New Harmony Country Road

Oil on Panel
9"x12"

This is the small work I completed for the "Field to Finish" Exhibition that will be held at the New Harmony Gallery in April, 2014

Backyard Mosaic

Pastel
15"x22"

Continuing with pastel this week working out some new patterns and compositions. I like the softness of the pastel and the ability to build color with the density of the mark.

New Harmony Country Road

Pastel
16"x21"

This is a pastel painting I did coming back from the New Harmony Paint-out. This may be the finish study for the "Field to Finish" Exhibition 2014 Exhibition.

Into the Woods

Oil on Panel
14"x18"

I made the annual trek to New Harmony for the First Brush of Spring Paint-out. This was one of the works on the Old Dam Road leading to the Wabash River.

Evening Snow in March

Door County 2013

This will be my ad that will appear in the Door County Plein Air Festival Program Book. It is a true for honor to receive the invitation and paint with 39 excellent painters from around the United States. The event is in July and attracts many visitors. I painted there two years during the heat wave with temperatures in the 90s and it was an effort to finish two paintings a day. The event is sponsored by the Peninsula School of Art and the dates are June 22-27.

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
Oil on Linen
20"x30"

This impressionistic landscape of a winter evening is in homage to our dear friend, Maxine Williams, whose full and vibrant life is on the horizon. As the poet Dylan Thomas so aptly wrote and "Mackie" has admirably fulfilled, "Rage, rage against the dying of the light."

Snow Field in Southern Indiana

30"x40"
Oil on Linen

I wanted to capture the look of an early November snow with one of the late day sunsets. If you have driven South along I-65, south of Shelbyville and looked to the West, you have probably seen something similar.

Confetti Landscape II

30"x40"
Oil on Linen

I started this painting with the idea of Southwest colors and almost every color has parts of Vasari Adobe Hue. This knocked the chroma down and it was a matter of creating puzzle like shapes with contrasting hues. There was no attempt at atmospheric perspective as I didn't want the background to get too chalky. The other challenge was the design and breakup of spaces directing the eye to the horizon.

Autumn Glow

24"x30"
Oil on Linen

This was a studio work with aggressive brush work and working
alla prima to complete the painting in about 5 hours. I continue to explore color relationships and intensities.

Fractal Layers II

SOLD
Oil on Linen
30"x40"

Normally it is difficult to find motivation in a painting that is a larger version of a smaller work. But,   in the case of this commission it moved quickly with a few changes that made it interesting.

Indiana Patches

30"x40"
Oil on Linen

The last painting of 2012. I am starting to explore the shapes and patterns from Indiana farms and gardens and placing them into an overall design of contrasting color and shape.

Field Patterns

30"x40"
Oil on Linen

Another abstraction looking at what the landscape can give you with shapes and color. Marc Chagall said....all colors are friends of their neighbors and the lovers of their opposites.

Indiana Hues

24"x48"
Oil on Linen

Worked on this over the last two weeks. Many more color shifts and a bit more impressionistic. The challenge on these extreme horizontals is to create a visual design that moves the eyes left and right and top to bottom. The larger the work, the harder this is.

Hickory Hues II

SOLD
Oil on Linen
30"x40"

Pixel time in the studio. This work was awarded a Merit Award at the 2012 Indiana Artists Exhibition. Juror was Charles Shepard III from the Fort Wayne Museum of Art.

Silence Over the Marshes

30"x40"
Oil on Linen

The nice thing about painting in the studio is the complete escape and the quiet times, listening to music and stepping into memories through the painting.

Cloud Gate Sculpture

Oil on Canvas Board
12"x16"

One of my favorite public works is the Cloud Gate Sculpture (also called the Bean) in Chicago. Did a painting a couple of years ago and painted this  new one from my photo reference.

