Alfredo Tofanelli's painting adventures

Back Yard Wheelbarrow

2011-09-20T11:30:00.000-07:00

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We had a paintout at Baileys Harbor, in Door County, and I saw this wheelbarrow behind the Blacksmith Inn and what can I say, it just spoke to me. I really liked the deep values of the glossy black paint against all the other textures in the sunlit scene. Then I thought "who would want a painting of a wheelbarrow" so I kept walking around searching for something that was more "Door County" to paint since I could paint a wheelbarrow anywhere. Lori Putnam was across the street painting a beautiful porch scene full of reflected light. Carole Gray Weihman was painting a beautiful garden and big Al had his wheelbarrow. After wasting an hour or more searching I was pulled back to the wheelbarrow and its shiny black paint. By the time I started painting I realized my beautiful sunlight filled scene would soon be going to shadow so I quickly laid in spots of color.

I had several folks come by to see what I was up to and I'm sure some were snickering to themselves "what was this crazy Cali guy thinkin!". I had fun painting my wheelbarrow and it has found a nice home with a good artist friend of mine.
To see more of my paintings please visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

Door County Wetlands - Sold

2010-07-19T22:10:00.000-07:00

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The next day we scouted around the peninsula and ended up just up the road from where we painted the day before. I liked the way the water looked silvery with the reflections of the morning sky. This painting was one of my favorites from the week and it sold at the preview show. I wish I had a better photo of this as there's a lot more color in the sky than shows up in this image.
To see more of my paintings please visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

2010-07-18T21:28:00.000-07:00

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This was the first painting that I did for the 2010 Door County Plein Air. I struggled with this painting but was happy with it by the time I finished it. I didn't look at it very much until the end of the week when I framed all of my paintings for the show and somehow remembered it being stronger. This was my first time to paint in Door County and I guess it took me a little while to get use to the different scenery and light. Loved painting back there and this is one of the premier events that I've been invited to paint in. Hope to get back soon to paint and visit with my new friends.
To see more of my paintings please visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

2010-07-16T21:44:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it's been a while since my last post in June of 2010. I have a lot I'll be adding in the weeks ahead to get caught up. I'll start with adding my paintings from the 2010 Door County Plein Air event which is a fantastic event with great artists and its put on by the wonderful folks at the Peninsula School of Art.

Enough with the excuses and now I'll get to my next post.I'll be adding them on the date the were painted.

--Al

Pacific Light

2010-06-22T21:10:00.000-07:00

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This was painted from the south end of San Clemente looking over the beach to the Pacific. I loved the subtle quality of the light that afternoon; it had such an ethereal look to it. I decided to keep my values close together and to keep it more abstract then I would usually paint. I really enjoyed painting this scene; as I do most sunset type paintings. You have to work really fast and not second guess yourself. I also used more paint then I usually do and that's something that I'm always striving to do. I hope you enjoy this painting.

To see more of my paintings please visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

Afternoon Tee

2010-06-21T21:44:00.000-07:00

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Overlooking a fairway in the San Clemente hills. I painted this over two afternoons and of course the light was different both days. I liked looking down on the strong, late afternoon light on the course below with the foreground hill in shadow giving way to the coast and ocean beyond. Georgia Mansur and Wendy Franklin stopped by as Carole and I were painting. Wendy did a nice little painting off to my left.

To see more of my paintings please visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

San Clemente Girl

2010-06-19T21:38:00.000-07:00

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This model posed for us at the San Clemente Plein Air Quickdraw. At a quickdraw the artists have a short period of time to complete the painting, although this one is longer than most. The artists could choose from two models, still life set-ups or paint around town along the street. I believe there were about 75 artists painting at this quickdraw.

To see more of my paintings please visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

Fading Light, Los Gatos - Sold

2010-06-04T20:35:00.000-07:00

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On the last evening of the Los Gatos Plein Air I was looking for a place to paint the fading light and catch some atmosphere. I walked along the river and found this scene as the light was passing through the hills around Los Gatos.

To see more of my paintings please visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

Black Ridge Vineyards

2010-06-03T20:03:00.000-07:00

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Black Ridge Vineyards near Los Gatos was nice enough to let a group of us painters come onto their property and paint en plein air. They were still in the construction phase on some of their buildings so it was still closed to the public. Lori Putnam, Carole Gray-Weihman and I met up there and had some beautiful views to choose from. I'm looking forward to going back for some wine tasting! This was painted for the Los Gatos Plein Air in 2010.

To see more of my paintings please visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

Vasona Park Bridge

2010-06-02T20:38:00.000-07:00

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There's a great park in Los Gatos where I paintied this scene for the Los Gatos Plein Air in 2010.

To see more of my paintings please visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

Los Gatos Afternoon - Sold

2010-06-01T20:25:00.000-07:00

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This was one of the first paintings that I painted for the Los Gatos Plein Air in 2010. I liked the silhouette of the foreground hill in shadow against the pale sky. There were four of us painting at this location. Thomas Kitts, Lori Putnam, Carole Gray-Weihman and myself. Good times!

To see more of my paintings please visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

Carmel Valley

2010-05-14T21:48:00.000-07:00

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In search of a bit of sunshine Carole and I drove up the Carmel Valley and stopped to paint where the fog bank broke to let in some sun light. Painting on the edge of a fog bank made you a little nervous as it would go up and down the valley a little bit. Overall it held pretty well so that we could finish our paintings.

To see more of my paintings please visit my web site: Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

Quiet Waters

2010-05-14T19:24:00.000-07:00

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This was painted off of Highway 1 south of Carmel for the Carmel Art Festival in 2010. It was another one of those gray misty days and I was looking for something with contrast to paint. This was a fun, quick painting to paint.

To see more of my coastal paintings please visit my web site: Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

Cypress Overlook

2010-05-13T19:48:00.000-07:00

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This was painted in Point Lobos California State Park for the Carmel Art Festival in 2010. It was one of those gray misty days and I was having a hard time finding something to paint. I was pleased to receive an Honorable Mention award for this 14" x 11" painting.

