Red Oak Grove at Rock Cut – Plein Air May 16

Red Oak Grove – Plein Air May 16; Oil on Canvas Panel 9″ x 12″

Found this location at the bottom of a hill and alongside Pierce Lake in Rock Cut. I set up my gear and was busy painting before I realized that I had stationed myself within about thirty yards of two families of geese. They did not seem to mind my presence. A couple of times, one male took off to chase imposing geese away from his brood. I felt privileged when at one point, a hiker ventured near and the goose raised its wings and hissed to ensure that the hiker kept his distance. I was actually closer to the geese than the hiker. Perhaps geese appreciate artists.

Plein Air – April Along Pierce

April Along Pierce, Oil on Canvas Panel 9″ x 12″

The days are getting nicer. A beautiful, but cool Saturday morning. I grabbed my gear and headed to Rock Cut. I had a couple sites in mind. Unfortunately neither site grabbed my interest. I hiked along one trail which lead down to the lake. Nope. Made my way to one of the fishing docks. Nothing. Returning to my car, I noticed a gap between a couple bushes. The path lead down to a nice spot along the  lake. Not much room for painting. Nice spot which offers several design possibilities. Busier than I expected. More hikers than I anticipated.

Funny overhearing the various comments and conversations from the hikers as they neared my spot. I was a bit hidden and people did not expect me. A few people were obviously embarrassed by what I heard them say. Interesting morning.

Path at Willow Creek – Study

Path at Willow Creek - Study, Oil on Canvas 8" x 10"

A few weeks ago, I was preparing for a demonstration. I used a 6″ x 8″ plein air sketch from last summer as my guide. The scene is along a path in Rock Cut State Park. I sketched and blocked in the design prior to the demonstration. I over prepared for the event (not necessarily a bad thing) and never got to use this start.

The other day, I finished a large painting and had an hour or so before dinner and then my watercolor class. I grabbed this canvas and worked quickly to finish it. Fun when you just let loose and go a little wild.

Autumn Trail Studies

Autumn Drive 2, Oil on Canvas 12" x 16"

Recently, I came across a photograph taken about twelve years ago during a family hike in Rock Cut State Park.  It was not a good photo, in fact a bit of a mess. A somewhat indifferent, uninspiring splash of less-than-brilliant colors.  But the linear design and the possibilities were of interest. I was searching for a resource photo on a different subject, but this photo caught my eye (no, it didn’t hurt). I can see the possibilities for doing this subject in watercolor as well as oil. Since I am working to create images for my display at the Woodwalk Gallery, Rockford Spring ArtScene and some additional competitions, I decided to work the ideas in oils for now.

The spacial designs are slightly different in each of the two versions, but they were fun and they were created quickly. I plan to use the best features from these two studies as I transfer the format to a larger size. I may even make a few changes. My wife saw the two studies, looked at the photograph, looked back at the studies, shook her head and said, “I don’t know how you got those paintings out of that drab photograph.” I took that as a complement.

Autumn Drive 1, Oil on Canvas 12" x 16"

Rock Cut Trail

Rock Cut Trail, Palette Knife Oil on Canvas 24" x 30"

I started this work using Magenta and Alizarin Crimson variations to lay in my drawing and block in the dark tones. These colors came through the subsequent applications of body color to some degree. Beautiful effects from the complementary colors – reds and greens.

After the initial brush work, all body color was applied utilizing palette knives. Tough work, but interesting effects. The refractions of light off of the uneven impasto applications of paint yield an interesting effect. I look forward to varnishing this work when it dries and hope to see this in a well lit gallery a installation. Or, better yet, a clients wall. That would be nice.

Plein Air October 9

Plein Air - October 9 #1, Oil on Canvas Panel 6" x 8"

Plein Air - October 9 #2, Oil on Canvas Panel 6" x 8"

Clawed and I ventured out to Rock Cut again. I stopped at the first picnic grove. It was busy with people. There were cyclists, trail runners and hikers. A set of trees near the parking lot caught my attention. I quickly set up my easel, but just as I was about to start painting, a large pick up truck with cyclists parked blocking my view. Disappointment. Before packing up, I took a look around and found a design that caught my attention. It is a view looking from the parking lot toward Pierce Lake.

As I painted, a few cyclists and runners ventured along the adjoining path towards the trails. They looked at the work in progress, but left me alone. About thirty minutes into the first painting I heard the sound of a family getting out of their car. A few moments later, I had two small boys looking at my work. The older one took a quick look, made a comment and then sped down toward the lake. The younger one took a little more interest and had questions. Questions about the paint, the colors, the brushes. etc. Then he stuttered, searching for the right words to his question. Finally it came out, “Like, do you want to be an artist when you grow up?”

I have heard that growing older is mandatory, but growing up is optional. The young boy and I chatted for a few more minutes until the attraction of the lake outweighed his interest in my painting.

