Painting From A Past Painting

"A Spring View"

12"x16" Oil on Canvas Covered Panel 

While I was having fun trying out paintings in the new frames we had company show up and I still had some household projects that needed to be done. So, not the time to get involved in a new painting from the ground up but I still wanted to paint. I decided to paint another version of one of my previous paintings again since they go pretty quick and should company get in the way I'd practically be done with it.
I like the painting below on my blog, "Valley Evening", so I reversed the scene and did changes to the background on it. At first I was going to put in a trail but then opted for just some stray paths intersecting but none of them being overly dominate in the foreground. I feel both paintings have lots of parts in them that I really like but areas I'd change again. That's ok, I'm used to not being satisfied with any of my paintings at this point....and besides, the point was to paint something so it worked.  

Eucalyptus Tree

"Eucalyptus Tree"
20" X 24" Oil on Canvas

I had painted this scene about a year ago but back then I painted grasses a certain way. When I see work that has those grasses I want to go back over them and paint them the way I do now. I have moved on to a looser look with the grasses, more "weedy" looking grasses. This one was not varnished so it was easy to just throw it on the easel and go back over the grasses...really, just adding to what was already there. Fun stuff.

Nipomo Eucalyptus Tree

"The Sappling"

20" x 24" Oil on Canvas
Another scene up in the stand of eucalyptus trees in Nipomo, CA. I love this spot for getting great shots of eucalyptus trees and grassy meadows. If you've ever driven up the 101 fwy towards headed for San Luis Obispo then you've driven right past this stand of trees. Many of the migrant farm workers during the depression used these tree stands in Nipomo for shaded camps to live in. Dorothea Lange stopped in this area to take pictures of these workers as part of her work showing the conditions caused by the depression for the Farm Security Administration. When I walk among these trees I feel a deep reverence for the farm workers and families effected by the depression. To imagine people living in tents or lean to's and out of cars among these trees and in the heat of the day working in the nearby fields is a very humbling experience. It reminds you to never take for granted the lives we live because it all can be taken away like it was for so many back during the depression.

Life went on even during the depression and adversity as well as back breaking work is what got most people through it. During the depression my grandparents picked pecans in Texas and to help get by my grandpa broke horses. Once the horses were somewhat gentled he had my grandma get on the saddle first because she was lighter than him.

People, like trees, carry on in life. As time goes by they are replaced by the young. This sappling reminds me of that cycle...that life will go on despite the experiences, and sometimes ordeals, life will throw at us all.

The Mighty Eucalyptus Tree

"Majesty"

16" X 20" Oil on Canvas

I wanted to paint a vertical format eucalyptus tree for the upcoming studio tour and finished this one up today. I like a lot of parts in this painting and the overall look. I am still tinkering with painting a very large painting similar to this. I have some gallery wrapped canvas put away that are pretty large so I might use one of those to do this if they are big enough. I hate painting anything large at the moment because sales are so slow that there is no telling how long they will be with me...it's a matter of storage, hahaha.
Here is a detail of the painting....I like the grasses and light work on the background trees. Going larger will give me more room to add more detail to a painting like this so I'm looking forward to that if I painting a bigger one.