Sunshine At Rainbow Lakes

"Sunshine at Rainbow Lakes"
6"x10" Oil on Linen mounted to Gatorboard

I painted this on location in the Colorado Rockies, Northwest from Boulder, Colorado.  It is oil paint on linen which is mounted to archival gator board.  All materials are of the highest quality and it has a protective varnish applied.  I have signed the front and back.  The painting measures 6"x10" and is mounted to a 10.5"x14.5" piece of black Gatorboard.  You can frame it or display it as is.

$99 Ebay Auction:
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Autumn Harvest Plein Air Sketch

Autumn Harvest by Scott Ruthven
4"x5" Oil on hardboard

Fall is a beautiful time of year in Colorado when the sky is clear, the trees change colors and farmers harvest their crops.  This small study of Mt. Meeker and Longs Peak that I painted en plein air yesterday captures it all.  Artist Worthington Whittredge (of Hudson River School fame) painted some scenes close to this location in the late 1800's.

Afternoon In The Garden

Afternoon In The Garden by Scott Ruthven
10"x8" Oil on canvas panel

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This is another piece I painted at the Grant Humphreys mansion during the Denver Plein Air Arts Festival in 2012.

Colorado State Capitol - Plein Air

There's Gold In Your Future by Scott Ruthven
Colorado State Capitol 7"x5" Oil on Panel

I painted this picture of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver as the sun went down.  The sunlight reflecting off of the gold dome was so beautiful and warm which contrasted with the cool shadow areas beneath the trees and the constant stream of brake lights on Colfax Avenue.

Denver Plein Air Arts Fest

I've been painting in the 2012 Denver Plein Air Arts Fest over the past couple of weeks.  This is my first year and it has been pretty fun.  Artists are allowed to paint at select locations between August 10th and September 16th.   Works that are juried in to the show in November will be eligible for awards and will hang in the Vida Ellison Gallery at the Denver Central Library.  Here are a few pics from the various sites.

One paint-out was held at the world famous Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison Colorado.  I've been there at night for concerts but watching the sunrise over Denver is a spiritual experience.

Red Rocks Amphitheater at dawn

Ready to paint the sunrise at Red Rocks

One of my paintings of Red Rocks

I also decided to paint the State Capitol.  It wasn't my first choice since it is an obvious choice but I found a unique vantage point and captured the sunset glistening off the gold-covered dome.  I ended up painting by the lights from the Voorhies Memorial for an hour + after the sun set.  As it got dark, more and more homeless people started showing up.   One of them, named Bryon, said he loved my painting and though it looked photo-realistic.  Later, when discussing something else, he told me he had vision problems and could only see fuzzy shapes ;-)  That was a let down.  When I asked him if I should be worried about some of the troublesome looking folks starting to congregate he said not to worry as long as he was around he would protect me.  It was a nice gesture but he clearly didn't take into account I was armed with multiple paint brushes and cadmium pigments.

Painting the Denver State Capitol

Bryon - a friendly homeless guy who I chatted
with as I painted past dark. 

On another day we painted at the Grant-Humphreys mansion.  It's a beautiful old home and we had free reign of the grounds.  

I used the sight-size method for my drawing of the planter below.  The afternoon sun made the railings and planter glow against the dark foliage in the background.

Sight-sizing initial drawing / values
Grant-Humphreys Mansion

Planter at Grant-Humphreys Mansion

Painting at Grant-Humphreys Mansion in Denver

The mansion also has wonderful architectural details which I decided to paint a few days later.  The piece I'm working on below required some detailed drawing.  I need to go down one more time to finish the painting.  So far it looks good; I'll post pics of it later.

Drawing architectural details at Grant-Humphreys Mansion in Denver

The Bee Keeper

The Bee Keeper by Scott Ruthven
5"x7" Oil on Canvas Panel
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Here's another piece in my small, plein air barns series.  The setting sun moved quickly tonight but I was able to mass in the darks and place a few warm lights in quickly so as to capture the effect.

Road To Bobcat Ridge

Road To Bobcat Ridge by Scott Ruthven
5"x7" Oil on panel

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I was painting this about five miles South of the large High Park Wildfire currently burning here in Northern Colorado.  The area was later evacuated but has been untouched by the flames so far.  The smokey haze made for a unique atmosphere.

Journey Upstream

Journey Upstream by Scott Ruthven
5"x7" Oil on linen panel

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I set up at a nice spot along the Cache La Poudre river on Saturday and painted this scene.  I hadn't planned on painting the geese into the picture but groups of them kept making their way upstream while I worked.  When painting outside, after 30 minutes or so, the wildlife forget you are there and start coming out and doing their thing.  I have had heron, which are generally very shy, sail in and perch in the water right next to me, oblivious that I was even there.

Foothills Sunset

"Foothills Sunset" by Scott Ruthven
5"x7" Oil on panel - Varnished

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These are the foothills west of Fort Collins, Colorado.  I painted this on site as the sun was going down.  I love the warm orange light striking the back of the hills and glowing on the trees and shrubs at the top edges contrasted against the cool blues and purples at the base of the foothills.

Cool Drink

"Cool Drink" by Scott Ruthven
5"x7" Oil on panel

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I painted this on site last evening as the sun was going down.  These horses have a nice pasture with a stream and sure seemed to enjoy it.

