georgia

I got married yesterday! And during the day beforehand, I got to hang out on the square in Madison, GA with Dorian and do a plein air piece. It was a lot of fun getting to paint with him again, and many of the guests of the wedding stopped by to hang out with us. The wedding turned out perfect and now I'm very happy to have Kate as my beautiful wife. The painting is of some storefronts on the town square. The warm light that hit the building really caught my eye.

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One of the many fine things about the Chattahooche River is that you get to call it "The Hooch". You also can enjoy it within the Perimeter of Atlanta (I-285). Today was a great day to be out there. Kate and our bluetick Illy joined me for a fun day hanging on a little beach area in the Chattahoochee National Recreation Area. There were several families and dozens of dogs for Illy to meet and charm with her easy going hound dog personality. I was able to catch her in a typical pose of hers while wading around.

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I was able to go out to the park and do a quick 5x7 oil sketch of a tree. I took my hound dog Illy with me, who did a nice job entertaining those that came by. It was a great exercise to focus on a tree study. Painting on the smaller canvas is quite challenging. To see some awesome paintings this size, check out Marc Hanson's blog http://marchanson.blogspot.com. He just completed a painting marathon that is very impressive. I'm going to take a workshop of his later this month, and I'm excited to get to learn from him.

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For the second time this year, I found myself painting in a swamp (see post Eauxil Painting for the first). These are the only two times I have ever painted in a swamp. In any situation, oil painting demands that you simplify the subject matter. When you look at what you have to simplify when painting in the swamp, it almost feels like you have a gun to your head. Which, in some swamps, might actually happen if you venture too far off the beaten path. I also did a quick watercolor sketch from the campsite.

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I took off work today and went back to Madison (and I'm about to leave to go camping in the Okefenokee Swamp in a few minutes). It paid off, as the sun was out and it was great. I had to capture the light I wanted quickly, as it was changing rapidly. It is nice painting the same subject so many times in a short period. Certain things come very quickly, which allows me to focus on the areas I want to improve.

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Okay, ready for another challenge to plein air painting? The weather forecast. No, not the actual weather itself, but rather the predictions of what it will be. Granted, forecasting the weather in Georgia appears to be more difficult that in Texas. I went back to Madison today. This is despite a forecast of rain and thunderstorms all week. Luckily, I've learned to go anyway. And it rained just a minuscule amount at the end. A better effort than two weeks ago. I learned a lot about the colors and structure of the property.

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Mother Nature really doesn't think much about painters. It is as if her astounding beauty is worth all the crap she can throw at you as you try to enjoy it. As I've written in several posts, she likes to present all kind of obstacles to you when you paint. As if painting wasn't challenging enough. Well, I got the best of her this week. I'm getting married in June at really cool antebellum mansion turned B&B called Madison Oaks in Madison, GA. In conjunction with the event, I'm going to do several paintings of the place.

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Last Sunday wrapped up the TFAS 2008 (www.thetelephonefactoryartshow.com). Many thanks to Judge, Grant and Michelle for their hard work making it happen. Also thanks to the Fireball Collective (www.fireballcollective.com) for participating in the show with us. Also thanks to Kate for the wonderful food and to all my friends that stopped in to support the show. We had a blast and I sold several pieces.

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I love a good pasture. Sometimes, when stompin' around north Georgia it can be tough to find painting scenes. There are awesome views, however there are also a lot of trees in the way. In addition, many good views are on private property. Many of those post signs that say "Beware of Dog" or "Beware of Dale and his 12 Gauge". I went up to Amicalola Falls State Park a week ago and found one view I really liked at a nearby farm. It had a sign by it that said "Buck's Corn Maze" and I saw a truck leaving the house next to it.

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