The Process

I just completed a painting which you can see below in an early stage. Here,  the landscape has been brushed in quickly. 

As I continued, I brightened the sky and added details to the under painting.  I decided to balance the composition by adding a limb so that the tree would seem to "pose" for her portrait.  Here is the finished painting....

"Sap Buckets on Calendar Hill"

acrylic on canvas - 14" x 18"

Below is the photograph I took on March 17th and used for the painting.  As you can see, the painting in its finished state, differs substantially from the photo.  I was so tired of interpreting gray winter skies in my "Posted" series that I decided to crop out the background and change the mood with a blue sky.

There is a great advantage to working from photos.  When it is too cold to paint outdoors, I can work in the studio and change the landscape to suit my taste.  But I look forward to getting out to paint en plein aire soon as spring arrives and the weather warms up.

Posted on Cobb Hill

I've been working on landscapes that speak winter and mud season here in Vermont.  Often we drive by trees sporting posted signs and these signs make a colorful statement in the cold and gray scene.  This is my second painting in this series.  Last week this is how it looked:

After removing an errant branch, cleaning up others, adding darker values to the sky and finishing the sign, this is the finished piece....

"Posted, Cobb Hill"

acrylic - 14" x 18"