Poudre River Plein Air Sketch

Poudre River Plein Air Sketch by Scott Ruthven 5"x7" Oil on canvas board

Hi everyone!  Here is a study I painted on site last weekend on the Poudre River in the Colorado Rockies.    The river is 90% frozen over but there are areas such as this where the cold, dark water breaks through.  The air temp was only 18 degrees F and the sky was grey overcast.  I set my easel up on the ice at the center of the river.  After two hours, I was a little cold but a couple sips of Scottish antifreeze warmed me back up ;p

Mt. Meeker en Plein Air

Mt. Meeker by Scott Ruthven - 8x10" Plein Air Oil

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Over the Christmas holiday I headed up to the Colorado mountains for some painting!  Mt. Meeker is located between Estes Park and Allen's Park along Hwy 7.  I drove into the back country until the climb and snow were too much for my car then hiked another mile to get this view. 

Old Man Johnson's Farm

"Old Man Johnson's Farm" by Scott Ruthven
5x7" Oil painted en plein air

Here's a plein air oil painting study I did of a local barn.  For me, barns represent the hard-working past generations of people that grew food on a small scale for themselves and their communities.  Of course farming is alive and well, but the industry has evolved to big business now.  I  like to capture the personalities of these old structures before our towns overtake them.

Unfortunately, some construction trailers have recently been placed on this property which is usually the first step to tear-down and development.  I'll need to capture a few more portraits of it soon.

If you like my work and blog, please click on the Facebook "Like" and "Share" buttons below so your Facebook friends can come and check it out too.  Thanks, I appreciate it.

Scott

Plein Air Fly Fishing

My trunk says a lot about what I love to do.  On any given day I load it up with everything I need to get out of doors.  There is so much to do here in Colorado and I love being out in the sunshine hiking, fishing and painting.  I usually head out with the intent to either paint or fly fish but I've been known to change my mind so I usually take along both my fly rod and pochade box.

• For plein air oil painting I have my pochade box (between the tool box and the poles) and my backpack in which I carry my tripod, paper towels, snacks and gloves.

• For fly fishing I have the fly rods of course and my waders (in the upper left corner).

On this particular day my sons Jake and Nick fished and I painted.  We hiked a half mile down to this nice spot on the river and I decided I wanted to try and capture this nice rock and it's reflection while the boys targeted some rainbow trout upstream.  Their day fishing was more successful than my painting I'm sorry to say.  Oh well, you win some and you lose some.  Chalk this one up as field practice.

Trout hunters Nick and Jake

Winter's Warmth - Framed and Ready To Ship.

Winter's Warmth 5x7" Oil on canvas board - Scott Ruthven

Well, it's Sunday and I didn't paint at all yesterday so I better get on it!  However, I did get this piece framed and thought I would show you the final product.  Since the painting is only 5x7" I decided to float it in a 6x8" frame.  This simply means that I mounted it first to a 6x8" panel painted black and then placed that into the frame.  The black panel provides a nice border between the painting and the frame and none of the painting is hidden behind the frame edges.

This ships to a collector in Oregon Monday but I hung it in my dining room for the weekend to enjoy!

Pochade Box Envy

Pochade Box by Scott Ruthven

Not sure what kind of Pochade box you want?  Well there are a lot of great options out there for you.  Whether you build one or buy one, check out the links below to get an idea of what's available.

The main decisions you will need to make are:

1. Do you want a fully integrated box complete with wet panel carrier and storage for paints and brushes or a streamlined painting support and palette with separate solutions for carrying paints and brushes.
2. What size canvas / painting supports will you want to paint on outdoors?  This will determine the size box you order or make.
3. If you make your palette / mixing surface a standard size you can insert inexpensive pre-cut glass from the home centers.  This makes mixing and clean up much easier and your palette will last longer too.

Links for ideas:

• Jim Serrett - Detailed instructions and materials list for an Open Box M style box and a wet panel carrier -  Jim Serrett's Post
• David Gluck & Katherine Stone - Simple, inexpensive, Open Box M alternative but with bear combat accessory ideas! - David's Post
• Alla Prima Pochade - Artist Ben Haggett makes and sells wonderful boxes - Ben's Video and Ben's Website for ordering
• Charley Parker at the Lines and Color Blog - Charlie has put together an extensive overview of available pochade boxes, tripods, supports, and DIY links. - Lines and Color Pochade Post
• Judson's Art Outfitters - Wide variety of rugged painting kits including the Guerrilla Box. - Judson's Web Page

Also, a search for "Pochade Box" on YouTube returns lots and lots of videos.  Before building my box I looked at many different setups and incorporated the features that fit my needs best.

Happy painting!

Scott

Frozen Brushstrokes

"Winter's Warmth" by Scott Ruthven 5"x7" Oil on Linen Panel - Painted En Plein Air

As we approach Thanksgiving here in the USA I'm thinking about all the gifts in my life.  One thing I'm so thankful for is the time I get to spend outdoors painting.  This barn really called out to me.  The air was crisp and cold but the sun made the red barn and the golden willow tree just radiate.

Photo by Scott Ruthven

This barn is set back quite a distance from the road.  With the snow coming up over my boots, I was sure happy I didn't forget anything back at the car.

Even though the temperature was quite cold, I never even thought about it while I was painting.  Painting is a wonderful meditation.

p.s.  When painting on site you can see into and paint the shadows in a scene like this.  A camera simply can't accurately portray both the bright lights from the snow and the delicate colors in the shadows when the contrast is so great.

Scott

My Homemade Pochade Box - Video

Painting en plein air forces quick decisions and makes me to paint instead of over-thinking everything.  When I decided to paint outside in earnest, I researched Pochade box options and decided I could make my own, custom box....a downside of having to be creative in every aspect of my life.  Although it took longer to make and cost more than I thought, I have a nice kit for oil painting outdoors.

Later, I'll post links to sources that inspired the design.

Let me know what you think.

Scott