Posted in daily painter, tagged daily painter, daily painting, impressionism, Shenandoah River, Virginia Artist on July 7, 2009| Leave a Comment »
A River View is an oil on canvas panel measuring 9″x12″ and is available by contacting me at kwalker@doubledogdesigns.com .
I love painting landscapes of the local area. We live where the two forks of the Shenandoah River merge so there are many beautiful river scenes to paint.
Posted in daily painter, tagged daily painter, impressionism, Virginia Artist on July 3, 2009| 4 Comments »
There is a group of plein air painters in the Northern Shenandoah Valley that meet each Thursday for painting and fellowship. Since opening Delilah’s a year and a half ago I have found it difficult to make my schedule work to be available to go. But yesterday was different. I was off and in town – a rare occurrence and was excited to join the group again to paint. Susan Bowen from Rockland was kind enough to welcome us to her beautiful farm to paint. Here’s what I did:
This is my reference photo. I always take one before I begin.
And you can see from where I am set up that sometimes you have to work around things that are “in the way” to make the composition you desire. In this case there were barns and even a tractor that I didn’t want to include. But that’s not problem…you just leave them out. 
Several of you wrote comments last week when I posted a series of photos from a plein air session and asked if bugs bother me. Well, see the fly in the middle of this photo? You just wait for them to fly away….or shoo them if you are impatient. I’m not a patient woman. Shoo! I started this painting with a loose sketch – basically where I want the tree and fences and mountains. 
Then I begin laying in the color….the sky, the tree, the mountains, the meadow – working my way down the canvas. I find this works best for me on this type of landscape.
Still working my way down until I completely cover the canvas and then I can go in and add a few highlights and details.
And then suddenly there is completed landscape painting. It was such a joy being out in the Rockland area to paint. It was a beautiful day and the weather was perfect.
“View from the Bowen Farm” is an oil on canvas panel measuring 9″x12″ and is framed and available for $275. Just contact me at kwalker@doubledogdesigns.com
Posted in daily painter, Dogs, tagged Dogs, impressionism, Virginia Artist on July 1, 2009| 3 Comments »
Truman and Jed love to go for a ride in the truck. And I try to take them with me as much as I can. I did a quick sketch of the way they look with their little heads at the window. This was an exercise to loosen up for another painting that I’ve been working on. Plus it was fun.
Posted in daily painter, tagged impressionism, oil painting, West Virginia on June 29, 2009| 3 Comments »
We love going to the cabin at Twin Mountain so the “boys” can run and play and I can paint. And that is just what we did this past weekend. Here is the result:
This is the spot we chose to paint from that morning. A gorgeous view of the West Virginia mountain range and the hay had just been baled and the aroma was strong.
As usual I start with a loose sketch of where I want to place the objects in the painting. The great thing about being a painter is that you can always move things around on the canvas to make it fit and to make a pleasing composition.
Next I start putting color on the canvas. One of the difficult things about painting outdoors (or on location) is that the light changes quickly. The sun rises, clouds pass over, etc. So you must mix paint quickly and set the tone of the painting.
I keep adding color and building the painting. Again, you have to work quickly or the shadows move. I often leave them out until the very end of my work and then add them.
And here is the finished product. I am happy with the result. This is a 9″x12″ oil on canvas panel and is available. You can contact me at kwalker@doubledogdesigns.com if you are interested in collecting any of my paintings.
And the best part of painting en plein air is that I have helpers. Jed was off making the area safe for us to hang out…but Truman, as usual, was watching me work. Truman is too old and distinguished to run around like crazy young Jed does. Notice he cleverly lays just in the edge of the shade but close enough he can help make judgments about my work. Thanks Tru!
Posted in daily painter, tagged Coastal painting, daily painter, impressionism, Marsh, oil painting, Virginia Artist on June 23, 2009| 3 Comments »
Another great day of painting on location at Hilton Head. I discovered a really nice town park right on the marsh and set up there to paint about 8:15 a.m. Boy, did it get hot fast this morning. Not a lot of breeze blowing and within an hour I was burning up. But I kept painting and got a nice little 9″x12″ oil painting completed. I took photos at different stages so you could see how I work.
I always take a reference photo in case I need to complete the painting in the studio…or in case I want to post it on the blog. 🙂
To start the painting I thin a dark color, ultramarine blue in this case, with turpentine and sketch the major shapes on the canvas.
After the basic shapes are sketched I start laying in the sky color and the darkest parts of the trees.
I continue to work the colors in the trees and the reflections in the water. I also add the background trees at the distance and start on the marsh reeds and the water.
Finally I complete the water and add the foreground reeds and grass.
I enjoy working on location even when it’s burning hot. (Did I mention that it was really hot out there today???) People often stop by to ask questions or just to watch and it’s always interesting to meet them. And as usual, my paintings are available by emailing me for more information. The paintings I did at Hilton Head this week are both oil on canvas panel, measuring 9″x12″, and are available framed for $225. Contact me at kwalker@doubledogdesigns.com .
Posted in daily painter, tagged Beach, Hilton Head Island, impressionism, oil painting, Virginia Artist on June 22, 2009| 4 Comments »
I spent a little time painting yesterday morning at the bend going to South Beach yesterday… South Beach at Hilton Head Island, SC. It was early but there was still quite a few people out walking and I talked to some very nice people from Ohio and Pennsylvania as well as locals. People are always curious when they see you painting. Some will come over and ask questions. This is the scene I painted. The three little lines you see (one at the top and two at the bottom) are the metal prongs that hold the painting on the french easel. I took this photo while still wet on the easel so I could get it posted right away. 
(This painting is SOLD.)
This is the reference photo that I took just in case I couldn’t finish. You never know what the weather might do so it’s good to get the reference in case you have to complete the painting in the studio. But yesterday was perfect for painting. A nice breeze was blowing, the sun was hot but not unbearable, and I got to paint on location. Does it get any better than that???!!!
Posted in daily painter, tagged impressionism, oil painting, Virginia Artist on June 3, 2009| Leave a Comment »
The new blog is up and running. It is a lot more difficult to use than the last but hopefully it will remain online and I won’t lose everything again. So back to painting. Yeah!
Down the Lane V is an oil on masonite measuring 9″x12″ and is SOLD. I am still working on the “Down the Lane” series. We are even painting one in the Wednesday night art class at Blue Ridge Arts Council. Anyone interested in class just contact me at kwalker@doubledogdesigns.com .
Hope you are as glad as I am that I have a blog going again. 🙂
The Studio 