Frost at Dawn

24"x24"

Oil on Deep Edged Canvas

with Palette Knife

SOLD

I'm really enjoying abstract landscape painting!

Psalm 23, The Lord Is My Shepherd

36"x36"x1.5"
Oil on Canvas

with Palette Knife

SOLD

Sometimes, I get a image in my head so strong that I cannot rest until it is painted. 
This is another painting inspired by the music of  John Rutter's Requiem. 

The text is Psalm 23. 

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want;
     he makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters;
     he restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
    for his name’s sake.

 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
    I fear no evil;
for thou art with me;
    thy rod and thy staff,
    they comfort me.

 Thou preparest a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies;
thou anointest my head with oil,
    my cup overflows.
 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
    all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
    for ever.

Although the psalm is full of many beautiful and powerful images, I tend to gravitate to imagine a pastoral vista of green fields and running streams. This is a completely inspired work. I had no visual references when I painted it. It is completely from an image in my head—molded and shaped on canvas as the painting evolved. I recalled experiences plein air painting and combined them with a new loose abstraction I've been developing. 

What really changes this painting from a pastoral scene to a work of theology is the light in the sky. It is not unlike my very first painting in this blog, And The Spirit of God Moved over the Waters. The light represents God and God's outpouring of grace (my cup overflows). That "overflowing" is the stream running towards the viewer. The painting is an impression of the peace and serenity the comes with "dwelling in the house of the LORD, forever." A peace that not only will be enjoy in the future, but one that is ever present here and now.

Winter Wandering

18"x24"
Oil on Canvas

with Palette Knife

Click Here To Purchase

My first painting of 2017. This organic abstract was inspired by impressions gathered from a walk in the snow.

September Sunlight

6"x6" Oil on Panel

with Palette Knife

Another day at the barn, horsing around, while my daughter rides. This time, I had some visitors watch me paint from behind—as shown in the photo below. 

There is now a new way to purchase my paintings. Click the link names "Click Here To Purchase." The link will take you to my new website—including a store where you can select and purchase with a click.

Horsing Around

8"x10" Oil on Panel

with Palette Knife

Click Here to Purchase

My youngest daughter has taken up horseback riding lessons. I decided to take the opportunity to use the hour lesson time to work on some quick-draw plein air painting of the other horses in the field.  

I totally underestimated the intelligence of the beautiful animals. As I set up next to the fence, all of the horses came over to watch me construct my french easel. But once I was ready to paint, all of the horses went far down the field to graze out of range from my painting efforts. “No matter.” I thought. “I'll just paint the field and when they come back around, I'll paint the horses in.” But when the time came to paint in the horses, their dinner bell rang and they all galloped out of the field to eat. Fortunately, they soon returned. But instead of grazing in my view, they went to the OTHER far side of the field to graze. I did my best to capture shapes and colors from far away. Once time was up and I packed everything up to leave, I looked up and they were all back in the middle to graze. Touché.

So today's post is the result of my efforts from that day.

Hopefully, next time they will be a little less shy. We shall see.

Lavender

11x14

Oil on Canvas

Click Here to Purchase

Starting the new year off with a touch of spring. 

Hay!

6"x6" Oil on Panel

with Palette Knife

Click HERE to Purchase

30 Paintings in 30 Days: September, 2014—Day 24

Lately, I've been seeing a lot of these guys around.

Field of Beans

6"x6" Oil on Panel

with Palette Knife

SOLD!

30 Paintings in 30 Days: September, 2014—Day 22

Colors of fall are starting to crop up all around Middle Tennessee—as illustrated by this beautiful field of soy beans off the highway.

Fire & Ice

6"x6" Oil on Gessoed Panel

with Palette Knife

SOLD

30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge: January—Day 25

It was a bitterly cold morning in Middle Tennessee. As I drove my kids to school, the temperature was in the single digits. On the way, we passed a field where the treetops were just beginning to be warmed by the sun. The golden light looked like fire against the cold, icy ground. It was a beautiful scene to start the day.

Tennessee Farm

6"x6" Oil on Gessoed Panel

with Palette Knife

SOLD

30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge: January—Day 15.

WHEW! Half-way through the 30-days challenge! Today's painting is one of many charming farms nestled in the hills of Middle Tennessee.

Yellow Field

6"x6" Oil on Gessoed Panel

with Palette Knife

30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge: September—Day 9.

Today’s painting comes from a photograph I took this past spring of a field full of yellow blooms. Scenes like these are a joy for the artist’s eye. It makes me thankful to live in a world so diverse with color.

King of the Hill

6"x6" Oil on Gessoed Panel

with Palette Knife

NFS

30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge: September—Day 2.

As a child, I used to play a game called "King of the Hill" with my friends. One player (the King) stands atop a hill (or ditch as in our case). Challengers climb the hill and wrestle the king. The one who ends up staying on top is the new king. 

In this plein air painting from the lake, a solitary bale of hay rests atop a hill. This bale has been challenging me to paint it for some time. The best time to paint it is in the late evening when the light is the strongest, but fades fast. In the spirit of the 30 in 30 Challenge, I dared to wrestle that hill with paint. 

It was a tough fight. First of all, the sun vanished behind a cloud just as I was beginning. It returned just in time for me to record the dramatic light effects before setting for the night. The colors changed so fast. I mostly had only values to work with with fleeting moments of color checks in the setting sun. Assaulted by mosquitos and with hands covered in paint, I finally finished the painting by dusk. 

Although the bale of hay still rests at the top of the hill in this painting, I feel confident that I have overcome the challenge and won the game.

A Midsummer's Eve

6"x6" Oil on Gessoed Panel

with Palette Knife
$50.00 + Shipping

Click HERE to Purchase

30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge—Day 30.

Summer evenings are magical times. As the setting sun casts cool colors on the countryside, the fireflies come out to play. This is a 6x6 version of a favorite painting I made this past summer. It think it is a fitting image to end this 30 paintings journey. As the project comes to a close, I look at what has happened over the last 30 days with amazement and gratitude. 

I am grateful to my family for their patience and support. I'm grateful for Leslie Saeta for initiating the challenge. Most importantly, I'm grateful for all of you. Your interest in my work is cherished more than you will ever know.

I have a feeling there may be many more of these little paintings to come. There is so much more I want to try to paint. There are still plenty of conceptual pieces I plan to paint as well. Tomorrow is new day. I wonder what new things that day will bring.