warren's point study - 14x11"

It was nice to be able to paint at Warren's Point again - especially nice with the waves and froth generated by Igor! I made color my priority today and looked straight into the sun. This beach is private during the summer so it has become one of my winter spots - it is especially awesome in storms (if you can get there).

cemetery study - 14x11"

I just got back from helping my son move from one house to another in Portland, ME - it was scorching hot there as well. This cemetery is at the Little Compton town common and the day I painted it was quite foggy - in fact I didn't totally finish it because the fog rolled back in as I was nearing the end. I find that I like the abstraction of the scene and will probably not do too much more. I had a great drive back, even Boston was pretty clear.

Tibetan Yak Farm - 11x14"

Believe it or not this location is a yak farm in Little Compton, RI.....one of our Monday morning plein air group's spots. I chose to do this view rather than the view of the yak's pasture. Despite the heat and their very heavy coats they were quite frisky and it was pretty nice to hear them behind me. They were also very sweet and one of them let me scratch her behind the horn.

warren's point stairs - 9" square

I  have always loved these rocks and their weird, rickety, imbedded stair case.

blue chairs - 9x12"

Plein air group at Donovan Studio this morning and the weather was awesome. Rather than painting the marsh, I was drawn to these chairs. I did manage to do a color study as well so I am pleased that I was able move that quickly and didn't have to wipe anything down.

kris' marsh - 10x8 - study

This is the first plein air study I have done this year that I have felt like posting. I met my friend Kris at her wonderful studio on the marsh and did two that I didn't wipe off. The place is full of bird life - ospreys, swans and various shore birds - just awesome!

interior experimentation - 10x8

I have been fooling around with this for a couple of days and am unsure whether it will be a wipe-out or not since I keep changing things around and trying to preserve the contrast between bright outdoor washed out light and rich deep interior grays. I am enjoying it as I mull over some ideas for a larger work that has absolutely nothing to do with this one. I may decide that I have learned all I can from the exercise and wipe it down. One of the most important things I have learned in the past years of nearly constant painting is that all thoughts and experiences can be fodder and that if you are not willing to take the chance on wasting time, then you will ensure rather dead work.

beach series 4 - 8" square

I was experimenting with color today and will finish readjusting tomorrow when I have daylight. No work on the portrait today though................a snow warning for Tuesday so I will be in and really, really make fantastic progress on it!

process - 8" square

I am posting the start of a "daily" today since I absolutely have to finish a portrait commission in the next couple of days and tend to get all interested in the smaller picture neglecting the actual paying work. I find that my inital lay-in process is changing to become  less linaer and more shape/pattern oriented. I am using the new updated blogger toolbar and can't find the spell check feature so please excuse if there are any misspellings!