Fall Painting

FALL COLOR

9x12 oil on canvas

This piece is a demo for a class I did in September. We all used the same photo reference but it's amazing how differently everyone's paintings looked when we were finished. A common error, even when I point out easy ways to judge proportion, is to make the focal point too large. About half of the barns ended up in the center of the painting, even though I was careful to point out that the barn rests on the left side of the canvas.

What I really like about this piece is the brilliant fall color in the background which manages to remain cool and unobtrusive because of the ultramarine underpainting and lack of detail.

Tipp City Victorian Home

I painted this Victorian home on a paint out at Tipp City over the weekend. It was a complicated subject and I decide to add a trick or treater and her mother coming up the sidewalk when I got home. I think it adds a little human interest and makes the composition a little more compelling. Now perhaps I need a black cat on the railing as well?

11" x 14" oil on linen

SOLD

The Leaves are Going Fast

This was painted at a friend's house yesterday morning. A blustery kind of day but she has buildings to block the wind.

When I got home I decided to add one of the horses I had taken pictures of to the scene. Karen used to breed Arabians, now she just keeps them and boards other people's horses. It's amazing how an animal (or human) can immediately add a focal point to an otherwise ho-hum scene.

9" x 12" oil on panel

Autumn

October Golds

This lovely golden tree was the subject of my next painting for the class. We started with a toned gray ground and painted in the darks in an ultramarine blue. Then we attempted to match the values of a black and white photo of the scene. Finally, we placed the lightest lights and darkest darks. All in less than two hours. I am teaching them to paint fast and fix mistakes later. It's one method. Another would be to paint slowly and get the drawing correct the first try. I am still trying to figure out that method myself.

11" x 14" oil on canvas

Oak Openings

This is a wildly colored painting I did from a photograph I took at a park near where I live. The fall colors were absolutely that bright.