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.

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

Mr. Chip's Barn

I painted Mr. Chip's barn again yesterday. I had to get outside on what will more than likely be one of the last few nice days. Mr. Chips is a bull who is staying at my friend Sue's place for another couple weeks. Then he will head for that corral in the sky. He's a pretty happy guy right now though. I was smart enough NOT to venture into the pasture with him this time.