After the first painting was completed, I turned to see a different set of trees near the parking lot which had interesting light patterns. I started to paint. But then Murphy’s Law. About five minutes into the painting, a truck parked blocking part of the scene. Fortunately, it only blocked a small part of the scene. I can work with this. Then, about ten minutes later, a van pulled into the lot and blocked most of the rest of the scene. I had enough of the initial lay in placed and was able to work around the obstacles. Occasionally I had to move a few feet to my left to get a view of the lower half of my scene. But I felt as though it worked out. #2 completed.

Plein Air October 8

Plein Air - October 8 #1, Oil on Canvas Panel 6" x 8"

Plein Air - October 8 #2, Oil on Canvas Panel 6" x 8"

Back out to Rock Cut with Clawed. Found a nice spot near the concession stand. A lot of activity from hikers and trail runners.

Had one passer by that had to let me know that he was a portrait painter. He should have stopped there. The more he spoke, the less I believed that he knew anything about painting. The kicker came when he mentioned that a friend of his used to work on illustrations for a state line manufacturer. His friend worked in gouache because it would drive much faster than oils. I indicated that since it was opaque watercolor it would dry much faster. He corrected me, “No, my friend used gouache, not watercolor.”  Oh, my mistake. Just keep painting.

Plein Air October 6

Plein Air October 6 #1, Oil on Canvas Panel 6" x 8"

Plein Air - October 6 #2, Oil on Canvas Panel 6" x 8"

Back out to Rock Cut for painting. I headed to a spot on the west side of Pierce Lake. This area has picnic amenities and is the convergence of several hiking and biking trails. It is a busy area. Fortunately for me, the passers by are busy with their own activities and leave me to paint.

As I was setting up to paint, I heard a voice. It seemed familiar. A man in sunglasses riding a trail bike rolled up to me and smiled. Once he took off his sunglasses, I was able to recognize the man as a friend of ours. This sight was out of context. We spoke for a few minutes and he rolled on and let me get back to painting.

Although I had to move my set up occasionally in order to avoid the sun shining directly on my painting, I must not have moved enough. As I was nearing the completion of my first painting, I realized that I had a couple wooly bugs crawling up my pants leg. They must have thought that I was very similar to the nearby oak tree.

Painting #2 was a little more of a challenge. As I was laying in my design and trying to capture the shadow patterns, a man rolled up and parked his large pick up truck in the middle of my design. You see, the area which I depicted as grasses, is actually park of a parking lot. I stopped for a few moments to evaluate the situation. Do I continue with the painting? Do I stop and wipe out the drawing and pick a different subject? Do I ask this fellow to please move his truck? The fellow got out of his truck and grabbed a small shovel and large bucket from the bed of his truck. He was stopping to gather acorns. I figured that this couldn’t take too long. Could it?  I continued with my painting. He took a little longer to gather his finds than I had anticipated. I had to make more adjustments to my shadows than I needed to, but in the end, it worked out.

Plein Air October 5

Plein Air - October 5 #1, Oil on Canvas Panel 6" x 8"

Plein Air - October 5 #2, Oil on Canvas Panel 6" x 8"

Clawed and I headed to Rock Cut State Park to capture some colors. Found a nice spot along Pierce Lake near the concession stand.

It was a fairly busy spot as a lot of trail runners and hikers passed by frequently. Mostly they just gave us a quick glance and continued on their way. That was fine with us. That much activity lends a certain feeling of safety.

About halfway through the first painting a women came over hoping to see the work in process. Not much of a dog lover though. Clawed approached her, looking for some attention and affection. She did not know that. She kept a distance and allowed us to keep working.

Plein Air Rock Cut

Plein Air June 30, 2011 #1, OIl on Canvas Panel 6" x 8"

Plein Air June30, 2011 #2, Oil on Canvas Panel 6" x 8"

This past winter, on a mild, sunny afternoon, I took Clawed for a walk in Rock Cut State Park. Along the way, I found an interesting spot along a creek. At the time, I thought that this might be a good spot to paint in the summer.

A few days ago, I took Clawed with me to paint at Rock Cut. At 7:00am it was already 80 degrees and getting warmer. I wanted to keep it to a short paint session. I decided to find that same spot along the creek. After parking the car, I put my paint box on my shoulder, carried my supply bucket in one hand and with my other hand, I held my tripod and Clawed’s leash. A full load. Problem is that the path and creek looked a lot different with the trees and bushes in full foliage. I missed my spot. By the time I realized that we had walked too far and backtracked, I was soaked with sweat.

After finding the spot, I was disappointed. I had anticipated a better inspiration. Perhaps this spot would be better when illuminated with late day sun. Not wanting to spend a lot of time looking for material, I set up my gear and set to painting anyway. After completing the first work, I packed up and was preparing to drag my gear and Clawed to find another spot in the park for painting. But then inspiration hit. I liked the view of the sun and shadows across the path. Set up everything again and get another painting going.

After I finished the second painting, I packed up and dragged the gear and Clawed back to the car. I headed home to spend the afternoon painting in my studio while Clawed spent most of the day recovering from the mornings experience.