Narrow But Not Straight

Narrow But Not Straight

11X14, Oil on Panel

Boxley Valley in Newton County near the Buffalo National River.

#17 of 50.

Murmured in Dreams

Murmured in Dreams

9X12, Oil on Panel

Available

Near Steel Creek on the Buffalo River, Newton County.

#14 of 50

Send Me The Sun

Send Me The Sun

6X8, Oil on Matboard

Available

Well, I am back at it after about 3 months of break.  At this point, my goal of 50 paintings in 2017 is practically impossible but I'm going to keep counting and see how I do.  Maybe I can get close to half??

This is plein air that I did right around the time I started my impromptu, unplanned break.  It is from Steel Creek on the Buffalo National River in Newton County.

#9 of 50

Zeus

Zeus

8X10, Oil on Panel

Back in the '80s, elk from the Rockies were introduced in the Buffalo National River park.  Before white settlers came and hunted them to extinction, the region was home to a smaller subspecies known as the eastern elk.  Today, the elk herds attract many visitors to the park mostly during the fall when the big bulls join the herds in the bottoms for rut.

I started and did most all of the work for this one last year but was never certain I was done with it until a few weeks ago so I'm taking credit for it in 2017.

#6 of 50.

In Time All Memories Drown

In Time All Memories Drown

18X24, Oil on Panel

From Hasty on the Buffalo National River.

The Pensive Moon

The Pensive Moon

8X10, Oil on Panel

SOLD

This is a little plein air I did at Woolum while camping there a few months back.

The Crossing Cannot Be Made

The Crossing Cannot Be Made

9X12, Oil on Panel

Available

Plein from a couple of months ago at Woolum.

Memories of Woolum

Memories of Woolum

8X10, Oil on Panel

SOLD

This is a studio piece based upon daytime pictures and my memories of firefly filled night at Woolum on the Buffalo River.

Carver, Buffalo National River, Newton County

Carver, Buffalo National River

18X24, Oil on Panel

SOLD

 

 

Here is another one of my entries into this year's Arkansas League of Artists Juried Show.  I have very fond memories of camping here at Carver on the Buffalo River as a teen with several of my friends.  It isn't one of the more frequented campsites on the river but we sure had fun here.

Maumee Sycamore, Searcy County

Maumee Sycamore

11X14, Oil on Panel

Available

This was from a photo taken during a camping trip last summer.  I embarked on this one with the thought that is was an incredibly difficult subject and it was going to wind up an utter disaster.

Maumee is on the Buffalo National River and is essentially a very large bend.  The camping area here is small and there aren't many good spots with shade.  Lots of great painting scenes here though and I think I hope to get back up there pretty soon.

The Nars #2

The Nars #2

24X30

Oil on Canvas

 

 

Those who know me will know that the Nars is one of my favorite places on Earth.  I wrote more about the place here.  This is the second time I have painted this view.  This particular painting took over a year to resolve and for quite some time I wondered if I would ever finish it.  

Ellen Hobgood Gallery

I am very pleased to announce that I am now represented by Ellen Hobgood Gallery in Heber Springs, AR.  Ellen's gallery is at 101 S. 3rd Street in beautiful downtown Heber Springs, right across from the Cleburne County courthouse.  You can find an assortment of my Ozarks related paintings there including several Buffalo River pieces.  That courthouse is calling out for me to paint it, along with many many other locations in and around Heber!

Toney Bend, between Buffalo Point and Rush, Marion County

Toney Bend, Buffalo National River

20X24, Oil on Panel

Available

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.

Dying Light at Rush, Marion Co.

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.

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.

Buffalo River Artisans Guild Demo Painting

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.

Big Springs Smoked Meats and Restaurant

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.

Grinder's Ferry, Buffalo National River, Searcy County

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.

Tyler Bend Field, Buffalo National River, Searcy County

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!

The Bluff at Pruitt, Buffalo National River, Newton County

The Bluff at Pruitt

24X30, Oil on Canvas
Available

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...