Mosquito Pond



Mosquito Pond
Painting No. 6-F-12
oil on canvas
9"x12"

Late afternoon light was reflecting across this small pond along the ridge of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. I had to paint fast because the light was fading and the mosquitos were hungry!

Sierra Patterns

Sierra Patterns
Painting No. 6-E-12
10"x 8"
oil on canvas

During my Saturday drive along the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains, I painted this scene in mid-afternoon, just west of Grant Lake. The snow is melting fast on all the surrounding areas.

River Bank

River Bank
Painting No. 7-E-12

On Saturday I painted along the Walker River, near the Marine base in Pickle Meadows, California.
This is one of my favorite fly fishing areas....lots of nice trout.

Trail to the Lake

Trail to the Lake
Painting No. 1-E-12
oil on canvas
(plein air)

Went to the lake last night. Cold, windy, cloudy, aspen trees swaying back and forth making lots of racket. This area is well known for having lots of bears, every 2 seconds I stop and look behind me. Didn't see a single soul, which doesn't bother me, I enjoy the wildness of painting alone in the mountains.

How to Paint Large Landscapes

Sketch, Sketch, Sketch
The Painting, "Range of Light" is based on a plein air painting and photographs of the Sierra Nevada Mountains just north of Mammoth Ski Resort in California, USA. In the pencil sketch seen here, which was the final version of approximately 6 that I did one night which watching "The Voice", I have arranged trees and bushes, mid-ground and background mountains to display a depth of field and accent to the main subject, which is the mountains. I cant express enough how important it is to keep sketching ideas before you commit to a large canvas. Keep working the idea until it feels right.

Get Your Line Work Established
This is the rough sketch on the 20"x24" canvas for the final design layout. I first laid down a blue-gray wash so that I didn't find myself fighting against the white background later on. Notice that I changed the foreground lead in from a path through the brush, to a road. It just felt right. My family camped in this valley when I was a kid and it felt like reliving my childhood.

Layout The Color
This is where the plein air painting  is worth the time spent fighting with the wind and bugs. I personally don't have the ability to remember color and value accurately. I can't lay down correct color without a solid reference painting, (this is also where weekend painters and serious professionals begin to part ways. Go to a local art show and see the work verses what the professionals are selling in a gallery. The difference is spending lots of time outside capturing correct color, combined with lots of time studying the books by Edgar Payne and John Carlson.)

Finished Painting
As a finishing touch, I added the morning sun as it begins to touch the top of the mountains. This is a magic time in the Sierra's and I wanted to bring a focal point to the tops of the peaks.
Note the design elements used here: the road leads you into the mountains, the trees provide depth of field. The mid ground hills set the stage for forest and open snow covered areas. The mountain is distant, cold, snow and granite covered. The sunlight takes your eyes all the way to the top. I also left some open spots of raw canvas showing through in the sky; it acts as a cross-over from the morning sky to the sun-lite snow.

Northern Exposure

Northern Exposure
Painting No. 6-C-12
16" x 20", oil on canvas

This is the latest studio painting of the mountains in early spring. It was windy and cold as I painted my field sketch but was well worth the discomfort to capture such beauty.

Mountain Melody
Painting No. 3-C-12
8"x10" oil on canvas panel

Small studio painting of our wonderful Sierra Nevada mountains.

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.

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.

Painting from Small to Large Paintings Part 3

 As the painting is slowly coming together, it is important to see the details of the painting rather than viewing the whole painting at once. By focusing on small zones within the overall image, we can work diligently to perfect these small areas which will eventually fill-in the entire painting. My biggest struggles were with the back lit trees in the lower 1/3 of the painting. I think I repainted those 4 times.

Then the final struggle was the trees in the lower right corner. Trying to balance the shadow details with the highlights and keeping everything in perspective with the trees in the direct background. I like the way the painting came out, I think I captured the essence of Faith Valley and maintained the color/atmospheric qualities of the Sierra's.

Painting from Small to Large Paintings Part 2

After selecting your subject matter, painting field sketches and photographing the scene, the next step is to lay-in the basic line work.
Start by blocking in a background wash, green for the tree area, blue for distant mountains, yellow for the sky. Since the subject is well known in the Sierra's, I took the time to properly lay-in the correct height, width and location of all objects. To accomplish this I used several photographs and I drew a grid system directly on the photo then transferred the scale proportionately to the canvas using a small brush and French Ultramarine paint.

Next I worked back to front, painting the distant mountains in detail, then the mid ground mountains, again in detail leaving the sky for the end. In this photo I have also painted the closest shadows of the willows that grow in the meadow. This is my reference to compare all other values against.