Afternoon at Eagle Harbor, 2 x 8.5x11

There Have Been Three Practices.....
.....that have greatly influenced my art.  I mean, besides all the great artists I've had the privilege of studying with.

Drawing with Valued Markers, from the morning I accidentally picked a marker up and tried it, has opened my eyes and instructed the hand.  Using just three marker values and white (or sometimes toned) paper has made it so easy for me to quickly create form and study composition.  And cheap!

Yesterday I started out the door with my paints but didn't feel the urge to use them once I got to Eagle Harbor.  Since I have a marker workshop coming up (see below) I thought I needed to hone my skills a bit...and I was too tired to haul out the paint.

That's another thing I like about them.  A sketchbook and very few tools are needed to catch a mood, a place or and effect of light.

Here is another from the same day:

That Marker Workshop is on May 18th, about a week away.  Because I like to share this technique I'd love to see you there.  Find out about it by going to the Winslow Art Center website HERE.

Hope to see you.   (If you can't come, check out my book on it in the tabs above.)

More on those other two practices to improving your art in later posts.

Thanks for looking!

Spring, 10x12 and 11x14

These were painted about a week apart in response to having the Spring colors begin to show, the winter colors quickly fading.

There is such vibrance in the landscape as the greens start to poke through, and even the winter colors seem more intense and vital before that green appears.  My intention is always to spend every day exploring and painting the landscape but the reality of Spring is also that there is a lot that needs doing.  There never is enough time or energy for all of it.

'At the Head of the Harbor' (top) is 10x12 and 'Port Blakely Spring' is 11x14.   This second one was interesting for the challenge in all the doo-dads of the ground litter.  The only way I found to make it work was to eliminate about seventy-five percent of the stuff, just hinting at what was on the forest floor.  Hopefully the viewer fills in the 'stuff' from their own experience in a forest.

Maybe I'll go back again and explore the changes and colors...tomorrow is supposed to be cloudy.  That would be interesting.

I'll be back.

Thanks for looking!

Counting Your Strokes

Tim Deibler.....
......came to town the weekend before last.  Since he stayed at our home I got to tag along during his workshop (which I would have taken anyway because he is such a knowledgeable and accomplished painter).  Pictured above are 12 of the 13 paintings (gave one away) I did that weekend....but here's how:

Tim challenged everyone to do paintings in fewer than 100 strokes.  A 'stroke' is every time the brush hits the canvas until it leaves.  If you can cover the whole sky without lifting the brush, that's one stroke.  If you put a tiny dot in representing a buoy, that's one stroke.  A challenge, and also a release because for most of the painting experience it is a concentration on simply stating large shapes and their proper relationships.

Here are a couple at a larger size with the number of strokes noted below:

54 strokes

57 strokes

96 strokes

It was an expanding experience during some unusual August rain, wind and cold...but the company of other dedicated painters made it a rewarding experience.  Tim is a good teacher who never seems to run out of energy.  Study with him if you get the chance.

Thanks for reading.

Off to Idaho....back later, hopefully with some new paintings.

Ragland 5, 30x36

Neil Young....

.....had his boat, Ragland, moored in Eagle Harbor for a year or so while he was selling it.  During that time I painted it plein air at least four times.  I thought the island should buy it just for it's ambiance, especially since long gone harbor businesses used to build boats like this by the score. 

I liked the paintings I did which you can see Here (at a distance), Here (similar to this view) and Here (another at a distance) and this one, which I never posted:

My paintings, although I enjoy them, never quite matched my impression of what it was like to stand out there as the sun set.....so I decided to do another in the studio that spoke more to the experience.  Thus, Ragland 5.

On a totally different note.....Exquisite Corpse.....
......I was out having lunch with the Balcomb boys the other day.  Put a paper covering on a table with three artists, a photographer, a musician and a painter, and what you get is a table full of drawings, doodles and ideas.

Somewhere during our meal we began adding on to one another's drawings and the musician asked me if I had heard of 'Exquisite Corpse'.  I had no clue.  It began, as much as anyone knows, as a parlor word game where each person added on to a sentence.  Then it became add on written stories and, eventually, even the surrealists used it to explore visual ideas.

Then, this morning, I ran across a recently posted example of it on a grand scale.  Three well known excellent watercolorists paint together on a huge piece of paper to create a spectacular work.  Joseph Zbukvic, Alvaro Castagent and Herman Pekel.....all well known artists.  It's 30 minutes long but worth your time: HERE    Enjoy this one!   You won't believe the size....

Wing Sky, 8x16

Fading Light....

....provides great possibility if one can paint like a madman.  This is a piece I had almost given up on as my paint application was too broken up, probably because I was working so fast.  One last chance, a little simplification, and now I think it works well.

