What's Inside?

What's Inside?

Plein air Oil  11" x 14"

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$395.00 + shipping

I love old western barns.  I wonder about their age, the animals, tools, old "things" that might be inside of them.  They seem to tell a story of the present and the past.  I wonder how long they've been standing and how much longer they'll stand.  

This barn was on a road outside of Florence, CO.  I posted the plein air start of the piece earlier this fall.  I parked nearby to set up to paint.  There were horses in the corral.  The ranch seemed friendly, and no one might not have cared if I walked up and peeked inside.  But, I didn't.  Would you have?

Paint The Town Plein Air Event, Florence, CO

I recently participated in the "Paint The Town" Plein Air Event in Florence, CO.  Florence is 

about 35 miles south of us.  It is most known for its' antique stores in the downtown area 

and for having several prisons (including max-security!)

Here are pictures of the locations for my first 3 paintings. 

The week started out with cold and snow and finished with warm, 65 degree days!

   

I've painted lots of old barns.  I love their character, age, and color varieties.  Every time

 I paint an old barn or aging structure, I wonder about all of the stories that are hidden 

within the walls.

  I also wonder how long these relics will be standing.

With the ease of immediate posting on Instagram, I find myself posting less on my blog.  

I'm going to "try" to remedy that!

Barn Door

Barn Door

plein air oil  12" x 12"

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$395.00 + $10. s/h

This painting was done the last day of the recent South Park Plein Air Arts Celebration, Fairplay, CO  during the "Quick Draw" on the final morning.  For a "quick draw" you are usually limited to an area in which to paint, in this case Front Street or the South Park City Museum.  Also, you are limited to time, we had from 10:00 a.m. to 12.  We were allowed to walk around scouting a location from 9 on.  This barn is in the museum:  a street of old western buildings from around Colorado which have been moved to this outdoor museum.

I try to do a value study before I begin a painting.  That way, as the light changes I can use my study as a reference.  Because of the 2 hour time constraints, I did a very quick study (as you can see here.) Because of the study I realized that the center of interest, the stable rails in the light, were almost right in the center of the piece.  That became noticeable when I drew in my 1/3rd lines.  So, (in my head) I cropped the door, moved the light to the right, and the center of interest was now on the 1/3rd line and not in the middle.  All of that took me about 5 minutes, but saved my painting.