To see more of my coastal paintings please visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

Off Point Reyes

2010-03-12T19:44:00.000-08:00

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This is a 20" x 24" studio painting that was painted from a 9x12 plein air study. This was fun to paint and I took photos to create a step study. I'll post it once I process the images and make a video.

To see more of my paintings please visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

Dillion Beach Sunset

2010-03-10T20:53:00.000-08:00

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This is an 18" x 24" studio painting that was painted for my One Man Show at the Napa Valley Museum that ran March 5 - April 18, 2010. This is currently on display at the Pelican Art Gallery in Petaluma, CA.

To see more of my paintings please visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

Japanese Boy

2010-03-09T19:46:00.000-08:00

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This is a young man from Japan who was here studying English. He left the next day to head home to Japan. He looked quite somber posing until he took his breaks. He then became quite animated. He wanted to buy this painting and walked around for 10 minutes holding it like a kid in a toy store until I let him know the cost. He then asked if he could take a photo instead. I kind of wish I would have given it to him as he was so excited holding it. Who would enjoy this painting more then he would. The painting took about 2 1/2 hours to paint.

To see more of my portraits and figurative work please visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

Rock Rose head study

2010-02-24T20:17:00.000-08:00

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This was my second painting done at the Rock Rose Studio. It took less than 3 hours. I enjoy painting there as I get to paint portrait and figurative work with a few other local artists.

To see more of my portraits and figurative work please visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

Study of April

2010-02-17T19:11:00.000-08:00

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This was painted at the Rock Rose Study in Petaluma, California. A group of artists get together on Thursdays and once in a while there will be a 3 hour session on Tuesdays. This is the first of several paintings that I painted there. This is a cropped portion of a three quarters of a full figure painting. I don't currently have a good photo of the full painting.

To see more of my portrait and figurative paintings please visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

Petaluma Street Scene

2010-02-05T20:33:00.000-08:00

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Ray Roberts came to town to drop off a few paintings to the Pelican Art Gallery and wanted to do some street scenes. I joined him down the street and painted this looking towards the east and the setting sun. The sun was still pretty high up when I started but I finished around 6:45pm. This took just over an hour or so. The local teenagers would come by and raz me until I started to get the board covered. By the end I had a small flock gathered around and they were wanting me to paint them in. It was fun to see them getting into the painting. Ray took a snapshot of them gathered around, the tallest maybe as high as my shoulder but alas, the photo may be gone forever on my dead hard drive. Ray did a great studio painting from his sketch and its at the Pelican Art Gallery and worth a look.

To see more of my plein air paintings please visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

Self Portrait sketch

2010-01-22T19:27:00.000-08:00

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This is an oil painting, self portrait sketch that I started at the beginning of the year after I had started growing a beard which is now long gone.

To see more of my portraits and figurative work please visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

Shollenberger Park

2009-11-27T19:35:00.000-08:00

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This was the first painting that I did with the North Bay Plein Air Meetup group.This is a fun group of painters including folks at all levels of ability. If you're in the area look them up as they have a paintout practically every month. This was painted between the Marina and the main part of Shollenberger. You can see photos of more of the paintout paintings along with photos of folks painting at the Meetup link above.

To see more of my plein air paintings please visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

Limantour Wetlands

2009-11-01T19:56:00.000-08:00

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The northern chapter of the California Art Club had a retreat where 40 artists stayed at the hostel at Limantour near Point Reyes. On the last morning a group of us went to the wetland area where I painted this painting. I did some designing to make this painting work the way I wanted it to.

To see more of my plein air paintings please visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

Silent Cove

2009-10-15T22:45:00.000-07:00

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This was painted on the American River across the river from Historic Folsom. I was looking for some water scenes to paint and explored this area. The bridge into town is just up to the left of this painting a few hundred yards. There were some good views of the bridge and on the other side of the bridge and if I had more time I would have painted more paintings from this location. Maybe another time. I chose this spot because the water was calm here and I like the still pool of water with the rocks protecting it. I like these scenes and will no doubt be painting more of them. This painting will be in the Prelude Show for the Plein Air Rockies exhibit August 7-26, 2010.

To see more of my Capitol Plein Air paintings painted in the Sacramento area please visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

Eucalyptus Light

2009-10-14T10:24:00.000-07:00

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This was painted near where I was staying in Fair Oaks between Folsom and Sacramento. I was drawn to the way the light was cast across the field framed by the eucalyptus.

To see more of my Capitol Plein Air paintings painted in the Sacramento area please visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

Rain Girl - SOLD

2009-10-13T11:43:00.000-07:00

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It was storming pretty hard the first day that I painted for the Capitol Plein Air in Sacramento. I decided to go over to my brother's house and set up under the carport to get some shelter and to paint his front yard. This is the house that I grew up in. I was ten feet away from the edge of the carport roof and still was getting soaked. My niece came home from school and stood where you see her in the painting which was about 6 feet in under the carport. I knew right away that I should paint her there with the rain soaked driveway. She was a trooper and got soaked but never complained. She only posed for a half hour or so and then I finished it without her. It was a lot of fun to paint my niece in her over-sized raincoat in the pouring rain and visit with my nieces, nephew, sister-in-law and brother.

To see more of my Capitol Plein Air paintings painted in the Sacramento area please visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

I'll be posting more...

2009-10-11T10:41:00.000-07:00

Hi all. I have a lot of catching up to do on my blog. I will start by posting images from Capitol Plein Air which was held in Sacramento last October. I'll be posting by the date the paintings were painted versus the date I post which helps me keep track of the events and paintings and when they were painted. I now have Photoshop on my new laptop so hopefully I'll be posting more often.

Starting with Capitol Plein Air I will then post images from my 2010 events including:
- Carmel Art Festival
- Los Gatos Plein Air
- San Clemente Plein Air
- Door County Plein Air
- Alameda Plein Air

Followed by events I have yet to paint at including:
- Plein Air Rockies
- North Tahoe Plein Air

I hope you enjoy my posts and would love to get feedback.
Thanks,
--Al

Plant by SLO Mission - Sold

2009-10-03T19:47:00.000-07:00

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I painted this by the entrance to the San Luis Obispo Mission for the Saturday morning Quickdraw. I was just off the front steps and I liked the way the morning light cast the blue shadows against the warm adobe. The green of the plant just popped out against the backdrop.

