Morning Breaks Eternal and Happy New Year!

Morning Breaks Eternal, 30 x 30, oil on canvas, L. Daniel© 2023

SOLD

This early morning scene took my breath away. The rim of mountains in the distance and glorious sky beckoned a new and glorious day. What a sweet way to get started! 

Happy New Year to all! Heartfelt, though a little belated! :)

2023 SPRING WORKSHOPS (click here and join me):
April 14-15 - The Contemporary Austin Art School in Austin, TX
May 4-6 - Anderson Fine Art Gallery in St. Simons Island, GA
 

Delivery Day!!!

Rocky Outcropping, 36 x 24, (reworked - original was posted on 10/5)

Morning Harvest, 24 x 36 (reworked - orginal was posted on 10/15)

Today I delivered 20 new paintings to Davis Gallery for my upcoming show. The opening reception is Saturday, October 24, from 7-9pm here in Austin. It's always so exciting to reach this point, where the work is done and the celebration is still ahead. Bill Davis has an incredible knack for putting it all together... I love going back and seeing how it's all been hung! If you are in town this weekend, please come by!!!

PS - The two paintings above called for a little last minute "fixing" before they could go to the gallery. :)

Rocky Outcropping

Rocky Outcropping, 36 x 24

Rocky Outcropping (original study), 8 x 6

This jagged wall of rock provided such an interesting contrast to the soft, billowy, big-sky clouds that hovered above it. My original study was a quick response to the dropping light at the end of the day. Back in the studio, I found the re-creation of that feeling to be far more difficult. The larger piece needed more information and the silhouetted rocks just misbehaved... but there you have it. Some births are harder than others.

Tree & Sky Studies

Tree & Sky Studies, 6 x 8 each

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In Scott Christensen's half day workshop, we were encouraged to go out and do as many "starts" as we could. We were to focus on the elements that puzzle us: trees against sky, how the light makes some things warm and some things cool, how the values help to establish important horizontal, vertical and diagonal planes... but not worry about finished paintings.

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He pointed out that we would all become much better painters if we would stop trying to make "completed, perfect paintings" while in the field. We should be out there observing, learning and experimenting. No wonder he's so good! :) These are my three studies from that morning.

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I wish I could share every detail of my "Weekend with the Masters", but it would be way too much to talk about every demo I saw and panel discussion I heard. The teachers were gracious and engaging and there was a spirit of comraderie among all the participants. It was pretty fabulous in every way.

Rocks & Ridges

Distant Ridges, 6 x 8

Rocky Outcropping (workshop study), 8 x 6

I painted these two studies in a daylong workshop with Skip Whitcomb at Weekend with the Masters in CO. He did a fabulous demo for us in which he also shared bits of his outlook and philosophy. One of the participants got it right when she dubbed him a "cowboy poet".
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Skip's focus was to get us to really "see" and celebrate the large abstract patterns in nature. He encouraged us to step back and observe the dramatic shapes created by light and shadow crossing the forms in the land. His sketchbook is full of expressive thumbnail drawings that simplify everything into shapes and values. The above studies were my response to his challenge. (I confess, there was a third one that didn't make the cut!) :)

Mountain Road Studies

Mountain Road Study 1, 12 x 9

using Diazonine Purple, Thalo Green and Cadmium Orange

When I last posted, I was in Colorado Springs at the Weekend with the Masters Workshop. I am home now, and finally got some pictures taken...

I had a half-day workshop with Kevin Macpherson (not enough time with such a master but oh, so instructive). He gave us an assignment to paint the landscape using only three colors - Cadmium Orange, Diazonine Purple and Thalo Green (plus white). We were to mix these colors to find the best representative hues and values for our subjects. Removing the obvious colors from our palettes forced us to "see" the relative values and to be creative with assigning color to shapes.

We were also invited to try a second one - this time using only yellow ochre, burnt sienna and black (plus white). Same idea, remove color dependence and just see everything as value tones. It was hard and really stretching!

Mountain Road Study 2, 8 x 6

using Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna and Black

A huge highlight of the week was meeting up with blogging friend, Pam Holnback and having a fabulous grand finale dinner in her home! Isn't that the greatest? I love it when the world gets smaller. Thanks again, Pam!

Mountain Adventure

Mountain Adventure, 12 x 12

This painting is one of two on display in the Nomadas Del Arte plein air show at the Southwest Gallery in Dallas (I included the other one in my last blogpost). The opening this weekend was great fun - especially meeting all the other fabulous artists who participated. This piece sold on Friday night, so I went home recharged, with a big smile on my face!

From small to large

Standing Guard, 30 x 30

This is the large version of yesterday's study. This line of trees juts out into the lake and appears to be standing guard at the foot of the mountains. I loved how beams of light were able to sneak through here and there...

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Monarch Lake, near Granby, CO

Planning Ahead

Standing Guard (Study), 6x6, SOLD

Painting smaller studies in the studio can be helpful for planning a painting... I can work up different compositions, tweak color and simplify shapes before committing to a huge canvas. I finished the large one last night and will post it tomorrow (need to photograph). The little paintings have a certain charm of their own, and the trick is to try and stay this loose in the larger scale.

A Mountain Adventure

Mountain Pass, 24 x 24

Encountering these soft, misty mountains from the sunlit meadow literally stopped me in my tracks. The warm light was moving in while remnants of morning fog seemed to be pushing back, layer upon layer... it was stunning.

This studio piece is based on a small plein air study; on the way to Columbine Lake, Tabernash, Colorado.