Mistaken Creek

"Mistaken Creek"

6X8, Oil on Panel

This was a little plein air I started near Waco, Texas around New Year's Day.  It was the only "warm" day around that time frame.  This little creek turned out to be the result of a burst water pipe that had been spewing water for who knows how long!  And thus how this piece earned the name, "Mistaken Creek."  The white limestone that formed the creek bed turned out to be tricky. 

#5 of 50

The Timid Wild One

The Timid Wild One

18X24, Oil on Panel

SOLD

From a small little plein air done at Richland Creek in the early spring.

As Fleeting As Morning Light

As Fleeting As Morning Light

6X8, Oil and Golden Opens on Panel

SOLD

This is one of my paintings from the backpacking trip I took a few months ago.  It got a lot of rework in the studio with oils using the same palette as the Golden Open plein air painting did on location.  We camped alongside Gee Creek in a beautiful wooded flat beside the Ozark Highlands Trail.  It was my first true backpacking experience.  Carrying paints and plein air setup really limited the amount of supplies I could carry and that will need to be resolved for future trips longer than one night.

The Crossing Cannot Be Made

The Crossing Cannot Be Made

9X12, Oil on Panel

Available

Plein from a couple of months ago at Woolum.

Prelude to an End

Prelude to an End

8X10, Oil on Panel

Available

 

 

This is a little plein air I did a few months ago as the fall color started to come on.  This was on the Illinois Bayou in the Ozark National Forest north of Hector.

Tan-a-Hill Creek, Scott County

Tan-a-Hill Creek

6X8, Oil on Panel

Available

 

 

This was the final painting I did on a big day a few weeks ago that included the Palmetto Flats of my previous post and the barn in Sevier County.  This place is deep in the Ouachita Mountains south of the town of Waldron.  I expected I would probably do some studio touch ups but the more I looked at it the more I liked the rough nature of this one as it came out of the field.

Saline River, Howard County

Saline River, Howard County

8X10, Oil on Panel

Available

 

Apparently, there are at least two Saline Rivers in Arkansas.  The one most well known to Arkansans runs through, unsurprisingly, Saline County in central Arkansas.  This one is in western Arkansas.  I believe it eventually runs into the Cossattot River.  This one was done 100% en plein air.

Mammoth Spring Power House, Fulton County

Mammoth Spring Power House

11X14, Oil on Panel

Available

 

 



Bright Fall Day, Long Pool, Pope County

Bright Fall Da, Long Pool

9X12, Oil on Panel

SOLD

 

 

This was a commission I did for Christmas.  The only stipulations placed upon it were that it be of Long Pool in Pope County.  I rarely paint high color fall scenes so I took this opportunity to stretch and give it a try.  The customer was very happy with the result and so was I!

Natural Dam, Crawford County

Natural Dam

8X10, Oil on Panel

SOLD

Sometimes, a plein air painting will sit and gather dust for quite some time before I either decide it's done or figure out what it is I want to really to do with it.  This is one of those.  I painted this after I dropped off paintings for a solos show at the Van Buren Center for Arts and Education toward the end of 2012.  It has sat in a corner ever since then.  I got tired of some of other things I was working on one night and just decided I had nothing to lose by throwing some more paint at this one.  I don't like to leave paintings totally abandoned so I'm glad I was finally able to make myself happy with this one.

Impression of Bridal Veil Falls, Cleburne County

Impression of Bridal Veil Falls

6X8, Oil on Panel

Available

 

 

About 2 and a half weeks ago I took a trip up to Heber Springs to deliver a new batch of paintings to Ellen Hobgood Gallery and I took the opportunity to stop off at this local landmark to paint.  It was a very cold morning and the box canyon this fall is in does not have a very easy way in.  Luckily I was using my new Guerilla Painter box and ultra light tripod so it was at least manageable to get everything down in one trip.  I set up on the side of the canyon that got some sunshine in hopes of staying somewhat warm as I did not really dress appropriately for the cold.  I managed to tough it out for about and hour before I realized I just wasn't going to finish it there.  Because of the wet painting, it took 2 trips to get everything out and I was freezing by the time I hit the car.  Made me retire to the warmth of the coffee shop in Heber while I waited for the gallery to open.

Little Red River Spillway, Cleburne County

Little Red River Spillway

11X14, Oil on Panel

Available

Old Beer Joint, Felsenthal NWR, Union County

Old Beer Joint, Felsenthal

11X14, Oil on Panel

SOLD

Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge is an absolutely HUGE swampy area in the extreme southern portion of Arkansas.  One of these days I would like to take a kayak and go explore this place in greater detail, painting for several days deep in the swamp.  I hope I wouldn't get lost but navigating this type of terrain is definitely out of my ken so maybe such a trip would be unwise.

The county seat of Union County is El Dorado.  I had heard lots of great things about the town but it had been many years since I had been there.  I had no idea just how cool of a town it was!  I will be going back and painting El Dorado one of these days.

60/75

Yellow By the Water's Edge, Drew County

Yellow by the Water's Edge

11X14, Oil on Panel

Available

Here is a studio piece done from photo references collected during my southeast Arkansas trip.  This was just a happenstance find.  I was almost out of Drew County when I saw this flash of yellow across a swampy pond.  I pulled as far off the road as I could and ran over and took as many pictures as I could without getting hit by traffic.  Now, there wasn't a whole lot of traffic, but what there was traveled pretty fast!

59/75

Lake Chicot Nocturne, Chicot County

Lake Chicot Nocturne

6X8, Oil on Panel

SOLD

This was my first painting of the second day of my southeast Arkansas trip and my first ever plein air nocturne.  One of the great things about "camping" in a van is that it really eliminates a lot of setup and takedown effort so one can get into the campsite later and get out earlier.  I made it to Lake Chicot State Park a little after 6PM the night before and tried to get in a sunset painting but did not have near enough time to get the composition set up before the sky colored up and the sun vanished behind the far shore line.  So resolved to myself to paint the following morning before sunrise.  I set my alarm for 5AM but was already awake when it went off.  So, in the low 40's of the predawn, I went down to the boat launch and got set up and was painting by 6AM with a lonely owl in the woods behind me to keep me company.

54/75