Gibson's American Farm

Work In Progress 2-14-12

2012-02-14T21:59:00.004-05:00

I needed to take a break from the large commission painting so I moved on to a small commission. The first photo is the base painting with a couple of initial washes .

This second photo is the painting with further development on the barns and the first white wash to represent snow in the foreground. As I was explaining to a friend these farm scenes are small abstracts using basic building blocks-squares, triangles, rectangles, etc. placed against strong angles-horizen, foreground snow field. Once the painting is finished it all comes together to represent and beautiful winter farm scene.

Work in progress 2-12-12

2012-02-12T15:11:00.004-05:00

This is the barn stage , I am getting the red down and the snow on top of the roof, it is looking really good and coming together just fine.

work in progress 2-9-12

2012-02-09T22:34:00.003-05:00

The next stage of the painting requires some planning and elbow grease. I determine where to place the building, draw it in with pencil, and begin to scrub off the paint that is in the sky area. This leaves a shadow of the building in the paint that is already laid down but greatly helps when painting in the red tones of the barn. I don't need extra blue pigment trying to change the color of the new next layer of red paint that will go down. I let this stage dry for a day or so then this weekend I'll begin the barns.

work in progress 2-4-12

2012-02-04T15:30:00.004-05:00

This is the pallette I'm using for laying down the sky washes on my painting. The pool at the upper left is ultramarine blue, top right is paynes gray, and bottom left is raw umber. Applying them at the right time and amount is where some skill and experience are your best friend.

The trip we took to see family in Nebraska was cut short when we left early to avoid the huge snow storm coming our way. We traveled just ahead of the storm and avoided the 6-10" of snow and now we are sitting in our warm house playing with Charlie our grandson as the snow finally caught up with us.

This photo shows me pointing at the area of the sky where I applied some Prussian Blue into the Paynes Gray. I had two brushes going at once, one in each hand.

The commission painting

2012-02-02T22:01:00.002-05:00

The first wash of the commission painting. I am laying down lots of heavy paint to make the sky dark. I will be out of town until Monday, February 5th visiting family.

Work in progress 1-28-12

2012-01-28T20:08:00.003-05:00

This work in progress is actually 22x30 inches and is the start of a very large watercolor painting that I have been commissioned to paint. It will be a winter scene with a moody sky at dusk with snow falling and grasses and stubble punching up through the blown drifts of snow.

12-17-11 "The Red Barn"

2011-12-17T20:01:00.003-05:00

This lone shed and silo are all that remain of what was probably an active farm, crops, cows, house, and children running around. It is the middle of winter and I decided to paint a summer scene. Around 6:30 last night I started with a blank sheet of 140 lb. water color paper and by 8:30 it was finished and I placed it behind a matte board to view it for a while. In the morning I adjusted the shading of the tractor lane by darkening the left side to give it some depth. If you would like to purchase it please use the Etsy sight on the right of the blog page.

10-25-11 "Another Snowfall in New England"

2011-10-25T20:50:00.002-04:00

This beautiful water color painting has a few nice eliments to it. All three barns point to the focal point, the house, which also is haloed by the pine trees. The white snow bank that begins at the left barn grows larger as it draws your eye to the house. The house and the snow in front of it are the focal point being the brightest section of the painting. The color of the sky just after dusk and the foreground snow-covered field turned out better than the original painting. I was going to add a fence post or two by the large barn but they seemed to brake up the natural paths that take your eye to the house so I left them out.

This painting is not for sale as it is a commission.

work in progress

2011-10-21T21:19:00.002-04:00

As you can see the major componants are drawn in and the first layers of paint are applied. From this stage it is a matter of adding to and refining the buildings then step back for a day or two to look at it to see what needs to be brightened, darkened, and adjusted.

work in progress

2011-10-19T22:10:00.004-04:00

These three pictures show the process of laying down the sky in one fast wash. I used three main colors painted on in several wide bands then began to mix and mingle them unto I achieved the desired effect. The last photo is not the finished sky, you will see that in later posts.

Work in Progress 10-16-11

2011-10-16T15:57:00.002-04:00

This drawing is a rework of a large painting I did a year ago that won a place in the Iowa Watercolor Society's Annual Exhibit.

