Gather Us Upon The Mountain

"Gather Us Upon The Mountain"

8X10, Oil on Panel

Available

This is a complete, from scratch, remake of a painting I did way back in 2009.  There were, of course, a few changes.  It is based upon a view of a place called Red Rock Point in Newton County Arkansas.  I have several other of these old paintings that I think have a lot of possibility and need be executed again.  Once the new version is complete, the old one will be destroyed.

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.

Always Coming Home

"Always Coming Home"

30X40, oil on canvas

SOLD

In memory of those I've loved and lost

and who have already gone home.

Crack the Sky

Crack the Sky

8X10, Oil on Panel

SOLD

Yet another one started on site and finished in the studio.  That seems to be a very common theme.  Maybe one day I will start to be contented with my plein air work in a single session.

This is the underneath of a natural bridge at Alum Cove in Newton County, Arkansas.

In Time All Memories Drown

In Time All Memories Drown

18X24, Oil on Panel

From Hasty on the Buffalo National River.

Elysium

Elysium

8X10, Mixed Media on Panel
SOLD

This is from the Sam's Throne area looking out over the Big Creek valley in Newton County.  I did the initial work in plein air using Golden Opens and then in the studio I came back with oils and brought the values into harmony.

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.

Red Rock Point and ColorFest 2010

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

Deer, Newton County

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.

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...

More from Hasty

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
SOLD

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!

Hasty Upstream, Buffalo National River, Newton County

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.