Butterfly Bluff 2

I finished this painting this week at MAPs, another one in the series from the photos I took in Winton Woods Park end of last summer. Less Queen Anne's Lace in this one and more of the hill side in the foreground. This one is not split by the roadway as the previous paintings have been either.

I'm still drawn to those blue-greens of the pines, we don't have them naturally occuring around here. This stand was probably planted by the Civilian Conservation Corps or Boy Scouts just after the park was established. Winton Woods wraps around Green Hills, one of the "Greenbelt" developments done by the government in the '30s.

I planted trees in the park several times in the '60s as service projects with my Scout troop. Don't think it was in this area, I remember us working on the North side of the lake.

Plein Air MAPs

Last Friday was the first time the MAPs group got out to paint "en plein air." Only three of us showed up but it was a glorious, sunburn producing, morning. Just on the front side of a weather High, the sky was so blue it didn't look natural. The humidity was rising and puffy cumulus clouds started filling the sky as the day progressed.

I chose the time of day when I started painting for the look of the sky in this one. I thought the clouds would complicate the background too much. These are some mature oak trees that stand along the front of the park property. They've already lost some of them, hope they can keep these for awhile.

Painted image and on easel.

Plein Air Eden Park

Here's the painting shown in the last post from Eden Park in Cincinnati, "Bridge at Twin Lakes". Located in one of the river overlook areas in Eden Park, these little ponds were built in what used to be a stone quarry.

Still busy this week preparing for the Wyoming Art Show on Sunday, May 15, 11:00A-5:00P. Last minute framing, identification tags and business cards. Come on out for the show that kicks off the outdoor season in the Cincinnati area. Over 150 artists from 7 states will be represented. See the show flyer below and click on it for a larger view:

Painting with SWOPA

A busy day on Thursday this week. We were still getting ready for the Grand Opening and First Friday of the Mason Area Painters studio (#109) at the new Pendleton Art Center- Middletown and there are always last minute details. I took the afternoon-evening to paint with the Southwest Ohio Plein Air group in Eden Park in Cincinnati, that's where this picture was taken. Painted the bridge at Twin Lakes and took photos of some locations for possible future paintings. Next I dropped off a few paintings at the Cincinnati Art Club to see if I can become a Signature member and then went to dinner with the SWOPA group in Mt. Adams. Whew!

Fence Row 3

I've been working on this 24 x 36 painting for a couple of weeks. Another in the trumpet flower series that been recurring over the last three years. I was looking to do one with a little more "presence" and this is what came out. Tired of the wet weather and wishing for summer sun.

You can find these naturally occurring flowering vines weighing down the fence rows beside the fields here in SW Ohio. The blooms start coming on around the time of the first hot weather, end of May or early June. The flowers last about a month and the ruby throated hummingbirds love them. Probably developed together, the birds' beaks being suited to getting down the long bell of the flowers.

Mason Area Painters at Pendleton Art Center

This has been a crazy couple of weeks, leading up to the opening of the MAPs studio in the Pendleton Art Center- Middletown. We've gotten in on the ground floor (literally) at the new PAC facility. I have rounded up 14 members of our Mason painting group who had an interest in a 12 member share of a studio space for gallery display of our work. We've been organizing, discussing, voting, delegating, copy-writing, designing, painting, hanging, joking, laughing and swearing while trying to get the show ready for the GRAND OPENING First Friday and Second Look Saturday of the PAC- Middletown!

All 14 members will have work on display! We've divided up the wall space for 11 people to have semi-permanent work hung and one featured artist per month. We have two groups of artists that are sharing their monthly space and one of those was elected to lead off as Featured Artist. With fourteen feet of wall space to fill, they had to put a lot of work on the wall.

Click on the flyer to see it at a larger size:
Pendleton Art Center- Middletown
1105 Central Avenue

Middletown, OH  45044

Come out and see what a group of talented artist can do!

Fence Row 2

New painting of the trumpet flowers along Linn Road in Liberty Township, 11" x 14", Oil on Canvas. Still longing for those sunny days, when we don't have to put up with all this rain. I started this at MAPs on Monday and finished it in the studio yesterday, hiding from the wet weather outside. Well we'll get there all too soon, then wish it was a little cooler!