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My New Paint Box: Painting in Old Washington, KY 8 April 2019

I wanted to thank everyone who has supported my latest project-tiny plein air paintings.
I have already earned enough money to buy a new mini size paint box! It arrived today from utah, and im super excited for the rain to clear, and to get out and paint tomorrow!

handheld strada micro easel with painting mounted and flowers in the background

i couldnt wait until tomorrow. The rain has stopped, and the light (and Phil’s pear trees) looks great at the corner.

sketch of paxton inn in old washington kentucky by artist ken swinson
plein air underpainting of the paxton inn in old washington kentucky by artist ken swinson
composition and values worked out… Color time!
painting of the paxton inn in old washington kentucky by artist ken swinson
the paint box did great… Not a bad painting at the end of the day either – paxton inn-old washington ky
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Flowering Trees In Old Washington

im going to try to paint this scene before the sky falls ouy. Grey day, white house with white trees in the background – old washington, ky

sketch of white building in Old Washington kentucky
plein air underpainting of white house in old washington kentucky
i have the composition and values worked out. Time for color!
plein air painting of white building in old washington kentucky by artist ken swinson
still working it out. Not a lot of color on a grey day with a white house and white trees, but there IS lots of color, i just have to look for it! Im down to the details…
plein air painting of the paxton inn in old washington kentucky by artist ken swinson
thats another wrap! Im happy with how this little painting worked itself out. My favorite parts are the impressionist little strokes… And its my neighborhood, a place i love.

Ive used up all of my oak panels!!! Im going to try to get home and cut some more before the rain arrives.
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a new woodcut at the log cabin print shop

Im carving a new woodcut today at the log cabin print shop. Ill be here until 5pm.

ken swinsos holding woodcut work in progress of birds eating cherries
first cuts of a woodcut of bird with cherry
the first little thief (bird) is more or less carved out
woodcut of birds eating cherrys just started being carved
its too pretty to carve inside, so ive taken my block and knives outside. Using this old bourbon barrel as a stand up outside table
woodcut of birds eating cherrys 3/4th of the way finished carving
still cuttimg… Taking a break to uncramp my hand

that’s all i could do today, but check back next week, i hope to finish carving and print the woodcut!

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Plein Air Painting in Maysville, KY 3 April 2019

I love plein air painting for a number of reasons: The fresh air, challenge of working from life, exploring the world around me… But my favorite part is that it takes art making process out into the public (vs toiling alone in my studio) i never know who i will run into… For example, Brenda R Williams, a longtime friend. We were neighbors back when i lived in minerva!!! So good to see her (and i learned a little more history about the church and school in minerva)

ken swinson painting with friend, brenda williams admiring the painting in maysville kentucky
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Plein Air Painting in Cincinnati

Today, I spent the day walking and painting around cincinnati and Northern Kentucky,

sketch of over the rhine in cincinnati by artist ken swinson
Todays view from my office.
underpainting of over the rhine in cincinnati ohio by artist ken swinson
i have the composition worked out… now its time for color!!!
painting of over the rhine in cincinnati by artist ken swinson
City color: very different from country color. Im working it out…still some details to work out.
painting of over the rhine by artist ken swinson in cincinnati ohio
Im not messing with this anymore. Im happy with it.

Time to move to the next spot…i need some exercise, so im thinking of walking to a riverview with the skyline

photo of artist ken swinson with painting gear in downtown cincinnati ohio
Walking downtown. Lots of shiny glass. A perfect opportunity to show off how compact my paint studio is. Everything fits on my back
artist ken swinson at the roebling bridge in covington kentucky
Im thinking this old bridge might make a good painting…
sketch of the roebling bridge by artist ken swinson in covington kentucky
Sketch is done. Time to paint…fast. im in the shade, and the riverbreeze is a little too refreshing.
plein air underpainting of the roebling bridge and cincinnati skyline by artist ken swinson
Composition and vales more or less figured out…time for color
plein air painting of roebling bridge and cincinnati skyline by artist ken swinson
I am officially a popcicle. I might have some frostbite/hypothermia, but it is totally worth it. Look at this beautiful painting!! The wavy strokes are from shivering, lol!
plein air easel setup in front of mt adams in cincinnati ohio
im going to try for one more. In honor of easter being right around the corner, im going to paint the immaculata church in mt adams. Theres something satisfying abiut watching commuters cross the yellow bridge at a crawl while im on the purple bridge painting.
sketch of mt adams cincinnati by artist ken swinson
i have my sketch done…going to try and squeeze both the church and yellow bridge into the tiny tiny painting. Lets get started!!!
plein air underpaintingof mt adams by artist ken swinson
I have my values and composition worked out. I like this sketch so much, id almost stop and call it finished…but no, the sun is shining on my shoulder, and there is color to add. Stay tuned!
plein air painting of mt adams on an easel by artist ken swinson
its getting dark, thats a wrap!
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March 2019 sneak peek studio walkthrough

I’m embarrassed that this presentation falls short of my original idea, but I’m trying to accept the idea that sharing my work with you all is more important than getting crippled by perfectionism.

Even though i fell short of my goal (displaying all my paintings from Oaxaca together) I am proud of the 4 that ARE ready to show.

This video was made in a rush with my phone, and it has some problems… BuT i hope its good enough for those of you who cant make it to the pendleton art center tonight dont feel like you missed out.

Thanks everyone!

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MY DIY panel carrier

I have noticed similarities between kentucky and mexicos cultures. We both have a talent for using the materials available to create a solution for a problem. We call it appalachian engineering. They call it technologia mexicana.

I recently made this oil panel holder; using scrap wood from printmaking/woodcut projects, nails, glue, and of course, duct tape!!

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Plein Air Paintinting in Augusta, KY – March 2019

Augusta, KY will always have a special place in my heart. During my formative years as an artist (my 20s), I met many amazing people, who nurtured, encouraged and supported me…their friendship and kindness played a major role in the artist I have become. Looking back, it was a magic time and place for me.

Time has passed…and we have lost too many of those wonderful people. I haven’t been visiting Augusta like I should, and today, I decided to fix that. I paid a visit and set my paints up to make a little oil painting of the heart of Augusta — it’s library.

Afer painting the library, i also visited Augusta Ky’s namesake church “st. augustine” and painted it too…the sky was so blue today…almost surreal. I love how the white steeple contrasted with the blue sky.