How a two year old Marsh Landscape turns into a Michigan Jungle

Last week I went outside in that weirdly warm weather to catch the leaves before they were all plucked by the wind.  I went to my friend's 20 acres and found trees with that last little bit of yellow so I set up my easel and pulled out an old painting of the marsh.  I didn't hate that older painting but it didn't sell and I needed a canvas, being too lazy or busy or something to stretch a new one.  Following is the progression. Charlie is lurking in some of the pictures, fussing in the fallen leaves. 

(Go ahead and play "Where's Charlie?" but don't forget to watch the painting change!)

How a Bad Portrait of Jane Morphs into a River Landscape

I went into the dunes to pastel yesterday morning and returned home to oil paint on my deck. What glorious fall weather! Always looking to conserve, I used a painting from last winter that I had hoped would be Jane's senior portrait but that looked less and less like her as I painted. It turned out to be a very useful underpainting for "Autumn on the River."

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

I went outside to paint today.  I have actually been out quite a bit, mostly doing pastels - so easy to carry - since my last blog 100s of years ago, but am too lazy to get them on here.  Today was different cause I changed a portrait into a landscape, right there on Lake Shore Drive.