Sunlit Willow

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The willow tree is one of my favorites. I love the shape of the tree, it's tiny leaves that glimmer in the sunlight and the very sturdy trunk and branches that are low hanging to the ground. I like how this tree was sunlit from the back and how the grasses in the fields are starting to turn into their fall colors, ready to go dormant for the winter. My goal was to capture the feeling of movement in the branches and the sunlight behind them.

The painting is painted on Arches oil paper.  It is a paper that is treated so the oil in the paint does not bleed through.  I like using this paper when I am trying something new or just want to experiment.
The oil does seem to soak into the paper more than other supports,  but I've enjoyed using it.

ENJOY!!

Late Summer Pastures

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I finished this painting today after a plein air session in one of my favorite spots to paint.  I love the ranchland in and around the Heber Valley where we live in Utah.  I am trying to paint there as often as possible these days.  Rumor has it that a major highway is going to split this area up.   It is needed in the name of progress in order to relieve traffic backups in Heber City.  I will be sorry to see this area destroyed but have lived through many such destructions to our lands.

 The farm that my parents owned was taken from them (by Imminent Domain) back in the '70s for a new power plant that was built along the river in Indiana.  We fought hard to keep the land,  but the locals thought this progress would be good for the rural area, bringing jobs and new businesses.  All it really did was bring more pollution and did nothing to bring more jobs after the plant was finished. 

I'm hoping some of these beautiful lands remain to survive this progress.

ENJOY THE BEAUTY WHILE YOU CAN!!

RedRock Spring

A recent hike brought me by this grouping of trees and rocks that I found very pleasing.  I like how the trunks of the aspens stood out in front of the cedar trees and how the red rocks complimented the color of the surrounding greens.  Below is the finished painting, a small work that just might become a larger piece.        

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ENJOY!!

Golden Meadow

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I was inspired to paint this after a hike into the hills surrounding our home this morning.  I was scouting for a place to paint and on my way back came across a beautiful meadow full of these golden wildflowers.  The scrub oaks are just beginning to leaf out and their leaves are a pale gold/green color.  I had a purple toned board already prepared and decided to do the painting using it.
I love the structure of scrub oak trees.  They are so unlike the oaks from the midwest.  They are short trees and their oak leaves are very small.  But I love the gnarly branches and the colors of the trunks.

ENJOY!!

Sturdy Cedar

I spotted this old cedar on a recent hike in the neighborhood and thought it would make a great composition.  I loved how the branches, old and gnarly, went out in all directions and how the boulders and plants added to the wildness of the place.  A rocky area,  I knew I would have to be careful setting up my easel.

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Here is the finished painting.  I had to really push the values of the greens to get them to read well, and push the lights and darks to make an interesting pattern through the painting .  I like how the placement of the rocks leads your eye up from the lower right to the upper left and to the star of the show, the cedar tree.

ENJOY!!

Heber Ranchland

A few days ago, I was able to visit a favorite painting spot near Heber City where many acres are devoted to ranching.  The trees and fields are a beautiful spring green and I found a shady spot under a tree with this view.  I loved the barn in the distance and the shadows thrown by the trees in the foreground.  I thought this would make a great composition so I set up to paint.

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Here is the finished painting with a few added touches to make a better composition.    I eliminated the foreground fence in favor of a suggestion of one in the distance.  I also added a path leading up to the barn.  

ENJOY!!

Spring- Heber Valley

It's been a welcome spring after such a long and snowy winter.  Earlier this week I was able to get out and enjoy some sun and drive to one of my favorite spots for painting.  Though I wasn't able to stay long enough to set up to paint, this photo inspired the small painting below.

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I loved the meandering stream and how the trees hugged the waterway and threw shadows on the grass.  This painting is done on oil paper and will likely become a larger work....
stay tuned and as always

ENJOY!!

