“Botkin Hill,” contemporary landscape painting

© Carolee Clark, “Botkin Hill,” 10″ x 10″ x 3/4″, acrylic

“Botkin Hill”
by Carolee Clark
10″ x 10″ x .75″
acrylic on wrapped canvas
$125 (shipping and handling included within US)

Click here for larger image

Contemporary portrait painting of a horse, “Grace”

© Carolee Clark, “Grace,” acrylic, 10″ x 10″

“Grace”    sold
by Carolee Clark
10″ x 10″ x 3/4″
acrylic on wrapped canvas

Contemporary dog portrait painting “Plays Well With Others”

© Carolee Clark, “Plays Well With Others,” acrylic, 12″ x 12″ x 1.5″

“Plays Well With Others”
by Carolee Clark
12″ x 12″ x 1.5″
acrylic on wrapped canvas
$250 (plus $15 shipping and handling within US)

Click here for larger image.

© Carolee Clark “Plays Well With Others Sketch” ink

Contemporary boat painting “Off Season”

© Carolee Clark, “Off Season,” acrylic, 10″ x 10″

“Off Season” sold
by Carolee Clark
10″ x 10″ x 3/4″
acrylic on wrapped canvas

This painting is a submission for the Virtual Paint Out blog. The area of concentration this month is Greenland. Here is the Google street view link.

Contemporary landscape painting “Ryals Lane”

© Carolee Clark, “Ryals Lane,” acrylic, 18″ x 24″ x 1.5″

“Ryals Lane”    sold
by Carolee Clark
18″ x 24″ x 1.5″
acrylic on wrapped canvas

I gave a talk to a high school art class the other day on being a professional artist.  I hope the students enjoyed it as I know that I did.

One of the things that I said was that as we continue to paint, our style cannot help but change and that I’m not even sure that I could paint how I did a few years ago.  I first painted this painting in 2008 and no longer have the photo of it back then.  Then I worked on it again about four years later and finally again this weekend.

Below is the photo of how it looked before I worked on it over the last couple of days.  I feel the new version is less jarring, more peaceful.  The golden hill really came forward and the texture in the bushes and some of the land demanded a lot of attention as did the black areas.

© Carolee Clark

Contemporary tree painting “Companionship”

© Carolee Clark, “Companionship,” acrylic, 60″ x 48″ x 1.5″

“Companionship”    sold
by Carolee Clark
60″ x 48″ x 1.5″
acrylic on wrapped canvas

This is the second painting I have finished recently from reference photos that I took while walking in MacDonald Forest in Corvallis, Oregon.

I’ve included a couple of photographs of it hanging on a wall in my house too.   (Note:  the wall outlet is 4.5″ x 2.75″).   In the second photo you can see how I’ve continued the image around the edge of the canvas.

© Carolee Clark, “Companionship” hanging on the wall, 48″ x 60″ x 1.5″, acrylic

© Carolee Clark, “Companionship” hanging on the wall, side view

 

Contemporary tree painting “Entanglements”

© Carolee Clark, “Entanglements,” 60″ x 48″ x 1.5″

“Entanglements”
by Carolee Clark
60″ x 48″ x 1.5″
acrylic on wrapped canvas
$5000 (plus $400 shipping and handling within the US)

Click here for larger image.

There are some beautiful trees where I enjoy walking in MacDonald Forest at the end of Oak Creek Drive.  I have taken some photographs of them.  They are huge!

This is the largest painting I have ever finished.  We hung it in the living room so that I could photograph it on the wall and it made the 4′ x 3′ painting that had been hanging there look very small indeed.

It is raining and quite dark today so I had to turn on every light I could which made the light look a warm yellow.

© Carolee Clark

© Carolee Clark

 

Contemporary landscape painting “Ribbon Ridge”

© Carolee Clark, “Ribbon Ridge,” acrylic, 14″ x 14″ x 1.5″

“Ribbon Ridge”
by Carolee Clark
14″ x 14″ x 1.5″
acrylic on wrapped canvas
$350  (plus $20 shipping & handling within the US)

Click here for larger image.

I had done some sketches and smaller painting studies of this scene from a winery in Yamhill County a few years ago.  These were the fields beyond the winery on which I focused.

Contemporary landscape painting “Finley Pond”

© Carolee Clark, “Finley Pond,” acrylic, 24″ x 30″ x 1.5″

“Finley Pond”
by Carolee Clark
24″ x 30″ x 1.5″
acrylic on wrapped canvas
$1260 (plus $75 shipping with the US)

Click here for larger image.

Last month, I did a commission for a collector who wanted a painting similar to one I had done previously. He requested a few alterations to the original and a smaller size. I was happy to give it a go. I liked his finished painting so much that I altered the original.