To see more of my San Luis Obispo paintings please visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

Arroyo Grande Vista

2009-10-01T19:33:00.000-07:00

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The effect of light is what captured my attention in this scene and that quickly disappeared. I had to get the light and shadow color relationships down quickly as they were gone in 20-30 minutes. Much of this was painted from memory at most of the scene quickly became flooded with light and the shadows disappeared. This was painted up in the hills between Arroyo Grande and my host family which was south east of San Luis Obispo.

To see more of my San Luis Obispo paintings please visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

Evening at Shell Beach

2009-09-30T19:49:00.000-07:00

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Here's a painting I started late afternoon at Shell Beach. My friends Wendy Brayton and Carole Gray-Weihman joined me.

Wendy and I painting as the sun was setting. Work, work, work...

To see more of my San Luis Obispo paintings please visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

Coastal Trail

2009-09-29T22:01:00.000-07:00

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This was painted near Montana del Oro. As I was walking around the area I came to like the shapes and coloration of the bushes against the rugged coast with its walking trail. I could of just sat out there all day and enjoyed the crashing waves and the chirping birds. It doesn't get much better than being out painting in such a location.

To see more of my San Luis Obispo paintings please visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

Coastal Farm

2009-09-29T19:52:00.000-07:00

In private collection.

This was painted on a foggy day east of Arroyo Grande for the San Luis Obispo Plein Air event. I felt like painting a structure that morning and this was a nice scene to paint with the layers of mist behind the barn. We passed this scene several days as it was between our host family's home and the coast.

To see more of my San Luis Obispo paintings please visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

Hollister Peak - revisited

2009-09-28T21:49:00.000-07:00

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I love to paint the Sisters when I'm at the San Luis Obispo Plein Air event. This is on a frontage road just outside Morro Bay looking east on the way back to San Luis Obispo. Carole and I started our paintings and then came back to finish them a day or two later. On the second day Ken Christensen was setting up just west of us about 100 feet away. He had a large, blank canvas out. Less than a couple hours later Ken stops by to visit and he had already finished his painting. Man, does he paint fast!

To see more of my San Luis Obispo paintings please visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

Off Old Creek

2009-09-28T20:28:00.000-07:00

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First day for the San Luis Obispo Plein Air event. Found this scene off the Old Creek Road north of Morro Bay. This painting didn't make it into the exhibit.

To see more of my San Luis Obispo paintings please visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

Tessa in White

2009-09-25T18:41:00.000-07:00

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This was painted at l'Atelier aux Couleurs in Petaluma, CA where we were hosting a Peggi Kroll Roberts workshop. This was a 40-60 minute pose on the last day of the workshop. I love painting the figure and this was a fun pose with the translucency of the white dress.

To see more figurative and plein air oil paintings please visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

Dick and Mary's Sunrise

2009-09-13T20:27:00.000-07:00

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This was painted on Lake Tahoe off the dock of my host family's home. Dick and Mary were gracious hosts and have a beautiful home in a beautiful setting. On the last morning of the North Tahoe Plein Air I got up early to try to paint a little 6" x 8". When I got out there I found one of the other two painters at the house, Carole, had beaten me too it and was a half an hour ahead of me. I decided to walk halfway up the dock and paint the sunrise on the lake with the distant mountains and clouds reflecting in the water. Every morning that we were at the house we were presented with a unique, beautiful sunrise.

To see more of my North Tahoe Plein Air paintings and other lake and landscapes scenes please visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

Emerald Blue

2009-09-11T21:19:00.000-07:00

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I hiked down with all my gear to the north side of Emerald Bay not knowing exactly what I'd find from lake level. Driving by over the years this spot had a certain kind of magic and I've always wanted to paint here. It was a bit of a hike on a paved trail and my pack didn't seem too heavy. When it finally started to get heavy I came across a friend, John Deckert who was on his way up after painting a couple great, color sketches. At the bottom I found Vikingsholm Castle which is quite picturesque. I decided to hike around the north side of the island to try and get a better angle and to get closer to the island. After checking out a dozen potential spots to set up my easel I decided to paint this angle. The light was really interesting and I started to feel the magic of the place. The scene was flooded with blue and I tried to capture it. A couple times I almost scraped off the canvas as I was having a hard time capturing the atmosphere. I was pleased with the final results. Then there was the hike back. Almost immediately I was wondering how I would make it up the slope with all my gear. That was a hard hike back up but I had a delicious sandwich waiting for me that kept me going.

To see more of my North Tahoe Plein Air paintings and other landscapes please visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

Ski Run

2009-09-10T20:07:00.000-07:00

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This is back at Alpine Meadows looking south west at some of the dry ski runs. Carole painted her award winner looking 180 degrees behind me. As we were painting I kept hearing this noise in the woods near the empty parking lot maybe 100 yards away. After a little while this guy comes out of the brush and calls his dog to follow him back to the lodge. I'm working out my painting as the sun is rising and some areas are getting more interesting and other areas are getting flooded with light. I hear more rustling in the woods. I look over and I see some cyclists coming up the hill. I'm trying to figure out the foreground as just below the bottom of my painting is a huge flat parking lot. Again I hear the rustling. I continue on the foreground trees and adjusting the values to maintain the depth in the painting. Again the rustling. It's been going on for over an hour now and I can't take it anymore so I stopped and stared into the woods until I see what is making the noises. Nothing. Grrr. I continue to stare and then I hear it again and try to focus in on where the noise is coming from. Again. It sounds like its coming from the big pine tree but what could make such a loud rustling noise way up in a tree. Again with the noise. This time the top of the tree shakes. Holy cow!

