Plein air fallout!

Shinn/Niles preliminary painting, oil

If you're old enough, you remember the saying from the 70's: "As soon as I've figured out where it's at, they MOVE it!" (sigh)  It still holds for me. As soon as I get the hang of this blog business, they "improve it." Honestly, they ARE improvements, it's just that they catch me off guard.

OK, enough whining. (for today) The above is a new oil that I started in the bathroom. Sounds funny? Well, I have one bathroom that is really large and incredibly well lit, so once I removed the useless tub-thing, I had room to paint in there and could be comfortable no matter the weather.

OK, back to the topic. I've now switched the oils to the porch studio due to fumes, so I've been finishing this one out there.  This is a fairly inaccurate picture of the Niles Canyon entry, with the Shinn house in the midground as it was around 1910. I fully took advantage of my artistic license in moving things and turning them around. I wanted to explore depth in painting hills, too. You can see sketch lines where I was trying to decide about the foreground. Eeek, what do I do with all that yellow? Make flat land interesting.

Niles Canyon/Shinn House - The old gate, oil

Ultimately, I think this is it, done, finito, fin. When it dries a bit, I'll sign it. Then start saving for a frame. Funny, I like the barn a lot more than the house! Too small to see here, but the barn did come out well.
As a child we went to grandma's ranch most summers, mostly so daddy could help her with the heavy annual stuff. In painting this picture I started thinking about those days and those old cattleguard gates everywhere. So it went into the picture! She was a homesteader who raised Black Angus and my Dad, all by herself. Grandaddy died when Dad was three months old, as a result of conditions in WWI. Yes, WWI.
Those summers are great memories. The scents were especially nostalgic, hot sun on hay, young calves when you feed them from a nursing bucket, barns and old wood, lots of things.
Can you tell I've been checking in on Ree Drummond's "Pioneer Woman" blog? Just type "Ree Drummond" in your browser and it will take you there. That's how I found it. It's fun to lurk, without having to do the WORK.
Hmm, I think the trees on the left may need something, some variety. The red is not flowers, they are red weeds that grow around here.