#47 - Montpelier Station

Montpelier Station

6"x6" oil on birch panel

#46

Although I have thrown in the flag for my "100 Paintings in 100 Days" challenge.  I am counting to 50.  After that I will be posting some other paintings.  I like the idea of being challenged, I think I just bit off more than I was ready to chew.  There actually already is a #47, but it is a present, and so cannot be posted until after the holidays.  This little painting is from some photos I took while driving past the entrance to James Madison's home, Montpelier, in Montpelier Station, Virginia.  The station is really the railroad station across the road, but I liked this old "station" too.  The grounds of Montpelier are wonderfully wild and wooded.  The mansion is open and a great place to visit, along with such events as the Montpelier Hunt Races held annually on the first Saturday in November.  The Virginia Equine Artists Association hosts a booth at the races each year, which I invite (early) to attend in 2011.

#46 - Through Fog

Through Fog

11x14 oil on linen canvas

#46

This is a painting which I enlarged from an 8x10 plein air piece I did while in Acadia National Park, Maine, for an Artist Residency.  I feel like the original plein air piece captured a bit more of the feeling of that cold, damp, foggy morning.  But I am going to sit with this painting for a while and see if I need to do any tweaking to it.  I am going to donate either the original or this one to Acadia NP.  One of the requirements for Artist Residencies is that you donate a piece of artwork within one year.  I am leaning towards donating the larger one, framed, but, we'll see!

#45 - Mason's Ride

Mason's Ride

5"x5" oil on panel

#45

This is a little painting done from memory of a photograph.  Once I took the photo of the painting, I can see the things I would like to change when I do this larger.  I feel that the colors need to be a bit more intense, and the background more defined.  Not defined in the sense of seeing actual trees and such, but more thought out in my mind.  These small paintings become such wonderful places to work out ideas without the fears that creep in when we work on larger work.  The small ones can many times stand on their own, as well as work as previews of "things to come".  R.I.P. Mason.