A Small Portrait

MISSOURI ARTIST • OIL PAINTING • MALE FIGURE • TEA

Alan, 9 x 12, oils

My first portrait in oils after ten years of landscapes was a challenge. I started out wanting to be all loose but in the end it was whatever it took to get facial symmetry and a likeness. I was working from reference but wanted more than just a painting of a photo so I took some liberties. The scene was a cloudy day so I pushed all the highlights towards the cool side and made the shadows warm, changed the table setup for a more pleasing arrangement and simplified or edited what was not essential. I love how the sweatshirt bounces red ambient light into everything around it; wood metal, even skin.

Revisiting Maligne Canyon

MISSOURI LANDSCAPE ARTIST • JASPER NATIONAL PARK • MOUNTAINS • RIVER • STREAM • FOREST •

Maligne Creek, 9 x 12, oils

We're snowed in here so I decided to revisit some of the photos I took on our trip to the Canadian Rockies last September. I didn't spend a lot of time on it. It's the kind of study I do to keep from getting rusty.

Appreciating a Winter Sunset

MISSOURI LANDSCAPE ART • OZARK • COUNTRY • RURAL • MIDWEST

160 to Frontenac, 6 x 12, oils

I was driving home from a short trip to visit family during the holidays and decided to take the back roads instead of mind numbing 71. I was soon stuck behind a slowpoke and regretting the decision. At the next major road I turned east towards the highway and caught the above scene in my rearview mirror. I've been to this corner hundreds of times and normally the only reason to stop is the red light. This evening I was stopped by a different light and took a few pictures. I did the painting a couple of days later while the experience was still fresh. The scene is near where I grew up and it feels like it. Try as it may, that junky corner with it's wrecked cars can't keep the sunset from being glorious.

Canyon Spirit

MOODY • MYSTERIOUS • DARK • MISSOURI ARTIST


Last September, I was blessed to see some of the most amazing scenery while vacationing in the Canadian Rockies with family. There were soaring jagged peaks and fantastic glaciers but the place I wanted to paint the most was Maligne Canyon. It's a lush forested place accessed by a trail that crosses the chasm via six bridges. I didn't have my painting setup with me but took many photos. I came back and looked at them and at first nothing stood out. I finally settled on a concept combining cliffs and a large raven that followed us around for about half the hike. What I had in mind was very different from anything I had done before. I wanted more mood and looser brushwork but didn't know how to achieve it. Inspiration came while painting with artist and friend Jeff Legg in October. Besides painting I also benefited just talking about art and practical things like brushstroke variety. The final piece of the puzzle came from re-reading Richard Schmid's "Alla Prima." I could finally envision what this thing was supposed to look like and how I would get there.

After tinting the 11 x 14 canvas a warm gray, I made my first marks with a large flat brush. I tried to make every stroke accurate and visually pleasing. I was planning on leaving exposed areas showing the initial brushwork. I painted the bird as dark of a black as I could mix.

My next goal was to go for a finish on the background and rock face. I used large brushes (for me anyway) and thicker paint. I tried to mix some colors on the canvas, worked thicker still and finally went after it with a palette knife. I painted the negative spaces around the bird, defining it's silhouette. End of first session.

Canyon Spirit, 11" x 14", oils

The next day I was happy to find most of the painting still wet and workable. Painting the highlights on the raven, every stroke was calculated and thought through. In my reference photo, I could just make out the highlight in the bird's eye but chose to leave it out in order to add mood and a sense of mystery. I'm sure that eye detail would have made the bird "cute" and I didn't want that. I finished up by pushing the highlights on the bird's rocky surroundings. I'm very pleased with the end result.

Canyon Spirit detail