One of my favorite parks in Raleigh is Durant Park.  A few weeks ago my kids had their wrestling picnic in one of the shelters.  I was able to sneak away and get some pictures of the creek.  It seems the water in the creek is always pretty low so this results in alot of tree roots hanging over the creek.  Definitely makes for some interesting pictures and of course later on interesting paintings.

For this painting I painted one layer on a 24x36” Gessobord.  I deliberately omitted painting a lot of detail on the big tree and the rock system in the lower right corner.  When I finished painting the panel, I primed certain areas of a glass pane, and painted those.  When finished I placed the glass on top of the panel.  I started exploring this method of glass painting when I did my second DVD Abstracting the Outdoors: Unlikely Surfaces, it really allows for a different and interesting depth perception that I have yet to achieve from a one layered two dimensional work.  This piece was accepted into the 2009 NEW Show at the Visual Art Exchange of Raleigh.

This work is presented in a silver metal frame.

Buy the original by contacting me at micah@micahmullen.com

Buy prints at http://micah-mullen.fineartamerica.com

A painting depicted from a scene in late November of 2009. I took several pictures from the bike path overlooking Crabtree creek. It was a cold miserable sky, the grey sky is somewhat reflective of the atmospheric conditions in contrast to the blue water which if looked on alone might depict a sunnier day. Most of the leaves had since fallen leaving a lot of interesting earth tones to work with. The big trees really allowed for some interesting details and they have a lovely contrast with the sky and the water.

This work is presented in a silver metal frame.

Buy the original by contacting me at micah@micahmullen.com

Buy prints at http://micah-mullen.fineartamerica.com

One of my favorite areas of Falls Lake.  I love the way the big tree stands out against the background of the water and forest area.  The piece was selected for the Durham Art Guild 2008 Annual Juried Show.

Buy prints at http://micah-mullen.fineartamerica.com

Over the last few years most of my paintings have been inspired by pictures taken in various spots in the Carolinas and elsewhere on the east coast. I always put alot of thought into where I might find my next painting. Will it be a lake, a river, a waterfall or field? Usually my family comes with me on these trips so we generally find that "perfect" location between 10 am and 4 Pm. Of the hundreds of pictures taken and all the sites we have seen, I now realize I am neglecting the time of day in finding an ideal subject. I am certainly aware of the different colors and tones involved with atmosphere and time, but I have never made the effort to go out and seek them. Even in this most recent painting of Fall Lake which is only a few miles from my house, it was just by coincidence that I was able to take the picture at sundown. Sometimes the perfect subject might not involve driving 5 hours to the western part of the state, but rather just a matter of waiting a few hours for sundown or getting up early for sunrise.

This painting was inspired by a view from Blue Jay Point Park at Falls Lake. The sundown setting allowed me to dust off some of my red and yellow paint tubes and create a neat sunset.

It is a 1-1/2" canvas with all four sides painted and is currently available at the Little Art Gallery in Raleigh (Cameron Village) littleartgalleryandcraft.com

Buy prints at http://micah-mullen.fineartamerica.com

It is a 1-1/2" canvas with all four sides painted. 

It is presented as an unframed work. Buy the original by contacting me at micah@micahmullen.com

Buy prints at http://micah-mullen.fineartamerica.com

Buy prints at http://micah-mullen.fineartamerica.com

Buy prints at http://micah-mullen.fineartamerica.com

 It is a 13/4" canvas with all four sides painted.  It is presented in a wood floater frame (Black)

Buy the original by contacting me at micah@micahmullen.com

Buy prints at http://micah-mullen.fineartamerica.com

This work  is presented in a silver metal frame.

Buy the original by contacting me at micah@micahmullen.com

Buy prints at http://micah-mullen.fineartamerica.com

Painted entirely in thin fluid acrylics, this work reflects the quarry at the Eno River. The picture was taken on a beautiful, crisp day in early March. Although there was not a cloud in the sky I chose to alternate colors in the sky in a combination of cobalt and cerulean. Both the sky and the water were created by first outlining a grid of a squares (each about 1/2" x 1/2") The squares were all individually painted to reflect a distinct color or pattern. The land mass of trees uses a series of greens and earthtones, I needed to use two different glazes of Burnt Umber and Raw Sienna to provide some contrast with the land and water.

It is presented as an unframed work with all sides painted.  To purchase this piece please contact me at micah@micahmullen.com

Buy prints at http://micah-mullen.fineartamerica.com

In this painting I tried to make the sky very distinguishable using a series of grids, colors and symbols. The water also uses grids and colors, but has a more distorted look to give the appearance of reflective shapes. I tried to use a limited palette of blues and greens for the majority of the painting in the hopes that this would create a strong focal point of the reds, oranges and yellows seen in the sunset.

THIS PIECE HAS BEEN SOLD

In a further evolution of working with grids and the patterns within them, I used the sky of this work for more experimentation and abstraction. Like the earlier piece I did of the Quarry at the Eno River, the sky and water were broken down into 1/2"x1/2" squares. The sky was first pained in a series of contrasting blues, and then symbols of were added in other blue contrasts. After this a light blue glaze was applied over the entire sky. The water does not have quite the same abstraction, but the same painting methods were used. I like the way the rocks were positioned in this setting. Being the rocks were right on the river bank it allowed me to use a different palette of colors to distinguish the main body of land from the water.

For purchasing information please contact Nicole Kennedy at (919) 838-8580 or nicolesstudio@bellsouth.net - www.nicolestudio.com

Buy prints at http://micah-mullen.fineartamerica.com

 It is a 1-1/2" canvas with all four sides painted.  It is presented in wood floater frame (black)  and will be shipped free to anywhere in the continental United States.

Buy prints at http://micah-mullen.fineartamerica.com

 It is a 1-1/2" canvas with all four sides painted.  It is presented as an unframed work

Buy the original by contacting me at micah@micahmullen.com

Buy prints at http://micah-mullen.fineartamerica.com

This is one of several paintings I have done of Falls Lake.  Being the picture was taken on sunny day in the summer there are obviously some dominant greens.  Chromium Oxide Green is one of my favorite greens.  This is a very opaque green, I can use this straight out of the tube to achieve full coverage.  This is very different from another of my favorite greens – Permanent Green Light.  Here I try to mix about 10% white to achieve a good opacity.  This does not weaken the color at all, in those instances where I want use this color for its transparent qualities it actually provides a subtle contrast.

This work is presented as an unframed work.

Buy the original by contacting me at micah@micahmullen.com

Buy prints at http://micah-mullen.fineartamerica.com

Buy prints at http://micah-mullen.fineartamerica.com

 
THIS PIECE HAS BEEN SOLD

Buy prints at http://micah-mullen.fineartamerica.com

 It is a 3/4" canvas with all four sides painted.  It is presented in a black Floater Frame.

Buy the original by contacting me at micah@micahmullen.com 

Buy prints at http://micah-mullen.fineartamerica.com

This work is presented in a silver metal frame.

Buy the original by contacting me at micah@micahmullen.com

Buy prints at http://micah-mullen.fineartamerica.com