Stewart Facility

Painting No. 120, Stewart Facility
Carson City, Nevada
8"x 8", oil on linen panel
July 21, 2011

The Stewart Facility was built as a native american school in the early 1900's. The buildings are now used by several different organizations, many buildings are boarded-up and in a state of slow decay. I'm going to spend the next couple of weeks painting various buildings, like this small office that was made out of local quarried stone, with a steel roof.

Faith Valley

Painting No. 119, Faith Valley (study for larger painting)
Alpine County, California
12"x24", oil on canvas
July 18, 2011

I've been pondering since last week if I should do a larger painting from this location in Faith Valley. So I went up there on Monday, took some photos and did this large study. The wind was blowing 10-20 miles per hour....I'm not joking! I found some large boulders and anchored the legs of my tripod. Good news was the mosquitoes had a hard time landing on me. During my 2-1/2 hours I was expecting a bear or deer to walk out in front of me, but no luck.

Faith Valley with Round Top Peak

Painting No. 118, Faith Valley with Round Top Peak
Alpine County, California
8"x 10", oil on linen panel
07-11-2011

Hope, Faith and Charity Valley's are all small beautiful alpine meadows that are surrounded by the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Alpine County, California. They received their names from settlers in the 1800's that traveled what is known as the Mormon Trial over the Sierra's to Placerville.
The evening light here is always great but this year it's stunning with the tremendous snow banks that are left from records storms this spring.

Sierra Summer

Painting No. 117, Sierra Summer
Buckeye Creek, California
10"x 8", oil on linen panel
7-3-2011

Noon in the Sierra's can be a tough time to paint. It's hot, the mountains are dull, my afternoon nap is calling me to retire to the travel trailer with a good book and a chilled ice tea. Yet here I am, roaming the country side with the hope of getting one more painting in before we head home.
I spotted these aspen trees earlier in the day on the Hunewill Ranch property above Buckeye Creek. I sized up the scene and figured that I could stand in the shade while painting which only added to the appeal. I like to sketch the subject first to get a sense of the composition,  just to make sure that what I'm seeing will actually transfer into the painting, then I block in the basic colors.
What I like especially about Aspen trees are the trunks, which are usually scared from graffiti (people carving their names) or rubbing against other trees, and the wonderful shape. When I paint them, I imagine they are jazz dancers, with their bodies creating smooth "S" shapes that flow to the music.  Each tree is distinct in character and markings with helps to create interest in the painting.

Aspen Afternoon

Painting No. 116, Aspen Afternoon
Buckeye Creek, California
8"x 6", oil on linen panel
7-3-2011

Buckeye Creek is a great getaway-from-it-all destination. It's 4 miles from Bridgeport California if you need something to do. It's 3 miles from Twin Lakes & Mono Village which is usually jam packed with campers and fishermen from Southern California. It's about 20 miles to the east entrance of Yosemite, and it's 10 miles to the ghost town of Bodie. But the best part of Buckeye is the peace and quiet of the streams and forest that surround this place. These aspens are just about the creek, next to a meadow. The first night of the trip we watched deer graze here at dusk. 

Evening Light, Buckeye Creek

Painting No. 115, Evening Light, Buckeye Creek
Bridgeport, California
6"x 8", oil on linen panel
7-2-2011

The day was hot in the mountains, probably in the mid 80's. But in the late afternoon things start to cool off rather quickly at higher elevations. I moved down to the creek and found this composition just below the campground. People filter past be as they enjoy walking through the shadowy corridor. I set up and paint quickly as the light traverses across the narrow opening in the trees and disappears into the mountains, leaving only the fading glow of the evening for me to work with.

The relationship between the fallen trees and the boulders work in harmony to create an "S" shaped design line. This, combined with the strong vertical and angled elements helps the painting to hold the viewers interest

Eastern Sierra Summer

Painting No. 114, Eastern Sierra Summer
Buckeye Creek, Bridgeport, California
8"x 10"
7-2-2011

For me this is the land of a thousand memories. It all started in 1980, when my grand parents brought my brother and I here for the first time. They weren't the kind of parents that wanted you to stay within view of the camp trailer, there motto was, ' go run up and down those hills, and don't come back until dinner.' So we did like we were told and explored the countryside like no one else.


This scene includes Flatiron Ridge to the right, and the eastern boundary of the Hoover Wilderness Area in the background. The manzanita are in bloom and that provided the foreground color.

Canyon Road

Painting No. 113, Canyon Road
Clear Creek Canyon, Carson City, Nevada
8"x 6", oil on linen panel
6-30-2011

I couldn't take it anymore.
It had been 4 days since I last painted outside and I was Jones'n for a chance to get my hands messy. I only had 40 minutes to work before I had to be at a meeting so I drove up what's know as Old Clear Creek road, just outside of Carson City looking for a spot. Stopped at this location, grabbed my bag and started flinging colors.

This painting is of the lower canyon, where the road snakes through a tight slot, with steep granite formations on the southerly hills, a small overly vegetated stream bed in the bottom and large steep cuts into the granite on the north side to create the road bed. This was at one point in history a portion of U.S. Hwy 50 connecting New York City to San Francisco.