More Plein Air from Arizona

This is another painting I completed near Phoenix at the beginning of the month. This was painted near my friend's condo, looking upward in the late afternoon.

The rock formation at the top of the hill was interesting and many of the prickly pears were starting to bloom, along with some other plants I'm not familiar with. I was able to achieve the soft forms on the delicate plants that had previously eluded me.

9" x 12" oil on linen

Plein Air Vacation

Here I am blogging from a mountain top in Franklin, NC. I arrived Thursday evening for a week-long stay and will be painting along with three other artists in the hills, woods and meadows of this beautiful state.
 The weather has been not, unseasonable so according to the locals, but no hotter than what we are experiencing in Ohio this year. It's not even summer yet but the thermometer seems to have no trouble finding the ninety degree mark. I hope this isn't the way the entire summer will go.

 I am definitely a novice when it comes to painting mountains but they are interesting subjects.
 Here are my first two paintings of a path leading up to the mountains and then another painting I did of a river in downtown Franklin, NC.