I narrow my focus to the limb that I thought was at the center of the ruckus. Then I see it. From behind a large clumping of branches and pine needles this large black butt of a bear appears. My jaw drops. I look at the limb and ask how can it support so much weight. It must be a little cub. It jostles around again and I see it full on the side and it ain't no little cub! It then tears down the branch to the trunk and scurries up the tree another 30 feet or so. I had no idea that they could climb trees let alone fly up them like that. I guess I still have that image from Bonanza of the two bears at the base of a tree waiting for this guy to come down and then they finally wander off. So much with the idea of climbing into a tree to get away from one. By this time I remember to tell Carole to look over at the tree. She doesn't see it at first and then gets her camera and starts to walk over to take pictures. I'm thinking, okay, I just saw it fly up a tree in seconds, I bet it can go even faster on flat ground. Meantime a runner comes into view and is obviously rather tired having run up the mountain and is now slowly running under the bear in the tree that is just 20 feet off the road. Headphones on, oblivious that there is a bear over her head. The bear doesn't care. Same with some cyclists. He finally runs down the tree and runs 15 feet or so and stops. He sits up and stares at Carole and myself. Gulp. We stare back. He finally goes into the brush and disappears. He must have been 300-400 pounds, small for a bear but big enough. I kept wondering where Mom was. So much for the excitement. Back to painting. You got to love painting in plein air!

To see more of my North Tahoe Plein Air paintings and other landscapes, sorry, no bears, please visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

Meadows on the Truckie River

2009-09-09T23:02:00.000-07:00

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On the Truckie River just north west of Tahoe City is this beautiful meadow. North Tahoe Plein Air enlarged the boundaries in which the artists could paint this year and you could now paint most of Lake Tahoe and up the Truckie river. This spot was just down from the Alpine Meadows turn off where I painted "Alpine Vista" earlier. The shadows changed quite rapidly here so we came back a second day to finish our plein air paintings. Typically we don't like to spend more than a couple of hours on a painting at a time as the light will have changed significantly in that amount of time. It's better to come back a second day at the same hour if more time is needed. On the second day Christin Coy and Richard Lindenberg came down to paint the meadow and Carole Gray-Weihman was up just up ahead.

To see more of my North Tahoe Plein Air paintings and other landscapes and river scenes please visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

Alpine Vista - North Tahoe Plein Air

2009-09-09T21:09:00.000-07:00

This little 6" x 8" painting was painted from the parking lot at Alpine Meadows ski resort. When I was in my late teens, early twenties I use to ski here quite a bit. It has such a different look without the snow. Go figure! I painted another painting here looking to the right of this one and there's a little story to go with it. Check back in a couple days to find out.

To see more of my North Tahoe Plein Air paintings and other landscapes and mountain scenes visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

Calm Waters in Endo Valley

2009-08-26T20:36:00.000-07:00

This was painted in the Endo Valley a few hundred yards up from the other river painting. As I was walking around this area trying to find the best place to set up I discovered a piece of rebar sticking straight up about a foot near this bush. I couldn't figure out why it was there out in the middle of this beautiful valley. I started painting and about a half hour later I saw these two guys who I thought were fisherman trouncing around through the bushes. When they got closer I realized that they had no fishing rods and asked them what they were up to. They said they were looking for markers left in the 80s. As I went back to painting, I turned back to them and asked "what kind of markers..." They said "rebar"! I saved them a bunch of work, well, that was one of 3 or 4 that they were looking to remove. I felt like that was a good sign for the day; now back to painting...

To see more of my Estes Park Plein Air paintings and other landscapes and mountain scenes visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

Rocky Mountain Overlook

2009-08-24T19:49:00.000-07:00

Just outside of Estes Park I painted this little 6" x 8" plein air painting that was off the main road in the Rocky Mountain National Park. We drove around the park a while and then came across this scene off an overlook turnout. I hiked down a ways to find something to put in the foreground and found this scene. Hope you like it!

To see more of my Estes Park Plein Air paintings and other landscapes and mountain scenes visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

View of Tyndall Gorge - Rocky Mountains

2009-08-22T20:47:00.000-07:00

Mark Rittorno, Carole Gray Weihman and I went back to Sprague Lake to paint from the opposite side looking up into the mountains. We walked around the lake and found a great spot to paint from. All three of us set up our easels side by side so that we couldn't see each others compositions and started painting. It was quite interesting to see that all of our layouts ended up being quite similar anyway.

More folks stopped and chatted with us than on any other day. These paint-outs are great to introduce children and adults alike to plein air painting. I was also amazed at how many people already knew what plein air painting was all about. And not just the local folks who may be use to the Estes Park plein air event, people from all over the country. This was a great day to be out in nature with beautiful scenery, friendly folks and painting!

To see more of my Estes Park Plein Air paintings and other landscapes and mountain scenes visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

In the Forest - Estes Park Plein Air

2009-08-19T20:42:00.001-07:00

We met up with Wes Hyde for a morning during the Estes Park Plein Air and painted near the stream in Endo Valley. Wes set up to the right of my scene and painted the stream under the trees. I liked the way the light was cast across this old dead tree so I set up here to paint it within ear shot of Wes. I liked the way that some of the tree was almost turning orange as it was decaying next to the grey of the outer skin.

To see more of my Estes Park Plein Air paintings and other landscapes visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

Endo Valley Cascade

2009-08-19T20:42:00.000-07:00

This stream meanders through the Endo Valley in the Rocky Mountain National Park. I was starting my painting here when out of the brush behind me this guy stumbles out and says "I come all the way from California and I still can't get away from you!" or something to that effect. It was my smiling friend Mike Bagdonas, the only artist I've met that is significantly taller than me. And a darn good painter! We chatted for a bit and then he went around the bend in the right of my painting and painted his scene. Ahead of him was Mark Rittorno, and ahead of him was Carole Gray Weihman. Meeting up with other artists at these plein air events is one of the best parts of the events.

To see more of my Estes Park Plein Air paintings and other landscapes and river scenes visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

Sprague Lake Morning

2009-08-18T22:04:00.000-07:00

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Mark Rittorno, Carole Gray Weihman and I painted together for much of the Estes Park Plein Air event. This was painted on the first morning at Sprague Lake in the Rocky Mountain National Forest. I headed east around the lake and stopped on a little bridge overlooking the lake with this marsh in the foreground. There was something about the deep values in the foreground water that transitioned into the lighter colors towards the horizon along with the distant mountain that made me want to paint this scene. Later in the week I painted from the distant shore looking back over my shoulder at Tyndall Gorge. Check back in a few days to see that painting!

