Painting Arkansas

Sims Farmhouse, Montgomery County

2012-02-12T11:06:00.000-08:00

Sims Farmhouse

5X7, Gouache on Matboard

We finally got some weather that could be considered winter! And it coincided with some of my plans to go out painting. Actually my plans were for some painting and mountain biking combined into one trip. However, I was planning on riding the Womble Trail in the Ouachita Mountains which is an IMBA Epic trail. It's over 30 miles and traverses some very remote terrain. I have been told not to ride it alone but that was my plan. Had the weather been better I would have gone through with it and gotten in hopefully 5-6 miles and still had time to do a quick painting. However, with temperatures barely expecting to get above freezing and a modest little windchill, I decided that it was exactly the type of weather in which people die from doing dumb things like riding difficult mountain biking trails alone. I still went painting though and made due with the view out the front window of the car. This was my second time to get out with the gouache for some plein air. The first time was not terribly successful. This time, well, just successful enough.

I stopped off in the small town of Mt. Ida just a few miles before this area to take pictures and in doing so ran across a brand new gallery in town! It is called the Ouachita Artist's Gallery and has only been open a few weeks. I dropped in out of the cold and talked painting with them.

View from the front window. I eliminated the large cedar tree.

The portable studio setup

Bank of Carthage, Dallas County

2012-01-29T11:53:00.000-08:00

Bank of Carthage

8X10, Oil on Panel

Available

This old building is on the National Register of Historic Places despite being about to fall in on itself. It was amazing to me but the town of Carthage seemed more remote to me than many places even in the Ozark Highlands. Quite a few people who were driving by while I was taking the references picture waved in a friendly manner. Unlike the dogs living in the house that's right beside this place.

I'm currently working on a larger version of this for an upcoming show.

I went out plein air painting in Saline County yesterday. It was one of those days that challenged my resolve to try to paint in plein air...

New Gallery Representation

2012-01-24T07:31:00.000-08:00

I am very pleased to announce that this afternoon, I will be delivering more pieces to the Cantrell Gallery in Little Rock. I really like the way the fine folks at Cantrell operate and I think this is an excellent fit for me. I look forward to hanging many pieces of art on their walls during the coming years!

Cantrell Gallery is located at 8206 Cantrell Road in Little Rock. If you are ever in the area, please stop by and take a look.

Toney Bend, between Buffalo Point and Rush, Marion County

2012-01-15T12:25:00.000-08:00

Toney Bend, Buffalo National River

20X24, Oil on Panel

Here at Toney Bend, the river loops back on itself and starts on a 7 mile circle around that closes on the other side of this mountain. If you were to climb up this terraced slope, you would find your way blocked again by the river at the bottom of the other side. Someday in the far future, the river will break down this mountain and meet itself. At the apex of the 7 mile circle is Rush Landing.

For the past several months, I've been using Flake White almost exclusively. I had realized from the very beginning that flake can do some marvelous things but that it has some distinct disadvantages. I think I'm finaly beginning to get a handle on the strengths and weaknesses of both flake and titanium such that I can leverage the strengths of both in the same painting.

Blue Hill, Pulaski County

2012-01-11T16:23:00.000-08:00

Blue Hill

11X14, Oil on Panel

Available at Cantrell Gallery

Lately, I have been having a lot of trouble with my camera overemphasizing blues in my paintings. No such problem here. I am also very pleased to say that I was able to use more than 1 blue in this painting! In fact, all 3 of my major blues are here: cobalt, ultramarine, and prussian.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-03T08:27:00.000-08:00

I would like to wish all of you out there a Happy New Year! I don't have any new paintings to show just yet but that's more a function of my laziness about taking pictures than not having produced any work. I have a new Buffalo River painting as well as a couple of portraits which I'll eventually get around to posting on my other blog, The Art of John D. Wooldridge. That's a very good thing since it's been a few months since I've had anything to post over there!

2011 was a pretty good year for me. I won several awards and was accepted into all but 2 shows I entered. Sales were better than I've ever experienced also. I didn't do as much heavy lifting on the Painting Arkansas project as I had hoped but I did complete 15 new counties this past year. I was hoping to be halfway done by the end of this year. I got close but not quite there. Around the middle of last year, I made a pact with myself that I would paint nothing smaller than 9X12 in the studio. The spirit of that commitment was to force myself to produce larger landscapes. Even though the 2 portraits I did were 8X10, I'm not going to count those against my commitment since I really did intend it to apply to landscapes. In fact, after that commitment, I did no landscapes smaller than 11X14! I'm happy for the calender to shift though so I can do some more smaller work and try to get some substantial progress made against this project. I have photographic reference material for 8 additional counties that need to be done before I ever have to get into the car for more travel!

I'm not much for publishing my goals because it seems as soon as I do I wind up not living up to them. That's one reason I don't publish any WIPs of my work. As soon as I take in-progress pictures, I find myself unable to close the deal and the piece gets set by the wayside! However, in the interest of trying to get over that trend, I'm going to go ahead and establish some goals here. I'm only going to include those things over which I feel I have enough control to enable them.

1. Get a gallery
2. Complete 10 show worthy plein air paintings
3. Get into a show outside of Arkansas
4. Complete at least 20 counties
5. Publish a WIP!
6. Post more often, even if what I write about seems very mundane to me
7. Network more online
8. Participate in a plein air competition

In addition, I plan to join the American Impressionist Society and also submit to join Oil Painters of America. Membership in AIS is non-juried but OPA is. I think I have the quality of work to get in, but I guess I'll find out if the jurors feel the same or not.

Snowball, AR, Searcy County and Merry Christmas!

2011-12-20T16:08:00.000-08:00

Snowball, AR

14X18, Oil on Panel

SOLD

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone out there! This painting is currently on display at the THEA Foundation as part of the Arkansas League of Artists Winners Show until the end of the month.

Baring Cross Train, Pulaski County

2011-12-16T15:09:00.000-08:00

Baring Cross Train

16X20, Oil on Panel

Available at Cantrell Gallery

Little Rock is a city of bridges. We have 4 pedestrian bridges crossing the Arkansas River, 2 of which are former train bridges which have been converted. In addition there are 4 auto bridges, 2 of which are interstates. Baring Cross Bridge is the last and is the only train bridge in the city still in use. This view is from the River Trail on the North Little Rock side. The state capital building is to the left.

Arkansas River Bridge, Ozark, Franklin Co.

2011-12-12T15:58:00.000-08:00

Arkansas River Bridge, Ozark

12X16, Oil on Panel

This picture is darker than the real painting. I had a great deal of difficulty getting a good picture that didn't exaggerate some colors. This is the best of my wife's efforts and a good deal better than mine. I may try to take it again and replace this at some point. This is from the south side of the Arkansas River looking back towards the town of Ozark.

Dying Light at Rush, Marion Co.

2011-12-01T18:21:00.001-08:00

Dying Light at Rush

12X16, Oil on Panel

Available

This is based on a plein air I did during the summer at Rush on the Buffalo River. I had lots of trouble with the color when I was there but I thought the concept and scene were very worthy.

Rush is so named because it was once a mining town. Zinc was the primary resource extracted there. While most of the boom town that sprung up practically overnight here is gone, a few structures remain. The national park service is not actively preserving these structures, however. There is a trail that runs around one of the old talus piles and if one does not know what they are looking at, they would probably never realize what it was. Truly a testament to the transient nature of human culture and civilization. Mother Earth can very quickly cover over our clever industriousness.

Capital Avenue, Little Rock

2011-11-22T15:28:00.001-08:00

Capital Ave.

12X16, Oil on Panel

Available at Cantrell Gallery

This view looks down Capital Avenue in Little Rock from the front of the capital grounds.

I have begun very early work on a solo show that will take place next year but I'll talk about that more at a later date.

First Presbyterian, Fort Smith, Sebastian County

2011-11-20T10:20:00.001-08:00

First Presbyterian, Fort Smith

11X14, Oil on Panel

Available

A couple of months ago I traveled over to Fort Smith, which is right on the western edge of state. Fort Smith was once the gateway to the wild wild west. In those days, justice in the area was presided over by "Hangin" Judge Isaac Parker. Judge Parker was actually an opponent of capital punishment and was only carrying out the sentences he perceived the law required of him to pass down.

I had been to Fort Smith a few times but never really explored the downtown area before this trip. I found myself liking it very much. In many ways, the town feels like it could easily be back east!

Ola, Yell County

2011-10-22T13:59:00.000-07:00

Ola

9X12, Oil on Panel

Available

Ola is a tiny town the sits between the Arkansas River Valley and the Ouachita Mountains. This is not the most memorable view in Ola but I felt like doing some rural decay.

Dickey Stephens Park, North Little Rock

2011-10-15T06:35:00.000-07:00

Dickey Stephens Park

17" Home Plate

The above painting is available for online auction from now until October 27, 2010 at http://jimelder.org/auction/item.php?id=60. Dickey Stephens Park is the home of the Arkansas Travelers minor league baseball team. The Jim Elder Home Plate Heroes fund provides money to organizations aimed at providing opportunities to local underprivileged youth. Other paintings being auctioned can be seen here: http://jimelder.org/auction/

The Soul of Blues

2011-10-12T13:41:00.000-07:00

I don't really practice any precise "-ism" but if one were to ask me what type of art it is I create, I suppose I would answer with the term "tonal impressionism." I say this because I think that colors have specific moods and qualities and when used together in certain manners, a synergy can be achieved that sets the stage for the subject matter. The subject matter is somewhat secondary to the general overall impression of mood which is achieved via the interplay of carefully selected and limited color palettes.

It is from this standpoint and mode of thought that I conclude that the selection of blue in a painting is perhaps the single most important aspect in the color palette. I am finding that while I may use several yellows and possibly a couple of different reds, one single blue produces the best result for me. Two blues are competitive with one another. The intrinsic mood or soul of the painting is contained in the blue. I do think that sometimes a second blue may be used if in very small quantities for a specific purpose. For instance, I will sometimes find myself needing a touch of cerulean to give a summer sky a bit more power but other than that, the second blue is very very rare.

Some of the characters that I find in blues are:

Cobalt (PB28) - Earthy but bright and warm
Ultramarine (PB29)- Cool and serene
Prussian (PB27)- Unpredictable, wild and moody
Phthalo - I don't have much experience at all with pthalo and it comes in both a red (PB15:1) and a green (PB15:3) shade. But painters I know who use it exclusively tend to have results that are soothing and deep.
Cerulean (PB35)- powerful and transcendent but being opaque and high value out of the tube not a candidate to carry a painting solo. This is the only blue that will augment another well.

There is also the difficult to find Manganese blue that while I've never used I would probably put in a similar category with cerulean. It is relatively opaque and high in value compared to other blues and this makes it difficult to wield in the shadows.

Phthalo is considered to be a Prussian replacement. Due to the unpredictability of the pigment for Prussian blue, it can vary rather wildly in character from batch to batch. Also, it behaves very differently in tints from phthalo which retains it's character more readily while Prussian can have a tendency to get smokey when highly tinted.

I want to caveat the above information: these are my impressions from my experience with mixing and working with color. Even if you have used the same pigments as I have, you may have an entirely different mindset on how you want to accomplish your goals and this may be totally useless to you. But from how I approach and think about color and the goals I want to accomplish, these are my conclusions. I also want to state these characters I perceive are really only useful when you consider how they mix and interact with other pigments and not on their own.

Monroe County Courthouse, Clarendon, AR

2011-10-06T16:17:00.000-07:00

Monroe County Courthouse

8X10, Oil on Panel

I was recently invited to the town of Clarendon by the wife of the mayor to do some painting. Clarendon is in the Delta of eastern Arkansas and is smack dab at the confluence of White and Cache Rivers.

Clarendon suffers from the same ills as most of the rest of the Delta: lack of industry and jobs that drives the young to the cities. There is a great wealth of farming in the Delta, from soybeans, rice and still some cotton, but not enough jobs associated with that industry to sustain the communities. Still, some people know what these communities used to be and are doing everything that can to save them. Clarendon recently was awarded a matching grant for beautification of the downtown area. They also hope that a change in how the Cache River channel is managed will improve fishing and bring more commerce to the area. I hope so too, the town still has charm but may not for much longer if the decline cannot be reversed.

