Boulder Mtn. Vista

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This is a painting from the top of Boulder Mountain in southern Utah. It is the most beautiful country. I hope you can get the sense from this painting.

Finally!

Finally, I have a painting to post, Whew! At the end of September I took a workshop in southern Utah with Doug Braithwaite and cast and crew of a great group of people. Let me say it was a wonderful time. It was like taking in a university course packed into one week. I learned a lot and I have been trying to digest all the information I learned. So, I have been practicing for the last month and a half. Well mostly just getting frustrated, but I won't get into that. :) I finally reached a point where I feel I made some headway.

This painting was outside of Torrey, Utah. The most beautiful, place. I am painting a series of 3 more and will post them real soon.

Flip Flopping

Doesn't flip flopping mean that you just see things in a different way and you change your mind on how you feel about it. It doesn't necessarily have to have a negative connotation, unless it leads to bad results, ...right?

Well, after a totally unproductive summer of not painting I have decided to attend another workshop to re-energize my creative juices. I still have the desire to loosen up my photo realistic style. I battle at painting a subject with the least amount of brush strokes. I end up getting frustrated and then change my mind and paint what's "easier" for me, something with the most amount of brush strokes. Then, I change my mind again and go back to trying my hand at painting more expressionistic. Does it end with bad results? That is still out for deliberation. Just call me a flip flopper.

So, the workshop I am attending is traveling around Southern Utah with Doug Braithwaite painting Plein Air. "A nine-day “tour” through central and southern Utah starting in the great little mining town of Helper, Utah and moving on down to Southern Utah, taking in several National Parks along the way, including Capitol Reef National Park, the Grand Staircase Escalante, Red Canyon and Bryce Canyon National Park.  Staying in the quaint little towns of Torrey, Boulder, Escalante and ending in the breathtaking Bryce Canyon".

http://dougbraithwaite.blogspot.com/

http://www.dougbraithwaite.com/www.dougbraithwaite.com/tour_la_plein_air.html

Sounds great huh! Well, I am really excited, scared, and have fear of failure anxiety. My wife has me pull up the couch and psycho analyses me. "It's just your childhood fear of not wanting to look like a fool". She may be right. She is a great women, smart, and has my best interest at heart and wants me to succeed at my lifelong addiction to painting. She tells me if I walk away and have learned just one thing it is beneficial. I just love her.

So, off I go at the end of September on a great adventure to try and improve my skill! Weather I do or not...well, that too is still out for deliberation.

"How Time Flies"

"Duck in Orange Sauce" - Oil, 12x12

Once the weather gets nice I am outside more than I am inside painting. Yard work, my daughters graduation from high school, two vacation just around the corner to get ready for. Man, how time flies! But, I wanted to at least post this unfinished painting, I started this week, just to show that I am painting. This is a commissioned piece for a friend of mine. I think it's coming along pretty well. I'll post it again when I am all finished. Hopefully soon :p

"Waiting For It"

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I love when you are going to give a dog a treat, they just wait for it. I'm a real softy for my dog, I'll just keep giving her treats because I love "the look" that she gives me. Don't you agree?

"Training Day"

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This original painting won the 2010 WWF (Wisconsin WIldlife Federation) Print of the Year competition. It's depicting a hunting dog retrieving a training decoy and the loyalty dogs have to their owners, which shows in his eyes. I have had this painting for awhile but thought I would post it for auction on my Daily Paintworks site. If you are interested in a print, email me, I have a few left. Thanks!

"Stick with what ya know"

 

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I've been painting wildlife with acrylic paints in a realistic style for years. I was just sick of it, so I decided to change. I bought some oils and took a workshop from Carol Marine in December. I was bound and determined to paint loose and change my ways. Fast forward three months. I've decided, for the most part, to stick with what I know. After a couple months of frustration, I keep drifting back to acrylic and painting tighter. I am still determined to loosen up and not just stick to wildlife subjects.
I guess I should have labelled this post "bit off more than I can chew"

Here is an older painting I did that is hanging in our kitchen that I decided to auction off. My wife probably won't be happy with me if it sells. It's okay, though I'll just paint her another one.

"Cup'l of Brushes"

 

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Sorry I haven't posted in a while. No excuses. I have been really lazy, lately. I work a full time job and when I come home it is so easy to just flop on the couch and watch some stupid show. But, if I really love to paint, like I think I do, I need to just paint, right?

So here is a still life I set up. I went to Goodwill and found this cute cup. Hope you like it!

"Don't Eat Me!"

 

















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I don't have much to say about why I painted this. I guess I just liked it. I have been concentrating so much more on my technique and style, that I don't really notice what I paint.I'm starting to drift back to a more realistic approach. I guess I just have to go with what's natural.

"Daisycup"

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I've decided I like daisies. They make me happy!

I haven't posted anything for a while, because this has been a transitional process for me. Changing the whole way I paint. Going from wildlife to still life, acrylic to oil, realistic(tight) to impressionist(loose). And, like any change it has been hard.

Here is an example of my past work. As much as I liked painting in this style, it just took to long. I needed to change so I could produce more work. I have really enjoyed the challenge of painting daily. So, as I progress I plan on posting more often. I just haven't felt worthy :)