Last Year's Snow

We've had a lack of snow to paint, so far, this year. This painting, Turtle Creek Trestle– Winter, 16x20, oil on canvas, is based on photos taken in December of 2010.

A 1920's vintage trestle that is still in use on the Indiana & Ohio Railway line between Mason and Lebanon, Ohio. Originally built by the Cincinnati, Lebanon & Northern Railroad during the 1880's, this route was controlled, then acquired by the Pennsylvania RR, until selling it to I&ORY in the 1980's. The Turtle Creek Scenic Railway out of Lebanon currently operates day trips over this line.

Gregory Creek 8– Study

Just completed study for the eighth in the Gregory Creek Series. Still deciding on sizes for the full scale paintings, but they will probably be 16x20's. I worked on this study over several of the Mason Area Painter's sessions and touched it up yesterday. I now have two of these 8x10's that can be framed as a pair.

Last Post of the Year

With 2011 drawing to a close, I'm finishing with a painting from the Reserves Park series. This is Evening– Reserves Park 7,  16x20, oil on canvas and the fourth in the series painted this year. Perhaps earlier in the evening than others in this series, this on concentrates on long cast shadows and the warming effects of the setting sun. Warm greens, oranges and golds against the warming horizon line. Even the tree branches and trunks are picking up the warmer tones as the sun goes down.

Seasonal Adjustments 3

The third and probably last in this series of paintings from photos taken this Fall at Morgan's Canoe Livery, Ft. Ancient: Seasonal Adjustment 3, 16x20, oil on canvas. This is just a small portion, but in this scene you can get some sense of the number of canoes rented from this location during warmer weather.

Morgan's is located on the flood plain some 250 ft. below the bluffs that contain one of the best known prehistoric native american sites in the country. Ft. Ancient is a complex of high earthen embankments ringing what is thought to be a ceremonial space enclosing 100 acres. Constructed during the Hopewell period (1st Century BC-6th Century AD) the walls stretch some 3.5 miles.

House Commission 6

This is a recently completed house commission of 4909 93rd Street, Lubbock, TX, 12 x 16, oil on canvas.

Figure from Life

Our painting group had Ellen, a good friend of ours from Gallery 42, in today as a figure model. This was the first time since college (a long time ago) that I painted from life. I've done a fair number of pencil drawings and sketches recently, but no paintings. This was today's effort: MAPs Figure 1, oil on canvas panel, 8x10. Hope we can talk the folks in the group to have more models in the future!

More Seasonal Adjustments

I couldn't pass up this stack of canoes at Morgan's Ft. Ancient Livery. The dappled sunlight from the thinning trees and masses of intense red, blue and yellow against the fading fall color. They must have more than 200 canoes stacked up for winter at this location, just one of the three the Morgans  (www.morganscanoe.com) operate.