Red Roof Inn

                        
I painted this one last week, but had to stare at it awhile to figure out why I wasn't completely happy with it. I finally decided that the shadow in the foreground was too dark, the roof of the tall house was too light and the sky was too blue. I changed all those things, and now I like it a lot better. I realize that the shadow to the left of the tall house makes no sense, as it should come off the corner of the house. Maybe I'll change that too. If I do, I'll replace this post. With these "made-up" landscapes I feel free to make lots of outlandish choices for the sake of shape and color, but I think that the "natural laws" should be followed if it's this close to being realistic. What do my fellow artists think about that?

Blustery Day in the Hood

                                          6x6 $90
I'm enjoying these little architectural scenes. I"m starting with a visual reference and then discarding it in favor of free expression. This one looked a little muddy this morning so I popped some of the colors a bit.

I'm taking a break from housecleaning, as we're packing up to head for Seattle. There will be tenants here most of the winter, so that takes an extra layer of preparation. It's hard to leave this beautiful sunny weather, but I'm really looking forward to painting in my studio again!

View of the Village

                                          5x7 $90
I can hardly believe it's been a full week since I posted! It's been a fun week, with company and other fun diversions, but no time to paint! It's not going to get any better either, as we are leaving Arizona for Seattle on Tuesday and there's much to do before we depart. Not to mention I've not done a thing in preparation for Christmas. So....I managed to eke out a couple hours to set up my easel in the back yard, and paint. This is not the view from our back yard. I gleaned the idea from a portion of a painting I had cut out of a newspaper months ago. I tried to be cognizant of my values and the shapes I was creating. My intent was to make it as abstract as possible while retaining the clear depiction of a village beyond a foreground of trees. I'm pretty happy with the results, considering it's a "first try" with this type of subject. I might try this again in a bigger format.

Beneath Blue Sky

                                          5x7 $90

I'm trying something a little different here. Theoretically, my work with still life setups is improving my eye for composition and color, which should transfer over into other subject matter. I plan to do some more of these little landscapes, trying to employ what I've learned.