enough!

Happy New Year to everyone...

Chris

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-24T12:33:00.005-05:00

I don't have a recent seasonal painting to share, so I'm posting the last plein air painting I've completed this year. This was actually done back in September...since then my back problem and work commitments have conspired to prevent me from painting. But I've only got a month left on the job, and my back has recovered enough to get on with things. So this blog should get more active soon (and by that I mean February or thereabouts).

This is the back side of our house...I call it "Additions" because it's an older house (1900 - 1920 time frame), and has been added onto several times over the years. From this view there are 3 separate additions to the house that are visible. These additions add interesting shapes and shadow patterns, and that's what caught my eye. The painting is an 11x14 oil on canvas...this required 2 or 3 sessions to complete. I'm still not happy with the door area in the lower right part of the house, and may adjust that at some point. Note that the whites have been over-exposed in the jpeg.

Anyway, Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays to anyone reading, and best wishes for a great new year ahead.

Chris

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-26T17:17:00.007-05:00

I wanted to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Happy Thanskgiving. The two paintings here were done a couple of months ago, in Wyoming County...I think on Durfee Road. The first one, "Goldenrod Vista", was done in the early afternoon. It's a 6x12 oil on canvas. I don't know how it looks on your screen, but I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out, and am thinking of using it as the basis for a larger studio painting.

The second painting was actually done earlier the same morning, at the same location. It was more of a warm-up painting and while there are some things I like about it, I don't consider it overly successful. It is OK as a study. It's also oil on cavas, 8x10 in size. This is a beautiful location that I plan to return to...it's actually very close to where my painting "Wyoming County Vista" was done (posted in January 2008)

This has been a difficult year painting. I've had to work a lot which has severely cut into painting time. Then about 2 months ago I had a flare-up of a disk problem in my neck...which made it impossible to do much of anything for a while! I think I'm healthy enough now to get back to painting, but of course everything else - including work - has piled up in the meantime. So the viscious cycle continues.

However, on the bright side - part of the reason for the heavier work load is that I will be leaving my desk job early in 2009 (end of January most likely) so that I can devote my time to painting. I've been looking forward to this for quite some time. At that point I plan to be updating the blog on a more regular basis - with paintings but also information about what I'm learning along the way. Hopefully it will be useful/interesting to someone.

Now, I have a request - I know there are people looking at the blog...I use a hit counter that reports the number of hits and their general location (but no specific information). A few of you have left comments, but not too many. So - I'm asking for you to write a quick comment, let me know where you're located, if you have a website or blog. Don't feel obligated to say anything about my paintings unless you want to - I'm just interested in who is looking (and I really want to know who keeps checking in from Trinidad and Tobago!)

Chris

Pines Over Rocks

2008-11-20T17:34:00.005-05:00

This larger (12x18) pastel required several sessions to complete. The inspiration was, of all places, a highway interchange...where the Lake Ontario Pkwy intersects Manitou Road. There was a very nice field of grass and wildflowers with a clump of pine trees...and a few lonely small pines off to the right. I have a very difficult time with foregrounds and this one was a major challenge. I'm not entirely satisfied with that part, but I do like the painting overall. I may adjust the distant horizon...as I think it would look better if it was level. This painting received a second place (in pastels) award at the most recent SRAG Fall show.

The ever present problem of photographing paintings...this one looks pretty good on my laptop but the colors look a bit too saturated on my CRT (especially the greens). Who knows how it looks to you!

Greece Ridge Mall Show

2008-11-05T22:09:00.004-05:00

I will have work on display (and for sale) this Friday (Nov 7) and Saturday (Nov 8) at the SRAG Fall Show at the Greece Ridge Mall (Rt 104, Ridge Road, west of 390 interchange). The show will be open during Mall hours (9:30 am to 9:30 pm both days), and will be located in front of Macys. Stop by and check it out! Over 20 artists from SRAG will be represented. I'll have about 15 pieces at the show, including some that have not yet been posted on this blog.

Unfortunately, for the past month I've been dealing with a back problem that has prevented me from painting (or doing much of anything, for that matter). It's a flare-up of a disk problem in my neck that causes severe pain in my back and left arm, along with numbness and weakness in my left arm. Fortunately I am right-handed! The symptoms have improved considerably but I'm nowhere near 100% yet. I hope to start doing some artwork in the very near future...so check back for new paintings soon (I hope!).

Artist Row 2008

2008-09-25T11:14:00.004-04:00

I participated in the 4th annual Artist Row festival at the Rochester Public Market last Sunday (September 21). Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate...it was cloudy and cool with mist most of the day. No steady rain, but the conditions definitely kept the crowds down compared to last year. Still, it was a nice way to spend the day. I didn't sell any paintings this year, but did get lots of nice comments and a possible commission for a barn painting.

