Ranchland - Fix It Friday!

 

Ranchland, 8 x 10, oil on panel, L. Daniel © 2023

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After this demo in a recent workshop, I looked up and immediately saw that my whole subject matter was squished into the bottom left corner of my canvas! I had been talking so much, explaining how to create distance with scale shift and atmospheric perspective, that I forgot all about my composition. 

There is a design rule that says, "Never stop your subject at the vertical OR horizontal midline. Make sure it crosses over to avoid cutting your image in HALF." Well, this ranch tree breaks that rule completely. The canvas is cut in half both vertically AND horizontally. Turns out, this was a demo on what NOT to do compositionally and a good lesson in humility for me. ;)

So, here you go, a demo do-over...

BEFORE

PROBLEM

AFTER

Problem - Subject matter is squished into the corner.

Fix - Made subject taller and wider to cross mid-lines of the page.

Problem: All the weight is on the bottom left.

Fix - Added two more trees along the fence line to add weight on the right. This also helps to pull the eye further into the frame.

OBSERVATIONS:

It's a fact of life that sometimes when we are focused on one thing, we completely miss something else! This was a great reminder to stop and assess before getting too far along... whatever you are doing. And, take a do-over if you can! 

Morning Hush, plus LIVE CONVO and DEMO

Morning Hush, 10 x 20, oil on canvas, L. Daniel © 2020

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I love the tranquility of this scene, and know we are all ready for some quietness after all the recent craziness!!! Praying for peace...

BIG NEWS! Wednesday, November 4th, I will do a LIVE interview and demo with Eric Rhoads, publisher of PleinAir Magazine and Fine Art Connoisseur. Join us at 12 noon eastern time, on Facebook and YouTube... please tune in! 

Click HERE for live link (or catch it later by searching my name on YouTube.)

Field of Cactus - Fix It Friday #24

Field of Cactus, 12 x 12, oil on panel, L. Daniel © 2020

Texas cactus! It's beautiful, especially when it blooms and... it's very invasive. Once it gets started, it just duplicates itself over and over. If an "ear" falls off, stick it in the ground and it will happily survive, grow, and spread!! All that to say, my fix today is all about better depicting ranch land full of propagated cactus. 

BEFORE

AFTER

CHANGES

Problem - Layers of cactus were not "laying down" on the picture plane.

Fix - Created a definitive scale shift from front to back, making layers incrementally smaller as they move into the distance. 

Fix - Muted layers incrementally as they recede.

Problem - Field just didn't have enough cactus!! 

Fix - Added another layer of cactus at the fence line.

Problem - Overcast sky was lack-luster in color and interest.

Fix - Intensified the purplish color that was there and popped the bit of light. 

OBSERVATIONS

Working with elements in the landscape to push them into the distance is a great challenge. Today's fix was a wonderful exercise in doing just that... scale shift, atmospheric perspective, overlapping, and layering were all used here. 

Fix It Friday #5 - Spring Wildflowers

Spring Wildflowers, 6 x 8, Oil on panel, L. Daniel © 2020

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It's spring in central Texas, and the wildflowers abound! Sadly, we are all staying inside and are not getting to see much of the glorious display. Today, I am showing a small painting that started out in the field, and got changed (A LOT) in the studio several years later. 

Meanwhile, I hope you are all managing in this crisis. It's hard. I'm trying to stay focused with my studio work, but...finding a new rhythm is challenging! Wishing you great clarity and productivity in these days... 

BEFORE

AFTER

CHANGES:
Problem 1 - Small shrub overpowers the wildflowers.
Fix 1 - Removed Shrub.
Fix 2 - Made flowers more dominant (and changed them).

Problem 2 - Muted sky feels dull.
Fix 1 - Dragged a pop of color into sky to liven it up. 

OBSERVATIONS:
When I painted the original, it seemed important to include the shrub to fill out the scene. Later, I could see that it dominated, but wasn't very interesting. Then I removed it, well... turns out, the flowers were not quite "enough" to carry the scene either (I guess that was why I included the shrub in the first place.) I realized that I needed the focal element to become more important and to pop above the horizon line. That is when the flowers just evolved into a whole new variety! 

