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Poppies are popping and the rain is a droppin

The weather forecast has some rain, so im spending the morning in my garden…i dont paint a lot of flowers, but these poppies are too beautiful to ignore.

underpainting of plein air poppies by artist ken swinson
The composition is worked out…time for color-this painting is going to be all about color!
plein air painting of poppies by artist ken swinson
I made it this far before the rain arrived. I decided to do something i hate: i took a photo of my subject, to use as a reference
work in progress photo of plein air painting of poppies by artist ken swinson
The rain passed after a few minutes and i avaoided disaster (having to paint from a photo) now im back in the poppy field
plein air painting of poppies by artist ken swinson
Greetibg from under the tree. Its not raining enough yo run for the porch, but do need some shelter… Still havent had to use my reference photo

I almost abandoned this painting, because the weather kept causing interruptions, and it was getting kind of wild, but i finally have it under control, and see a path to finish…its just down to the details. I have a feeling, like most of my challenging ones, it could turn out to be one of my favorites!

plein air painting of poppies with photo of bright red poppies in the background by artist ken swinson
Finished! Poppies-12″x4 1/2 oil on wood panel

Well, that’s a wrap! I stayed dry for the majority of the painting. I tried mixing colors in a way I never have before, and learned a lot with this one…I had some doubts while working, but I think the finished painting is fantastic! I like the dark, rain storm in the top right corner.

plein air painting of poppies by artist ken swinson
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The moonlight school morehead ky 8 may 2019

a sketch held beside photo of the moonlight school in morehead kentucky

To continue celebrating teacher appreciation week, im going to make a painting of this famous kentucky schoolhouse. Heres my sketch-im ready to start painting.

plein air underpainting of the moonlight school in morehead kentucky
I have my composition and colors worked out. Now time for color!
plein air painting of the moonlight school in morehead kentucky
The sun is bright today… Its all about blues and purples
photo of plein air painting of the moonlight school in morehead kentucky by artist ken swinson
plein air painting of the moonlight school in morehead kentucky by artist ken swinson
Moonlight school – morehead, ky 4 1/2 x 6″ oil on wood panel

this painting has already found it’s home. You can browse available plein air paintings by visiting my gallery, or clicking here

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Red Roof Barns near Flemingsburg, KY

The fields in Kentucky are covered with a beautiful yellow flower. My goal for today was to paint one of those fields.

While looking for fields, i came across this farm (it does have some yellow field) and decided to paint it instead. I was interested in the way the light was illuminating the red roofs of the barn, and the white of the building

photo of farm with white barn and red roofs in fleming county kentucky

once I got the thumbnail sketch worked out, it was time to paint!

sketch of farm in flemming county kentucky

i was so excited about the painting, i forgot to take a photo of the monochromatic underlayer. So here is a photo of the painting as I started to add color.

plein air underpainting of farm in flemming county kentucky

since i am painting on a regular basis, I have more opportunities to experiment and explore color. I decided to try to paint this scene without using any green.

plein air painting of farm in flemming county - first colors by ken swinson

the colors aren’t true to life, but the subject and light are. My hope is that the painting captures the ‘feeling’ of the place

plein air painting of farm scene in flemming county kentucky
Red roof barn- oil on wood panel by Ken Swinson 4 1/2×6″

I’m really pleased with how this painting turned out..AND I learned some new things about color!

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Morning painting view from covington

sketch of cincinnati skyline with photo of skyline in background

Painting the view of the city from covington. I like the cluster of old towers, and the ferris wheel in the foreground. Lots of interesting shapes. Im going to try a new pallette. Stay tuned. I will update this post as the painting progresses.

plein air underpainting of Cincinnati skylien
The composition and values are more or less worked out…time to start building up some colors
plein air painting of cincinnati's skyline with first colors being applied
Im starting to lay my colors down. I recently added brown to my palette, which is toning down my normally bright palette
Ken Swinson and Connie Sanders standing in front of the ohio river with the cincinnati skyline in the background
My friend, and photographer, Constance Sanders stopped by to visit, and make a short video of my work in progress.
Visit her website by clicking here: https://www.consanphotos.com/
plein air painting of downtown cincinnati with skyline in the background
Finished! Here it is!
plein air painting of cincinnati skyline with ferris wheel and freedom center, carew tower

this painting has already found it’s home. You can browse available plein air paintings by visiting my gallery, or clicking here

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The Cure For Creative Block might seem obvious, but I’m a slow learner

plein air painting of over the rhine in Cincinnati ohio view includes music hall and the museum center

2 months ago, I had creative block. I did some research about the creative process, and the experts suggested being creative every day without getting hung up on the process.

I started taking my paints outside into the open air, and making a little 4 1/2×6″ painting–on a semi-regular schedule (almost every day). It’s been less than 2 months, and I have made over 40 new oil paintings!!!

This project has been a little bit like therapy for me. If you are creative (*everyone is creative) and feel a little bit ‘blocked’; seeing all these paintings together might help get your ideas flowing.

I have them on display at my website. It’s interesting to see the progression as i keep painting over time.
Here’s a link:
https://www.kenswinson.com/site/product-category/painting/plein-air/

This is a work in progress…i’m continuing to paint outdoors, from life, as much as possible. If you like looking at/supporting/collecting art, keep an eye on that page, i’m updating it regularly.

Thanks everyone for your support! I couldn’t do it without you!

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Barn on 68-south of may’s lick ky

 I should know better, but i keep trying to paint scenes where i am looking directly into the sun. Good thing i have sunscreen. Watch the comments for updates on the painting. Bonus points if you know where i am
heres my sketch. Time to set up and start painting!
I have my composition worked out, now time for color.
Painting into the sun can get crazy. I almost gave up on this one. I just cant quit when im painting in front of an audience, so i pushed through it. Im glad i did, because i learned a lot about the relativity of color, and im happy with the little painting.
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Us 62 road trip-mt olivet/cynthiana, ky

Im doing a mini road trip along us route 62. I stopped in mt olivet to paint the intersection of town, and its no surprise, that people there were super friendly. I met the mayor, a young lady brought me a cold bottle of water, and another bought me a delicious sandwich from the corner store! … And i got a beautiful painting! Small town southern hospitality is alive and well in robertson. Always a pleasure to visit!

note that says 'for my 30th birthday a am accomplishing 30 random acts of kindness.
What an amazing artist you are and i love that you find beauty in our small town'
The note the super nice young lady gave me..along with a cold water. Isnt that so nice?!?

Next stop, cynthiana, ky!

Greetings from cynthiana! I chose to paint the Rohs Theater…its a hub of creativity
The finished painting!!!