Winter's Refuse

"Winter's Refuse"  mixed media  22"x28"  

March has arrived in northern Iowa.  Birds are returning including flocks of robins and blackbirds.  The snow had melted considerably until today as it is currently being replenished with another Monday snowstorm.  That early melt of snow, the first couple melts anyway, leaves the ground covered with broken branches, trash in some cases, what I call winter's refuse.  It is wet, muddy, and messy.  The ground is still frozen so the water has nowhere to go but remain on the surface and form small ponds that the returning ducks enjoy in the farmer's fields.  The bird feeders are crazy busy with  competition from the new returnees from the warmer climates.

The painting, "Winter's Refuse" is an experimental painting done in acrylic and ripped masa paper on watercolor 140# Arches paper.  I wanted to play around with surface qualities and not get locked into realism.  The interconnectedness of things is my focus here; nature, the seasons, time, space.  My plan is no particular plan.  My plan is to just continue painting and see where that leads me.

Cairn in Ireland

Here is a completed watercolor painting I have been meaning to try for almost a year. I have painted one previously in acrylic from Grand Marais, Minnesota. This one I photographed in the west coast of Ireland. There is something about the organic quality of rocks, their sharp edges and unruly geometric shapes that interest me. I am so like the challenge of painting lights and darks. I will be painting more of these in the future 

Tucson Cactus Landscape

 

A final Arizona landscape completed until next winter. Meanwhile I have a couple of Ireland I wish to work on so that will be my next landscapes. The world is certainly a diverse environment 

Pen and Ink with a Little Watercolor

Nothing like the directness of a sketch done of the outdoors with the use of pen and ink.  It is challenging to get the variety of texture required to  show the various plants without blending them together into one solid unidentifiable mass.  This particular sketch was completed in late February before the desert was in full bloom.  I learned much about desert plants during my two months in southern Arizona, watching them plump up with moisture and prepare to blossom.  But, unfortunately, that was to be in April when I would be once again in northern Iowa.  Maybe some year I will be able to witness the desert in full bloom.

Tucson Cactus

 

A barrel cactus in late January. Acrylic on Masonite. 8"x8"   

This is by far the only blooming cactus this time of the year here in Arizona. I am enjoying painting shadows and the barrow shapes. Also trying to make the colors interesting with minimal pizazz. Shadows are important so values are important to pay attention to. This is my second attempt at a barrel cactus. Still struggling somewhat. 

Roadside Inspiration

Immanuel Lutheran Church  12"x12" acrylic on hardboard

This is a landscape painting of a church in Copperas Cove, Texas.  I was visiting there a couple years ago and knew I would paint this eventually.  There is a large hill directly behind the church grounds where it is possible to get a high vantage point from where I took the photo the painting is based on.  I haven't painted many landscapes so I am not sure if I am finished or not.  I may change the shadow on the roof of the church and play with the trees on the right some.
I do like the depth created in the painting and the road disappearing in the distance.