Marshland Morning

Marshland Morning, 24 x 30, oil on canvas, L. Daniel © 2018

Commission - SOLD

I painted this piece for a new, young friend, who wanted to honor her parents with a special gift. What fun that she and her fiancé chose to give the gift of a painting! It always warms my heart to see the next generation appreciating and surrounding themselves with original artwork created with love. My young patrons thoughtfully chose a cherished view; and in doing so, their love is mixed in to this creation as well! Thank you so much, L&T, it was fun collaborating with you!!!

Poppy Fields of Campagna - Plein Air Magazine editorial

Poppy Fields of Campagna, 9 x 12, oil on panel, L. Daniel © 2018

Sold

I am very pleased to share that "Poppy Fields of Campagna" is included in the March issue of Plein Air Magazine! The article is about artists who travel and paint, and this piece is from my visits to Italy where our daughter's family has been living for 3 years. Scenes like this one are all around their home in the countryside at the foot of Mt. Vesuvius. My little grandson loves to take bike rides with his dad to feed carrots to the horses on neighboring farms. Such a life!!!

 

Craggy Shore and a winter group show in Austin!

Craggy Shore, 30 x 40, oil on canvas, L. Daniel © 2018

Available at the Davis Gallery

This painting is an enlargement from a small plein air study I did a year or so ago. It was the perfect subject for our current group show, "In Depth", at the Davis Gallery here in Austin. For this exhibit, each gallery artist was asked to consider the 5th element of art - space - as we created works to be included. I always get a sense of HUGE space when I stand at the edge of the ocean. In this scene, the rhythmic pattern of the rocks and water disappearing into the distance helped to tell the story of that vastness.

Below: this painting ended up in the gallery window for the show! YAY! Here is a shot taken from outside after the opening reception. The show is up through February 24th. If you are anywhere near Austin, please drop by!

Also in the Davis Gallery show: 

Beach Cove Overlook, 18 x 36, oil on canvas. 

See blog post on this piece. 

Free to Roam, 18 x 18, oil on canvas.

See blog post on this piece. 

Beach Cove Overlook - and reworking a painting

Beach Cove Overlook, 18 x 36 , oil on canvas, L. Daniel © 2018

Available at Davis Gallery

"How do you know when you are finished?" This is an often asked question to which I usually answer, "when there is nothing left in a painting that bothers me." This is one that kept bothering me as it dried on the shelf in my studio. Apparently, I was not done with it.

I stared at it for weeks (sometimes these things are hard to figure out) and finally determined what the problems were: 1) the foreground needed a stronger lead-in, and 2) the cove in the background needed to settle into the distance a little better. Below are the "before and after" shots so you can see the changes.

BEFORE...

AFTER REWORKING

Adding a path was the obvious solution for the lead-in problem, but the cove issue was trickier. Was it the shape? (Yes, too round.) Was it the size? (Yes, too dominant.) And most important - how to fix it? After much thought, I decided to add more grasses to overlap some of the water. It was a scary choice and a bit counter-intuitive to hide a beautiful, natural water feature. 

Well... That small change made the cove more of a sliver, and pushed it into it's proper space in the background. Instant relief! I'm glad I kept at it until it stopped bothering me. :)