White Water Kayaking in Canada

Well, Here's what I've been doing on my vacation... hitting all the white water I can find. This is a picture that my son took of me on "Gull River". We hit this about three days after we hit the great Ottawa River. There aren't many pictures from that adventure, though because my son and I were just trying to stay alive through the class 4-5 (on a scale of 1 to 5) rapids. This surfing hole was located at the bottom of a run called "Otter Slide" in which the water rushes down rocks to a depth of abut 3 feet and then back up and into run off water. We learned that we were getting into some major running water when we read in a brochure that "if you have to bail [out of your boat] before you reach Otter Slide, abbandon you're boat and swim to shore as hard as you can." Needless to say, my son and I had hit some of the most extreme white water thus far in our lives.

Canada Vacation

Dear Subscribers

I am terribly sorry that there have not been daily paintings for the past few days. I have taken my family up to Canada for vacation for the last two weeks of July. Unfortunately, with such a short ammount of time and so many relatives to see, I have not had time to do my daily paintings. I have, however gotten lots of pictures which will be posted to my blog as soon as I can.

Sincerly

Ronald Bayens

Trumpet Vine

Trumpet Vine

$100

Oil on Canvas

8 x 16 ianches

2009

Auburn, Alabama

I have had this long narrow canvas for a while and have always wanted to paint a landscape on it. So many times I picked it up only to “chicken out” and go for another 8” x10”.

This time I took it and was determined to paint a picture on it. I decided to go to the forest on the University grounds that the Forestry department manages. It is mostly treed and had lots of trails. I have walked it many many times with the dogs and found it a very peaceful place.

I spotted the trumpet flower vine when I parked the van and I examined it for several minutes. It had such a long arc through the bushes with a simple grouping of three flowers on the end. It was perfect for a long canvas.

Pears

Pears

$100

Oil on Canvas

14 x18 inches

2009

Auburn, Alabama

I was having a difficult morning. No matter how hard I tried I couldn’t motivate myself to paint. I went to Keisel Park in auburn and thought I would find something but still no motivation.

I sat under a shade tree for an hour really getting down that I couldn’t paint. There was a pear tree about 15 feet from me and I was fascinated by the light on the leaves and pears. I wondered whether such a chaotic grouping could be painted. After talking to a friend who assured me it could be done I set up in the blazing sun and started.

All was going well until a car pulled up in the parking lot near by and a couple decided to have an hour long spat. I wish I had my ipod at the time. I focused through the distraction and was pleased when I finished.

Irises

Irises

$100

Oil on Canvas

11 x14 inches

2009

Auburn, Alabama

This was a painting done for my Tuesday Art Class. I really just wanted a simple floral with an equally simple color scheme, in this case yellow and purple.

It worked well and the class enjoyed painting it.

Pebble Hill

Pebble Hill

$100

Oil on Canvas

8 x10 inches

2009

Auburn, Alabama

Pebble Hill is an old house that sits right across the street from my studio. I have wanted to paint it for years but being so close to the studio I usually talked myself into going in to work on a portrait.

I started this painting at dusk and liked the hot color on the house. However the sun was falling fast and I had to be even faster. Colors changed, shadows disappeared and soon it was moving toward dark.

I finished as the last bit of light faded from the sky and packed my easel in the dark.

Unknown Flower

Unknown Flower

$100

Oil on Canvas

8 x 10 inches

2009

Auburn, Alabama

Finding a subject is both exciting and frustrating. In this case I was once again clueless on what I was going to paint but I decided that I would find it with in a small area. I searched around and had several possibilities. The big problem was the abundance of green, all the same shade.

Then I saw this weird flower all by itself hidden behind several branches of over grown privet. I moved the branches and tied one back to get a better view of the flower.

I worked fast because the mosquitoes were very active. I tried to keep the focus on the flower and rely on contrast over color to get the painting.

Where are the Horses

Where Are the Horses?

SOLD

Oil on Canvas Panel

5x7 inches

Fall, 2006

Creekwood Drive, Auburn, Alabama

Just outside of Auburn, there is a road that goes to a friend’s house. I have been drawn to it many times because it has these wonderful horse pastures with shade trees scattered about.

On this particular day, I was out to paint horses and there were several hanging out quite peacefully beneath the shade trees. They were so tranquil that through my whole setup not one of them moved.

At this point, I felt sure that they would stay put and I would paint the area under the trees to have the shadow shapes falling as I wanted. I could happily put in the horses as the finishing touch. Well, like all great plans it didn't happen as I hoped. Just as I completed the landscape, the horses quietly walked out of the picture one by one and over a hill where I couldn't even see them.

Spring

Spring

SOLD

Oil on Linen

8x10 inches

Spring of 2005

Greystone Mansion, Auburn, Alabama

It still amazes me when I see daffodils blooming in February. Alabama has the most beautiful spring of any place I have ever been. It's warm but not hot, everything is in bloom, and the flowers are well planned out in the planting phase. When some blooms are ending, others are beginning and the beauty seems to last forever.

People often ask me what spring is like in Ontario, Canada. Well, after a long hard winter, the snow usually melts quickly from rain into a dirty blackened mess. Then just for fun, it all freezes again. Once the snow melts for good, you go out in the yard and find all the toys , mittens, hats etc. that the kids lost in the snow and all the presents from the dog which remained freezer fresh for the last three months. After about two weeks of flowers and rain, the bugs come out. Yes, I like spring in Alabama!

This little still life was a whim. I had picked the daffodil and had it in my studio. I looked around for a suitable container and all I found was a small plastic jar. It needed something else so I went out and picked a tiny rose.