I took quite a few pictures while I was there and hope to do more from Clarendon in time.

Enon, Contre-Jour

2011-10-04T17:15:00.000-07:00

Enon, Contre-jour

14X18, Oil on Panel

Available at Cantrell Gallery

This little church is just a mile or two from the house I grew up in. I used to ride my bike past it all the time.

Hardboard Panel Prep

2011-09-18T08:35:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned previously, my substrate of choice these days is plywood. I find it to be durable, cheap, and about as convenient as possible considering I have to do all of the prep work. I use both storebought "art" plywood and hardware store sheets.

The "art" plywood is baltic birch and comes in packs of 5 cut to size. The advantage of this material is that the cuts are perfectly clean and the board should be very square. The downside is that they are only available in 1/8" thickness. This means that sizes are relatively limited without cradling. In fact, I will only use this material up to 12X16. That may actually be the upper size limit available, I don't remember offhand. One of my favorite things about painting on board is that it is extremely easy to frame these paintings with only a point driver.  Having to resort to a cradle for large sizes eliminates this ease and also adds a lot of weight to the finished piece!

For larger pieces, I go with good old hardware store sheet plywood. I usually use 1/4" oak panels. It is also available in maple and I think birch may be available as well. The 1/4" thickness resists warping in sizes up to 30X30. I have found that propensity to warp is a function of the individual sheet more than anything and is probably due to insufficient curing at the factory or a defect in the internal plies. I have had some that warp up badly and some that stay nice and flat no matter how or where stored.  If you buy a sheet that wants to warp, you will be forced to cut smaller sizes. But I'd say in more than 90% of the panels I've bought, I've had no issues with warping at all. A good stable sheet might could be cut into sizes larger than 30" but only if used in a fairly square aspect ratio. The longer the aspect ratio, the more likely you are to see some warpage.

After cutting my panels to size, I use coarse sandpaper to remove burrs and smooth the cut edges. At this stage, you will have two edges that cannot be smoothed very well. These edges are cut against the grain of the internal plies and will look porous.  I'll fix that later. I will also lightly sand both faces. You'll notice that one face is slightly smoother than the other. That's the face I usually paint on but not always. Sometimes I might find a flaw in the smooth face or maybe I want that rougher surface for some reason. After wiping the faces down, it's time for gesso. Using the precut baltic birch, I avoid all of the previous steps. I use acrylic dispersion "gesso" from Liquitex, the relatively thin stuff. I use 3 coats on the face I intend to paint on and usually one or two on the back side. Whether or not I gesso the backside is sometimes dependent upon time and how impatient I am to use that size. I do not sand between coats unless the panel is small and I have large brushmarks left. I have learned that the brushmarks usually are aesthetically pleasing to me in large sizes but distracting in smaller ones.

I know that some artists use a primer or sealer but I do not and I have a very specific reason for that. Most artists use what's called GAC100 from Gamblin as a primer.  I also know of at least one artist who uses one coat of clear gesso first and then 2-3 coats of the standard gesso over that. Remember now, when I say gesso, I am referring to acrylic dispersion primer and not traditional, real gesso.

On a hot day here in Arkansas, I can do all 3 coats in a single day. The longer, more difficult part is sealing the edges. This is not a necessary step but I like to do it. It produces a more professional product I think.    I will gesso all 4 cut edges and sand them as smooth as possible. It may take several coats for the rough edges cut against the grain of the internal plies. I still use only coarse grain sandpaper. I don't think you need to use anything very fine, all you want is a sealed edge with no burrs. This step is something you shouldn't bother with if you are using the precut 1/8" panels. With these panels, they are so thin you will only succeed in building up a bead of gesso on the face of the panel and it won't do anything for the cut edge.

Lonoke Depot, Lonoke County

2011-09-07T16:03:00.000-07:00

Lonoke Depot

11X14, Oil on Panel

Available

Three weekends ago I went over to the next county east of here for some plein air in the town of Lonoke. Lonoke is, aptly, the county seat of Lonoke County. Before going over there, I checked the town out on Google Street view and really liked the downtown area. It's an odd sort of layout, with two main rows of businesses centered on the sides of the railroad tracks. This very interesting depot anchors the downtown area. The courthouse square is about 2 blocks north of the downtown.

Unlike many other areas of the Delta, Lonoke is holding up quite well. I'm sure being within commuting distance of Little Rock has a lot to do with that. The downtown, while not thriving, is holding it's own in a time when so many others are just falling apart.

I did the underpainting for this one on site and then moved on to another painting of the end of the building. There is a large relief on the end that proudly proclaims, "Lonoke" and I wanted to show that. The painting turned out to not be of the quality I expect so it I paint over it with oil primer and reuse the panel.

Ralph Michaelis Memorial Merit Award

2011-09-06T17:22:00.000-07:00

Last Friday night was the reception for the Hot Springs Fine Arts Center Diamond National Show. My entry won the Ralph Michaelis Memorial Merit Award. This show had an unusual award structure, there were 3 Honorable Mentions, 3 Merit Awards and Best in Show. I was told I just barely missed the Best in Show. This painting has won 2 awards this year. If it doesn't sell, and at this point I hope it does not, I have another show I want to try to get it into.

Here are some of the other award winners:

Hardboard Panels

2011-09-04T07:16:00.000-07:00

I thought I might write some about how I like to work and a great place to start would seem to be at the very beginning, the surface or support. Supports are often taken for granted but the support you use can have a major impact on the way you work, whether you realize that or not.

Most everyone out there paints on canvas. That's just the automatic thought, oil on canvas. It's fairly cheap and easily obtainable. Every arts and crafts store out there carries pre-stretched cotton duck canvases. Many of those store brands are less than exemplary. A couple of years ago, I began to look at alternative surfaces. I noticed that a couple of artists whose work I loved worked on board so I investigated that. "Board" can mean quite a number of things, I found out! But, at the end of the day there are 2 basic varieties of board: the fiberboards and the plywoods. Every other option relates to how the surface is prepared.

Fiberboard, or MDF (medium denstiy fiberboard),is also commonly referred to as masonite but that is a trade name for a particular brand of fiberboard. MDF is basically shredded wood fiber which is mixed with an adhesive and pressed back together under heat and pressure. Fiberboard is hard but brittle and susceptible to warping under even relatively minor exposure to moisture. The adhesives used in it's manufacture are also typically formaldehyde resins and these materials do release volatile organics from cut edges. There do exist some fiberboards which are supposedly archival and these are what you can usually find in art supply stores under names like gessoboard. I do not know what is done differently in these that make them archival but it's a sure bet they still use formaldehyde resins in their manufacture. I have used these myself in the past but do not anticpate ever making them a standard part of my practice. I also certainly would not use hardware store MDF as a painting surface.

Plywoods are pretty well know to most people. They consist of layers of wood veneer with successive layers arranged such that their grains are at right angles to each other. Plywood is possibly the first composite material humans ever produced. It has been around for millenia. Plywood is strong and light and resistant to warping in smaller footprints. Larger panels can be made warp resistant by cradling. I paint on plywood almost exclusively now.

More on hardboard panels later!

Burns Park Plein Air

2011-09-01T15:31:00.000-07:00

Burns Park Covered Bridge

9X12, Oil on Panel

Available at Cantrell Gallery

A few weeks ago I went out plein air painting with David Paul Cook and Pat White of Sage House Gallery at White Wagon Farm. We visited this covered bridge at Burns Park in North Little Rock.

Burns Park is one of the largest municipal parks in the country at 1700 acres. It has a rather magnificent soccer complex which has hosted the US Soccer junior national championship as well as several regional qualifiers. It also has some fantastic mountain biking trails. I'll be enjoying those tomorrow morning with a brisk ride before I deliver paintings for the upcoming ALA show.

Guy, Faulkner County

2011-08-26T15:41:00.000-07:00

Guy, Faulkner County

9X12, Oil on Panel

Available

The little town of Guy is in northern Faulkner county. This is very close to the epicenter of the recent spate of earthquakes which have rattle north central Arkansas. This area is also right in the middle of the Fayetteville Shale region which is being exploited by the hydraulic fracturing process to extract natural gas. Many people believe that the injection of the fracking fluid into the ground is the cause of the earthquakes here. I find it fascinating that Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality issued a moratorium on injection on wells in this area and the earthquakes diminished rapidly! I could stand on quite a soapbox about my feelings concerning hydraulic fracturing. When the industry began to move in, I was cautiously optimistic that it would bring in much needed jobs and some wealth for the locals who desperately need it. I say cautiously because I know it's the locals who usually get the butt end of the stick in things like this. My optimism is pretty much gone.

Hot Springs Fine Arts Center Diamond National

2011-08-24T08:59:00.000-07:00

I am pleased to announce that "Perry Train Yard" was accepted into the Diamond National Exhibition at the Hot Springs Fine Arts Center. I delivered it last Saturday. I was told that entries were up this year both in quality and quantity over last year. This painting will be offered for sale at this show for the first and possibly only time. I am seriously considering placing it in my personnal collection permanently. The show opens with a reception and awards ceremony on Friday, September 2nd from 5-8PM.

Sultry Searcy Day

2011-08-22T16:28:00.000-07:00

Sultry Searcy County Day

18X24, Oil on Panel

Available

Here is a larger version of a study I did a few weeks ago. I have not painted this large in a while. It was nice to see this one come together as quickly as it did since the last relatively large piece I did took several months to work out.

Being the lazy blogger I am, I have a rather substantial backlog of pieces to post, including some new counties. You'd think I'd be in a hurry to post new counties. I'll get around to it soon.

I have also recently learned that the Buffalo National River has canceled all artist residencies going forward due to budget cuts. I believe that mine is the first one being cut. It may be a blessing in disguise though as about half of my residency was going to taken up with teaching a workshop. While I would have enjoyed the new challenge of teaching, I think I need to be spending most of my time in the act of painting. I still plan on going to the river this fall and camping and painting just as I would have during my residency.

Diamond Rio - July Afternoon, Diamond City, Boone County

2011-08-17T15:47:00.000-07:00

Diamond Rio - July Afternoon

12X16, Oil on Panel

SOLD

This sign and a concrete pad is all that's left of the Diamond Rio Motor Hotel in Diamond City, AR.

Long Pool Rocks, Pope County

2011-08-14T16:53:00.000-07:00

Long Pool Rocks

11X14, Oil on Panel

Available

I've built up a bit of an inventory of paintings during the short period while my camera was broken. I have a new one that is a touch more sophisticated than my old but photographing paintings is never easy. This new one goes into "landscape" mode when I do closely cropped shots of my pieces. Guess that means I'm doing a good job!

These huge rocks at the end of Long Pool on Big Piney Creek in Pope County make excellent diving platforms. They really are this big. It is rather unusual in the Ozarks when no glaciers were ever active to move huge stones of this size.

Mississippi River Bridge at Hwy 49, Helena, Phillips County

2011-08-11T17:31:00.000-07:00

Mississippi River Bridge, Hwy 49

8X10, Oil on Panel

Available

Here's the other from my trip to Helena. Had a lot of trouble with this one, the paint just did not want to stick to the smooth panel with the 104°F heat index!

Gist Music, Helena, AR, Phillips County

2011-08-08T18:26:00.000-07:00

Gist Music

9X12, Oil on Panel

Available at Cantrell Gallery

I have finally gotten my camera replaced and have several paintings that need to be posted. Here is the completed piece from my recent trip to Helena. This is Gist Music on Cherry Street.

I am very pleased to announce that I have had two pieces accepted in the Arkansas League of Artists Juried show. This show will hang at the Cantrell Gallery at 8206 Cantrell Road in Little Rock from September 9 to October 29. The pieces accepted can be seen here and here. This show was juried by an outstanding Little Rock based artist, Stephen Cefalo. I feel very honored to have had not just one but two pieces selected by him for this show.