You Can Barely See The Barn 6-24-11

2011-06-24T20:32:00.003-04:00

Without a doubt every farmer has looked out the kitchen window during a really heavy snow storm and said to his wife "I can barely see the barn". When painting this landscape I used no more than four colors and tried to mute them to achieve the winters dark sky effect. This painting is water color and acrylic and ready to fit into a 8x10 or bigger frame and can be purchased by using the etsy link to the left of the web page.

"Gardners Long Barn" 5-9-11

2011-05-09T21:26:00.002-04:00

This painting is 6 1/4 x 9 1/2 inches and comes matted ready for you to install into a 11x14 frame the day you receive it in the mail. I really enjoyed making this painting as I watched each step get closer to the finished product. The warm sky at the horizon lets you know the sun is gone for the day and the clouds are dropping snow that is going to continue all night long. In the foreground is a tractor lane that leads the viewer into the scene and the red tones of the long barn keeps your eye in the painting. To purchase this painting just click on the etsy link on the right side of this page.

The Vern Caryl Farm 4-29-11

2011-04-29T15:28:00.003-04:00

I painted the buildings in this scene exactly as they stand in the original homestead. Most of the time I never move the buildings around to creat a scene, I try to paint a piece of history just as the farmer built the place . Ther subtle colors of a late afternoons winter sky are awe inspiring and to capture that is really exciting. The painting measure 6 1/4 x 9 1/4 and fits into a 11x14 frame. To purchase this painting click the ETSY link on this page to go to my etsy sight.

Here is a little example of this work in progress. I love this stage of the painting becasue I can see the end is in sight but the best is yet to come.

"It's Suppose to Quit Snowing" 2-5-11

2011-02-05T16:45:00.003-05:00

It's February and we all hope the snow is going to give up soon but only the Lord knows what is in store for tomorrow and that is a nationwide blizzard!

This little painting took one evening to finish and was a lot of fun.

4.5x6.5, matted, ready to fit into a 8x10 frame

$35.00 plus $3.00 shipping and handling

12-32-10 "Fairfield County, Ohio Farm"

2010-12-13T15:51:00.003-05:00

This majestic barn sits on a slight slope that makes its way down to a small river and grist mill.

11-16-10 "Canada Geese flying south"

2010-11-16T16:34:00.002-05:00

How many times this fall have I seen geese heading south for the winter! Sometimes the "honking" is so loud I believe they must be landing in my yard somewhere.
9x12 Matte
$35.00, shipping $5.00

9-14-10 "King of the Roost"

2010-09-14T18:48:00.002-04:00

Watercolor

8x11.5 for a 12x16 frame

$50.00 ($5.00 shipping and handling)

A large rooster can be very impressive as he tries to get to the highest spot in the barn yard to let everyone listening know that he is king of his domain. This painting started out quite a bit larger but it wasn't balanced so I cut it down to make sure the rooster was the center of attention.

8-29-10 "Waiting Around"

2010-08-29T13:27:00.002-04:00

A couple of horses finished this piece off just right. It's not too often I add animals but they helped out a lot today.

I attended the Iowa Watercolor Society Annual Exhibit in Ames, IA a week ago and saw the best that Iowa has to offer. A lot of fun! I'm still experimenting in acrylics and completed a painting that I'll be posting in the near future.

"Accepted"

2010-07-19T21:12:00.002-04:00

I've had two paintings accepted into the Iowa Water Color Society Annual Exhibit in August. I joined membership with them several months ago and immediately applied to their exhibition which is the most prestigious watercolor show in Iowa. Out of several hundred applicants I was accepted along with 59 other artists. Grrreat!

I haven't posted as regular lately because there is a lot going on around here this summer ; my daughter having a baby and having to make several trips to Nebraska to see them, really heavy duty yard work, and overtime at work. I hope to be back on track in a few weeks.

Work In Progress

2010-06-27T21:32:00.002-04:00

The way I paint is described as "dry brush" because I use very little water on the brush and at times even scrape the semi dry fibers across the paper to achieve the effect I'm looking for.

Work In Progress 6-19-20

2010-06-19T17:24:00.002-04:00

Every person who creates art takes some time exploring new directions, style, and mediums as they feel the work they produce is "in a rut". I've been trying to force myself to try some new "stuff" for about a month now and I finally said to my wife "I like farms and I like painting them so that's what I'm going to paint. I don't care what anybody thinks!" So, I guess we are all stuck with Gibson's American Farm for quite some time to come.

