A Painters Journey

For the last month, since I returned from the Olmsted Plein Air in Atlanta, I"ve immersed myself in studio work with only an occasional break for plein air. I think  I"ve done some of my most exciting work to date. I do love painting in the open air for many reasons - being out in nature, painting with friends, meeting new people while painting, and the fun, sales and travel opportunites that come from plein air events. But I am realizing more and more that artistically, plein air is useful for information gathering and honing one's skills at design and editing, but it is only in the studio where I have the time to contemplate and try things in a painting that are risky and might result in utter failure. I couldn't take the chance at plein air events! However, having tried these new ways of applying the paint and thinking about the subject, I hope that some of this will spill over into future plein air paintings. So I continue of my journey to produce the best paintings I can, no matter where or how they are painted.

Here is a new studio piece, 30 x 30, where I tried new techniques including transparent layering, scraping and palette knife as well as traditional brushwork. I"m painting iconic images of the area where I live, the Eastern Shore, and these shapes are something I often see in the surrounding farmlands. 

This month will find me judging the Fingerlakes Plein Air and teaching a plein air workshop, and then at the end of the month it's on to Telluride, Colorado to participate as an artist. Not much studio time ahead for a while, buts it's been fun while it lasted!