Day 38: Yellow Creek

I just got back from painting down by the creek. 

I told myself, "David, if you don't do a good painting - a seriously good painting - today, you're going to have to kill yourself by eating that tube of cadmium yellow."

This is called "motivation." And it worked.

 

12 x 20". Oil on scrap wood panel.

As I finished, the rain began to fall again. The monsoons have tinted the creek with mud and I was fortunate to get a chance to paint during a gap in the rainfall.

More little paintings

I have continued painting every day, with the exception of one day where I completely ran out of time to paint. To make up for it, I painted THREE little paintings the next day.

Some are little plein air canvases, some are little still life pieces. I attempted a bigger plein air painting of some gnraled felled trees but it's not done yet. Good so far but I need to solve some problems.

Basically, I've just been sketching with paint and trying to find my favorite palette.

Nothing I'm really proud of this week. Just practice.

Day 32: Local Watermelon

I bought a pair of little watermelons from a local farmer yesterday and cut one of them up for breakfast this morning. I liked the way the inside looked... so I set up a little watermelon still life and painted 'em.

I have to tell a further story.

My friend Mike showed up yesterday morning with two rough-sawn mahogany boards, then proceeded to cut them up into "canvases" for me. The wood is so beautiful (and normally expensive!) I almost hate to paint on it, but I must paint.

I can't believe he carried those boards down the mountain from the sawmill, just so I could have more painting surfaces. Great guy.

Day 31: Sunset Clouds over the Mountains

Why stop? I think I'll just keep painting daily. It's good for me.

 

Like the previous two paintings, this one was done with a limited palette of just yellow, red, blue and white.

Day 30 (2): Rachel Finishes #NaNoWriMo

After finishing my last painting in the 30-day challenge, I watched the children so Rachel could work on the last 7,000 words of the novel she was writing for National Novel Writing Month.

She had been at it all day long, and as she was in the final stretch, I memorialized the moment on a little 5 x 7 panel.