Here are a couple of pictures of my set up. I had six racks and a total of 32 paintings displayed. Some of the paintings are new and haven't been posted here yet, so check back for updates.

High Falls #2

2008-06-18T13:35:00.003-04:00

This 12x8 pastel was painted May 5. It is the second time I've painted the 100 foot tall High Falls in downtown Rochester (the first one is here). This time I zeroed in on the falls themselves, from the western side of the Pont de Rennes foot bridge. The backlighting was wonderful. I almost gave up on this painting half way through, as I was having a real hard time finding the right colors for the shaded part of the waterfall (just to the left of the rocks) but I'm glad I kept at it, I like the way this one turned out. The whites in the photo are a little too bright, which masks some of the subtlety in the spray/most to the left of center.

Pittsford Roses

2008-06-18T11:47:00.002-04:00

This 8x10 pastel was painted Friday, June 13 in Pittsford.

I'm not usually interested in painting buildings, but was drawn to the contrast between the large blooming rose bush and the edges of the porch. It was a tough morning...started out cloudy and threatening rain (thunder in the distance), so the contrasts were muted. Later on the sun broke through and cast highlights onto parts of the rose bush and the porch, especially the roof. The painting was looking a little dull, so I added some of those highlights but may have lost the overall coherency. Had a real tough time with the color and tone of the white parts of the porch, especially those in shade.

Chimney Bluffs

2008-05-16T11:02:00.020-04:00

Chimney Bluffs State Park is a wonderful spot about an hour east of Rochester. It consists of bluffs that rise up to 250 feet above Lake Ontario. The forces of nature have eroded these bluffs into a variety of shapes, including some spectacular razor-sharp pinnacles. This is a place where I intend to paint, but haven't had the opportunity yet. A few weeks ago I did some hiking, scouting out possible painting locations. I didn't take as many photos as I should have, but hopefully the few below will give you some idea of the possibilities. Clicking on the images will bring up full-sized versions.

I drove to the eastern parking area and hiked west along the narrow, rocky coast. It was already early afternoon, and the sun had shifted far enough that I couldn't really take good pictures looking to the west. These views would be best in the morning.

As I returned eastward along the coast I took this picture, which shows some of the dramatic formations. There are hiking trails atop the bluffs (see pictures below), if you look carefully at the large version of this picture you can see a couple of people standing on the right-most bluff.

This view is a little further along the coast, still looking east - back toward the parking area. I think this spot would make a good afternoon painting.

I then hiked up to the top of the bluffs. There are some spectacular views. However, it is a difficult hike from the eastern parking lot, very steep and not really a trail. I'm not sure whether it could be done with all my painting supplies! You can also hike in from the western parking area, it's a longer trail (over 1/2 mile), but it may be a less strenuous climb...I've never done it, so cannot say.

This is one of those razor-sharp pinnacles, viewed from the bluff trail.

This is my favorite picture. That's a mature, full-sized tree clinging to the top of the left-most pinnacle! I don't think it's alive at this point, but it's still quite a sight!

A view from the bluff trail, looking west across some of the bluffs.

Show at the Wehle Gallery

2008-04-13T21:39:00.004-04:00

The Genesee Valley Plein Air Painters are having a themed show this summer at the Wehle Gallery at the Genesee Country Village. The show is titled "Under Open Skies: Nature Past and Present" and is based on paintings about life in the Genesee Valley in the 1800s. Approximately 300 paintings were entered by members, with this total reduced to 152 during the judging process. The paintings will be on display all summer, with an opening reception kicking things off on May 10. I was very fortunate to get 8 paintings accepted into the show.

The painting here, titled "Hamilton House", is an 11x14 oil on canvas. It was painted late last summer/fall on the ground of the Genesee Country Village, specifically for the show. I think it required 3 visits to the site to complete to my satisfaction. I will post more information about the show in the near future, so check back for updates. You can also visit the GVPAP website or the Genesee Country Village website for more details.

Winter Paintings

2008-04-10T22:21:00.000-04:00

It's been a tough winter painting-wise. Because of other commitments, I had very little time to get out. These 3 represent pretty much everything I did, except for the gouache studies in the previous post.

This is a 5x7 oil on panel. It was painted at one of my favorite spots, Burger Park, on a day sometime in December between snows. There was a little puddle, partially frozen over, that I turned into a creek...made for a much nicer composition. A storm was approaching, giving everything a very hazy appearance. I feel this is one of my more successful attempts at painting dried grass.

This 9x12 pastel was done in November, just after I returned from my trip to California. I did not get the chance to paint out there and was itching to do something. It was a race against the weather as light snow/sleet began to fall...this created wonderful atmosphere but is not the best for pastel. When it turned to freezing rain I had to quickly pack up and leave. I wanted to capture the lonely feeling of rural winter, and also liked the way the homestead sort of disappeared into the brush. I'll have to try something like this again.