The challenge for the above painting is to get the three small barns to appear to fall away toward the horizen. I want to put a farm animal in front of the barn door on the left barn.

5-11-10 "Not Long Till Spring"

2010-05-11T13:09:00.002-04:00

It's been over a month since I last posted but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy. In the last few weeks I've been prepairing paintings for juried shows here in Iowa that will be judged this summer. I've been experimenting with acrylics on board and paper, gouche, and egg tempera. Actually the egg tempera is my own twist on the medium and I like it a lot. The painting above is water color and egg mixed to just the right consistancy for nice fluid washes. This farm is not new to me and I have used it to produce a painting this past winter but its worth coming back to again.

Water color and egg

16x20

4-7-10 "All The Snow Is Gone"

2010-04-07T16:34:00.002-04:00

Gouache was the only paint I used on this landscape-sometimes it helps me, sometimes it works against me. This time I went very heavy with the paint just to be different.

Gouache 7x10 for a 10x14 frame

$50.00 plus $5.00 postage

3-30-10 "Another Snowfall"

2010-03-30T18:38:00.003-04:00

Earlier I had posted two seperate paintings that were used to make this one large painting. I had painted them about one week apart and as soon as I saw them side-by-side I realized they could be combined into one beautiful scene. When painting the sky I have to have about four shades of blue mixed up in seperate pans and lay it all down in one wash in about two minutes. I don't dare go back into it a touch it with a brush, it is what it is!

Water color and gouche,

15x21 20x25 frame.

Will be for sale after exhibited

3-22-10 "Waiting For Spring"

2010-03-22T11:11:00.002-04:00

Just before the first warm spring days break through the strong hold old man winter has on the barren landscape and delivers to us green grass and shoots of the first spring flowers there comes that last blast of snow. That's just the weather we had this past week - another four inches of snow!

Gouche 6.5x9.5 for a 9x12 frame
$50.00 plus $4.00 shipping

Work In Progress

2010-03-15T21:09:00.003-04:00

I have 3 trees in pencil marked on the left side and ready for the first layers of paint.

I will be working on it this week and will have the final product in a few days.

3-5-10 "Canada Geese at Sunset"

2010-03-05T13:21:00.002-05:00

I don't usually paint in a series but I've got geese on my mind after seeing so many still here for the winter. They are a beautiful bird when in the sky flying overhead in that gigantic V and bigger than you think when on the ground and you're up close.

Water color 6.5 x 9.5 matt opening

$50.00 postage paid

2-24-10 "Cananda Geese Over Iowa"

2010-02-24T15:32:00.003-05:00

I thought all geese flew to warmer weather during the late fall months to avoid the cold and snow but I've seen quite a few different geese and swans around here this winter.

The colors are quite subdued in this painting but that's the look I was aiming to achieve. I just kept putting on paint and washing it off till it left the stain in the paper grain then I gave it several more light washes to finish it.

Water color 6.5 x 9.5 matted $40.00 free shipping

2-17-10 "Looking for Dinner"

2010-02-17T16:27:00.002-05:00

You can expect to find cats around a barn as sure as there are cows in it. If it wasn't for the hard work of the barn cat the mice and rats would be running the place.

This painting actually started out as somethig totally different that wasn't working out well so I washed it away and started all over again. The stain of the first painting left a blueish tint to the paper that fit this time of day perfectly so I made the most of it.

16x20 frame size, Water color

$50.00 plus $5.00 shipping

2-8-10 "Lucas Farm"

2010-02-08T19:05:00.004-05:00

Wouldn't it be nice if summer were here and the grass was green and the sun warm overhead? This painting is about as close as we are going to get for a few more months. The size of this painting is a lot larger than what I have been finishing lately, it is actually 13x21 unframed, which is large enough for me to complete in a couple of days.

Water color, 13x21 unframed

$150.00 plus $5.oo postage

2-2-10 "A Tribute to Winslow Homer"

2010-02-02T10:57:00.002-05:00

I guess I could call it the winter humdrums. After several landscapes I needed to brake away from the norm and try something out of my comfort zone that would challenge me as well as entertain me. I wasn't trying to reproduce this painting (Apple Picking, 1878) exactly (as if I could) but use my limited talents in this simple likeness. Homer used opaque water colors (gouche) to create a painting that was very dark so th sunlight striking the bonnets and folds of clothing would stand out. I've always appreciated this painting and am happy with my results. I'm going to frame it today and my wife already has a spot on the wall for it.

