Oil Painting
It is time to get this going again. It’s been almost a year since I posted anything here. It has been a fun and busy year with the birth of my son last summer. Here is a plein air oil sketch that I did just before the record breaking snow melted up here in New England.
Oil Painting
I love to paint quick “plein air” oil sketches of my surrondings. After 2 years in Decatur, GA, I had accumulated a number of sketches with no real outlet for them besides this sketchblog. When I saw that the town had a juried competition for a postcard design, I put 6 of my sketches together into a design. My design won, and now the postcard is being sold around Decatur. The design includes this painting of a mill tower by the falls in Lullwater park on the grounds of Emory Collage. That is the only painting I didn’t post here yet, even though I worked on it a while ago.
Oil Painting
Atlanta and Decatur have an abundance of little parks to discover. Since I’m moving away soon I organized a final painting excursion with a friend of mine. We found an old stone bridge which interestingly was spared all tagging and graffiti that was found on other structures in this park.
Oil Painting
Here is a oil sketch I did a little while ago. These are two beautiful trees in my neighbor Charles’ front yard. I thought I might revisit it to finish, but I like the sketchiness of it. Besides, it is always more fun to just start a new one.
Oil Painting
Last weekend I went to my favorite painting spot in my neighborhood armed with my painting gear and a square canvas. The sun was coming in and out of clouds while I painted which meant less painting time and more breaks in between. I was pretty exited to see a big old turtle emerge from the water a couple of times.
Oil Painting
I’ve been travelling around the east coast on my summer break. I brought my travel paint kit with me and was able to do this quick oil sketch of a fishing boat on a foggy afternoon in Portsmouth New Hampshire.
Oil Painting
This is a oil sketch that I did in Decatur Cemetary this weekend. It was warm and sunny and I figured the only way to survive without melting in the sun was to find reliable shade. I was looking for some cool angel statues to paint when I came upon a nice shaded spot under this tree where I planted my easel.
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Oil Painting
Here is a cannon that I sketched on my lunch break in Decatur square. It is a fun challenge to attempt to complete an oil sketch in less than an hour. It really makes you pick your strokes carefully and think ahead but also staying loose and intuitive, because you don’t have time to think too much.
Oil Painting
Met with fellow sketchers today to participate in the 39th Worldwide Sketchcrawl, representing Atlanta and Decatur.
I brought my oil paints and completed a small oil sketch of a street corner in Decatur. Our sketchcrew of 4 was unexpectedly joined by Thomas Jefferson who displayed an amazingly steady hand at drawing, and posed with us for a picture. 🙂
Oil Painting
A recent oil sketch from Lullwater park. While painting this I suffered double equipment failure. Both a part of my easel and my camping chair broke so the last few strokes were painted with me standing and holding the pochade box. I really liked the lead white oil ground I prepared this canvas with. The colors do not stain the canvas at all and it is easy to wipe off, yet the surface receives the paint easily enough. I did however find myself using softer long hair brushes more.
Oil Painting
I brought my cigar box pochade into work and did this oil sketch over the course of two lunch breaks, about 90 minutes total.
Oil Painting
I took part in the 37th global sketchcrawl event. This time there were only 2 participants on a beautiful day where we had planned to meet, at the campus. I brought my portable Paint set and walked around with my sketchbook doing thumbnail sketches, and then picked one thumbnail to render in oil paint. It was fun even though I would have liked to see more people sketching.
Oil Painting
I painted this small waterfall today. It is a small oil sketch 6×9 in done mostly on location. It was a test for my super portable cigar box pochade that I made yesterday. I had been looking for a quick and easy on site sketching solution . I’ve used gouache and watercolor in the past but I wanted to see how simple you can go with oils. I visualized a set that I could just use in my lap for a quick sketch and just bring a few brushes and fewer paint tubes for a limited palette. Last week I found a cigar store that was selling empty cigar boxes for cheap so I bought 2. I then got lexan glass and some hardware to complete the project. I’m happy to report that the experiment was a success although I have a few improvements in mind already.
Figure Drawing
I am attending a figure painting group in Atlanta. Once a month they do a long pose that is ideal for those of us who like to paint. This is the result of one such night with little fixes done at home.
Oil Painting
Waterfall in Kjalarnes painted from life and a few touches added in the studio this winter. I’m leaving it “unfinished” and sketchy. I had sat down to paint a bridge, but this small and insignificant waterfall called out to me and I forgot about painting the bridge.
Oil Painting
I recently completed this landscape painting. I started it on location and put some finishing touches in the studio. I actually started working on it closer to the river but somebody from the local sports fishing club asked me to move further away so I wouldn’t spook the fish. I think fish are more spooked by sharp metal hooks being dropped into the water than by the sound of bristles on canvas, but whatever. This painting is a mix of the two perspectives from up close and higher up and further away.
Oil Painting
Still weather at Grótta lighthouse is a freak weather occurance. I set up my easel on the black sand beach and tried to capture the phenomen while I could. 🙂
My summer vacation is coming up soon and I hope to get a few more of these plein air sketches done and posted up here shortly.
Oil Painting
I´ve been able to find some time to go plein air painting lately. Both of these are done from life in Elliðaárdalur a “green” area in Reykjavík. There aren´t any leaves on the trees yet and the grass is pretty yellow still. The red house really stood out from all the brown and green tones of early spring in Iceland. I painted the fallen tree in a grove of trees on a pretty windy day and was grateful to find a subject in a sheltered spot.
Oil Painting
Here are two oil sketches from life done one a weekend trip in early spring to the family summer cottage.
