At the Water Trough (En Plein Air at the Rocker U Ranch)

Oil on linen panel, 9"x12"

Another plein air peice from the Rocker U Ranch northwest of Del Rio. Just an incredible experience to paint there.

My setup for At the Water Trough. I purposely left the windmill out of this painting as the strong vertical structure would have been to high in the painting and caused the eye to run off the panel or would have been to close to the edge.

Canyon View (Plein Air at the Rocker U Ranch)

Oil on Panel, 12"x12"
I painted this scene en plein air in the late morning and early afternoon light at the Rocker U Ranch northwest of Del Rio, Texas. Just an incredibly beautiful place. I have to thank Mr. Dougal Cameron and family for allowing me the opportunity to visit and paint on this magnificent piece of heaven on earth. I am a true lover of this rugged transition between the Edwards Plateau and Chihuahuan Desert regions.

Me painting the distant Canyons at the Rocker U.

Old Rock House - Plein Air at the Rocker U Ranch

Oil on linen panel, 9"x12"

I did this painting at the beautiful Rocker U ranch northwest of Del Rio, Texas. This old rock house may have belonged to original homesteaders. The photo is a bit weak in color and contrast as it was taken indoors at night with poor lighting.

Here I am on location at the Rocker U painting the Old Rock House

Badlands Bull

Oil on panel, 8"x8"

This is just a quick sketch of a bull on a private ranch in the Badlands of Wyoming.

Calf

Oil on panel, 5"x7"
Just a little ol' doggie. Painted from photos I took near Hallettsville, Texas.

Painting at Brooks Lake from OutdoorPainter.com

Me and David Smith of Kerrville, Texas painting at Brooks Lake, high in the Absoroka Mountains of Wyoming. Photo from Parting Shots of OutdoorPainter.com. Note: Our identities were mixed up by the publication. That is me on the left of the photo. The painting I was working on was posted on Oct. 5th.

Chisos and Desert

Oil on panel, 6"x8"

I have painted a similar scene before a little larger and with much more detail. I wanted to keep this piece as simple as possible, yet enough detail to describe the scene properly. Painted from photos taken in Big Bend National Park.

Mitten

Oil on panel, 6"x8"

Painted from one of my old 35 mm photo prints taken in Monument Valley.

Ridgeline

Oil on panel, 8"x10"

This scene is from my recent trip to Wyoming. The contrast between a distant ridge and the mid ground timberline are the focus in this piece.

Wyoming Sage

Oil on panel, 6"x8"
A close up of Sage growing in the Wyoming Badlands. I love the character of these bushes and they are fun to paint. I focused on accentuating the warm and cool contrasts of the scene.

Brooks Lake (Plein Air in Dubois, Wyoming)

Oil on panel, 11"x14"

Another plein air piece from Dubois that is 99% as I painted it on location and again, pretty pleased with this attempt. The only modification I had to make was covering the sky again because of streaks and unpainted holes in it. This lake is at a high altitude and the sun was incredibly intense on the day I was there. I know I could improve upon this painting if given another chance but it is definitely one of my better pieces of the week in Wyoming.

My painting of Brooks Lake in progress. I altered the mountain formations in the background to a more simplified shape.

Wyoming Badlands Arroyo (Plein Air in Dubois, Wyoming)

Oil on panel, 9"x12"

I think this may have been my most successful piece while in Wyoming. I did have to repaint the sky after getting home, it had streaks and wasn't completely covered in paint, otherwise this is as it was completed in the Badlands of Wyoming. This scene reminded me of my many excursions to Big Bend. The land forms, colors and vegetation looked very familiar and made me feel like I was in Texas. The distant mountain actually has a well known and distinctive landmark named the Rams Horn as you can see in my setup photo below. I avoided painting that point because it would be way to distracting and stand out to much. By avoiding the peak it allows the eye to focus in the arroyo rather than the distant mountain.

My setup for the above painting.

My painting about 75% complete and about 2 hours in.

Majestic Wyoming (Plein Air Dubois, Wyoming)

Oil on linen panel, 9"x12"

This painting was completed on location in Dubois, Wyoming in windy and cold conditions. Being from Texas and not having painted much in cold before I can say it isn't bad if the wind isn't blowing. Add the wind factor to cold and basically standing in one spot for a couple hours and that does not bode well for this native Texan. Below is the scene as I encountered it. I did not want to paint a large mass of trees with a small portion of mountain in view so I lowered the tree tops to below the mountain tops emphasizing the mountain heights and avoiding any tangents. I'm not real crazy about this painting as their are several things I would change for a studio piece.

Cloud Shadows in the Bend

Oil on oil primed linen panel, 8"x10"

Rolling cloud shadows across mountain forms in Big Bend National Park.