Buffalo River Artisans Guild Demo Painting

2011-07-20T16:04:00.001-07:00

I was invited to do a demo for the Buffalo River Artisans Guild last Saturday so I traveled up to Marshall, AR in the heart of the Ozarks. I was hoping the weather would cooperate and enable me to do a plein air landscape painting but with the heat, I thought it would be best to keep everyone inside. I had never done a demo like this in front of people who would be watching everything from beginning to end and expecting some commentary. But as it turns out, this was a great dry-run for something I will be doing this fall. I have been selected to be Artist in Residence on the Buffalo National River in September. In association with this, I will be giving a workshop so the experience here was invaluable.

This painting will be auctioned by the club in August.

Helena, Phillips County - An Impromptu Paintout!

2011-07-18T19:39:00.000-07:00

Helena, AR

On Sunday, July 10, I traveled east to the very edge of the state and the mighty Mississippi River. Helena Arkansas was at one time instrumental in the birth of the grandfather of many forms of American music, the Blues. Helena was the voice of the Blues starting in 1941 when King Biscuit Time debuted. King Biscuit Time was a radio show which played the Blues exclusively, giving a voice to African-Americans during a time when they were afforded little to none in the popular media, especially in the South. It was the first of it's kind. In 1941, in Helena, Arkansas, Southern African-American culture began to be disseminated to the masses. And the culture of America was forever changed. One could certainly argue that this was bound to happen somewhere. If not Helena, then Memphis. But the simple fact is, it began in Helena.

Helena was chosen as the subject of the day by Matt Lee, an artist whose acquaitance I had made via the Wetcanvas online artist community. He also made arrangements for us to meet and paint with the curator of the Delta Cultural Center, Mr. Bill Branch. We arrived at 10AM and met at the DCC visitor center. Bill gave Matt and I a tour of their impressive facility. Not only were the interpretive exhibits of the history of the Blues and the delta top notch, there was also some fantastic art on display from Hearne Fine Art in Little Rock. After this, Bill gave us a tour of town. Helena straddles the very end of Crowley's Ridge. This landform is unique in North America, it a long ridge of fine soil that runs north-south from southern Missouri to the Missisippi River at Helena in the middle of the pancake flat Delta. When I was in high school, I went on a gifted and talented program which spent 4 weeks touring the entire state. At that time, the prevailing thought on the formation of Crowley's Ridge was that is was a deposit of windblown loess. That seems to be in doubt these days as some sources say it as fluvial in origin or possibly that it is rising due to tectonic forces. I still subscribe to what I learned many years ago, that it is windblown loess.

Helena is a far different place today than it was in 1941. Most of the industry is gone and Cherry Street (Helena has no Main Street) is populated with ghosts of the past. Empty store fronts are much more common than those with tenants. Still, there is something different to Helena than other towns with this same problem. There's a strong desire in Helena to rebuild the community. There are thriving churches downtown and more history than you can shake a stick at. Some of it is in sore disrepair but some of it is being restored. I would say that the source of this palpable energy is in large part due to the Delta Cultural Center. I feel that Helena is the front line of a decades long fight against the decay of small town America. It has had one of the steepest declines in population in the entire country. If this town can turn things around, then so can others. With it's rich history, I think they have a chance.

We started the painting for the day on a boardwalk by the river with the US 49 bridge providing a backdrop. The heat index was probably already well over 100°F. I set up in what was a smattering of shade that lasted about 15 minutes at best. We planned on working for about an hour and with that time constraint in mind, I chose a long-view that cropped out all the foreground. As the sun moved out from behind a few leaves and fell directly onto my palette, the paint began to slump and all but refused to stick on my simply prepared panels. I found myself wishing I used linen! I made do, however.

Matt's first of the day

Close up of Matt's first

Bill's first of the day

My first simple little painting of the day

After this, we returned to the DCC for a light lunch and to refill water bottles. Then it was time to hit Cherry Street and do some urban landscape. I chose a building with a nice little striped canopy that Matt pointed out. It was next door to a building with rusted iron features that I thought would also have made a great little painting but I wondered if I could get that in the amount of time I wanted to spend and from across the street where the best shade was. The building currently houses Gist Music store and is on the west side of Cherry. The sun was past zenith and cast a nice shadow across the first third of the canopy. I quickly built my shadows and I'm very glad I did because the shadow on the canopy crept quickly across the full face of it and by the time I was done had engulfed the entire front of the street. Both Matt and Bill chose much more challenging, full block scenes.

Bill Branch's second of the day

Matt Lee Works on his 2nd of the Day

Gist Music

In all, I'm very happy with the day. I don't know if I've ever had time to even try to paint two paintings on location before in the same day, let alone make two that I would be willing to show! My camera has suddenly decided it's done with it's life. As soon as I get a new one, I'll post the cropped pictures of these completed pieces.

Searcy County Barn, Study

2011-07-05T17:07:00.000-07:00

Searcy County Barn Study

9X12, Oil on Oak Panel

Available at Cantrell Gallery

I painted most of this one during last month's Argenta Art Walk. It is based on a barn between Snowball and Witts Springs in Searcy County. The actual barn is considerably more dilapidated than I'm showing it. I'm seriously considering doing this on an 18X24. There are at least 2 errors here that need to be corrected...anyone?

1 Year Anniversary!

2011-06-20T15:52:00.000-07:00

As hard as it is to believe, this blog is now one year old! I still have no idea how long it will take me to complete this challenge but I feel like I'm making good progress. When I started, I had only about 8-10 counties done so I've more than doubled that in a year. Not earth shattering I know I'm happy with that production rate for now. Thanks to everyone who follows and reads this blog. I appreciate it and, of course, love to hear feedback! Happy Birthday Painting Arkansas blog.

Jefferson County Courthouse, Pine Bluff, Jefferson Co

2011-06-15T09:43:00.000-07:00

Jefferson County Courthouse

11X14, Oil on Birch Panel

Available

Last weekend I went down to Pine Bluff to paint what I think may be the most striking courthouse in Arkansas. The Jefferson County courthouse is this marvelous white with a glowing golden painted dome. While not the most ornate courthouse in the state, it certainly does stand out. It was built in 1856 and partially burned in the '70's. I had never been to Pine Bluff before last Saturday. It is a small town with big city problems and the reputation of the town is well known. I found a downtown deserted on a Saturday morning. Almost no business was open and the traffic count on Barraque Street, what should be a fairly major street in downtown, was probably no more than 30 cars the whole time I was there. Several passed by me more than once. Only one person came by to talk to me and I only saw one other person on foot.

I set up in the shadow of a building across the street from the courthouse, knowing the blazing hot sun would soon rear up over the top of the roofline and bath me. I had been hoping to catch the building fully backlit so I could explore some more color in the sky but by the time I got there, the sun was already high enough that no cool sky colors were to be found. You might could call this a modified Sargent palette. I used Cobalt blue, yellow ochre, and transparent red oxide which I consider to be in essence the same as what Sargent used for a lot of his architectural work. He probably used ivory black which can appear very blue when tinted and used alongside warmer colors.

I struggled mightily with size and perspective in this one. The color of the shadowed white building also gave me fits. I should have done it from the eastern side so as to avoid that problem but it's always good to take on a challenge. There were several moments when I almost gave up on it.

After I had had enough of this one, I wandered about the streets for a while, taking photos. It was enough to rend the preservationist soul of me. I could clearly see what the town of Pine Bluff had been and what it still could be. But the fact I could stand in the middle of Main Street for minutes on end trying to find the best vantage point possible on a Saturday morning spoke volumes for how far this town has fallen.

As is all too often the case with me, I fell in love with what I could see the town becoming. I know I'll be back.

Rainbow Bridge, Cotter, Baxter County

2011-06-02T19:11:00.000-07:00

Rainbow Bridge, Cotter

6X8, Oil on Oak Panel

SOLD

Falling Water Falls, Pope County

2011-05-27T07:35:00.000-07:00

Falling Water Falls

11X14, Oil on Birch Panel

Available at Cantrell Gallery

A few weeks ago, I took my son waterfall hunting in the Ozarks. We've had a phenomenally long waterfall season in this year. Usually by this time of year, they are starting to trickle. the downside to the long waterfall season is flooding and severe weather. I started this one en plein air with a value sketch and then colored it in the studio. Falling Water Falls is one of the easiest falls in the state to get to and as a result is a favorite target of photographers. I've never seen a painting of it before though. It lies at the extreme northern end of Pope County just a bit before crossing into Searcy County on Falling Water Creek in the Ozark National Forest. On this same day, we saw Six Finger Falls and Keefe Falls. I packed my 13 lb pochade the .5 mile bushwhack into Keefe Falls and did a value sketch there as well as the rain fell.

Cotter Train Bridge #2, Baxter County

2011-05-11T15:42:00.000-07:00

Cotter Train Bridge #2

12X16, Oil on Birch Panel

SOLD

Well folks, I promised myself when I started this blog that I would try to post something often enough that I never felt the need to offer an apology for not posting "in forever." But here I am, sorry for not posting in forever! I've been working on several pieces simultaneously and waiting until several were done before posting. I must confess, that with gas prices going up, my progress on this project is probably going to take a major hit this summer. I plan on trying to pick off a few nearby counties in central Arkansas but will probably not be going very far afield. I'm going to be working on a portfolio for a submission to a very specific gallery this summer. I don't plan on posting many of those as I go along. I might change my mind though. There may be more action over at my other blog The Art of John D. Wooldridge.

You may remember a few weeks ago, I posted a 6X8 version of this painting. I liked it enough that I wanted to do a larger version. While there were many good qualities to the smaller one which did not get translated over into this one, I feel the overall drama of the piece is vastly enhanced.

Interestingly, Bill Garrison told me at his workshop I attended last month that he also did a painting of this bridge at one point in time. He told me this bridge was designed to rotate on the central pier to accommodate river boat traffic. After the bridge was finished, the rotation function was tested and then rotated back into place . It hasn't moved since. He titled his painting, "Old Once Around." I wonder what it looks like.

Lake Dardanelle Train Bridge, Pope County

2011-04-21T17:54:00.000-07:00

Lake Dardanelle Train Bridge

11X14, Oil on Birch Panel

Available

This is another one from the workshop I took with Bill Garrison a few weeks ago. I did most of this one en plein air but then did a few touch ups in the studio later, mostly incorporating Bill's comments. One thing he suggested that I'm not sure I really did quite like get right was the vague reflection of the bridge in the water. I did smudge a little of that color into the water but I don't know if it reads quite as a broken reflection. I saw this bridge on day one and knew I would have to try to paint it. It was very windy the day I did this one. This view was somewhat sheltered from the wind by trees and buildings on the point but the water here was still pretty active.

Big Springs Smoked Meats and Restaurant

2011-04-16T15:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we went up to Searcy County to hang some paintings at Big Springs Smoked Meats and Restaurant in St. Joe on Hwy 65. It would be pretty hard to miss the place, it's on one of the few straight stretches of road between Western Grove and Leslie. I can personally testify that the brisket sandwich is extremely tasty and worth the stop if you happen to be traveling 65 through the heart of the Ozarks. Of course, I think my paintings are worth a stop too but I'm a bit biased in that. And if my paintings are no longer there, then you will probably be able to see some by Harrison artist Tara Carey. Great food, great art,...it's a no lose situation.

I also used this trip to get more reference photos from the Gilbert area. Gilbert is a small town (population 33) right on the Buffalo River. It is very typical for Gilbert to record the coldest temperatures in the state during the winter and the sign coming into town proudly claims it to be the "coolest town in Arkansas." There's one shot I got of a church which I think will be excellent material. I almost got a face full of barbed wire fence when I slipped in some mud coming back across a small creek from getting the picture. That actually makes me fairly certain it will turn out to be an exceptional piece, no pain no gain after all.

Bill Garrison Workshop and an Award

2011-04-10T17:55:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week, I spent 3 days up the Arkansas River in Russellville for a workshop with one of the best painters in the state, Mr. Bill Garrison. This was Bill's first workshop in quite a few years so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to participate. The workshop was held at an Arkansas Tech University facility called Lake Pointe. It was a beautiful location with nice views of Mt. Nebo across Lake Dardanelle. The campus had many mature trees for shade and to provide balance for the big but distant views. The first day was a bit damp and cold so it was spent inside with Bill doing demos. The second day was very seasonable and after a short morning demo, we hit the easels. I got a nice underpainting and another "finished" piece on the first day. The second day was much warmer, with highs probably in the mid 80's, with bright sun. It was windy on the lake side of the point upon which the facility was located. However, I had my sights set on a low train bridge on the cove side which was sheltered from the wind. It was an old rusty thing but still strong and in use. The dull, rusty red made a wonderful counterpoint against the bright green of the trees busting open. I "finished" that one by around 2 or so and then went in for the rest of the day.

