"Spring Sky Over the Judiths"

"Spring Sky Over the Judiths" and "March Skies #3" (the post immediately below this one) each measure 9 x 7 inches. Both are on board panels and both were brought to their current state in one very short paint session. Both are also what I call "cold" (explained in the post appearing below this one.)
This painting was done "plein aire" outside my studio door. It's very intense painting session for about 15 minutes and then it is set aside as the sky has changed too much to continue. I enjoy working in this manner and am never disappointed with the results. Works like this are always about the paint as well as the subject.

"Hmmm. . . . ."

This is a small work in-progress. It is oil on wood panel and measures 8 inches high by 4 inches wide. It's my impression of Neko when she's thinking: "Hmmm. . . what can I get into next?"

Often I paint on small panels to "warm up" before doing anything else. And just as often, I end up liking the spontaneous quality of these small works. Always, the warm up paintings are as much about paint as they are about subject. This particular work will, no doubt, lead to more and larger works based on Neko.

The eyes at this point are simply lifted out of the blackish/brownish paint but I may decide to leave them at this stage. For me, there seems to be enough "attitude" in the gesture of the tail, head and ears. And there is a sense that the cat is lifting itself slightly on it's toes, ready to spring into action.

Neko, by the way, is a small black kitten growing into a leggy long-tailed mischievous cat who needs to know absolutely everything about everything in the whole house! Neko's fur is black, but her attitude is pure sunshine!

"Petrolia Reservoir Memory"

To create "Petrolia Reservoir Memory" paint was applied and removed several times. Each time some paint was left behind to interact with the subsequent layers. I enjoy working this way as the resulting art is as much or more about the paint as it is about anything that inspired it in the first place. Petrolia Reservoir, which shows up as "Lake" on some maps, is located southeast of Winnett (east of Lewistown.) This painting is 5 x 7 inch.