All American 1, 2, 16x20

 

There are things in our lives that have so much meaning we wouldn't want to part with them.  The 'Minnie' that my mother made for our daughter when she was young is one of those things.  It usually just sits around the house.  (I've noticed she never sleeps.)

All American 1 & 2 were demonstration paintings for my classes.  They were a kick to do.  Getting a variety of color in Minnie's face was interesting but I think I had the most fun with the stripes in the flag, finding differing 'reds and whites' and subduing the other actors.  These paintings make me smile.  One is horizontal and the other vertical and obviously composed differently....can't tell which I like better.  You?

Spring Poppies, 12x12

 

A hole crept into our home.  It must have started out as a small sneaky one because we don't even remember when it arrived or, for that matter, knew that it even existed.  It grew but we never noticed that it was a fixture in the house, just hanging there and sapping away the color of life.

But it didn't take away the color of my paintings....fortunately....and I like the way this one turned out.  Painting masses of poppies is a delicate thing.  I like it so much I may do a larger one of it.  But I digress.....

We noticed the absence of the hole the day that Noelle arrived, a puppy that was left and needed a home.  How lucky we are.  How busy we are....but it's a nice busy.

What is she?  We tell people she's something crossed with 'cute'.  She's the one on your right.  Mateo is our daughter's poodle.

Noelle is wonderful....but she's slowing down my painting.....

February Artwalk Demo, 11x16

Pulled from the brink of value/color disaster this little painting looks deceptively simple....but, once again sitting in the middle of a party, it held my attention for almost two hours .   I've never bungie jumped off a high bridge but doing this one seemed like how that space between jumping off and hoping something stops you before hitting the rocks must feel.

This is gouache.  My Gouache Workshop for this year is on February 24th and 25th.  If you haven't heard me say it before, gouache is a terrific medium for learning to paint as well as producing quality art pieces.  It's like watercolor.  It's like oil.  Mix and Match.  Join us if you can.

Apropos of nothing, did you know that in the 18th and 19th century that when one wanted to paint 'outdoors' that a portable greenhouse was set up with a heater to keep ones digits warm.  Must have been for the 1%.   Brings a whole new concept to the idea of packing light.

McDonald Creek, 12x16

As I was posting, this story came to mind:
We used to have a beautiful Sheltie named Blue.  He often needed a walk so we would make a circuit of the neighborhood.... but I'd get bored.  As a result, I would pick up rocks to throw at telephone poles.  Keeping loose track of my hits and misses something very interesting happened.  At night, when I could barely see a thing, I would hit the poles about 80% of the time.  In broad daylight, when the pole was in plain sight, I'd hit it 45-50% of the time.

How can this be?  Did lack of visual detail allow more accuracy because it simplified the world, eliminating unnecessary information?  Did the lack of light take away the pressure of having to make a hit?

Glacier Park, August.  It had been a long day of painting but, spotting an easy turnout, I thought maybe there was at least one more painting in me.  The only place to set up was on top of a large boulder in the center of the stream....but I had to keep one hand on the easel so it wouldn't slip off.

By the time I finished there was very little light and it was seat of the pants painting.  The colors on the palette were almost invisible.  I couldn't see a thing...and yet here are the results.

Whacko!  Another telephone pole.

Whale Watcher, 10x12

Anders Zorn, the John Singer Sargeant of Sweden, used a limited palette of colors often referred to as the 'Zorn Palette'.  That palette was just black, white, a yellow and a red....but, in truth, he did use more colors, just not very many.  Known not only for his oils but also for his etchings and watercolors, he is a Scandinavian legend.  Zorn, Sargeant, Sorolla and Mancini were powerhouse painters from the turn of the last century.

When I find my portraits slipping in color relations I'll often go back to his palette to get re-anchored, and that's what I'm doing here.  I love this guys lower lip and actually reduced how much it stuck out because it looked like a mistake when painted accurately.  

Try his palette.  When you do, notice how you can actually get lavenders and greens out of just those pigments.

