Category: Landscapes

So Much Granite!

SPRING POINT LIGHTHOUSE | 8 x 6” | Graphite on Paper

This is a preliminary drawing for a plein air session I plan to do later this week. This particular lighthouse is accessible via a jetty made of granite, which I can say from personal experience is deceptively long. As is the case with many lighthouses, the setting is often more impressive than the structure, which makes sense given they’re designed to protect navigators from the very dangerous geographies upon which they sit. Ironically, in a world where technology has made many lighthouses functionally irrelevant, they’re wildly popular destinations for visitors to explore… on land. 

The other attraction to lighthouses, as an artist, is they’re much like snowflakes whereby no two are alike, so there’s something new to tackle with every composition. Combined with their intriguing landscapes, lighthouses are a must do as an artist. 

I like to do detailed drawings instead of quick sketches when the subject is complicated or something new. The jetty is very intimidating for me, so it was important to get a handle on how to simplify while not losing the feel of all those massive granite blocks. I’m not sure if the drawing approach will translate to the painting, but a few things become clear from this exercise. First, the layout of the blocks needs to have defined directional lines in the fore and mid ground planes to capture the overall shape of the jetty. Secondly, there are numerous tiny shadows and value variations that give the blocks their distinct shapes, which will require some trial and error once the paint hits the canvas. 

Stay tuned for more on Spring Point lighthouse!

#artbern #berntx #crashboomzip #painting #art #abplanalp #austinartists #atxartist #contemporaryart #southportlandmaine #abplanalp #bernabplanalp #springpointledgelighthouse #lighthouse #lighthousepaintings

by Categories: Drawings, plein air, SeascapesTags: , , , , 2 Comments

A Gaggle of Geese – Part 2

MILL CREEK POND | 8 x 6” | Oil on Canvas Board

This is a follow-up from the Gaggle of Geese post a few weeks ago. The finishing “touches” for the studio ended up being a little more like finish “construction”, but I finally got to a point that seemed good enough. 

Let me admit, I don’t like this composition, but I really like parts. Others might see something more appealing, as art tends to work that way, but it seems artists trying to sell works tend to force themselves into liking everything they paint. To the uninitiated, know that they’re lying. There’s not an artist out there who likes even most of their final pieces. At the end of the day, our compositions tend to have really cool elements that we love, and various faults that distract us to no end. 


MILL CREEK POND was a joy to paint. If you’ve read the previous post and seen the video of the geese, you understand why. In terms of the studio work, I was really focused on simplifying the trees. Apparently I ignored a few basic compositional tenets along the way and ended up with two trees perfectly aligned left and right, meeting in the middle of the canvas. So annoying, but that’s what happens if you don’t step back frequently at the beginning and take the time to ensure the layout works. 


Regardless of the “amateur hour” compositional oversights, I had a lot of fun learning how to simplify the masses of the trees, especially the purple oak. Living in Texas, there are no purple oaks, and everything that’s green has a coating of yellow cedar pollen, so things skew very warm. Painting a very dark purple oak tree with huge leaves that gather in numerous masses is, well, an awkward endeavor and hard to create on the first go. Ultimately I gave up, said it’s good enough, and pivoted to the warmth of the setting sun on the trunks, grass, and lily pads. 


Hope you enjoy the final product regardless of my self-critique. It worked out in the end… kinda. 
Thanks for reading!


#artbern #berntx #crashboomzip #painting #art #abplanalp #austinartists #atxartist #atxart #atxlife #contemporaryart #southportlandmaine #abplanalp #bernabplanalp #pleinair #pleinairaustin #geese #millcreekpond

by Categories: Landscapes, plein airTags: , , , , , , 1 Comment

Cuz White is Boring

PREBLE SHED | 8 x 6″ | Oil on Canvas Board

In an effort to up my “en plein air” game, I’m going to do a few sessions this summer focused on simplification. The plan is to either find scenes that are lacking details and complexity, or zoom in on the focal area of a detailed scene and cut out the noise in an effort to simplify. 

The Preble Shed is an example of the former approach, namely it ain’t complicated… it’s a shed. However, I spent a lot of time also streamlining the background, almost ignoring what trees were actually in the background. I also made a point to blend, perhaps even muddle, the tree edges into the sky. I think it worked pretty well and added atmospheric perspective, something that has eluded many of my previous efforts. Progress!

