Road Trip Inspiration

After spending almost three weeks on the road, I have finally made it home and am back in my studio painting. It was a wonderful trip, but I missed creating art with a brush and paint. This painting was inspired by the beauty of open spaces found across the North American continent. Changing light, huge open spaces, and agriculture that feeds the world were a part of the drive and a big part of my most recent inspiration. The original painting was created on an 18x24 inch stretched canvas with professional grade acrylic paints. Right now it is only available as a reproduction. I want to hold on to the original for a while. I may eventually offer it for sale, but for now it will hang on my wall at home and remind me of my most recent adventures.

Wolf Country

Today's painting came from my imagination, reading Jack London stories, and a childhood in the wild country of Alaska.  Using a palette knife, thick acrylic paint, and a lot of scratching around on the surface brought my idea to life.  I imagined hiking in the snow of a dark evergreen forest, with wolves lurking on the boundary  as I pass by.  In addition to greeting cards, reproductions prints are available for purchase on fine art paper, canvas, and as framed prints in a variety of sizes at my website.  I hope you will visit.

French Bridge View

From a photo, this little 5x7 abstract landscape painting emerged.  It was fun to create the light and reflection from an evening in Paris.  The painting is for sale at my Etsy Shop, Small Impressions Paintings.  Click here to view it in the shop or make a purchase.  If you'd like to see all of the paintings in my shop, visit this link.

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5x7, Abstract Landscape Painting, Art Collection, Blue and Orange Painting, Bridge, Canvas, Impressionist Oil Painting, Landscape, Night, Nocturn Painting, Oil Painting, Original Oil Painting, Original Painting, Painting Light, Painting on Canvas, Paris, Riverside, Small Art

Limited Palette Abstract

For months I've had a box of 12x12 inch canvases sitting in my studio.  I haven't used but a few of them because I was waiting for just the right subject.  Yesterday morning I finally said, "What the heck--I'm never going to find just the right subject." So, I just pulled one out and decided to go for it.  I prefer landscape paintings with a slight abstraction.  That made my job a little easier not to worry about perfection.  With a limited palette of Burt Sienna, Yellow Ocher, Naples Yellow, Alizarin Crimson, and Ultramarine Blue, I began work.  There's definitely some abstraction, but what I like best about the painting is the feel of the autumn season that the limited palette brought to the canvas. It will be available for purchase in my Etsy Shop, Small Impressions Paintings, sometime this fall. 

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12x12, Abstract Landscape Painting, American Painting, Autumn Painting, Canvas, Contemporary Painting, Field Painting, Gallery Wrapped Canvas, Landscape, Limited Palette Painting, Long Shadows, Original Oil Painting

Crooked River

Sorting through some of the photos from my Central Oregon trip, I selected this view of protruding stone at the base of Smith Rock and the Crooked River.  The reflection was stunning, especially after having taken a jaunt up the aptly named Misery Ridge.  This painting is 4x6 inches.  I was using it to audition which of the photos might be turned into a larger painting. 

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4x6, Canvas Panel Painting, Central Oregon Landscape, Oil Painting, Pacific Northwest Artist, River Bank Painting, Riverside

Sunshine on the Road

I've been experimenting with some different washes lately. This painting began with a yellow ochre wash. I wanted the painting to be warm and sunny. The underpainting did the trick. It is 9x12 inches on stretched canvas completed in oil paint.

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Abstract Landscape Painting, Abstract Tree Painting, Contemporary Impressionist Painting, Country Road, Golden Light, Oil Painting, Original Oil Painting, Original Painting, Painting Effects of Light, Painting on Canvas, Sunshine Painting, Tree Painting

Feeling Misty

I've been on a grand adventure the past few days. This painting represents how I've been feeling--things are a bit unclear, but I know there is some sunshine underneath the fog. The adventure has to do with purchasing new shoes and clip-in pedals for my bicycle. I've never had clip-in pedals before, just stuck with the pedals that came on my bike. This summer, however, I've noticed that as I climbed hills, my feet were slipping off the pedals and I was feeling very inefficient, often the last person to get to the top of the hill in spite of my hard work. I've been told many times that clip-in pedals would help me, but I've been reluctant because everyone I know who clips in to their pedals has taken spills. I'm a big chicken; I didn't want to fall. But, I took the plunge, purchased pedals and shoes and took to the road. Sure enough, two falls, a skinned elbow and knee, but going up hills was like sliding on butter. I'm still on the learning curve, things are a bit misty, but I know there is some sunshine coming when I master my new pedals. My painting is 16x20 inches, oil on stretched canvas. Eventually it may find its way into my gallery at Etsy. For now, it is on the drying rack awaiting the future.

