A Last Three

 A last three: selection of recent drawings made before starting a plein air painting.  

Three More Drawings

 Three more recent drawings done in preparation for plein air paintings.

A Large Landscape

I've been working on a large landscape painting for the last week.  Here it is with some of its colleagues at the studio wall.  I'm thinking it's almost done.  36 x 48 inches, oil on canvas.

Some Drawings

When I paint outside, I continue to make a drawing first.  Here's a sampling (except for the first drawing, for which there's no painting yet).  

Like This

When the weather is like this, I am grateful there are places like this, where I can setup my easel and paint.  9x12 inches, oil on panel.

Going To Seed

 

For most of the afternoon the sun did not shine, but it was pleasant painting in this meadow, which also functions as a pasture when there are cows. Now everything is growing and going to seed.  The higher field has been mowed but not this one. 

Looking Up

 

So today I started to paint in a new spot for me, though it's just a bit lower down the road from where I've been painting this summer.  Now I'm looking up instead of looking down.  9x12 inches, oil on panel.

Sloan Sky

 

An oil study started in the studio and completed on site off of Sloan Road in Williamstown, MA this afternoon before the thunderstorm rolled in.  12x16 inches, oil on panel.

Summer Cloud Study

 

A study of summer afternoon clouds.  I walked to the top of a hay field, faced north, mixed all my paints, and started to paint. 9x12 inches, oil on panel.

Behemoths

 

To look towards the sun, I went up higher in the pasture partly off of the dirt road.   Halfway through the painting, I saw something in the corner of my eye.  In a few seconds, they came out of the woods.  I became surrounded by huge, fly-covered behemoths, loudly chomping the vegetation around me. Just as suddenly they all left going down the hill toward the barn.  9x12 inches, oil on panel.

Overgrown Pasture

 

An overgrown pasture where the dirt road begins.  The cows have many options here for eating, and the many plants they ignore come to fruition.  8x10 inches, oil on panel.

Adventures On The Dirt Road

 

On the dirt road high up.  When making this one under the umbrella, I was visited by the farmer's wife, who saw its reflection from below and thought it was a car.  She drove up in an ATV to investigate, and when she saw me, she said something like, "Oh, it's you."  9x12 inches, oil on panel.

Higher Up

 

Climbing higher offers a view over the trees, which includes more of the mountains to the north, including the Dome in Vermont. 9x12 inches, oil on linen panel.  

Rising Above

 

A simple landscape, done quickly, looking west toward the Taconics in New York state.  I like the way the tree rises above the mountains.  The shadow at my feet kept sliding down.  9x12 inches, oil on panel.

Looking North

 

A view looking north from the steep dirt road in Williamstown, MA.  9x12 inches, oil on panel.