Thursday, October 9, 2014

Plein air painting in France, Holland, and Belgium - Summer 2014

This summer I spent 3 weeks in Europe with my wife.  As expected, there was no shortage of painting inspiration.  We rented apartments along the way and rented a car from Amsterdam. This was our first trip with a rental car and it allowed us far more freedom to explore back roads than a train ever could.  Aside from being glorious fun, it was a very productive trip and my goal was to paint at least 1-2 paintings a day.





boat study near our apartment in Amsterdam




painting a section of the Afgifte Goederen mansion in Amsterdam



Afgifte Goederen - 6" x 9" oil on canvas board



door sketch
   quick windmill study outside the IJ brewery in Amsterdam - it was pretty wind and rainy that day so I did what I could and left it as a sketch










6" x 9" oil on canvas board - Amsterdam, Holland


sketching a section of the Rijksmuseum - Amsterdam





my 30 minute night painting attempt on a canal in Amsterdam. 




Early Morning in Amsterdam - 24cm x 33cm oil on canvas board


rainy day fig study - Amsterdam




small audience in Antwerp, Belgium




Painting some lavender near Chateaurenard, France.  The owners of the farm I was painting in front of liked the painting and bought it on the spot!  



Happy customers




St. Remy Market - Provence, France







Dinner time after a long day in Chateurenard, France




The sun was going down pretty quickly, so I decided to sketch the underpainting for these platanus trees and finish the rest the next day




second layer the next day




Platanus trees - Chateaurenard, France


vineyard near our apartment


my wife painting the same field in watercolors



french vineyard 8" x 10" oil on linen canvas board



early morning painting 







Painting in Provence at the  Réserve Naturelle Nationale de la Plaine des Maures on the way to St. Tropez


Parasol Pines - 22cm x 33cm oil on canvas board





St. Tropez, France




afternoon study in St. Tropez





The Coast of St. Tropez - 5" x 7" oil on canvas board



Port de Saint Tropez - 6" x 9" oil on canvas board



Midi- Pyrenees - 6" x 9" - oil on cnavas board



quick study outside of Toulouse, France








Sunflowers and poplar trees outside of Monclar de Quercy, France




30 minute sunflower field study around Albi, France







  Before Europe, I flew back to the U.S to visit family and friends.  Here are a few sketches I made from California and Florida.



statue sketch in San Francisco



statue sketch in San Francisco


quick oil painting of my wife at the beach in Sarasota, FL


quick nude study in charcoal - Lakeland, FL











Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Recent plein air paintings

Outdoor paintings from April - June 2014


Hydrangea study on Oike dori in Kyoto - cloudy day on June 23, 2014


"Sakura Season" - 6" x 9" oil on canvas board - Sold







"Heian Jingu" - oil painting on 6" x 9" canvas board









"Kyoto Imperial Palace" - 9" x 13" oil on canvas board



Quick 15 minute study at a shrine near Kyoto Gosho.  A big truck decided to park right in front of it....  quick study!



8" x 10" oil painting at Honpo-ji 





quick study at Kyoto Imperial Palace Park 


Amaryllis study by the river





Stages of an early morning plein air painting near Nijo  dori.  I liked the composition as a square so I cropped it when I got home.





quick sakura (cherry blossom) study by the canal near my apartment



 "Early Morning at Kyoto Gosho" - 6" x 9" oil on canvas board





 "Burning Incense at Gyoganji Temple" - 6" x 9" oil on canvas board





Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Very honored to have been selected as a Finalist in the International Artist Magazine's "Favorite Subjects" competition.  Check out my full page article in the April/May 2014 International Artist Magazine!