In the Round

In the Round

6 x 8 in., oil on panel

sold

Here is another scene from our trip to Provence this summer. I I like this one more every time I look at it--I'm working on a larger version now because I love the tones I achieved in the study.  I'll not ship this one until next week as I'm using it for reference on the larger one.

-julie davis

Hay Bales

Hay Bales

Forgive the original title....this was named in a hurry before submission at the Kerrville Outdoor Painter's Event.  You can see the lone cow to the left of one bale...I kept trying to name the piece something to do with the cow (like Breakfast, or Head First, or Back End), but my friend, Laurel Daniel, talked some sense into me and helped me get to something less risky and more straightforward in the short time that we had--thank you, Laurel.  

I painted this piece in the company of cattle...they were an active bunch that morning, constantly moving in and out of my view.  At one point, three made their way to within several yards of me and happily ate while keeping an eye on things (and I kept an eye on them).  

-julie davis

Shaded Farm Road

Shaded Farm Road

6 x 8 in., oil on panel

sold

This piece of land is just outside of Kerrville, Texas.  The composition didn't require much creativity on my part--it was ready and waiting for me.  The shaded dirt road led right to the lit bales of hay and around to an old hidden structure behind a fence. I just tried to do it a little justice...

-julie davis

Hay There

Hay There

6 x 8 in., oil on panel

sold

Another quick sketch from a recent trip north of Austin.  I love it when the hay is in the fields.  Couldn't resist the title....

-julie davis

Hay Bales in Line

Hay Bales In Line

6 x 8 in., oil on panel

sold

I've been wanting to paint this subject since this summer in Idaho. I painted a 15 minute plein air piece then, and just never quite found the comfort zone with that one,though I really wanted to paint it larger. This is also a study, just 6" x 8", but I like this one better, and am looking forward to working on a bit larger piece. The hay was so tidy-ly laid out.....

-julie davis

*and on a hopeful note, I have lost an email from a very nice person who was interested in one of my paintings from the Hunt area--a scene along the Guadalupe River. If that person happens to see this, please contact me again! I have no clue how the email disappeared, but I have hunted to no avail.

Summer Day

Summer Day, 8 x 6

sold

This was a quick study done earlier this summer--I forgot I had it. It's easy to forget during these dry, cold, winter days just how lush the outdoors become in the spring and summer. Of course, it was something like 74 F today in Austin, so we're headed there soon!

-julie davis

Distant Farm

Distant Farm, 9 x 12

Part of the fun of working on foregrounds is getting to play in the paint near the bottom of the painting. A little thicker paint, a little looser palette knife work....

-julie davis

Field of Hay

Field of Hay, 9 x 12

donation to Vanguard School, Waco, Texas

As promised, here is another piece in which I gave myself a higher horizon line in order to force myself to develop the foreground. It may be obvious, but to convey depth, it's necessary to vary the colors--and often values--as the ground plane recedes. Not simply a constant lightening of the ground plane as it recedes, but a variation back and forth within the context of a general increase in value with distance.

-julie davis

Hay Bales

Hay Bales, 9 x 12

And the color version.....I think doing this pushed my value contrast further in the end that if I hadn't done the study.

And my apologies that it's taken me a bit to report back on the Weekend with the Masters. I've been busy doing some technological housekeeping before I begin posting with Daily Painters Originals, and like any housekeeping, it takes time!!! But back to the Masters...

It was such fun to immerse myself in the art world for five days! I'm such a newcomer to all of it; no background in art--been painting for close to four years.....so it was such an education simply being with so many artists, the conversation, the panel discussions, the chance to meet so many artists I admire, and the opportunity to study with such fine teachers and alongside artists of every level. I felt like a child in a candy store! I took workshops with Frank Serrano, Camille Przewodeck, and Daniel Pinkham, not to mention the demo with Scott Christensen, and the many lectures I had the pleasure of attending.

So as of Friday I'll have work posted with DPO (if I've done my technological homework correctly). Visit the site. It's a great group and I'm thrilled to be a part of it.

-julie davis

Grayscale Value Study 2

Grayscale Value Study 2, 9 x 12

As promised, here is another value study I did last week (this time in preparation for the color version). I was surprised at how much further (higher) I needed to push the ground plane value than my instincts told me. All a part of learning to see....

And the Weekend With the Masters was amazing! I can't wait to share what I learned and incorporate it. Just being immersed in the culture of the contemporary representational art world for a few days taught me more than I ever anticipated. More tomorrow--I hit the ground running today and will have time to write more then.

-julie davis

Cattle Guard

Cattle Guard, 8 x 10

The cattle must have been elsewhere--their food lay baled in the field, but they were nowhere to be seen--maybe the cattle guard wasn't so effective after all?

I'm painting at least two or more a day this week--trying to complete what I can before I sign, frame, and ship pieces to Oregon for the show next month. Today I gathered many of the pieces in one room and leaned them inside their frames against a wall......it was great to see it all together.

-julie davis

Winter Reserve

Winter Reserve, 6 x 8

A lesson for us all--planning ahead. As hot as it is right now, it's hard to imagine winter, but ranchers have to plan ahead, and storing hay to last through the winter is part of that. This is a view from Highway 16 south out of Fredericksburg out into the hills.

-julie davis

Country Bale Out

Country Bale Out, 12 x 12

I did this larger version of the 8 x 10 "Fresh Cut Hay" this afternoon in a square format in anticipation of the winery show. I'm trying to get to a few "larger" ones for that show, and I enjoy translating rectangular format to square and vice versa. I'm really having a hard time with my greens and light reflecting poorly on them for my photos lately--this photo isn't what I'd like, but it had to do. This field is near Briggs, Texas, and was brimming with beautiful freshly baled hay in late May.

-julie davis

Freshly Cut Hay

Freshly Cut Hay, 8 x 10

sold

I haven't posted in several days for lack of time, not lack of painting. I was fortunate enough to get to go to Granbury, Texas this weekend with Plein Air Austin for an entire weekend of painting -- I can't even quantify how fantastic an experience it was. I tagged along with Laurel Daniel, and we were up early and late painting as much as we could of the Granbury countryside. This was a spot on our way to Granbury between Briggs and Lampasas, where the hay was so freshly cut it caught our eyes immediately, and we had to pull over and paint. I'll post the other paintings I did in order over the next several days--a few I'm going to submit to a Plein Air Austin show this summer here in town.

-julie davis