1-18-10 "January 1st. #2"

2010-01-18T19:10:00.002-05:00

Last fall we took a road trip over to Pella, Iowa to look at some preserved door and window trim in an old farm house that was going to be torn down. The owners were selling the woodwork and we were interested. While I was there I snapped some photos of the house knowing it would be torn down in a few short months. This is a likeness of it at dusk on a snowy evening.
Water color 9x12 $45.00,
Matted, shipping $4.00

painting in progress

2010-01-13T21:35:00.002-05:00

Water color can be transparent or opaque, it all depends on the whim of the painter. I use to try to keep my work transparent but anymore I don't even try to follow that path. I paint any old way I want.

1-7-10 "A Country Winter"

2010-01-07T16:56:00.002-05:00

Once in a while I'll pull an old painting out of the closet, look at it in a whole new way and start to make changes. Thats what happened to this winter scene. It needed some deletions, some additions, and some TLC. It is actually not as deep blue as the photo shows it to be.

Above is the close up of the barn.

Above is the close up of the cardinals on the tree and fence.

25x30 water color
Not For Sale

1-2-10 "New Years Day #1"

2010-01-02T22:03:00.002-05:00

This will be a winter to remember in Iowa as the snow falls, blizzards blow, and the temperature drops. This idyllic winter farm scene is just what a farmer might see as looks out his back room window to check out the snow fall.
Water color 9x12
$45.00, Matted, shipping $4.00

work in progress

2009-12-29T19:22:00.001-05:00

I'm starting another two or three winter scenes.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T13:01:00.003-05:00

This Christmas day painting is a gift that I gave to my daughter as a wedding gift back in 2001 and seeing we are stranded here in Nebraska for an extended period of time due to a major snowstorm/blizzard I am using it as my blog entry today. I may have posted this before so here is a chance to enjoy it all over again!

12-13-09 "Three's Company"

2009-12-13T23:19:00.002-05:00

This painting took me around the block and back again! At first I didn't like the trees in the background, then the sky, then I took the red out of the barns, then I put it back in with more of a orange-red color, and then I added the cattle after I thought I was finished. And now it has turned out just as I wanted it too.

Water color, 9x12

$30.00 plus $4.00 shipping

work in progress

2009-12-08T10:48:00.001-05:00

Today we have the first heavy snow fall of the year and I am painting a summer scene! Oh well, paint away.

11-29-09 "The Red Shed"

2009-11-29T15:14:00.003-05:00

This is a typical scene that you might see as you drive down any rural road in southern Iowa. A farm had need of many barns or "sheds"; hog shed, chicken coup, calf shed, grainery, amoung many others. The farthest rolling hill in the background is a corn field ready for the combine to harvest the grain.

11-21-09 "Grandson's Leaves"

2009-11-21T11:12:00.002-05:00

I gathered some leaves for the grandsons to jump and play in and it turned ou to be a great afternoon. When the fun time was over I brought into the house three of the best leaves for me to begin some drawings. The contrast betwen the large yellow leaf and the purplish background work well together.

work in progress

2009-11-13T10:07:00.002-05:00

I can't avoid leaves! They are everywhere in our yard and I must mulch them and put them on the garden.

11-7-09 "Country Beauty"

2009-11-07T10:34:00.004-05:00

We took our grandson to a local pumpkin patch and there I discovered this lovely home and all these flowers. The flower beds had taken over everthing and were bursting from their bounderies and spilling out into the walks. SOLD

work in progress

2009-10-29T10:52:00.001-04:00

I've been concentrating on barns for quite a while so I figured it was time for a white house.

10-14-09 "December Evening"

2009-10-14T22:05:00.002-04:00

Cold evenings are part of my childhood memories. Walking from the barn to the house on a well worn path. Walking up from the woods after checking all my muskrat traps. All the time keeping an eye on the setting sun to make it in before it got really cold after the sun finally set over the horizen.

