Mrs. B.'s Yellow House, November

Pastel on self-sanded Arches, 16x20 (Revision, 2015 12 14)

When I first saw this house on a gravel road not far from Harlan, Iowa, I knew I had to paint it.  The house is such a brilliant yellow and sits alone on the corner of country roads.  The November fields were already bare, but the golden and rust of the harvest still remained.  In the mid-morning sun, the long shadows of late fall paint a pattern on the lawn and across the road.

After looking at the 16x20 version for a few days, I decided to crop the painting to 8x20.  This version includes all the important information ans adds the feeling of width and space that I wanted.  The part of the painting I worked the longest and hardest on is the foreground which I could never feel was right.  It seemed to dominate rather than support the image of the house.
 

Pastel on self-sanded Arches, 16x20 (Original Version)

This is the original version - more true to the photograph but "missing something."

 Design Change

Redoing the design with a black and white print and a scissors - removing the bridge and the back ground to do some radical changes to the background.

I dropped the horizon and roughed in the plan for the broad fields and low hill in the background - will work out details of the road and perspective later.

Nishna Greenway, November

Pastel, 14x18 on self-sanded board

In the late afternoon, the sunlight floods between the trees and timber on the old roadway that runs on top of the south levee at Nishna Bend Park near my hometown of Harlan, Iowa.  Almost all the leaves are gone from the trees, and the tall grass has turned to rust and gold, but the short grass on the greenway still blazes with color and life. In this painting I have tried to capture some of the multitude of contrasts for this time of the year - contrasts in color, in value, in temperature, in line, and in direction.

Bottom of the Field, November

Pastel 10x14,  on self-sanded board

November can be a time of beauty and drama in the hidden corners of the empty fields.  The long shadows of late afternoon stretch across the stubble of the harvested corn field.  The grass on the edge of the field is still vibrant green against the dark, leafless trees.  The weather is still not cold, and it's as if in expectation of winter, the bottom land next to the river puts on one last show.
I constructed this surface and design using what I learned from Tom Christopher in his workshop.  Thanks, Tom.

Autumn Sea Oats

Pastel 9.5x14 on self-textured Gatorboard

Tom Christopher workshop - first studio piece.  Using Tom's instruction for texturing Gatorboard and emphasizing values, I developed this painting from a photograph of the sea oats on the low dunes at Jacksonville Beach.  My objective was to capture the textures and color of the sea oats on an early November morning.  The green of summer has been replaced with rust and gold in the early autumn light.
Photograph from my phone.  I will take another, more formal photograph after the workshop.

Off the Path

Day 1 Tom Christopher Workshop, Pastel 9x12

This is my first painting done in the Tom Christopher workshop.  I determined to do as much of this painting following the guidelines from his demonstration and personal instructions.  My challenge of working in the deep woods in Florida is to avoid being overcome by the color green.  The instruction Tom gave was to work with values first then color and to let my movements and marks be more free and gestural.  This is the result.

Marsh Colors, Autumn

Pastel, 9x12
My desire with this painting is to present the colors of autumn in the early morning.  In that brief moment as day waits before the sun climbs into the sky, the colors on the marsh seem to blaze with an inner fire.  The shadows are muted and indistinct, and the sharp details are diminished to bring the whole scene into a sense of expectation for the day ahead.

Marsh Vista, Study 1, Ps. 107:8

Pastel, 7.5x10 on Wallis

This painting is a composite of a number of views of the salt marsh near the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville.  I have tried to capture the sense of space and calm that this vista inspires drawing my attention to the beauty of God’s creation.

Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
Psalm 107:8

I executed this painting with different values of pure primary and secondary colors - very few grays were used.

I took a new photo and updated the image, October 28, 2015.
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