To see more of my Estes Park Plein Air paintings and other landscapes visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

Upper Beaver Meadows - Rocky National Forest

2009-08-18T20:15:00.000-07:00

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This was painted on the first afternoon painting in the Rocky Mountain National Forest. The clouds were coming and going as we were painting at this location. We had planned to come back here so I could finish this.

When we did return the clouds were thick and then the thunder and lightning came. I decided to start another painting since it was a completely different scene. Carole, Mark and I were huddled between the Jeep and Toyota for a wind block. We soon decided that wasn't a great idea with lightning coming so close. We were one of the highest objects out there (and being 6'2" I was the highest) so we reluctantly packed it in. I continued to paint from the passenger seat for a while but it soon became impossible to see through the thick rain. Ahh, plein air; you got to love it!

To see more of my Estes Park Plein Air paintings and other landscapes visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

Portrait of a Girl - Quickdraw

2009-08-15T21:38:00.000-07:00

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This was painted at the Wyoming Plein Air Quickdraw in down town Cheyenne near the train depot building. We had 90-120 minutes to complete the painting before the whistle blew. We then framed the painting and took it over to the Plains Hotel to be auctioned. This portrait was a bit of a challenge as the elements came into play. The shadows from the heavy clouds were causing the light to go in and out and then it started to rain towards the end of our allotted time. To see more of my portraiture visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

Note: If you click on the image to see it zoomed up you can see the small rain drops on it as this photo was taken right before I took it to the auction. They are most obvious on her cheek.

Wild Horse Country

2009-08-14T21:37:00.000-07:00

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This is painted above Green River,Wyoming in the wild horse area. It is just off Interstate 80 and there are some 30,000 wild horses. We saw the horses on most days in groups of 1-20. This view is looking south towards Utah. Below are photos of me painting this painting and a close up of the painting blocked in on the easel.

Water Lilies - at the Cheyenne Arboretum

2009-08-13T21:58:00.000-07:00

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Carole and I each taught a day of our workshops at the Cheyenne Arboretum. We decided to go back to the pond for one of our required days painting in Cheyenne as part of the Wyoming Plein Air event. I was intrigued with the reflection in the pond and the coy swimming partially in and out of the shadows.

Bull at Wyoming Capitol Building

2009-08-12T20:12:00.000-07:00

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For the Wyoming Plein Air event we had two weeks where we could paint anywhere in Wyoming but three of those days had to be in the city of Cheyenne. I chose to paint this sculpture on the lawn of the State Capitol building. I painted this over two afternoons. The first day I blocked it in and was having fun with the colors in the bronze until the clouds showed up. The second day was cut short too as they turned on the sprinkler; I guess they wanted me out of there. See photos below to see the start and end of the first day. You can also see how the light changes so much in 2 hours!

Tollgate Sunset

2009-08-06T21:14:00.000-07:00

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This was painted near interstate 80 in Green River, Wyoming. We really liked the area around Green River as Carole and I passed through on our way to Cheyenne to teach a couple workshops. Once we finished the workshops we checked in for the Wyoming Plein Air event and then headed back to Green River to paint for a few days. I spent a couple evenings on this maybe for an hour or two each. The first evening there were these great cloud formations as a storm was brewing. Maybe an hour in to it from out of the blue both Carole and my hats blew of at the same time. We both darted across the road trying to get our hats back before they were gone for good. We looked down the road by the hotel and a wall of dust, maybe 12 feet high was quickly heading our way. My first thought was a funnel touch down but it was just a large gust. We grabbed our easels and ducked behind the truck for cover holding on to everything as the wind was trying to take it all away. Dust everywhere. Heavy rain soon followed as we tried to tear our gear down and get into the truck. We watched the storm pass through the rain with lots of thunder and lightning as the sun went down.

When we went back to finish the paintings a few nights later it was a completely different sky so I went with the new sunset. It was a calm night and a few folks stopped by to chat and let us know that this was a great spot to take photos. We agreed.

Sloan Lake demo - Cheyenne

2009-07-29T21:29:00.000-07:00

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This was a demo I did for my Cheyenne workshop last year.

To see more of my plein air paintings please visit my web site; Alfredo Tofanelli Fine Art.

Quick portrait demo of Mike

2009-07-28T20:29:00.000-07:00

I did this quick oil demo, maybe 15 minutes, at my workshop in Cheyenne, WY. I wanted the students to start with just two values depicting light and shadow and designing interesting shapes to help describe the form and likeness. I later added a third light value.

Alameda Sunset - Water Scene Award

2009-07-17T19:52:00.000-07:00

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I did this painting late after painting earlier in the day. I thought I arrived too late to catch the sunset but Carole talked me into it. I walked down a ways to get a better angle on where the sun would set in my painting and then quickly started placing color spots down as the sun was setting fast. I didn't even have the board covered by the time it got dark so I went to the car and dug out my head lamp, the type that mounts on your head, and went back and finished the painting. The light uses LCDs so the colors were off and I had to paint more of what I knew than what I was seeing on the board. I was pleasantly surprised when I brought the painting into the house that night. The judge for the the Alameda Plein Air must have also liked it as he gave it the Water Scene Award.

Rebecca at Julie's

2009-07-16T20:23:00.000-07:00

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This was painted at the 2 hour quick draw for Alameda Plein Air. Rebecca worked at Julie's Coffee and Tea Garden and I ask her if she would pose for a painting. She was a terrific model and fun to paint. We set up in the garden patio in the back of Julie's; great spot. I had 2 hours to get my board stamped, drive up to Julie's, paint the portrait, frame and wire it, drive back and check it in within 2 hours. Weew! Carole Gray Weihman and Victoria Brooks were painting inside of Julie's too.

Verdi

2009-07-15T22:11:00.000-07:00

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The folks at the Frank Bette Center arranged to have the artists paint at Cardinal Point in Alameda. I arrived a little late and Verdi asked if I would paint her portrait as all the other artists had already started their paintings. We went out into the outdoor atrium and she sat for me for about 2 hours. She was a great model! She wouldn't take a break and held her pose beautifully.

