Heceta Beach, Oregon

Friday Morning, July 13th - Morning at Heceta Beach in Oregon.  I had planned to paint inland away from the morning fog, but was pleasantly surprised to find clear, blue skies this morning along the beach. I had the beach all to myself when I started out painting. What a beautiful morning - God is awesome!  

Glacier National Park

I am amazed at the beauty of Glacier National Park! After the workshop with Scott Christensen in Victor, Idaho, I spent several days in Glacier.  This photo is from the west entrance. 
having a great time painting! 

I Made it to Victor, Idaho (And Feel Rather Rested...Read Why....)

I headed out last Monday on my way to Victor, Idaho, to study for 7 days with Scott Christensen.  The trip up from Tucson had a couple of snags.  My truck overheated just north of Phoenix (temp was around 110) and I had to pull off for awhile. Second day, I was taking my daily pill routine and didn't realize until an hour later that I had taken a sleeping aid by mistake!  I usually can drive 24 hours and not have any trouble staying awake... Well, 4 pullover stops later, it was finally out of my system.  I have more empathy now for my wife who gets sleepy while driving.  Now in Victor, I am on my 3rd day, Scott has lectured some and I have painted out and about the Victor Valley each day.  It is beautiful here, not as majestic as the Jackson, Wyoming side of these mountains - more rolling hills here.  I have taken lots of reference photos and will add some in a few days.  After being up here, I decided to add the Jim Wilcox Plein Air Workshop (July 23-27th) to the end of my trip.  I loved working with Jim a couple of years ago for a fall studio workshop and am looking forward to painting Jackson en plein air in the summer!  Back to painting...

Road Trip June - July 2012

I have a bag full of maps from AAA - Trip begins on June 16th.
Posts will be updated daily of the trip as well as paintings that are available as I paint along the way.
Looking forward to it!
 - Jeff

*NEW WORK* Mount Hood by Moon - 30X24

I recently gave several painting lessons to a couple that wanted to enjoy and experience some plein air painting while in France this summer.  I asked them to bring in some photographs that they had taken for us to work from and one of the photos was of a stunning view of Mt Hood, pink sky and moon.  We all had a great time painting.  I ended up with a wonderful 14X11", auctioned it on Ebay and it now belongs a fantastic collector in Montana.  I thought I would paint it again, this time in a large format, so this is what resulted and I will be launching it to Ebay Auction Saturday, May 5th.  Thanks to Jean and Jane for the beautiful photo to work from, and I wish you both the best as you paint in France this summer. 

February 2012 BoldBrush Painting Competition Honor

 "Held in His Hands", a painting of Red Mountain in Mesa, Arizona, was selected as part of the FAV15% (jury's favorite 15% of the entries) in the February 2012 BoldBrush Painting competition.

Thank-you to Scottsdale Artists' School!

I worked with Skip Whitcomb here in Tucson for 5 days last week and I will be reflecting on the great instruction and inspiration for some time. The nstruction was paid for in part by a scholarship based on merit from the Scottsdale Artist School and I am very grateful for their generous contribution which allowed me to paint with and learn from such a fine artist. I have taken several workshops from some of my favorite artists and each time I am humbled but afterwards I am always amazed to find that I am painting at a new level! I look forward to what the influence of Skip Whitcomb's mastery will do for my work. Humbled but encouraged, Jeff

Prickly Pear   9X12"

OPA Shirl Smithson Scholarship Recipient for 2012!



I am very honored to have received one of three Shirl Smithson Scholarship for 2012, named after its founding member, awarded through the Oil Painters of America! Based on a review of the application materials, the scholarship committee selected three OPA members to receive a scholarship based on the quality and strength of the art work submitted and the potential for further development, and one other scholarship was awarded to a full-time student.  The scholarship will pay $500 towards a workshop or class in representational oil painting.  I am very excited to be able to start off the year with this kind of honor... Now the hard part - Picking a workshop to attend...  So many good ones!

Thank-You to Shirl and the OPA scholarship selection team for making this possible! -Jeff Love

 Shirl Smithson - Founding Member of Oil Painters of America