Low Slung, Poinsett County

Low Slung

8X10, Oil on Panel

Available

Here's a rare totally alla prima piece I did a while back.  Poinsett County is in the Delta so it's flat, flat, flat.  That makes for good big sky paintings.  Last night I attended the opening of a show at Cantrell Gallery called "Structures" by Daniel Coston.  Dan currently lives in Fayetteville which is in the northwest corner in the Ozarks but he is a product of the Delta and paints a lot of scenes from the flatland.  He prefers a long, low aspect ratio for many of his Delta pieces.  Great show and a really nice guy.

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

Bank of Carthage, Dallas County

Bank of Carthage

8X10, Oil on Panel

Available

This old building is on the National Register of Historic Places despite being about to fall in on itself.  It was amazing to me but the town of Carthage seemed more remote to me than many places even in the Ozark Highlands.   Quite a few people who were driving by while I was taking the references picture waved in a friendly manner.  Unlike the dogs living in the house that's  right beside this place.

I'm currently working on a larger version of this for an upcoming show.

I went out plein air painting in Saline County yesterday.  It was one of those days that challenged my resolve to try to paint in plein air...

New Gallery Representation

I am very pleased to announce that this afternoon, I will be delivering more pieces to the Cantrell Gallery in Little Rock.  I really like the way the fine folks at Cantrell operate and I think this is an excellent fit for me.  I look forward to hanging many pieces of art on their walls during the coming years!

Cantrell Gallery is located at 8206 Cantrell Road in Little Rock.  If you are ever in the area, please stop by and take a look.

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.

Blue Hill, Pulaski County

Blue Hill

11X14, Oil on Panel

SOLD

Lately, I have been having a lot of trouble with my camera overemphasizing blues in my paintings.  No such problem here.  I am also very pleased to say that I was able to use more than 1 blue in this painting!  In fact, all 3 of my major blues are here: cobalt, ultramarine, and prussian.