Randy's Roadhouse Bar-B-Cue in the Irish Hills Old Pickup

We saw this rustic truck on Route 12 when we were headed back to the lake house on Thursday and decided to return and paint it the next day. Randy allowed us to set up our easels in the shade of a large maple tree. There were three of us painting today and we all focused on the truck and we all came up with very different paintings. My painting was all about the truck. I really worked hard on minimizing the importance of the painted pig on top of the truck but I couldn't remove it. It adds a lot of character to the scene and the sign supports the reason it is there. The grass was actually mowed and weeded right up to the truck tires but I added a few weeds to give it character.

Randy told us that his family used to own the Wild West attraction on Route 12 but they sold it a few years ago. Apparently Route 12 was a major tourist attraction in the 50's and early 60's, with Mystery Hill, a Dinosaur Adventure, a Go-Cart track and more. Now this area has become known for its picturesque lakes and rolling hills. The tourist traps remain but they are in a sad state of disrepair.

Randy's Roadhouse Barbecue

9" x 12"

Loving the Evening Light

This painting began as a plein air piece and I finished it in the studio. There are many lovely cottages at Lakeside. Members of this historical gated community take pride in their neighborhood and most of the cottages proudly fly the stars and stripes. With so many beautiful cottages it's sometimes hard to decide which one to paint. It was the late afternoon light that drew me to this screened in porch, in particular the glowing light on the hanging basket.

12" x 16" Cottage Path

A Summertime Memory

I spent a week at Lakeside last year teaching art to vacationers as a sort of 'artist in residence.' Initially I thought I would have time to paint in the evening when I was finished teaching. It didn't really work out that way because there were a few too many distractions where I was staying. I did take some good photographs though and that's what I used as a reference for this painting.

12" x 16" Afternoon Light

Kunkle Horse Barn

 9" x 12" oil on linen

It was a perfect afternoon to paint and my friend and I had permission to paint on a farm in Kunkle, Ohio. We wanted to take pictures of goats and Brenda Baker has 8 or 9 of them in her pasture. Unfortunately, one of the "kids" took a liking to me and my painting gear. Here he is investigating my suitcase. Later he jumped up to have a look at my palette and got cadmium yellow light all over his foot. Then he walked around, ate some grass and ended up with paint all over his mouth! I tried to clean him up with a baby wipe but it didn't do much good. He had the paint all over my pant legs by then and I decided to make the best of it and try to ignore him. However, I seemed to be dealing with a drunken 50 lb. puppy who had no concept of what the word "no" means. "Billy" would forget about me for awhile and munch his grass, then suddenly he would look up and spot me again. "Maaa?" He would cry as he galloped toward me and I braced myself and my easel for his enthusiastic greeting. It was quite an experience. I was surprised that my painting turned out as well as it did with all the external elements I dealt with that day.

Amish Acres-- out of the Wait Box

This painting has been in my "wait box" for almost a year. The WAIT BOX is a box where I keep paintings that have potential but are not quite ready for prime time. Let me explain: when I finish a painting I am usually either happy with it and ready to frame it and sell it or dissatisfied and ready to pitch it or re-use the canvas. If you follow this blog you know I am not afraid to paint over my mistakes. Good results are often easier to obtain with a nice colored ground already in place. Or maybe that's just what I think. I don't know. It works for me -- sometimes. There are a few paintings-- and for the most part they are plein air pieces that are done outside and with less than lovely colors---that I like but I know they need something more. This piece always had nice color and a good mood but something was missing. Last week I realized the missing piece was a cow. There she is and now I like the painting and it really represents the way I felt about this beautiful, bucolic area in the hills of Penn Valley.

Cottonwood Lake

Painted for a photograph of Cottonwood Lake.