Quarter Horse Study

Painting No. 154
Quarter Horse Study
6"x 6" oil on linen panel
December 27, 2011

I'm working on adding horses and riders into some of my paintings. This is a studio study of a pose that I want to include in a future painting.

Stewart Facility

Mount Seigel

Painting No. 153
Mount Seigel
Carson Valley, Nevada
6"x 8", oil on linen panel
December 18, 2011

The evening light is always beautiful on this mountain, but it only last a few minutes each day. This plein air painting took me about 10-15 minutes to complete and then then color was completely gone.

Late Fall on the River (study)

Painting No. 152
Late Fall on the River (study)
Carson Valley, Nevada
6" x 12", oil on linen panel
December 19, 2011

A few weeks ago I started thinking about developing a studio painting of the Cottonwood trees near the Carson River. For those who don't live in the western United States, these trees have trunks that are quite large, upwards of 3' to 12' in diameter. They grow more or less in groves near rivers.
My previous attempts to capture the size and strength of the trees (Paintings No. 138 & 144) didn't due them justice. So I tried to ask that all important question, "What would John Carlson do?" The answer is to make sure that the trees are strongly anchored to the ground, think of how much weight they support, and to remember that we are often look up at trees, like when you would stand next to a hot air balloon, from the under-side we see a narrow neck with the largest balloon mass skyward and slightly out of sight.
So I held these principles and added a third element of lowering my visual plane. By visualizing the trees and river from a small child's view point, then I can get a better feel for how the trees, grass, water and mountains are arranged.

Color Studies as a Design Tool.

I thought I would share a design tip.
Though I usually paint my subjects outside "plein-air" then bring the paintings indoors to develop a larger painting, this time I worked from a photo of this hotel, which I adjusted the dimensions to fit what I wanted the painting to convey,  then I painted 3 small studies to see which lighting condition looked the best. My initial thought was to go with the Evening Light version, but then I brought my wife in and had her look at the paintings and give me her initial response, which I think is vital to the process, since my decision can be skewed by spending too much time staring at the canvas.

Tell me what you think. Which one would you pick? If you were painting this scene, what mood would you want to express to the viewer?


Daylight study

 

Evening light study 

  

Night study



Sunrise on the Valley

Painting No. 150
Sunrise on the Valley
Carson Valley, Nevada
20"x 24" oil on canvas
December 11, 2011

Finished studio painting based on several plein air paintings and observations.
The Carson Valley has some great sunrise's during the winter months,  and this is my attempt to capture the fleeting light of early morning.

The Corner of Pike and Main

Painting No. 149
The Corner of Pike and Main
Dayton, Nevada
20"x 30", oil on canvas
December 10, 2011

The finished studio painting.
Dayton, Nevada is a small town east of Carson City. It was a stop over for wagons heading to the California gold rush in the 1800's. Then gold was discovered in the local creek bed, which led to more gold being discovered a few miles northwest of here near the town of Silver City. The town has a lot of history.
There's an old restaurant/bar/playhouse just north of here that was used by Teddy Roosevelt to give a speech from the balcony. In the 1960, The Misfits starring Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe was filmed here.
I first came to this town in 1975, when my Grandmother Louise Goddard decided to bring surplus stationary supplies to the flea market on Sundays. At the time, the country side was nearly desolate. Very few houses were built east of here. No schools or stores except for a hamburger stand on the corner of Main and Hwy 395. Today the old section of Dayton remains in a state of suspended animation. The feel of the 1970's is still here, with the addition of good food can be found in the local businesses.

Dusk in Virginia City

Painting No. 148
Dusk in Virginia City
Virginia City, Nevada
8"x 6", oil on linen panel
December 07, 2011

As evening falls on Virginia City, St. Mary's in the Mountains, Catholic Church stands in sharp profile against the sky. Originally built in 1868, then rebuilt in 1876 after a fire, this church is a major visitors attraction to this mining center of old Nevada.