Here's one of them from the first day. I'm going to make some tweaks to the other two.

Mt. Nebo #1

8X10, Oil on linen panel

Available, $80 Unframed

Buckstaff Baths won a merit award at the Hot Springs Fine Arts Center Regional Show!

White River Paint Out

2011-03-30T17:26:00.000-07:00

As fellow Arkansas artist Bill Garrison reminded me in a comment a few days ago, the White River Artists will be having their 3rd annual plein air paint out on May 19-21. I will be unable to attend but I'm sure there will be plenty of great painters there and lots of camaraderie for anyone interested in participating. You can get more information at their facebook page.

Hot Springs Fine Arts Center Spring Regional Competition

2011-03-29T19:11:00.000-07:00

I have 2 pieces juried into the 2011 Hot Springs Fine Arts Center's Spring Regional Competition. The opening for the show is this Friday night, April 1st, 2011 from 5 to 8PM at the Fine Arts Center at 626 Central Avenue. This corresponds with the city's monthly art walk. I should be there for most of that time so anyone in the local area, please feel free to come by and say hi!

White Hole - Downstream, Marion County

2011-03-23T17:04:00.000-07:00

White Hole - Downstream

6X8, Oil on Oak Panel

Available

White Hole is a public access area on the White River just a couple of bends downstream from Bull Shoals Lock and Dam. This is a very popular area with the fly fishers and really anyone looking to hook a trout or two. There are quite a few resorts on this stretch of the river including Gaston's and the White Hole Resort. At the top of the bluff shown here is the White River Inn. I chose to leave it out.

Marion County, I'm not done with you yet. I know way too many of your secrets!

Train Bridge - Cotter, Baxter County

2011-03-22T10:24:00.000-07:00

Train Bridge - Cotter

6X8, Oil on Oak Panel

Available

The town of Cotter sits on the banks of the White River. This train bridge is just upstream from a vehicular bridge of historical note. The White River in this area is renown for it's trout fishing. Cotter has been bypassed by a new stretch of 4 lane divided US 412/62. I wonder what the future holds for this town? Often times, when small towns like this get bypassed they just fade away. Cotter at least has a good deal of tourist trade and maybe it will hang on or possibly even thrive with the better access a 4 lane divided highway can bring.

Augusta House Boats, Augusta, Woodruff County

2011-03-15T14:46:00.000-07:00

Augusta House Boats

11X14, Oil on Birch Panel

Available

This was from my recent trip up to Jacksonport and through 4 Delta counties. Downtown Augusta was deserted when I was there. It has an intriguing old downtown area but being as deserted as it was, it was forlorn feeling. Especially forlorn given the overcast nature of the afternoon. I walked down the middle of the street taking pictures, my only accompaniment a set of windchimes tuned in a minor key. There is a theater in downtown that must have been beautiful in it's heyday. Sad state of repair today though, I'm afraid. I may revisit Augusta to paint that theater.

The town is poised on the eastern bank of the White River. From about Batesville south to the Arkansas River, the White is navigable by steam ship. Like Jacksonport, the fortunes of Augusta probably rose and fell in time with transportation. It was probably a major hub of activity until the advent of trains.

Recently, the only working steamboat on the White River was declared unsalvable. The Mary Woods 2 was moored at Jacksonport State Park. It sank in 2010. RIP.

Bull Shoals Lake at Diamond City

2011-03-07T15:40:00.000-08:00

Bull Shoals Lake at Diamond City

11X14, Oil on Birch Panel

Available at Cantrell Gallery

I guess sailing is becoming more popular on Bull Shoals.

An Artist is Defined by the Reaction to Failure, not Success!

2011-02-28T12:19:00.000-08:00

"What can be more tragic than to feel the boundlessness of the surrounding beauty and to be able to see in it its underlying mystery... and yet to be aware of your own inability to express these large feelings" - Isaak Levitan

In my previous post, I set a goal for myself for completing 2 more counties by the end of the month of February. Obviously, it being the last day of the month, I failed to meet to that deadline. I tried to stretch myself outside of my comfort zone and fell flat on my face! It happens. More than I'd like.

In my opinion, art is all about striving for excellence and pushing one's own boundaries. It's really like athletics in a way. The more one trains, one expects to be able to perform at an ever increasing level of capability. In reality, however, both in athletics and painting, capability tends to be a very non-linear thing. Successes seem to come in leaps and bounds (and I refer to the successes that actually matter, the painting itself and not commericial) and not a gradual, ever increasing climb to greater ability. One of the most disheartening things can be to produce something that shows substantial growth and then be totally unable to reproduce whatever it was that made one piece a success shortly thereafter. It's as if lightning strikes out of the clear blue sky but no rain falls to satiate the parched ground.

The wandering about that follows can be terribly frustrating. It's like the batter who knows he's entering a slump, flailing away at every pitch, analyzing his every motion, making sure he approaches the plate the same every time, spits only at right angles to the wind, or whatever odd association he fancies might break it that day. In my case, I tend to revert to old techniques that I may have abandoned or forgotten. I sometimes work through those and realize why I did abandon them. I may flail away at my usage of color or value or brush size and get overly analytical. And I feel that itself is the cause of the slump: the analysis. Just as the batter begins to scrutinze his swing or his stance and forgets how to feel the bat as it's weight tugs on the arms and shoulders and cracks the ball, the painter forgets to feel just how things should look, feel the reaction of the colors together. Art is not analysis, art is instinct.

And if I could bottle that instinctive response, I'd be a millionaire. We are our own worst enemies. Human beings are a thinking animal and we set standards we cannot live to and goals beyond sight. How can we not bear those things in our minds when we try to execute? And yet, somehow, sometimes, someone manages to transcend self and the snares that our awareness sets in our path and does something wonderful. What seperates a master from an accolyte? At times, even a master may fail and an accolyte may best a master. Is it, in fact, merely the way the master deals with failure? After all, a master will have failed many hundreds or thousands of times more than a mere student and knows the territory of failure as intimately as the territory of success.

I have quoted above a man I consider a master and some of his misgivings at his own failure. Below are some of his works. It makes me wonder at the boundless beauty and underlying mystery he saw that he could not express. Mighty it must have been!

The Watermill

Vladimirka Road

March

Paravoz

Overcup Creek, Cross County

2011-02-11T15:06:00.000-08:00

Overcup Creek

11X14, Oil on Birch Panel

Available

This little stream winding it's way through the Delta caught my eye and I had to pull over and get out for some picture taking. Definitely a much thicker application of paint than is usual for me here, especially in the sky.

Diamond Drive-In, Clarksville, Johnson County

2011-02-10T11:24:00.000-08:00

Diamond Drive-In

9X12, Oil on Oak Panel

SOLD

Clarksville is on I-40 and is at the intersection of the Ozarks and Arkansas River Valley. Just north of town, the hills rise up. I actually found this place by "driving" around in Google Maps! The actual photo reference though was taken first hand a few months ago. It is still in business but was closed the day we were there. This was difficult architecture to paint! There are quite a few interesting subjects in Clarksville that I hope I may get to paint one day and definitely some beautiful places in the Ozarks just to the north of town.

I'm trying to work on some larger pieces right now and I hope I can carry this rough yet painterly style over to those sizes. It has been an achilles heel of mine that my larger pieces do not have quite the same handling as my smaller pieces. I think they still look like "me" but just do not have what these small intimate pieces have. I'm also going to try to have 22 counties complete by the end of this month. Stay tuned and see how I do!

Jacksonport Courthouse, Jackson County

2011-02-05T11:48:00.000-08:00

Jacksonport Courthouse

8X8, Oil on Oak Panel

The weather last weekend here in central Arkansas was fantastic! We had highs on Saturday in the 70's! Sunday was pretty decent too so I took a trip up to the Delta in northeast Arkansas to paint and take pictures. I stopped first at Jacksonport State Park in Jackson County. The town of Jacksonport is at the confluence of the White and Black Rivers. Back in the day of steam boats, this was a bustling hub of commerce and the Jackson County courthouse here was a focal point of early pioneer life. When rail became the transport mode of choice, Jacksonport was supplanted by nearby Newport in terms of both commerce and legal power. The county seat was moved from Jacksonport to Newport and a new courthouse constructed. This once marvelous example of Mansord Architecture fell into disuse for many years before being bought in the 1960's by a conservation group and a lengthy restoration begun. I did two paintings here. This was my favorite because of the play of light across the highly pitched roofline. The other I guess I'll do some studio work and maybe post it later. It's a small 5X7.

After leaving Jacksonport, I explored Newport as the temperature began to drop. Then I headed east to Poinsett County and the anomolous landform of Crowley's Ridge where I did another small painting which I'll definitely finish out in the studio. After that, I rolled through Cross county and Woodruff County as clouds rolled in and I rushed to finish picture taking and get home.

I can already tell that painting in the Delta is going to be very different and possibly quite difficult for me. The sky is very dominant in the flat land of the Delta. Pure landscapes will be very much skyscapes. The easy way would be do a bunch of almost identical looking, non-descript fields with distant treelines or grain silos. But I'm never one to take the easy route.

Train Yard Nocturne, Perry County

2011-02-02T16:21:00.000-08:00

Perry Train Yard

8X10, Oil on Oak Panel

Not For Sale

I love a good nocturne and I think I may have finally done one that meets my expectations. This is a train yard in Perry, AR in Perry County. We often drive by here after visiting family and it's often at night or early evening.

Gurdon Station, Clarke County

2011-01-07T13:43:00.000-08:00

Gurdon Station

Oil on Prepared Oak Panel, 8X10

Available

The little town of Gurdon in Clarke County is home to the (in)famous Gurdon Light and the Concatenated Order of Hoo Hoo. I want to be the Snark of the Universe but I would settle for being the Arcanoper or the Jabberwock. Click the link if you want to know what I'm talking about. There is a monument erected by the Order of Hoo Hoo not far from the train station. I think they must be a very interesting bunch!

Cameron Bluff #2, Mt. Magazine, Logan County

2010-12-31T08:29:00.000-08:00

Cameron Bluff #2

11X14, Oil on Canvas

I hope everyone had a happy holiday season and the upcoming new year brings happiness and health! I've been on the East Coast so I have some new material to paint. Those will eventually be shown on my other blog.

This is a larger version of the plein air painting I did of Cameron Bluff on Mt. Magazine a few months ago. I was working to emphasize colors I liked in the original while adding more dimensionality. I see some possibilities for even larger compositions here but that will have to wait.

My New Year's resolution artwise will be to paint 2 paintings per week in the coming year. Any size counts and I will also take occasional vacation weeks. I also hope to try to have this project half done by the end of 2011. I think that is totally feasible but just difficult enough to make it a challenge.

Columbia County Courthouse, Magnolia, AR, Columbia County

2010-12-20T17:19:00.000-08:00

This post could be just as easily titled "How to Fail at Exploiting the Gray Areas." By gray areas, I'm meaning the places where the "rules" we learn as painters seem to intersect and oftentimes conflict. Basically, I took a very difficult composition and tried my best to work through it's pitfalls. In this case, I made a beautiful failure. The painting is nice enough in a way but it certainly isn't great. I expended a great deal of time on it but it was not wasted. I learned a lot. I learned that there is an order of precendence to some "rules." Some we can break without much fear. Others we try to work around to our folly. And some times, the ability to bend or break these "rules" is dependent on a things such as our lighting!

The painting in question puts the viewer at the intersection of Main Street and Vine Street in Magnolia, AR looking eastward at the Columbia County courthouse. This courthouse sits up on a small rise in a square. The traffic on Main St. divides into one way segments around the courthouse. The shapes of the courthouse are somewhat reminiscent of the the step pyramid mounds made by the Native Americans who lived in Arkansas. It was precisely this that I wanted to emphasize in this painting.