Gone South, 8x8

I got an ironic kind of chuckle out of this.

Scheduled to teach the beginning of a six week oil painting class we had a snow storm move in, canceling most everything.....including getting down our driveway.  Emailing everyone as quickly as I could before the power could go out I tried to accommodate as many folks as I could with suggestions for a make up session.

Waiting for the emailed answers to come in I painted this out our kitchen window.  Two colors.  (For the painters it was Transparent Indian Red and Ultramarine Blue.)

Finishing I went in to check the email.  Almost everyone had replied but as I sat there another whooshed in.  Two students had decided to bag it, cancel my class and go to Tucson for a month.

Like the hummingbirds that left the feeder for warmer climes, so did these folks.....and they didn't take me with them.  Ah well.  I bet they'll miss the rain.....

Call and Response

We were having this discussion about painting from photographs and how there seemed to be something lacking, no matter how hard we tried.  Cathe, my good friend and author of a foundational book on landscape painting (HERE), said that it was all about the asking.  I said that it was all about not having something speak to me.  As it turned out, we were talking from different sides of the same coin.

When Cathe goes outdoors to do art she asks for a painting and says the world eventually answers with a gem of an idea.  When I go out I wait for something to catch my eye and I respond to it.  Call and response, but in one case the artist does the calling and in the other the world speaks first.   Which are you?

The other day I wondered just how many paintings out of the thousands I have done were from photos....so I counted.  There weren't many so it was easy to do.  In this blog you are looking at number 11 and 12, Evening Lighthouse, 10x12, and Dry Land Desert, 11x13.  The last blog entry, Deanna's Sunflowers,  was number 13.

I find photo painting a stretch because not only is a lot of information not there but nothing vibrant and living is speaking to me.  As a result I have to work hard to generate that missing stuff from imagination and memory as best I can.

Call and Response.  What  is your experience....and how do you deal with it?  I'd love to know.

Deanna's Sunflowers, 11x13

'What's that?'
'Sunflowers, I hope.'
'No, what is that stuff you are using?'
'Gouache.'
'Goosh?'
'No, opaque watercolor.  It's spelled g-o-u-a-c-h-e.'
'Oh.  Why don't you use pastel?'

Once again it was time for the Artwalk and, as the crowds swirled their wine and the band played, I painted....and answered lots of questions which I enjoy.  While I seldom work from photos (more on that in the next post) this was a good time for it and, since it's so freeing, I painted in 'goosh'.

Classes are starting up again and I've taken on more than usual.  Weekly instruction in Drawing for beginners and intermediates, the on-going Painting group, a workshop on working in Goosh, er, Gouache and another workshop in Portrait painting and drawing.  Plus I'll be doing another workshop in Ballard during the weekend of March 9-11....more on that soon.

You can find out about the classes and workshops HERE at the Winslow Art Center terrific new website.  It is a nice facility with easy access and a great covered outdoor area.  Come join us.....we have a lot of fun!   (and you can call it goosh if you want to)

Two For The New Year

 

Welcome to the New Year!  Despite the busy-ness of it all, we always have a good time, are sad when it comes to an end and now think about our next big event.  We don't know what that event is yet, but we need to concoct one to drag us happily into the new year.  And we give thanks....the days are getting longer again!

There wasn't much room for art but I did find some time today to get out sketching for an hour.  The speed and simplicity of marker drawing still mesmerizes me as a blank sheet turns into shapes and forms.  The location of the dock scene is right behind the second drawing of Santa, the Grinch and a Snowman as they deflate themselves into 2012.  I think  they will be back because they've been up there every December for the last ten years....

All the best.

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.

December Apples, 8x16

Here's wishing you a very happy holiday.

We are staying at home before the fire just relaxing and enjoying having family over.  Many of the gifts we are giving are from Heifer International, the organization that gives farm animals to those that don't have enough.....and we get good feelings knowing we can help in a very small way.  To those of us able to effortlessly connect electronically several times a day with friends and others it is easy to forget how important a goat or a chicken can be to much of the world.  My wife is to thank for making me more aware.