Not surprisingly, the shed itself was the real challenge. It has a thick coating  of paint because there were a number of re-dos as I struggled to find a good light and dark color pairing. I noticed that so many professional artists who do sun-drenched urban landscapes tend to focus on white or very light yellow, using a contrasting blue-purple for the shadowed sides of the structure, which works really well, but honestly strikes me as a little boring. My goal with the shed was to use some hues that could be incorporated into other elements of the landscape – namely the flanking tree in the foreground, the fence in the background, and the sunlit grasses. I went with orange, about the 50th attempt, and can’t tell if I stopped there because I was satisfied or just worn out trying. 

Thanks for reading!

artbern #berntx #crashboomzip #painting #art #abplanalp #austinartists #atxartist #atxart #atxlife #contemporaryart #southportlandmaine #abplanalp #bernabplanalp #pleinair #pleinairaustin #pleinairmaine #maineartists #mainelife

Plain Ol Shed
Practice Sketch
Base Value Block In
Final Composition
by Categories: plein airTags: , , , , , 1 Comment

A Gaggle of Geese

I typically don’t share work in progress posts, but I think that tendency will have to change as I ramp up my “en plein air” sessions. Why? Well, there are so many entertaining things that happen when you’re in the field trying to make art. Some of it can be frustrating, like sudden wind gusts that knock over  everything, to entertaining and curious, such as bugs that end up as impasto effects in a painting. 

Today, I was painting by a beautiful pond on a calm afternoon, as if that weren’t perfect enough, when along comes a gaggle (is it gaggle?) of geese. Apparently I had setup adjacent to their entry ramp into the pond, but my presence didn’t distract them at all. Usually I have a dog in tow, which tends to keep all manner of water fowl in the water, but I didn’t have my handy apprentice, Zip, with me today. She doesn’t care much about the geese, but she finds goose poop to be the caviar delicacy of the great outdoors. 

As to the artwork, the focal point, which is impossible to tell at this mid-paint stage, is the strip of water lilies wrapped around the right side of the composition. I was only in the field for a little over an hour, but I’m happy with the structure of the painting and the aggressive approach with the dark values, which I tend to screw up initially. 

Stay tuned for an update of the finished work in the studio. Thanks for reading!

#artbern #berntx #crashboomzip #painting #art #abplanalp #austinartists #atxartist #atxart #atxlife #contemporaryart #southportlandmaine #abplanalp #bernabplanalp #pleinair #pleinairaustin #geese

by Categories: plein airTags: , , , , , 2 Comments

A State of Contrasts

FLATIRONS, BOULDER | 12 x 9″ | Oil on Art Board

What the hell is a “flatiron” you ask? The really boring definition is from  geomorphology, which I won’t repeat here, but the layperson’s description is “cool looking red and orange rocks pointing out of the ground at extreme angles.” 

This was a plein air outing just south of Boulder, Colorado, in an area called Eldorado Canyon, at the South Mesa Trailhead to be specific. I was fortunate to spend this painting session with my mom, who had picked the location because of the great views of the Flatirons. I love seeing the Flatirons from this vantage point because you can see Devil’s Thumb very clearly and easily appreciate the jagged topography. 

The location is also unique because if you turn around and look east, one can see a mere 5 -10 miles away the largest superfund site the in US history, Rocky Flats. As far as I could tell, the Flatirons weren’t glowing from the plutonium trigger waste, but I’m glad the wind was blowing in the other direction today. This may seem like a very weird mash of nature in one direction and nuclear waste in the other, but Colorado is a state full of contrasts – politically, environmentally, and geographically. As artists, though, it’s great because we all know stark contrasts make for good compositions. 

I spent about 2-3 hours in the field working on this composition. I had never painted the Flatirons before, and not much by way of mountain landscapes either, so this was a challenge. Being on-site was definitely a plus in terms of capturing the essence of the Flatirons and helped shape the decision to use a palette knife and some impasto to shape the rock faces. It was also a little easier for me to get a sense of what I was looking at because decades earlier I had learned to rock climb on these very mountains! In fact, my first “real” rappel was from the top of Devil’s Thumb. 

The final few hours of work was done in the studio back in Austin. In truth I had some fundamental trouble getting the depth right, namely the whole thing looked very flat, so I set it aside for a few weeks and returned with a fresh perspective. Turns out the greens were too similar throughout the piece, and the darker values in the middle ground weren’t cool enough. I think the final adjustments, especially the cooler greens in the middle ground and horizon proved to be a vast improvement. 

