Spring Greens and Sawdust

I went out to paint today, and after wandering around for awhile, and hunting morel mushrooms with my brother, I set up where the woods has been recently logged. The breeze was fragrant with the scents of wildflowers, all the spicy woodsy smells of spring, and cut wood.

Spring Greens and Sawdust, 12 x 9 inch plein air oil on linen/hardboard.

Winter into Spring

I have the window open right now, and can hear that sweet sound of spring frogs singing in the stillness. It was a warm and windy day. I got to go on a long walk with my little niece to jump on round bales, check out the trees budding in the orchard, walk through the hay fields looking for birds and looking down gopher holes, and finding the cows. It was a good day.

Here's a little catch-up of some of the paintings I've done over the past month or two, as we've been transitioning from winter into spring.

February 26th. Returned to one of my favorite places to paint the snow, what was left of it, between the trunks of the great old trees that stand on the hillside. The shadows were long and blue, the sunshine warm. I painted quickly, trying to capture the light before it disappeared.

February Among the Trees, 9 x 12" plein air oil on linen/hardboard.

 March 11th. Another sprint of a painting - working hard and fast as the wind blew and the sun sank in the west. The bare fields were golden in the evening light, full of texture and subtlety that I couldn't do justice to in the time I had, but which I tried to hint at. This spot has a great view through the neighboring bluffs in the background that always draws my attention. As the wind died down at sunset, the sound of geese rang out as they flew overhead on their way north.

Evening Impression, 9 x 12" plein air oil on linen/hardboard.

 March 12th. Orchard time. My little sis worked on her pruning skills, while I worked in paint. Different types of brushwork. It was a hazy sort of day, and I wanted to convey those soft greys and purples I saw in the rows of trees and thick masses of branches and twigs. A birdhouse stood at the end of one row in a clump of dry grasses.

The Birdhouse in the Orchard, 9 x 12" plein air oil on linen/hardboard.

March 22nd. A portrait of a tree, its rough bark and the old barbed wire fence that's it's grown right over. A grape vine loops its way into the upper branches. The valley stretches out below. The light was soft through a thin layer of clouds. I painted until sunset.

View from The Point, 12 x 9" plein air oil on linen/hardboard.

March 28th. Another paint and prune day. The sun shone in a clear sky and the shadows were strong and dark. The grass was beginning to grow green on the south-facing slopes. My eye was really drawn to the intricate tangle of twigs against the sky, but I wasn't sure how to best give that impression while working wet into wet oil paint. I tried one way and another. This was the result. Smudged and thick with texture.

Spring-time Shadows, 9 x 12" oil on linen/hardboard.

April 16th. We've had snow since the last painting, but it has long gone, and the pastures are dry and green enough for the cows to have a snack, if not a feast. Painting living, moving creatures is still a huge challenge for me! The trees are budding and beginning to show some color, and the fields are beginning to show more green than brown.

Basking in the Sunshine, 9 x 12" plein air oil on linen/hardboard.

H.C.H.

The Logging Road

Along the old logging road, 9 x 12" plein air, oil on linen/hardboard.

 The sunshine is warmer, the high fields are brown and almost free of snow, and the maple sap is flowing. On the northern side of the hills the snow remains, but it's not as deep.

 The day was so warm I didn't need my coat or mittens, and I painted until just before the coyotes began to yip and howl.

October

Changing weather, colors, harvest, shortened days and low sunshine.

When I could, I walked over fields, and picked apples in the orchard -red and yellow fruit against blue October skies - and soaked into my memory as much of this fleeting season as I could.

 Though I seldom had the time to get out with my gear, I'm happy I was able to do a few paintings outside. 

I often had a dog or two for company.

Farm Dog, October 10, 9 x 12" plein air oil on linen/hardboard.

The season changes quickly. By the time I painted this one, only a few late-blooming wildflowers still stood amongst the brown weeds and seed heads. The aspen leaves almost glowed.

Golden Day, October 21, 12 x 9" plein air oil on linen/hardboard.

At times, the hills across the valley looked beautifully blue. On this day, the sinking sun back-lit a glory of oak leaves as the shadows grew long in the woods.

Oaks and Shadows, October 25, 9 x 12" plein air oil on linen/hardboard.

