Object d'Art - 2

The blue vase was the second object passed around for the Object d'Art Exhibition mentioned in the previous post.  The olive and the lemon added counterpoint color as well as movement in the peel.  The light through the transparent glass was an interesting challenge.

Object d'Art -1

Over the last year, I joined nearly twenty artists in an effort to have an exhibition limited to compositions including the same object.  The object was passed around and each person did his own interpretation.  This was my effort with the white pitcher.  Still life is not something I do often, but I found the experiment interesting and useful.  The exhibtion was last weekend and was well attended and fun.  Both my entries were sold so I'm happy they have new homes.

CHIHUAHUA RIDGE

Santa Elena Canyon is a deep cut in the Chihuahua Ridge on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande and a featured spot in Big Bend National Park as well as a dramatic trip for river rafters.  On this day, we stopped at this overlook rather than proceed to the point where the canyon merges with the river.  Soon we were joined alongside the road by several other members of the Outdoor Painters Society who were with us on this trip.

      

      

LATE AFTERNOON STOP

Late afternoon is a more  challenging time than  morning for a plein air painting because the shadows and colors must be anticipated.  Luckily, James Black had scouted this site and knew what it would become.

   

      

ON CHISOS ROAD

The road to Chisos Mountain Lodge has many painting opportunities throughout the day, but one has to be careful (or lucky or both).  Yesterday, the road was closed because of snow and ice - and its's the only road in and out.  Later, we found the road closed because someone drove off the road and was being towed out.  Luckily, we were able to stop at this site long enough to get an impression.  The green on the cactus is wrong, but this 11x14 can serve as a study.

Chisos Snow

On Tuesday, it snowed in Big Bend National Park and guests in Chisos Mountain Lodge were advised the road in and out may be closed due to icy conditions and the absence of snow management equipment.  In Terlingua, where I was, it snowed in the morning and rained in the afternoon.  Snow did not last there, but in the higher elevations of the Chisos Range, it stayed for several days so we caught a glimpse on Wednesday when this 11x14 plein air  study was done.

      

Hill Country Highlight

This 9x12 study was painted last year on a creek North of Fredericksburg.  I was able to stand on a spillway behind a six foot dam in the river so that the water was at my eye level as the reflections from the cliff in the late afternoon reflected directly to me.  It’s unlikely I’ll find that sort of vantage point in another location.  This painting was recently part a group exhibition of Nomadas del Arte at Southwest Gallery in Dallas.