BARN IN NIEDERWALD, TX

Today I ended up in a town called Niederwald, southeast of Austin. I will definitely be back, because there were at least 3 old buildings like this one in view of where I set up my easel by the side of the road. As I was getting started, a couple pulled over, and the man said, "I thought you needed help, but you're just painting." I said, "you haven't seen me paint!"

2012-01-29 niederwald 9x12"

LUNCHTIME PAINTINGS JANUARY 21-27

I only made it out to paint a couple of times at lunch this week. It poured down rain and hail one day, and Thursday was Australia Day, so a group of us went to Boomerang's here in Austin for some Aussie pies.

As usual, I try to get finished in 45 minutes so I can get back to the office. The first one was done the day after we got 3" of rain dumped on us overnight. It still threatened rain, but it was a good day to go out and get some poison ivy on my wrists. No idea how, since I was wearing long sleeves.

2012-01-25 Cat Mountain 6x8"

The second one was done today. I walked around a park for a while trying to find something that I wanted to try to paint. I found nothing and was about to give up and go back to work when I looked down the road I was on and found a subject.

2012-01-27 Lakewood Drive 6x8"

OLD WOOD AND RUSTED METAL

Barn in Round Rock, 9x12"

This weekend, I found myself in Round Rock TX, where this amazing barn is standing behind a CVS Pharmacy. I stood just off the property and started painting. After a while, the owner of the place drove up and we talked about how beautiful the barn is. I got permission to come back, so I'll definitely paint it again. Next time I may paint the other side, where most of the siding was removed to repair another barn the people own. A while later, a kid wandered over from the house, and said his mother asked if I want to sell the painting. I gave him my business card, and said I need to hold onto it for a little while (mainly so it could dry), but that I'd certainly sell it, or one that I do next time I'm there.

LUNCHTIME PAINTINGS JANUARY 12-20

These are the paintings I did during my lunch hour in the last week or so. As usual, I set the timer on my phone for 45 minutes so I have time to get back to work within an hour, more or less.

2012-01-12 The Arboretum, 6x8"

That arch is the doorway to an office building in the background.

2012-01-13 Mayfield Park 6x8

After wandering around for a while, I didn't have a lot of time to spend on this before getting back to work. Next time I paint the peacocks that are wandering all over this park.

2012-01-18 Cat Mountain 6x8"

2012-01-20 Cat Mountain 8x10"

Cat Mountain is a subdivision near my office. There is a path behind where the road dead ends, so I walked up, and saw a bunch of newly cleared and mulched cedar trees. Looks like they'll be putting in more houses soon... I went back and painted the same hill twice, ignoring the houses perched on top both times.

BARN AT OLD SETTLERS PARK

Wagon and Barn at Old Settlers Park 9x12"

This morning I took a drive up to Old Settlers Park, which is right next to where the Round Rock Express baseball team plays north of Austin. I started painting this barn and wagon when the clouds moved in and I lost the strong lighting that drew me in in the first place. Luckily, I had laid in my shadow pattern in right at the beginning like I was supposed to do, and was was able to keep working. I kept hoping the sun would come out again but it never did. The most embarrassing thing here is how I cut the image down the middle. Maybe if I crop it down to an 8x10 I can fix the composition...

ANOTHER RUSTIC BARN

On Saturday, I did this plein air sketch northeast of Austin. I was on FM 1660, between Hutto and Jonah, TX. There was an old weathered barn in front of a freshly plowed field, and a place to pull over and park. Since I figured out how to do a screen grab on my iphone, I occasionally grab the GPS coordinates and an image of the phone's map so I can remember where I did the painting, in case I want to go back. This one was 30°34'45"N, 97°32"48"W. I want to go back and paint this one early in the day, when it's not quite so backlit.

2012-01-07 From Hutto to Jonah 8x10"

I'll have to remember to come back here next fall when the trees still have leaves on them.

THE NARROW SIDE OF A BARN

I've mostly been doing plein air painting since I started painting again after a long time, but I have done an occasional still life and studio painting. The latest one is a painting of the farm of my sister and her family in Ontario, Canada.

Richardson Barn, 9x12"

Right before that, I painted this one of a bridge near downtown Austin.

Bridge at Redbud Trail 12x9"

LAST PAINTINGS OF 2011

Buckley & Welch Hardware Granger, TX 8x10"


The last 2 paintings I did in 2011 were plein air sketches that I did in Granger and Taylor, Texas.

I stood on a corner in Granger, Tx, and painted this empty hardware store. As I was setting up, a gust of wind knocked the can of thinner off my easel and spilled all but the sludge at the bottom of the can all over the sidewalk. After a few muttered curses, I got to work. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. I probably should have "artistic licensed" a few just to add interest.

Nobody bothered me because this place is practically a ghost town. The only people I saw were going into and out of the Post Office. I probably saw fewer than 10 people the whole time I was there. There are a lot of empty shops on the main street of town, and I'll be back to paint a few more of them. My favorite part of the morning was at noon, when the church bell started ringing.


2011-12-25 old shed in taylor tx 12x9"

On the way home, I passed a trio of sheds right off the main road, with a small dirt driveway to allow access. I pulled in and set up, deciding on this particular shed as my subject. It was a gray building, but the late afternoon sun was starting to turn it golden.

RECENT PAINTINGS SOLD

I just sold three of the plein air paintings I have been doing recently to a collector I met on Facebook through Ronnie Williford, an artist friend and co-worker at Powerhouse Animation Studios. My field sketches don't have clever names, just the date and location they were done.

2011-11-23 Lost Creek, 12x9"

2011-11-25 Red Bud Isle, 6x8"

2011-11-25 Lake Austin, 12x9"

I also donated a plein air piece and 2 small still lifes to Artists Against Cancer for a charity auction:

2011-09-18 Old Stable, Round Rock TX, 8x10"

A Cuppa Coffee, 6x8"

I originally called this one "Sad Beer Steins" because the only thing more sad than an empty beer stein is two empty beer steins. However, the people who bought it said they're not sad, they're "Loaded With Potential." I like that. 8x6"

NEW YEAR, NEW BLOG

It's a new year, so I guess now is as good a time as any to start a blog that no one will ever read.