If you’re in the Denver / Boulder area, I highly recommend a visit to Eldorado Canyon. There are some great views (obviously), beautiful hikes, and you can also watch some of the craziest free climbers in the country scale the canyon walls. 

Reference Photo
Homestead at Trailhead
South Mesa Area Map
Setup and Progress
Very Flat, No Depth, Too Green
Final Composition With Depth

#artbern #berntx #crashboomzip #painting #art #abplanalp #austinartists #atxartist #atxart #atxlife #contemporaryart #bouldercolorado #eldoradocanyon #rockyflats #flatirons #cubuffs #cualumni #abplanalp #bernabplanalp

by Categories: plein airTags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

Serenity Now

MORNING ROW LAKE AUSTIN | 9 x 12″ | Oil on Canvas Paper

First, let me give props to the reference photo, which I came across randomly while mindlessly scrolling through my Instagram feed. Thank you @lakeaustin360 for the wonderful shot! 

I started this painting as a visiting student in my mother’s art class, using my plein air setup, but inside… which was a little weird at first, but it was better than sitting down for 2 hours! I guess this piece is a pseudo plein air piece, especially given the subject matter, but ultimately it was finished in the studio back in Austin earlier this week. 

This is intended to be a study, as I anticipate making a go of this on a larger scale. I love the colors and the serene nature of the composition, despite knowing the rower must be exhausted. Or about to be. I struggled a little with putting the rower in the center of the canvas, so I made sure the horizontal positioning was dropped to the bottom 1/3rd. I tried to use other compositional elements to ensure the piece was balanced, namely the oar bars pointing into the rower, and the color sandwich effect of the orange from the trees on shore and reflected in the water. Lastly, the subtle glance of the rower to the right gives some additional interest in terms of what’s happening just out of sight. Like I said, it’s one hell of a reference photo!

Lastly, Lake Austin is so crowded with paddle boards most of the year, the mere fact that a rower could find some peace and quiet brings a smile to my face. 

#artbern #berntx #crashboomzip #abplanalp #austinartists #atxartist #atxart #worldrowing #rowing #texasrowing #ladybirdlake #texasrowingcenter #texasrivers #bartonsprings #saveoursprings

by Categories: LandscapesTags: , , , , , , , 1 Comment

SPRINGING INTO COLOR – Group Show at Art for the People Gallery!

Welcome to Spring! I’m honored to be included in another group show at Art for the People Gallery in Austin.  Three pieces made the cut this time, including, for the first time, a plein air composition. The show runs April 1st – June 2nd, 2023. 

If you’re interested in original artwork by Austin creatives, check out AFTPG either in person in Austin or browse their online store. I’ve been involved with this gallery for a number of years and the curating by Lynnie is uniquely Austin – if she’s in the gallery during your visit, don’t be shy and make sure you chat with her. She has a world of knowledge about all the artists, their backgrounds, and what makes their art special. 

If you’re interested in any of my pieces, I’m happy to answer questions or better yet go to the gallery and check them out: 

DISC DOG | 12 x 16″ | Oil on Canvas Board | $450
SOUP PEDDLER | 9 x 12″ | Oil on Canvas | $175
WEE DRAM | 8 x 6″ | Oil on Board | $250

Thanks for reading!

#artbern #berntx #crashboomzip #abplanalp #austinartists #atxartist #atxart #artforthepeoplegallery #aftpg #rescuedogs #dogsofinstagram #pleinairaustin #souppeddler #souppeddleraustin #austinpetsalive #mutts #muttsofinstagram #beachdog #beaches #stillife #whisky #whiskey #scotch #theglenallachie #dram #happyhour

by Categories: dogs, Events, plein air, still life 1 Comment

Beachcombers

What’s not to like about a pack of puppies frolicking down the beach following their mom while playing with a stick bigger than themselves? NOTHING, that’s what!

I’d done a previous piece similar to this one called PUPPY BUTTS, but it was half the size and half the number of puppies. It was sold at an Art for the People Gallery show last year, but I received so many positive comments about it that I decided to do another one. 

The focal point was a bit of an accident, which happened after I’d blocked in all the pups. Sitting back considering how I was going to actually paint the dogs, yes with wine, the two on the right just seemed to be playing, and the idea of incorporating a stick jumped into my head. It’s hard to see from the photo, but the puppies with the stick are painted with a palette knife instead of a brush, adding contrasting texture to draw further interest. The singular, adorable black puppy is also meant to draw the viewer to that part of the pack. 

