Telluride Plein Air- Day V

Sunbreak Down Valley

10 x 24

Just a quick post as I am running out to the public sale this morning. Last year, I struggled to get that "big view", so I decided to give it another shot this year. The idea for this painting is a clearing sky after a quick afternoon thunderstorm, a regular summer occurrence here. But, of course, this piece is much influenced by my love of the Hudson River School painters.

Telluride Plein Air- Day III

As regular readers of this blog know, I am much influenced by the late 19th century Hudson River School painters as well as the Tonalists artists of that time. The HRS guys liked those big sublime views while the Tonalists explored more intimate corners of nature. I am definitely in the latter category. However, there are some wonderful HRS paintings of woodland interiors and this is one of them-Worthington Whittredge's The Trout Pool.



I thought about this painting when I went back to Leopard Creek to paint at the spot where Steve fished two years ago (see yesterday's post).

The Trout Pool

18 x 15

The idea I wanted to convey was the morning light streaming through the trees and bathing everything in a warm glow. As usual, the photography doesn't do it justice (really!) but I am pleased with it. In fact, I want to paint a larger more refined studio version for sure.

Summer Reading

Despite the horrendous heat (102 today!), my zinnias continue to show their happy faces to the sun. When I am not in the studio with the little window AC cranked up, I'm enjoying rereading Asher B. Durand's Letters on Landscape, first published in 1855.

Here's a sample:

"Go first to Nature to learn to paint landscape...take pencil and paper, not the palette and brushes, and draw with scrupulous fidelity...I know you will regard this at first thought as an unnecessary restriction, and become impatient to use the brush, under the persuasion that you can with it make out your forms, and at the same time produce colour, and light and shade. In this you deceive yourself, as many others have done, till the evil has become irremediable; for slovenly and imperfect drawing finds but a miserable compensation in the evident efforts to disguise or atone for it, by the blandishments of color and effect..."

We are just wrapping up the online course Drawing & Painting Trees. As part of the course we've looked at 19th century examples of drawings and painted studies of trees. I thought I'd share a few of my favorites. Enjoy!

John Constable-Study of Ash Trees



Asher B. Durand
Study of Trees


John F. Kensett

Jervis McEntee

John Constable

On the Road to Telluride

Telluride Dusk
20 x 20

We're heading out Saturday morning for Telluride. This painting is one I am taking for the exhibition which hangs while we paint en plein air next week. The insurance company finally authorized the repairs to my car and a rental, so we'll be driving a spiffy mini van with lots of room for frames, painting gear and other essential stuff.

Painting Telluride is always a challenge for me- much cooler light and big, spectacular views. Its the poster child for what the Hudson River School painters would have called "sublime". But these days, I favor more intimate settings, so I'll be looking for a clump of cottonwoods or a stand of aspens.
I plan to blog throughout the week, so check back in- and wish me luck!