Beginning of 2010

All of these paintings are done on 12" X 16" stretched canvases.  I found 2 good books on oil painting and they had these paintings in them.  I started out following the directions step by step; but, after learning some of their techniques, I decided to be selective and make my own choices of techniques to achieve the desired result.  When I began learning to paint last  year, I learned a lot from Wilson Bickford over the Internet and I've found I go back to the ways he has taught me to paint a lot of things.  I still learn the new ways, but, it is my choice as to how I go about painting.  I also learned some from Diana White in her art classes in Melrose, FL.  Diana has taught me a lot about moving water.  There  is a lot to learn about moving water and I still have a very, very far way to go with the varying water situations. 

This is my first beach scene and my first palm tree on my own.  Diana helped me with one before in my first art class with her.  This one here looks kind of weeney, without many palm fronds or limbs on it---now that I look at it after the fact. 

This is a Plein Air painting I did while painting with Diana at Gold Head State Park, near Keystone Heights, FL.  Yes, the water has dropped that much--in this lake and all those around the area.  In many places, you can see people's docks and piers way up in the air, hanging out toward a distent looking puddle of water ...way out.