A sunny day painting! Done at Salmon Creek Country Club, we had a deep fresh snow cover, sun, no wind, and mild temperatures (upper 20s). A great combination, but this one fell short of my intentions...couldn't get the color relationships in the sunlit tree masses right.

Path to the Woodshed

2008-03-11T17:05:00.003-04:00

Pastel painting done on Aug 31, 2007. This is the back side of an old (early 1800s) Greek Revival style farmhouse on the property of Hurd Orchard, in Orleans county. I was attracted by the large symmetrical shapes and the wonderful late summer light. The goldenrod framed path provided a natural lead in to the open door of the woodshed.

Gouache studies

2008-03-06T14:58:00.014-05:00

These little gouache studies were done during January and February. I've been searching for a medium that I feel comfortable using in my car, for those days that one just cannot be outside. We get a lot of those during the winter here. Oils are potentially too messy, I don't want to breathing pastel dust in a closed car, casein smells to strongly, and I'm not good with acrylics or watercolor.

The gouache seems to have potential. It dries very quickly but can be re-wetted/re-worked, which allows modification of edges. I haven't quite learned how to handle the color/value shifts that occur during the drying process, and haven't found brushes I really like yet. But I can see doing a lot more of these.

All of the above are 4x6 inches (except the next to last one which is 3x6), and are done on a medium gray matboard. I've cut the board into 8x10 inch pieces, and during painting I mark the edges with tape, put the matboard on a standard office-type clipboard which is then clamped to the steering wheel. It is cramped, but working small makes it do-able.

Hubbel Road Farm, Evening

2008-01-23T10:32:00.001-05:00

A friend and I went out one late afternoon/evening this past August (2007) and found this lovely little farm scene. The red buildings were enhanced by the warm evening light, which also cast its glow on everything else. Very peaceful, tranquil spot. This is a 6x12 oil (check out Colette's version which was done in pastel with a slightly different composition). The jpeg doesn't show the colors very accurately, for example the barns are not as bright red as they appear. This painting won the "Best of Show" award at the Suburban Rochester Art Group fall show (October, 2007).

Trailside Cottonwoods

2008-01-23T10:22:00.001-05:00

Painted at Burger Park in Greece on a beautiful late afternoon...sometime in July 2007. Oil, 10x12. It was a long hike through some deep grass to get to this spot, but definitely worth it. Structurally, these are some of the best trees I've done. I like the composition, but need to work on the color relationships next time. I'll be returning to this location. Sold this one at Rochester's "Artist Row" at the Public Market, September 2007.

Genesee Valley Plein Air Painters Show

2008-01-04T21:44:00.000-05:00

The Genesee Valley Plein Air Painters are currently holding their 3rd annual show at the Barnes and Noble in Pittsford, NY. The show runs through February 1. Over 70 paintings are displayed - check it out if you're in the area! The show was juried and judged by Steve Carpenter.

All 5 of my submitted paintings were accepted and are hanging in the main "gallery" (the community room). I received a "Judges Award" for Wyoming County Vista:

The other paintings accepted into the show included "Ice Fishing, Braddock Bay" and "Salmon Creek Under Snow", which have been previously posted, and the following two which have not been posted until now:

"Burger Park, Early Spring". As the title indicates, this 10x12 oil on canvas was painted this past spring, about the time the trees were just leafing out. Lots of nice subtle shades of green. Things were just starting to grow in the plowed field, making a nice contrast with the rich warm soil on this beautiful spring day.

"Peak Color", painted this fall at Burger Park. This is an 8x10 pastel. I just liked the way the trees framed the partial view of the house. The furrows in the recently plowed field provided a nice lead-in.

California Trip/Big Sur

2007-11-23T16:51:00.000-05:00

I just returned from 10 days in California...this was a work-related trip to the Marina/Monterey area. I've been traveling to this area about 1 - 2 times a year since 2003. California has some of the most spectacular scenery anywhere, and my favorite area is the stretch of coastline south of Monterey called Big Sur. I didn't do any painting during this trip - actually took out some supplies (watercolor) but I only had 2 days at the end of the trip and all I wanted to do at that point was sit on the beach, do some hiking, etc. So here I'll post a few photos in lieu of paintings...perhaps some of these photos will be used to develop studio paintings. These were taken during the weekend of November 17-18.

Perhaps my favorite spot along the coast is the beach at the south end of Garrapata State Park. It's a windswept stretch of pristine coastline, usually empty or only a few hardy souls there. The waves can be very large and I almost got caught by one. On Saturday I started out at this beach, and this scene is looking north from the trail leading to the beach, a sliver of which can be seen just below the center of the image.