At the corner of Main and Vine, facing south is a large church with 2 buildings, both of which have large steeples. They are on the left as you face the courthouse and are very prominent. This presents quite a headache. How does one subordinate such structures relative to a building that appears much smaller only 2 blocks away? How does one control the eye around a steeple that is not a part of the focal object? Steeples are strong visual cues, commanding us to look skyward. My courthouse, although beautiful in its own right had no visual elements capable of competing with that strength without playing some major games. These questions formed major headaches. I probably should have just bailed on this fight but that's not my style so I took it headlong, doing no composition sketches or notans or anything else.

My strategy:

1. Remove one church building, at least this way I'm only fighting one steeple.
2. De-emphasize the church by slightly skewing it's perspective so it's more sidelong than my reference (thereby moving the viewer more into the street than the sidewalk from where my reference was shot.)
3. Further de-emphasize the church by decreasing its visual size slightly while at the same time increasing the courthouse in size.
4. Emphasize the courthouse even more by slightly increasing the size of the rise on which it sits, moving it higher up on the visual plane.
5. Provide a visual recirculation path from the steeple via clouds with multiple paths to both a copse of trees beyond the sidewalk on the left as well as back into the focal region itself.

I quickly realized that my cloud work just was not going to cut it for #5. I have some technical issues with clouds as the size of the paintings increase. It's mostly an equipment problem. I'm a huge admirer of the use of flats. I really like the look they can achieve when "stepping on" already applied layers of wet paint. I have a wide array of flats but they are all synthetic bristle which means that the large ones behave like a wet biscuit until you get a nice build up of hardened paint deep in the belly of the brush so it has some rigidity. Alas, none of my big flats have enough rigidity to make the types of marks I need to do large cloud work! (I think some good big hog bristle flats are in order for Christmas!) A sable bright might offer more give than a synthetic or hog bristly bright but I can't afford a 1" sable brush! So in light of this, I opted to go a different route. I changed the time of day to earlier with the sun just cresting beyond the edge of the canvas. This let me put a large bright region right over my focal point and gave me lot so flexibility with varying colors in the sky. I would instead use color and temperature variations, along with the stoplight horizontal to recirculate the eye from the steeple back into the painting.

Above is the finished product. I think my sky became far too desaturated for the relatively dark shadowed areas on the side. The courthouse is possibly far too prominent! Even being a focal point, it feels quite assertive. The hard edges are too focused. It actually did not need the help I tried to give it to bring it to prominence! With a more saturated sky, I could have taken out the stoplight. It's very interuptive here I feel and does not fulfill it's planned role at all. There's really interesting stuff going on in the sky but since the color is so desaturated, it's almost impossible to make out in a photograph and not a whole lot easier in person. In addition, the trees on the right hand side are too dark relative to everything else. I could have put a lot more light here. I realy like the church and it's steeple, I think I did a good job there. The red truck on the right was actually parked facing the wrong direction. I liked that and left it like I saw it. Some of the work on the cars is good too even if they are a bit distracting and bunched too closely across the middle of the plane. Maybe only three cars would have been better.

So there you go. The moral of the story is that I overthought this one, totally overplanned in the wrong ways. If I had done a couple of small quick notan studies I probably could have sidestepped the actual issues I had without introducing new ones by overthinking. We artists do tend to be our own worst critics but sometimes that's a good thing. I am, of course, disappointed in this one because I really hoped it would be something great. I felt very strongly in this location and had what I thought was a great concept and plan of attack. I doubt I will go back and adjust this piece but I may try it again cleanly. This time though, I'll do a small study or two beforehand! Beauty is in the eye of the beholder so if someone out there falls in love with this, it is available but I'm pretty sure I'll never enter it in any shows or try to display it anywhere.

I would also like to point out that this is not entirely a self critique. I did post this to WetCanvas to get the thoughts of other artists. Some pointed out items I had seen but I also got some additional things to think about as well which I have included in this post.

A Workshop

2010-12-18T14:55:00.000-08:00

I have a whole lot I need to blog about on both my blogs but at the moment, I am without a decent camera so I can't take any pictures until tomorrow night at the earliest. I am in the process of writing a rather lengthy self-critique of a piece I spent a great deal of time on but which didn't turn out like I had hoped. I don't think I'll make any corrections to it because I just feel totally spent on it. But I think there is value at least to myself by writing about it.

In the meantime I wanted to post about a workshop I plan on taking this coming spring. One of my favorite Arkansas artists, Bill Garrison, is doing a workshop in April. Below is the flyer. Perhaps someone out there is interested. I'm definitely looking forward to it.

Rattlesnake Ridge, Pulaski County

2010-12-13T10:19:00.000-08:00

Rattlesnake Ridge

8X10 Oil on Wood

Available

Here is the completed piece from this month's Arkansas League of Artist's paint out. This ridge is part of the Pinnacle Mountain complex. It is just west of Pinnacle Mountain State Park. This marvelous view is right behind the studio of artist Bob Snider! He also has a view of Pinnacle of which I got a couple of pictures in a great light. Those may find their way onto the easel soon enough.

I've done more work on this in the studio than I did in the field so I'm not sure it still qualifies as plein air! One very interesting thing about this one is that I made a shift in my yellows. Usually, yellow ochre is the coolest yellow I use and sometimes I wonder if it really isn't actually warmer than Cad yellow! But I usually use it as my cool yellow because it's lower in chroma. However, I used lemon yellow here as my primary yellow. My thinking here is that as the weather cools, the sun will be less intense and I can simulate that feel with a cooler yellow for my lights.

Little Red River, Cleburne County

2010-12-05T13:13:00.000-08:00

Little Red River

8X0, Oil on Wood

Available

Earlier this summer we took a trip to Heber Springs in Cleburne County. I got several good pictures during that trip including parts of a quiant downtown. The above scene shows Sugarloaf Mountain in the background and the Hwy 110 bridge. This is a very popular trout fishing river. There are actually two mountains around Heber named Sugarloaf. The one shown here is the shorter of the two. It has a dramatic, but small rock outcrop at the top. The other is now in the middle of Greers Ferry Lake.

ALA Plein Air Event

2010-12-04T17:18:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I received an email from the pastor of the First Baptist Church in Stephens, Arkansas, Mr. Stephen Suffron. If you will recall, a few months ago I posted a painting I did from Stephens. You can see it here. Mr. Suffron kindly asked if he could use that painting and this one on the banner for his church's new blog! I was honored and you can see my paintings on the Stephens FBC blog. Thank you Mr. Suffron and I hope to get back down your way early on next year!

Today was the monthly Arkansas League of Artists plein air paint out. This was my first time attending. I had planned on going last month but just got lazy that morning. If I'd had known how great this group was, I'd have gotten my butt out of bed better and gone. I missed a great location last month but this month was probably just as good! This month, the paint out was held on the property of Bob Snider, another local artist who paints in both oil and watercolor. Bob's place is incredible! Just to the west of Pinnacle Mountain State Park, his expansive new studio has a remarkable view of a rugged outcrop of rock called Rattlesnake Ridge. You can see Bob's work on his website here.

Rattlesnake Ridge

Pinnacle Mountain

Bob's Studio

Inside Bob's Studio

Bob's Work Space

Most all of the artists who showed up this morning were working in watercolor. Only myself and Bob worked in oil today. I believe we had 10 artists which seemed to be a pretty good turnout but since this was my first time with the group I'm not sure how many they normally get (and my mental tally could be off too!) I set up in the shadow of Bob's studio and started on the most obvious subject: Rattlesnake Ridge. I have a thing for rock outcrops and this one is imposing. I tried to convince myself to go with something different, something less obvious, but I was drawn to the rocks. I only brought 2 surfaces: an 8X10 wood panel and a 5X7 canvas that's been recycled at least once. I couldn't bring myself to settle on 5X7 for this! After a quick oil value sketch I set about working top down as usual for me. I set the peak of the ridge as my focal point and used the small copse of trees on the valley floor to the left as a counterbalance. As the sun slowly marched across the sky, I found myself chasing the shade of the studio to keep the glare off my panel. It turned out to be a great day and got something I think I can be proud of! After a few touch ups in the studio, I'll get pictures and post it! I also worked with headphones today which I think helped me relax and work at my own pace and more like I work in the studio.

My Piece from the Day with the Ridge

Caution: Watercolorists at Work!

Ruth Byrn's

Tom Herrin's

Our Gracious Host Bob at work

I regret that I cannot remember everyone's name I met today and that I did not get better pictures of everyone's work but I'll try to do better next month!

Oh! I have a new county completed! I just need a good picture of it and I'll get that posted!

Art of John D. Wooldridge Blog

2010-11-21T18:25:00.000-08:00

As promised, I've put up a second blog to showcase my work that is not related to Arkansas. Every so often, when I think a piece warrants it, I'll cross post some Arkansas work over at the new one. So without further ado, please visit my other blog here and I hope everyone who is following this blog will go ahead and add that one as well.

As of right now, I have about 5 or 6 pieces I think that I'm working on. I put in a big 8 hour day of work today and made significant progress on a new painting of the Heights area in Little Rock. I think I want to put most all of those to bed before getting started on anything new. I think I suffer from creative ADHD sometimes: I have way more ideas than I have time to execute paintings! It's a good prediciment I think.

Grinder's Ferry, Buffalo National River, Searcy County

2010-11-20T17:41:00.000-08:00

Lean to the Light

14X18, Oil on Canvas

Available

I almost can't believe I hadn't posted this one already. This is a place called Grinder's Ferry on the Buffalo National River. If you can't tell, the Buffalo is one of my favorite places in the state. Grinder's Ferry is just downstream from the Hwy 65 bridge. I did a small arts and crafts show this summer in Marshall, AR and had this one on display. A young boy who was maybe 12 came up, looked at it and announced that he knew exactly where this was and that he and his dad spent a great deal of time here. He even made note of changes I had made to it! Turns out, his family was descended from the Grinders for whom this place is named.

The logging industry used to be the king in Searcy County and Grinders Ferry was a place where logs were rolled into the river to transport downstream. I believe most of the time they were pulled out at the town now called Gilbert to be loaded onto the train.

The photo references for this piece came from February of this year. Early rains often swell the river and turn it a beautiful blue green color from suspended rock solids. I leaned the tops of some of the trees to the left, where the light was coming from, and that's the source of the name of this one.

Tomorrow I'll try to start up a second blog to show all my work that is not related to Arkansas.

Old Methodist Church, Harrison, Boone

2010-11-17T19:03:00.000-08:00

Old Methodist Church, Harrison AR

8X10 Oil on Board

Available

This old church is on Stephenson Avenue in the Boone County seat of Harrison, only a few blocks from the town square. When I was growing up, Harrison was the big city to me. We went to town every Saturday to shop and buy groceries for the entire week.

These days, this building is an apartment building and not one for folks making a ton of money. The ivy growing on it that looks so nice in a painting is most assuredly raising the roof, resulting in extensive damage to the interior of the structure. It's quite a shame.

This piece was one of the first of my experimentations with painting small, which I think has really advanced my work this past year greatly. It has given me the opportunity to do many more compositions than I would have otherwise.

I lied a little bit in my last post it turns out. I've started another landscape from Little Rock and have also been working some other Arkansas scenes. This is in addition to more still lifes and a couple of beach scenes from Laguna beach! November has been busy and productive. No promises on when I'll roll out new Arkansas material. I've been giving some thought as to starting a second blog for all of my non-Arkansas work. This would include still lifes, landscapes from elsewhere, my code paintings or anything else that just doesn't fit here. Anyone interested in seeing these?

Tyler Bend Field, Buffalo National River, Searcy County

2010-11-10T15:11:00.000-08:00

Tyler Bend Sunset

8X10, Oil on Wood

SOLD

I've been doing solely still lifes lately and no landscapes at all. Even though I posted a couple of these, I think I'll forego posting more of them since they really don't fit the intent of this blog. So, I'll use this down time to post older paintings that have not made it up here yet. The above painting is in the Tyler Bend camping area on the Buffalo National River. Tyler Bend is right off of the Highway 65 and is one of the more popular camping areas on the river. I tried to do a larger painting of this but failed miserably at it.