Waiting at Julie's

2009-07-15T19:31:00.000-07:00

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This was painted at the Alameda Plein Air in a cafe called Julie's.

The Way it Was - 3rd Place Award

2009-06-25T19:42:00.000-07:00

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This was painted north of the last painting in the hills of San Clemente. I worked on this for two afternoons while my friends Carole Gray Weihman and Wendy Franklin painted in the park just to the left of this scene. Both Carole and Wendy also received awards at the event which had over 125 artists in attendance. I was fortunate to receive a 3rd Place award at the main event for this piece.

San Clemente Sunset - Sold

2009-06-24T20:17:00.000-07:00

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This was painted at the San Clemente Plein Air in the hills above San Clemente as the sun was about to go down. I liked the atmosphere in the scene juxtaposed to the contrast in the palm trees. I received an Honorable Mention award for this piece at the main event.

Old Friend - 2nd Place Award in Quick Draw

2009-06-20T20:18:00.000-07:00

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This was painted at the San Clemente Plein Air - Quick Draw. This was an unusual quick draw as it was 3 hours instead of the average 90 minutes. The quick draws are typically in the center of town and the artists are restricted to a certain area in order for the public to be able to watch all the artists paint. The the artists at the quick draw could paint a landscape, cityscape, a still-life or a model. Their were two models this year and I had set up ahead of time before the models arrived. I received 2nd Place for this quick draw!

Point Lobos - Morning Mist

2009-05-14T21:14:00.000-07:00

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I painted this on the last morning to paint for the Carmel Art Festival. This is painted off the corner of the lower parking lot and when we arrived the fog was thick and I could barely see the distant bluffs and trees. I decided to stay in the parking lot while Sterling hiked up and painted his award winner. The scene look rather simple at the time because there were just large shapes to wotk with due to the fog. I decided to do a 16x20 and quickly started putting down color spots based on the distant bluffs. Of course the fog started to lift and I had to go back to my memory of the scene. Luckily for me, it never lifted completely.

Sun Drenched

2009-05-13T20:38:00.000-07:00

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After the morning fog we decided to head farther south in hopes of finding some sun. We found this scene off of a restaurant. As we moved in closer to get a better painting spot we discovered three other artists were already painting the scene and they welcomed us to squeeze in to paint. I discovered later that they were local painters and not involved in Carmel Art Festival. Their work was great!

I really enjoyed painting this scene. I seem to work best when I know there isn't much time to paint as the fog was fast approaching. This is one of my favorites; at least for now.

Carmel Cypress

2009-05-13T20:30:00.000-07:00

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Sterling Hoffmann took me down to this beach area just south of Carmel to paint. It was pretty foggy when we got there and Sterling painted a large Cypress just to the right of these trees. I looked around the area for almost an hour before settling on this scene.

Carmel Sunset

2009-05-12T19:43:00.000-07:00

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This was my first painting that I painted at the Carmel Art Festival this year. I was looking northwest from the beach off of Ocean Avenue. The light was fading fast so I had to get my first color spots down before the light changed too much.

Best of Show at 2009 Napa Plein Air Biennial

2009-04-27T21:03:00.000-07:00

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Alfredo receives Best of Show at the 2009 Biennial Juried Plein Air Exhibition at the Napa Valley Museum. Two paintings were accepted into the show with Light Play receiving the 1st Place. The prize for the award is a One Man Show at the Napa Valley Museum in the spring of 2010. Some of the other award winners were Carole Gray-Weihman, Wendy Franklin, Frank Gannon, Wendy Brayton and Larry Cannon. Other friends in the show were Camille Przewodek, who won the Best of Show in a previous Biennial, and Sterling Hoffmann.

Camille Przewodek, Carole Gray-Weihman and myself, Alfredo Tofanelli are the artists behind l'Atelier aux Couleurs: the Art Academy in Petaluma, Cailifornia where we teach weekly classes and host painting workshops for top plein air painters and colorists from around the country.

Portrait Demo at the Pelican Art Gallery

2009-04-26T19:19:00.000-07:00

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This was a demo that I painted at The Pelican Art Gallery during our show that was held there between the end of March and the middle of June. It was a four person show for the folks behind our art school, l'Atelier aux Couleurs in Petaluma, CA. The artist were Camille Przewodek, Dale Axelrod, Carole Gray-Weihman and myself, Alfredo Tofanelli.

Another artist with the gallery sat for me while I did an oil sketch on a 12x16 canvas board. I was demonstrating how to get a likeness by sketching lightly and building the value up as you work the whole painting at once. This allows you to make adjustments as you bounce around the board. Any early errant marks, since they were put down on the board lightly, will not take away from the likeness. This is done in a similar manner as a charcoal study, it's just that oils are less forgiving.

I use to start my head studies and portraits this way but rarely do anymore. They can be valuable as a rehearsal to the color painting but I find it more of a hindrance as you don't want to loss your beautiful drawing. Typically when I paint a head study I will only sketch in the big shapes with linework and then go right into blocking in the big shapes and shadow patterns in color. Adding features way down the road only after I have the correct color relationships down on the large masses.

View from Giacomini Ranch

2009-04-25T07:37:00.000-07:00

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This was painted on the Robert Giacomini Dairy north of Point Reyes as part of the Art on the Farm. The painting is looking south past the Point Reyes area.

From left to right Carole Gray-Weihman, Wendy Franklin and Alfredo Tofanelli painting at the Giacomini Ranch. Photo by Larry Bryson.

Lee's Ranch

2009-04-21T19:13:00.000-07:00

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This was painted at Lee's Ranch in Penngrove. The family ranch has some beautiful views in just about every direction. This view is looking towards the Sonoma mountains. This was painted during a Randall Sexton Workshop that we were hosting at l'Atelier aux Couleurs.

Late Afternoon Aspens

2009-03-30T15:28:00.000-07:00

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This is a preview of the second painting the I sent to Nomadas del Arte which will be held at the Southwest Gallery in Dallas Texas.