Again, have a wonderful time doing whatever brings you joy during this holiday time and I'll see you again next week.

Spring Creek Crossing, 11x12

Another rescued!  A couple of people have asked what I do with the culled paintings that have no chance of becoming more than an interesting exercise....(see the last post).  They used to end up in the dump until I saw someone pulling them out one day.  Now they get a splash with a bit of old latex house paint I usually have around....and then they get dumped.  Heartless, aren't I?

Throwing out paintings is one of those sweet/sour experiences of life.  The images always bring me back to the smells and feelings of that painting day.  At the same time I don't want images around that bring to mind my mistakes.

I'm reminded of something I heard about Greg Louganis, the diver.  In the last Olympics he participated in he hit his head on the concrete high dive stand doing one of his reverse flips.  He recovered and went on to gold medal by getting close to a 10 in his next attempt just a few minutes later.  I expected him to be severely injured....which it turns out he was.  When asked if he wanted to see the video of the mistake he said that he never looked at his mistakes, just his successes because those were the only images he wanted in his head.

I'm no Greg Louganis but his words have always made sense to me.

The changes I made to this to save it from the dump were few, all about values.  The more distant tree I lightened.  The purplish light striking the branches of the closer fir were also brought up in value.  The water reflection was simplified. 

This will be in the home of 'Bob', one of the stars of the movie 'Old Goats' because it is from an area in Montana he used to fish.

All Peared Up, 6x12

That time of the year has come.  The tree is up, the festivities are beginning and it's time for me to do my annual culling of paintings.  Occasionally, however, I run across one that doesn't want to leave.  I've only sorted through one box so far and already I have pulled out six that, with tweak or two, are going to stay for a while longer.

This comes from a hot summer day when the sun was just a few hours from setting.  I remember the light being so bright that it was difficult to see the colors.  In the way of improvement I changed only a few strokes and now find it pleasant to look at.

Like life in general, it often takes only the tiniest effort to make a huge difference.....for paintings and people.

The Hollow, 8x10

Yipes, have I been busy!  The holiday season always catches me by surprise.  I've done paintings lately but haven't taken the time to photograph them.  This one was from early Fall when the leaves were just beginning to change.

Classes have finished until January when I begin a new round and couple them with some workshops on portrait, gouache, and maybe marker drawing and printmaking.  OK.  Now I'm already tired just thinking about it......secretly I really enjoy them.  I live for seeing people have that 'ah-ha' experience when all the juggling of  plates we call painting actually works. 

I also just finished building 12 suitcase palettes for people.  Don't know what a 'suitcase palette' is? .....I'll show you when I get the picture.

By the way, I ran across a painter named Daniel Corey from Maine whose work I enjoy.  He's running a fund raiser with his paintings.  Whether you buy one or not it's worth the look to see what he's doing.  Go HERE.

Green Porch, 10x10

By the end of the day it had turned cold with a bitter wind.  Heavy snow was approaching and the puddles were freezing crystals on the surface.  Just a bit earlier, however, the weather was milder, almost approaching warm if you had two jackets, warm up pants, gloves, hat and a hand warmer.  It was the last days of Fall.

Attracted first by the red tree and then by the complexity of the green porch up against that red, I stopped for an hour or two to paint this.....although it seemed longer in the wind.

Into the 1970's, coal was still being mined in Roslyn....that was a few years before it became the set for Northern Exposure.  Eons before that (careful, I like natural history) it was an island that ran into what would become North America.  The swamps surrounding that island became the coal under the town and in Black Diamond on the other side of the mountain range.  The Cascades came later, rising up to split what had been the island mass, leaving half of it on the west and the rest on the east side.  Near Cle Elum are outcrops of sandstone, the old shoreline.

So I drove back that evening, passing through an almost blizzard....but it felt great to have gotten away for the day.

