With the Leaves Down

With the Leaves Down, oils on canvasboard, 11" x 14," $300 unframed.

This week our class we went back at the horse farm on Joyce Lane. It's the same view I painted two weeks ago in "Brisk November Day," but now the leaves are down from the trees and what a difference that makes!

The day was sunny and actually warmer than on the previous outing, but pictorially it looks colder because of the leafless trees. There is much less color in nature this week, with blue sky showing through the bare crowns.

The horses were getting wormed--the owner and two helpers were in the paddock putting drops with the medicine in their noses using a plastic syringe. One yearling by the fence obviously didn't like the flavor and rolled back her lips to show more front teeth and gums than I've ever seen on a horse--it was so funny to watch, I wish I'd had my camera.

It was the last class of our session. With the approach of winter the outdoor painting season is rapidly coming to its end. I hope there may still be a few nice days left, but I'm eyeing the winter catalogs for warm layers I can wear during extreme weather painting.

Rainy Day Still Life

Still Life with Blue Bowl, 12" x 9." Original, $100 unframed.

It was a rainy and blustery fall day so this week our class worked on a still life indoors. I hadn't painted a still life since last winter's classes, but by now I am familiar with our teacher's props, in particular the white stoneware pitcher and this blue bowl. I chose this angle because first of all, I found the shapes of the shadows the objects were casting on the tablecloth fascinating, but also the perspective on the pitcher from this angle was challenging to draw.

My drawing skills have improved a lot since I started following Lee Boynton's suggestion to use only straight lines to outline the basic shapes. By carefully observing the points of intersection and angle of the lines in the objects, accuracy comes more easily. I had not forgotten other proceedures: start with the brightest colors and work on "pairs" of colors--the lighted and shadowed portions of the same object until the white canvas is all covered, then adjust the val-hues before adding more detail. I had great fun painting this piece.

A Brisk November Day

A Brisk November Day, oils on gessobord, 9" x 12." $200 unframed.


After being too sick to go to class last week, I was really looking forward to getting out to paint today. The November day was brisk but sunny; I bundled up under two layers of Polartec and my Tilley wool hat, and drove off to the Joyce Lane farm once again.

Lucky for me, one other student was also a bit late--we couldn't find Lee and the class at the usual place, so we drove farther down the road and eventually found them tucked between a bank covered with vegetation and the fence at the edge of the pasture. We lined up along the fence to paint. The foliage remaining on the trees glowed with burnt colors and the leaves on the vines behind us rattled in the breeze. Mars Violet seemed like the perfect color for the shadows and tree trunks on a day like today.

The morning passed in no time at all. Just as we were finishing our pieces, the horses came over to check us out and I couldn't resist putting a couple of them in my painting. They really add life to the scene.

At Brown's Bridge

The View at Brown's Bridge, oils on canvasboard, 11" x 14."

After a very rainy weekend, it cleared up on Sunday, bringing out the full spectrum of fall color at its peak. I was dying to get out to paint, but the usual household chores had to be done, and on this day, Herb had an important business meeting so he wasn't here to help.

I finally managed to get out around the middle of the afternoon and headed to Browns Bridge, which spans the Patuxtent River, marking the boundary between Howard and Montgomery counties. There are small parking areas on either side of the bridge where one can pull off. The place gets some recreational users and on this beautiful day there were several kayakers and hikers. I tried both banks to see which view seemed better and decided upon the westerly one.

The hillside on the opposite bank was flaming with color, but now mostly in shadow, while the young Sycamore maples on my side were a-glow in the afternoon light. There were some Canada geese swimming near the bank, but they moved away before I had time to include them in my painting.

I think I handled the color in the distance well, but wish I had made a greater color distinction between the near and the far, and had kept the val-hue of the water lighter and more varied. The close-up color seems too subdued in relation to the distance. Still, what better way for a painter to spend a warm fall afternoon, than in practice?

