A Day at Bloedel

PAWA.....
....Plein Air Washington had a paint out last Saturday which I almost missed but had a good friend bring it to my attention the day before.  The Bloedel Reserve has been referred to before in this blog and called the Downton Abbey of Bainbridge.  Acres and acres of wonderful plantings, lakes, streams, a forest area and a large manor house.  Great place to write, walk, contemplate and paint.

Heading out the door I grabbed my box with 11x14 panels but, on second thought also grabbed the box with 16x20's and ended up using those.  I love having a surface large enough that I can swing my brush loaded arm and use big brushes.  It's a freeing feeling.....and I go through a lot of paint.

Someone once said to 'use paint like you own the paint factory'.  I think it was Wm. F. "Bill" Reese.

This top one was from the early afternoon.  It happened to be on one of the main trails and about every minute a new bunch of walkers would come by, stand around a while and move on.   It seemed like I could always feel people standing behind me.  Very fun.

The morning was different, quieter and more removed from the crowds.

A stream flowed by my feet and into this pond where large cedars grew right out of the water.   Dappled light from the trees hitting my panel made it difficult to see what I was painting and this one took a few minutes followup at home to organize and unify the representation of the mats of plant growth floating on the surface.  That blue of the sky reflecting off those plants is what held my attention.

Three people have lately mentioned to me how swayed their personal style can be by studying with or greatly admiring other artists.  We all go through the 'I wish I could paint like......', filling in the blank with our latest infatuation.  It becomes problematic when we judge our own work by the images we have of other's paintings.  Even more so when it is both Diebenkorn and Schmid there at the same time.  Instant confusion.

On my iPad I have images of work from 115 different artists, each with their own resounding style and, there have been many times that I wish I could paint like any one of them.  Lately, despite often studying those 5000 images, I've once again realized the futility and disaster letting them be too influential.   Mesmerized as I am by other artists and their views of the world, when I wake in the morning it's still me and I may as well celebrate that.  So, I paint what and how I like and only care if what I do is satisfying to me.  Far less angst.... (but still steal good ideas when I find them)

By the way, 'Steal Like an Artist' is a good book.

Thanks for looking.

Pond at Bloedel, 12x16

Time and hard work....
....doesn't always produce a satisfying result, but it seems like inspiration and motivation get me much closer to my goals....and with less consternation.

I met some friends at the Bloedel Reserve, what I refer to as the Downton Abbey of Bainbridge.  Sometimes I expect a 1920 Rolls Royce to pull up beside me and ask if I have the caviar and champagne.  It is a nice place to have fantasies.

The first piece I did took more care and more time and more effort scraping it back to nothing.  It really didn't work, perhaps because the sun kept popping in and out and changing the color/value relationships.  Or perhaps I wasn't clear about what I was trying to paint.

Tossing that first one on the ground I turned around and caught a glimpse of the late afternoon sun coming through the trees and lighting things up.  Knowing it wouldn't last long I grabbed a brush and quickly began blocking in shapes and colors.  No pre-drawing as it would have stifled my positive energy and caused me to think rather than just respond.

It turned into a pleasant day.  I really like the light streaming from behind the trees and lighting up this little corner of the Japanese area of the Reserve.  The first one warmed me up....

Thanks for looking.  Back soon.

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.

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.

Pond Reflections, 12x16

Wednesday was sunny....

....so Mick, Linda and I headed back to the same spot we had painted the other day when it was heavy overcast.  Soon Rob Weiss surprised us showing up to paint the Japanese bridge again....and he did an excellent job but hasn't posted it yet.

The effect of sunlight changed the appearance of everything.  Color was bouncing all over and the light direction and shadows changed quickly.  It meant painting fast.

I wanted to see what the differences would be so I did a variation of 'Reflecting Magenta', posted a few days ago.  Gone was the reflected sky and the dull orange bank.  In the sun the magenta flowers caught a reddish glow.  A fun piece to paint but actually more difficult to orchestrate the values and colors.  I expected it to be easier.

This next week I think I need to go find some boats or large machinery....maybe some urban scenes.  Stay tuned.  I'll be back.

Ciao!  (I have to stay in practice for this Italy gig.)   

Birch Forest Path, 12x16

The Birch Forest at.....

....the Bloedel Reserve was new to me.  There must be around twenty trees there growing out of the laurel hedges, not exactly my conception of 'forest' but I was game.

After I began composing, that pie slice of orange like path just had to be an important shape and a nice horizontal part.  I picked up the color in the branches of the trees....the warmth was there but got pushed just a touch.

I like the liveliness of the brushwork and the colors in the trees.  In my opinion, the best birch tree painters I've seen are Colin Page and Sonny Apinchapong.  When I see their birch paintings I'm tempted to take up golf.

Not really.

Montisi, Italy just got some award for best undiscovered hill town or something like that.  I'll find out and post more about it tomorrow.

Ciao!

Japanese Maple, 12x16

Being innately lazy.....

.....it was easier the other day just to move a few feet to find something else that caught my eye.  After all, I was in a place of visual wealth.

The flowering tree in the upper right was the subject of the post the other day, 'Reflecting Magenta', so you can see how close I was.  I was most attracted to that maple and the little jutting of shore in front of it..... so I subdued everything else slightly to give it a bigger role on the stage.

Originally I put in the reflected sky that would have been seen along the bottom but it did nothing for the painting but be a visual distraction.  I'm currently puzzling why it worked in the other one but wouldn't work in this one.

I have heard that there is only one room left on the Italy trip so if you are interested you had better jump on it now.  Contact Martha at the Winslow Art Center....the phone number is on the page.

Ciao.  Man, I am getting so good with Italian....

Bloedel Pathway, 11x14

The Bloedel Reserve...

....is one of those Northwest treasures.  I call it the Downton Abbey of Bainbridge.  Once a private estate it has been generously preserved as a botanical and wildlife reserve open to the public.

Since I just broke for a membership you might be seeing a few paintings from there in the near future.  This was done about a week ago.  It is deep in the forest and I was initially interested in the little waterway....but just after beginning the sun found its way through and everything else became secondary.  I jotted down the color notes just in that area and was glad I did as within ten minutes it was gone.  The rest of the painting followed that lead. 

I'm happy with it as I think the eye moves around the painting the way it felt when I was standing there and the colors are interesting.  I'm also playing a bit with atmospheric perspective.  It shows up in the subdued background.  You can see the painting at the miniature show at Roby-King Gallery during the month of December.

Bloedel Barn, 16 x 18

Downton Abbey on Bainbridge.......

.....is how I describe the Bloedel Reserve.  Streams, ponds, reflecting ponds, Japanese garden, formal gardens all spread around on a huge estate with a period main house.

This was the site of the first day of our plein air workshop during the last weekend of June.  We had a great time even though I circled the place four times trying to find people.  I got my exercise.

I also did this as the morning demonstration painting.  As in the last several posts, this is just the three pigments mentioned before.  I'm getting more and more enthralled with that limited palette, although I will occasionally add one more pigment when the painting calls for it.

If you are able, Tim Deibler will be teaching a workshop next weekend, 19th, 20th, and 21st.  Tim is a nationally known painter with a book and several dvds in publication.  From watching those vids I know he explains the painting process very well and, from all I've heard, is a very nice man.  If you can make the workshop you won't be dissatisfied.  Contact the Winslow Art Center. 

Here is a photo of the demo in progress taken by my friend Nancy.  If I look indecisive, I remember that's how I was feeling just at that moment, wondering how to interpret the fore ground in paint.

Artist in indecisive moment.