"Cold Winter Morning" 8 x 10. Acrylic.

Let me know your thoughts.

Small acrylic study at Bear Creek.

"The Happy Apple Farm"
9x12 oil on linen.

A really great place to get the fall feeling. Located down 115 south of Colorado Springs. You pick your own apples off the trees. There are raspberries, blackberries on the bushes ripe for picking, but the blackberry cobbler is to die for!
There was this wonderfully restored tractor sitting there begging for a painting, and who am I to neglect the opp! 

Pastel. Done about twenty years ago. Fun! I need to get them out again.

9x12" Oil on Linen.
"I wandered around for this one. There are some old homesteads east of the Rockies, and I happened down a lonely little traveled road north east of Colorado Springs. An old for sale sign off the main road gave me a license to take a stroll. After all if anyone said anything I could always explain I'm just 'looking'.
Sure enough this old barn was completely hidden from passerby. Nestled in a shallow valley, I set up shop and enjoyed a perfectly quiet and peaceful plein air painting. I hope you Enjoy!

Greg

Looking forward to a small show this Saturday 4:30 to 6:30pm, 26th at Umpire Estate Mountain Roasters.
302 East Fillmore St. Colorado Springs CO. 80907.
"Colorado Reflections" is a group of eight to ten new works in and around the Pikes Peak region.

"Muddy Waters" is a small oil painting, 5.5x9". This was a new stream after historic rains this last July in Colorado. Interesting contrast last summer with wildfires and flooding!
I found this after parking the truck and hiking a little ways in Garden of the gods, Colorado Springs.
All my years here I have never seen so much water.
Been really enjoying oil painting again after going with natural oil instead of solvents.

I have passed this place many times near my home. This day the color struck me and I had to go back and grab the camera. Looking over a bridge gave a birds eye view. White sandstone cliffs in deep shadow contrast with the sky blue reflected in water.
A couple months ago I commented about my interest in acrylics on account of solvents and the hassle and health concerns. Lately I have been painting in oil again. This time I have replaced mineral spirits with vegetable oil. Aside from some adjustment in the way I used solvents, the oil has been a revelation! No more toxic fumes. I use cheap grocery soybean oil to clean brushes between colors and after painting with soap and water if they are going to sit for more than a couple of days. I still use a small amount of walnut oil and turp for painting with. Actually 1/3 triple distilled artist grade turp, 1/3 Damar and 1/3 Graham walnut  oil works great. Now instead of sloshing the vapors you only have the nice linseed oil smell. Its amazing how well the vegetable oil cleans the brush. I use two jars, one for the majority of cleaning and a second to remove the rest. Paper towels to wipe off excess. 
8 x 6" Oil on linen.

"Home on the Range" 9 x 12 Oil on linen.

6 x 8" Front Range Ranch. Acrylic on Linen.

"Sunday Morning" 8 x 12"
What a reward to get away and immerse oneself in the moment. I parked my truck last Spring and started walking the neighborhood in Manitou Colorado. I found cats in the window, dogs on the porch, and this beautiful scene on a steep street. If you live in Manitou there are very few places that are not located on the side of a hill. I love the old porch swing of this 1800's home. The cool gray sky was a great ground for 'juicy' color and nice contrasts!
I listed this on ebay tonight.

Playing with some different perspectives on these old homesteads in a beautiful valley west of Cripple Creek, near the town of Guffey CO.

This was a brutally cold day, I felt for this poor soul out in this. The wind was blowing hard and this structure provided a little shelter.

The more absorbed the more fluid.. sometimes that takes time for me, like a runner warming up for a race. This painting morphed a few times as the direction began to become apparent. Not a spontaneous painting, I worked to hopefully create atmosphere where one can stand there and smell the landscape.

This small painting was done from a study done in my pickup. I parked across the street, put the seat back and did a 'stealth' painting. It was actually quite chilly and using the heater every so often made for a comfortable vantage.
Manitou CO is an interesting town. Lots of character in architecture and people. The 'Dulcimer shop' with its sunlit awning grabbed my attention. I call this 'Come on over' in regard to the pooch anticipating a visit. He seems to be the only one that notices my presence.
The original study is in the Grand Lake Gallery in Grand Lake CO.

Just finished this painting. There is an old mining museum about five miles north of Colorado Springs. This old barn is one of several. I took several photos of the progress on this one. I have always enjoyed seeing the way other artists work.

Getting a feel for shapes and composition. Yellow ochre, raw sienna, Cadmium red medium and Cad yellow. Here I wanted to start getting the window established and values.
I worked out from the window, adjusting as I go. Using fast drying acrylic allows multiple layers quickly. Dry brushing and using a hair spray bottle to keep paints from drying out on my pallet, the details in the grass and rough sawn lumber in the barn is indicated. I love the ragged rotted bottom with ochres. The deep blacks and summer grass/ wild flowers are nice over the deep green underpainting in the foreground.



