Palo Duro Painting: Studio work “Russell in Plein Air Heaven”

“Russell in Plein Air Heaven” 12×16″ Acrylic on canvas panel. This is from a quick photo taken in my recent trip to Palo Duro.

Painting landscape has been my #1 love for quite some time now.  However, it became clear to me on my trip to the Appalachian Trail, that it was the people and their stories that are just as important.  In my recent trip to Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Russell Cushman, a long time friend of John Cogan, joined me and John in the canyon.  He became a good part of the story when I think back to that adventure, and I’m so glad he joined us! He’s an incredible writer too, so you should check out his blog if you have a chance.

Here’s some stages to this piece and thoughts along the way:

Underpaitning to establish some values

Adding colors, standing back and checking out what to change/not change

Reduced harsh colors in the background and getting closer to being done. The top rock on the cliff was a distraction, so I changed the cliff in the final version.

I’m having a gallery showing in Columbus, TX as a part of the Columbus Folk Fest that Amanda Danning is coordinating.  It’ll show for a month, so I’m painting like a mad man (and loving it). Hopefully it’ll go over well and people will be inspired to get outdoors and really look at all that beauty in nature.