After spending some time at the beach, I drove down to the "town" of Big Sur and did some hiking at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. The trail featured a walk through a redwood forest to a small waterfall, followed by another trail up to a high viewpoint overlooking the valley. On a clear day the coast can be seen, but it was too hazy/foggy on this day. Nevertheless, a nice vantage point.

On the way back down through the redwood forest, I found a big ole redwood tree that had a large hollowed base...large enough for me to fit inside quite easily. It was dark so I couldn't see how far up the hollow extended, so I aimed the camera up and used the flash to illuminate the interior. The hollowed out section doesn't appear to extend too far. Strange feeling standing inside a living tree!

On the way back, the fog that had been sitting offshore all day finally moved in. I spent the last half hour on a rock outcropping somewhere along the coast, watching the waves crash over the rocks. This view is to the south through a gap in the coastal rock formation, and if you look carefully you can see a bridge peaking through the fog (just below the center). I think this is the Rocky Creek Bridge, but it could be the Bixby Bridge.

On Sunday I started out at Garrapata Beach again, the sun was warm but it was very windy! So I sat behind a cliff out of the wind for a while, and even got a little sun burn. Afterwards, I did some hiking in the hills, in Mountain Lion country. Didn't see any lions but did hike through a nice redwood grove. I wasn't able to complete the hike to the top of the coastal mountains as my legs were too sore from the previous day. However, I took some nice photos along the coast...this one is stitched together from two images (I'm obviously not very proficient with photoshop).

Ice Fishing

2007-11-05T22:02:00.001-05:00

This 9x12 pastel was painted late in March, 2007, at the Braddock Bay Marina. It was the warmest day of the year so far, about 65 degrees. The bay was still frozen solid (the ice fisherman reported the ice thickness to be about 14 inches), so I decided to venture out onto the ice to get a viewpoint that is not accessible most of the year. Because it was so warm, I could literally hear the ice melting all around me...it was a stange feeling.

I was trying to capture the warm light on the trees as they were just starting to bud - they made a beautiful contrast with the approaching clouds. The textures and colors in the ice were very interesting and quite difficult to pin down, but I feel that area came out pretty well. This painting just won a 2nd place in the pastel category at the October 2007 Suburban Rochester Art Group Show.

As a side-note, I was painting this day with Colette Savage, and though we were looking basically at the same scene, we came up with rather different interpretations. You can see her work on her blog, scroll down to find the painting also titled "Ice Fishing". We paint together quite a bit, but don't often choose the same scene...so it's always interesting to compare what we come up with.

An Experiment with Casein

2007-11-05T21:54:00.000-05:00

I had been reading some interesting things about casein, a paint that is made from milk protein and thus is water-based - so I decided to give them a try. The obvious benefit is the ability to use water for thinning and clean up. Also, the paint dries pretty quickly but can be re-worked a bit even after dry. This may not have been the best day to try a water-based paint (sometime in March, 2007), as the temperature was hovering just above freezing. However, it worked pretty well - the casein paint has a matte finish when dry and that suited the overall tone of this day pretty well. I haven't used the caseins since, there's just not enough time right now.

Salmon Creek, Under Snow

2007-10-28T21:08:00.000-04:00

This 8x10 oil painting was done during a paintout on February 28, 2007. The location was along the shore of frozen Salmon Creek in Hilton. It was quite cold (upper 20s) but fairly calm, so the painting conditions were pretty good. I was initially attrated to the houses peaking through the trees and the snowmobile tracks in the snow, which served as a good lead in. This may be the best winter oil painting I've done, and it recently won a First Prize in the oil/landscape category (Suburban Rochester Art Group, October 2007).

When this painting was done I decided to attempt a quick pastel, as the evening colors were fabulous this day. Since I didn't expect to be able to paint well (being cold, tired, etc), I pulled out a home-made pastel board and set to it. The result is actually not too bad:

As I said, pastel on home-made board, 8x10. Not a great composition, but I think I captured the light on the trees pretty well, and that was what I was after. This was painted very quickly, maybe 45 minutes...perhaps I should paint quickly more often!

Museum Roof, Snow

2007-10-27T21:57:00.000-04:00

Pastel, 12x9. Done on an incredibly bright, clear morning sometime in February 2007, right after an overnight snowfall of about 6 - 8 inches. It was cold (mid 20s) but when we started there was no wind, so I was able to use pastels without too much trouble. I found the stark contrasts between the deep maroon of the building and the glaring white of the freshly snow-covered roof, coupled with the clear blue sky, irresistable. The violet shadows were also really clear.

Near the end of this painting (about 2 hours) the wind suddenly picked up and snow started blowing around. It quickly became too cold to continue, but it was worth it.

