Morning Gossips by James McKew

Morning Gossips

Painting No. 7-D-13

8"x 8" oil on canvas panel

James McKew

The weather has been getting hotter everyday. I drove to Arches National Park this morning and painted at the Courthouse parking lot. I got there 10 minutes before a tour bus full of visitors from China arrived. It was a little dis-arming to have 50-60 people crowd in behind you to watch as you paint and take your photo, but it's part of being in the Park. After they left I met a nice father, mother and daughter from Shanghai. The father also paints, so we talked about art through his daughter....kinda fun.
This is always a great morning location and every time I paint the gossips I see something new.

April Showers

April Showers

James McKew

Painting No. 5-D-13

8"x 8" oil on canvas

Rain settled into the Moab region this morning with localized heavy showers. In the early afternoon I drove north of town to a favorite sky location and painted this study in about an hour.

Sticking It Out

            I headed up Potash Road on Tuesday afternoon, scouting painting locations. It was partly cloudy and fairly warm when I left the gallery. As I drove I noticed our old friend the wind was picking up. I was determined to paint, regardless.

            I’ve found that when wind is an issue, I can get at least some deflection by parking my vehicle facing the prevailing wind, open the back, set up the French easel kind of low, and sit on the back bumper to paint. On this day, I also hung an old blanket partly attached to a rear window wiper to shade my painting surface from direct sunlight.

            The wind started playing tricks on me, shifting directions and getting down right chilly. The sun went behind a now overcast sky, depriving me of strong light and shadow contrast, but I was determined to stick it out and managed to produce this little 6”x8” of “Jug Handle Arch”.

Jug Handle Arch

6"x 8" oil on canvas panel

Tim Morse

Still-Life: Oaxaca Pot

Pottery Study #1

Painting No. 3-D-13

6"x 6" oil on canvas panel

James McKew

 

When the weather turns bad, the last couple of days it has snowed and rained, we often stay indoors and create small still-life paintings. This is a small Oaxaca pot that is for sale in the gallery which makes for a nice subject.

Arches National Park

Balancing Act

8"x 8" oil on canvas

James McKew

2013

Arches National Park is one of the premiere plein air painting destination in the world.

Tim Morse and James McKew are lucky enough to paint here nearly everyday that the weather is good. This painting is a typical scene in Arches; in particular, this is the east side of Ham Rock, near The Garden of Eden, and was painted in the warm afternoon sunlight.