Finishing up the Capitol series

This is the last in my series of Capitol paintings. It is large for a plein air work, 24 x 26 inches. It took four different days to get it to the point I could fine tune in the studio. I love painting plein air. My strokes stay fresher and my colors maintain a brightest that only natural light can produce.

Arkansas State Capitol North View 24 x 36 inches Oil on Linen
Available at The Art Group Gallery

Landscapes and Architecture

Life slowed down my painting for a couple of weeks but I am back on track. I have been exploring the Little Rock cityscape and the architecture of the State Capitol. Painting things so that they look like things you are actually seeing with the right perspective and values is a real challenge. Here are some recent plein air works.

Broadway Bridge and Little Rock, AR 10 x 18 Sold

Arkansas State Capitol South View 12 x 24 - available at the Art Group Gallery.

Fine Tuning

Many of my plein air works need a little tweaking back in the studio especially the larger ones. This Capitol View painting really started to shine with some fine tuning. Greeting the Sun Oil on Linen 24 x 24.

New Skyline Plein Air

The rain finally abated and I went to a new location to paint some Little Rock Skyline views. Fort Roots is the VA hospital in North Little Rock. It has wonderful vistas of the city.

Capitol View from Ft. Roots - 10 x 10 Oil on Linen

View to the Railroad Bridge - 12 x 16 Oil on Linen 

Evening Skyline at Victory Lake Burns Park - 6 x 12 Oil On Linen

Challenge of Florals

We have had a rainy last couple of weeks. It has been a while since I set up some florals so rainy days are perfect still life opportunities. I have been experimenting with my palette knife more. Learning how to move the paint with the knife is a challenge but enjoyable. "Jumping Up Lilies" has a good bit of palette knife work. "Spring Bouquet" has more roses in it than I have ever put together before. The shapes of the flowers change by the hour!

"Jumping Up Lilies" 24 x 20 Oil on Linen

"Spring Bouquet" 20 x 24 Oil on Linen

Roger Dale Brown Workshop

I recently attended a landscape workshop led by Roger Dale Brown. What a learning experience! His approach and palette were an excellent retraining tool for me. Roger's painting method has strong traditional undertones with thin paint. Developing the base of the painting with simple strong masses to it's more finished level moves very quickly with this method. Great workshop!

Back Outside

So wonderful to be back outside these last couple of weeks. Painting plein air is just so refreshing. Found some new locations. Nowlin's Creek is a small local spot off Highway 10.

Nowlin's Creek a Runnin' 12 x 16 Oil on Linen

Rushing Through 12 x 12 Oil on Linen

Sitting Pretty 10 x 10 Oil on Linen