10-6-09 "The Old Red Tractor"

2009-10-06T09:36:00.002-04:00

The next time you drive from Indianola to Des Moines on Hwy 65 you might see this farm on the west side of the road. It was a clear, crisp morning when I got this shot and I feel I caught the moment pretty good.

Painting with Grandpa

2009-10-04T21:00:00.003-04:00

As I was working on my latest painting little Sammy wanted to "help out". He sat on my lap for about four minutes but lost interest when he realized there was nothing in front of him he could touch.

work in progress

2009-10-01T22:19:00.001-04:00

This painting is about half finished and coming along just fine.

9-26-09 "An Iowa Sunset"

2009-09-26T20:57:00.002-04:00

This time of year the sunsets on the western horizon are an absolute blaze of orange, reds, and yellows. To try capture them is a challenge.

This painting I started and finished within two and one half hours.

Watercolor, guache, acrylic

8x10 matted

$25.00 free shipping

2009-09-06T18:49:00.003-04:00

There are times in the winter when there is a sense of warmth and this painting conveys that feeling. There is no wind to bring cutting breezes and the tempurature has actually gotten above 32 degrees so many-a-times we can make it to the barn in just a flannel shirt.

8X10 water color painting

matted, free shipping

SOLD

8-28-09 Heavy Snowfall

2009-08-28T22:07:00.003-04:00

I started this little painting before the art show...but...wasn't able to get back to it because of the Iowa State Fair and a family vacation. Oh well, I have a dozen excuses.

This barn is just a typical barn set 150 feet off the road that I've overlooked a dozen times. But I start to play with the drawing and change the seasons and it comes together.

SOLD

Getting Ready for the Art Show

2009-07-26T21:44:00.003-04:00

This first image is to demonstrate how messy things can get when I start to matte and frame for the show coming up on Satrday.

This is a long and narrow landscape that I've had around for a while but no frame to put it in. I finally got a frame and matted it as you can see above and now its ready. I usually matte my paintings for shows in a white over black just to keep it simple and uniform.

work in progress

2009-07-14T20:41:00.002-04:00

Once in a while I attempt to do two at one time to save a few minutes.

7-10-09 "Oakley Barns"

2009-07-10T22:15:00.003-04:00

Near the almost non-existant town of Oakley, IA sits this farm on the east side of the road. We stopped the car to get several photos and off we went before the owners could begin to wonder what we where doing. Soon I will be attending an art show; that means matting, framing, packing up everything, and setting up the tent. A lot of preperation.

Watercolor, 16x20

$150, free shipping in US.

work in progress

2009-06-28T22:21:00.001-04:00

I wanted to just slap the paint on the paper and get the sky and foreground in fast and furious.

This painting is about half finished. Maybe by the end of the week it will be done.

6-19-09 "Clint's Barn Revised"

2009-06-19T14:59:00.002-04:00

Here is a painting Donna has had hanging on the wall for several months and everytime I walked past it I noticed some areas that needed touching up. So when she pulled it off the wall for some redecorating I took it out of the frame and darkened the shadows, lightened the fence, added some age to the barn wood and a few other things.

Painting has been a little slow for me right now with grandsons coming and going and lots of summer house projects.

6-4-09 "Last Summer's Corn Field"

2009-06-04T20:56:00.002-04:00

Winter corn fields might look like a barren sixty or more acres but to pheasants, deer, rabbits, and a multitude of other animals it is food for months, maybe even the whole winter.

Water color 16x20

$150.00 free shipping

5-27-09 Work in Progress

2009-05-27T18:07:00.004-04:00

These are the same barns from the last post but in a different scene. Just trying to get the most mileage from one drawing. Maybe I'll have this finished in a week and ready to post.

5-18-09 "The Old Rail Fence"

2009-05-19T10:07:00.002-04:00

The painting above is the finished product and the one below was the first version. I liked the beef cattle in the first design but I couldn't get the barns, cattle, and grass to all come together in one nice painting. So--Scrap It!!!! And start over. I like the rich colors of fall in the finished painting. It was worth the extra effort.

5-9-09 "Hen Pecked"

2009-05-11T18:36:00.002-04:00

These are some chickens that I photographed as they were scratching for dinner. Have you ever watched chickens scratching the ground? They really go at it! This painting is over due for the post because our computor went on the blink- virus overload- and we had to take it to the computor hospital for an extended stay in ICU.

