Park Path - An Original 8 x 10 Plein Air Landscape Oil Painting by George De Chiara

Park Path ©

8x10 inches  Oil

George De Chiara

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With our good weather still holding out, I headed out again today to do some painting outside. Today I ventured down to a little nature area not far from our home. This scene was one of the first that I considered painting for the day, but I wanted to make sure I gave all my old spots a good look too. I haven't been there since last summer and I wanted to spent some time walking around to see what's changed. After checking things out for about a half hour...Read more on y blog here.

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Once Underwater - An Original 8 x 10 Plein Air Landscape Oil Painting by George De Chiara

Once Underwater ©

8x10 inches  Oil

George De Chiara

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One of the last times I went out painting, I noticed this scene not far from where I set up for the day.  I had intended to go back and paint it, but then our weather turned cold and cloudy and just like that, it felt like we were back in winter. Luckily, this is Texas and winter weather this late in the year doesn't stand a chance in sticking around. Today we got back on track with spring weather, so I packed up my gear and headed back to the lake. It was a very windy day and the water never settled down, making it a real challenge to paint. Still, it was nice to get our of the studio for a little while and soak up some sunshine! It looks like this weather is here to stay this time, so I'm looking forward to getting out more.

I'm going to have to re-photograph this one in a day or two. This image has a lot of glare on it. 

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On The Rocks - An Original 8 x 8 Landscape Oil Painting by George De Chiara

On The Rocks © 

8x8 inches  Oil

George De Chiara

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  It never ceases to amaze me how much I learn when I paint water and rocks. There's something about the abstract patterns in the way the water washes over the rocks that forces me to stretch myself. I think this is because this is one of the few subjects where I don't think about what it is I'm painting and just paint the shapes that I see. Now I try that with everything I paint, but for what ever reason, with water it's easier for me to do this.  I guess that's why this is one of my favorite subjects to paint.

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Struttin' - An Original 8 x 8 Wildlife Oil Painting by George De Chiara

Struttin'  © 

8x8 inches  Oil

George De Chiara

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We had lots of sun today, but not much warmth, so I decided to grab my camera and head down to one of the local lakes around the house. I knew that even with the cold weather, we'd still have plenty of ducks and water fowl hanging around. When I got to the lake, just about all the ducks where sitting on the shore line sleeping or trying to stay warm. These ducks are all very used to getting bread and oats from most of the visitors coming to this lake, so as soon as I crouched down to take a few pictures this duck came walking over to get his bread. When he figured out that I didn't have any, he turned and walked away. This must have tipped off the other ducks because even though it was cold in the water, most of them started heading in. I guess they thought the camera couldn't get them in the water. I noticed as soon as I left, they all started to head back on to land.

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Spring Dance - An Original 8 x 8 Landscape Oil Painting by George De Chiara

Spring Dance ©

8x8 inches Oil

George De Chiara

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Well, we are just a few days into spring, and, while it seemed like we had left winter behind, apparently we had not. Like many parts of the country, winter weather made its way back into our lives this week. While we generally have it pretty good here in Texas weatherwise this time of year, today it turned cold and gray outside all day, with the next few days forecast of be more of the same. Determined to make the best of it, I took a look through my photo reference for some images of wild flowers to paint today. One way or another, I was going to get a bit of spring color into my day. I know it's just a matter of time before I can paint scenes like this outdoors again. I can hardly wait!

Read more on my blog here.

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Rail Road Bridge - An Original 8 x 6 Landscape Oil Painting by George De Chiara

Rail Road Bridge ©

8x6 inches  Oil

George De Chiara

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 This is the second time I've painted at this location.The first time, I was standing just in front of this bridge painting the river bank on the left side of the painting. This time, I wanted to include the bridge. I love the color on the rusty sides of the bridge and how the structure seems to cut through its surroundings. Getting to a place where I could paint this proved to be more of a challenge than I thought it would be. I had to hike in from the other side of the river, which doesn't have very easy access. The closest place I could find to park my car was about a mile or so from where I wanted to paint, so I had to hike with all of my gear on my back along the river bank until I reached the bridge. Since this area is mostly undisturbed there's a ton of wildlife along the water. Next time I go, I've got to remember to bring my camera!

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Corner Lot - An Original 8 x 8 Plein Air Oil Painting by George De Chiara

Corner Lot ©

8x8 inches  Oil

George De Chiara

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 While I try to think of where I'm going to go and paint for the day, I often think back to places I've painted before. Sometimes, if I haven't been to a particular location for a while, I might try to remember what was there and if it seems like something I might be in the mood to paint. This was the case with today's painting. I hadn't been here in almost a year now, and, in my mind, it looked very different. When I got there...Read more on my blog here.

