Go with your gut

 Choose the star of the painting.  Glance back and forth at it while you are setting up.  Get a feeling for composition and colors.  Notice the big things and sometimes the rest of the painting will work itself out.  An autumn afternoon with one of those wonderful October skies provided inspiration for a quick study.

Why you choose to paint something

Never, ever forget what attracted you to paint something.  You will spend hours exploring the subject and it is easy to fall into a pit of diversions.  Staying faithful to the initial idea will produce a nice finished piece and convey the beauty that you saw.

From small to BIG

People make trips on the Tennessee River and stop for the night in Chattanooga.  This particular morning was so still and golden ----   and what an unusual view it is from the Walnut Street bridge.  I really like the composition on this painting and am thinking of taking it much larger.  It could almost be an abstract.  I will post results if I go BIG.

Snow revisited

It is surprising how differently you can paint the same scene.

A Day in Walland, Tennessee

 These two paintings were done within hours of each other, one morning, one afternoon.  I am posting them together to show why one shouldn't paint for more than two hours at a time outside.  Light happens whether you are ready for it or not!  You have to paint what is in front of you,  the sun and clouds are constantly moving and before you know it, your scene has changed so much you will be running after it with your paintbrush.   Grab the light, the color and don't worry about details.  You will capture the feeling of being outside in that spot in that moment, and isn't that why you are out there in the first place?

The End of the Walk

After nearly two miles of meandering road, this is the downhill view before rounding to the barn.  It is always beautiful no matter what time of day, but I like afternoon the best.  I painted this in early fall when there wasn't too much green in the foliage.

The Wedding Bouquet

I took the opportunity to paint my daughter's wedding bouquet.  Once again, here are flowers in the sunlight in the autumn light.  Another one of my "driveway" paintings, capturing the beauty of color and textures in the sun.

Sometimes you predict wrong

I thought that when the afternoon sun hit this house it would be stunning, so I sketched the architecture and painted the tree waiting for the  light to be just right  on the house.  The sun never  performed-- it only hit the corner of the house bouncing a little light onto the porch.  At that point, instead of the white house with its shadows being the star of the painting, it became a beautiful background to the magnificent old maple tree.  Sometimes you predict wrong, but get a wonderful outcome anyway.

Shadows on a White House

Three elements attracted me to this painting:  the white house with morning shadows, and  the spirea  and the kerria bushes, both in full bloom.  I painted this as quickly as I could, spotting the shadows in early because I knew they would change and not be as exciting.  I wanted to show the action of the breeze and flowing shadows with the changing shadow colors.  This painting feels like a beautiful day in spring!

Summer in Cades Cove, Tennessee

Note the difference in summer light-- much hazier, more atmosphere and rich summer shadows.

Late Afternoon in Lookout Valley

Afternoon in the autumn brings out the best colors--- clear blue sky and golden tones on an already golden landscape make this painting so vibrant.

That Little White dog

Sometimes a white painting has no white at all. Just light in key spots will make the painting work.

Peonies in the Sun

    Peonies provide such a wonderful subject matter for light and shadow and nuance of temperature.  They also make a pretty painting.  There is no substitute for painting in sunlight.

Weather Blowing In

     Sometimes the subject of a painting  happens when you don't expect it.  I was all set to tackle the Walnut Street Bridge for a  quiet but sunny  afternoon, when the wind picked up and very dramatic clouds appeared.  In a situation like this, it is best just to hold on to your easel and paint like your hair is on fire!

Early Spring Barn

     Working with a limited palette in the early spring before the trees bud out, one is reminded of the subtle but beautiful earth and winter colors available to us.  I like this composition for many reasons, it show the mountains of Tennessee, the hundred year old barn, and of course, beautiful afternoon shadows.  Note the brightest color juxtaposed next to the darkest value.

Snowbound

      There was a beautiful snowfall last month.  The snow was thick and heavy, sticking to the hemlocks and weighing them down.  It is rare that we get snow like this, so I thought I would take advantage of the challenge of painting white in the sunlight.   You have to really watch for temperature variation of the white and shadow because there is so much color bounce from all the light.  Look  how much yellow is on the underside of the snowcovered branches.   And notice how the shadows change temperature with every angle change.

Morning Shadows in Old Concord

   


                             I painted last weekend at Farragut Art in the Park in Farragut Tennessee.  I painted a house in Concord neighborhood because I wanted to work on shadows (of course!) but also needed to include a dogwood tree just because I thought it was a good way to celebrate the weekend's theme.

Last Leaves

                              The leaves are always changing in the different elevations around here.  They fall off the trees first  on the top of the mountain in the fall, and they bud out green at the bottom of the mountain first in the spring, so it makes for some fun contrast to paint.  

Early Spring Road Shadows

                          More leaves budding out.  More green.  Lots of buttercups.  And always luminous shadows to be captured.

River Reflections

Another painting of more subdued colors in the earliest days of spring.  The only green on the trees was from the weeping willows.