No Plastic Bags Here

I took this photo of two ladies crossing Congress Avenue. I wanted to practice on the gestures so I did this little pastel study. I plan on using Uart paper for the second figure. I want to wet the first layer down and then further refine the piece with more pastel. This study was on black Canson pastel paper the smooth side.

Watch Yourself

I had to include some people while I was painting over at McKinney Falls. They were everywhere enjoying this so called winter weather here in Austin. I liked the red rocks that the water flowed over in this area. I worked on it a little after coming home the version below was what I did onsite.

Bridge Over Bull Creek

I am making myself focus on the "why" of what I'm painting. The title here is not what the painting was about for me. I was attracted to the colors in the background hill and the dark mass of foliage against the light on the trail.

With A View

I painted this last weekend during our visit to the Bull Creek area just off 360 here in Austin. The creek still had water which I found amazing considering our drought conditions. I liked this house that sat above the creek. I started with a watercolor under painting on Uart 400 grit paper. I finished it off using pastels.

No Water

I worked on this a little after I got back home. The image below is what I did on site. I go back and forth on the issue of leaving them as is or cleaning them up later in studio.

Looking Up Upper Falls

This was the last painting onsite from my recent visit to McKinney Falls State Park. I got down a nice skeleton onsite and fleshed the rest out at home.

Airplane Sunset

Flying into Oakland as the sun sets.

Forest Ballet

This weekend at McKinney Falls State Park I focused on the trees because there wasn't much water to paint at the Lower Falls area. This section was fun to paint as it reminded me of a complex dance routine.

Texas Roadside 2

Years ago before I knew just a little about photography, I used to shoot photos for reference from a car driving 55 miles per hour or more. I was going through some old photographs and found a few photos shot along IH35 en route to Commerce.

A Moment Tender

A little pastel of one of Jeremy's (my nephew) sons.

Bridge Over Waters

The first painting from the first day of painting at Point Richmond. I was using a monocular that Pam had given me for Christmas. Of course I got too detailed. I didn't use it for the rest of the day. It was good to see the bridge structure but I got too tight with this one for it being plein air.

Working Vessel 2

This was the last onsite painting completed the first day painting at this location. The colors were very gray and green due to fog and the suns position. I had some small 3 by 5 pieces of watercolor so I quickly got this image down before we left.

Sketchcrawl 38 3

This is the last sketch from the most recent Sketch Crawl here in Austin. I laid down the darks using the aquarelle graphite pencils. I later went in with a brush to establish the dark masses. I added color at home.

Bright Morning

The original plein air sketch was 8 by 8 inches and in watercolor. I chose the same size for the pastel version.

Landmass Shadows

Another vessel from the Point Richmond Harbor area.

Roadside Point Reyes

I worked on larger paper during my most recent trip to California. I wanted to force myself to simplify things and also gather more detail. We stopped in a parking lot for this scene. Pam explored while I painted. The bay side of Point Reyes is ripe with subject matter. I can spend a day in just one place.

That Last Light

I was chasing the light with this one. Standing on the back porch painting quickly to get that light that made my heart skip...

Stacked Homes

I like the late afternoon light in Richmond. I was on the back porch painting these houses because of the light. Nothing spectacular except the light.

Urban Sketcher

A fellow painter sat down near where I was sketching. I took a picture of her for a later painting. I liked the guy across the street that is to the left of her forehead. The attractive part was the light in the background bouncing against the darker foreground. I first did the watercolor underpainting and then followed up with Rembrandt and Terry Ludwig pastels.

A Play of Light

On the way to Point Reyes we stopped in the Samuel P. Taylor Park to paint and for Pam to look for rocks. This was the first painting of the session. I liked the way the light filtered through the trees. Pam was telling me that Indians refused to live in the Redwood Forest because the light was rare and it contained evil spirits.

Sketchrawl 38

I participated in the most recent Sketch Crawl here in Austin. Here are two sketches from the day.