Mid Winter

2007-10-27T21:49:00.000-04:00

This little 8x10 oil was done sometime in January or February 2007. I remember it well...a group of us were supposed to meet at Northampton Park but it was snowing and the paintout was cancelled. I decided to go anyway because the park is only a couple of miles from home. So I painted by myself, which was OK, but I later found out that I forgot to notify one of the group that the meeting was cancelled. Turns out he drove 45 minutes and found no one there (I was painting elsewhere by that time). Felt terrible about that!

Anyway, it snowed on and off so I set up under some pine trees, which blocked some of the snow. But it still got all over my palette and made the paint difficult to work with. They say you can use oil paints in rain or snow, and it's true to a point...but when snow starts getting mixed into the paint it forms an almost unworkable blob.

I feel this painting captures the coldness of a day in mid winter...yet there's just a subtle warmth in the sky (particularly along the horizon) that hints of warmer days to come. Not a great painting in terms of composition or paint handling, but it does capture the feeling of that day.

Late Glow, Salmon Creek (#1)

2007-10-27T21:45:00.001-04:00

This pastel (9x12) was done in the late afternoon sometime in Janary or February 2007. The amount of color in the bare trees was amazing, and the contrast with the simple white snow covered ground was striking. It turned out to be a very difficult painting to photograph, and this is not really representative of the depth of color...but it's as close as I can get.

Northampton Overlook, Snow

2007-10-27T21:41:00.001-04:00

This little 6x8 oil was done on a brutally cold, windy day in January 2007. Actually it was an experiment in "car painting", since it was too cold to be outside I sat in the passenger seat and painted. It's a good way to deal with the cold, but I find it really too cramped (having a small car doesn't help). It's something that I'm sure I'll do again, as sometimes the view is just too spectacular but the conditions are too difficult. I'm actually surprised I was able to get as much into this painting as I did, usually the 6x8 sizes are a little too small for me. But I do like this one.

Bruger Park, Fall

2007-10-27T21:29:00.000-04:00

I did this little 8x10 oil in October 2006, after returning from California. It's just a simple autumn view at Burger Park.

California Trip, October 2006

2007-10-27T21:08:00.001-04:00

In October I went to California for about 2 weeks for work. At the end of that trip I spent 5 days painting in and around Monterey/Carmel/Big Sur. I should say "attempting" to paint, as most of my efforts turned out quite poorly. If you've never been to that area, it's main attraction is the spectacular coastline, which begins along the Monterey Peninsula and extends south into the region known as "Big Sur". In many places, sheer cliffs rise up hundreds of feet from the pounding ocean. There are also scattered beaches, many scenic bridges...almost too much to paint.

And therein lies the problem. Never having painted in the area before, I bit off more than I could chew. I tried to make almost every painting a masterpiece, but trying to capture the enormity of the region proved impossible. Next time I plan to paint simpler snippets - a group of rocks as opposed to the entire coastline, etc.

Anyway, here are the only 2 paintings that turned out decently.

This one is a 9x12 oil painting of the Carmelite Monastery, located along Route 1 just south of Carmel. I had seen this the previous day and thought it would make a good morning painting, with the sun catching the side of the building. I set up on the beach and worked on this for about 2 hours. Surprisingly, no one bothered me the entire time...it was wonderful! Though I don't feel I really captured the light on the building, and the trees are kind of clunky.

The second painting is called "Mountain Peak", it is a 6x8 oil. I had spent a couple of hours struggling with one of those majestic views when a fog bank suddenly blew in, obstructing my view completely. I was starting to pack my supplies when I just happened to glance inland, where I saw the top of one of the mountains glowing through breaks in the clouds. The contrast between the blue of the sky and the warm glow on the mountain was beautiful, and something I just had to try to capture. Considering how tired I was I think I did pretty well.

Goldenrod, Sunny Evening

2007-10-26T22:46:00.000-04:00

This was painted the day after the previous painting, in completely different lighting. It was late afternoon, with the sun behind me. The goldenrod field was a blaze of yellow, and there was much more color in the distant tree line. This is basically the same scene as the previous painting, with a lower horizon line. Oil, 8x10...this one was entered in the same shows as the previous painting and it won 1 award. I'm not sure which one I prefer, they both have merits. However, I felt that I was unable to capture the intense color in the goldenrod field - but I'm still not sure how exactly to do that! Try again next year.

Goldenrod, Cloudy Morning

2007-10-26T22:42:00.000-04:00

Burger Park, which I've mentioned before as being a favorite painting spot, has acres of fields covered in goldenrod. Driving past one day in September, I noticed the fields in full bloom, and decided I had to try. So the next morning I went out to paint it. It was a cloudy, dreary morning, but I liked this view of the goldenrod fields leading up to this old barn. Colors in the goldenrod were actually surprisingly subtle. This is an oil, 9x12, and has won awards in 2 shows.