Colorado Vista

2009-03-26T21:56:00.001-07:00

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This is a preview of one of the two paintings that I sent to Nomadas del Arte which will be held at the Southwest Gallery in Dallas Texas.

Just around the Bend - Devil's Gulch Vineyards

2009-02-19T20:26:00.000-08:00

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This was painted at Devil's Gulch Vineyards as part of Art on the Farm and will be on display at Claudia Chapline Gallery in Stinson Breach, California from March 8 - March 29. Part of the proceeds are going to the Marin Organic Loan Fund.

NOTE: This painting was featured in the August 2009 issue of Southwest Art magazine's Best of the West|Rocky Mountains section.

A Little Girl

2009-02-15T21:28:00.000-08:00

I painted this over the weekend in the evenings. I didn't have a model available and wanted to paint a head study so I purchased a stock photo and painted from that. I wanted to try to capture the subtle temperature changes in the face. If I get time I will finish the hair as it is just blocked in. I would also lighten the eyes a touch.

Quick Sketches of Ali

2009-01-25T21:42:00.000-08:00

These were done in Peggi's weekend workshop. The two smaller ones were 20 minutes each and the larger one is a 40 minute pose.

Blue Pitcher with Fruit

2009-01-24T19:47:00.000-08:00

A quick still life study done at a Peggi Kroll Roberts weekend workshop.

California Art Club Paintout - Sold

2008-11-08T21:36:00.000-08:00

I painted this at the California Art Club paintout near Lafayette, CA. The clouds were low overhead and for a few minutes you could see sunlight piercing through in the distance.

Good old Keetna

2008-10-10T20:22:00.000-07:00

I painted this painting for a friend who was loosing her beloved companion to poor health and old age. I had gotten to know Keetna over the last few years and he was quite a mellow guy and had a beautiful coat. Keetna was almost 15 years old when I painted him here in his old front yard; he is sorely missed.

The California Impressionists show Oct 11-30, 2008

2008-10-09T10:00:00.000-07:00

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I will be part of the California Impressionists show at the Link Gallery from October 11-30 in Cheyenne, Wyoming along with Carole Gray-Weihman and Rich Gallego. The opening reception will be Oct 11, 5-8pm. Associated with the show will be the William Sitting Bull fundraising action. William is also an artist at the gallery. He has recently been suffering from poor health and is in need of a kidney transplant and is without insurance. Because of the urgency the gallery owner has decided to hold a joint opening and auction where Williams and his wife Bonnie will be auctioning their artwork along with some donated pieces from some of the gallery artists. Many of the gallery artists will also donate a percentage of all sales during the show to William's fund. For more information about the show and William's auction please visit the Link Gallery web site at: www.link-gallery.com.

View from Stubbs Vineyards

2008-09-27T21:32:00.000-07:00

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This and most of the other paintings done over the last year by all the artists in Art on the Farm will be on display at Point Reyes Vineyards on October 19, 2008 between 12:30-5:00pm. Food from Marin Organic family farms, Wine and art are available for purchase with part of the proceeds going to Marin Organic Loan Fund and part to the artist. Point Reyes Vineyard is about 1 mile north of Point Reyes Station on Highway One at 12700 Highway One.

Clouds over Petaluma

2008-09-20T20:49:00.000-07:00

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This was painted at the Greater Petaluma Paintout in conjunction with the Oil Painters of America. It was a cloudy day with the light going in and out of shadow. I decided to paint the hills looking east and the clouds above them. The sky in this painting was completely done with the palette knife.

Fresh Run Farm

2008-09-14T21:07:00.000-07:00

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I joined a local organization called Art on the Farm this last spring. I have been too busy to go on the paintouts until this paintout held at Fresh Run Farm. The organization teams up artists and organic farms with a show at the end of the year where part of the proceeds from sales go to the Marin Organic loan fund and part to the artist. It's always great to paint with a bunch of artists and make new friends but it also feels good to do something for a good cause. The Show is October 19th. More on that in the next Art on the Farm post.

Fidel on a Gray Day.

2008-09-12T20:37:00.000-07:00

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This is a sketch of Fidel that I painted on an overcast day. I started by covering the board using a palette knife then switching to a brush. The palette knife helps you block in large shapes and keeps you from getting into the detail too early.

Marta with Umbrella

2008-09-04T19:38:00.000-07:00

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The first week of September we host a Peggi Kroll-Roberts workshop here at the l'Atelier aux Couleurs. My partners and I facilitate the workshop and paint once everything is set-up. I painted this study along with 5 other sketches on a 16x20 board and was rather pleased with this one, especially for a quick pose, 40 minutes or so. I did another 20 minute sketch following this one and then went in the studio to get something for one of the students. When I got back I saw Camille and others with a long face and saw my board was leaning against the easel. When I was away a gust blew my easel and board over and the paintings landed face down in the dirt and dried grass. "Oh well", I said and started to clean up my set-up when another gust blew over my paintings for a second time. Doh! This painting and the last sketch where completely covered with debris. I decided to wait til it dried to try and remove the debris and this is what survived.

Late Afternoon Aspens

2008-08-28T21:34:00.000-07:00

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On our last painting day in Estes Park we drove to a different area and found this nice grove of aspens with green grass behind them. It was late in the day when we started painting and we had to rush to capture the light as it was moving quickly behind the trees. the effort paid off as this painting recieved an Award of Merit for the Estes Park Plein Air event. This painting and all the other unsold Estes Park paintings are available at the Earthwood Collections Gallery in Estes Park, Colorado.

August Snow

2008-08-26T19:36:00.000-07:00

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The area around Moraine Park in the Rocky Mountain National Park is just spectacular. If you walk out in the valley to the winding stream and look up at the snow capped peaks it's awe inspiring. And the mountains look different every few minutes as the clouds go over them, or the rain comes in or when there's fog in the valley. Sometimes the distant mountains are crystal clear and other times they disappear into the atmosphere. This was painted late in the day and it was dark when I packed up. I had to work on it a second time to get the effect I was after which was the way it looked when I first set up.

