Author Archives: artwithmycoffee

Updated Maples and Pine

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This is an example of what I sometimes do…this has been a favorite 8×10 painting that I did several years ago (the one on the right is the first edition). I think it was one of the first times that I really tried to push my colors to be brighter and bolder than what I was seeing in my reference pic. As I have gotten older, I have come to enjoy that brighter array of color rather than all muted tones. So I really liked leaving this bright.

As time went on, I wanted to tone it down just a little, and play with some of the techniques that I had learned regarding color schemes. I have to say I am very happy with the results. Do you have a preference?

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Clouds En Plein Air

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I’m particularly fond of these two paintings. I have always thought clouds were very difficult to capture correctly. On the days that I attempted these clouds they were moving very slowly and not changing much at all. I thought it would be the perfect time to give it a try. I was very happy with the way they looked warm and dimensional and not just white and flat. They were both done in my yard, which was also an advantage as I am still learning this process. I still like the security of being alone in my yard and not out among the public eye.

Plein Air at Auke Lake Juneau, AK

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This piece is 10x 8 inches and was mostly done outside on location. I did do some adjustments when I got it back to the studio, but this was my most challenging paintings outside. I particularly like the contrast of the greens with the maroon in the tree bark on the spruce trees here. This is a very typical scene here in Juneau.

Beautiful Sunshine Cove

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This piece measures 8×24 inch and sold at a recent showing at the Juneau Artists Gallery which I belong to. It is an artists co operative gallery. Sunshine Cove is one of my favorite spots here in Juneau. These little islands are just a little way from shore, but just far enough to give them a wonderful distance to be viewed. The roadside is also quite a bit above sea level, so that also lends to wonderful viewing. And the Chilkat Range of mountains on the far side are just spectacular as a backdrop.

Bride in the Meadow

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I did this 8×6 inch oil on panel for a friend of mine. I couldn’t resist the beautiful light bouncing around on the fabric in contrast with the coarseness of the meadow. And I thought it was so cute that she was also barefoot, which you can just see the tips of her toes peaking out from under her dress. This was just a total pleasure to do! This is still one of my all time favorite little paintings.

A Few Pet Portrait Miniature Commissions

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These are a few miniature pet portraits that I did by commission. For some reason I really enjoy doing pets in this very tiny format. the Shepherd is 4×4 inch, the puppy is 2.5×3.5 and the cat (belongs to my daughter) is only 2×2 inch. It is possible to learn an awful lot when doing a tiny subject.

Plein Air Learning Continues

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This time I worked on more challenging mountain views from the back yard. I tried these views many times with a variety of success and failure. The pic on the left, I feel is more of a success, and the one on the right sort of ok. It is very tricky to learn to paint lots of tree branches, especially when they are covering distant objects that are peaking through them. The process of learning can sometimes seem insurmountable. There are times when one wants to just totally give up. It is very important to realize that the learning process is a long journey. Personally, when I started painting many years ago, I determined that I was going to do my very best to enjoy all the steps along the way. For the most part, I can say that I do enjoy it. But every once in a while there has been times of absolute discouragement and frustration. It’s imperative to push on through these time and not to give up. Sometimes I go back to a so called failed attempt and re work it. Overall I have learned a lot from this process. But once in a while I just have to toss the picture because it is too frustrating to look at any more (= That’s just the way it goes. And everyone goes through these times.

Mountain Peaks En Plein Air

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These are two more attempts at painting the mountains in my front yard en plein air. I really like the lighting that I was able to capture in the first one. It looks really warm and filled with light bouncing off other areas. The paintings are oil on board and measure 6×6 and 6×8 which are good sizes to use when beginning to learn to paint outside.

It would be possible to paint these mountains many, many times without ever repeating the look. They look a bit different every single day. So I actually took advantage of this fact to get in some practice using my outdoor painting set up. I definitely was learning a lot.