If you are from the area this looks out on the entrance to Eagle Harbor, across Wing Point (hence the name) and over to the Seattle skyline.

The annual Roby-King Gallery miniature show begins next week.  They will only be showing four pieces of mine in the front gallery but the other five will be in the next room.   Come down and say hello.

Hangin' With the Guv'

Study for 'Rainier Light'

Yup.  Just wander the Governor's Mansion....

....and you will eventually run across these two paintings enjoying their time with family and dignitaries.  Years ago, when I first began painting, my only goal was to paint something that did a bit more than just 'look like something'....you know, my interpretation of life in this world.  Now here I am hanging work at the Guv's place.  Who knew?

'Harbor Boathouses'

Harbor Sunset, 16 x 20

Big cumulus clouds.....

.....don't happen that often around here, so getting to paint them is a real event.  This is from an 8x10 study I did about a year ago.  I liked that small painting but always thought there was a bit more I could do with it.  Some altering of the color space, some moving around of details and changing the size of some of the shapes and this is what I got.  I wanted to show off the majesty of those ephemeral clouds against the line of those boats....just little dots of color.  It will be at the Roby King Gallery.

Eric Merrell posted a quote which was re-posted by Daniel Corey (both terrific artists).  It resonates with me....and is very timely for my current thinking:

“There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique, and if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium; and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is, not how it compares with other expression. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. No artist is pleased. There is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others.” -Martha Graham

Boathouses, 10 x 12

 

After Tim Deibler arrived in town....

....there were a couple of days before his workshop so I dragged him out painting.  'Drag' may not be the best word because after I mentioned it he was anxious to leave at 7 in the morning.  I picked him up at nine.....I'm a far more dedicated painter with more sleep.

I called Rob Weiss and off we went to the harbor where we all whacked out two or three paintings before Tim left on the ferry to tour the Seattle sights.

The week before I had ordered a few RGH paint samples to try out, which is what I used in this piece.  For the most part I was satisfied but their Cad Yellow Light is more like a Cad Lemon, which you can see in the clouds.  I'm intrigued enough to give them a call this next week to see what they offer that would be closer in hue.  RGH is used by many painters but two I know of are Stapleton Kearns and Ovanes Berberian.

Well, that's painter talk so for the rest of you:  I'm/We are off to Montana next week for some vacation, back for a couple of weeks and then I leave for two weeks of painting in Maine.  Can't wait to go both places.  I'll post again as I get an opportunity.

 

Boathouse, 8x10

Sitting in the shade at the beach.....

.....I did this demo on Sunday for the plein air workshop.  The building was actually a bit more squat and didn't have this saltbox roof....I just made it a little more interesting.   

It was a great weekend.  Saturday at the Bloedel Reserve and Sunday staying cool by Eagle Harbor.  I had a group of serious painters who stretched me....I think challenging me kept them in good spirits because they looked like they were having fun.  One looked like she was even settling in for a long stay.

I asked them to use a limited palette to simplify choices and learn color mixing.  This is Quinacridone Red, Cadmium Yellow Light and Thalo Blue.  The next post or two will have paintings done with that palette.  There is freedom, believe it or not, in such a limited selection of primaries.

Here is a pic of the painting at a sketch stage:

And here is the quick marker drawing to help plot where I wanted to go:

Eagle Harbor Quiet, 18 x 24

This piece I did as a donation for an auction to benefit the arts, specifically the Arts and Humanities Council.  I like to give things away sometimes and it gives me the impetus to try new things, expanding the game.

I used a pretty limited palette, reducing the tube colors to four and seeing how many different ways I could bend them to get the effect I wanted.  My hope is that you are captivated by the texture of the shore and rocks, letting the other things act as stage props.  This is a studio piece done from a 12x16 plein air panel completed about a year ago.

Speaking of palettes, Thomas Jefferson Kitts has a well researched blog entry about plein air palettes of quite a few current painters that is worth a look.  How different artists lay out their palettes is also interesting.  Check it out here: http://www.thomaskitts.com/2013/04/the-contemporary-outdoor-painters.html

Thanks for looking.  Keep painting......or whatever it is that brings you joy.

Backwater Seclusion, 24x30

Cruising down Bainbridge Island's Eagle Harbor you would never see or guess that this little stream fed backwater was there.  You can't see it from the main channel.   I've drawn or painted it several times and finally did this studio piece just to explore the color I was seeing.

 That was a year ago and running across it the other day I realized that I hadn't posted it.  A year isn't very long but already there are parts I would paint differently if done today.  I suppose many areas of my life are experiencing subtle adjustments, changes and growth that I'm not really aware of in the moment.  How reassuring.

