Phantom Bluff, Again

Phantom Bluff 12x16 oil

Monet painted his haystacks over and over again, and I keep going back down to the boathouse to paint Phantom Bluff because I want more practice at painting from life, but I seem to end up with nearly the same painting each time.  I think it must be a lack of vision on my part, because I see the same thing, or maybe it is that I am painting what I believe to be there rather than what I see, so my left brain keeps interfering....  I should probably change my palette and force myself to paint it in different colors, rather than trying for what I see objectively.  Maybe next time?

Early morning is definitely the best time to get out on the lake to paddle; there were no boats this morning, smooth water, and we saw a bald eagle, several osprey, a great blue heron and an otter.  Where else in the world is it possible to feel like one lives in a wilderness while being in the middle of a large metropolitan area?  I marvel at the beauty of it all.

And finally one more from France:

Along the River

Through the Cottonwoods 16x20 oil

I had doubts about trying this one, given the deep shade of the foreground and the double V of the trees, but in the end it did give me a feeling of the place and the light beyond the shadow.

The River is Low 12x16 oil

Just to shake things up, I tried using Thalo Blue instead of a Prussian or Ultramarine for the sky.  Though this one was dashed off quickly, I think there is potential in working with the thalo, if it is knocked back a bit with some earth color or red/orange.  The photos seems a little fuzzy, though the painting was left a little fuzzy itself.

Beneath These Boughs

Beneath These Boughs 16x20 oil

I had little time and no paints with which to work while in Greece, so I have to settle for working from photo reference and what memory remains.  I was struck by the immensity of this olive tree, the deep shade on the parched ground, and the little trailer awaiting the crop of olives to come.

La Boissiere

This is an 11x14 inch oil of the view of my friends' home seen from a distance, with the warm glow of the rising sun.  I think that had I been painting on site, I would have had a better feel for the local color and nuance of the various crops, but instead I went for a more stylized treatment.

Aprés Vacances

The Road to Soumensac. 12x16 oil

It's been a long while with no posts, and no painting, either.  Blame it on the vacation to Greece and the south of France.  The above painting is my first attempt since returning.  The view is from the property of my friends where we stayed for a couple of weeks, waking each morning to a glorious pastoral view of 180 degrees which will fuel some efforts over the coming weeks.  The group of buildings on the right is Les Boissieres, a working farm and vineyard that is the only close neighbor.

Our trip began in Athens, with the requisite visits to the Parthenon and museum.  But we did manage to head to the beach north of Athens for dinner with a cousin.

Then we were off to Zakynthos, an island in the Ionian Sea south of Corfu.  There were the classic postcard images, like this one below:

But my preference was for the quiet interior, undisturbed by the tourists who stuck close to the beaches.  The vast groves of olive trees (1.8 million on this island), the cicadas, the sleepy villages were all more foreign to our American eyes than were the crowds of Brits swarming the tavernas.

After flying to Bordeaux, we rented our car and drove due east to the Lot et Garonne, where our good friends have lived for the past seventeen years.  The visit centered on the social, the family connections, the cooking and eating and drinking, but the landscape was like yet another welcoming friend: it is perhaps my most favorite landscape in the world, with rolling hills of vineyards and wheat fields, small woods harboring wild boar, old hamlets with ancient churches, and narrow roads ideal for wandering.

My family stayed in the guest house of our hosts, and rose each morning to breakfast on the terrace overlooking this view:

Now that we are back, my intention is to get caught up on household and business issues quickly and then keep those brushes wet.