September in Salzburg and Hallein

Plein air painting of a honey seller in Hallein, Austria.

Honey Seller in the Market, Hallein. 20 x 30 cm, oil on panel.

A few plein air paintings from earlier in the month in Salzburg and Hallein. These are part of a continuing series of paintings I’m doing in the area for an exhibition in Hallein. The show was supposed to be coming up fast, but I’ve pushed it back a year to next October, so I can try to get four seasons worth of work into it.

Plein air painting of Schöndorferplatz in Hallein, Austria.

Schöndorferplatz, Hallein. 30 x 20 cm, oil on panel.

I really enjoy painting in the valley west of Hallein as well, (even though it’s Germany and I’m supposed to be working on an Austrian show).

Plein air painting of a church in Oberau, Germany.

Church in Oberau (Germany). 30 x 20 cm, oil on panel.

I painted a lot in Salzburg again. I tend to focus on smaller areas as walking a lot to scout can take up too much time for these short trips. In this case I was in the Mirabell Gardens for a couple of days.

Plein air painting of trees in the Mirabell Gardens, Salzburg, Austria.

Mirabell Gardens #1. 25 x 35 cm, oil on panel.

Plein air painting of the Mirabell Gardens in Salzburg, Austria.

Mirabell Gardens #2. 25 x 35 cm, oil on panel.

Plein air painting of statues in the Mirabell Gardens, Salzburg, Austria.

Statues in the Mirabell Gardens. 30 x 20 cm, oil on panel.

Plein air painting of a street musician in Salzburg, Austria.

Street Musician, Salzburg. 20 x 30 cm, oil on panel.

This last one is unfinished as I didn’t calculate the shadow of the bell tower blocking out my light for an hour. It was my last morning there so I didn’t get a chance to go back this trip.

Unfinished painting of carriages in Salzburg, Austria.

Carriages in Salzburg (unfinished). 20 x 30 cm, oil on panel.

Salzburg Studio Paintings

Oil painting of the statues in the Mirabell Garden in Salzburg, Austria.

Mirabell Statues. 90 x 120 cm, oil on linen.

Here are some images of the larger landscape paintings I’ve been working on in the studio over the last month. These are enlarged from plein air sketches done on site in Hallein, Salzburg, and the surrounding area in Austria and Southern Germany earlier in the year.

Oil painting of the Church at Faistenau, Austria in the winter.

The Church at Faistenau. 60 x 80 cm, oil on linen.

These will be in an exhibition at a new arts center in Hallein in September. There are a couple of more I plan on starting and I’ll update this post when they’re finished. I’ve never been a huge fan of the Spring colors we have outside at the moment. I find the acid greens and browns don’t work all that well in paintings, and it’s nice to be working inside for a bit.

There is also a certain freedom to studio work which you feel less when working from the subject in life. The painting becomes much more about design and creativity, and less about the visual accuracy I usually strive for when working from the subject on site.

Landscape painting of Salzburg in the winter.

Salzburg, Winter. 60 x 80 cm, oil on linen.

Oil painting of a path in the snow above Bad Dürrnberg, Austria.

Morning above Bad Dürrnberg. 80 x 100 cm, oil on linen.

On an unrelated note, for anyone in London this week, a number of my paintings will be exhibited in the BADA fair, with my British dealer Constantine Lindsay.

Update: Here is another studio piece from this week:

Oil painting of St. Gilgen, Austria.

St. Gilgen. 70 x110 cm, oil on linen.

Winter in Hallein, Austria

Plein air landscape of roofs in the snow in Hallein, Austria.

Hallein Roofs. 20 x 30 cm, oil on panel.

Here is the first group of the plein air landscapes from the last two weeks in Hallein, Austria. We had a lot of snow, but enough sun to give us a bit of variety in the lighting.

Plein air landscape of Hallein in the sun.

Winter Sun, Hallein. 35 x 22 cm, oil on panel.

Croatia and Austria were part of the same country not so long ago, and it’s only four hours by car from Zagreb to Salzburg (by contrast, Dubrovnik is eight hours to the south of us). The architecture in that part of the world has a similar feel to the old parts of Zagreb, and there is some overlap with the food and customs.

Plein air landscape of factories in February.

Factories. 20 x 30 cm, oil on panel.

These paintings are for an exhibition I’ll be having with a few other painters in June of this year, and in May I hope to go back and paint some ‘warmer’ pieces. Also, some of these sketches will be enlarged over the next few months as well. March and April are my least favorite months to work outside.

Oil painting of Hallein, Austria in the snow.

Hallein. 25 x 35 cm, oil on panel.

Plein air landscape of a snowy street in Hallein, Austria.

Snow in the Streets, Hallein. 30 x 20 cm, oil on panel.

Plein air landscape of an overpass in the snow.

Overpass in the Snow. 30 x 20 cm, oil on panel.

Plein air landscape of the Upper Town, Hallein.

Upper Town. 30 x 20 cm, oil on panel.

I drove quite extensively, as usual. Next post will be the sketches from Salzburg and the surround towns, villages, and countryside.

Plein air painting of a path in the woods, Bad Durnberg.

Path in the Woods, Bad Dürnberg. 20 x 30 cm, oil on panel.