Saturday

Rumor has it that it will be winter before we know it, and I felt the need to take advantage of the warm weather on Saturday to get out to the woods and do some painting. I biked, stopping in the orchard to pick a few pears that still hung on the branches, and a few of my favorite late-summer apples, to add to my painting bag. No starving artist here!
 The dogs were with me, dashing off at the slightest insult from a squirrel, or something I couldn't hear or see at all, only to return with wagging tails to be told what good pups they were.
 Once again, I picked something "simple" only to be almost overwhelmed with how complicated I actually found it to be. The shapes, colors, texture of the trees, and the number of them... partway through it looked pretty dismal. But what a day to be out. The warm yellows, oranges, and greens of the trees and shrubs in the background, along and beyond the barbed wire fence that separates the pasture and woods from the orchard, were lovely. Little stems of wild asters bloomed in amongst the trees. The paint went on thick.

Late September in the Poplars, 9 x 12" plein air oil on linen/hardboard.

In the evening I attended the opening for the Between the Bluffs plein air painting event in La Crosse, Wisconsin. A great show! Really fun to see all the new work and pick out favorites. We were each allowed three paintings. I submitted "Roadside Glory", which I wrote about recently, and these two:

Sundance, 9 x 12" plein air oil on linen/hardboard.

"Sundance" was another orchard painting, done underneath the trees, looking out. The apples themselves are named Sundance, a tangy-sweet late-ripening variety, and I wanted to highlight the play of light on the ripening fruit. They won't be ready for harvest for some time yet, but the apples hanging on the outer branches pick up a lovely blush. When trying to paint something like this, I really get a chance to notice things like the differing shapes of leaves, a little insect damage, variations in color like those little touches of reddish-brown on some of them, and I appreciate it all that much more. This piece was awarded the Best of Show at the opening! I am so thrilled and honored.

Saturday Sunshine, 9 x 12" plein air oil on linen/hardboard.

My third painting was the first that I did for this event. An old, long admired barn situated on a narrow gravel road that should probably be avoided by sane drivers. I made some little friends here when I asked permission to paint. They kept me company, kept me on my toes, drew me pictures, and when they disappeared into the barn and reappeared on the low roof shouting "Paint us! Paint us!", I did. I'm delighted to say that this one sold at the opening and is going to a new home. What a fantastic and humbling feeling it is when someone chooses to live with a piece of my art. :)

September Days

This is a beautiful, colorful time of year. Yesterday I went out to paint, but first spent some time just wandering, and enjoying all the wildflowers - asters, goldenrod, Queen Anne's lace, black-eyed susans, and a few late-blooming bird's-foot-trefoil and clover blossoms. And watching the butterflies.

Then time to paint.

Sketched in...

The trees are only beginning to hint at the colors they will turn, but the sumac and grape leaves are showing bright hues of reds, oranges, and yellow-greens.

Color time!

Completed.

Roadside Glory, 9 x 12-inch plein air oil on linen/hardboard 

Today's painting:

The sky threatened rain, but it stayed to the west and we only got clouds and a little wind.

Very rough sketch- doesn't look like much at this stage!

The cows were busy munching, and working their way from one end of the pasture to the other and back again. I did a very quick sketch of their shapes before they moved on. By the time I was ready to work on them again, they were back to nearly the same spot.

Blocking in the greens and beginning to really notice all the subtleties of the field grass.

 

More color and texture in the grasses and trees:

 Finished up with the blue-gray clouds, and black and white cows.

Grazing the East Pasture, 11 x 14-inch plein air oil on linen/hardboard.

Hunter in the Hay Field

 There are difficulties and annoyances when working on location, but I get some pretty great work-spaces too. A hay bale is fairly comfortable, smells nice, and you can jab your brushes in anywhere.

And it comes with a view!

 The color of the fields looked pretty flat in the clear sunshine when I began painting, but I knew that as the sun got lower, the texture would appear. I was not disappointed.

Cat on the prowl.

As I painted the green fields I saw this cat, slowly and silently making her way through the grass and alfalfa, hunting. So I put her in.

I finished up as the shadows grew long, and put my painting away just in time - the dogs discovered me and leapt up onto the bale, nearly knocking me and my gear off and trying to lick everything in sight!

The finished painting:

Hunter in the Hayfield, 9 x 12" plein air oil on linen/hardboard. 8/1/15