Tunnel Hill paint out

Cathy Cooksey working on a painting of historic downtown Tunnel Hill (GA).
Several members of the Art Alliance of North Georgia participated in a paint out during the annual "Battle of Tunnel Hill" Civil War reenactment. This painting sold the next day.

A Land Apart by BJ Wright

9"x12" oil, painted en plein air, alla prima, on September 8th (completed at 12:10pm)...$120 (including shipping but NOT the frame)...This was painted a few days before the annual "Battle of Tunnel Hill" Civil War reenactment. I popped it into this frame for display at our Art Alliance of North Georgia tent.

please try to ignore the glare

Sunny September Morning by BJ Wright

8"x10", oil on RayMar panel, painted en plein air, alla prima, on September 8, '09...$85 including shipping...This late morning painting of a Tunnel Hill (GA) meadow reminds me that Fall will be here before we know it. I've painted this scene dozens of times and each time it's fresh and different.

July Afternoon Late by BJ Wright

12"x9" oil on RayMar panel, painted en plein air, alla prima, on July 4 (completed at 8:10pm)...$135 including shipping...Since I'm usually painting outdoors during morning hours, the idea of painting in the afternoon took a bit of adjustment. The light and shadows play differently and I could quickly run out of daylight...just in time for a nocturnal painting.

July Afternoon Late by BJ Wright

12"X9" oil, plein air painting in progress...I got a call to meet an artist friend around 6:00pm at the Tunnel Hill Civil War battlefield this afternoon. Since I'm accustomed to painting during morning hours, I thought it would be great to catch the setting sun on the hay bales scattered about.

Waiting by BJ Wright

10"x8" oil on RayMar panel, painted en plein air, alla prima on September 20th 2009 (completed at 1:05pm)...$85 including shipping...The annual "Battle of Tunnel Hill" Civil War reenactment weekend was rainy, muddy and overcast. But that didn't dampen the spirits of the artists who painted onsite both days. Contact me for purchase at beejw@charter.net.

Meadowlawn Morning by BJ Wright

8"x10" oil on RayMar panel, painted en plein air, alla prima, on September 8th (completed at 10:30am)...$85 including shipping....This was a rather interesting painting being somewhat of an experiment. I had pre-toned the panel using random areas of ultramarine blue, yellow ochre with alizarine crimson designating the focal point which was the stand of trees in the upper left. In the actual painting, my palette consisted of yellow ochre, indian red, prussian blue and white. I may have used a touch of ivory black in the greens. Using a limited palette in the toning process, then using another limited palette in the final painting is something I'll explore further.

Namesake by BJ Wright

6"x6"x1 1/4" oil on gallery wrap canvas, painted en plein air, alla prima, on August 18th (completed at 10:30am)...$50 including shipping....The historic tunnel that gave Tunnel Hill (GA) its name is a breathtaking monument to the determination of the human spirit. There will be a two day paintout here during the annual "Battle of Tunnel Hill" Civil War reenactment on September 19th & 20th.

Soft Morning by BJ Wright

8"x10" oil on RayMar panel, painted en plein air, alla prima, on July 7th (completed at 8:00am)...$95 including shipping....The clouds were banked in a myriad of colors as the sun struggled over the mountain. Photography of this particular painting was difficult. The yellows are much softer and purples are more muted in the original. Apparently I'm entering the 'purple period' of my painting career...it seems to emerge in my more recent works.

three this morning

I did 3 plein air pieces this morning, but photographic conditions were terrible after I got them home. I set them into frames and shot them with indoor lighting...bad indoor lighting. The next best thing was to render the image into black and white, and hope for better photographic lighting soon.

Pink Morning Blooms by Sandra Babb

11"x14" oil, painted en plein air (about 95% completed) here. Sandra's geraniums brightened the table just outside the shuttered window of the old general store.

