Caboose

Caboose | oil on panel | 12" x 12" |  Flanegan 

I must have set up and moved my easel four or five times...but I was determined to celebrate this beautiful day in paint...hanging out with some of my four-legged friends. Thumper says hi!

Gothic Gateway

Gothic Gateway | oil on panel | 12" x 12" | Flanegan | $575

This trail leads Peanut and company to the upper pasture. I was drawn to the dappled light and how the trees seemed to form a Gothic archway over the path.

It was partly sunny so the values fluctuated throughout the morning, high-contrast in between clouds to low-contrast with the sun behind the clouds. Which turned out to be a good thing - usually when outdoors, I paint at a faster pace. This time I was forced to slow down and wait for the passing clouds. That said, a quote credited to Claude Monet came to mind, "Color is my day-long obsession, joy and torment."

: )

The opening of our Plein Air Austin Exhibit is this evening, 4-6p at the Corridor of Art, 700 Lavaca in Austin and you are most welcome to join us! Due to tighter security, it's a tough window of time for our guests, but the show will be up through November 7th. 

Peanut and his Posse

Peanut and his Posse | oil on panel | 12" x 12" | Flanegan | $550

This painting stirred a memory of a TDY assignment at Lowry AFB, now the Denver International Airport, where a friend and I had the weekend off so we decided to head to the Rockies and climb a mountain. We were young.

One false peak lead to another and to another. We stopped for a breather and gasped looking at each other - our hair was standing on end. We were so focused on getting to the top of the mountain that we didn't realize a storm was brewing. Break time was over.

It was kind of like that when I painted this one, but safer as I had my truck for shelter. It's easy to lose yourself when surrounded by such beauty, this time at the Bar Ten Creek Ranch. The cloud formations were incredible with varied shades and intensities of stormy blue - so striking that I didn't paint the trees' foliage.

But I had to remind myself that as commanding as the clouds were, they weren't the main attraction here. My painted commentary was of companionship and feeling safe. That's what I wanted you to see in this painting. It amazed me how Peanut and his miniature donkey buds felt protected enough to sleep with a front moving in. How we all should have faith through thick and thin. So there you have it, it's all about hanging together during the storm.

Tomorrow I'll post my third favorite entry in the Plein Air Austin Exhibit.

: )