New Biggish Piece

This new painting is 24X48″.  I bought the canvas the other day and then used a white modeling paste to both smooth out the canvas bumps, which I don’t care for, and give the painting texture in some places.  Then I used red, pink, and orange acrylic paint for the underpainting.  You will see in my pics that I took my big ol painting and my aluminum easel on location and did a sketch On paper and then used charcoal to sketch my image onto the canvas.  Then I sprayed it with a fixative.IMG_1732IMG_1741IMG_1739IMG_1740IMG_1738IMG_1729This last painting is the finished plein air tree painting that I did the other day.  I was a study for this bigger one I’m doing.

 

A Good Start

IMG_1708.JPGI’ve decided that I need to slow down a little with my plein air paintings.  I feel so rushed to produce a whole painting start to finish in one session, it’s a little overwhelming and I think my paintings look rushed.  So I’m going to try to go back to the same location several times and allow the painting to progress more slowly, and try to develop some of the elements more.  Here’s the start for today’s painting.  I feel like this approach will take the pressure off some.

And I’m trying out a red underpainting.

I run by this tree every time I run down to the greenbelt. 🏃🏃🏃🏃

Hulen Meadow

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I put a tiny little bit more time into this plein air painting that I did while in Ketchum, Idaho.  I had a great weekend of painting, the mountains are unusual and amazing pretty much everywhere you turn.  I put together this slideshow to show the progression of the piece.  I put it in this solid Maple floater frame.  I’m happy with how it came together.

I listed it today in my Etsy shop.  Hope over and check it out!

Ketchum

11X14 oil on deep edge canvasIMG_1619

I Spent the morning painting in this meadow in Ketchum.  It was beautiful and cold.  This meadow is right next to the Wood River and a small outlet runs through it.  While I was painting a biker and 2 dogs visited me and then went right down this trail to the water.

Happy birthday weekend to me. (A month late). I had a great time painting and eating in Ketchum and Sun Valley.

Sun Valley

IMG_1602

IMG_1611

IMG_1613

IMG_1613

IMG_1602What a place!  Sun Valley is big and majestic and hard to know what to paint and where to start.  The third painting is still a work in progress but I like how the little round bushes look, so I included it.  I’ve been messing around with colors on it.  There are parts of the barn painting I like a lot, like the area surrounding the barn.  I like the sky, clouds, and hill.  And that’s good progress for me, it normally takes me several months to let go of what I was trying to paint and embrace what I actually painted.

Plein air painting is tricky!  And just plain old hard.  I’m trying hard to figure it out, but it feels elusive.

Rimrock

IMG_1478

11X14 oil on panel

I went out last Thursday morning to Rimrock Reserve, a small bit of preserved natural open space near my house, and painted this plein air.  I have done 2 small 5X7 paintings of this area and wanted to see how it would be to paint the scene a little bigger.  I think once I have a new and bigger plein air easle it will be easier. On this morning the air was full of mist and atmosphere and it was just about to rain when I started.  I got the shapes and values blocked in and then it did start raining.  I finished this painting inside by memory.

here are the 5X7’s

Cottonwood, Sage, and Tablerock

IMG_1412

5X7″ oil on canvas panel

This morning I went out and spent a couple of hours sitting in the foothills, painting, and just enjoying being outside on a quiet Saturday morning.  I am enjoying the peace of plein air painting more and more.  I’ve made a pact with myself to be at peace with the work I do.

In this painting I chose to make the 2 sage brush in the middle distance the focus of my painting.  I sat just behind a group of Cottonwood trees and used them as my foreground that can be looked past.  And I used the trees and Tablerock in the distance as my backdrop.  I enjoy the simple composition.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/JillMillwardARTWORK