Sleepy Hollow, Pulaski County

Sleepy Hollow

8X10, Oil on Panel

SOLD

 

 

 

A few weeks ago, I went out plein air painting with friend and fellow Arkansas League of Artists board member Sean Lecrone.  We went driving out Highway 10 west of Little Rock past Lake Maumelle.  I had been out that way a week earlier and had noticed a lot of potential sites that I wanted to get a better look at.  There are barns, streams, boats and all sorts of subject matter.  We settled on a little boat launch area of Lake Maumelle called Sleepy Hollow and this painting was the end result.

Sam's First Calf

Sam's First Calf

20X24, Oil on Canvas

Available

 

 

 

This is a little bit different for me.  This little guy's dad, Sam, is a Hereford bull owned by my high school math teacher.  When she posted the picture of him to Facebook I was struck by the shadow pattern and really wanted to give a go at painting it.  I haven't painted an animal in several years so I wasn't sure how it would turn out.  I surprised myself!  This is one of my entries in an upcoming Arkansas League of Artists juried show.

20 Favorite Paintings

Last night was a meeting of the Arkansas League of Artists.  One of the highlights of these meetings is the demo and talk by a local artist of note.  Last night's demonstrating artist was Emily Wood.  I have been a fan of her work for a while now.  She paints loosely and on wood panels, both of which are common traits between us!  She paints pretty much only figuratives these days.  I love her approach to using the natural wood grain and selective opacity/transparency for focal point emphasis.  This seems to be very similar in nature to my current exploration of thick/thin dynamics.  I encourage you to visit her site, she does really cool work!

But more to the point of this post, she said something that struck me as interesting and I think I'm going to try to it as an exercise.  She said that when she started her MA work, an instructor had the class select 20 favorite pieces and write exactly what they liked about them.  It was an exercise to help define your personal tastes as guidance for what you want out of your own work as well as developing critical analysis skills in looking at art.  Now, I think we all pretty much do this in some form or fashion and I know I have been for a long time.  But the formalization of a process is sometimes key in gaining the most out of it.  So look for this to get started in the coming days.  I already know a few paintings which will be on the list.  If I had no idea what to put, then I would be worried, I should know by know what I like!

Arkansas League of Artists Annual Juried Show

Simpson County Mississippi Courthouse

11X14, Oil on Panel

 

I am very pleased to say the above painting was juried into the ALA Annual Show.  I am also now a Signature Member of ALA as a result of this achievement.

Snowball, AR, Searcy County and Merry Christmas!

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.

Burns Park Plein Air

Burns Park Covered Bridge

9X12, Oil on Panel

SOLD

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.

Gist Music, Helena, AR, Phillips County

Gist Music

9X12, Oil on Panel

SOLD

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.

Rattlesnake Ridge, Pulaski County

Rattlesnake Ridge

8X10 Oil on Wood

SOLD

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. 

ALA Plein Air Event

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!