Fall Colors

October Woods

acrylic, 8" by 10"

Rain Over the Blue Mountains

acrylic, 8" by 10"

The last few days have simply been too glorious to sit in the studio, so I've been taking my paints outside to do some plein air landscapes. While there isn't time to meticulously reproduce every detail of the scene , there is something about the immediacy of plein air painting, and the feeling of being part of the scene, that is a refreshing change from studio work. The fact that the light changes drastically within a few hours means that it's important to focus on the essentials of the painting first, and get the lighting right from the start. Being forced to think about the essentials first, instead of getting bogged down in the details, is always good discipline.

"October Woods" was started in our beech woods and finished in the studio - afterwards, I wished I had just left it as it was when I left the woods instead of fiddling with it. So when I painted "Rain over the Blue Mountains" yesterday - I made myself sign it before packing up and heading home. No more fiddling!

I have the use of the car again today, so I'm off along the side roads to see what I can find. Hopefully there'll be another painting to post tomorrow.

A change of plans

Mille Fleur Bantam Hen

acrylic, 11" by 14"

That's what is definitely called for at this point - having spent the better part of the last two weeks too sick to do anything with some annoying virus, I am now staring the deadline for the upcoming show in Ottawa in the whites of the eyes, so to speak. I'm going to have to discontinue the small daily paintings for the time being and really focus on getting the remaining paintings I need for the Ottawa show done and framed. Hopefully I can get back to the small dailies after November 5; I did enjoy doing them, but they are simply taking too much of my time right now.

Today I finished another chicken painting that is destined for the Ottawa show - at 11" by 14" it is still considered small format art, but is about the maximum size I will take with me, as I am limited on the amount of space to hang things. This is another pic of the neighbour's mille fleur bantam hen - a painting of her mate is on my easel right now. After that I think I'll take a break from chickens and do something else.

Mille Fleur Bantam Hen (detail)

The feathers on this bird were definitely challenging, but I'm pretty pleased with the overall effect, and I think I've got her haughty expression pretty much dead on. She is a bird with a lot of personality!