Once I get off my still life kick and mentally ready to tackle landscapes again, I plan on actually doing some paintings from our trip this summer to Laguna Beach. Hopefully I can space out my postings of older stuff to fill the gap until I hit Arkansas landscapes back full tilt!

Some Jalapenos

2010-11-04T20:34:00.000-07:00

As promised, here a couple of still lifes I've done recently. They were definitely very fun and a great change of pace from the landscapes. I'm beginning to feel rejunivated and my confidence is picking back up for another run at plein air painting this Saturday. The top one is about 4X4 and the bottom is about 12X14. The peppers in both paintings are the same! The greenish pepper in the top painting ripened very quickly overnight and was a nice bright red when I went to paint the 2nd painting the following evening.

Buckstaff Baths, Hot Springs, Garland County

2010-11-02T16:03:00.000-07:00

Buckstaff Baths

11X14, Oil on Canvas

Available

If there's one place in Arkansas that is commonly known about outside the state, it would have to be Hot Springs. There are lots of great locations in Spa City for paintings. The Ozark Bathhouse is actually one of my favorites but the best composition I had in a photo was of Buckstaff.

This one's been on my easel for a while. In the end I had to get some critiques from fellow artists over at ArtistDaily.com to help me figure out how to put the finishing touches on it.

Last night I did a small still life. A little over a year ago, I started doing some still lifes and I noticed a remarkable improvement in my landscapes shortly thereafter. I was pretty pleased with the results of the one I did last night. It sure was nice to feel like I had some idea of what I was doing again. It was definitely a fun little piece and fun has been missing in my landscapes lately. I'll show that still life tomorrow night.

I've decided I'll definitely do the plein air event in Little Rock this weekend but I dont plan on doing any complete compositions. Instead, I'll concentrate on studies, possibly in grisaille only.

ColorFest Aftermath

2010-10-27T16:56:00.000-07:00

Boxley Church

Well, the Ponca ColorFest is over for another year! It was certainly bigger this year than I remember last year being. The colors were not quite as vibrant as last year due to the drought this summer but they were so much better in the Ozarks than here in central Arkansas!

Above is the old historic church and community center in Boxley Valley. The left hand side of the building is obviously being refurbished, making what is usually one of the signature photo ops in the area less picturesque than usual.

We didn't get any pictures of the elk herd this year. I guess a full moon kept them out feeding throughout the nights and we just weren't up early enough to catch them in the fields in the valley.

Elk Education Center Grounds

I was pretty much skunked on Friday and got very frustrated at my painting efforts. I'm so much more comfortable in my studio where I can take my time. It just seems when I'm outside and possibly more precisely when there are people around, that I cannot focus and lose my ability to "see" the painting in the subject. I do have a hard time believing it's the potential audience though as I've painted from photo in front of people on numerous occasions. While it IS more difficult, it isn't as terribly frustrating as painting en plein air! It's like my brain shuts off and nothing works right. I've been told by several artists that plein air work will advance my skills in the studio and I'm sure that it could except for the fact that plein air painting makes me feel ham handed. Arkansas League of Artists has started their plein air group back up. I need to decide if I'm going to pursue painting with them.

Despite my frustration with my own personal painting, I had a very good time watching Bill Garrison paint. Bill and his wife Gloria both did some fantastic work during the event. Below is Bill in the early stages of a painting of a bucket of flowers. Below that is the same piece approaching some latter stages along with his subject. Behind that on the table are two fabulous pieces he did the day before. One is of the creek behind the Elk Education Center and the other is the Buffalo River near the Ponca low water bridge. I wish I had gotten closer pictures of both of those.

Bill Garrison working on some flowers

Getting there!

Winston Taylor with a raku piece he had just fired

Yours truly making a mess again

Red Rock Point and ColorFest 2010

2010-10-21T15:10:00.000-07:00

Red Rock Point, Eastern Face

8X10, Oil on Board

SOLD

Here's another view from Newton County. Red Rock Point is near Mt. Judea and is one of my favorite locations in the state. This imposing piece of rock is said to be one of the finest pieces of sandstone for climbing between Appalachia and the Rockies.

I'm posting yet another view from Newton County because that's where I'll be tomorrow for ColorFest. I'll be on the other side of the county from Red Rock Point in Ponca however. The event is at the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Elk Education Center from 10AM to 4:30PM, October 22 and 23. Come on out and visit if you have time and are in the vicinity! As Chris suggested a couple of months ago, I'll be checking out the town of Nail on the way!

http://www.agfc.com/Pages/eventDetails.aspx?show=329

Cameron Bluff, North Rim Mt. Magazine, Logan County

2010-10-11T19:41:00.000-07:00

Cameron Bluff, Mt. Magazine

5X7 Oil on Wood

Yesterday, we took a drive west to Logan County. There were a few stops I had planned on making. The view above was the last of the day. Prior to this we visited Subiaco Academy and Abbey, the town of Paris Arkansas, and Short Mountain north of the Paris.

Mt. Magazine is the tallest peak in the state with a maximum elevation of 3753ft ASL. It technically sits in the Arkansas River Valley. Geologically speaking, I'm not sure if Magazine fits more with the Ouachita Mountains or the Ozarks. It is certainly closer to the Ouachitas physically but to me "feels" more like the Ozarks with more prototypical horizontal rock strata like that in the Ozarks. Mt. Magazine is part of a complex of mountains that includes Petit Jean and Mt. Nebo, both further to the east. There are quite a number of species of fauna which are found on Mt. Magazine and nowhere else in the world. Most of these are small, like insects.

Recently, Stapleton Kearns did a study in near complements, or split complentary color schemes. I thought I might give this a try upon his encouragement to follow along at home. So, I uncorked it on Mt. Magazine with shadowed rock faces and the very start of changing leaves. It was getting later in the afternoon and the eastern facing rocks were shadowed with raking light spilling over onto the trees below. There was a blush of subtle orange here and there.

Cameron Bluff, Mt. Magazine

I sat up in the shade of a cedar tree, looking through a nice framing hole in the canopy. Now, I will be totally up front about this, I cheated a fair bit on my color scheme. I used Cobalt violet, Sap green, and 2 oranges, one a nice russet made with vermillion and yellow ochre, the other a brilliant orange with vermillion and cad yellow. I did not use a "yellow green" so that was cheat number 1. Cheat number 2 was allowing myself to brighten the scene considerably with a higher value yellow.

AGFC ColorFest 2010

2010-10-07T18:15:00.000-07:00

I will be at the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission ColorFest on October 22 and 23 at the Elk Education Center in Ponca, AR. I was thrilled to learn that one of my favorite Arkansas based artists, Mr. Bill Garrison will be there also this year! Hopefully, I'll be able to take some time out of my painting to watch him and learn from that experience. Winston Taylor will be raku firing pottery on location. That's always fascinating to see. If you happen to be free, please come by and visit!

I have some new work I'm working on that I hope to show soon but as always, I will make sure it meets my expectations at least, and I am my own worst critic a good deal of the time.

Village at Hendrix Preview Show

2010-09-26T09:26:00.000-07:00

Here are my three paintings at the Village at Hendrix Designer House Preview show. No they aren't landscapes or Arkansas related but I felt like posting this anyway since it is pertinant to art in this region.

This is a live/work home. It would be distinguished from a residence over a business that you might see in older cities by the fact that it is a single family home and not a row. This development is based upon the New Urban aesthetic of Seaside, Florida. I have been told but have not confirmed that some of the same architects who designed Seaside were involved in The Village as well. At this point in time, the lower commercial space is housing an impromptu gallery that is stocked by Pictures Et Cetera in Conway. I would link to their website but I don't think they have one. One of their artists is the incredibly talented Bill Garrison. He's one of my absolute favorite Arkansas artists and I hope he does another workshop around here pretty soon.

I had the chance to explain these pieces, which have messages encoded on them in ASCII binary, to the mayor of Conway among many others. I feel honored that of all of the rooms in the home decorated by various designers around the region, only one designer chose to hang obviously original art and that was mine.

Village at Hendrix Preview Tours

2010-09-22T18:05:00.000-07:00

I've been a bit quiet here lately but that because I've been hard at work on 3 paintings for the Village at Hendrix Designer House. Those are 3 of my more esoteric type pieces with coded messages. I guess I would tend to call them abstract but that's a bit of a stretch. Objective Abstraction perhaps?? Anyway, that show starts tomorrow night with a $50 per person dinner and cocktail party at the Designer House at 1105 Reynolds Avenue in Conway, AR.

I have 2 other events coming up in October as well. The first is the Flying Jam at the Searcy County Airport in Marshall, AR on October 2nd. The other is called ColorFest at the Ponca Elk Education Center in Ponca, AR in Newton County. That is the weekend of October 23 and 24. That's usually prime fall color time in the Ozarks. Autumn in the Ozarks may not be quite the radiance of New England but the region certainly can hold its own and there's a definite magic to it. I would highly recommend a visit if you can. It's certainly a plus that you can see a herd of elk in rut during that same time in the same valley! As that time draws near, I'll post more about that.

I hope to be able to get in some painting at both of these events as well as get back at the landscape painting.

Junction 57, Stephens, Ouachita County

2010-09-08T17:09:00.000-07:00

Jct 57, Stephens

8X10, Oil on Wood

Available

It's been a while since I've posted new material. Here's one from our 4 county trip in southern Arkansas a few months ago. We skirted up the western edge of Ouachita County. Stephens was the first town we encountered. What a photogenic little place this was! I have plenty of material from this town. After Stephens, we went up 57 and made our way to Poison Spring Battlefield. I had been there once many years before but didn't remember very much about it. I was a bit disappointed in that there were no cannon placements or any such items that would have made nice painting material. We also spun over to White Oak Lake and after getting gas in Chidester we headed up to Gurdon for our last stop of the day.

We've talked some about going back to Magnolia for a weekend this fall or winter over a weekend. If so, we'll take in El Dorado, Camden and more of Ouachita County, as well as a county or two to the west.

Bare Bones, Village at Hendrix Show

2010-08-27T19:23:00.000-07:00

Ozark Stonehenge #2

Oil on Canvas, 12X16

Well, it's way past due for another post here. The above painting is one of 2 pieces selected for the Diamond National Show at the Hot Springs Fine Arts Center. This is roughly based on an actual location in Newton County between Vendor and Highway 7. I've painted it before and I expect I'll paint it again. I'm fascinated by the rocks poking their heads out of the earth poised precariously at the edge of the hill. In other areas near here, many similar rocks have been uncovered by the processes of rain and have tumbled into piles. That would also make a few fine paintings! The Art Center called today and asked if my 2 pieces could stay for another month. They've gotten a lot of interest so I'll probably be going down there next Friday for the Hot Springs Art Walk and hopefully meet a few people who like my work.

Last night I was in Conway at the Village at Hendrix for a show with the Conway League of Artists. Hendrix is a prestigious private liberal arts college. Hendrix was one of my first choices of colleges way back when. I got accepted and was planning to major in Physics but their scholarship offer was eclipsed by the good old University or Arkansas. It's hard to beat a full ride for 4 years and Engineering was a much more in demand degree. Interesting to note, Hendrix also has the ONLY fully sanctioned lacrosse program in the state. Lacrosse is one of my favorite sports along with hockey.

But I digress. Hendrix Village is a mixed use development that is being developed by the college (more info on that here). One of the first residential units is being finished out and the developers wanted to show it off. They invited the Conway League of Artists to bring some work out with a focus on contemporary pieces so that local interior designers could see the space and maybe get a look at some of the artistic talent as well. A team of designers will be decorating the home for a month long show beginning at the end of September. One of my pieces caught the eye of one of the designers and she asked if I would be willing to do more work like that for her space! I, of course, said yes. It's a fantastic opportunity and I hope it pans out. My fingers are crossed!

Below are some pictures from the event.

Yes, that is mine. I do more than landscapes!

Outside of the building

Beautiful home inside!

Deer, Newton County

2010-08-15T08:32:00.001-07:00

Deer, Arkansas

8X10, Oil on Board
Available

Deer is a town way up in the in the Ozark highlands in Newton County. At over 2200 feet above sea level, it may be the town at the highest altitude in the state. Despite having been in much of Newton County, I had never been to Deer before last fall when I made a point to pass through when attending an event called ColorFest at the Arkansas Game and Fish Elk Education Center in Ponca. The sky was full of leaden clouds and a mist hung over the hills, not at all unusual for a fall day in the Ozarks. I took a few pictures and whipped this out a week or two later. I'm looking forward to getting back up that way this fall for ColorFest again.

