Huddleston Chickens

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8 x 10 Oil On Archival Board

On our way to see a small Community Supported Agriculture farm (CSA) in Huddleston, VA, we passed this wonderful barn.  It was a perfect rural scene complete with roaming chickens.  The scene actually spoke to me.  I could picture the painting that I was going to do.  That doesn't happen much.  No planning, no sketching...Just got right at it.  We joined the CSA, by the way.  We're looking forward to getting fresh organic vegetables, and in our little way helping to support the young family that works so hard to produce the finest vegetables, fruit, and flowers.

Distant Silos

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8 x 8 Oil on Gessobord

For me, this painting was all about the sky and super clear day.  I also am lately attracted to curved roads...Go Figure :-)  This is another view of one of Virginia's beautiful farms.  There are still a number of them.  Let's hope the next time I pass by there isn't a subdivision or shopping mall!  Those deforestation trucks are all over now.  I always want to shout out "Put those trees back where they belong and have been for centuries." 

Bedford Farmland

8 x 8 Oil on Gessobord

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This is a quick study for a larger painting.  It was fast and furious and my brush never stopped moving.  I tried to convey the scene with a minimal amount of strokes.  Again, I worked from a very limited palette. I feel like I'm in the middle of a growth spurt, and I wonder where it will lead me.... 

Bedford Fall

8 x 8 Oil on Gessobord

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Can you smell those leaves?  How can anyone resist the Fall season?!  This is a road less traveled on the way to Bedford, VA.  The photo colors came out a little vivid and purple for some reason.  I still don't have the process for taking pictures of my artwork down.  Some days the colors match the painting perfectly, other days they don't...as here, and it doesn't seem to have anything to do with the sun or shade.  It appears to happen with landscapes most of the time.  My painting is a lot more subtle.  But it is Fall..and vivid colors are a good thing.  Just picture this a little more hazy and not as pink :-)

Art On the Go

6 x 6 Oil on Gessobord

I really love watching Plein Air painters at work.  They are usually so engrossed in what they are doing, they don't even focus on the crowd that is watching them.  I, on the other hand, always feel I have to talk to everyone.  (I can hear all my friends saying "Surprise, Surprise.")  I also tend to feel like I'm at an audition and people are judging every stroke I make.  My plan for 2013 is to change all that and just go out there and paint.  Bugs are another issue.  I'm the one you will see running around swatting at insects with my brush...A friend told me that Listerine keeps the bugs away.  Well, I sprayed it all over me and the bugs loved it.  Meanwhile, I smelled "Minty Fresh" for weeks, as did all my art supplies.  So, resolutions for 2013...Paint Plein Air and really enjoy it, and start talking to the bugs.  Maybe they'll get bored and go away :-)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!  LET'S HOPE 2013 IS A SAFE, PEACEFUL ONE!!  Thank you all who have visited my blog and who encourage me to keep on 'keeping on.'  Love you All!

Bird on a Wire

9 x 12" Oil on Gessoboard

If you look really closely, there are two birds on the wires, so "Bird on a Wire."  It might be a little hard to see in this post.  This was a rainy day and the cows were crowded near the barn.  I'm not sure if they were waiting to get in but if they were, they should have headed to the larger barn.  No one ever said cows were the smartest animals..or the cleanest.