Santee River Delta 9'13

Highway 17 cuts across the wide Santee River Delta between Georgetown and Berkley Counties via two very long bridges. Between the two bridges is an island with a small parking  pull off for wildlife viewing.

Completed painting

In the morning, the Delta fills with fog.  I loved watching how the scene changes as the mists move around obscuring or highlighting the various elements in this lovely wilderness. The fog does however make it hard to plein air paint a scene that is constantly changing.  After several frustrating attempts,  I decided on this attempt I would take a different approach.

This painting was  started in the studio from a photo I had taken earlier  in the month .

Photo shows WIP onsite over the under painting  and the  main elements blocked in

I toned the canvas with a bright coat of cad red, then blocked in the main  nearby landscape features with ultramarine blue. After  the under-painting and main composition was laid in and dry, I competed the rest of the painting  on site. As usual, the fog continued to hide or reveal the distant elements of the scene, but the  values and colors of the closer landscape remained relatively constant enough for me to finish the piece to my satisfaction.

WIP Day 1 The beginning steps for "Ricefields on the Ashley" 7 ' 13

Remember those reference  photos  I took  when I visited Magnolia Plantation on  July 6th? 

I started working on a new painting based upon one of the photos and a quick sketch I made at the time.

This is  how I painted the first pass.  I've put down a thin wash of Golden CAD Red Acrylic Ground atop a 16" x 20" Raymar panel.  This will add warmth and sparkle to the predominately cool hues of the final painting,  Next I used some Gamblin Ultramarine Blue Sketching oils to outline the shapes.  Then I filled the tree  shape with a thin wash of Ultra-marine Blue Sketching  Oil, and the ricefields with Gamblin's Red Earth Oxide Fast Matte Oil Paint.  For the Sky shapes I used Gamblin's Fast Matte mixed with the new Gamblin Portland Cool White.  At this point I have the basic shapes and values  and temperatures roughed out.  Now I have to wait awhile before I can start adding the local color atop the value map. That shouldn't take too long as all the paints I used are either thinned or have alkyds to speed the drying process.

More to follow.

Low country in Autumn '12

Fall has arrived in the low country , and  the usually solid green landscape is awash with vibrant colors.  I took a quick run out along some country roads this morning to try to capture  some reference photos before the scenery  turned mono-chromatic again.  It was a good call .  I got lots of ideas for new landscape paintings.  The photo above was shot along the Black River in Georgetown County, SC

Blue Ridge Mountains: Lake Lure Surroundings 11 '10

 Lake Lure Surroundings

The low mountains around Lake Lure were ablaze with fall color when we were there

Tiny creeks have cut steep ravines throughout the entire area. 

.Homes, farms,, and entire communities, with names like Bat Cave and Chimney Rock, cling to the sides of these ravines, linked precariously by miles and miles of narrow winding roads

  a countless number of bridges, and an endless number of painting sites.  The sheer number of possibilities made my head swim.