27 & 28

 October, Missouri River,  oil,  5 x 7"

Prickly Pear Creek,  oil, 5 x 7"

$100,  ready to frame,  free shippping.

26

Mt Helena at Dusk,  oil,  6 x 8"

$100,  ready to frame,  free shippping

25

Snow in the Shadows, oil, 6 x 6"

$100,  ready to frame, free shipping 

24

City Through the Trees,  oil,  5 x 7"

$100,  ready to frame, free shipping

22 & 23

Last of the Light 2, oil, 6 x 6:

$100,  ready to frame, free shipping

Backdrop,  oil,  6 x 6"

$100,  ready to frame,  free shipping

21

Haystack Near Elliston,  oil, 6 x 6"

$100,  unframed,  free shipping

19 & 20

 Last of the Light,  oil, 5 x 7"

$100,  ready to frame, free shipping



The steep banks of the Missouri late on an October day.  In the blue shadows only the tops of the autumn trees are illuminated.

Looking Toward Mt. Ascension, oil,  6 x 6"

Sold

Day 18

I should call this Number 18, not day 18.  I've lost track of the days.  But I started this challenge 2 days late and it's Jan. 22nd,  so I'm only one day behind - two days??  But the bottom line is that I will paint 30 paintings in about 30 days, so never mind the technicalities.  This is supposed to be fun. (it is.)

Along the Road,  pastel, 6 x 8"

$100,  ready to frame,  free shipping

I really liked the dark and light pattern in this image.  The dark trees and their shadows against the light grass.  

Day 16 and 17

 I think these trees are a species of willow because even though they lose their leaves in winter the branches are a pinkish orange and when the sun hits them they glow.

Frozen, Spring Meadow Lake

pastel, 6 x 8"

$100,  unframed,  free shipping

Winter Trees, pastel, 6 x 8"

$100,  unframed,  free shipping

Days 14 & 15

People ask me if I miss the ocean.  No, I don't.  What the ocean is for me as a painter is a horizontal plane that reflects light.  Here in Montana the fields of grass and snow serve that purpose.  They are all horizontal planes that reflect the light.  The snow this winter is especially beautiful on the fields.  It is rarely white.  

   Winter Herd,  oil , 6 x 6"

$100,  unframed,  free shipping

Trees Near Elliston,  pastel, 6 x 6"

$100,  unframed,  free shipping

Day 13

    This is turning out to be a very fun and worthwhile project.  I love hearing every day from people who are viewing the paintings and it's very gratifying that so many have sold.  Thank you!    I'm behind by a few so will try to catch up in the next few days.

 

                                           A Cold Day But Sunny, oil on board,  6 x 6
                                           $100,  unframed,  free shipping

                                     
This is what I saw cross country skiing on the Bill Roberts Golf Course looking toward Mt. Helena                                           

Day 12

I generally don't paint barns because I they have become cliche.  But, I liked the dark shape this one made and it's contrast against the sunlit fields.

                                       Barn Shadows,  oil on board,  6 x 8"
                                          $100,  free shipping, ready to pop into
                                            a standard size frame

Day 11

Cliff Shadows,  pastel,  6 x 6"

 $100,  free shipping

As the shadow overtook the cliff just the tops of the pines

caught the sunlight.  

Day 9 & 10

Yow,  missed yesterday so I'll post two today to catch up.  30 in 30 days means painting on weekends, too!

  I'm still really taken with the winter light around here and how pink and blue the snow is on the mountains and on the ground.  

  Valley Grazing,  oil on board, 6 x 8" 

 $100,  ready to frame, free shipping

           

       Mt Helena with Cattle,  oil on board,  6 x 8"

Day 8

OK, this isn't my usual landscape, but it was painted this morning in my

 Outta Control workshop.

We paint on the floor without brushes.

  It's a great way to loosen up and is fun even for non-painters.  

                                    Spring Will Come,  acrylic on canvas, 20 x 20"

                                             This painting is up for auction.

                                                                     

                                                                        

Day 6 &7

         I've been working from photos that I took before the snow and am itching to get out and do some plein air work but it's been so bloody snowy and cold.  Sun was predicted for today so I was getting ready to go out, but checked the temp and it was -4.   Just too cold to be out there standing for a while.  I'll get out there as soon as the mercury comes up to something tolerable.

Winter Stand 2,  oil on panel, 6 x 6"

 $100, ready for your standard size frame,

shipping included

                                       Along the Creek, oil on board,  6 x 8"
                                       $100, ready for your standard size frame,

shipping included

DAY 5

Trees Along the Missouri, pastel, 8 x 8"

$100,  matted,  shipping included

           
                            I don't know what it is about this subject but I've done several versions of it. Maybe it 's the dark masses of tress and the delicate "sky holes."  But there was something about the muted color palette that I liked. 

                    

  

Reminder:  20% of sales goes to the Prickly Pear Land Trust 

Day 4

                                        Start of the Canyon, 6 x 8",  oil

                                      The prairie of eastern Montana comes to a stop here where the vast fields of wheat bump up against the foothills and canyons.  

Day 3

Alpenglow,  6x8",  oil on board

$100,  unframed,  free shipping

The town of Helena is situated so that most afternoons we are treated to a show of the all the surrounding mountains turning pink.  

Day 2

Montana City,  oil on board, 6 x 6"

$100,  unframed,  free shipping

 Day 2 of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge.  

20 % of Sales to Benefit Prickly Pear Land Trust

A current project of the Prickly Pear Land Trust is to create a greenway along Prickly Pear Creek from Montana City to the Helena Airport.  This is the view from Helena toward Montana City on a very cold afternoon.  The plume from the cement plant is illuminated by the afternoon sun.  The Elkhorn Mountains provide the backdrop.

30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge

   To kick off 2015 I've signed up for the

    30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge.

                                        Looking East, 6 x 6", oil on board
                                        $100, unframed, shipping included

                                                                    

                                   
         Over 1200 artists have joined so far. The main purpose is simply to commit to painting every day and have fun doing it.  While I usually do paint every day I don't necessarily do it with a firm focus to produce something I would post online for other eyes to see.  So this ups the ante a bit more.  I'm already behind by two days because I was busy preparing for  the my show at the Lewis and Clark Library that hangs through February, so my 30 days will end February 2nd.

       My intention is to paint 30 small landscapes of the Helena area.  Each will be priced at $100 or auctioned off.

       As a landscape painter I am passionate about preserving the natural landscape. So, for this 30 day challenge I am partnering with Prickly Pear Land Trust here in Helena and will donate 20% of my sales to them.  This deal also applies to any of my Montana paintings that are now on exhibit at the Lewis and Clark Library.  
                          Opening reception is Tuesday, Jan 6th, 6-7pm           
                                 Please come by and say hello!