Not for sale

Gift to the wife for Mother's Day.

Work in Progress

2009-04-26T22:24:00.002-04:00

Sorry it has taken me so long to post this. I have been on vacation visiting my kids in Nebraska and Ohio. One chicken done, 4 more to go.

work in progress

2009-04-09T10:25:00.002-04:00

Chickens are expected on a farm so here they are! These particular birds were photographed as they were pecking away at grain that was scattered all over the ground.

4-4-09 "Sunset Near Lacona"

2009-04-04T10:26:00.003-04:00

Now, this is one of the reasons people live in the midwest: gorgeous sunsets! Trying to capture the firey colors as the sun goes down is always a challenge but worth the try. And the colors in the grasses reflect the horizen so I tried to keep that as simple as possible.

Water color 16x20

$150.00 free shipping

work in progress

2009-03-28T10:57:00.002-04:00

I wanted to paint a dark barn against a sunset and so far it is coming out ok. The sky is very rich in color, just what I was looking for. Here in the midwest deep moving sunsets are quite common yet I try to appreciate them and take a minute to stop and pay attention to it.

3-20-09 "Chariton Cattle Farm"

2009-03-20T19:58:00.002-04:00

The farther south we go in Iowa the more we see rolling hills and beef cattle. Between the towns of Lacona and Chariton it is very hilly and you see those dark cows grazing along the pastures.

Water color, 16x20

$150.00 free shipping

3-12-09 "Warren County in February"

2009-03-13T11:46:00.002-04:00

Paintings are a strange thing. The unfinished version of this sat for almost a week. Just the sky was painted in but I didn't like it and the more I looked at it the more I wanted to redo it. Finally I said to myself "Self, you can't wreck it more than it is so just see what happens!" The more I painted the more I liked it and the sky was the perfect backdrop for this rural scene.

Water color, 16x20

$150.00 free shipping

work in progress

2009-03-07T22:11:00.002-05:00

I pass this house and buildings each Sunday morning on the way to church and have been waiting for just the right time when the sun was illuminating it's left side. My goal is for that side of the house to be the only part of the painting lit by the sun.

2-27-09 "Early Morning Flight"

2009-02-27T13:45:00.002-05:00

I haven't been adding animals and such to my farm scenes in quite a while and my family pointed out they needed some "life". The geese that fly over farms in the fall heading south are a sure sign winter is on the way.

Water color, 16x20

$150.00 free shipping

work in progress

2009-02-20T14:25:00.002-05:00

I've added several white barns to set against the dark trees on the horizen. Notice the flock of geese making their way across the sky. The foreground needs to be put in and the painting will be done.

work in progress

2009-02-14T16:19:00.002-05:00

I laid in this sky with a opaque white. It really smoothes out the paint and allows me go back into it and rework particular areas that I'm not happy with.

2-7-09 "The Perfect Sky"

2009-02-07T11:30:00.002-05:00

This little painting I finished in one evening this past weekend. I put the sky and foreground in the first evening then the buildings, trees, and finishing touches the next. The camera seems to have washed out the lighter grasses in the pasture so I'm either going to retake the photo or darken the light colored grasses.

Watercolor, 8x10

$50.00, free shipping

work in progress

2009-01-31T10:49:00.002-05:00

I've been trying to work out some vivid color lately so here is the start of a bright painting. Sometimes at sunset the sky is layered with the horizen being orange, yellow, blue-gray, then blue. It's beautiful in nature but hard to capture on paper.

1-23-09 "Country Roads"

2009-01-23T14:05:00.002-05:00

You never know what you might see when you look down a country road. We are so use to taking the same route to and from where we need to go that we don't see the special scenes that await us on the not-so-traveled roads.

8x10, Watercolor

$50.00, free shipping

work in progress

2009-01-17T22:18:00.002-05:00

Here is a fun painting to design and paint. Roads that lead into a painting seem so natural but must be placed just right or they don't seem to fit so I take pictures once and a while of just roads and tractor trails through fields.

1-11-09 "Heavy Snow II" (Acrylic)

2009-01-11T17:14:00.002-05:00

Here is the same location as the previous post but done in acrylic. I like the finish of acrylics and am trying to get my watercolors to have some of the characteristics of acrylics but still have the ease of watercolors that I'm use to.