I rather like how the bluish water reflections dance to that far shore. 

Wharfside, 11x14

Remember that painting give-away?  Well, I'm about to announce the winners as soon as it all gets tabulated.  So many great comments.  I'm on my way to Montana tomorrow and will let you know the contest results later in the week.  You will be impressed with the method I used to make the picks.  Stay tuned.

Those of you that have my book, 'Value Sketching With Markers', may recognize this from the front cover.  I've always meant to get back to it with paint but summer is pretty much the only time with the lowest tides in the day time.  So yesterday had to be the day.

Big shapes followed by doodads....  In the marker drawing I didn't include any background buildings but it was formatted somewhat differently.   They both work, I think.  I personally keep wondering who lives in the house even though I know it's actually a restaurant.

Keep in touch.  I'll be back with the winners in a few days!

Beached Buoy, 11x14

Last Chance to Enter the Painting Giveaway!  Make a comment on the blog, by sending me an email or on Facebook.  You have nothing to lose....and I feel more connected when I read your comments.

OK.  One oil and one acrylic....I'm sure you can tell the difference.  These weren't supposed to be the final paintings but time was running out for me as I'm getting ready for some extended painting and travel.  Stay tuned.

Painting is such fun.  I've given up trying to figure out what people like and now I just paint what appeals to me.  Predicting what catches my eye enough to paint is impossible.  I wouldn't have thought that either of these paintings would be things I'd do....but here they are.  It's the unpredictability that is part of the fun.

"Harbor Walk", 8x10

That's it.  End of the Contest.  I'll be compiling the names and drawing a winner in the next couple of days.  There will now be a Winner and Another Winner.....Two!  Can't wait....

Log Raft 2.5, 10x12

Painting Giveaway #2.5.

For reasons known only to the Facebook illuminaries, my blog entries aren't posting to FB...so lots of people are missing out on this contest.  I'm posting this as 2.5 rather than 3 to see if I've got it straightened out. 

Make a comment and enter to win a free painting which I will draw and announce after I've posted number six.  This one counts for comments but not in the six.   This was painted for the abstract qualities of the shapes.

I'm teaching another plein air workshop this weekend and it promises to be a perfect two days for working outdoors.  There is room for another if you want to join us even for a day.  We are meeting at 9 am at the Winslow Art Center and heading out from there.

To those of you that have posted, keep them coming.  It's fun to hear your comments and you get another entry for that free painting. 

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.

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.

A Little Tied Up, 8x8

Every year about this time thoughts of how I'm going to make my life richer, more meaningful, and longer keep cropping up.  Like a built in early warning system these thoughts also happen in March, June and September whether I will them in or not.

My usual lists of 'to-dos' break down into the nagging concerns (clean the gutters, sort through those stacks of office papers, actually attach lights to those wires sticking out of the wall) to the ones that are more about guidance systems (meditate more regularly, exercise often, fear less and embrace more, be kinder).  Whether about meditation or stacks of papers they all keep showing up year after year regular as can be.

Perhaps it's the process of growing, not the accomplishments, that is most important in the end. 

Painting is like that.  As long as I focus on enjoying just putting down honest strokes of paint the product takes care of itself.   Life, like painting, seems to be just one small moment at a time. 'The Tao of Painting' should be a book if it isn't one already.

This painting is another I dug up out of the scrap pile, added a couple of strokes and now find it much more interesting for a very quick plein air study.

Boat Ramp Low Tide, 8x10

As Spring slowly moves in we begin to see low tides during the day and, when the clouds cooperate, it's possible to slip in between wet skies to actually do a painting.  The subdued light still make vibrant color a stretch to find but in this one they were in the shadow of the dock and rocks and I like those little jewels of blue and green.

This is a painting with no preliminary drawing.  Using the mass of trees in the distance I blocked in around the top half of the shed.  Next came the rectangular shape of the shed.  After that it was just a matter of adding all the other doodads.  Big shapes and doodads...that's about it.

Wednesday, No Fish, 8x10

Another day with sun and few clouds and, between chores, I stopped long enough to paint this which I had been meaning to get to for at least a year.  I can't help myself.  Try as I might to tone things down I still see all this color which hypnotizes me into its spell.

By the time I was cleaning up the tide had made the boat and dock level and much of the charm had vanished.

Cloud Break, 8x10

When the Spring weather breaks begin to happen we know that Summer will be somewhere close behind.  This painting starts the plein air season for me and a pleasure it was to once again sit in the sun, talk to the passing dogs (who always want to sniff the paint), and put a brush to canvas.

My hand feels a little outdoor rusty but with luck we will have improving weather and more paintings will loosen things up.  Come and join me...