Summers Past

Summers Past, 8 x 8
commission

This is one of two small commissions I just finished. A family friend, who is mother to two boys who are now young adults, wanted to give each a painting as Christmas presents. Both commissions depict memories of the boys' favorite summer activities at their grandparents' property along Cypress Creek in Wimberley. This painting is of the older brother, Matthew. I will post Jeffrey's picture tomorrow. Click here to view a plein air study I did along the creek last June.

Cypress Creek

Cypress Creek, 8 x 10

SOLD

Thursday morning, Plein Air Austin members painted along Cypress Creek in Wimberley, about forty-five minutes southwest of Austin. With beautiful scenery, plenty of shade and a cool, clear, spring-fed creek to cool off in, it was the perfect venue for a summer paintout in Texas.

Last Light

Last Light, 20 x 24 oil on canvas
available

This is a larger version of a plein air study I posted back in December, depicting Lake Travis at dusk.  I will be showing it and other recent work in April, along with that of Julie Davis and our friend and mentor Laurel Daniel at the Davis Gallery here in Austin. I'm excited to be exhibiting with these two and very appreciative to Laurel for inviting us to hang our work with hers at her spring show.

Morning Gloria

Morning Gloria, 6x8

purchase here

This landscape was done in Laurel Daniel's plein air class two weeks ago. I'm just posting it now, because I have been busy preparing to move at the end of the month (still in Austin) and haven't had time to touch  up and post it until today. The class is focused on rendering water in its different environments. The weather shown here is typical of the last couple of weeks — beautifully sunny and cool with light breezes.

Lake Austin Piers

Lake Austin Piers, 5x7

SOLD

Our friend and fellow Plein Air Austin member, Cindy Ridge, hosted today's paintout. Her shady Lake Austin property was one of the few cool outdoor spots around Austin today. Torrential rains earlier in the week and today's sunny skies made for a hot and extremely humid day. Luckily for us the water temperature in this part of the lake is around 70º at the moment, thanks to a release from Mansfield Dam, upstream. The water temp and a slight breeze kept Cindy's shady yard nice and cool. When can we come back, Cindy?

Cotton Warehouse

 

Cotton Dock, 8 x 10

SOLD

This dock once was the loading point for the cotton grown on the historic Boone Hall plantation in South Carolina. Barges transported the cotton from here down the tidal Wando River to Charleston Harbor for export.

Evening Gathering

 

Evening Gathering, 8x10

SOLD

Here is a piece I started last Friday on our trip to Bryan. It required some tweaking, which I wasn't able to get to until today. Summerville Lake is a slight detour to the south from the route between Austin and Bryan, about halfway between Caldwell and Brenham, Texas. The picturesque scenery, ample shade and a nice breeze made for a nice opportunity to paint.

San Gabriel Park

San Gabriel Park, 6 x 8

SOLD

PAA painted in Georgetown this morning, at the town park along the San Gabriel River. Though there were plenty of picnickers, the slow moving river and overcast skies kept the feeling very low key.

Holding Back

Holding Back, 9 x 12

click to purchase

This painting was a long time in completing. The subject is from our last Plein Air Austin paintout of April, at Mansfield Dam. I blocked in the main shapes and colors and not much more while on site and hadn't gotten back to it until today. I think I knew I had a big challenge ahead of me to make this complex structure both believable and compelling. Overall, I'm happy with how it turned out and something close to elated to have it behind me.

Waterloo Park

Waterloo Park, 8 x 6
$85
email to purchase

Today was the second weekly session of our plein air class. Laurel had us repeat the process of identifying the four primary planes in a landscape that we learned in the classrom last week. This time it was the real thing, though — painting en plein air. We were at Waterloo Park, two blocks from the capitol grounds in downtown Austin. Since many in the class were painting outside for the first time, Laurel wanted to simplify things a bit (that's my assumption, anyway) by having us paint a yellow and mixed-black duotone.

Meanwhile, I had brought only panels pre-painted with a semi-neutral rust color ground. Thus, my attempt became a slightly dull tri-tone. Still, it was fun, I did the intended exercise, and found a composition I'd like to revisit with a full pallet later on.

Low Cover

Low Cover, 8 x 10
SOLD
A quiet and occasionally misty morning at West Lake Beach marina.