Out to Pasture

Out to Pasture, oils on canvasboard, 9" x 12" SOLD

It was cloudy but rain was not expected until later in the afternoon, so this week our plein air class met at the horse farm again. Today's painting is essentially the same hillside I painted two weeks ago, but under so different a light, the colors are much more subdued.

Autumn is progressing and many trees along the way displayed brilliant colors, though in this atmosphere they don't appear as bright as they would on a sunny day. This time I included one of the Welsh mountain ponies grazing in the field. The farm has quite a number of ponies in all colors: gray, brown and roan, but this beautiful white mare really stood out. I wish the horses would all stay still for a long time so I could put more of them in my painting, but they love to run about.

Just as we were starting to pack up, I felt the first raindrops--perfect timing!

Who Knew?

While Jack Frost hasn't nipped our roses or noses yet, he has been working his yearly magic on the leaves. My saffron crocus is blooming once again. Since these days I don't get home until after dark, I put Herb in charge of harvesting the saffron, but he sometimes misses the flowers opening in the late afternoon, so yesterday when I got home I went out with a flashlight to check them myself. A fingernail-paring moon was rising.

Yes, there were about a dozen blossoms still half-open, stigmas ready for plucking. I reached out to pinch one off and immediately stopped--there was a big bumblebee curled up right in the middle! I inspected the flowers more closely and saw there were two other bumblebees inside the crocuses. I left the ones with bees alone and gathered the rest of the flowers. Of course, I had to get my camera to record this unusual sight.

Who knew this is where bees spend the night? If I were a bee, I would rather sleep in a bower of scented saffron than anywhere else. The slug in the lower photo probably felt the same way.

On Sunny Days

A Sunny Day, oils on canvasboard, 9" x 12." $200 unframed.

Last Friday was one of those beautiful sunny days we get to enjoy in our area in the fall--the crispness of the early morning warmed to Indian summer by mid-morning.

The painting class met again at the horse farm on Joyce Lane, but last week, much to my relief, instead of sketching and painting horses we focused on just the landscape. I'm not too good with the noble beasts; despite the fact that I lived next to a horse farm in Sandy Spring for 17 years I never drew or painted the horses next door. During this eight-week session, our class will be working with them, so eventually I hope to learn how to paint horses credibly, and perhaps other animals too. It doesn't hurt to inject such a subject into a painting.

I am pleased by the soft yellows and oranges of the foliage against the violet shadows in my painting... it gives a sense of the sun and warmth of that day. Such a difference from today, rainy and at least 30 degrees colder! If only we could arrange to have more sunny days on the weekends...

Olney Farmer's Market

Olney Farmer's Market, oils on canvasboard, 12" x 9." Contact artist for price.

Last Sunday was the final day of painting for the Olney Plein Air. I returned to the Olney Farmer's Market to finish the small painting I'd started the previous Sunday. Fortunately, the colorful vegetable stand operated by the two Mexican ladies was there and looked almost the same, with a new addition in the foreground: a nice variety of jalapenos, habaneros and tiny red hot peppers.

The day was sunnier than the previous Sunday, so I corrected the sky to make it bluer and added patches of sun behind the tent. Quite a number of people looked over my shoulder and stopped to chat as I painted. My painting was finished before the market ended, and I was able to shop for veggies too. I bought some luscious baby eggplant, snow peas and sweet peppers for a great price. From now until the market ends in November, I will be shopping here every Sunday--what a treat to buy the freshest produce right off the farm!

All of the paintings from the Olney Plein Air will be on display at various Olney area stores during the week of Oct. 11 -17 and then at the Sandy Spring Museum from Oct. 19-24. They will be auctioned on the evening of Oct. 24 at the Gala Reception and Auction. Please come by to see the paintings and support the artists, the Museum and the Olney Farmer's Market. The auction proceeds will benefit all of the above and you'll have a chance to acquire some wonderful original paintings at very reasonable prices.