More Plein Air Paintings...

Here are a few more plein air paintings (these things are a blast to paint) from this past summer. It is weird to think that Fall is near. Anyway, the first painting is from north of Port Hardy in British Columbia...

This next one is of Suttle Lake near Santiam Pass in Oregon...

And this last one is from the Metolius River which is near Suttle Lake on the eastern slope of the Cascades...
http://www.mathiosstudios.net/

Commissioned Painting

I haven't been on the blog much lately and for good reason. I have been working on finishing up a large 30"x40" commissioned painting (below) for a gentleman from Colorado. This sunrise scene is of his property on the South Platte River and will soon include a flock of ducks, more water detail and more foreground grasses to enhance the depth a bit more. It was inspired by my painting "First Flight" that is included in this year's Ducks Unlimited National Art Package. This second image is a detail of the upper right hand corner of the above scene . It shows the the cottonwoods and early morning mist in the background, as well as the detail included in the willows along the river.

http://www.mathiosstudios.net/

Federal Duck Stamp Entry

Here is my entry into the 2007 Federal Duck Stamp Contest which happens to be for the 75th anniversary stamp. Because of the anniversary I went for a nostalgic, old fashioned looking image that hints at the earlier, original federal duck stamps. The painting is somewhat of a risk because I have never seen an entry that looks quite like this. That means that the judges will either really like it or vote it out immediately. This year will be tougher competition than normal so hopefully the difference from the other entries will help it to stand out.
http://www.mathiosstudios.net/

Suttle Lake

This past weekend my family and I along with extended family went on a camping trip to Suttle Lake, which is located near Central Oregon near Santiam Pass. On this trip, I was able to gather a bunch of reference material for some future paintings. Two species of note were Common Mergansers (above) and Barn Swallows. With the swallows, I was able to get up close and get some great shots of four fledging birds on their nest (pictured to the right). Their mother was continually feeding them captured insects. Also, I was able to complete some more plein air paintings which will soon be added to my website. The first one that is going on the site is of Link Creek - the inlet to the lake.
http://www.mathiosstudios.net/

New Web Page

A new page has been created on mathiosstudios.net that highlights my plein air paintings. I have completed many of these paintings over the years, but only had a few available to put up on the website. Because I create them somewhat frequently more will be added as they are produced. Basically, I paint 8"x10" studies in an impressionistic style to get a good feel of an area. The colors seems to be more accurate in one of these paintings than they are with my photography. They are also a good, fun exercise as they are usually completed within an hour or two. The detail of a studio painting is lacking but the character of a landscape is usually captured. To visit this webpage you can follow this link... http://www.mathiosstudios.net/originals.html

British Columbia

I recently took an incredible trip to the Northern tip of Vancouver Island in British Columbia to do a little fishing as part of an annual family trip. The fishing was the best in years (me with 70lb. halibut pictured) and the wildlife sightings were incredible. Several future paintings will definately come from this trip as I saw plenty of black bears, numerous whale species, and lots of bald eagles and sea birds. The picture below is of a humpback whale breaching. He did this several times not too far from our boat.I had a chance to get a couple of plein air paintings done as well. The painting below is a secret spot off an island chain in Queen Charlotte Strait which is near a fantastic salmon hole. The lighting was continually changing because of some overhead clouds as was the pattern created by the breeze in the water so I had to paint fast! These paintings are fun, challenging and allow for a much looser style than my studio paintings.http://www.mathiosstudios.net/

Plein Air Paintings

On a recent trip to British Columbia I had the opportunity to get some plein air paintings done. These are quick impressionistic paintings of an area and usually capture truer colors than my camera, plus they are excellent practice.

Generations Nearly Finished

This painting is getting close to being finished. It is of my son and my dad going on my son's first duck hunting trip. The painting is called Generations because of the tradition that is being passed down. This is the same area that I grew up hunting and it was really special seeing my son walking the same road with my Dad that I had so many times. There is an earlier post about the progress of the painting in a May entry.
http://www.mathiosstudios.net/

Metolius River Camping Trip

Over this past weekend I was able to get out and get some reference shots while camping along the Metolius River in Central Oregon. This is a beautiful and unique river that emerges right out of the ground at the base of Black Butte. The weekend also included some flyfishing, a trip to the fish hatchery with the kids, and some great company. The above picture is of a merganser brood swimming upriver.

This yellow warbler made for some great shots as I was able to get fairly close in some good light. A future painting may evolve out of this one.

This mule deer doe was an adventure for my daughter and I as we spotted it from about 300 yards and snuck up to about 40 yards without disturbing her. She was absolutely thrilled by getting so close and sneaking through the grass.

http://www.mathiosstudios.net/

Have a Happy and Safe Fourth of July!!

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