Kirby's Market

2007-10-26T22:36:00.001-04:00

This 9x12 pastel was done on a cool morning in September 2006...one of those first days where it feels like fall. The sky was a stunning combination of turquoise blue with puffy white clouds, and the sunlit white building with purple shadows echoed the clouds nicely.

This painting won first place in pastels at the October 2006 Suburban Rochester Art Group show. It was then shown in a group show in early 2007, and I have to say that I received more compliments on this painting than any other. Which I find interesting, because it's nowhere near one of my favorites. It is much more colorful than many of my other paintings, especially the oils, and I think people may have been responding to that. This is also the first painting that I have ever sold.

Kathy's Cottage

2007-10-26T22:32:00.000-04:00

Painted at a friend's lakshore cottage one afternoon in late summer, 2006. This is a 9x12 pastel. I had done a morning painting looking the other direction, and this afternoon view with the sun on the red cottage was very attractive. There was so much green, and I didn't have very many greens in my pastel box. However, I feel I was able to get enough variation through careful layering.

Marsh Morning

2007-10-26T22:27:00.001-04:00

This 12x18 pastel was done in July 2006 at Burger Park. The colors in the jpeg are stronger than in the actual painting (i.e. the blues appear too saturated). One of my large plein air paintings, it won a Merit Award at the January 2007 GVPAP show. I like the composition, the sky and the marsh grass, but am not happy with the trees - too clunky. This is a spot I'll be returning to again.

Conesus Lake Morning

2007-10-26T21:44:00.000-04:00

This 6x12 oil was painted on a very humid July morning (2006), at the north end of Conesus Lake. This is one of the finger lakes located a short distance south of Rochester. Although this one has never won an award, it is one of my favorite paintings, as I feel that I captured that beautiful hazy morning light so typical of summer...when almost everything appears in shades of blue. Some have commented that they feel there's too much open space in the water, that I should have added one or more boats. I don't know, I don't think it's necessary as my goal was to capture that lazy calm feeling - thus the centrally located horizon line and lack of any man-made objects or bright colors. One area that bothers me is the bush to the left of the trees, it just doesn't look right and I keep meaning to go back and tweak it...maybe some day.

Summer Sky, Burger Park

2007-10-26T21:37:00.000-04:00

This 10x12 oil was painted in June, 2006 at Burger Park - an open space type of park along Salmon Creek in Greece. It has become one of my favorite painting spots. On this morning I was particularly attracted to the clouds. In fact, after seeing some fabulous cloud paintings by Marc Hanson, I had been waiting for a day with this type of sky. I feel I made a breakthrough with clouds here, as they usually turned out too heavy feeling, with too much contrast (bases overly dark and tops overly light). Here I captured more of the true feeling of these type of clouds - on these somewhat hazy summer days, the clouds are often almost the same value as the sky. Seems so obvious now!

Of course, it took me so long that I sort of neglected the bottom half of the painting...it's not bad, but could be better. Nevertheless, this one also got an award at the June show, and people were raving about the sky.

Late Snow, Frisbee Hill

2007-10-26T21:23:00.000-04:00

Painted as the last snow melted in March 2006, I hit the jackpot with this 12x9 pastel on Wallis paper. This painting won the "Best of Show" award at the Suburban Rochester Art Group Show in July, 2006. I was set up on Frisbee Hill in Greece, looking up at the patchy melting snow. I was really attracted to the shadows falling across the snow. Interestingly, this painting was just not working out, and after about an hour I was close to giving up. I was overworking and over-blending the surface and just not achieving the kind of broken light effect that I was seeing.

Fortunately, at that point I just decided "what the heck", that I would keep at it and just try to make a series of broken strokes and then not touch them. From then on the painting seemed to paint itself. I've heard others say that about paintings, but don't think I had ever experienced it before.

A funny corollary to this - when I entered this painting in the show, I actually seriously thought it had a good chance of winning Best of Show. I rarely think my paintings are very good, but this one just seemed to have it. I also entered the painting in the previous post (Irondequoit Marina, Late Winter). At the awards reception, the Best of Show was announced...as being for the Irondequoit Marina painting! I accepted the award but couldn't believe that anyone would pick that painting over this one. The ribbon hung on that painting for over a week, before someone realized the mistake...a simple transcription error had been made during the judging.

Irondequoit Marina, Late Winter

2007-10-26T21:08:00.000-04:00

One of my first pastel paintings. I include it not because it's particularly good, but just as a reference point. A friend of mine had been after me to try pastels for quite a while. So one day I took her up on her offer and gave it a shot, using her pastels. This is not the painting, but as soon as I tried pastels I knew I was in trouble. I just loved the way they felt, they way they went on the paper, the way one could work over previous layers without everything becoming muddy. And yet, they were an opaque medium like the oil paints I was used to, so I could still paint dark to light.

