Wow, what a beautiful day, it may have started out a little chilly but in a very short time it warmed up to comfortable levels. Wish I could spend more time out there. This plein air was a study in forced composition. Something I am trying to get better at. I always look for simple shapes but here I am trying to force the shapes into something more distinct. Let me know if you like it. Next week is Christmas week and so there will be no outing but have a Merry Christmas and a Happy new year. See you on the 29th at Roxborough Park, and visit the PAAC web site for next years plein air schedule.

No painting to day, the temperature is around 7 deg and wind chill is around -12. Maybe next week will be more agreeable for a paint out at Mathews Winters park.

Mt Falcon park is a really nice place. In the Indian Hills area it has a lot of nice scenery. The views are worth the drive up to the park. I think I got there just in time since it is supposed to get chilly this afternoon. Only me and another painter showed up so the morning was very quiet. Next week is planned for Waterton Canyon and a short hike into the valley. Have'nt been there in a long time.

The temperature was a warm 32 degrees in the sun. If you stand in shade it felt a lot cooler. But the views were stunning with the morning sun streaming through the pines and the warm colors of the bushes dancing in the sun, what a great day. Castlewood canyon is a really nice place to paint.

The cold and snow at Dekoevend Park was incentive to paint quickly but the sunshine and other people from PAAC and made the day really enjoyable. I started to run out of pastels that I need so I will have to go get some more sticks. Cold fingers, beautiful scenery and fellow painters, what a great day.

The David Mayer workshop was fun, fun, fun, and I would recommend it to anyone. Now it is time to get back to work. I hope what skills I have learned and re-learned from David will show in the paintings yet to be painted. :-)

Here is the painting from Cheeseman park on 8th Ave. and High Street. Also is the pastel paint rig that I use. If the weather starts to get cold I might have to go back to the oil set up. I am so inspired after going to the workshop that it is hard not to think about painting all day long, but I do have to concentrate on work. Next Tues. Nov. 17th is scheduled for Dekovend Park and Tues. Nov. 24 is Castlewood canyon.

pastel

oil

This is the first day of the David Mayer workshop in Evergreen. This is the second time I have taken his workshops. I got so much out of the first one 5 years ago I couldn't wait to go again. This morning was filled with warm weather and sunshine and we painted at Lair O the Bear. Mys first painting is an oil and I wanted to keep it simple to use David's instructions. At lunch he did a demo on small strips of linen that work great for quick instruction over a large topic such as plein air and shapes and color and brush work. I then went to get another panel for the afternoon painting and found that I had left them at home. Bummer. Luckily I did bring my pastels and so a quick sketch was painted in the afternoon. Tomorrow I will bring plenty of panels to work on the next step of Davids 3 day plan. Can there be anything more fun than waking up to paint the beauty that is around us. wow

We finally made it to Prospect Park and what a beautiful morning. It started out chilly but the sun soon warmed things up. Nice light with a lots of atmosphere. It took a couple of sketches to get to this arrangement and it still needs some tweeking, but it came out as a nice quick sketch.

Pastels are such fun. Even on a cloudy day they can bring color. I was thinking Prospect Park but told everybody Progress Park. So when I got to Progress Park, I thought this doesn't look familiar. Funny what age will do to the mind. We started toward Prospect Park and saw that Bear Creek was on the way and so stopped there to paint. It is a cloudy day and we joked that the shadows won't change very fast so we could paint all day. If only it worked that way. Maybe next time we will end up at the destination Prospect Park. :-)

Here is the re worked image of Roxborough park. It is a little different but hopefully has the same flavor of the area. It is kind of like Red Rocks park.

This morning at Roxborough State Park was a lot of fun. I haven't been there before and took a little time to look around and take some pictures. The weather is going to change this afternoon so this is a painting is the morning before the rain comes. I think it might be worth re painting this one. Just need to adjust some of the proportions. Cool.

After going up to Grand Lake Art Gallery to drop off some paintings a quick trip to Willow Creek

was in the plans. Took some really nice photos and came back inspired. These 3 pastels are the result. Hopefully they can get displayed in a gallery in Denver.

What a beautiful morning. The weather couldn't be nicer and the location at Castlewood Canyon was just like I never want to leave. This pastel painting is a little larger than what I normally paint (12x16) en plein air (9x12) but the last one went by so fast that I thought I could try a size larger to enjoy the morning more. Also this is a really rough texture board so I will try a little smoother texture next time. The colors were not at their full bloom yet so another week and the canyon will be calling, as well as Lair o the Bear and Central City and Peak to Peak and and...

avacado oil 9x12

Unlike the past few weeks where the weather was beautiful, this morning was cold and a little breezy. Instead of hiking up Waterton Canyon we decided to go some where safe in case it decided to rain. The Washington Park area by the boat house and the flower gardens worked out nicely. This is also the time to change from oils to pastel. I will need to bring a bigger surface to work on since this painting went very fast. fun fun fun. Last week I did a quick studio study of an avacado just for fun.

Wow was today a beautiful day, the temperature was perfect, the light was clear and bright with a few clouds to keep things interesting and the trees have slightly turned towards the yellow spectrum. It will be a few more weeks before they turn to the red and gold we expect to see reflecting in the water. I will be going back in about 2 to 3 weeks to catch the clor. Next week I want to go to Waterton Canyon, and hike a little ways back to catch the shadow on the water.

Hi Everyone, The next paint out for Tues. Sept.15th is to be at the Lair o the bear. The colors should be starting and the reflections in the water there has always been fun to paint. Start at 9 in the parking lot, See you there.

a couple of lemons

Here are a couple of lemons, he he he, always wanted to say that. They are painted on foam core primed with art spectrum pastel & multimedia primer. One is a pastel painting which is what it is primarily used for and the other is an oil painting. I learned that while the texture is cool for both the oil painting brushes take a beating. Duh! They are both 9x12 and are along the lines of a painting a day thought process. Enjoy, they are fun to paint.

This painting from Highline canal is both fun and interesting because as the morning past by, there were women on horses and friendly dogs and lots of distractions. The air was clear and many of the trees were showins signs of change. Next weeks trip to the Lair O' the Bear should be lots of fun with trees showing their brighter side.

Hi Everyone, The next paint out for Tues. Sept. 8th is at Highline Canal at S. Dahlia and Quincy. See you there.

The Light at Wash Park was really warm. Because of the fires in Calif. the air was thicker than normal and kind of hazy.

Tues. Sept. 1

Hi, Washington park is the destination for the paint out for Tues. Sept. 1 09, See you there. 001