I had received feedback about the trees looking scary and dead (okay winter does remove the leaves) but they all had a point. I don’t want to paint dead and scary … I’m all about happy!

I wish I knew who first said that a painting isn’t finished until it is sold.  That is so totally true.  If you know, please leave a comment!

Below is the original and the sketch.

© Carolee Clark, acrylic, 24″ x 30″ x 1.5″

© Carolee Clark

Contemporary goat painting “Buddy”

© Carolee Clark, “Buddy,” acrylic, 10″ x 10″

“Buddy”  sold
by Carolee Clark
10″ x 10″ x 3/4″
acrylic on wrapped canvas

Thanks for permission to use the photograph L!

Contemporary figure painting of a runner “Runner’s High”

© Carolee Clark, “Runner’s High,” acrylic, 10″ x 10″

“Runner’s High”   sold
by Carolee Clark
10″ x 10″ x 3/4″
acrylic on wrapped canvas

Contemporary landscape painting, “Sunflower Garden”

© Carolee Clark, “Sunflower Garden,” acrylic, 10″ x 10″

“Sunflower Garden”    sold
by Carolee Clark
10″ x 10″ x 3/4″
acrylic on wrapped canvas

This was started on site at Peoria Farmer’s Market a few weeks ago.  I finally had time to get back and finish it.

Contemporary landscape painting “Salt in the Air”

© Carolee Clark, “Salt in the Air,” acrylic, 10″ x 10″

“Salt in the Air”    sold
by Carolee Clark
10″ x 10″ x 3/4″
acrylic on wrapped canvas

This painting is a study for a larger one that I am doing.  The form factor is going to be different so I did a sketch for the study, the small painting and another sketch for the large one.  I’m painting the large one right now.

Below are the sketches for both paintings.  You might notice that I don’t adhere to my original sketch but make changes as I move through the painting process.  Painting the small one helps me to come to some decisions before I do a larger one and hopefully waste less paint!

© Carolee Clark, sketches for “Salt in the Air”

Large contemporary painting of birch trees “Birch Banter Echo” completes diptych

© Carolee Clark, “Birch Banter Echo,” acrylic, 36″ x 36″ x 1.5″

“Birch Banter Echo”    sold
by Carolee Clark
36″ x 36″ x 1.5″
acrylic on wrapped canvas

I loved the first “Birch Banter” painting that I did and was very excited to do a sister painting to expand the experience.  If you are planning to do a diptych I would suggest doing it all at once rather than one at a time, but sometimes one doesn’t know that the urge will be there to do another one.

Here they are together.  I’m hoping to sell them as a set but they do work as well separately.

© Carolee Clark, “Birch Banter” and “Birch Banter Echo”, acrylic, 36″ x 72″ of painted canvas

Contemporary landscape painting with a flour mill and pond, “Mill Pond”

© Carolee Clark, “Mill Pond,” acrylic, 30″ x 30″ x 1.5″

“Mill Pond”
by Carolee Clark
30″ x 30″ x 1.5″
acrylic on wrapped canvas
$1575 (plus $78 shipping & handling within the US)

Click here for larger image.

I did a small painting of this a few weeks ago (Thompson Mill Pond) and liked it so much I wanted to paint it larger.

Contemporary landscape painting “Peoria Road”

© Carolee Clark, “Peoria Road,” acrylic, 10″ x 10″

“Peoria Road”    sold
by Carolee Clark
10″ x 10″ x 3/4″
acrylic on wrapped canvas

This painting was started on the site of Rohner’s Warehouse on Peoria Road. It is the second painting that I have posted from this site.  This is the view of their neighbors looking north.

I still have to paint their dog 🙂

Contemporary landscape painting of a farm landscape “West Hills Farm”

© Carolee Clark, “West Hills Farm,” acrylic, 30″ x 24″ x 1.5″

“West Hills Farm”
by Carolee Clark
30″ x 24″ x 1.5″
acrylic on wrapped canvas
$1260 (plus $75 shipping & handling within the US)

Click here for larger image.

I pass this farm about five days a week and for the last few weeks they have had these huge hay bales in the field.  I really wanted to paint the scene before the bales are removed so I finally took a few photos and did some sketching.

I did something different than my usual procedure and worked on a colorful under-painting.  One occasionally gets some interesting surprises doing it this way.  I sketched with black gesso on top of this.

© Carolee Clark, Under-painting for “West Hills Farm,” acrylic, 30″ x 24″

Contemporary painting of a tractor “Rugged Good Looks”

© Carolee Clark, “Rugged Good Looks,” acrylic, 10″ x 10″

“Rugged Good Looks”    sold
by Carolee Clark
10″ x 10″ x 3/4″
acrylic on wrapped canvas

I was asked to paint a tractor recently and I couldn’t get that idea out of my mind so I jumped right in while I was excited.  This is a tractor that I encountered on one of my forays to paint outside last year.  The kind folks at Borgo Pass Winery let us tromp through their property to find inspiration and paint.  I had sketched this tractor while on site and this is the second time I have painted it.

