"High Sentinel" 16" x 20" Palette knife oil on canvas panel. This painting is available for purchase. Contact Artist for more information.

Here are the first two steps in the development of "High Sentinel."

"Spring Alley" Oil 12" x 16"

This impressionistic painting of an alley in Littleton, CO was painted using only palette knives. The bright warm light and clear blue skies which is so characteristic of the Rocky Mountain region is vividly portrayed in this small gem of a painting.

This painting is available for purchase either framed or unframed. Contact the Artist for details.

"On Crowfoot Valley Road" 18" x 24" This was painted using a painting knife and a small liner brush for some of the tree branches. This painting is available for purchase. Contact the Artist for more information.

I begin to put the finishing touches on this painting. This is the exciting stage in the development of the painting. The difficult decision at this stage of painting is deciding when to stop!

Now I am working primarily on the buildings while also beginning to develop the foreground.

Although not finished with the background, I begin working on the mid-ground still using the painting knife.

Continuing with the painting knife I bring the sky closer to a finish and begin working on the background.

Now, switching to a painting knife I begin working on the sky.

Using a brush I begin blocking in the shapes and values.

My newest painting, "on Crowfoot Valley Road," begins with a loose drawing on a lightly toned canvas panel.

"Cottonwoods" 12" x 16" Palette knife oil on canvas panel. This painting is for sale, contact Artist for details.

This last stage of the painting is the most exciting! It is in this stage that the detail and final adjustments bring the painting to life. See previous posts to see the process that I went through to complete this painting.

I continue to let the painting "develop" as I work, not just on one area of the canvas, but on the background, middle and foreground with added emphasis on the detail of the cottonwood tree which is the focal point of the composition.

I continue with laying on paint using various sized palette knives. This stage of painting is the most challenging for me as it a process of establishing value, positive and negative spaces and color harmony while trying to pursue my initial vision of what I wanted to accomplish, but at the same time being open and receptive to letting the painting "flow" on its own.

After the block in with a #8 bright, I started painting with a palette knife.

My next step in painting "Cottonwoods" was doing a block in using a brush and oil paint thinned with turpentine.

My recently completed oil painting, "Cottonwoods," began with a burnt sienna toned canvas and a loose pencil sketch.