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I really love Arkansas! Once I crossed the Mississippi river and Missouri, there was a southern vibe I have never experienced. Armadillos, Cotton Fields, and miles and miles of wheat! Much of the landscape is flat, so I can see for miles and miles.

For my first plein air painting, I chose a giant grain silo. Agriculture is such a big part of this area, and with the land being so flat, the grain silos tower over the towns. I decided to stop in in the town of Corning to paint their grain silo because of the muted primary colors: red, yellow and blue.

I wanted to make a painting to capture the flat landscape of the Mississippi floodplains. Coming from the hills of Kentucky; flat earth takes a little getting used to. Once again, i tried to zoom in, and paint the little farm, far off in the distance

It was a whirlwind trip, but my first time that far west on Us Route 62-I’m looking forward to returning soon to get to know it better and make more art!

Ive been busy today, doing non art chores and getting ready for an upcoming trip, but i wanted to make at least one painting today, so i am at one of my favorite views of maysville. The view from sutton hill. Its cloudy, a grey day, so im going to have a lot of fun with the red roof and the whites of the buildings

The weather forecast has some rain, so im spending the morning in my garden…i dont paint a lot of flowers, but these poppies are too beautiful to ignore.

I almost abandoned this painting, because the weather kept causing interruptions, and it was getting kind of wild, but i finally have it under control, and see a path to finish…its just down to the details. I have a feeling, like most of my challenging ones, it could turn out to be one of my favorites!

Well, that’s a wrap! I stayed dry for the majority of the painting. I tried mixing colors in a way I never have before, and learned a lot with this one…I had some doubts while working, but I think the finished painting is fantastic! I like the dark, rain storm in the top right corner.

To continue celebrating teacher appreciation week, im going to make a painting of this famous kentucky schoolhouse. Heres my sketch-im ready to start painting.

this painting has already found it’s home. You can browse available plein air paintings by visiting my gallery, or clicking here

The fields in Kentucky are covered with a beautiful yellow flower. My goal for today was to paint one of those fields.

While looking for fields, i came across this farm (it does have some yellow field) and decided to paint it instead. I was interested in the way the light was illuminating the red roofs of the barn, and the white of the building

once I got the thumbnail sketch worked out, it was time to paint!

i was so excited about the painting, i forgot to take a photo of the monochromatic underlayer. So here is a photo of the painting as I started to add color.

since i am painting on a regular basis, I have more opportunities to experiment and explore color. I decided to try to paint this scene without using any green.

the colors aren’t true to life, but the subject and light are. My hope is that the painting captures the ‘feeling’ of the place

I’m really pleased with how this painting turned out..AND I learned some new things about color!

Painting the view of the city from covington. I like the cluster of old towers, and the ferris wheel in the foreground. Lots of interesting shapes. Im going to try a new pallette. Stay tuned. I will update this post as the painting progresses.

this painting has already found it’s home. You can browse available plein air paintings by visiting my gallery, or clicking here

2 months ago, I had creative block. I did some research about the creative process, and the experts suggested being creative every day without getting hung up on the process.

I started taking my paints outside into the open air, and making a little 4 1/2×6″ painting–on a semi-regular schedule (almost every day). It’s been less than 2 months, and I have made over 40 new oil paintings!!!

This project has been a little bit like therapy for me. If you are creative (*everyone is creative) and feel a little bit ‘blocked’; seeing all these paintings together might help get your ideas flowing.

I have them on display at my website. It’s interesting to see the progression as i keep painting over time.
Here’s a link:
https://www.kenswinson.com/site/product-category/painting/plein-air/

This is a work in progress…i’m continuing to paint outdoors, from life, as much as possible. If you like looking at/supporting/collecting art, keep an eye on that page, i’m updating it regularly.

Thanks everyone for your support! I couldn’t do it without you!

The fields are blooming with wonderful bright yellow flowers, so today, I stopped by this scene, and made a plein air painting.