It’s hard to know as an artist when a composition is done, which I tend to agree with in most cases. But when it comes to dog-related paintings, at the point that it makes you laugh, smile, or cry… it’s done.  

#artbern #berntx #crashboomzip #painting #art #abplanalp #austinartists #atxartist #atxart #atxlife #petsofinstagram #contemporaryart #fosteringsaveslives #dogsofig #adoptme #takemehome #austinpetsalive #mutts #muttsofinstagram #beachdogs #puppies #puppiesdoingcutestuff #puppy #doglover #dogoftheday #artforthepeoplegallery

by Categories: dogs, SeascapesTags: , , , 3 Comments

Soup for You!

The Soup Peddler (study) | 12 x 9” | Oil on Canvas Paper

I’m learning a lot more lately en plein air, painting outside essentially. In 2023 I intend to get in at least 30 days outside – I’ll keep track and post updates against that goal… more to hold myself accountable, but perhaps it will entertain all of you as well. 


There is a great artist group in Austin called Plein Air Austin (www.pleinairaustin.org), which organizes multiple outings monthly for members – non members are encouraged to come join us to see what it’s all about, too. This particular outing was what we call “Urban”, where we get together in an area of town that has great architecture and buildings, as opposed to nature-based landscapes, and try to capture the scene. This particular outing was on South 1st near Mary Street, which has plenty to work with in terms of urban scenes. I tagged along with one of the other artists who had scoped out these great blue green umbrellas at a restaurant called The Soup Peddler. 


The weather was ideal, a little chill in the air, but the clouds cleared out around 10 and gave us plenty of sunlight. It was tricky to simplify this scene, an ongoing challenge for me with plein air compositions, so I tried focusing on the umbrellas first and building the painting outward. Having just painted umbrellas in a recent studio piece, I was able to quickly get the bones of this piece on the canvas before the lighting changed. Luckily the lighting was steadily improving all morning, so I never panicked due to major shifts in value. 


In terms of compositional challenges, I got most of it worked out in the field because I was happy with the umbrellas themselves. I also got very lucky in getting the structure of the building, sign, and patio details on the first try. Sometimes those architectural details trick me and I have to make a few attempts to get it right, or at least avoid having it tank the painting before it even begins. The updates I made in the studio were pretty straight forward, building on what I had already started, but I did leverage some artistic license. Most notably I opted to exclude the cactus coming out of the metal planter, in large part because it was nearly the same color as the umbrellas, and even a deviation from the coloring would have been a distraction. And while I don’t love the final look of the metal planter it serves as a good balance for the composition. Maybe I’ll add some other plants in the future, but for now I’m calling it done. 

Finished!
Studio Refinements
Starting Studio Refinements
On Site – Always Alert for Cars
Sky Starting to Clear
Anticipating Light
Fellow Painter Tom
End of Session Get Together Review


Thanks for reading! 

#artbern #berntx #crashboomzip #painting #art #abplanalp #bernabplanalp #austinartists #atxartist #atxart #atxlife #bullcreekaustin #pleinairaustin #souppeddler #souppeddleraustin

by Categories: plein air, Urban LandscapesTags: , , , , , 3 Comments

Rocks Not Grass

PORTLAND HEAD LIGHTHOUSE (study) | 7×5″ | Oil on Canvas Board

This plein air study has been sitting on the “to be finished” rack for awhile, but I finally got it done in preparation for doing a larger painting in the coming weeks. As a study I focused on a few compositional elements and came away a little confused and may not be ready to do a “real” painting just yet.

Positives from the study:

  • Structure of the lighthouse
  • Fluffy clouds

Conundrums:

  • Landscape lighting/values are off somehow – need to fix this to give more depth and realism
  • Grassy foreground doesn’t work well with a lighthouse – need to incorporate rocky coast elements

I painted the core of this piece on site in Portland, Maine over the summer. It’s amazing how a scene can sink into memory painting outside as opposed to from a photo. This will be a challenging full size painting, but some compositional tweaks should help a lot.

#artbern #berntx #crashboomzip #painting #art #abplanalp #austinartists #portlandmaine #landscapesmaine #pleinair #maineart #portlandmaineart #southportland #southportlandmaine #lighthouses

by Categories: plein air, Seascapes Leave a comment