Sunset After the Storm

Oil on Canvas Panel
12"x16"

After working with the larger abstracts and square brushes, I wanted to return to the filbert brush and push paint around. The painting came together quickly as I wanted a plain air feel to the brush strokes. Finished with little fuss in two hours

Fall Mosaic

Oil on Linen
30"x24"

After going through some old inventory I found this work. It was one of the first attempts at starting to abstract the landscape image and using the square brush. It looked very unfinished in comparison to my works three years later, so I went back into it to beef up many of the color passages and introduce a different pattern in the foreground.
This is the end result.

Fractal Layers

24"x30"
Oil on Linen

Another work in the series of breaking up spaces in the abstract landscape. Just when I thought I was getting away from the computer, that little pixel shape surfaces once more.

Amber Glow

Oil on Linen
22"x28"

With the approach of Autumn, I wanted to capture the late evening with the setting sun turning the landscape into an amber glow.

Trunk Show

SOLD
Oil on Linen
24"x48"

This is the first of a series of paintings I am doing in this longer format. It does create a design challenge in an attempt to keep the eye moving across the canvas and back again.

Dreamscape

Oil on Linen
24"x36"

This was a painting I had started and lost interest in. After several months I went back to it with a new approach and completely reworked it. The idea was to let the colors breath and transition into the background colors.  I think this was the intent of many of the impressionists in their plain air works.

Mosaic Landscape

Oil on Linen
24"x36"

August weekend....a good time to paint in the new studio. Wanted to pursue the break up of spaces in this work with attention going to balance and design through shape sizes and color choice. The color palette choices were all about greying down the hues through mixing complements and mixing all colors with a pre-mixed cool/warm grey.

Aspen Symphony

Oil on Linen

18"x30"

I will be in several exhibits in late Summer and wanted to do another painting with the subject of the Aspens. On this, I was after a little more depth with the introduction of the second field of grass and showing the sun filtering through the trees.

Dorothy's Path

Oil on Linen
30"x40"

New work with a little different color twist. I kept thinking about "the yellow brick road," but being the abstract forrest, I called it Dorothy's Path.

Birch Tree Bonanza

24"x36"
Oil on Linen

A change of pace for this studio painting. I had some time to take a look at some of the reference photos I had taken last Fall. Still worked with a square brush, but with a different application.

Pixel Pines

Oil on Linen
30"x40"

This is another work based on the "pixel like" brush work. I really enjoy the play of one color against the other in what eventually takes on form and space.

Hollyhocks in Zionsville

SOLD
Oil on Panel
18"x24"

This was the painting I completed for the Zionsville Paintout. I was pleased with the end result. A funny comment made to one of my painter friends from a studio painter was..."there is no way Jerry did that painting in the allotted time." We actually had 7 hours, and I finished this in less than 3 hours.

I think studio painters need to try the plein air painting experience now and then and see what can happen in a shortened period of time.

Botanical Garden Sunflowers

SOLD
Oil on Panel
12"x16"

This was one of the award winners at the Owensboro Paintout, sponsored by the Owensboro Museum. Since I couldn't get a good view of the river and bridge because of construction, I headed to the Botanical Garden in search of shade. Found a perfect spot and painted from a large plant of big sunflowers.

Botanical Garden

Oil on Panel
12"x16"

This was one of the paintings from the Owensboro Paintout, sponsored by the Owensboro Museum. It was one of those 90+ days and I painted this from the shade of a small tree in late afternoon.

Hollyhocks in Zionsville

Oil on Panel
12"x16"

The finished product

Hollyhocks in Zionsville

Oil on Canvas Board
12"x16"

Monday I had some time to scout out some new painting sites in Zionsville for their upcoming printout. I saw these hollyhocks and thought I would give it a try. They reminded me of the flowers my grandmother had along her fence row many years ago.

During the 2 hour painting, I had to keep reminding myself...design, contrast and yes, color.

Dappled Day With the Sycamores

Oil on Panel
16"x20"

This is the second painting I have done in my neighbor's yard. With the White River to my back, I was looking at the West, with morning sun still low and also behind me. The puzzle like dappled light is always enjoyable to paint at this site.

