Two Days of Plein Air

I spent the last two days out painting "en plein air". Wednesday we were in downtown Mason again, but closer to the center of town. This little yellow house is behind the bank, across the street from the new "square". The drive you see to the left of the house goes into the banks parking lot. Several people stopped to comment on how much work the couple who own the house have put into it. It's a gem!

Today I was out with the folks from South West Ohio Plein Air Painters in Covington, KY. This is Wertheim's Restaurant... "Come where Kraut is King! Nestled in the heart of Covington's Historical "Mainstrasse Village" You will find authentic German Cuisine here, including the best Reuben Sandwich. Our award winning menu has something to please each member of your family from our publicized and well known signature Champignon Schnitzel, our sauteed Wurst and Mushroom appetizer not to forget our award winning and delicisous Kentucky Silk Pie: We think you will enjoy your experience at Wertheim's." Sounds good, doesn't it? I'll try to contact them to see if they'd like to buy a painting, or maybe I could wangle a free meal...

Mason Plein Air

Last week we tried painting in the evening on Wednesday in Mason to avoid the daytime heat. Good idea on staying cooler, but the light sure changes fast. I picked this Dutch Colonial to paint because of the wonderful backlighting on the big Maple tree. The humidity was high and the sky turned pink, orange then red. I started with the sky color to lock it in, then worked on getting the house blocked in before the light ran out.

I had to go back on Sunday night (totally different lighting, even though it was the same time and weather) to finish. The tree had more back lighting and the porch light was on, so I added that too.

The View From Here: Mason, OH

As part of the Cincinnati Art Museum's "See America" series of exhibitions for this summer, members of the Mason-Deerfield Arts Alliance were asked to submit artwork for inclusion in "The View From Here: Mason, OH". For some photos of the art hung in the gallery, go here: The View From Here: Mason, OH

Artwork from a total of thirteen artists were accepted into the show and I feel lucky to be included... in the art museum and I'm not dead yet!
Here is a list of those with work represented: Carol Abbott, Celeste Bryant, Alla Dorn, Louise Dusing, Chuck Marshall, Tracy Molitors, Barbara Pask, Meredith Raffel, Alicia Rizzi, Donald Schuster, Nancy Stapleton, Dianne Therien, Frankie Wheeler

Sorry everyone, we couldn't take photos of all the works close-up, due to museum reproduction policies. Thanks to Meredith Raffel, Executive Director, Mason-Deerfield Arts Alliance and Carrie Maras, Cincinnati Art Museum, Art For Life.

Beckett Ponds Series

The newest installment in the Beckett Ponds Series is "Beckett Ponds 18". This is a 24" x 36" oil on canvas painting, with not only lilies in bloom, but also a dragonfly. My wife said we needed one of these in the series, not just lilies and dragonflies in separate "portraits". Even though the park has been closed for construction (I hope they don't ruin it!), there will be more coming in this series.

MAP Still Life 3

Here is the completed still life from the Mason Area Painters meeting where we worked on some "quick studies"– 1 hour to finish a still life. (posted 7/6). Another few hours of work can make a bit of difference.

MAP Still Life

Last week at the Mason Area Painters meeting we worked on some "quick studies"– 1 hour to finish a still life. At this week's meeting I went back into the first of the two of the panels I did last last week. Here is "MAP- Still Life 2" completed yesterday.

The second image is of panel two, just as I completed it last week. I'll also work that up into a more finished painting as soon as time permits.

Mason Plein Air

For this week's plein air painting in Mason we were invited by Little Rascals Photography to paint in their outdoor sets. Four of us painted and one did some sketching. My painting of "Shed with Pond" reflects the bright sunlit areas with deep shadows we encountered.

I'll be posting the "quick studies" I painting at MAP Monday at a latter time. I'll probably want to work on them some more before declaring them finished.