Study for Rainier Light, 14x18

This is a study for a larger piece that's in process....meaning that it is still in my head getting ready to move into paint.  When we see the mountain (when the rain stops and we eventually SEE the mountain) it is gorgeous and inspiring and awesome.  I suppose if it happened more we could get ho-hum complacent about it.

This study just works out some of the color structure and tone.  I have ideas how it can go from here but I'll need to mull it over some more before committing a larger canvas.  A painting of Mt. Rainer can be rather trite....I'll see if I can make it interesting.

Yesterday I hauled our paintings over to Roslyn for the show that begins this weekend (see previous post).  After dropping them off I left to find a painting spot.   The work was going well until a thunderstorm moved in.  I decided to leave....but the car wouldn't turn over.

Must be a bad battery connection, says I.  So I get out a few times to detach and clean off the connectors but, while it did get better it still wouldn't start.  One more try, says I.  By this time the sky was dumping so when I got out I closed the door.  I detached the connector again and when I reconnected it I heard the car locks go 'click'.

Phone in car.  Check.
Keys in car.  Check.
Doors all locked.  Check.
Raining like buckets.  Check.
Soaked.  Check.

The story continues but you get the idea.  The painting was also a wet flop.

The Changing, 24x30

Catherine Gill and I have a show beginning this Saturday called "Palette of a Village, a Plein Air Perspective of Roslyn".  The two of us have painted there for many years but the pieces in the show are from the last twelve months or so.  Here is one of Cathe's watercolors:

Nice, huh?  How I wish I could get those soft edges and transparent colors in oil.  Watching her paint is poetry.

Anyway, the show lasts until August 16th and we will be at the opening this Saturday from 3 until 8, and there again on July 14th from 4 to 6 for book signings.  Cathe will have her book, Powerful Watercolor Landscapes with her and I'll have my book, Sketching with Valued Markers.  It's at the Vintage Vine (wine tasting!), 104 1st Street in Roslyn (509-674-8805).

If you get a chance, drop by to meet us or at least stop in to see the work and visit the wine shop sometime before August 16th.

Roslyn On Edge, 14x18

Part of the charm of Roslyn, WA is that not every thing is perfectly square, perpendicular, level or entirely secure in its footing.  Roslyn is an old town, by western standards, and a recent coal mining community with many of the company buildings, houses, and downtown still around.  Residents are fixing it up but some have the good sense to let the precarious and picturesque remain.

Two of us have a show opening there on June 30th.  Catherine Gill, talented and well known artist in many different media, and I are each hanging 10 pieces we have done in the last year in and around Roslyn.  Cathe is showing her exquisite watercolors (see the book by she and Beth Means, Powerful Watercolor Landscapes) and I've got some large and small oils, all plein air.

"Palette of a Village, a plein air perspective of Roslyn"  will open on June 30th from 3 until 8 and there will be an artist's reception and book signing on July 14th, 4 to 6.  Cathe and I will both have our books there.

Setting Light, 14x18

In the waning light of evening I tried this scene, which changed its light every 43 seconds....about the amount of time it took me to look, paint and look again, only to find it different.  Talk about chasing the light.

All in all, it was still a lovely evening to be standing on the beach.

One Ship Pollutes as Much as 50 Million Cars.
While I don't usually depart much from writing about art, I'm fairly agitated about this topic.  Below is a link to an article about it.  The short of it is that one container ship, because of the low grade of fuel it uses, pollutes as much as all the cars and trucks on the U.S. highways.  Unbelievable.

There are many regular size container ships but now they are building these super container ships.  They are made cheaply with thin sides and the fuel in them is so thick at room temperature that you can walk on it.  The sulfur content, as well as other pollutants, is extremely high.  There are currently 300 on the drawing boards waiting to be built.  There are no international laws controlling them. 

We have such a beautiful world being destroyed by the search for the quick dollar.  I haven't heard of these ships in the news.  One ship, every day, the equivalent of 50 million cars and trucks.  Somehow driving our Prius to lower emissions seems pretty insignificant...

Thanks for reading.  Write someone if you can.  Here is the link to the article.

Spring Snowballs, 14x18

Flowers can be so fleeting that several Springs can go by before I get around to painting certain ones.  It has taken a few years to get around to painting snowballs again.  My friend Debbie showed up and took some progress shots....thanks, D.  I'm sharing them below so you can see the steps.

In this painting I drew a little first.  Another demo, but one in which I didn't draw, I posted  HERE.

A few things to note:  When the flowers are drawn in they have square edges that reflect the planes of their shapes.  I then put a single dot where the center of the flower is which immediately establishes which direction they are pointing.

Another is, that since this was a fairly close valued painting, the first note of paint was the value and color of the sky.  From this I could judge what the rest of the values should be to describe the flowers but still keep them in light spring colors.

The photo of the source doesn't accurately reflect values or color....and there is no sky.  The day was cloudy and very cool. 

By the way, I have a plein air workshop coming up in July at the Winslow Art Center.