"North of Tucson"

I enjoy painting plein air, although I find it difficult.  The hard thing for me is looking around at all the detail and then finding a way to simplify it.  Good painters know how to simplify, and that is something I want to learn from them.

Oil, 8 x 6 inches.

"Along the Coast"

Thought I'd try a marine scene today.

Oil, 6 x 8 inches.

"Green Pastures"

A rural scene on a sunny day.  

Oil, 6 x 8 inches.

"Gondolier"

Playing around with shapes and color.

Oil 6 x 8 inches.

"Green House"

I'm not very good at painting buildings or architecture.  The only way to get better is to practice.  I used a reference from my favorite artist to paint this today.

Oil, 5.5 x 12 inches.

"Peonies"

Flowers are a fun way to practice color, edges, values, and drawing.

Oil, 10 x 8 inches.

"Fallen Pine"

I did this as a copy from one of Richard Schmid's paintings. I've always read and heard that copying from well known artists is a great way to help learn their methods and processes.  I had a lot of fun with this painting and definitely learned some things.  I plan on doing more such studies.

Oil, 8 x 10 inches.