Something We're Not Seeing

Winter's Sweep
12"x 24", Oil on Canvas
02/2017

A LOT of my paintings are devoted to views of the Southwestern Ohio countryside where something has caught my eye. Most people will drive on by, but I have to stop and take another look... We're not seeing much snow this winter; it's been warm and wet. This scene is from a couple of years ago, on a very cold day with brilliant sunshine. The furrowed bank of the raised drive leads across the snow covered fields to the white farmstead on the horizon.

Morning Sunlight

Concourse– Morning Light
12" x  24", Oil on Canvas
1/2017

This is a studio piece from photos taken during the Mariemont Plein Air event this last fall. My plein air piece from the same location was posted just after the event. It is of the view through the Concourse looking out to the Little Miami valley. This is the east side of the Concourse with sunlight filtering through the surrounding trees and dappling the wisteria and grass.

Cold Days Ahead

Great Miami– Below Zero 2
6" x 8", Oil on Canvas Panel
11/2016

From same location on the Great Miami as the previous post, this time looking North. Just caught the train trestle.

Coming Winter

Great Miami– Below Zero
9" x 12", Oil on Canvas Panel
11/2016

I'm hoping that this winter isn't as cold as that two years ago. This is a view of the semi-frozen Great Miami River above Middletown. A bright day, the river slushy and the low sun position casting slanting shadows across the crunchy snow.

Near the Overlook

Fort Ancient Fall
12" x 16", Oil on Canvas
11/2016

The beech-maple climax forest that covers the hillsides along the Little Miami at Fort Ancient were in there fall splendor. A clear deep blue sky vibrated against the complementary colors of the foliage (foliage my drawing professor at DAA used to call it!). Late Fall sunlight slants through the tree trunks to light up patches of grass and leaves on the ground.

Plein Air– Sharon Woods

Rocky Creek Bridge
12" x 16", Oil on Canvas
10/2016

Our last foray into plein air for this season was to Sharon Woods Park. A very gray afternoon with darkness coming on quickly, it was a challenge to keep the vibrance of color up. This view is looking down stream from the second falls, just below the stone arched bridge.

What Happened in the Woods

Witness to Disaster
24" x 48", Oil on Canvas
10/2016

This was a surprising discovery. On a trip to see one of Ohio's largest sycamore trees, I walked in on this mild woodland creature standing by just after a catastrophic structural failure. Located just outside the Valley View Nature Preserve, in Milford, Ohio, this tree is of immense size and age. Estimated to be between 400 and 600 years old, will it overcome this enormous set back?