Here I am participating in Dubois County Art Guild’s Plein Air Event in May. I got third place in the quick draw-that painting is not shown because it sold and silly me forgot to take a photo first- and also third place in the Plein Air contest. I always wanted to paint the bright yellow fields in the spring before the farmers planted the them; however springs are busy, and I never got out until now.
I set up on a windy, rainy afternoon in a shelter house at Celestine Community Club to paint this little plein air piece. Because of the wind, I was thankful for my Take It Easel; it stayed put, and after using a bungee cord wrapped around the edges of my board, my canvas didn’t budge despite the whipping wind.
I made a bit of a mistake with this composition. I really like that little sliver of grass and sky on the extreme right side. I think it adds little bit of air and space over there. However, once I slipped this board into a frame, the rabbet covered up that part of the painting, and I realized I had not accounted for that when planning the composition! Lesson learned- take into account that the edges of the painting disappear inside a frame, and this makes quite a difference on really small compositions.
England’s Dartmoor National Park has large granite outcroppings called tors. Hay Tor is one of the most impressive and popular. There are small footholds and handholds to scramble to the top. After exploring the rock structure, I sat in the field in front of the tors to make a quick graphite sketch. Like everywhere we hiked in the park, we shared the space with the grazing sheep. 
We hiked through the moors to this stone circle last summer in Dartmoor National Park, England. While this stone circle only includes fairly small stones (3-4 feet high), we were completely alone in this vast open field. I sat on a tuft of grass to sketch the circle while Kerry wandered off to explore a creek.
I created this painting as a gift for my mom in memory of my late father. Sunflowers and Van Gogh’s sunflower paintings were favorites of his. Dad, also a landscape artist, put the first paint brush in my hands as a baby, took me to my first museum when I was five, and continues to be an inspiration to me.
The title, “Generous Solace”, originated with help from my aunt and uncle. Nicole Sholly, better at expressing with words than me, suggested words associated with meaning of Dad’s Germanic name, Frank, including “free”, “open-hearted”, and “generous”, all of which were apt descriptions of Dad’s personality. Solace was the word I chose to symbolize the passing or at least lightening of the sorrow and grief of his passing.
The idea for this painting has been in my thoughts for years. I wanted to use my own photos for reference and so did not get an opportunity to photograph and sketch a sunflower field for awhile. Then last summer, my neighbor serendipitously planted his garden with sunflowers. While jogging past one evening after a storm, I noticed the field, went home to get my camera, and was able to start my painting. The mood of the storm passing and the flowers lifting their faces once again to the light expresses the hope and strength in our recovery from sorrow. Mom’s strength, loyalty, and exquisiteness are reflected in the raw beauty of the sunflowers who faithfully lift their heads to the sun each morning–which is likely the reason Dad loved Mom so dearly.
The corn field in front of our house has a lone cedar tree on its edge, and when the winter sun sets in the valley, one strip of sunlight illuminates it and the golden field right before dusk. I started this painting at a workshop I taught at the French Lick Artisan Gallery this past winter. I really happy with the final result of muted blues and yellows. It is a good to branch out from the very green paintings of summer. When teaching the workshop, we started with the traditional monochromatic underpainting-this one in burnt sienna. Then, I blocked in the large areas of color (bottom image) and continued to add detail on top. When composing the painting, I was intrigued and played around with the overlapping diagonal curves.
This is another painting from Yosemite National Park. I tried a violet underpainting this time. In an effort to become more efficient at starting paintings, I used a larger brush to block in colors within a couple of hours. Details and reworking took considerable time after that though.
This winter of polar vortexes, possibly a result of climate change, did lend itself to a couple outdoor snow studies. I started this particular one while my husband, nieces, and nephews went sled riding down the hill on the right. I was drawn to the crispness of light and how the reduction of hues in winter brings out the beauty and subtlety of the greys.
I recently had the honor of completing this commission for a guy who wanted to give a girl a Christmas gift that would commemorate her treasured memories of baseball games spent with a beloved grandfather. The view of the field is from their usual seats when watching games together.
Another plein air painting on a hillside near my studio that my husband and I always joke is our own hobbit hill…
