Kate Withers - 'Painting Space'

Just outside Bryce National Park is a wonderland of sandstone formations called Red Canyon.. some say it is better than Bryce.. well worth visiting if you are traveling to the West this summer.  This piece was inspired by one of those formations.. a large imposing monolith overlooking the highway... a regal sentinel surveying the realm.   Lots of color... fun to paint. 11x14   oil on canvas panel View at the Pioneer Cafe .. Capitol Reef NP

Inspired by the magnificent old growth trees on the shores of Lake Yellowstone. this group is next to the ice cream shop.. a great place to paint! 12x16    oil painting on panel

Time flies doesn't it?.. and time to get back to updating this blog which I enjoy sharing with all the devoted art lovers out there.  Here is a small 9x12 oil from the summer of '08 when I was working in Yellowstone National Park.  This is typical of one of those steamy vignettes found along the road between the Lake region [where I was living] and near the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.  More to come.. glad to be back. 9x12     oil on panel     SOLD

8x10      oil on canvas panel     commission sold Besides working on the revision of a couple of large 30x40 pieces.. I finished this commission today.. a study of the striped formations typically found in 'badlands'.. in this case the Painted Desert area on the way to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. I really haven't had much to post.. as soon as I have a good enough version of one of the large paintings.. I will post a comparison before and after.. and what my thinking was and how I solved the problems that led to the major revision. Back to the easel!

5x7   oil on canvas panel    SOLD Here is one of my personal favorites.. a small oil I had completed in the last few months. It was sold a few days ago... I wanted to post it anyway as an example of meeting a painting challenge I had set for myself. While driving on one of the lonely highways across the Painted Desert region of northern Arizona... a storm was quickly approaching [weather can change quickly on the high desert].. and I almost didn't see this scene unfolding in front of me.. a rainbow just starting to form.. the subtle veil of colors coalescing against the dark backdrop of the stormy sky. My goal was to translate this great subject to canvas.. the electric light of the last rays of the setting sun.. the rainbow.. a sense of impending manifestation. How did I do?

Okay... after procrastinating and generally goofing off... I am back in front of the easel. The above image is of a large 30x40 canvas I have been working on seemingly forever... on and off for a couple years anyway.. an intimate view just below the rim of the Grand Canyon. I will try to finish it so I can start another big beautiful painting.. this time of one of my favorite places in the Southwest.. Lake Powell. I am focusing on large work now...small paintings are good to practice a technique or try out an aspect of color theory.. but the real thrill is in painting big.

5x7      oil on canvas panel      SOLD This is my effort at painting a green apple.. green being a color I use rarely on my palette.. and if I do.. they are always mixed from yellows, oranges and blues. In this particular piece.. I used cerulean blue and cadmium yellow light with a touch of orange to imply the ripeness of this big green apple. Oh.. and the title of this painting inspired me to paint an impression of the famous New York City skyline.. the Big Apple.