Snowbird Waterfall

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This painting is a follow up to the one I did a few days ago.  I enjoyed doing the waterfall portion of that painting so much that I decided to do a smaller version of just the waterfall.   I am experimenting with painting on a black background and am finding that I like the graphic quality of the finished painting.   Somehow the black tends to help your eye blend  some of the colors together and create contrast in other areas.  I can't quite explain it, but I like how it looks and feels.

This painting will be offered on the Daily Paintworks web-site in an auction.  The bidding will engage tomorrow.  Click the above link to be directed to my auctions.

ENJOY!!

Winter Aspens

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This is another winter landscape inspired by a hike in the snow in our neighborhood. I love Aspen trees, even in winter. I love the texture and colors in their bark and the gnarly shapes of their branches. This is painted on a board with a black underpainting, giving the piece a more graphic look.
Once again I found that I had to lighten some of the colors.  This is becoming a grand experiment, one that I am enjoying.

Spring at the Conservatory

CONSERVATORY PATH

This painting is a plein air study done at the Franklin Park Conservatory during a plein air painting session. Unfortunately,  about half way though the painting process, we were struck by a pop up thunderstorm and had to run for cover.  I did take a photo of my subject before the rain started so was able to finish this at home.  Hope you enjoy!!

NEW WEST

Cedar Ridge Spring

This little painting is inspired by a walk into the hills surrounding what will soon be our new home in Park City, UT.  It's so refreshing to be able to get out into the countryside just by taking a walk.

I will be experimenting with new colors on my palette.  The rocks in the area are definitely going be a challenge to paint.  I've already begun identifying some of the plants and trees and will have to reference my bird book to figure out some of the new species I'm not at all familiar with in the midwest.

ENJOY!!

Welcome Home Spring

SPRING'S FALLOW FIELD

After what always seems like a long winter, spring is finally on our doorstep.  The inspiration for this painting is from a drive into the countryside.  Before the fields are made ready for planting, they are sometimes covered in low growing ground cover.  This particular field has a nice stand of a purple plant known as hen bit.  I think it's kind of sad that this beautiful plant will be plowed under soon.

ENJOY

BEAUTIFUL TANGLE

This painting is inspired by an area that I frequently walk by when I am walking my dog; a small grove of pine trees at the entrance to a park.  It was painted using gold leaf in the background, a process that I have been experimenting with recently.   It is also my entry into a show sponsored by the gallery where I show my work.  Every year, we have a show that features pieces inspired by poems.  Here is the poem that goes with this piece. 

TREES NEED NOT WALK THE EARTH

Trees need not walk the earth

For beauty of for bread.

Beauty will come to them

 Where they stand.

Here among the children of the sap

 Is no pride of ancestry:

A birch may wear no less the morning

 Than an oak.

 Here are no heirlooms 

Save those of loveliness,

In which each tree

 Is kingly in it's heritage of grace.

Here is but  beauty's wisdom

 In which all trees are wise.

Trees need not walk the earth

For beauty of for bread.

Beauty will come to them

 In the rainbow-

The sunlight-

And the lilac-haunted rain.

And bread will come to them

As beauty came;

In the rainbow-

In the sunlight-

In the rain.

David Rosenthal

ENJOY!!

HEADING INTO WINTER

GOLDEN GRASSES

Very soon,  these lovely golden grasses will be hit with a blast of winter snow and this beautiful landscape will transform once more to a frozen silvery land while the earth hibernates underneath.

This painting is another in a series of small landscapes inspired by my recent trip to Utah.  The colors will seem exaggerated once winter arrives but for now I love how the purple of the distant hillside is echoed in the shadows around the grasses. I also like how the light hits the bare aspen branches.

ENJOY

OLD FAMILIAR FAVORITES

THE SENTINEL

There are those things in a person's life that when mentioned or pictured bring back a memory or feeling that is comforting in its familiarity. My father planed many many white pine trees on his farm on a hillside to guard against erosion.  As a young girl, I walked among those pine trees.  It was a place of solitude and comfort. I hope I have captured the essence of those beautiful trees with this painting.

ENJOY