Painting Mountains from Florida

 

                                            Grand Teton View              gouache on panel, 6x6

    It's been a few years since I've been on a hiking trip in the mountains.  Whenever I travel, I bring my paints and sketchbooks so I can do some plein air painting.  It's a long drive from Florida to the Appalachian Mountains and the Blue Ridge Parkway.  When I can't get up there, I resort to painting from my own reference photos and from friends' trip photos.

    This Grand Teton scene was painted from a friend's travel pictures.  Gouache is a nice medium for small travel art paintings.  I often use gouache as a plein air medium, so I can travel lightly.  It dries quickly and I don't have to figure out how to travel home with a car full of wet oil paintings.  

    Here is a photo of me on a hiking trip in Cloudland Canyon State Park in northwest Georgia.  It was a wonderful camping and hiking trip.  I didn't get very much painting done, since I was going on long hikes with a friend, but I came back with some nice photos and lots of memories.

                                            Spring is Here                        oil on panel, 12x12

    Here is a scene from the Berkshire Hills in western Massachusetts, where I grew up.  I photographed a view from the road on the way up Mount Greylock.  I was there during the early fall, but in this painting I imagined a spring scene.  I still remember what the Berkshires look like during the four seasons, even though I've lived in Florida for 20 years now.  Painting the Appalachian mountains is like going back home for me.  I look forward to doing more trips into the hills and making some new mountain art.

Enjoying the Beach

 

                                            Watching and Waiting, watercolor, 5x7

It is finally cool enough for me to paint outside.  I enjoy watching people enjoying the beach.  While I was painting this scene, the woman came back and sat down in the red chair, but I decided to leave it empty.  Here in Florida, visitors are coming in from all over, and locals are starting to spend more time outside.  The water is getting cooler, but it is still pleasant to walk along the edge in bare feet.  I look forward to more plein air painting sessions at our beautiful beaches.

Colorful Cows

 Mable, 6x6 oil on cradled panel, is a first in my new, Colorful Cows series.  I am adding some favorite rural subjects to my portfolio.  Visit me website for more originals and fine art prints.

Blue Green Early Afternoon

7x5 oil on panel

The water was an amazing blue-green as the sun was getting lower.  I made a quick study of the different shades of blue and green.  Boats were still going out, leaving foamy, white wakes that cut through the smooth water.

Coastal Colors Art

Painting Plein Air at 7am

7am Sky, oil on panel, 7x5

I arrive when the sun is just starting to come up above the palm trees.  I decide to paint behind the bunches of sedges and sea oats.  There are no waves today, but I can hear the soft swish of water lapping against the shore.  A few pelicans glide by, looking for a place to land.  I face Northwest, and set up my easel.  The air is still cool, and I keep my sandals on.  I block in the sky and the cool, grey clouds.  The water is slightly darker than the sky, with a greenish tint.  The lower section of the sky is a beautiful, pale green-blue, turning towards a cooler blue above.  This morning the clouds are scattered in clumps of small, round puffs, with dark purple-grey bottoms and rosy tops.

After I finish the sky and water, I lay in the sandy area with a thin wash of warm ochre and a touch of pink.  The sedges look brown and green, and I use a palette knife to mark where a few tall sea oats that rise above the horizon.  The air is warming quickly, and I take my sandals off, scrunching my toes into the cool sand.  Now, the water is turning into a brighter blue and the sedges are lit up as the sun rises higher.  My painting is complete.  It is hard to leave the beach as another incredible change in colors and light has opened before me.  Each painting session is like a deep meditation where I become one with the sand, sea, and sky.

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Bird Nesting Season

Watching Over Baby
watercolor & gouache on watercolor paper
8x10

Spring in Florida is nesting season for many birds.  This Great White Egret at the nest with her tiny chick lives at the Venice Rookery in Venice, Florida.  The Rookery is an island of mangroves in the middle of a lake.  In the spring, it is full of nesting egrets, herons, anhingas, and cormorants.  It is a peaceful place, other than the sounds of the many birds that make it their home.  In the bushes around the lake, redwing blackbirds flash their red patches and cackle.  The Rookery is down the street from the Venice Audubon Center.

For more information about this painting and more bird paintings and fine art prints, visit my website.

More Bird Paintings

Feathery Display, gouache and watercolor on paper.  10x8

I keep coming back to the bird paintings.  During the April shutdown, the Venice Rookery was still open.  It wasn't crowded, and I enjoyed sketching the nesting birds from life and taking some photos.  I also did a little plein air painting during the sunset.  This painting of a great white egret has a lot of vibrant color, and I showed how the light touches her feathers.  Gouache and watercolors allow me to paint quickly and keep it loose.  The paints dry fast, and I can work in a few layers to enhance the effects of shimmering color and light.  If you like this bird painting, visit my website for more of my bird art.

Feathers In The Sunlight

Glossy Ibis, 11x14 oil on panel

This glossy ibis had a lot of color in the areas that were lit up by the sunlight.  I noticed the calm, still stance of the bird.  I like to focus on details, especially around the face and eyes, and to surround the focal point with soft areas of color.  Birds are a good subject to work with here in Florida because there are so many large birds such as herons, ibis, wood storks, and sandhill cranes, and there are many opportunities to sketch and take photographs while they are fishing or just standing still for a few moments.

Sketching and Painting Birds From Life

Laughing Gull With Terns, gouache, 5x7

When I am sketching or painting birds from life, people come over and ask me why I don't just take a photograph and paint from that.  Sometimes I do work from reference photos, but the knowledge I've gained from years of sketching and painting from life comes through.  I don't just make a painting of a photograph.  I want it to look real and lifelike, and not too stiff and tight.  This painting of a Laughing Gull and Terns was done from reference photos, but I picked out three birds from the photo and placed them where I wanted them, to make an interesting composition.  I have spent a lot of time sketching these birds at the beach, so I understand their shapes and proportions.  In this painting I created the feeling of the bright sunlight on the beach.  The black heads make a pleasing contrast with the bright orange beaks.  There is something a little bit whimsical and humorous about terns.