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Weekend Plans - An Original 6 x 8 Plein Air Oil Painting by George De Chiara

Weekend Plans ©

6x8 inches  Oil

George De Chiara

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While our daughters spent the weekend with Grandma, my wife and I found ourselves with some free time. Having a vague recollection of what free time is, we made plans to go to a near by state park, Cedar Hills State Park, and enjoy a beautiful Saturday afternoon. I mentioned that I'd like to do a little painting and my wife agreed, bringing along a book to read while she enjoyed some sunshine. The parks main attraction is its lake, Joe Pool Lake. Read more on my blog here.

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Thin Clouds - An Original 8 x 8 Plein Air Oil Painting by George De Chiara

Thin Clouds ©

8x8 inches  Oil

George De Chiara

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 While looking for a potential painting spot today, I was reminded of something that Richard Schmid said in one of his videos. I can't remember the exact quote, but it went something like this "Use each painting experience as a way to learn new things and not repeat what we have done before." The point being...Read more on my blog here.

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Spring Whites - An Original 8 x 8 Floral Oil Painting by George De Chiara

Spring Whites ©

8x8 inches  Oil

George De Chiara

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 For the last few weeks, I've tried to get over to the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens to check on the new spring blooms. Today when I went, there were a few more flowers blooming than last week, but still no where close to the big show coming up any day (week) now. Still, it's a great time to be there as new life is popping up everywhere, like these tiny white daffodils. I only found this one little patch of them out in the middle of a field. On another note...Lesson learned today...Read more on my blog here.

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Red - An Original 8 x 8 Wildlife Oil Painting by George De Chiara

Red © 

8x8 inches  Oil

George De Chiara

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 For the last few months, I've watched a pair of cardinals that come to eat from the bird feeder just outside my studio window. I'm not sure if they see me looking at them through the window or if the cat scares them off, but either way, they never stay for very long.  I've thought about painting one of them for a while now and today seemed like the perfect day for it. I had hoped they would stop by while I was working so I could look at them for reference, but I guess they had other plans. Come to think of it, I haven't seen them in a few days now...hmmm...I wonder if it's time to refill the bird feeder?

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Lazy River - An Original 10 x 8 Plein Air Landscape Oil Painting by George De Chiara

Lazy River ©  

10x8  Oil

George De Chiara

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 Last week while painting, a friend of mine he mentioned a new spot he's been wanting to check out and suggested we both go have a look. After finishing up our paintings for the day, we headed over. His spot turned out to be one of the many little rivers that run along the roads leading to Benbrook Lake. After parking on the side of the street...Read more on my blog here.

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Spring's Hope - An Original 10x8 Plein Air Landscape Oil Painting by George De Chiara

Spring's Hope ©

10x8 inches  Oil

George De Chiara

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 One of my favorite aspects of plein air painting is hunting out new locations. I love the discovery of a new place to paint! Sometimes, I just turn off my GPS and drive aimlessly searching. When something piques my interest, I stop and paint it and rely on the GPS to get me home from off-the-beaten path. Other times, the search is about...Read more on my blog here.

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Spring Has Sprung - An Original 8x10 Plein Air Landscape Oil Painting by George De Chiara

Spring Has Sprung ©

8x10 inches  Oil

George De Chiara

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 It's official...spring is on its way here in Texas...or maybe it's already here. It's hard to tell when it's 92 degrees outside. If it's not here, then I know it will be soon because the Bradford Pears have started to bloom. For me, this always marks the start of the spring. First the tress, then the wildflowers and finally the garden! Everywhere I look I'm seeing more and more trees full of little while flowers. In a few more weeks, they will drop the flowers and put on leaves. For day's it will look like it's snowing with all the pedals blowing in the wind. Since these trees don't produce a fruit this is their big show for the year.

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Winter Grazing - An Original 8x8 Landscape Oil Painting by George De Chiara

Winter Grazing ©

8x8 inches  Oil

George De Chiara

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For the last few days, I've been recovering from a cold my 3-year-old thought she should share with me and her 18 month old sister and mother. It seems I got the worst case of it and spent most of the day yesterday laid up in bed. Luckily, it seems, that was the worst of it because today I was able to get back into the studio and do a little painting. I wanted to go out and paint, but our weather was still a little on the cool side and I thought I best not push it so soon. Instead I stayed in the studio and painted these cows grazing in a typical later winter or early spring pasture here in Texas, and though there are no leaves on the tress yet, there is still plenty of green grass to chew on.

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