Gratefully,
Greg
 

"Guffey Grass" There are some way cool places on this earth!! I usually don't get too far away to paint. It seems there are so many 'paintings' around every corner. This lush spot is near Guffey CO caught my attention. I of course took liberties. Moved the truck from across the field and altered other elements to 'enhance' the story. I won't soon forget this day, between biting flies, road grader, rain, and a rogue wind that blew my supplies and bag about a quarter mile down the road. With a pallet of paint full of dirt I persevered until the real rain came. That's OK! nothing ventured right? 

I found these hardy little guys last fall at Grand Lake Colorado in a small planter. The nights were freezing, and yet here they were!

Greg Clibon Art.: How do you choose a subject for your next painting...

Greg Clibon Art.: How do you choose a subject for your next painting...: How do you choose a subject for your next painting? Maybe you have spent most of your time looking for the 'right' place instead o...

How do you choose a subject for your next painting? Maybe you have spent most of your time looking for the 'right' place instead of painting. If not careful, I can get a 'yeah but I wonder what's over there' mentality. Instead of wandering all over, I try to pay attention to a scene that catch my initial interest. Then instead of overlooking and continuing on, I try to see the potential. For example, this landscape has elements I enjoy. The contrast in values and warm and cool colors have a nice feel. The challenge now is to capture what attracted me while having fun with composition and setting it up.  This painting "Cool Spot" I needed to get the values right and pay attention to the foreground. Both the cool blue of snow and red bushes seem to demand attention, I didn't want one to diminish the other.

"Discovered"

Is Less More?

Richard Schmid once stated that it takes two people to do a painting, one to paint and the other to rap you on the knuckles when its time to stop.

 As Humans, we have this wonderful ability to finish a visual story from 'hints'. It seems that the more finished the less interest for the mind. I did this painting a couple of years ago. I came across some pictures I took of the progress from white canvas to finished. This helps me try to get a sense of transformation. Its easy to think that if I keep tightening and stating that I am improving. Sometimes it works, but usually something is lost. I like the aspens and background in the finished painting, but looking back I enjoy the 'feeling' of the first picture with the painting somewhere in the middle. There is a softness and nice light that I managed to compromise. If only someone was there with a ruler. Looking back (I'm glad I took pics) I would work the background like the finished painting and left the foreground and deer looser.

Here is a space I really savor. Sitting atop a hill near Rainbow Falls there is an unobstructed view of the North Slope of Pikes Peak. During the week it is so quiet and peaceful. Painting in Acrylic requires a different discipline especially in this high dry landscape. I have found Golden Open paints to work well as long as the squirt bottle is used frequently. In the past I would frantically try to keep ahead of the paint. If there was a breeze the paint would almost dry before it reached the canvas when using other acrylics.

Grabber Blue Boss

I thought of including an older painting I did several years ago. This painting was from pictures of the actual car once in my possession, a 1970 Boss 429 Mustang. Every car enthusiast has the story of the one that got away, so I will not bore you with that. Needless to say it would have paid off my house. It had that special quality impossible to replicate today. The sound was glorious. The 'grabber blue' color and white interior magnificent.
My intention is a painting of contrasts, the car with a background color in bright light. The vertical windows and door to accentuate the horizontal direction of the car. The cool blue with a 'hot' background and a rather neutral road as a base. I also enjoy the effect of rough peeling plaster wall with the smooth car. This one is about conscious contrast. White highlights to dark shadows help make the last statement.

"SPRING THAW"
Lately I have been concentrating on some small perspective paintings. After several 'panoramic' views of mountains ect. This more intimate spot really captured my attention. Done with Golden Open Acrylic on linen. 

Greg Clibon Art.: I have been using acrylics more lately. The solven...

Greg Clibon Art.: I have been using acrylics more lately. The solven...: I have been using acrylics more lately. The solvents and the difficulty of dealing with disposal and slow drying time of oils makes acrylics...

I have been using acrylics more lately. The solvents and the difficulty of dealing with disposal and slow drying time of oils makes acrylics an easy choice if it were not for the advantages of painting in oil. Someone compared the difference as painting with margarine or butter. The texture and body of oils are wonderful. Acrylic just flattens out when dry.
I have been using Windsor and Newton to start with block in and then moving to Golden Open for slower drying time. The quick drying of the W/N paints is nice to set the stage. I find that they dry Too quick outside though. In this case the Golden paint is great from start to finish.

This small painting was done on the spot in Manitou Colorado to the west of Colorado Springs CO.
Done entirely with Golden Open acrylic. Painted on linen taped to hardboard. I like the surface of Centurion Linen in their primed pad.
 

"This Shadow"
Here is my first try at blogging. Please bear with me as I tip toe into waters that are brand new to me. A little about myself. The painting above is what I love to do. This happens to be in Garden of the gods park in Colorado Springs CO. If you have been there then you probably wonder where the spectacular red rocks that the park is know for are? Well, this intimate corner struck me in its beautiful contrasts. Cool shadows, bright sunlit snow and warm earth tones. I hope you enjoy. I'm glad to make a start here and will close for now.
My Best Regards to Art lovers.