One of my painting goals for 2019 is to work on a larger format. While I’m planning on continuing the bird series, I also want to go back and see if I can improve my landscape painting.

Plein air work is important for me to do as a type of study, but not necessarily as a finished product. I just get very overwhelmed by the big wide world and my stamina and attention span just do not lend themselves to a completed and well executed plein air piece except on very rare occasion. However, I really like painting landscapes, but in a controlled environment without wind, rain, bugs, heat, sun, and the physical pain of moving equipment around. But put me in an air conditioned studio with my own reference photos, every sort of tool and very stable lighting and I’ve got half a shot of completing something I’m happy to show to people.

So, with all of that in mind, I’m pushing forward on painting larger landscapes. They might never sell. Heck, I may not even finish them. But I’m starting a 30×30″ painting based on a photo I took of a beach. I took this one in Oregon, but it could honestly be a sunrise in Virginia as easily as it is a sunset in Oregon… so I’m thinking this is one I can play around with and not screw it up too badly (although I have thought that before and did a pretty good job of messing things up anyway). Only now, I’m doing it on a somewhat grander scale.

See the canvas on my big easel? Ken helped me stretch it yesterday morning and I got it stained around lunch time. Today I’ll get the main scene sketched in and may start laying in some of the values.