Early Sunday morning, I drove to the Hills in Pere Marquette Park over looking the mighty Missouri River. I heard the pop pop of the hunters' guns in the surrounding woods. Surprisingly, I saw several deer. Here is the view of the river.

Last Sunday I was out painting near Elsah Illinois. This is a view toward the river. 12x16 inches.

Back at my favorite spot in Chesterfield. I love painting this view in Chesterfield. I paint in the shade of a big old tree on the edge on an ancient graveyard. This view will be a huge extension of highway 141 in a few years so I have to enjoy it while I can. You're drawn back to your favorite places. They change as everything does, yet you can recognize them as the comfortable old places they are. This painting is 12x16 inches.

These are small 6x8 thumb box paintings I did the other day. The weather has been lovely. I painted in Forest Park. These two paintings are sketches for a larger work.
I used Holbein Cobalt Violet Light Hue instead of my customary violet and was quite pleased with the result. The color has a warmth that many violets don't have.

Remnants of Gustav. I did a little demonstration for the Home School Group and the day was rained out. The remnants of Gustave blew through and the rain was constant and heavy. I painted in the World's Fair Pavilion in the Forest Park and watched the grounds men break down these large screens that must have used for a party there. Very wet outside but dry under the roof. The painting is 6x8 inches.

The Wet Summer. We've had twice the average rainfall this summer. It seems that every time we went to Indian Creek we had huge thunderstorms. Here I'm trying to capture that stormy moment before I'm drenched, too. This painting measure 6x8 inches.

The Summer Carnival came to Stacy Park a month ago. This painting captures a teen hesitating before trying this game. It was a beautiful evening. Really pretty quiet at the midway and most of the rides, too. The painting is 8x10 inches.

South Saint Louis Near Soulard Market.
I was painting at 8th and Geyer just a couple of blocks south of Soulard Market and north of Anheuser Busch Brewery. A very old area in Saint Louis with cobblestone streets and a church on almost every corner. I always put in the cars. We live now, in 2008, not when horses were the mode of transportation. These cars will look quite quaint some day , too. The painting measures 8x10 inches.

July 4th Celebration
We ventured out to Indian Creek for our annual 4th of July celebration. The night of July 2nd we were deluged. The rain continued off and on on the third. That didn't deter us from fireworks, but we did pull out on the fourth and head back to town for Chesterfield's extravaganza. These paintings show the west overcast weather we had. Here I am facing where the gate was. The spring flood washed it out.

Indian Creek Morning. There is something about the last day. I get up early and rush out to painting. Invariably, I do something I like. Here is an early morning painting from the last trip.

Last week I painted at Indian Creek. I'm using Holbein paints in the 20 ml tubes this summer. I bought them for the small size. I thought they would be handy in the pochade box for travelling. The small size is wonderful. The paint has a silky quality and the colors are quite nice. However, I find the cerrulean blue somewhat grey and dull. I prefer a cerulean blue with more zip. In fact I think Schevenings Blauw ( Old Holland) works best in creating a sky. My dark is Rembrant greenish umber and is very close to the Winsor Newton green shade umber. The yellow here is Da Vinci Hansa yellow light. The palette was Joe McGurl's suggestions and reflects the gray gnarled wood coloration of Cape Cod. I think the Hansa yellow is too green for Missouri at this time of the year. I think this would be more useful for nocturnes and early spring.

Cape Cod Day 3. The day was bright and sunny although a bit cool in the morning. I painted two paintings in the afternoon. Then the wind really picked up and I was tired. The first painting was a 9x12 inch canvas panel painting of Alfie Glover's cute floating studio ( and sometimes cocktail lounge - according to Joe ). Coyly moored on the beach, the studio just demanded to be painted. A light shower didn't deter us in the afternoon and until the wind got unbearable, it was a lovely day.



Before I got started on the big picture of the day, I painted another version of the little boat from memory. This painting was a gift for Ira.

Cape Cod Day 2. The rain was heavy on Wednesday night and Thursday started overcast and rainy. In fact, we sat on Joe McGurl's lawn and watched him paint in the rain. I wasn't cold that day as I wore plenty of layers and all three jackets that I brought with me. The first painting is the lovely bridge to Amrita Island. Both paintgs are 6x8 on gessoed panel.