Confetti Trees II

Oil on Linen
24"x36"

This is another painting in the abstract series using the tree as the subject. The process was to start with the big vertical shapes and start breaking it down into shapes of color. No blending allowed.  I have big color shapes in mind but follow with the smaller shapes, almost pixel like, but more random.

TC Steele Gardens

SOLD
Oil on Panel
16"x20"

This was the painting I did for the May Paintout at the TC Steele Gardens. It was a great, sunny day painting with over 100 painters. This is the small building just south of the house. The painting was awarded 2nd place in the oil painting division.

TC Steele Home

SOLD
Oil on Panel
12"x16"

This was a painting I completed earlier this month as a warm up for the May 19 TC Steele Paintout. I always enjoy painting there with other artists and feel the vibe from TC Steele walking and painting at the same site.

Carol's Garden

Oil on Panel
12"x16"

This is Carol's Garden from New Harmony. A beautiful garden, very private with trees in a canopy over a simple, but elegant fountain.

New Harmony Flower Garden

SOLD
Oil on Panel
12"x16"

This was a follow up from a painting started in New Harmony. It was getting late in the day and there was enough light to wash over the foreground and pull out the bright colors of the flowers.

Earth Layers

SOLD
Oil on Linen
30"x40"

This painting is another experiment with design and color and trying to represent the landscape in a more abstract representation.

Over the Valley

30"x40"

Oil on Linen

Another variation on the series. In this work I tried to create 3 design shapes of contrasting color and value. And I wanted to try something different with the sky, trying to repeat some of the other shapes in the painting. This was one of those paintings that took on a life of its own, and all I had to do was keep up with the brush.

Earth Landscape

30"x40"

Oil on Linen

I am continuing the series of layered landscapes and enjoying the space of the new studio. Exploring some different configurations with the earth cutaway within the central image.

Sunflowers

SOLD
Oil on Panel

16"x20"

Painted with my student today. Can't go wrong with a sunflower painting and exploring the range of yellows.

Spring is in the Air

SOLD

Oil on Linen

24"x36"

This is the first painting completed in my new studio. (Pics to follow) With our warm weather, the color of Spring can't be far behind.

Post note: A week after posting this, I got an email from an interested buyer in Bristol, UK. After several emails, figuring out shipping and payment, I received a notification from PayPal that all is clear. Sure makes me a believer in blogging and social media in general.

Red Bark Forest

SOLD

30"x40"

Oil on Linen

Just completed a studio painting, 30"x40" called Red Bark Forest. Moving toward more color contrasts and loose brush work.

The Fall Lineup

Oil on Linen

20"x20"

After completing one of the large abstracts and thinking carefully about color placement and hard edges, I always like to return to a more liberal use of paint application. Also, a good warm up for plain air painting....fast, no fuss.

Dream Stream

SOLD
Oil on Linen

24"x36"

I used the image from my Wisconsin Stream painting as a start for this work. I liked the design of the stream working back to the horizon. The water, even in the abstract style, was the most difficult. I was pleased with the overall color and design balance.

Sunset Patterns

SOLD
Oil on Linen

24"x30"

Starting to think about some of the upcoming juried exhibits. I wanted to follow up in the mood of Morning Fog and let this build with a pattern of reflections on the water. I added a few colors to the basic palette.

Morning Fog

SOLD
Oil on Linen

24"x36"

Morning Fog received the Best of Show Award for the 79th Annual Indiana Artists Membership Exhibition. The exhibit is on display at the Art Association of Henry County in New Castle, Indiana. The juror was Arne Kvaalen, painter and former Professor at Purdue University.

Landscape Mosaic

SOLD

30x40"

Oil on Linen

Landscape Mosaic is an evolution of the abstract, studio landscapes I have been working on for the past 3 years. I have enjoyed the creative discovery that each new painting brings. The colors are all muted slightly and greyed down by using an alternative to white. White is present in some of the tinting, but the neutral color helps unify the colors on the palette.