I'm going to start posting the prices of my pieces just in case someone sees something of interest. At this time, I will not be accepting Paypal because I'm a bit of a Luddite in some regards and the world is unfortunately full of nastiness. I will gladly accept check, money order and of course cash. Prices are shipped anywhere in the continental US.

Still Pumping, Highway 371 North of Magnolia, Columbia County

2010-08-09T15:30:00.000-07:00

Still Pumping

8X10, Oil on Wood
Available

Oil was discovered in Arkansas in sizable quantities in January of 1921. The first discoveries were in Ouachita County just to the east of Columbia County. Oil fields in Arkansas are almost entirely in the southern part of the state which were largely swampy millions of years ago when the Gulf of Mexico extended much further to the north than it does today. The region boomed during the 1920's as over 3000 wells pumped at full capacity and exhausted much of the supply before the end of the decade. Some oil is still being produced though as evidenced by this modern pumping station still in use. This location is on Highway 371 and is a few miles north of Magnolia.

It was not intentional but my color scheme turns out to be a nice homage to a beautiful mural in Magnolia telling some of the story of the oil boom as it related specifically to Magnolia and Columbia County. Magnolia has some fantastic murals!

Speaking of which, that painting is still in works. I'm terribly anxious to finish it but I just can't rush it. I think it would do terrible injustice to a city I found to be a gem. So, you'll have to keep waiting as I try to make it perfect...a tall order made tougher by the fact I don't like I'm doing particularly fine work at the moment. I can't put my finger on precisely what I think the problem is but they just aren't living up to my expectations.

The Bluff at Pruitt, Buffalo National River, Newton County

2010-08-03T18:39:00.001-07:00

The Bluff at Pruitt

24X30, Oil on Canvas
Available, $530 Unframed

The Arkansas heat machine has cranked up to full strength. Little Rock set a record for this date today with a temperature of 107°F (almost 42°C)! Yesterday the heat index was 120°F(49°C). No relief in sight right now. Needless to say, I don't think I'll be doing much plein air painting in the coming weeks. I did go out on a hike at Petit Jean State Park the weekend before last with my oldest son and did some painting along the way. It's in the studio for touchups right now.

The above painting was begun in February or March. I finally decided it was done late in June. It was tough one. I spent a lot of time staring at it waiting for it to tell me how to proceed. There were times in it's upbringing when I thought I'd never get it to resolve. But finally, it told me what it wanted and I complied. I remember it still being pretty chilly and dreary when I started it and I was anxious for some sun shine. Now I'm anxious for the chill of fall and some Razorback football.

Pruitt is right off of Highway 7 between Jasper and Harrison in Newton County. I've spent a good deal of time here. This is the little swimming access upstream of the Highway 7 bridge. Those who are very familiar with this area may realize I've taken some liberties here with this scene. The gravel bar is in considerable shade in reality but I wanted to get some sunshine in to work on trying to depict some hot sky with a flood of sunshine. Getting ready for summer and all that...

The Magnolia painting for Columbia County hit a snag last week. It's pretty decent size for me at 18X24 so it's no surprise it's taking a bit of time to bring to resolution. The bones of the painting were sound and most of my initial planning was good as well. Some of my execution was lacking. I've gone back and laid in a whole new sky and increased the overall warmth of the piece. I also turned the clock back from a midday time frame when the actual reference photo was taken to a late morning exposure to bring more interesting shadows into play. I think it's finally rounding a corner and may be ready fairly soon.

In the meantime, I plan on a drive eastward into the delta early one morning this coming weekend before the sun blisters the landscape. After that one, I think I'll work off a substantial backlog of reference photos until the weather begins to cool some.

Till then, stay cool folks...

The Nars, Buffalo National River, Searcy County

2010-07-27T19:26:00.000-07:00

The Nars

11X14, Oil on Canvas

Not For Sale

The Nars, or the Narrows for those of you who don't speak the English dialect peculiar to the Ozark mountains, is the last vestige of a once mighty mountain of limestone high in the Boston Plateau. Below and to the left is the Buffalo National River. As you stand at this location, I guess the river is about 100 feet below you. To the right and about the same distance down would be the Richland valley. Millions of years ago, Richland Creek scoured the mountain away and then slowly moved across the valley to it's current location at least a 1/4 mile away. As Richland Creek meandered away, the Buffalo moved in and took out the other side of the mountain, leaving this narrow strip of rock. The brave adventurous type can cross this strip and climb up the throne on the other side. At it's narrowest, the rock ledge is only a couple of feet wide and while the distance to the ground is not terrifying, a slip would certainly result in a broken leg or worse. The ride down that way would be extremely bumpy to say the least. This is a pretty isolated place and to fall here alone without a GPS transmitter would probably be disastrous, especially if you fell onto the Richland Valley side. I certainly wasn't brave enough to cross!

I have only been to the Nars twice in my life and when we went here to get reference pictures a few weeks ago, I was actually pretty concerned about being able to find it again. The first time I went was about 20 years ago and I was working for the Youth Conservation Corp building and maintaining trails in the national park. A county road runs right past it but that road is all but abandoned. The Nars is marked on some maps but there are no signs pointing you to it and if you have never been there, you could very easily walk right past the trail taking you up to it.

Downstream on the Buffalo side is a place now colloquially called Skull Bluff. It used to be called the Bat House by locals. This was the very first place I ever went camping with my dad, uncle and grandfather. We slept open air with the milky way stretched out across the sky above us. I think I was only about 4 or 5 but still have very vivid memories of that gravel bar.

The Nars is a very special location to me. Not because I've spent a lot of time here or any reason that most people might consider a place special. It's special because it was obviously very special to my family. Visiting my grandparents in Pindall as a child, I would hear them talk about The Nars all the time. It was a landmark for locating places and people in time. "Remember when old so and so went up the Nars?" "About a mile past the Nars is such and such." My dad and most of his siblings were born very close to here and it figured prominently in the landscape to them both literally and figuratively. And it took on mythical proportions in the mind of a child, much like Tir na Nog, a place of wonder and mystery.

Prescott Hardware, Nevada County

2010-07-25T17:55:00.001-07:00

Prescott Hardware

8X10, Oil on Wood
Available

Sometimes I drive through small towns and just have to ask myself what could have happened here?? Prescott was one of those. You can tell that maybe only a decade or so ago, this was a thriving small town with a beautiful little downtown area. Prescott is the county seat of Nevada County in southwest Arkansas. I don't recall seeing a Wal-Mart there so I don't think that can be blamed for the current state of affairs. It's probably just another case of rural communities drying up because the young folks can't find work and are forced to move to larger cities.

Our rual communities are in stress and there isn't a whole lot that can be done about it. At least some communities try and it looks like Prescott is doing what little it can to bring commerce back to the downtown.

If I were not so connected with the Ozarks of northern Arkansas and had enough regional and/or national collectors to support a fully professional artist life, I might consider this town. As you can see, real estate is dirt cheap. Two store fronts and the land for only $9000! Now, I wouldn't expect to get much(any) traffic to a studio in such a downtown but that's not the point if you have a stable of collectors is it? If you're in that boat, then geograpic location is pretty much a nonfactor. So...if you just happen to be a solid selling artist in need of a very low cost of living location with a lot of landscape to paint, maybe this is the place for you?

Back to the Studio and a Very Pleasant Surprise!

2010-07-22T13:15:00.000-07:00

Well folks, I'm back from the Los Angeles area and ready to hit the studio again! The trip was great by and large. I got see lots of great art and visited with several artists including one of my absolute favorite artists!

Last week I visited the studio/gallery of Mr. Manfred Kuhnert in Laguna Beach. Earlier this year we purchased one of his pieces. This was the first piece of original art we had ever bought since our walls are usually full to the brim with my own work. However, we were enchanted by his use of color in design so we couldn't pass it up. I had been hoping to get a chance to accompany him on trip to paint out but he is advancing in years and I learned he seldom paints plein air anymore.

On Monday I was treated to a visit of the studio of the EXTREMELY talented and very gracious Mr. William Wray! I've been following him for I guess close to 4 years now. It may not always look like it but I've been influenced a GREAT deal by his work both stylistically and thematically. In particular, I like to think I've learned a great deal about design of sky passages in paintings by studying his work as well as the application of implied detail in "mystery" passages. It was certainly a treat to get to examine many of my favorites in person! I am also very pleased to say that we made our largest art investment ever and I can't wait till it makes it's way to it's new home here in Little Rock! Mr. Wray, if you ever stumble onto this blog, I'd like to thank you for your time and talking with me about your art and your experiences in the art world and most definitely for putting up with a 4 year old in your studio! The Donald Duck has accompanied him almost everywhere since we left your place!

I took plenty of good pictures for future painting fodder both in Laguna and in Pasadena. But first I'd like to complete the two paintings I started before we left. The Magnolia painting is progressing nicely but I still feel like there something missing, like the extra punch is lacking. I may need to take some time to figure out what it's begging for. The small 8X10 of Prescott is in a similar situation. Just a little bit of the right medicine and I think it's going to be grand.

Victoria Beach, Laguna

Pasadena City Hall from Colorado

I had a very pleasant surprise on the voicemail when I got home: I have two pieces that were selected for the Diamond National Show in Hot Springs in August! This is my first national show acceptance and to say I'm excited is putting it mildly. I dont' know how many pieces were accepted total but knowing the space at the Hot Springs Fine Arts Center, it was probably only around 60 or less. To get 2 out of 3 pieces in the show to me is huge. I submitted for this show 2 years ago and was rejected and rightly so, my work was not on par. In some ways, that rejection spurred my desire to improve my skills so in the long haul it was a good thing. One of the pieces accepted is below. It isn't Arkansas related but I'm posting it anyway.

I-110 Southbound, Los Angeles
14X18, Oil on Canvas

In California

2010-07-17T14:45:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to post a very quick update here. I'm currently in Laguna Beach, California. Seeing lots of great art and visiting lots of great galleries. Went to both the Art A Fair and Sawdust festivals yesterday. I wish we could put on some festivals similar to these back home. Haven't put brush to board any yet but have done some sketching.

I have 2 pieces on the easel back at home from the southern Arkansas trip: Prescott and Magnolia. Looking forward to getting back home and finishing up on these!

Woolum - Before it Rose, Buffalo National River, Searcy County

2010-07-11T07:59:00.000-07:00

Woolum - Before it Rose

11X14, Oil on Wood
Available at Cantrell Gallery

About a month ago, we went camping at Woolum on the Buffalo River. We got there in the early evening of June 10 which was a Thursday. It was a beautiful evening with the lightning bugs rivaling the stars. I still have it in mind to possibly do a nocturne of the field there at Woolum with the lightning bugs. After the campfire died back, we retired to the tents with a few clouds beginning to build. Later in the night, we were awakened by a downpour that lasted all through the deepest hours of the night. The sky the following morning was clotted with clouds with bright but diffuse lighting. It's what artists usually call flat light because there are few shadows. The temperature was cool and the river was running clear. If it had risen any due to the rains, I couldn't tell. The above painting comes from early that morning. This is the end of a long hole of clear water. During the summer months, the sun rises across this hill and gives some spectacular colors. I got some pictures of that the following morning and may revisit this site again.

After breakfast, we took advantage of the cool temperatures and cloudy skies to ford the river and take off into the Richland Valley to visit one of my favorite spots in the national park, which I'll show later.

The sky cleared in the afternoon and temps went up quickly. Our oldest came back to the campsite and reported that the river was muddy and much higher. Almost immediately after he told us this, a truck from a campsite down the way drove by and stopped to tell us the river had risen dramatically and we should take precautions. They were leaving, we stayed. We walked down to the river and sure enough it was several feet higher. Thankfully, the camping sites at Woolum are a fair bit higher than the river. It had taken probably 10 hours but all the water that had fallen across the mountains had finally gathered itself into the Buffalo. It was a very good thing we left for our hike as early as we did or we would have found ourselves stranded across the river.

