Across the Distance

Across the Distance

9X12, Oil on Panel

SOLD

This is another plein air from New Year's Eve outside of Waco, Texas.

2 of 50!

Bigelow Barn

Bigelow Barn

16X20, Oil on Panel

Available

I have been doing the "7 Day Artist Challenge" on Facebook and I decided that I would refresh people's memories of some older work.  This one was completed several years ago and somehow escaped being posted anywhere except a small, fairly low res image on my main website.  I had no other good photos of this painting so I reshot it and now have it properly cataloged.  It was intended to be a commission for a friend of my late wife whose husband built this barn outside the small Perry County town of Bigelow.  When it came time to deliver, they just never replied.  I think it was their loss as this has been one of my favorite pieces since the time I finished it.

Sevier County Barn, Sevier County

Sevier County Barn

9X12, Oil on Panel

Available

A little yellow house off in the distance beckoned me down this dirt road south of the town of DeQueen.  As I approached the house, I came to the conclusion is was deserted but I also noted that there was no convenient place to set up to paint it.  The road made a 90° turn just past the house and there was a gate into a field right at the apex of the corner.  This gave me a great place to pull off the road and set up but I felt I was too close to the house to paint it.  There were numerous little barns in the field but this pair of red barns caught my eye.  I had to fight the changing light and odor from a nearby hog farm that was cleaning out a barn but I wound up with a result I liked straight out of the field with no studio work.

I am gearing up for a major show that starts at the end of the month.  I have mostly completed my Painting Arkansas project but need some clean up work.  Stay tuned for the remaining counties!

Fences to Mend, Polk County

Fences to Mend

11X14, Oil on Panel

SOLD

This old barn is at the foot of Fourche Mountain in Polk County at the western edge of the state.  Beautiful country over there.

61/75

Sims Farmhouse, Montgomery County

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

Sultry Searcy Day

Sultry Searcy County Day

18X24, Oil on Panel

SOLD

 

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.