Off in the Clouds and a Work in Progress

Living in the Wet Mountain Valley, with a 360° from our deck (front and then back) I have the good fortune of seeing all types of skies, clouds, daily life, weather, wildlife, and yes, even wildfires from my vantage point. I can see the Wet Mountain range, the Sangre de Cristo range, the Collegiates, and the Spanish Peaks.  Above me are skies that are my local version of the "Big Sky".  I take so many photos of these aforementioned wonders that my 'phone camera' is always full and my Sandisks are jammed with photos. 

There are particular photos that I 'save for later' in my 'to paint' or 'to study' pile in the studio. This is one of those. Time flies, can't believe this photo is from 2/6/18.

I recall that not soon after,  I did a small pastel and colored pencil study just for fun and to get the feel for the cloud's structure and placement above the mountains and valley.

Last week it made it to an 'almost' final 9" x 12" piece in oil. Using artistic license, 

I made the cloud more ominous and rain producing.  

Not much color though, it WAS February.  I may have to tweak that GRAY on the bottom of the cloud just a bit.  If it was that dark of a gray, the rest of the cloud would be a tad more gray as well.  Always a good idea to study a 'photo of your work' for possible corrections. 

 I will post a final of this one soon.

 "Rain in the Gap"

(still a work in progress - WIP)

by

Pattie Wall

In Your Own Face

WIP - DH came through the

studio today, "Gave yourself some more hair, I see"

YEP, it's called 'Artistic License' - ya man!

and of course, this is my way 'younger' face...

(check back tomorrow or the next day for update)

From the looks of it, I have a long way to go..

eyes are not right..and if eyes aren't right, it's

almost a goner to me.

A Country Road Landscape in Oil

"V Road"

oil on wood

6 3/4" x 14"

I was updating the photo on this one and the text got removed with the old photo.  I worked more on the road color and set up the painting in color spectrum lighting in the north window.  This is the road to the west of my house.

There is a grain elevator on the horizon, but you can't see it, because

I left it out.  

Where I Stand WIP

I often paint fairly small paintings.  I have large canvas that get painted on and then wiped off or painted over. This one is 24" x 30" - very large for me...but I am determined.  Took so many photos on our trip West in Aug/Sept of 2010, I am trying one out.  Many more to come.  There is that saying, "So many paintings..so little time"... (or is that 'so many books, so little time') - oh well - works for me! 

FYI this one will look very different the next time you see it.

Just about everywhere you take photos in the forest,  you will find 'downed' trees in Yellowstone.  They are a part of the landscape and help to make it perfectly Yellowstone.

(P.S. Tired of the gray on this blog..thinking Spring - so livening up the color a little on the blog design.)

Dog Portrait - WIP (Work in Progress)

Sorry about the glossiness - very wet paint..and glare on the surface. Just a little 'daily painter' - while watching the blizzard crank up to HIGH outside.  I often get so much paint loaded in these little ones, I need to give it a day or so to not be tooo wet to finish it.

Started another one but as they say, "Wipey. wipey!" Tomorrow is another day.

You can't see the swirling snow in the photo, but trust me, it is swirling and swirling.



WIP for Today

OK, this is my first attempt to 'paint' the infamous Hasty Herman since he passed away this last November.  I have been holding off the urge to PAINT him till the time seemed right.  Today was the day...but I have fussed with it most of the afternoon. When it's your own dog or child or husband or relative, I feel you tend to be more fastidious with the painting.  The painting got to that 'walk away' point and it had too much wet paint on it...I thought I would get back to it tomorrow or the next day. Crummy photo here, but in a hurry to pack up and get going. And as I was leaving, I was making mental notes of what was right and what was wrong about this one...now I will probably dream about it.  I like this pose so well, that it may have to be painted again on a much larger scale.  There is a lot of detail in his eyes that I want to capture and tell about.

Today was a perfect day to be in the studio, it is a blizzard out there.  Snow drifts up to my knees...I shoveled a walkway to the gate and two hours later, it's like I never did. 

BTW - saw a little 'visitor' in my studio several days ago..haven't caught him or her yet.  There is nothing to eat out there, but I wonder which portfolio or drawer they went after for bedding because they tend to either bring some mouse poison to keep in the bed (which is brought in from the garage or shop) - or evidence of their living quarters shows up way later, where they are vacated and all that is left is their housekeeping.  For the life of me, the only place they can enter is the barn door, which has a reveal problem around the edge and very slim slit, but they can still be houdini's and get through. Every once in awhile, I stop the music and listen...you can often hear them, but you can't pinpoint where they are.  Stay tuned!  

Work in Progress and Turnips

SOLD 
Work in Progress - side by side longboats on Mystic Harbor, 16" x 20" oil on stretched canvas

I am trying not to "noodle" this one. Have worked on it for two days now. There is a little shine from the wet paint. It is the same boats as last week, different photo perspective. I think I am done just below the boats in the water...there is lots of 'stuff' in the boats, and I am taking some of it out, too much detail and I don't want to clutter it. I am not a photo-realist painter. I think making the ropes work is important. It was in the last one. They aren't happenin' yet and I am leaving them in, there are a lot of twists and curls around the bows.

A man who lives near by and is the brother of the woman who owned this farmstead, brings us turnips every fall. They grow them in the big fields. I don't know if you can tell, but these are HUGE! He says he likes them by grating them and putting dressing on them. I like to just slice off a chunk and eat it. For sure, these will be a subject of a future painting or pastel. Love the purple color!