Acrylic on canvas board, 8x10

$50.00, free shipping

1-05-09 "Heavy Snow"

2009-01-05T14:00:00.002-05:00

There is a lot of cool blue in this painting but the red of the barns warms it up nicely. The well warn lane leads your eye right into the painting.

Watercolor, 8x10

$50.00, Free shipping

work in progress

2009-01-01T10:29:00.002-05:00

Here is a good example of my process of working on two paintings at one time. The one on the right is the watercolor and the one on the left is acrylic on canvas board. I'll show them both seperately as I finish them. My family likes the watercolor better but I prefer the acrylic, probably because it's somethng new for me.

12-28-08 "After the Ice Storm (Acrylic)"

2008-12-28T14:22:00.003-05:00

This painting may look like a duplicate of the last post and it is but it isn't. It was done in acrylic on canvas. I looked at it as an experiment and had a good time doing it.

Which style do you like better? The watercolor or the acrylic?

Acrylic on canvas, 8x10

$50.00, free shipping

12-26-08 "After the Ice Storm"

2008-12-26T23:46:00.002-05:00

We had a severe ice & snow storm just before Christmas and I was inspired to capture the moment once things settled down. Ice hung from all the tree limbs and covered the snow drifts making each step crunch. This is December in the midwest, or as they say in Iowa the "middlewest".

Watercolor, 5x7

$50.00, free shipping

12-13-09 "A winter night in Iowa"

2008-12-13T23:05:00.002-05:00

At the Christmas art show in Milo the paintings that sold were mostly winter scenes like the one above. They are simple scenes but full of emotion that speak to the heart.

Again, this painting is a mix of watercolor, gouche, and acrylics that come together to work perfectly on a winter scene.

Watercolor, 8x10

$50.00, free shipping

work in progress

2008-12-09T13:54:00.003-05:00

The previous post's painting has been scrapped because I couldn't make the composition work out. This painting I started Sunday evening after church and will try to finish it by the end of the week.

I have had a very busy month trying to get our house ready for snow fall and I barely made it in time. The snow came before Thanksgiving and hasn't left yet.

Last Saturday we attended an Arts and Crafts show here in our little town of Milo and had the best show of the year. I sold several paintings and prints.

work in progress

2008-11-03T14:02:00.004-05:00

Obviously I'm looking for a sunset on the horizen. That's easy enough but how to put in the correct shadows and foreground for that time of day is always a challenge.

8-28-08 "After the Snow Storm"

2008-10-28T11:41:00.002-04:00

There are times when the sky seems heavy and loaded with snow, ready to touch the ground. I've seen that effect during many snow storms. You'll se it when there is a lull in the storm but more is on the way.

Original water color, 5x7

$50.00, free shipping

work in progress

2008-10-22T13:48:00.002-04:00

I'm still working on a winter theme and the weather here in Iowa is reminding me old man winter is on his way. The lower painting is the first washes of the sky and the top painting has a cut out of a couple of barns. Sometimes I use a cut out to get the placement right.

10-18-08 "Comin' up from deer hunting"

2008-10-18T10:15:00.003-04:00

SOLD

Some days we wonder what we are doing outside in the bad weather but that's where a lot of hunters find themselves and a lot of farmers are also deer hunters. November is the perfect time for hunting. Many evenings like this one presented this view of my neighbors farm as I walked home after hunting. I like the cold, stark atmosphere this painting conveys.

Watercolor, 5x7

Back at it!

2008-10-13T10:38:00.004-04:00

I just started to paint with no real idea or real location in mind. I haven't done something like that in several years. Usually work from a real scene somewhere but not this time. The finished painting will probably be a snowfall scene. I've been working on house projects so much lately that the blog has had to suffer.

9-21-08 Trial and Error

2008-09-21T17:00:00.002-04:00

Does this painting look a little different than what Ive been doing lately? It's all acrylic. Fall is on the way or maybe here by the looks of the fields here in Iowa and I wanted this painting to look like the fields are just starting to turn colors.

I left my camera at my son's home for a week and a half so that put me out of commission for posting.

work in progress

2008-09-03T11:31:00.002-04:00

Here is a project in acrylics. As you can see the acrylic paint goes down heavier and more opaque than water colors. The sky is done but the foreground and landscape around the barns needs some imagination. We'll see!

