The Month of May

May 4 - spring in the woods. The browns of last year's fallen leaves broken up by the greens of Dutchman's Breeches and wild ramps.

May 4, 2018, 6 x 8" plein air oil on linen/birch.

May 6 - spring paint-day at the farm. A great group of artists came out to the farm to paint. It was so fun for me to see some old painting friends and meet some new ones, and to see this place I love portrayed through the eyes and art of others.

This is the painting that I did towards the end of the day. The fields were getting so green, and the trees of the woods were leafing out.

May 6, 2018, 10 x 7" plein air oil on linen/birch.

May 9 - an attempt. Apple twigs, leaves, and blossoms in one of my favorite pieces of pottery. This was so much more difficult than I anticipated. I hope to try again next year.

May 9-10, 2018, apple blossoms. 16 x 20" oil on linen/birch.

May 11 - another attempt. These cuttings off the apple trees were still in bud stage, and I painted them in an old "Atlas" canning jar. A very fun challenge.

May 11, apple buds in an Atlas mason jar. 12 x 10" oil on linen/birch.

May 14 - A rainy Monday. The woods were turning all sorts of green, and the wet weather brought out the deeper colors of the bark of the trees.

May 14, 2018, 10 x 8" plein air oil on linen/birch.

May 15th - I always like to see how the hickory leaves unfurl from their flower-like buds in the spring.

HIckory Twigs. May 15, 2018, 8 x 8" alla prima oil on linen/birch.

In the evening I went out in the fields. The trees and the fields were becoming greener, but hadn't yet put on their summer colors. The shadows on the bluffs looked blue as the light faded. 

May 15, 2018, 5 x 7" plein air oil on linen/birch.

May 17th - I started this one late, after spending time working in the orchard clearing brush from between the rows of trees. The light was so pretty that time of day, but so fleeting! I didn't have enough time to finish and I ended up going out again a few days later, May 22, to put the finishing details in. The blooms were a bit sporadic this spring, the result of a very heavy bloom last year which was the result of a late frost that took out much of the crop the year before! By this time the grass was growing tall and green, and the air was filled with the scent of the blossoms and the buzzing of the bees hard at work.

May 17 & 22, 2018, 7 x 10" plein air oil on linen/birch.

May 19 - The weather turned unusually cool this evening as I went out to try to capture a little of the dandelion-filled fields. A north wind blew and the sky clouded over.

May 19, 2018, 12 x 9" plein air oil on linen/birch.

May 24 - Cloud study. This was one of those days when I just didn't have enough time to do what I wanted on location. But I had a start, painted in the bones so to speak, and finished it up at home that night.

May 24, 2018, 8 x 10" alla prima oil on linen/birch.

May 26 - Hot, humid weather. In the evening I went down towards the woods and set up in the shadows of the trees. The light from the sinking sun shone on the tops of the trees on the edge of the woods and lit one of the little trees that grow along the fence that separates pastures.

May 26, 2018, 6 x 8" plein air oil on linen/birch.

May 29 - Some beautiful blooms off of the bridal wreath bushes that grow by the house. I love the expressive shapes of the draping branches.

May 29, 2018, 11 x 14"  alla prima oil on linen/birch.

May 31 - One more chance to paint the dandelions. A quick little study before the darkness fell.

May 31, 2018, 5 x 7" plein air oil on linen/birch.

Suppertime

"Suppertime", 6 x 8" plein air, oil on linen/hardboard.

This afternoon, after so many gloomy days, the clouds at last broke and the sun peaked through, casting long shadows and illuminating the seeding dandelions and the fields, lush from all the rain. The cows grazed in the long grass.

I had a fine time, but the dogs were bored to sleep.

The chickens, after some suspicion, decided I wasn't a threat.

A Windy Rainy Day in May

It's been so rainy and wet lately. There isn't much field work being done around the area, with the fields being muddy at best, and washed out or under water at worst. And the last few days have also been cold. It felt more like March today, instead of May, as I went out to paint.

The dandelions are going to seed, which I always find beautiful, and I wanted to paint some of them, and there's this old favorite oak tree at the corner of a field that's not quite fully leafed out yet.

Getting things started - blocking in the shapes, and painting clouds.

It was windy, and occasionally misting, and I was damp and shivering by the time I was through painting. But there were some amazing clouds out there today, the sound of the wind blowing through the grass, dandelion seeds in the air, a blackbird's nest in the hay field, and a deer passing by as I was cleaning up.

A red-winged blackbird's nest.

I call it a pretty good day to be out.

A Windy, Rainy Day in May. 12 x 9 inch, plein air, oil on linen/hardboard.

(But I hope we get some sunshine soon.)

Old Red Barn

Old Red Barn, 12 x 9" plein air oil on linen/hardboard.

I didn't go far afield to paint today. I stood in a cow pasture just south of the farm buildings, the sun shining in the west, and a surprisingly cold wind coming from the east. Old red-painted wood, green grasses blowing in the wind, and yellow dandelions beneath a blue sky.

Dandelion Field

Dandelion Field, plein air, 10 x 8 inches, oil on stretched linen.

A field full of dandelions, mostly gone to seed.

When I started this painting, the rain was just reaching the other side of the county. I stopped as the thunder started rumbling in the distance.

Even though I wasn't far from home, having a car close by is a good idea when the weather looks iffy.

 The sunlight, which had vibrantly lit the treetops and grasses when I began, had given way to a moody and more subdued light before the coming rain. I was glad I'd put the most vibrant greens and yellows on before they changed!

Lining the finished painting up with the path- just for fun.

:)