Time To Start Blogging Again

Behold, oil on panel, 11x14

After a long absence, I decided to start up my art blog again.  Writing very short posts on my Instagram page doesn't seem like enough.  Here is a studio painting of clouds above the Gulf waters in Southwest Florida where I live.  The clouds are amazing during the warmer months.  Sunsets are better when there are some clouds, because they reflect the light and change into different colors as the sun gets lower and lower.  My process involves doing sketches of clouds in pencil and taking some reference photos.  Once I'm back in the studio, I use the reference materials and I change the position of the cloud if I want to create a better composition.  The most important aspect of the cloud painting is to create a feeling of being there, and a sense of awe.  The experience of communing with the elements of nature is important and many people have neglected that part of life.  I hope my paintings remind people to get outside and look around more often.

Return To Still Life Painting

Still Life With Lemon 1
oil on panel, 12x12

After a very long absence, I have returned to still life painting.  It gives me a way to paint from life during the long, hot, Florida summer.  I like to have a few objects, and prefer flowers and fruit.  When I set up a still life, I realize who many variations are possible.  It is nice to be in control of the scene after spending some years doing plein air painting.  This floral has soft light and shadows, and muted colors.  The lemon gives it a little pop.

Colorful Antique and Classic Cars

The Unexpected
Oil on panel, 20x16

I saw this colorful classic car parked near an interesting sign during one of the Englewood, Florida antique car shows.  It had a Route 66 decal on the side.  Englewood is a small town with some historic and old Florida buildings, and is the perfect place to host car shows.  People park their beautiful cars along the downtown area, and hundreds of visitors walk down the streets to look.  I'm not sure what make and model this is, but I thought it made a great subject for a painting.

Foggy Weather in Florida

Veil of Mist
oil on panel, 20x16

It is rare to have foggy days in Florida.  Since I've lived here, I haven't had many opportunities to paint grey, foggy days.  The sun is usually very intense.  However, I grew up in New England, and am familiar with how to draw and paint fog and soft, subtle light.  Fog and mists create a wonderful, mysterious feeling.  That is what I expressed in this painting of  Casperson Beach.  The horizon was completely shrouded in thick fog, and I could barely see the distant waves as they rolled in.  Here is a quiet, serene place to rest your eyes and spirit.

Appreciating Antique Cars

Tampa Avenue
oil on panel, 8x10

Here is a scene with an antique car that I came upon while plein air painting in Venice, Florida.   I finished the car in the studio, using a photo reference, because it drove away when I was starting my painting.  This is a Thunderbird from the 50s.  I'm not sure of the exact year.  It was before they started having large wings on the rear.  Antique and classic cars are a favorite subject of mine.   I appreciate their uniqueness and they bring back feelings of nostalgia.  Sometimes I visit local car shows and take photos for future studio paintings.  Downtown Venice is an ideal painting spot.  The dappled light on the buildings is interesting, and there are plenty of trees and flowering shrubs.

Love The Mountains

Smokey Mountain Wildflowers
Oil & cold wax on panel, 10x8

I love hiking in the mountains, taking pictures with my camera or my cell phone, sketching, and plein air painting.  On this trip to the Great Smokey Mountains, I worked on an art journal using pencil, gouache, ink, and colored pencils.  I also did some collage from postcards and brochures after I came home.  This is a studio painting that I completed after I returned.  I learned about using cold wax as a medium while I was visiting artists in the River Arts District of Asheville, North Carolina.  The cold wax medium made by Gamblin makes a very nice, soft painting medium.  It allowed me to build up an atmospheric effect in the background.  The Smokies have more wildflowers and butterflies than anyplace I have ever visited.

Peaceful Art

Awakening
oil on canvas, 26x18

Boats suggest peace and tranquility to me.  I look for old dories to photograph.  There are a few places where I can usually find one or two.  Back in the studio, painting the light and colors reflecting on the water becomes as interesting as the boat.  Making art that is expressive and poetic is always my goal.

The Egret

Listen
oil on canvas 24x18

This egret waded by while I was doing a plein air painting in the early evening.  I put my brush down, picked up my camera, and took photos.  This one barely paid attention as I photographed it.   I used my reference photo and memory for this one.  Egrets look so graceful as they tiptoe through the shallow water.

Water And Reflections

Love Your Solitude
Oil on panel, 6x6

Cocquina Beach in Bradenton, Florida was flooded after a steady rain.  I could see the clouds reflected in the puddles.  Seagulls were standing quietly in the shallow pools.  It was a quiet morning during the week, and the beach was mostly empty.  Painting can be a solitary activity, but I never feel alone when I am out in nature.

The Peace River

Peace River's Edge
Oil on panel 6x6

I have visited the Peace River in Arcadia, Florida several times.  It is a beautiful, quiet place.  I noticed this clump of branches on a bend of the river.  The light was sparkling on the water, and the colors of the water varied.  During the afternoon, people drifted by on canoes and kayaks.  Rivers are meditative places for me.  I always feel lucky to be able to spend time in nature, looking at it and painting my experience.

A Glorious Sunset

Gathering
Oil on panel, 6x6

Here is a gathering of seabirds at the edge of the water during the sunset.  The water was sparkling with red and orange as the sun went below the horizon.  I could barely see the birds against the bright light, so I painted them as dark silhouettes.  Watching sunsets is a favorite pastime here in Florida.