Large contemporary painting of birch trees “Birch Banter”

© Carolee Clark, “Birch Banter,” acrylic, 36″ x 36″ x 1.5″

“Birch Banter”    sold
by Carolee Clark
36″ x 36″ x 1.5″
acrylic on wrapped canvas

I did a companion piece (Birch Banter Echo) for this one.  It also measures 36″ x 36″ x 1.5″.  Here they are together.

© Carolee Clark, “Birch Banter” and “Birch Banter Echo”, acrylic, 36″ x 72″ of painted canvas

Contemporary painting of Boston Mills building “The Grist Mill”

© Carolee Clark, “The Grist Mill,” acrylic, 10″ x 10″

“The Grist Mill”
by Carolee Clark
10″ x 10″ x 3/4″
acrylic on wrapped canvas
$125 (shipping included within US)

Click here for larger image.

Another painting started on site at Boston Mills State Heritage Site in Shedd, OR.  It is an old flour mill which was built in 1863 and continued to operate until 2002.

Contemporary landscape with a building painting “Lazy Afternoon”

© Carolee Clark, “Lazy Afternoon,” acrylic, 10″ x 10″

“Lazy Afternoon”    sold
by Carolee Clark
10″ x 10″ x 3/4″
acrylic on wrapped canvas

A few weeks ago I was painting at Finley Wildlife Refuge.  This is the second painting that was started at this location.  It is the Cabell Lodge which was built circa 1912 and is now used by the headquarters office for the Willamette Valley National Wildlife Refuge.

The little black cat I added for a touch more life as I didn’t see anyone else around and it seemed a shame that such a fine building didn’t have a little more activity.

Contemporary landscape painting “Talking Waters”

© Carolee Clark, “Talking Waters,” acrylic, 10″ x 10″

“Talking Waters”    sold
by Carolee Clark
10″ x 10″ x 3/4″
acrylic on wrapped canvas

This was another “Vistas & Vineyards” site.  Talking Water Gardens is an engineered treatment wetlands and has only been open for about two years but is already quite spectacular in what it does and its beauty.  In a few years the oak trees which are tiny at present, will provide more shade and cooling.  The water that flows through the 50 acre site is treated waste water but needs further cooling before being discharged.

It was my first time at the site and I was very impressed.

Contemporary landscape painting “Woodpecker Loop Trail”

© Carolee Clark, “Woodpecker Loop Trail,” acrylic, 10″ x 10″

“Woodpecker Loop Trail”    sold
by Carolee Clark
10″ x 10″ x 3/4″
acrylic on wrapped canvas

I finally made it to a “Vistas & Vineyards” outing last week and the weather couldn’t have been more beautiful.  This is a plein air group that goes out once a week from May 15 to October 15th to paint on location.  We went to Finley Wildlife Refuge and I started this painting on site, finishing it in the studio.  I actually did a lot of sketching too!

Cropping a painting, sometimes less is more, sometimes not

© Carolee Clark, “Late Summer,” detail, acrylic on paper, 7″ x 7″

One of my favorite things to do is go through old paintings and get rid of them.  Clear out clutter to make room for new things.   It is cathartic and feels wonderful.

It also gives me new ideas.  I’ll look at a painting in a new way since I usually haven’t seen the piece in a while and I’ve released my attachment to it.

These old paintings don’t actually take up much room as they are on paper, but they do take my time and energy.  They take time when I am looking through them for a particular piece or when I am cleaning or moving things.

I started ripping up this painting (full sheet, acrylic on paper, circa 2005) and realized that I liked the half that I was holding.  Then I took a little 7″ x 7″ frame and separated this core of the painting.

Which do you like better, the cropped piece or the half sheet?  I do have an opinion, but I’d love to hear what you think!

© Carolee Clark, “Late Summer,” acrylic on paper, 22″ x 16″

This final version is from Susan Brehm’s suggestion which might be the best crop yet!

© Carolee Clark, “Late Summer” 22″ x 7″

 

Contemporary landscape painting “Namaste Vineyards”

© Carolee Clark, “Namaste Vineyards,” acrylic, 10″ x 10″

“Namaste Vineyards”    sold
by Carolee Clark
10″ x 10″ x 3/4″
acrylic on wrapped canvas

This painting was done in response to the DPW challenge posted by Bhavani Krishnan.  She took a photograph of Namaste Vineyards just outside of Dallas, Oregon.  This is practically in my back yard!

Thank you Bhavani!