This is a color study that I began as a plein air painting in Bush Park, just outside Houston, Texas. I spent another 45 minutes in the studio, finishing it from memory with some reference photos.
Basically, I wanted to convey the beautiful colors in the grass at this time of year. Some fresh [...]

Today was the second day of working on this painting. I think that in two more days, maybe three, this will be completed. On the right is a photo of how it looked the first day. It was okay… but not great. Neither the colors nor the values were right, though [...]

This morning, the weather report promised rain within an hour. The clouds looked ho-hum from my patio and the fog was burning off, but I took a chance and threw my painting supplies into the car. Within 20 minutes — when I arrived at Bush Park — I was glad that I did.
The [...]

Early Thursday morning, I took about 50 photos in George Bush Park as the sun was coming up. The colors were especially warm and vivid because the sunrise was almost orange. I want to paint several variations from those photos.
This photo, at right, is one of half a dozen that I’ve combined in [...]

I learned two lessons today: First, when the winds are gusty, be sure that my canvas can’t fall face down onto my wet palette. Fortunately, I’d used up most of my paint when this happened, but I still had to wipe portions of the canvas and repaint it.
Second, when someone asks really good [...]

I painted this 8″ x 10″ oil sketch at about 8:30 a.m. in Bush Park, just outside Houston, Texas. Heavy, dark clouds were being swept away by the wind, revealing brilliant white sunlight. When the sun shone through the clouds, the grassy areas in the field were almost neon bright. Vivid lime [...]

This morning, I painted two plein air oil sketches at sunrise. The sky changed dramatically as the sun came up, and I wanted to capture both moods.
The first painting was started in the dark, as the clouds appeared thick and just a little sky peered through. The horizon had a peachy color just [...]

It’s been about ten years since I painted daily, plein air sunrise sketches. Of course, these are often seasonal subjects, since sunrises tend to be more colorful in the winter.
Nevertheless, I’m pleased with this oil sketch. I’m not sure that it’s finished yet, but I like it anyway. It captures the [...]