The Wicker Chair - Sold

2008-08-23T20:19:00.000-07:00

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At the Quick Draw we could choose between 3 models, a still life set up and any scene or landscape we could view from the park. I chose to paint this young lady, or should I say the wicker chair as I had not yet seen the model. The models usually arrive shortly before we start painting. We had 90 minutes to paint minus the 10 minute model break. When the whistle is blown you have 15 minuted to frame it, wire it and turn it in to be hung in the park. There was a live auction for all the quick draw pieces in the center of the park. My painting sold as did the majority of the paintings. This was a 14" x 18" oil painting on canvas board.

Twin Sisters

2008-08-16T19:52:00.000-07:00

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This was painted off the road between Estes Park and Allenspark looking out at the Twin Sisters. The clouds were a big challenge on this piece as there was a short window when the sun would peak over the top of the mountain and give me the shadow pattern I liked. Too early and all shadow. Wait too long and there was just a little shadow. If the clouds came over during that time I would paint by memory for a while then pack it in. It took 3 trips back for this painting.

Colorado Country

2008-08-13T22:26:00.000-07:00

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I started this painting in the afternoon after I painted Colorado Vista. I loved the clouds that were coming over the bluff in Lyons so I quickly set up my gear and got a glimpse of the clouds in my painting. They quickly passed over my head so I used the next set of clouds to use as reference. And then the next set, and the next, and so on. I didn't realize how fast they were moving when I set up but I guess because I am looking up in this scene and the clouds were so low to the mountains it really accentuated how fast they were moving. This painting is available at Earthwood Collections Gallery in Estes Park, Colorado.

Colorado Vista

2008-08-12T20:27:00.000-07:00

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This is the first painting I did for Estes Park Plein Air event. I enjoyed the red rock near Lyons and found this spot looking through some trees to frame them. I was excited to have a strong start on my first day of painting and I also started a second painting that I'll try to post tomorrow titled "Colorado Country". Unfortunately the weather turned on our third day and we lost two days due to rain.

All of my unsold paintings for this years event can be seen and purchased at the Earthwood Collections Gallery in Estes Park, Colorado.

Wyoming Mountains - Snowy Range

2008-08-10T20:25:00.000-07:00

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We left Cheyenne on Wednesday and Thursday to head up to the mountains for some different scenery. We went up in search of the Snowy Range not knowing what we would find but it sounded good. We were amazed to find this beautiful range with snow still on it in August and clear lakes below it. On Wednesday I started a 16"x20" but there were clouds covering the sun all day along with some rain. On Thursday the light was completely different so I decided to start a new painting to take advantage of having the sun out. I look forward to going back to the Snowy Range to do some more painting.

High Noon - Sold

2008-08-09T20:31:00.000-07:00

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For the Quickdraw on Saturday they had set up a model for us as a cowboy. He was fun to paint with his guns and leathers.

Downtown Cheyenne

2008-08-05T20:38:00.000-07:00

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This is a building in the downtown section of Cheyenne. It is just down the way from where I painted the Tivoli window.

Immortalized

2008-08-04T19:49:00.000-07:00

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While I was painting the Tivoli window Earl walked up and asked me to put him in the painting. I told him I was almost finished with that painting but if he could wait a few minutes I could do a new painting of him. He agreed so I quickly finished the other painting and moved my set up over so he could pose for me. He kept saying "I'm being immortalized" while I was painting. He also ask that I get his cigarette in the painting. He seemed to really enjoy being the focus of a painting and I was glad to have a good model. He held the pose really well too.

Tivoli Window

2008-08-03T20:24:00.000-07:00

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This is a window detail of the Tivoli building in downtown Cheyenne. It is a beatutiful piece of architecture and I love the color and simplicity of all the details of this building. I chose to paint the window because of the way the reflected light was bouncing into the shadows.

Sunset Over Cheyenne

2008-08-02T20:36:00.000-07:00

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This was a sunset painting I did after a day of heavy rain. I had earlier in the day chosen a scene I wanted to paint and sketched it out in oils. Just when I was about to start in on covering the canvas it started to rain. I was thinking I would tough it out since I had a small umbrella to cover my painting. Just about then a lighting strike came over the hill and then the thunder close belind. I looked around and noticed I was standing under the only power lines around and about three feet away from a power pole with a transformer on it. I didn't think that was the smartest idea to continue to paint but I decided the painting was worth the risk. Then a loud boom came over head and the lightning stike was a lot closer and the rain started to really come down so I quickly threw my gear into the truck and decided to wait for the storm to pass. Several hours later it did pass but it was time to meet the other artists and gallery owners for a dinner on the ranch. I never did get a chance to paint on my sketch.

This painting of the sunset was done after dinner and on our way back to town. We had been wanting to paint a sunset and we thought we might get a good one with the clouds and rain coming down in the distance. I really enjoyed painting this painting and it looks better in real life. I think I captured the rain showers in the distance but they don't show up in this photo of the painting. This painting along with the rest of the Wyoming Plein Air paintings can be seen at the Link Gallery in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Wyoming Country - Sold

2008-08-01T21:14:00.000-07:00

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This is the first painting I did for the Wyoming Plein Air. The location is a little southwest of Cheyenne and the clouds got my attention along with the wide open country. The paintings for the event are on display at the Link Gallery in Cheyenne. This painting sold at the opening reception.

Above Teton Village

2008-07-27T22:21:00.000-07:00

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I did the Jackson Hole Art Festival on July 26 & 27. On the second day I set up my easel behind my booth and painted a landscape within view. The previous day I stared up at the pine trees on the green hill side and finally had to paint it. I tried to paint nice and thick and was happy with the painting.

Garden Jewels

2008-07-19T22:31:00.000-07:00

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These beautiful canna lilies are at the Alameda community gardens. They stand over 6 feet tall and were a real challenge to paint as they were blowing in the wind.

Still Waiting

2008-07-18T21:58:00.000-07:00

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After getting lunch I saw this charming picket fence being back lit. I decided to pose Marta back lit in front of the fence and try to capture the effect of light.

Lost in the Moment

2008-07-17T21:27:00.000-07:00

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This was painted for the Alameda Plein Air Quickdraw where all the artists got together between 10am & noon and painted the downtown section of Alameda. I chose to paint Marta on a bench in Jackson Park.