Sunflowers Plein Air | backyard outdoor painting

Sunflowers Plein Air, 8x10", oil on gessoed panel, by Jeffrey Smith

I remember how much I loved sunflowers when I was a kid. We had a patch of them growing along side the house, next to the kitchen window. As I recall, the height of those sunflowers was pretty incredible. When it came to arranging these sunflowers, I had to cut off about 12 to 18 inches off the stems.

I painted these sunflowers from life in my backyard. Of course I’d love to say that I grew these sunflowers in my own backyard, but I have to admit I bought this fabulous bunch at Whole Foods.

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Plein Air, Bloomington

Bloomington Marsh, oil on canvas

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Another day of painting outside!  Minnesota served up another gorgeous day today, and I was able to take advantage of this blue sky morning by getting a second session in on the landscape above.  After the light had shifted, I set up for my second go of the morning; a quick oil sketch of the wildlife preserve administration building.  I’ve removed a lot of the pigments form my palette, and am now working with only about 6.  It’s proved to challenging, but I think in the end, will be a great thing for my painting.