Light box Mk1

I have made the light box, it is the first attempt and I already think that I need to change the tracing paper to something more diffuse and stronger. But it works for now.

Green Hill on hwy 40

Oil on Gessoed board. 8*10

I made it today with a group to K country, They were riding to the top of this mountain and well I wasn't gonna be able to do that with my painting gear, which I have to reduce the weight by at least half, So after I got puffed I stopped, looked around and saw this place and started painting, it was good to be out painting in the mountains. it was a fresh green from spring.

I did notice something that I have started to do, I am forgetting to properly place my values, I mean when I am there I am painting, and I see that the darks in the distance are just as dark as the foreground, I paint them even though they be slightly bluer and slightly greyer.

It's not working. So I have to change it, I can only have the darkest dark on the front plane or one plane. and it cannot be the darkest possible dark, as dark dark has to be used as an accent, a highlight to draw the eye to that point. Normally the front plane. If I have the same dark on two planes it will flatten the painting.

So I have to value asign the planes and separate them.
Front plane has a value scale of 7-10
mid ground 4-6
background 1-3
Though this is not a hard and fast rule this is a basic guide line which can be resolved and bent using a basic sketch.

I think that by doing that I will have better results.

Sunny Day in K Country

Oil on Board 8*10

I needed to paint today, it stopped raining, I was starting to go barmy, stuffed inside, I did make some boards and started on my little light box to photograph paintings inside so I don't get flashing.

This is a new type of board I am using, It is gessoed once then it is coated with an acrylic coat, the paint goes on real smooth.

There was a lot of run off today, some rivers were pretty swollen and to get to place that I wanted to paint I had to put me wellies on and go through boggy waters, lots of cow poop too. I saw some wild horses, that was cool.

I have been reading up on clouds as well, I really like them and I am in a way three dimensionally inclined an I think it went a little over board with my previous clouds, looking like candy floss stuck on.
I looked at a painters work who has taught many a great painter, Michael Lynch
He does some interesting work.

Rain over the plain

Oil on Board 6*6

It has been raining cats and dogs for the past two to three weeks this was a gap that I could rush out and paint with.
I found this place a while ago and I see a lot of potential gardening here being able to move elements around to find a better painting.

Golden pasture

Oil on Board 8*10

I found this place the other day on the way home actually it is really close to where live. When I started painting It was really overcast and threatened to rain so I carried on. you have to otherwise nothing will get done.

I started to refine some areas eg took out background house and car. I tried to paint the fence in front. I am not that good at painting fences so in the end I took that out as well. Then the sun came out and I was able to add some interesting highlights.

I did see a cow wondering in the pasture before me called short ears, she's an escapee cow. loves to get out of her pasture and get in someone else back yard. MMMM grass on other side tasty

Spring Glory

Oil on board 8*10
I let Zoe' name this painting, I found this at the last place I painted and I wanted to go back and paint it, I have even found another painting at the same scene, which is a bonus.

Times past

Oil on Board 7*9

Here is a barn I saw yesterday, I tried to paint yesterday but I was falling asleep behind the wheel. So I thought I should go home. or crash the car. So I saw this a few times on my way to my stomping grounds and I thought I could paint it.

I think I have done only two or three building paintings. It is a lot different than drawing them which I could do in a breeze but when it come to putting on this runny stuff, it gets a bit tougher and if you dither with your strokes it really shows.

Stormy Sky over K country

Oil on Board 6*8

I saw the clouds and rain clear up where I lived and rushed to K country, I was trying to find somthing else, this painting worked out better. We have a lot of green just showed up this past week, and that has brightened things a whole lot.

I think there is a lot of optical illusions going on with the mountains. They appear so big in the city and then they shrink as you drive to them get to the crest of the hill and they get big again. It's strange.

Painting near millarville

Oil on board 9*12


Here is the original painting 9*12, I have used a lot alizarian Red with the blue that is why it is quite dark, proberly too dark

Here it is cropped to show more of the sky which I liked to paint, I wanted the best of both worlds and I got too much so I need to watch having too many points of interest. Lots of sky and ground. normally a sky painting has ground that will take up an 1/6 th of the size of painting and the rest sky. or if you can somehow get the ground to reach up to the sky plane then it would work.



And the finial crop which is a simple painting more on one side of the other, it works because it takes you back into the painting, so I have to be a little greyer, less punchy in the darks and not so bright colours.

This one feels like what I wanted to paint, it is a stronger composition and takes you into the painting and out again so the eye naturally flows around the painting.

Highway X22

Oil on Board 8*10
I have wanted to paint the mountains for such a long time and everytime I try they have been shrouded in mist or snow. I wanted to try a Mountain cloud thing, small mountains lots of clouds. I tried and I ended up with a frisbee, the clouds went by too fast and a storm front moved in. So I sat in the side of my car and put the tripod outside and painted, I was pelted a few times with hail, it was great.