Sunstruck

Sunstruck 16x20 oil on gesso board.

 Following this new counter intuitive painting process. Building values from light to dark. 

Throwing down thick paint and scraping away.

This painting was inspired by John Cosby. I was painting in Heisler Park.  I was approached by another plein air painter and was told John was painting at Rockpile.

John Cosby cranking out another masterpiece.  I must be honest I did not see his painting.  I finished my plein air painting, packed up  and then walked over to check in. John had just packed up his painting...but John is a master so I am sure it was amazing.

This was the view that captured my interest after visiting John.

irvine park

 Irvine Park gouache on paper measuring approximately 22"x30".

New Medium for Plein Air Painting

My first plein air gouache painting 22"x32". Picnic Beach
 

symphony

 Moody Symphony is a plein air gouache on 400# hot press watercolor paper measuring 22"x32".  

Curatorial Review

Curatorial Review

At the end of 2023 I began to paint "small" paintings.  I had never really painted smaller that 24"x24".  After 40 years of painting large paintings I began the process of figuring out how to paint in a different way.  Larger paintings allowed me put in all the detail I wanted.  My first efforts at smaller paintings were unsatisfying.  I did not want to sacrifice the detail so I changed the way I painted.

The following paintings are examples of my recent direction

Last Gasp 6"x6" oil on gesso board.

Mountain Shadows 6"x6" oil on gesso board

Into the Canyon 8"x8" oil on canvas

Laguna Sunset 16"x12" oil on gesso board

How was I going to be able to get the detail I was looking for in a small painting without using really tiny brushes forever? Building the painting from light to dark.  This process is counter to everything I had learned and done as a painter for 40 years.

Layering progressively darker and darker values with thick paint and not  allowing the paint to dry enables me to workback into the lighter values by scraping away the darker values to get to the highlights.

The thick paint application allows for a significant increase in the amount of texture within the painting.  When I start subtracting that paint with a shaper the level of detail increases dramatically.

Irvine Park 12"x16" oil on gesso board

The following detail shots show the underlying detail created through my process