Primary Colors, 16x20

It Was Studio Clean Up Day.....

.....until Rob Weiss called and suggested I join him down the road to paint ....so that was my first new year resolution to go by the wayside, but for a good cause.  I had been looking at this scene every day for the last few months, wanting to give it a try but not realizing the chairs were there until I got out of the car.

(By the way, is anyone else having problems uploading photos and having them remain unaltered?  I've done three different versions of this photo, adjusting it each time, and still can't get it to look like it really does.  It's close but not as vibrant as either the painting or my adjusted photos.  The last post was over saturated.  What gives, Blogger?)

Anyway,  it was a better start to the new year than having a clean studio.  By the way, Rob has been doing some wonderful paintings lately and has a show at the Treehouse Cafe right now as well as Alki Arts.  His blog is HERE. 

Oil Painting classes begin again later this month at the Winslow Art Center.  The Marker Drawing workshop on Feb 1st is filling up.  Come join us for either one.  We have a lot of fun and even learn a bit now and then.

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!

Marker to Monotype

On Sunday was the Marker to Monotype Workshop. Participants turned their marker value drawings into prints.

The prints shown here are demos from that workshop. The still life is loosely taken from the demo drawing of the day before (see previous entry). I don't call it a good print, but it does make the point of how to reinterpret drawings.

The bottom landscape print is better, also taken from a marker drawing I did on location in the Cascade Mountains last Fall. The drawing preceeded a painting which is now framed and in a gallery.

As usual, I learned a lot from the people taking the workshop. It's so interesting to me how the same materials in different hands can yield such differing and unique results from every person. Drawings from the previous day and other marker workshops were turned into new artistic expressions. I was exhausted yet very gratified.