Sometimes the fix needs a fix! ;)

Click Here to see Fix It Friday #1

Click Here to see Fix it Friday #2 

Click Here to see Fix it Friday #3

Click Here to see Fix it Friday #4

Free To Roam and Happy New Year!

Free To Roam, 18 x 18, oil on canvas, L. Daniel © 2018

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I know I have been missing in action for the last few months, and want to assure you that all is well with me. I have had a couple of kind souls check in on me, and I so appreciate that love and care. My only excuse is that life just got busy!! So here we are. Happy "New" Year, all! ;)

This painting was a fun one for me. I met these audacious little goats several years ago, and have wanted to paint them ever since. They quite owned the land on this ranch outside of Kerrville, Texas, and didn't let anyone get in their way. I loved that about them, and could kind of relate!

 

You can see from my block-in that I added one more goat to the front of the pack as the painting progressed. I really wanted to portray how very UNDETERRED they were by my presence as they ambled by (although I did get the stink-eye from Billy Goat Gruff in the middle). At the time I was doing a plein air painting from that spot, and I am pretty sure they would have walked right through me if they could have! 

Stormy Fields and Upcoming Workshop

Stormy Fields, 12 x 16, oil on panel, L. Daniel © 2017

On stormy, overcast days, I notice that color in the ground plane is much more intense. This piece is from late fall and I just kept forgetting to post it. Sometimes life gets busy! I loved the combination of colors this day... a muted, periwinkle sky with those rich, yellow grasses. 

UPCOMING WORKSHOP (still a couple of spots):
En Plein Air: Strong Starts
March 30 - April 1, 2017
Contact: Anderson Fine Art Gallery
Email: mand@mindspring.com
Phone: 912-634-8414
More details, click HERE.

Ranch Path - En Plein Air Texas!

Ranch Path, 12 x 12, oil on panel, L. Daniel © 2015

En Plein Air Texas!

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Ranch day in San Angelo offered many beautiful views for painting. After a hearty lunch, I drove around hunting for just the right spot. I ended up next to the corrals where sheep were being tagged. The lambs had to be separated from their mothers for this process, so they cried all afternoon. (They were not hurt, but it sounded a bit haunting.) Just as I finished, the lambs and ewes were reunited, and the crying stopped. Whew! 

Hill Country Ranch

Hill Country Ranch, 6 x 8, oil on panel, L. Daniel © 2015

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This is a very typical Hill Country scene; and little paths like this always catch my eye. Here, the combination of red grasses, Bluebonnets, and Black-eyed Susans had a delightful layered effect, and it made me want to walk in to explore a little more. I behaved and stayed outside the gate to paint, but it was awfully tempting! :)

Please join me for a workshop in St. Simons Island, GA. It's a beautiful time to be on the island painting, and I would love to see you there!

Color and Value in Landscape - Plein Air Workshop

April 30-May 2, 2015 

Anderson Fine Art Gallery | St. Simons Island, GA

Click HERE for details and registration information

Ranch Sky and Panorama Photo!

Ranch Sky, 8 x 16, oil on panel, L. Daniel © 2014

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A couple of weeks ago I met up with a photographer friend of mine, Scott David Gordon, to shoot one of his amazing panoramas. Scott is very close to completing a project called "Panorama 365" in which he challenged himself to create 365 panoramic images. This body of work includes cityscapes and country-scapes, long views and short views, AND... artists at work in their studios. 

Click on image to see it larger… photographer: Scott David Gordon

I was thrilled when Scott invited me to be one of his subjects for the project; and even more delighted when he suggested we do an "outdoor studio" shot. Since plein air painting is such a big part of my process, he reasoned that this would be just the right approach. I completely agreed and the collaboration began. Scott took pictures of me at different stages of painting, and was able to visualize ahead of time how the various angles could be stitched together to tell the story. The image he created beautifully captures it all. I think you will all agree with me that the photo is awesome! Thank you, Scott!! I am very honored to be part of "Panorama 365". 

Side note: "Ranch Sky" (painting above) was in process on my easel for the shoot. I thought it only right to do a panorama for the panorama! :)

Click HERE to see and read more about Scott's "Panorama 365" project.

Click HERE to see my panorama on his website and blog write up.

