It's Snowing!

Winter Woods

20 x 16

OK, not really. It is rare for me to be painting ahead of a season. usually I am several steps behind, still painting spring when summer is in full bloom or painting fall when it's Valentine's Day. In this case, I managed to get out ahead of the season. I was happy to conjure up the cold quiet of a winter's day inside my studio while heat and humidity still prevail outside.

This painting will be exhibited at the Collectors' Reserve Show & Sale at the Gilcrease Museum, TUlsa, OK, November 6, 2014.

Less Is Not Always More

 Whose Woods These Are

54 x 72

(click for larger view- pardon the homemade photography)

Sometimes it's just less. One of the great challenges of this project is to find a way to convey the Woods in a way that is authentic but still suggestive and full of mystery. And to do that in sizes ranging from 12 x 16 to 72 x 96.  In a 12 x 16 you can use one brushstroke to describe what requires a complicated passage in a larger work. But more importantly, you have to find the right balance between what Asher B Durand called imitation and representation. There are some things which can be imitated and some things that can only be represented (I would use the word suggested perhaps). The right balance is essential to capture a sense of place and yet retain the mystery and mood you want to convey. I wanted the paintings to look like the Woods without being literal portraits- to convey a palpable sense of what it feels to be in this place. That requires something more than suggestive generalization and less than simply copying what you see.

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!

Snow at Lennox Woods

The day I have been hoping for all winter arrived this week- it snowed at Lennox Woods! Click on over to the Lennox Woods blog to see more!

Snow Day!

Yesterday a big storm blew through leaving six inches of snow (unusual for us). We've had snow about once a winter since we moved here, but it always warms up and is gone within a day or less. But, cold weather is supposed to hang around for a few more days so today was a snow day! We went out to explore late this afternoon. I was particularly struck by the rusts and ochers in the trees and grasses, against the violet sky and cool expanse of the snow. I came home with more than a few ideas for paintings and etchings or drypoints.

March Snow

March Snow Oil 6 x 6
$100 + shipping
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Winter just won't give up- we have had snow twice this week. This doesn't happen often here- although there is some difference of opinion about what that means. Our mail delivery person (mail lady?) says twice a year (she's batting a 1000 as of today) but our wood delivery guys say every couple of years, in which case we had two years worth of snow this week.

Sunday I am heading to Dallas to do a demo and talk for the Pastel Society of the Southwest. Happily, the big show of landscape giant J.M.W. Turner is at the Dallas Museum of Art right now. This show, which originated at the National Gallery, includes 140 oils and watercolors, many from the Tate Britain which have never been seen in this country. Turner is a huge influence on my work, so this is a rare treat and I can hardly wait!