Summer Farm

It has been a long winter. Spring is nearly here, and these cool days are great for all outdoor activities. Just smelling the air is worth going outside. There is rain in the forecast for five of the next seven days, and then it will be time for the big bloom.
I stocked up on a few of my favorite spring colors this week. I enjoy mixtures based on naples yellow light and prussian blue for some fresh spring greens this time of year. The painting shown above does not reflect that, it was painted in the summer, with plenty of lemon yellows thrown into the lit up corn stalks.

Peninsula Still Life

This still life is headed to a show at the Guenzel Gallery, at the Peninsula School of Art in Fish Creek. 22 painters received the same five objects to set up and paint, and the show is named Five Objects of Inspiration. I originally wanted to paint under natural light, but after several cloudy days in a row, I decided to do exactly the opposite. The still life was lit by a blue party light.

Spring Wind

Snow covered the fresh green grass two nights ago. The car door made a convenient wind break this morning, and my easel stood solid on top of this ridge.

Here is a overview of my spring workshop series. Last weekend, I gave my first workshop in what seemed like a long time. The workshop focused on painting the interior. We talked about values, and how to create the illusion of sunlight happening outside of a window, and pouring into the space. On the final day of the workshop, a storm rolled in while I was halfway through my demo painting. The sky was so dark, that the streetlights, which were a part of my composition, turned on. This dramatic change allowed for a teachable moment. Changing light is something that we deal with daily when painting from life and I was happy to work through the changes.

Broadway Street, Baraboo, Wisconsin

This is Baraboo Wisconsin, again. This was painted in early February, when there was still plenty of snow on the rooftops and streets.
I was invited to paint on a private home's deck, and took them up on the opportunity. I was pretty secluded, and on the second day the owner was not home, but knowing that I had an open opportunity, I set up and went to work. A car pulled into the driveway, and not knowing who it was made me feel a little bit uncomfortable. Not as uncomfortable as the time the kids were shooting a gun over my head in the country, but even so. Everything turned out alright this time, as the visitor was the owners son, who was just checking the bird feeder.
These little midwestern towns are the places that I call home, and I love painting around here.

Late Winter Sun

I've been painting smaller pieces, such as this 11 x 14" canvas, with the goal of clearing my voice. I will work my way back up to painting some larger pieces, but for now it seems like making several paintings in a day is the way to progress.
In painting, it is easy to second guess every move, but I just allowed myself to paint this one quickly, and let the accuracy happen. When I look at my favorite painters work, I can feel some of this as well, so I am glad when it happens to me.
The sun shines once in a while during Mud Season, and I was glad it did on this day.

Summer in Baraboo

We had some nice temperatures this past weekend, never mind the wind. This is a 16 x 20" painting from late last summer. The green grass gives me a good feeling to look at. It isn't yellow ochre mud color grass, but real sunkissed yellow green grass.
The building is the back of a bar in Bararboo, I believe it's named Gem City. There is an apartment on the top of the bar, and the Baraboo river is directly to the right of where I was standing. I have been painting some larger canvases in Baraboo during the mud season, and I'm hoping to finish them soon, at least before the trees and flowers bloom.