A New Year

2012 is here and I have painted 82 9x12 plein air paintings since last Spring. Looking back at them I think they do show some improvement. Presently I'm reading four books on the subject of painting and I hope to do a short review on each here.
For right now I'll post my most recent paintings which all reflect the colder weather and also lack of sun in the last few weeks or so. Good excuse for these rather gray 9x12s, but I'm learning to not take nature so literally and hope to be able to improve on my 20% success ratio.
I've been busy and restricted to painting in the back yard when I can get an hour or two. the top picture is Marcescent Beeches — That's a plant that holds on to it's leaves. They are interesting this time of year because the are very horizontal and counteract the vertical pines and poplars so common here
At the bottom, two done right out the back door. Winter in the Garden—a rather cold looking piece and a brighter vertical of my favorite spot to smoke cigars and drink wine—The Men's Deck.