Hilltop Giants in Spring

Ancient conifers stand in a hillside clearing on a cool and sunny day as a faint breeze stirs their branches. It can be tricky to create a good sense of scale in a painting - how does one convey the concept of a tree that stands over 200-feet tall on a canvas less than 2-feet tall? Relative sizing works well, as does putting in extra detail - the mind reads the thick, fluted and gnarled trunks as large and ancient.

Acrylic painting: 14" x 17"

Sycamore Drive

Towering sycamores glow in the sun as afternoon shadows are cast along an old country road. The light worked out very well in this painting - the shadows from the trees on the left contrast well with the illuminated sycamores on the right, providing a feeling of late afternoon. The trees and road worked out particularly well here, and the scene has a good sense of depth to it despite not actually stretching on for miles.

Acrylic painting: 14" x 17"

May Storm in the Mountains.

It's that time of year again, when thunderstorms echo through the rolling mountains and valleys of the Appalachians. The old trees on a hilltop stand against a dark sky as the wind builds before the storms. Rolling hills are a fun subject, and once one has visited this part of the country, the place will stay with you for a lifetime.

Acrylic painting: 14" x 17"

Niagara Falls - Canadian Falls

Back in the summer of 2003, my brother and I visited Niagara Falls. This painting of the huge Canadian Falls goes along with the earlier one of the American Falls.

Acrylic Painting: 14" x 17"

Niagara Falls - American Falls

Back in late summer of 2003, my brother and I visited Niagara Falls, and it was an amazing sight and a great vacation. This bold painting is based upon a photo I toke from the Maid of the Mist boat, which passes near the base of both of the Falls.

Acrylic Painting: 14" x 17"

Golden Trees and Reflections

This autumn view was inspired by a photo in this month's WetCanvas Landscape Challenge thread. Scenes like this one are common along many of the rivers and streams in the eastern United States in the autumn since so many kinds of trees, from hickories to sycamores to tulip poplars, turn shades of copper and gold in the fall.

Acylic painting: 14" x 17"

Sycamores by the River

This painting is actually a very old one that I reworked to bring it up to my current standards. Unlike many of my old paintings, this one had a good composition and generally decent color selection, so it could be built upon and improved. The original painting was far too dark and shadowy (that was how I painted back in the day), and the water needed more detail and reflected light. Fortunately, the changes were easy to make - the old painting is shown below as a comparison.

Acrylic painting: 14" x 17"