8-26-08 "Allerton's Round Barn"

2008-08-27T12:17:00.002-04:00

This is the completed painting of Allerton, IA's round barn. That small community is trying to preserve this barn, a one room school house, and a large victorian house on a museum property. I usually don't show the painting in the frame but I thought some of you might want to see how it is matted and framed.

2008-08-17T22:44:00.002-04:00

It's probably obvious I've had a major slow-down in producing paintings. Making paintings feeds on itself. In otherwords the more you paint the more you want to paint and the more you find time to paint. But once you brake that cycle it's hard to get that bike back on the road and head down the trail again. I had three artshow weekends in a row where I only completed one painting and now there are home repairs that must be made or I'll be fixing the porch and such while the snow flakes are falling around me. That's not appealing at all! I'll sit down at my art table this week and start another painting. I'm real tempted to branch out into something new, what I don't know. We'll see what the fall brings.

work in progress

2008-08-15T10:29:00.002-04:00

Here is a painting of the round barn in Allerton, IA that I painted last year but in the 5x7 size. This painting will fit a 16x20 frame and hopefully be an improvement of the first one. The sky started out with a lot of big, puffy, billowing clouds. Yet, I couldn't make them look right so I smoothed them over and you see what I come up with. Maybe this is better in that they don't over power the white of the barn.

7-31-08 "A Nice Summer Afternoon"

2008-07-31T13:06:00.004-04:00

Well here is the finished painting with its corrections! The fence row making its way over the rolling landscape leads the eye to the barn just as it should. This painting has much more appeal than the previoius rendition.

water color, 16x20

$200, shipping included

work in progress - adjustments

2008-07-25T10:11:00.002-04:00

The lower photo shows a painting I had completed in November of 07 but was never really satisfied with it so this week I took it out of the frame and gave it a stronger foreground and some fall foilage to the bare tree limbs. I'm not finished yet but will add a fence somewhere and a 'v' of ducks in the sky heading south for the winter.
The blogging has been neglected for several days as I was getting ready for the art show last weekend and this weekend there is another show in Indianola. There should be a large crowd because the National Balloon Classic is going on at the same time.

Brown's Chapel Road

2008-07-11T14:24:00.003-04:00

Several weeks ago we went yard-saling around the country side and drove past this farm. Everything seemed to be in place perfectly and the composition needed little improvement.

I'm scheduled to be in two art shows this month, one in August, and have been asked to be the guest artist at another show in August. I like to keep busy but this just might get me worn out.

Watercolor $225

work in progress

2008-07-04T20:04:00.002-04:00

It may look like these barns are floating on a brown pond but once I'm done the small barn to the right will be set back with a windmill at its side. The two close up barns and grasses will lead the eye to the focal point .

6-30-08 "Carsonville Barn"

2008-06-30T14:28:00.003-04:00

Several years ago when I dropped off my daughter at a friends home I parked the car in the driveway looking right at this barn and silo. I had my sketch pad with me and quickly scketched this scene but did not take any pictures for a color reference. This painting medium is my special egg tempera mix. The finished painting has a rich, thicker texture than water color and dries with a nice glossly look.

$225, watercolor

16x20, shipping included

check or money order accepted

work in progress

2008-06-25T14:14:00.003-04:00

This work in progress is a larger version of a 5x7 that I finished some time last year. With all that needs to be done after moving into a new home I'm finding it hard to make time to paint and post but I'm sure things will get back to normal before long.

6-17-08 "Wisconsin Dell"

2008-06-17T10:56:00.004-04:00

Here again is a Wisconsin farm scene given to me from a friend who grew up in that farming state. Her dad had a marvelous round barn that was huge. Maybe I can paint that scene sometime in the future. In this painting the sky is loose and summer like and the viewer is just waiting to walk up the fence row to the barn and house.

16x20" Original Watercolor
$225, free shipping
To purchase this painting, please email me at: sgibsonart@hotmail.com
I accept Money Orders or personal checks and ship to US only.

work in progress

2008-06-13T01:03:00.003-04:00

This painting is coming off a little more loose than most that I have done lately. Sometimes a change is good. I don't have to worry and try to make the sky perfect, the buildings perfect, the grass perfect, etc. You get it. We finally got high speed internet here in Iowa, it took a while but things move slow here.