Misty Watering Hole

Misty Watering Hole, 8 x 16, oil on panel, L. Daniel © 2013

Yesterday, Plein Air Austin painted together at a gorgeous ranch outside of Johnson City (the home town of LBJ). The land out there is beautiful, but on this foggy morning, it had a quiet enchantment about it. The muted colors and atmospheric layers were very soulful and inspiring. It was magical.

Out At The Ranch

Out At The Ranch, 9 x 12, oil on panel, L. Daniel © 2012

Oh, the joys of Spring! I know I am getting repetitive about this fact, but I think we all feel a certain excitement when color returns to our own neck of the woods. We're just ready. :) Last week, our group met up at the ranch of local artist and friend, Pat Haberman. We had the run of the place and a great time out painting. Thanks for having us, Pat!!

Garden of Blue

L. Daniel, ©2012, Garden of Blue, 12 x 9, oil on panel

Yesterday, a group of us met up at the beautiful hill country ranch of Suzanne Stewart, a fabulous painter and friend. The ranch is a stunning place... truly a painting in every direction. Gardens and hillsides were abundant with spring bluebonnets - already knee high in one area. It looks like it's going to be a great year for wildflowers in Texas. We must have gotten rain at just the right time. Thanks for having us, Suzanne!

Stable Before Dusk

Stable Before Dusk, 12 x 12, L. Daniel

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This weekend we had our annual Plein Air Austin painting trip. Organized by the fabulous Julie Davis, 23 of our members traveled to the Hill Country to paint for 3 days. There was no shortage of incredible views; and paint, we did! Late Friday afternoon, four of us pulled off the road at this horse stable to catch that end-of-day light. Although the horses never came back while we were there, we could hear them "neighing" the whole time. :)

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On a side note, today I met a blogosphere painter friend in real life! Tracey Mardon from Edmonton, Canada came to town and we had a wonderful lunch together. Tracey and I have been blog friends for awhile now and it was so fun to finally meet! It was like meeting a pen pal! Thanks for coming to Austin, Tracey!!!

Goat Shed

Goat Shed, 12 x 9, L. Daniel

Last Thursday, Plein Air Austin had another drizzly paintout day; I had to set up my easel in the back of my car to keep the canvas dry. We painted at a wonderful ranch and it was well worth the trouble. Our wonderful host, Pat Haberman, drove us all around and promised to have us back when the sun is out. (I don't forget a promise like that!) Thank you Pat! :) This little shed used to be the home and shelter of a goat herd. I would have loved to see their little faces peeking out through the rain...

The following day, Plein Air Austin left for a weekend painting trip in the Hill Country. It's just that time of year. More on that tomorrow!

Misty Spring Morning

Misty Spring Morning, 6 x 8, L. Daniel, SOLD

This Thursday, I met up with painting friends at a ranch about an hour out of town. It was a misty, moisty morning that continually threatened larger storms a'comin'... makes a girl paint fast and furious! I managed to get a small study finished before the mist turned to rain, and was so glad I didn't stay home.

See more Small Works

Blogging painter friends: Daily Painters Gallery is having a contest to find our next new member. Check out the site for information: http://www.dailypainters.com/contest

Western Skies (enlarged)

Western Skies, 18 x 18

This is the first larger piece of the big skies out west. I made a few small changes from the smaller study, but the most significant change is the addition of the fence opening. It seemed an important element for drawing the viewer "in" and when I played around with it, I liked it better.

I also want to let you know that Daily Paintworks has a new member! Welcome to Susan Abbott of Vermont, an outstanding artist who works in several different media and genres. I think you will love her work which you can see on her blog. And if you haven't visited the Daily Paintworks site lately, stop by and see what all twelve of us are doing!

Western Skies Study

Western Skies Study, 6 x 6, SOLD

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I am working on a series of big sky paintings that got into my head when I was out in West Texas and the Davis Mountains. I have done several small studies for this series and will post them as I complete the larger versions. I love how the open range goes on for miles and miles out there; it makes the sky seem bigger and more dramatic.

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See more Small Works

A Perfect Day

Trisha's Hay Barn, 12 x 12

We are beginning to have some wonderful, cooler days here in Austin; and today was one of them! I was so glad to be outside. Our painting group met up early at the beautiful ranch of one of our members, Trisha Bridges. There were Longhorns wandering around, horses that kept guard, and happy painters all around!