Calesthenics for Painters

Painting Calesthenics!

Even after my 'you can do it, don't hold back!' painting pep talks I watched folks freeze up when they approached the canvas and I didn't know what to do to help.  Nothing worse for an instructor than not to know how to get something across.  Then, one morning at 4 AM (because that seems to be when my head feels we should be thinking rather than sleeping) I had an idea.  Why not give out something that's not considered precious and see what they do? 

Magic is what they do.  Needing little encouragement they let it fly all over the newspaper and, when they had filled a sheet, tore it off without a thought and did some more.  First we doodled, then we doodled some more.  Finally we did silhouettes and moved to rendering.  They begin like this:

This is just burnt sienna and solvent.  When that is blocked in we add white to create form as fast and easy as possible.  Here are a few examples of work to give you an idea.  (Why didn't I think of this before...)

The darker portions and around this last one are Indigo mixed with the Sienna just to make darks.  Give it a try.  Great warmup exercise to free up your arm and your head.

You say you don't paint?  Isn't it about time you did?

Artwalk Demo, 16x18

Fifteen feet away a five piece band was playing.  People swirled around me meeting and greeting.  Occasionally I had to shoo folks away from standing in front of the still life setup so I could see it.  A little kid kept running up to share his latest drawing.....'see....this is where the bad guys blow up the sun'...  A few wanted to talk to me about painting, and a few others wanted to know how I could paint in a maelstrom.  (Beats me.)

All in all, last Friday's Artwalk was a lot of fun.  The music was good, the people were nice and the energy was positive....except for that sun destruction thing.

When I look at this piece I'm reminded of a comment by Bill Reese who said, while showing us around the artwork in his home, 'There is only one work I've done that I wouldn't change if I did it over', and Bill must have done thousands.  No matter how well we do things we could make them better.   It must be what keeps us trying with whatever we attempt....

Two Roads, 8x10

'Take me home country roads'.....'the high road and the low road'.....Robert Frost's 'road less traveled'.....all thoughts I had but the most frequent one while painting this was 'I wonder where they go?' and 'If I just started driving on one of them and didn't look back....'.  It must be all the possibilities that roads possess that makes them appear so often in our music and literature.  Hope and possibility.  Isn't it what keeps us all going....

Of course not everyone has the wanderlust gene.  Some folks have the 'baked potato in front of a warm fire let's stay at home' gene.   All good.

OK.  For reasons that will be revealed if you click on the link,  that reminds me of a TED talk my good friend Gillian sent me.  This a fascinating piece that kept me captivated as much by the subject as the unique person that was presenting it.  When I have my next life I would like to live it by following the road of my instincts as much as she has.  You can see this inspiring video HERE.

Go paint draw sculpt mold create something.

Road Dreams, 10x12

Even sitting abandoned against a fence this old water truck feels powerful, like it's bearing down on us and we want to jump out of the way.   Its weathered red rusted patina both reflects colors from its surroundings and contributes its own local color.  For many years crusty old coots drove this down untold dirt roads to bring water to the fruit trees.

The folks that own Bristol Flats Ranch didn't have it destroyed because they liked having its character hanging around, reminding them that this area has a rich past.  That's what they told me.

This truck is also in the last post but, because of its distance, becomes a stroke of red paint or two.  You can find it HERE.

Bristol Flats, 8x10

Ever notice how towns across the U.S. are about 12 to 15 miles apart?  When steam locomotives were the 747's of their time they needed frequent supplies of fuel and water.   As a result they put water tanks that far apart.  Of course, as long as the train was stopped, why not board some folks and ship a few things?  Stations and towns grew up around those tanks.

Bristol Flats was such a place.  Now there is only a lonely sign that says 'Bristol' and two empty tracks.  The station and whatever town is gone....only this ranch sitting in a beautiful valley east of the Cascade mountains remains. 

The next post is from this ranch.  When you get it look at this painting and see if you can find the subject (of course, I'll probably tell you).

Later.