Early at the Tunnel by BJ Wright

7"x5" oil on RayMar panel, painted en plein air, alla prima, on June 24th (completed at 8:20am)...$35 including shipping...The historic Tunnel Hill railroad tunnel is hidden in this plein air study, but is somewhere beyond the darkness on the lower left side. The sun had cleared Chetogeeta Mountain, turning the sky almost instantly from a golden haze to a clear blue. Taking the road to the left carries the viewer to the mouth of the tunnel. Contact me at beejw@charter.net for purchase.

Hay's In by BJ Wright

8"x10" oil on RayMar panel, painted en plein air, alla prima, on June 24th (completed 8:00am)...$85 including shipping...Getting outside to paint in 95+ degree heat is nuts...so I get out really early to miss the heat. The early sun quickly rose to show its orange light on the recently baled hay. It's hard to believe this was just 3 days into early Summer.

First Hay of Summer by BJ Wright

8"x10" oil on RayMar panel, painted en plein air, alla prima, on June 18th (completed at 9:10am)...$85 for painting only, $120 framed (as shown)...The hay was freshly cut and the meadow lay golden in the morning sun. Crickets and birds were the only sounds heard, except for the westbound freight train.

Water Before the Bridge by BJ Wright

This is a 10"x8" oil (June 6th) which I feel still needs some touch ups. I always try to finish my plein air paintings at one sitting (alla prima) without tweaking or 'noodling' them after I get them home. This one, however, needs a little more work. I'm not satisfied with the reflections and the foliage needs some value change. If the changes seem drastic, I'll post the noodled result.

Harry Griffin Park Early by BJ Wright

10"x8" oil on RayMar panel, painted en plein air, alla prima, on Saturday May 30th - completed around 9:00am - $85 including shipping - I had driven to several favorite painting spots and couldn't decide where to set my easel. I almost took photos and returned home (shame on me). But then I heard me, telling me --- out loud --- "Good grief! Just get out and paint!" And so I did.

reflections, goals, insights

I'm not a person who makes New Year's resolutions, but I do take time to redefine myself and look through fresh eyes occasionally. Working outside my comfort zone and painting with more insight, I hope to become a better painter. I've been self-limiting this year, but reflections on the past only serve to cast more light upon the future.

The subject of this plein air painting is an old oak tree situated on a knoll which overlooks a nearby Civil War battlefield. The tree has become a fixture in many of my paintings. It seems I'm captivated by Nature's light and how it plays across the area. Studying the tree has helped me 'see' rather than just 'look'. I'm always amazed at God's palette and how we mortals struggle to capture His works on canvas.
BJ Wright http://beejw.blogspot.com/

Fall at Fort Keys by BJ Wright

8"x10" oil, painted en plein air, alla prima...$85 including shipping...contact me at beejw@charter.net for purchase. People have asked me if I "tweaked" the colors in this painting. I tell them I usually don't have to tweak the colors...I just have to look at Nature's colors with an artist's eye to see the brilliant palette. The hard part is mixing pigments trying to capture the colors.

Sutler Tents by BJ Wright

8"x10" oil on RayMar panel, painted en plein air, alla prima, on September 7th, during the "Battle of Tunnel Hill" Civil War reenactment - $85 including shipping -
Sunday morning sutlers were preparing their tents for customers - both reenactors and visitors. Fall colors were beginning to show in the trees as the morning sun streamed across the meadow. Eleven Southern plein air painters captured similar scenes during this weekend of the Worldwide Paintout. Contact me at beejw@charter.net for purchase. Here's the Wikipedia definition of "sutler"... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutler

Across the Meadow by BJ Wright

8"x10" oil on RayMar panel, painted en plein air, alla prima - $85 including shipping but not including frame - contact me at beejw@charter.net for purchase -
The purples in shadow and the yellow-green grasses caught my attention when I visited Meadowlawn several weeks ago. I stood just behind the fence barricade at Fort Keys as I painted the shack. I even included a few fence boards in the foreground.