A Brush with Nature - Paintings

"Bright Green, Deep Shadows"

Pastel on Arches 12x9

SOLD

I did a practice run at the Arboretum this morning (note from 3/28/12) in preparation for A Brush With Nature. In the early morning, the sun catches the east end of the pond in a blaze of back lighting on the trees next to the water. The woods behind are still in deep shadows. I had to work quickly because by midday the sun light washes all this into an even shade of bright, overpowering green.

The challenge for this piece was making the background shadows something other than just dark, so I used purple and lavender to contrast the bright green on the bank and walkway.



"Patriarchs of the Hill"

Pastel on Arches 12x14

I did a preliminary sketch of this clump of oak trees on Monday in preparation for the paint-out.  What captured my attention was the dark trees against the light background accented with the light gray Spanish moss.  When I started the painting on Friday morning, the sunlight fell on the trees in the foreground making them light against a dark background.  By lunch time when I was starting to wrap up the painting, the values had completely shifted to what I originally envisioned.  So I wiped out most of what I had done and redid the values.  I much prefer this result.

"Guardian of the Meadow"

Pastel on Arches 14x18

I did a preliminary sketch of this composition on Monday afternoon for preparation for the ABWN paint-out, and on Thursday afternoon, I did the preliminary work on the painting.  I had to wait until Friday afternoon to complete the work, because I wanted to catch the low light coming from the right of the piece, and I wanted to set my easel in the shade to work.

This solitary pine tree towers above all the other trees in the open meadow by the lake.  It even stand much taller that the trees in the background.  It is this towering majesty in a peaceful setting that I have tried to capture.  The path bends across the meadow as it passes this tree, and dives into the woods to again.

"Morning Tranquility"

Pastel on Arches - 17.5x 14

SOLD

On Thursday morning, I returned to the spot where I painted "Bright Green, Deep Shadows" to do a larger version, but the light changed before I finished, so I covered the painting intending to come back the next day.  On Friday, several other people beat me to this spot, so I went to do the "Patriarchs of the Hill."  On Saturday, I came back early and finished this piece just as the news came that a rain storm was coming fast.  As I was packing to leave, one of the event volunteers came by and bought the painting while it was still on the easel.

I got out just as it started to rain, took the painting home, matted and framed it, and hurried back.  I took it into the wet tent through a pouring rain (no pun intended), and the purchaser met me there.  She was so thrilled to get this piece that she had arranged for her husband to meet her there to take the painting home right away.

I was in such a hurry to get the painting famed and under glass that this is the only photo I was able to take.  This was my wife's favorite of my work for this event.