I was sitting on the jetty of beach and after I painted the bridge i turned around and painted the view across the bay. The clouds were rolling in and the wind had really picked up. The rain came in light waves.

CapeCod! Here is the first painting I did when I got to the shore. A cute little boat up on a stand. The first of several 6x8 paintings on gessoed panel. I think I got the sun here.



Cape Cod! I painted at Cape Cod, around Cataumet last week. Wednesday the first day was sunny, but I found the winds cold. This is the second painting of the day. After I did the boat I turned and started to paint the drive down to the water. This painting is 6x8 inches gessoed panel.

I haven't posted in a couple of weeks so I have two sessions of paintings to post. Here is the first. The MoPAPA ( Misouri Plein Air Painters were painting near the Muny in Forest Park. My first painting was over by the Old Stable Bridge. The rain was really starting to come down so I ducked under the loggia of the Muny and painted Shawn and David painting.

Shaw Arboretum almost two weeks ago. I painted at the Shaw Arboretum last Sunday. It seemed like quite a few people were there also. A large group of the plein air painters were there, too. The daffodils covered many of the large fields. The pink trees in the first painting shown was the under painting or tone of the board coming through. The second painting I did first thing of the day and I couldn't get the white paint opened. So I used Naples yellow as my white and consequently it didn't work that well. Avery cool cast to the painting. Dave had a handy tool, an impressive Swiss army knife type of folding pliers that opened the white and I was in business. My third painting was the portrait of the plein air painters Dwight and Jane. Jane looked like a pre-raphelite or Sargent model and I just had to try to capture her. It is so cold that I think I'll skip tomorrow and work on some still lifes.
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Meramec River
A couple of weeks ago I was painting on the Meramec at Castlewood State Park. This is where the flooding is now. Then the river was quiet and spring was just starting. 8x8 inches. Ohttp://www.blogger.com/posts.g?blogID=33236477
Edit Postsil on canvas mounted on masonite.

Indian Creek. The cool, green creek was so inviting in the summer. 8x8 inches. Oil on canvas mounted on masonite.

New Hope Church Road. Another painting for last summer. 8x10 inches. Oil on canvas mounted on Masonite.

I found bunch of paintings which I did last summer and never posted. They made me long for summer again. We just had that big snow fall. This one has a late summer feel. 8x10 inches Oil canvas mounted on Masonite.

Allen painting by the creek in the tall grass. 6x8 inches.

I always associate wild flowers with the early spring. This past Sunday the creek was littered with plein air painters. This is Dave ( on left) and Shawn standing on a gravel bar, painting away.

A change of pace here. This is a watercolorof some of the girls at the Homeschoolers' Valentines Party. Very fun. Tons of candy and a womderful time was had by all.

The second painting from that stormy weekend in Forest Park. This painting is already sold. 6x8 inches.

The same weekend as the previous post. I just didn't put this one up. This is Henryk a supper painter who uses Old Holland pants, also. I love the rich color and the stiff texture of the paint. I do think it works well with the Maroger medium but I've been mixing my own stand oil and Gamsol or Sansoder medium for the studio. Outside, I'm currently using a small vial of Galkyd. Still, I think the Maroger is superior. The guy on the left is Bill Farthing.

My second painting from Bee Tree Park this past Sunday. While there was snow, it really wasn't that cold. Lots of subtle color interacton in this small 6x8 inch painting. It is $49.00.

Here is my effort from a trip to Bee Tree Park. It winds by the river and has some lovely views. I painted three canvases there. This is the first. This painting is 8x8and $49.00

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Snowy Sunday. A very large painting 20x24 inches of the sledding on Art Hill, Forest Park, St. Louis not too long ago.

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Detail of the sledding on Art Hill painting.

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This painting is 16x20 inches. A recent north light still life.

Another 8x10 painting from the same Sunday expedition. This is near the prairie area and the Grand Basin. 8x10 inches. Canvas mounted on panel. $150.00

An 8"x10" painting done on top of the golf course. I have always wanted to paint up there. Beautiful day. Painted on canvas mounted on panel. $100.00

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Low Visibility. Another picture from my recent trip to Chicago. These trips always seem to involve snow and wretched driving conditions. This painting is 6x8 inches.

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Red Winter. I recently drove up to Chicago, right befor New Year's Eve. Of course there was snow and fog. This is a painting from that trip. Painting is 6x8 inches.