Working more blocks of value and color in the autumn tree painting, which i started at the Michigan Art Center landscape painting class....

As noted in my previous blog about "how much detail is too much," I continued to tackle the foreground of "Birch Ballet." I have decided...

The reference photo for the birch tree painting in progress has a tangled mess of grasses, weeds, small trees and shrubs that appear to...

While observing the current state of "Birch Ballet," I had a compositional epiphany. Although absent from the reference photo, placing a...

Simple, small format painting forces the artist to focus on blocks of color, light and value.

This painting is entitled "Barn Clip." The barn resides on Willow Road in York Township, Michigan, just east of US 23. I was riding my...

Working further on our class demo at the Michigan Art Center, I began building depth in the distant treeline and the distant ground....

Pastel painting; 10x12. Challenge here was muting the large distant tree in the background so that it shows distinctly behind the bold...

One of my local favorite parks to go jogging (often with my curious canine Cosmo). October anoints this park with layers of colorful...

Plein air artists need the discipline to capture a scene quickly before sunlight and weather conditions change. One way to train for...

Focusing further on the Birch Ballet painting, the distant shrubs can be further blended and faded-out by lightly applying pastel pencil...

Today's enhancements included focusing on the foreground tree, beginning to add the canopy of leaves. I began to bring the distant blues...

I could not resist painting this picked-over corn field in late September. The field is at the corner of Marton and Textile Roads, in...

At any time in my studio, there can be several paintings in progress. I allow these paintings to "mellow" and take on further refinements...

I think we are done with this one! Now it doesn't hurt to let it "ripen" by leaving it accessible in the studio for some whim of a quick...

A few more refinements. Interesting pointer regarding using reference photos. The water in the photo was too bright (high value) due to...

Taking notes while studying a work in progress are an important component of a successful painting. View your painting from a distant...

Blues are my favorite for expressing a distant hill or series of trees, capturing the atmosphere of the distant vista.

Here's the first cut of initial pastel to the "tree" painting. I like it; perhaps it stands alone as an abstract landscape.

When you remove all of the green foliage, the ground is essentially shades of brown (to state the obvious). If I were to redo this...