The Shunting Yard

The Shunting Yard

$100

Oil on Canvas Board

8x10 inches

Spring of 1999

Railroad Avenue, Opelika, Alabama

I used to have a studio on Railroad Avenue in Opelika, Alabama. It was an old store and it sat literally 25 inches from a railroad shunting yard. When the trains were being moved about, the whole studio building shook. The train whistles would invariably shout out as soon as I answered the phone.

Now all this may sound awful if you don't like trains, but I do like them and always have. I like to look at them, ride on them, and paint pictures of them.

For this painting, all I had to do was haul my painting equipment out my front door and about 20 yards down the tracks. Luckily for me while I was painting this landscape, no trains came to pick up the boxcars. It was relatively peaceful.

Southwest Opelika?

Southwest Opelika?

$100

Oil on Linen

8x10 inches

10/04/2006

South Railroad Avenue, Downtown Opelika, Alabama

I used to have a studio on South Railroad Avenue in Opelika, Alabama. The building was very old and built about 30 feet from a railroad shunting yard. If I ever got bored, I could look out my window at the trains. The whole area has lots to offer an artist, so I thought I would revisit it.

At first I had trains on my mind, but I decided to walk a bit and see what else there was. A few doors down from my old studio is a shoe repair shop that I'm sure dates back to the Civil War, complete with shoes from that time. The unique thing about this place (as if it needed anything more distinctive) is that the greater part of the front of the shop is occupied by an enormous cactus plant. It is reminiscent of “The Little Shop of Horrors”. I was all set to tackle that when I looked in the ally beside the shop and saw another enormous cactus. This one was up against an old stucco wall that was half in light and half covered with the shadow of the adjoining building. It looked just like something an artist in Santa Fe would paint.

I set my easel up in the ally and began. If you ever want to appreciate just how fast the sun moves across the sky, paint a picture dominated by a large specific shadow. When I started, the shadow was on the bottom third of the wall and when I finished, it was near the top. Needless to say, I had to use my memory more than I wanted too.

Farm Road

Farm Road

$100

Oil on Linen

8x10 inches

09/27/2007

H & G Horse Quarters, Auburn, Alabama

I try these days to always have my paint box ready to go in case I have extra time or I am finding myself stuck somewhere. On this day, I had to leave the studio early to take the kids to the horse barn for riding lessons.

A farm is a wonderful place for a painter. It has subjects in abundance and the only challenge is deciding what to paint. My time was limited and in my haste, I only brought a few colors, but they would do. The weather was exceptional for Alabama. The sky was vivid blue and huge storm clouds were moving quickly, changing the landscape in minutes from sunny to overcast to raining and back to sunny.

The spot I picked was right out of a “How to Choose the Perfect Landscape Composition” book. It has a nice road with an S-shaped turn, a line of trees, great light, and shadow. I seized upon it, quickly set up, sketched in the basic shapes, and marveled on the fantastic light and shadow shapes. I mixed up the first shadow color and the clouds moved in. There would now be light patterns in the piece and it would also be a nice tonal painting.

As I progressed, I started to see drops of water on the canvas, then more drops, and then a steady rain began. The great thing about oil paint is that oil and water don't mix. You can keep on painting. The rain does, however, make oil paint react in a completely bizarre way. As I was finishing, the clouds moved on, the sun broke out, and the beautiful shadow shapes reappeared. It was all I could do to resist trying to put them in. That's never a good idea when you've reached completion. That landscape would be another painting and it will be brought to canvas on another day.

Azaleas

Azaleas

$100

Oil on Canvas

11 x14 inches

2009

Auburn, Alabama

This painting was done as a sample for my Tuesday afternoon painting class. I try to have a painting done a day or two ahead of the class but that isn’t always the case.

The class was starting at 1 o’clock and it was already past 10:30 and I had no idea what to do. Panic was setting in, so I called a friend for advice. She said “paint flowers, everyone loves flowers”.

I went outside and tore some azaleas from a bush out back and frantically set about painting it. Sometimes those are the best paintings.

Sorry no post yesterday. I was kayaking all day and then when I got home, my work computer had died on me. On the upside... I got a new computer today :)

100 Degrees in the Shade

100 Degrees in the Shade

$100

Oil on Canvas Panel

8 x10 inches

2009

Auburn, Alabama

This painting was done at the farm “ Southern Springs” where my daughter takes riding lessons. As the title tells it was dreadfully hot, not just in the sun but shade too.

I looked all around for something to paint and was getting tired of wiping the sweat from my eyes so I stopped in the back field. I set up the easel and began to pull paints out and noticed that I had no blue. Everything in the picture was a tropical green and as I mix my green from yellow and blue I was stuck. It then struck me that if it was a hot day, make a hot painting. I mixed the orange reds and went at it as a tonal painting. It is one of my favorite ways to paint.

When I was near the end of the painting I heard footsteps behind me or rather hoof steps and there was Savannah on Star, her pony.

It was nice to get back to air conditioning.

Hazy Morning Crops

Hazy Morning Crops

$250

Oil on Canvas

24 x30 inches

2009

Auburn, Alabama

I recently was at an all week “plein air painting festival”. There were about forty painters and each morning they would stamp our canvases and send us to a location to paint.

It was a wonderful experience and the painters ranged from amateur to professional. One of the professionals was a young Russian who could paint large paintings outdoors. It was magical to watch. I was hooked and vowed to try it.

This painting was my first large outdoor painting. I had also wanted to do a “color keyed” landscape for a while. It was hot and I thought a high key yellow green would show the humidity well. I tore into it and soon discovered that larger canvases are really just a mental exercise. Just use a bigger brush and stand back farther.

I hope to do more.