This little 6×8 oil is a companion piece to the vertical painting I did a few posts below. It is the same cowboy on the same horse. Placing the horse and rider against the backlit hazy/misty background gave me an opportunity to use the nice blue grey of the horse, the red shirt and the body of the rider as a …
Adobe Gate
This is a watercolor I painted on location in Santa Fe, NM a couple of years ago while there for an art show. Santa Fe. What can I say. It is such an artist paradise what with all of the old adobe structures and the rich history not to mention the fabulous art galleries. Painting “en plein aire” is such …
Navajo Nation
I was headed to Tucson, AZ one winter for a show and was on the highway between Shiprock, NM and Gallup, NM when I came across this scene on the Navajo Reservation. The colors of the red butte and white and blue shadows of the snow caught my eye so I pulled over and did the painting on the spot. …
Sidewalk Cafe
Bougainvillea vines are my favorite. The brilliant red color makes for a great watercolor. This scene is of a sidewalk cafe in SoCal. I did the painting a couple of years ago from a phot I took of the cafe. The place was very inviting. Everytime I see this painting I want to go there and have lunch. I really …
Escalante Colors
Here’s something that is a little different than what I’ve been posting, different in that this is a watercolor. I paint a lot of watercolors. I love them. There are certain effects I can get in watercolor that I just can’t achieve in oils. There is a translucent quality to watercolor that make them unique. Additionally, watercolor can be rather spontaneuos …
Grand Wash
This is a great little red rock oil I just did in the studio. It has a little of everything that I enjoy about painting in oils, from thin washes in the wall on the left to thicker paint in the clouds. It was a fun little painting. The reference I used was a watercolor that I did on location …
Fruita Canyon
This little oil painting was done from a watercolor sketch I did on location one morning at the Colorado National Monument. I was on location early that morning with the sun just coming up. I remember it was quite chilly with frost in the shadows. It sure felt good as the sun got higher and higher. I really enjoy painting …
Waiting…
Another of my cowboy series, this painting is of a good friend of mine who is dead now. He was a cowboy’s cowboy, a true gentleman and a good friend. He had a unique way of sitting on a horse, especially when motionless as here. Sitting, waiting, perhaps for the day to warm, or maybe just surveying his domain. This …
Gottcha!
Continuing my cowboy series, this painting is of a calf roper at the Fred Harmon 4th of July Rodeo in Pagosa Springs some years ago. Fred was the creater of the Little Beaver series that some of you may remember. Here I was striving for the feeling of action without the typical “freeze frame” look. This is something new for me …
The Red Shirt
As many of you know, I used to be a cowboy. Hmmm. That sounds like the title to a song or a book…”I Used to Be a Cowboy”. I’ll have to remember that one. Anyway, I’ve been thinking about doing something different with my art, trying to find something that will excite people. Most of my work is pretty representaional. …