Pine Trees Plein Air - Work in progress

2009 Peter Buchan

The trees here in New York are beautiful. These pines caught my eye.

Visiting Mt. Greylock

Me, David and Maddie on our way up to Mt. Greylock, Williamstown, Massachusetts.

Brush with f(r)ame at the Clark...

I had a great visit at The Clark today, and some drama too.

As I tried to position myself behind this Degas sculpture to get a different angle, my elbow brushed the painting adjacent to the Degas. Oops.

I found out that The Clark has an excellent alarm system.

Up until this adrenaline rush, I was having a wonderful time.

-Pete

Visiting the Clark

I will be visiting The Clark www.clarkart.edu in Williamstown, MA soon to get an up close look at John Singer Sargent's "Portrait of Carolus-Duran" -1879 and William Bouguereau 's "Nymphs and Satyr" -1873. There are many other works there by Winslow Homer, Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Jean-Léon Gérôme, Corot, Monet, Cassatt... you get the idea.
The chance to see this Bouguereau up close is exciting. I've read other's accounts of experiencing this painting for the first time, it promises to be memorable.
And Sargent's portrait of his teacher, Carolus-Duran, is another painting that I've admired, as many have.
I'm hoping to have a pleasant drive down Rt 2 from NY, through VT and MA, and hopefully will spot some scenic places along the way for some future plein air paintings.
-Pete

Plein Air Painting - Lake George

Memorial Day 2009
8"x16" Oil on panel - work in progress
Peter Buchan, 2009

When I paint outside, people inevitably come by to see what I'm doing. Today was no exception, but the people this time were children. I'd glance over my shoulder, and there'd be one, then two little boys, sitting on a bench, just watching. Even the smallest, shyest little girl found her way up to me, asking her mom to talk for her. She wanted her mom to buy my painting for her.

Whatever joy I get from painting, I was unprepared for the joy I felt from connecting with these little ones. They reminded me, with their innocence and fascination, how I want to be like them - to see the world through their eyes.

McIntosh on a box

McIntosh on a box
8"x10" Oil on canvas panel, Peter Buchan 2009

Me Painting

April 12, Easter, 2009

Adirondacks

Adirondacks
5"x7" oil on gesso board, Peter Buchan 2008

July 4th - Robin

July 4th - Robin
8"x10" oil on canvas board, Peter Buchan 2008

Apple No. 2

Apple No. 2
5"x7" Oil on gesso board, Peter Buchan 2008

Slash Pines Study

Slash Pine Study
8 1/2 x 11, pencil, Peter Buchan 2007

L'oignon (Onion)

L'oignon (Onion)
5"x7" oil on canvas panel, Peter Buchan 2007
Sold

Siesta Beach Surf

Siesta Beach Surf
8"x16" oil on canvas panel, Peter Buchan 2007

Palm Shoreline on Siesta Drive

Palm Shoreline on Siesta Drive
11"x14" oil on board, Peter Buchan 2006

Mangrove Shoreline - Longboat Key

Mangrove Shoreline - Longboat Key
8"x10" oil on canvas panel, Peter Buchan 2006

Looking North to Casey Key

Looking North to Casey Key
8x16" oil on canvas panel, Peter Buchan 2006
Sold

North Jetty, Nokomis Beach

North Jetty, Nokomis Beach
5"x7" Oil on Masonite, Peter Buchan 2006

This was a plein air painting that took me about 2 hours to make, plus another hour of touchups at home. I enjoyed painting this piece, and it cost me sunburned legs (forgot the sunscreen - big mistake).

View of Sarasota's Big Pass

Big Pass
7"x9" Oil on canvas panel, Peter Buchan 2006

This painting is the view from my 7th floor office at the corner of Main Street and Palm Avenue. After spending months contemplating this scene and watching the changes that take place as the sun rises and sets, I decided to spend a few lunch breaks trying to capture it's beauty. On the topic of firsts, this would be my first landscape, or technically a seascape! (Update 10/15/06 - Demolition and construction has begun on a high-rise building just southwest of our view- directly affecting the perspective of this painting- glad I took the time to capture this scene.)

Charcoal - Seated Figure Study

Seated Figure Study
18"x24" charcoal, Peter Buchan 2005

This charcoal drawing was done over 3 Saturday classes at the Atelier of Charles Miano here in Bradenton, Florida. When Charles is not traveling to Florence, Italy, he is instructing us in the Atelier tradition of drawing and painting. I started this piece during the Art Center Manatee's open house, where several hundred people filed through our studio during class. (The model was wearing shorts that day, of course!)

My Pochade Box- Still Life tomato and knife

My pochade box with Still Life Tomato and Knife
5"x7" Oil on canvas panel, Peter Buchan 2006 (private collection)

I began working on this originally as a study - I was having trouble with some tomatoes in another piece. As I progressed, I became very fond of my little tomato, and ran out to the store to buy a cutting board. When I got home and set it up, my daughter came in and placed a little Chicago Cutlery knife down in the composition, pronouncing "There! - thats better!". I also had to prop up the composition, for this I used my Harold Speed painting book. Alas, painting in the text on the binder would have detracted, so now I was stuck. Since then, I've taken out the book, opting for a white tablecloth instead. Oh well, I heard that gallery owners back in the day used to chain Edgar Degas pieces to the wall when he visited, he was known to yank finished works off the gallery wall intent on "fixing" them.