June/July Outdoor Paintings

Hi everyone. I've been trying to get outdoors as much as I can lately, though it is often tough to do in the Phoenix heat. You've got to wear light clothes, bring a hat, and plenty of water. Here are a dozen paintings from the Phoenix area (and a few from Sedona)

These two are a couple sky studies I painted 6/16/14 at Tempe Town Lake. 6x6 and 6x8 inches.

"The Old Flour Mill" is on Mill Avenue in Tempe. This was painted from the back side, partially up the Hayden Butte (ASU Mountain). To the right, not pictured, are the tall silos. The silos were reflecting the setting sun, casting a warm orange glow on the backside of the old equipment building. 6/27/14 9x12 inches.

Sunset at Papago Park. This was painted before the Monsoons started rolling in, when summer days are dry and cloudless. The red rocks have lots of big round holes and pits in them, which resemble clouds in a way. 6/28/14 9x12 inches.

Another late afternoon at Papago Park. Some great clouds were starting to develop, so I quickly sketched in this rock so I could start on a new painting. 7/3/14 6x8 inches

Some big clouds were starting to roll in from the east. I finished this 6x8 painting just in time, because a giant dust storm hit right as I made it back to my car:

One of Arizona's famous wall-of-dust storms. Close to zero visibility in one of these things. 7/3/14

I went back to Papago a few days later. There was another dust storm warning, so I wanted to paint fast. 7/7/14 6x6 inches.

As the sun got lower there were some really brilliant clouds. This one ended up looking like an elephant, with rain for legs. 7/7/14 8x6 inches.

A great way to beat the heat is to head up to higher altitudes. The highs in Sedona were in the cool 90's. This was painted on one of the Thunder Mountain hiking trails. Chimney rock was to my left (west) and this is looking north. 7/12/14 6x8 inches.

We stayed at the Sky Ranch Lodge, which is located up on a mesa next to the airport. They have a great view. 7/12/14 10x8 inches. 

Also painted from the top of the mesa. The sun got lower, and the clouds and red rocks started glowing. 7/12/14 6x6 inches.

It started storming and I was able to find some shelter underneath a tent (the hotel here hosts weddings, and it was some small tent for receptions). I was able to get the last rays of sunlight before the clouds took hold. 7/12/14 6x8 inches.