I was up painting in the Coalville/Hoytsville area last week. We stumbled across this bridge. The only square-ish board I had was quite small, but I sketched it in and blocked in the main shapes and the whole thing kind of fell together in front of me. Some paintings fall together, but, most do not. Bridges out in Rural areas are captivating.

I have wanted to paint this scene for almost 18 years. I took a slide from our ship in Russia but it had two men walking on this kind of beach. The canal system and rivers were way down that year and they had dredged the middle of the channels of water so large vessels could still carry all the neccessary cargo to keep Russia alive. So in some places beaches had appeared with people taking advantage of the added land and novelty.
  It's not a dramatic scene, just one I've wanted to paint for a long time.

  I have the opportunity of being one of the Artists with paintings hanging in a new home in Elk Ridge at the southeast end of Utah Valley and in another home near the Mount Timpanogas Temple. There will be several of my pieces, so if you need something to do at the beginning of this summer check it out. Go to www.utahparade.com for more info.
                                 Thanks, Steve

  Next week I am going to paint out. It has been way too long, like 3 or 4 months. I have learned to love painting in the studio, but it's probably because most of my studio paintings are painted from my pieces painted out last year. Nothing like being out there!

  I really wanted to get one of my paintings with the scene snow covered but nature wouldn't help out. There was a little snow along the side of the road so that was good enough for me. If I did this project every year for a few years it would be interesting to see the differences from year to year. I thought the leaves would have changed quicker and maybe they would in a different year. All in all I enjoyed this project and I hope you did as well.
  My next project you'll be able to check out on YouTube in the next week or so. I will keep you posted.

  There just won't be many more days as great as this and the leaves will go quickly now. I stuck some sheep in this one to have a little variety. I will probably only paint one or two more in this series. I've enjoyed it and it's way cool to sit and look at them all together. Each year the changing would varie according to the temperature and precipitation. I am trying to decide where and when to have a show where they can all be seen together. I'll keep you posted.

   
  Friday morning was the coldest day so far to paint at the end of Pages, just a few snowflakes. The leaves are changing and falling. The mountains are beginning to loose there color. There wasn't even a hint of sunshine, but that seems to bring out the colors in the trees more. I love the colors right now, they seem to set a certain peaceful mood. A mood of change.

   I went out and painted on Saturday the 24th of October and it was great! It had rained alittle during the night so the colors were wet and rich. It was somewhat challenging because the sun would peek out only for very quick moments, so trying to decide whether to paint the scene sunny or in shadow was the mystery. The air was crisp and fresh adding to the whole atmosphere. With clouds stacking up against the mountains I chose the darkened sky and the brightly sunlit tree approach. Some days it just feels Right!

  I went out Friday morning the sixteenth and the leaves had changed a ton. Now my worry is they'll all have fallen by next week. Oh well, that's why I'm doing this, to chronicle the season's change. The weather has been really comfortable and that's going to change soon. I can't wait to see what it's like next week.

 
  Well, finally there were some changes, not much in the leaves but in the scene itself. There were clouds hanging over the mountains and a hint of a mist or fog over the valley, so it added to the atmosphere. There is a hint of the leaves changing and I think the smaller bushes will be the first to go. The cattle were almost hidden in the tall grass. Anyway it was exciting to see and be able to paint just the little changes.