Carson River Fall

Painting No. 138
Carson River Fall
Eagle Valley, Nevada
6"x 8", oil on linen
October 28, 2011

Mid-day along the Carson River, east of Carson City. It was near this location that Kit Carson and John Fremont camped during their expedition.

I don't have a lot of experience painting such bright colored trees, so this painting is something of an experiment in light control.

Truckee River Autumn

Painting No. 137
Truckee River Autumn
Floriston, California
8"x 8", oil on linen panel
October 25, 2011

The Truckee River is always cold. It's also a great place to fish. This location is near the Floriston Exit on Hwy 80, between Truckee and Reno.
The afternoon wind was blowing cold air down from the north and giving me a chill as I stood in the mountain shadow and worked quickly.

Fading Light, Stewart Indian School

Painting No. 136
Fading Light, Stewart Indian School
8" x 8"
oil on canvas
October 18, 2011

Summer is gone.
It's not coming back for a long time.
The cool afternoons and evenings of mid- Fall have invaded the Eagle Valley, and I have come back to the school to finish my series of paintings.
Why is it that we gravitate to certain scenes? There are over 80 buildings on this site, yet I find myself drawn to only a few. I walk the dirt roads that separate the old teacher housing buildings in search of a good composition, and time after time I end-up on the same corner composing one of three buildings. I have purposely decided to do all the paintings in 8"x 8" panels. This format seams to fit the box shape of the buildings and helps me to control the framimg.
The overgrown schrubs, golden Foxtail's and nearly barren trees seamed to add to the loneliness of the scene and the boarded-up emptiness of the house.

I'm Going YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prLRnmjv8Z4

I just finished by first YouTube video.
I really like the new digital editing format that's available for simple folks like me. I remember back in the early 90's when video cameras used 8mm tapes. I had a small side business of shooting and producing wedding videos. The work we did was down-right primitive to what can be accomplished today, so I'm looking forward to improving my skills with each new video. Please view the attached link and give me your thoughts.
Thanks

The Silo's of Carson Valley

Painting No. 134,The Silo's of Carson Valley Carson Valley, Nevada
6"x 8", oil on linen board
October 12, 2011

I finally found time to paint yesterday. It's been nearly a month since the last opportunity.

Not far from my house is a row of local farms near the highway, where these 3 silos have stood for as long as I've lived here ( 38 years yikes!).
The afternoon light was low and clean. Notice that the silos and the foreground brushline form an "L" shape, this on one of the standards composition shapes as described by Edgar Payne. Notice also that without the strong silos in the middle ground that this painting of fields and mountains would be quite boring. I try to add a strong vertical element if possible in each painting to add excitement. Also notice the long mountain shadow extending in from the right side of the painting. This is common effect here in Carson Valley. I think I did a good job of getting the mountain detail inside and outside of the mountain shadow.

Forestdale Divide

Painting No. 132, Forestdale Divide
Alpine County, California
6"x 8", oil on linen panel
September 20, 2011

This spot is located along the Pacific Crest Trail, near the road at the Forestdale Divide. It's really different painting at high altitudes, the air is thin, the atmosphere is desert-dry, and the weather is constantly changing.

This painting was entered into the 2011 Markleeville Fall Plein Air Event.