Cone Flowers - An Original 8x8 Plein Air Landscape Oil Painting by George De Chiara

Cone Flowers © 

8x8 inches   Oil

George De Chiara

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 While visiting my parents, I noticed their neighbor's garden is full of flowers. There are so many wonderful blooms everywhere, full of color and interest that it was hard to focus on what I wanted to paint. At first I thought I wanted to paint a larger view of the garden, but decided against that and opted for this smaller, intimate view of a few of the flowers. I may still go back and do that larger view if I can work out a few of the compositional issues I ran into while considering it today. 

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Cattails - An Original 8x8 Plein Air Landscape Oil Painting by George De Chiara

Cattails ©

8x8 inches   Oil

George De Chiara

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A few weeks ago, we took our daughters to a park to play that we had never been to before. While walking around, I noticed there was a lake at the end of the park. I'm always attracted to the water, so naturally I went to take a closer look. It turned out to be a very small pond with a nice fishing pier and water fountain in the middle. It also had a some very nice cattails growing around it. As I set up to paint, a group of boys came by. They stopped and talked to me for a few minutes and then went over to the pier to fish. While I was finishing up, they came by again to check my progress. One of them asked when I started to paint and I told them I was about their age when I started.

He looked at me and said "What are you now, like 20 something?"

"No," I said, "more like 40 something."

His eyes about bulged out of his head! Boy, do I feel old... 

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Mallard - A New Original 8x8 Wildlife Oil Painting by George De Chiara

Mallard ©

8x8 inches   Oil

George De Chiara

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 I found this guy at the lake just down the road from our house. We go to this lake often to feed the ducks and let our girls play at the nearby park. Since the ducks at this lake have a lot of human interaction, they are very friendly, which thrills my 3-year-old daughter who likes to have them eat the bread out of her hands. Luckily for me, they don't mind having their pictures taken either. I love painting from life and on location as much as possible, but for me it's impossible to paint scene like this that way. For these, I must rely on photos and my memory.  

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Peaceful Spot - A New Original 8x8 Landscape Oil Painting by George De Chiara

Peaceful Spot ©

8x8 inches  Oil

George De Chiara

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 I first found this spot a few months ago while painting in the Texas hill country. It's a wonderful little oasis pretty much in the middle of nothing. Just a few feet up the river from these rocks is a nice little waterfall, and just down the river about 50 feet is a popular swimming hole with the local kids. I tried to paint this scene on location, but after about an hour or so of painting I scraped off what I had and took a few photographs for reference, just in case I wanted to try to revisit this in the studio. I recently re-discovered those images and thought I'd give this scene another crack. I'm much happier with this version!  

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Lake Shore Tree - A New Original 8x8 Plein Air Landscape Oil Painting by George De Chiara

Lake Shore Tree ©

8x8 inches   Oil

George De Chiara

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 It's funny how I can go back to a spot that I didn't think would make a good painting and find something to paint. That's what happened here. I've gone to this place several times and almost every time left without every finding anything that caught my eye. Then on a whim this weekend, I went back to this lake and immediately found this scene to paint. I must have looked at this scene every other time I've gone here, but, for whatever reason, this time it spoke to me. I loved the way the branches and tree trunks look like they are exploding out of the green center. The lack of a strong sun helped add to the quite, soft feel of the place. I guess sometimes it's worth going back for a second (or fifth) look!

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Pappy's Pond - A New Original 10x8 Plein Air Oil Painting by George De Chiara

Pappy's Pond © 

10x8 inches  Oil

George De Chiara

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This little lake, named after "Pappy" Elkins, is just down the road from our house. I often go there to paint and never seem to run out of subject matter. The lake plays hosts to a large number of ducks and water fowl, along with turtles, and, of course, fishing. Over the years the water level has dropped, changing the look and feel of the lake. In fact, this view is normally not exposed. The water level use to go up to just about the trees. I prefer this look, but the lake probably wants its water back.

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Fence Line - A New Original 8x10 Plein Air Oil Painting by George De Chiara

Fence Line © 

8x10 inches   Oil

George De Chiara

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 I really enjoy the location of our house because I can be in the country in about 40 minutes. I love driving along the winding country roads looking for scenes like this to paint. After finding a safe place to pull off the road, I set up to paint though I had to work directly under the hot, hot sun since I forgot my umbrella at home. By the end of the painting, I was happy to pack up and get out of the heat! I was also very happy to have a cold bottle of water waiting for my in the car. 

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Porch Garden - An Original 8x8 Landscape Oil Painting by George De Chiara

Porch Garden ©

8x8 inches   Oil

George De Chiara

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 Just about every summer morning when I walk out my front door, I see these geraniums planted on my neighbor's porch. I'm always struck by the contrast of the flowers and the light background of the house. The sun seems to sneak between the trees just to shine on these flowers. For almost as long as I've noticed these flowers I've thought to myself that they would make a good painting, but for some reason never painted them. Well, that finally changed. After spending the morning looking for something to paint at a few of my local spots I gave up and headed home. The sun was getting hot and nothing seemed very interesting to paint until I again noticed these potted plants on my neighbors porch. It was then I finally knew what I was going to paint (finally)!

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Thread and Needles - An Original 8x10 Still Life Oil Painting by George De Chiara

Thread and Needles ©

8x10 inches   Oil

George De Chiara

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 A few years ago, I discovered these wooden spools of thread mixed in with my wife's sewing supplies. As soon as I saw them, I knew I had found something to paint! I've returned to them a few times over the years and never seem to get tired of using them in my still life paintings. I love the character they have, especially compared to their plastic counterparts. 

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Grapes - An Original 8 x 8 Still Life Oil Painting by George De Chiara

Grapes ©

8x8 inches   Oil

George De Chiara

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  I noticed lately I've done a lot of my still life paintings from about the same angle. To try to get out of that habit, I set this one very low off the ground on the shortest table I could find. I then set my easel up just about on top of it giving me a top down view. This made for an interesting challenge and definitely got me out of my comfort zone.  

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