When we got home the next day we had a frantic message on our answering machine from my wife's mother. It was then that we learned about the tragedy that happened in the very early hours of Friday, June 11 at the Albert Pike Campground on the Little Missouri River in the Ouachitas. The storm that had awakened us in the middle of the night had passed though the Ouachitas much earlier in the day and stalled out in the mountains. The Little Missouri had risen with fury about 2AM when campers were asleep in their tents. At least 16 were killed. Our thoughts and prayers are still with these families who lost precious loved ones.

Roundtop Filling Station, Sherwood, Pulaski County

2010-07-07T17:25:00.001-07:00

Roundtop Filling Station

11X14, Oil on Canvas
Available

This is an old gas station in Sherwood. This old place, constructed in 1936, was put on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008 but it's in a sad sad state. When we went by there, it looked like it had been used by some homeless folks. The front door is about to fall off the hinges and it's full of broken bottles. If it were in a more prominent location, I doubt it would be in the state of disrepair it's now in but the stretch of road it sits on was long ago routed around by Highway 67. You can learn more about it here.

We didn't make it up to Marion County this weekend like we had tentatively planned. We did, however, head down to south Arkansas! It was new territory for the wife and kids. I had been down there before but it was 20 some odd years ago so that barely counts. We got reference picures from 4 counties: Nevada, Clarke, Columbia, and Ouachita. It was a loooong day and I'm not too sure the pictures from later in the day will be very useful since we were all pretty tired and ready to get home. But I definitely got some good material to make hay from in two of those and I'm excited to get to work on it. Not much time for plein air work though while we were out.

Next week, we're heading out to southern California! I'm hoping to meet with a couple of my favorite artists and (dare I dream??) paint with one of them in Laguna Beach!

Long Pool, Big Piney Creek, Pope County

2010-07-02T15:46:00.000-07:00

Long Pool, South End

8X10, Oil on Wood
Available

If there's one thing upon which I usually pride myself, it's my sense of direction. Call it male ego if you will but I'm normally possessed of a Magellen-like navigational capability. I must confess, however, that I have been a bit turned around by some of the roads in Maryland. But then again, who wouldn't when a northbound road begins to meander back in the opposite direction taking you in some totally unforeseen direction! Maryland has plenty of those, Baltimore especially so. My usually uncanny ability to keep track of my bearing relative where I started out is usually supplemented by good preparation (i.e. maps!! even if they are mental.) So I was a bit taken aback last Sunday when we found ourselves passing through Pelsor on Highway 7 on the way to Long Pool. I had well before then started to speculate I had missed the left hand turn. Now, I've driven Highway 7 between Russellville and Harrison about a thousand times (not literally that many but it sure seems like it). I was absolutely certain I remembered there being a nice big sign pointing the errant traveler to Long Pool. It is after all a pretty popular spot in the Ozark National Forest. Alas, my memory was dead wrong and thus it was that we found ourselves turning around in Newton County and heading back south. A quick stop at the Rotary Ann overlook provided the direction I needed in the form of a map in the pavilion.

Rotary Ann Overlook

The mistake did give me the opportunity to stop and get some reference photos at the now thankfully defunct Booger Hollow. Booger Hollow...how shall I put it? The name probably tells the tale for most people even remotely familiar with the stigma attached to the Ozarks. It's nothing but a wide spot in the road where some bozo sets up a shop with a strong hillbilly theme complete with misspelled words and, in this case, a two story outhouse. It's typical clientele was the "furriner jes passin' thru." It's exploitation of a dated and derogatory stereotype that can still sadly be seen all over Arkansas. So...here in the very near future, I intend to exploit the joyous failure of some sap's failed business model. Good riddance Booger Hollow!

On down Highway 7, we found the turn off for Long Pool. I had never been out there before and boy was I impressed with this beautiful area I had woefully missed out on during the time I lived in Russellville! Plenty of material for some fabulous paintings here!

This is my first new county since starting this endeavour! Time to celebrate...with some more time in the studio.

Completion Map

2010-06-30T17:01:00.001-07:00

Here's the completion map! Lots of white space to fill in still. I'll keep it up to date over on the sidebar.

More from Hasty

2010-06-30T10:02:00.000-07:00

Well, I've uploaded pieces from all 8 counties I've completed as of the outset of this project. I almost have a new county complete and I'll upload that one soon. I also have a couple of trips to report on but on the meantime, here's the sister piece to this one.

Hasty - Downstream

8X10, Oil on Wood
Available

This is Newton County on the Buffalo National River. The new bridge is visible in the distance from this location. The old low water slab is still there I believe.

I'm working on a county map to show you where I've been and all the many places I still need to go!

Basin Park from Main Street, Eureka Springs, Carroll County

2010-06-28T16:14:00.001-07:00

Basin Park from Main

11X14, Oil on Canvas

Here's another older piece. Eureka Springs is a fantastic little town in the northwest corner of the state. It has quite a few galleries, many of which exhibit very high quality local, regional, and national art. The Basin Park Hotel is a landmark to say the least. We've stayed there a few times and have been on the ghost tour (no ghosts chose to make themselves known to us though). This year we opted to stay outside of the downtown area at another hotel.

I love this composition but my paint handling has improved markedly since this one. By the time this whole project is over I imagine I'll have done a couple more pieces from Carroll County and Eureka Springs in particular.

Cedar Creek, Petit Jean Mountain, Conway County

2010-06-27T12:24:00.000-07:00

Spring Flush, Cedar Creek

10X14, Oil on Canvas
Available at Cantrell Gallery

Earlier this year (April I think it was) we took a trip over to Petit Jean and hiked the Cedar Falls trail. It's a pretty strenuous hike and we were afraid the youngest would have some trouble with it. But other than a few scratches from jumping off of boulders and logs, he made it the whole way down and back! Not bad for a little rug rat. The falls were amazing that day and I'll be doing a painting of them later!

I loved the way the cliffs over hung the creek and went with this odd size of canvas to have more vertical feel. Up on the hillsides, the tree buds were beginning to burst open but down along the creek bank the foliage was lagging behind.

Diamond Rio Motel, Diamond City, Boone County

2010-06-24T15:16:00.001-07:00

Diamond Rio Motel

8X10 Oil on Board

SOLD

Diamond City, Arkansas sits on beautiful Bull Shoals Lake in the north central portion of the state. It is at the extreme northern end of scenic Highway 7. In fact, Highway 7 pretty much runs right into the lake. It is mostly a retirement community and many of the residents moved there from out of state. I grew up not very far from here and have many memories of evenings swimming at the lake. It was especially nice after a day of hauling hay.

The Diamond Rio Motel was a prominent location in town but it is no more. All that remains is this sign and an old flower bed. I don't when the motel was actually torn down.

I decided to make the lake visible in this painting even though in real life it cannot be seen from this location, at least not in the summer. It's conveyed as a tiny little swatch of yellow just above the treeline on the right hand side of the painting. Missouri is on the opposite shore.

We went back up that way last year for the 4th of July and this is when I captured the reference photos for this piece. I don't know if we'll make it back up there this year but I hope so. I especially want to hit Marion County, which borders Boone to the east.

On tap for tomorrow... a trip down I-40 to Pope County!

Tyler Bend, Buffalo National River, Searcy County

2010-06-23T14:58:00.000-07:00

Tyler Bend Bluff

8X10, Oil on Wood
SOLD

We made a short little day trip up to the river in late February. The sky was clear and bright and the air was pretty warm for February. The boys had a lot of fun throwing rocks into the river here. As the sun began to sink a little bit, it illuminated this bluff in a warm orange glow.

Deserted, Scotland Post Office, Van Buren County

2010-06-22T18:43:00.001-07:00

Deserted

14X18, Oil on Canvas
Available

The little town of Scotland, Arkansas is almost dead. The school was consolidated several years ago into Clinton school district which is about 30 miles away. When I was in high school, I played a game of basketball in their gym. It was old as the hills even back then. The school was burned by arsons this past winter. Thankfully, we got pictures of it 2 summers ago and I may revisit this area with a painting of the school. It wasn't picturesque by many people's standards but then again, I can find charm in a lot of things.

This old post office has probably not been used in about 50 years and I don't recall seeing one of the new prefab post offices being put up in tiny rural towns these days.

In the midst of all this decay, there was a nicely refurbished old (though tiny) home right across the dirt road that was being used as a hair salon.

Rialto Theater, Searcy, White County

2010-06-22T18:35:00.000-07:00

Rialto Theater, Searcy, AR

11X14 Oil on Canvas
Available

This is an older piece from 2008 and I've come a long way in my technical skill since this was done but it's still a pretty cool little piece. The car in the front is a Mitsubishi Eclipse and is modeled on one of our cars! I added it after the fact because I felt the piece needed another element in that lower right corner to recycle the eye back up into the theater.

Searcy is a neat little town. Home to Yarnell's Ice Cream, which in my opinion is some of the best ice cream you'll ever find!

Hasty Upstream, Buffalo National River, Newton County

2010-06-21T15:06:00.000-07:00

Hasty - Upstream

8X10 Oil on Wood

SOLD

Hasty used to have only a small little low-water slab that canoes would have to portage over. Now there's a big modern bridge there. This view is looking upstream from the south side of the river access. Both the low water slab and the modern bridge are behind the viewer here. Hasty gets passed over a lot as a recreation area. When we were there last summer for a swim we had the whole place to ourselves. It was a nice bright summer day but here I've chosen to depict a calmer lighting, perhaps early morning.

This painting has a sister, looking downstream towards the bridges, and painted in a more faithful lighting regime to what we experienced. I'll show it later.

Shipley Do-Nuts, North Little Rock, Pulaski County

2010-06-21T14:55:00.000-07:00

Shipley Do-Nuts

11X14 Oil on Canvas

SOLD

I don't know how long this business has been here but I think it's quite a long time! It's in the process of getting a facelift and is under new management. Shipley Do-Nuts is a local chain with all it's locations in the state. All of the locations I've seen are unique architecture-wise and this is one is a standout.

Introduction

2010-06-20T11:36:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Painting Arkansas project. The purpose of this blog is to document the efforts of one artist to paint every county of the beautiful state of Arkansas ! My name is John D. Wooldridge and over the course of the next couple of years I intend to visit every county in my home state and paint interesting subjects in each one. A daunting task to say the least since Arkansas has 75 counties, the 18th most in the country! I’m sure glad I don’t live in Texas with a whopping 254!

I’m a native Arkansan with some pretty deep roots in the Ozarks in the northern part of the state and I have a natural affinity for that area. I’m going to do my best not to let that stifle my travel into the Delta and Timberlands regions in the southern part of the state but you’ll have to excuse me a bit if I do produce a slightly higher percentage of pieces from up in the hills. To learn more about me, please read my bio.

Why would a person choose to do such a thing? Well, I have a number of reasons. A few months ago, a fellow artist remarked to me at the Argenta Art Walk that almost everything I was showing was of Newton County . She was right. So, one motivation is definitely to give myself impetus for venturing a little wider than usual for subject matter. Of course, I love my home state. So much so that I’ve moved my family away from here and come back…twice. You can take a boy out of the Ozarks but…well, you know the rest. I know from personal experience that Arkansas suffers from some publicity lapses outside of our borders. We are known more by past mistakes than by our natural assets or our current trajectory. Not many people know much about Arkansas and if I can remedy that in some small fashion, then I would be terribly happy to do so.

So, let us set some ground rules for me to live by in this venture shall we? First, to consider a county “done”, I must have completed at least one finished piece of a location within the county that I would be proud to display. If I’m not happy with it, then the county is not done. Ask my wife, I have very high standards and they get higher all the time. Secondly, the piece may be completed either en plein air or in the studio from photographic reference. Thirdly, no pieces will be done from a location that I have not personally visited. This also implies that, fourthly, all photographic reference will be my own. Lastly, and this one is open to artist interpretation, I will strive to seek out some of the most distinctive and interesting locations possible.

I’m pleased to report that I have a decent start to this project! I’ve already painted the following counties:

Pulaski
White
Newton
Searcy
Boone
Carroll
Conway
Van Buren

That’s 8 out of 75 for 10.67%.