Evening Sun, Shapes in the Trees

Today's 5x7 inch painting was inspired by the negative shapes that were constructed by evening sunlight and the trunks of trees. I began by painting yellow shapes on a dark panel. There was no thought about painting trees, just the yellow shapes. After that, I splashed a little green and yellow in the foreground to provide some depth and called it good. It was fast and fun and I like the abstraction that evolved.

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Abstract Landscape Painting, Abstract Painting, Abstract Tree Painting, Oil Painting, Original Oil Painting, Sunshine Painting

Carbon River Abstraction

Yesterday I took a wonderful 35 mile bike ride on the Foothills Trail that runs through the Orting Valley below Mount Rainier and along the Carbon River in Washington State. The weather was gorgeous and I stopped to snap photos all along the route. This 16x20 inch oil painting is the result of some of the inspiration I took home. After experimenting with several underpaintings on smaller versions, I settled on this combination of a red underpainting and large brushes.

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Abstract Painting, Abstract River Painting, Abstract Tree Painting, American Painting, Carbon River, Foothills Trail, Oil Painting, Original Painting, Orting Valley, Painting Effects of Light, Painting Light, Painting on Canvas

Pheasant Season, Original Oil Painting

It has been a while since I've painted anything much larger than 8x10, but today inspiration to paint larger came along. I call this painting Pheasant Season because it reminds me of a sunny autumn day when the pheasant hunters take their dogs and head out to the fields in pursuit of pheasants. The trees are bare and eyes are on the grass. Most often, I'm hoping the pheasant gets away and the dog and the man finish up empty handed. I'll never be a hunter myself. This painting is in oil on a 16x20 inch stretched canvas.

Fast and Loose

Painting a dish of citrus with bold strokes was my approach to this painting. While I enjoy looking at work that is photo realistic, I don't have the discipline to spend long hours on a painting. Fast and loose is a lot more fun. I like bright colors and big brushes. This painting is 5x7inches on a hardboard panel and painting it was a great escape!

Along the Road Abstract

Abstract landscape paintings have been sneaking off my brush lately. I'm not really sure what has prompted it. Perhaps it I'm just returning to an old friend. My paintings used to be almost all landscape paintings, then I moved into still life and some animals. Maybe it is my short attention span that just moves along in a random manner. Nonetheless, today's painting is an 8x10 inch oil painting on a gessoed hardboard panel. It was fun, quick, and colorful. I'm looking forward to it joining some of my other landscape paintings at Small Impressions Gallery in the near future.

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Abstract Landscape, Abstract Landscape Painting, American Oil Painting, Contemporary Landscape Painting, Grasslands, Impressionist Landscape Painting, Small Oil Painting, small tree painting, Tree Group Painting, tree painting

Wheat Field Storm--Abstract Landscape Fun

While I was dreaming of warm weather in my last painting, the reality of the environment must have been percolating on the back burner of my mind. This 8x10 inch oil painting emerged from my brush and presented a stormy atmosphere much like what is happening right now, just outside my window. Even though the painting reflects a darker side, I enjoyed creating the abstraction and the sense of fading light on the wheat of a rural field. This painting will eventually find its way to the Small Impressions Paintings Gallery where some of my other small landscape paintings currently reside.

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Abstract Landscape Painting, Contemporary Landscape Painting, Contemporary Oil Painting, Gold Wheat Painting, Grasslands, hardboard panels, Modern Painting, Painting Light, Painting Sunlight, Painting Winter Grass, Small Oil Painting, Sunlight, Sunshine, Wheat, Winter landscape, Winter Landscape Painting, Winter painting