Anyhow, this 9x12 pastel on Wallis paper was done in February 2006. I see plenty of things I'd do differently now, but feel the overall composition and color scheme is OK.

High Falls, Summer Morning

2007-10-26T21:02:00.000-04:00

Rochester is fortunate to have some spectacular scenery, including "High Falls", a nearly 100 foot waterfall a short distance from downtown. It's certainly a strange juxtaposition, seeing tall city skyscrapers so close to such a large waterfall. This 10x8 oil/board has a lot of nice structure in the lower half - I'm pretty happy with that area, since it was the first time in a long time that I had tried painting a waterfall. I'm not so happy with the buildings and greenery, though admittedly I spent much less time on those. It's a site I want to get back to.

Inspired By Cristy

2007-10-26T20:56:00.000-04:00

This was also done in early September, 2005. I had seen a painting of a tractor by a Wetcanvas member (named Cristy). It was a beautiful painting and when I happened across this old machine during a painting expedition, I couldn't resist giving it a try. It didn't turn out too bad, but truthfully the jpeg makes it look better than it is. I was standing in full sun and the painting looked really good outside, but when I brought it in under artificial light it lost a lot of its punch.

I don't paint vehicles too often, but would like to try this one again. Unfortunately I think the property has since been sold.

"Chocolate Muffins"

2007-10-26T20:46:00.000-04:00

This beach house is located on the Lake Ontario shoreline, near Braddocks Bay. On this particular morning (early September 2005) I was attracted by the way the trees and shrubbery framed the house. It was also an interesting lighting situation, with the sun behind and slightly to the right of the house, meaning the entire side facing me was in shadow. That was challenging. The right side of the painting was never finished. The only thing I don't really care for is the "surprised" look on the house (the two "eyes", or windows near the peak, and the mouth being the large window below).

As we were finishing, the owner came over with a plate of huge chocolate muffins that he was baking for some event. I think they were made with brownie mix and they had embedded reeses peanut butter cups. They were delicious!

Hudson Valley Trip, July 2005

2007-10-12T22:21:00.000-04:00

A group of us who met on the WetCanvas plein air forum got together for a week-long painting trip in the lower Hudson Valley of New York. We stayed in Hyde Park, and used the Vanderbilt Mansion grounds as our main painting location. Later in the week we ventured out to Olana, the former home of Frederick Church, and Norrie Point.

The weather was very warm and humid all week, in fact one of the days was in the upper 90s. Very hazy, lots of atmosphere. I was surprised at how difficult it was to paint the unfamiliar scenery, and most of the paintings I attempted did not turn out well enough for public viewing. Looking back, with the benefit of a couple of other painting trips as hindsight, I think I was trying to paint too much. In a new area it seems best to keep the paintings simpler, at least for the first couple of days, until you get used to the colors, atmosphere, landforms, etc. Several other artists from different parts of the country also had trouble the first day or two.

Anyhow, here are a couple of the "better" paintings.

This one was done on Monday around midday, after a morning painting gone wrong. It's oil on canvas panel, 11x14. I was really attracted to the dramatic rocks protruding up from the ground, and the nice light falling across those rocks and the grass. It is unfinished but I've always meant to get back to it, or possibly use it as a study for a studio painting. Maybe someday...

This was one of those "should I or shouldn't I" paintings...sunset was fast approaching, I was tired. But this great tanker had just anchored in the river and the sun was hitting it just right. So I dashed off this 6x8 in about 25 minutes. It's not perfect, but it was a nice way to end the day. And I'm glad I did it, some of the other artists were planning on painting this tanker the next morning but just as they were starting, it pulled anchor and headed upriver.

Tuesday and Wednesday none of the paintings worked out. This one, of the Olana Mansion, was done Thursday afternoon. It's oil on canvas, 12x16. I liked the way the building sat in the landscape, and am reasonably happy with the painting (despite the clunky trees). One big problem, though, is that I painted the top of the building too close to the edge...and it gets partially cropped when framed. Live and learn!

Friday morning at Norrie Point, hard to believe the week went by so fast! I just liked this simple scene looking down river, with the distant marina as a focal point. It's oil on canvas, 11x14. This one is also quite unfinished, as I stopped early to watch one of the other artists at work. I keep meaning to come back to this one as I think it has some potential...again, one of these days!

Old Wall, Linwood

2007-10-12T22:11:00.000-04:00

This one was painted in July 2005, at Linwood Gardens in Pavilion, NY. The expansive grounds are a painters dream, featuring hay fields, distant views of the Genesee Valley, an old mansion, and an enclosed garden with these wonderful old walls. This painting is a view from outside the garden, looking at the old walls. I've always been attracted to "see throughs" such as this, and really liked the way the morning shadows fell across the structure. The color of the wall is really much greyer than I painted it, but it seemed too dull and had to be warmed up. I considered this painting unfinished at the time, but upon reflection I kind of like the almost vignette-like quality.

