Getting New Ideas

Maybe three weeks ago.....
.....I took a workshop with Terry Miura.  After reading many, maybe all, of Terry's blog posts and looking at the paintings he's posted I developed an appreciation for his painting design and brushwork.  His mastery of the use of edges is evident in all his work but especially with the figure.  Periodically I need new input and he seemed a great choice.

These are a few of the pieces from those three days.  Terry is more of a tonal painter than I am.  So what's that, you ask?  There are differing definitions and, since I like mine the best, here it is.  A tonalist, when changing planes on a form, first asks 'what value is it?'.  A colorist first asks, 'what temperature (or color) is it?'.  There are lots of places on this kind of a spectrum.  I thought I might move myself more toward a tonalist for a while and see how it fit....but as hard as I tried I didn't go all that far.  I seem to always see color before value....but I gave it a try.

(Colors in the original are more intense)

Take a look at Terry's blog HERE.  You'll learn some things.  I ended up adding two pigments to my palette.

Upcoming workshop through the Winslow Art Center is called 'Blowing It Up', how to turn a days worth of sketches into a larger piece.  Find out more HERE.

Thanks for looking.

Bloedel in Spring, Two Paintings

'Reflections', 11x14

After Painting a Bloedel Reserve Diptych...

....(posted recently) I still had some time for another try and ended up in this lovely secluded place.  A few guests at the Bloedel Reserve wandered by but left me alone.  Well, there was this group of Japanese tourists who had seen me painting the diptych that asked me to pull it out so they could see it.  But then they got shocked and miffed when I said I couldn't because it was back in the car.  I'm thinking there was a translation problem as they kept looking deep into the water after I told them.

This was enjoyable to do but got difficult for me when I got to the multiple reflections in the water and how to distinguish the fallen log from the light coming from the bottom of the pond.....where they thought my other painting was.  I'm satisfied with how it turned out and I learned some things.  Always good.

The next day I went back and did two more pieces.  This one, 'Strolling the Buttercup Forest', is in a part of the park that is unmanicured, left natural.  The light there is airier, the color is higher in value and there are fewer tourists looking in the water for my stuff.  

It was a great day to be painting.

Thanks for hanging out.

Marker Sketches

Marker Workshop Level II....

.....is next Wednesday, May 20th, so I thought I would post some drawings from two days ago to get the juices flowing....yours and mine.

In this one day event we will expand from the beginning workshop to doing more sketching on location and add in some white gouache, markers or pen to increase the sense of  dimension in the work.

I'll show you how to 'scribble' draw and how to use a visual 'ruler' to help your drawings come together faster and easier.  Even better, we will all learn something about how to live with our mistakes...or use them to be more creative in the finished work and look.

In this piece I'll bet you didn't even notice that I neglected to put legs or pedestal under the chair she is sitting on.  She is magically holding up herself and the chairs on that one bent leg....but who cares?

In this one I framed out the stuff above (this was a full page drawing) to add more emphasis on the  person at the table.

Find out how to sign up for this workshop....or other classes.....by checking in with the Winslow Art Center HERE.  Hope you can make it next week.  But if you can't keep it in mind for another time.

Keep on Drawing!!

Thanks for checking in.

Bloedel Lake, 11x28

My Big Idea....

PAWA, Plein Air Painters of Washington, had a paint out at what I call the Downton Abbey of Bainbridge Island, which is the Bloedel Reserve.  Once a summer residence, it was set aside as a foundation run park and preserved area.  Quite a place.

While driving there I had the thought that it was just too much for a regular sized canvas and wished I had something different.  The thought persisted until I realized I had several 11x14 linen boards with me and I didn't see any reason not to stick a couple of them together and make a diptych.

I wanted to do two paintings that compositionally could stand on their own but be framed up as a whole if it worked out....this is called 'covering your bets', a professional painters term.

As almost always I'd change things a bit if I did it again because having done it I have new ideas.  That said, I like the result and, yes, the water was actually brown, green, red, purple and blue.    I used my standard split complement palette but added Transparent Earth Red as an experiment....which I think worked.  (Thanks, Terry Miura.)

MARKER WORKSHOP Level II is scheduled for next Wednesday, May 20th.  This is a new workshop designed for anyone who has completed my Marker I class or feels comfortable with the materials.  We will be going out and about to sketch using a combination of regular marker drawing plus adding in some white gouache for emphasis when we use toned paper.  We will explore different ways to add compositional emphasis, mark making, simplification and how to just have some fun with the medium.  I'll also be introducing 'scribble drawing'.  Cool.  Find out more at the Winslow Art Center (HERE).

No, not the great Northwest...but it gives you the idea of what can be done with marker drawing .

Thanks for your interest.