Oil on board, 8x10.

The Cefare

2007-10-12T22:02:00.001-04:00

Another important painting for me, this one has won awards at 2 shows. Oil on canvas board, 14x11, also from July 2005. This one was done in the afternoon at the Pultneyville Marina and Yacht Club, after a morning painting that didn't turn out too well. I was wandering around being indecisive, considering just leaving, when I saw this scene being painted by one of my artist friends. She hadn't gotten much past the block-in stage, but I could see the potential in the composition, so I set up nearby and painted the same view...thus I often refer to it as a "stolen composition".

As a side note, I've been referring to this painting for the past 2 years as "The Cefare" because I thought that was the name of the boat. However, on a recent trip back to the marina, I saw the same boat and had a better look at the name...which is actually "The Cebare". Oh well, close enough!

Ford Street Bridge

2007-10-12T21:49:00.000-04:00

Ah yes, the Ford Street Bridge...a very recognizable Rochester landmark. This was a breakthrough painting for me, winning a second place award and garnering quite a bit of attention wherever it has been shown.

This was painted in early July 2005. I had been painting a lot but producing very few decent paintings, so I was getting frustrated. On this day I went out with one other artist who was intent on painting a view of the Rochester skyline. Well, I was just not enthralled with that view, and was starting to wonder what I was going to paint. I just happened to turn around, and saw this view of the bridge...the light reflecting off those pillars and those wonderful shadows underneath. It felt like this painting painted itself - I'd heard others talk about that but never experienced it myself.

Oil on canvas panel, 11x14...three color palette.

Dandelions

2007-10-12T21:44:00.000-04:00

After a failed plein air session in which I got overwhelmed by spring greens, I decided to focus on something smaller. The dandelions seemed like a nice change of pace from full-blown landscapes, plus I didn't have to drive anywhere.

Obviously I still have a way to go regarding green, but I kind of like the simplicity of this little (6x8) oil on board.

Snyders Sheep Farm

2007-10-12T21:38:00.000-04:00

Painted at Snyders Sheep Farm on Mill Rd, Pittsford, mid-April 2005. This is oil on board, 9x12. I expanded the palette to include cerulean blue, terra rosa, yellow ochre, burnt sienna. In the image, the whites are washed out compared to the actual painting.

I think I got a little over-ambitious on this one, but it was fun...nice way to spend part of a mild spring day. The part I'm actually happiest with is the distant tree line and field, both of which I think I handled just abstractly enough.

Salmon Creek Foot Bridge

2007-10-12T21:31:00.000-04:00

Done in late February, 2005. A long, cloudy winter was winding down. We still had a deep snow cover but this was the first sunny day in a long time, so I trudged across the fields to the golf course adjacent to our property. Fortunately the stream was not ice covered, and the scene attracted my eye immediately.

This is a 9x12 oil painting, done on gessoed hardboard, using the same 3-color palette mentioned in the previous post.

Snow Trunks

2007-10-12T21:23:00.000-04:00

This one was a cold weather experiment. Done outside in January 2005, when it was about 15 degrees, windy and occasionally snowing...so I cheated a little and set up inside our unheated barn. The view is out across the back of our property. We had a wind-driven snow that coated the north side of all the tree trunks, and I found that very attractive. Just as I was finishing a break in the clouds appeared and I added that to the sky.

I have since learned a little more about painting snow, but I'm still pretty happy with this one overall. Oil on board, 10x12. It was done with a 3-color palette that I spent quite a bit of time experimenting with - the colors being ultramarine blue, permanent red medium, and cadmium yellow light (plus white, of course).

Through the Trees

2007-02-26T23:22:00.000-05:00

Painted sometime in the fall of 2004, at Mendon Ponds Park south of Rochester...it was a windy and cool day. I was struck by the vivid yellow foliage glowing behind a stand of trees, and tried to capture that. This 9x12 oil painting won and "Honorable Mention" award at the Suburban Rochester Art Club show in April, 2005. I felt somewhat daring putting that large tree right in the middle of the painting, but feel that it worked out OK.

Late Warmth

2007-02-26T23:17:00.000-05:00

Painted on November 11, 2004. I remember this day...we had set up in a somewhat suburban location, on a cloudy afternoon. The light was pretty flat and I had a terrible time trying to paint a stream. I had given up and was ready to start packing my supplies, when the clouds broke and the late afternoon sun suddenly came out, flooding the house across the street with light. I had to try to paint that light, and had to do so quickly.

I scrubbed in the background trees very quickly, along with the foreground, then spent some time drawing the house and applying thick paint...the photo does not really do justice, this one looks better in real life.