Friendship Traps, 10x12

Friendship, Maine

How about two books on art that are well worth your time and cash....one is even free.

For years Creative Illustration by Andrew Loomis was out of print.  I had all his others and almost sprang $300 for a used copy....but didn't.  Then I heard it was being reprinted....and it's only $27 at Amazon.  Terrific book.

Another I didn't know about but found on Stapleton Kearns website (that's worth visiting also) is by Harold Speed, The Practice and Science of Drawing.  A gem of a book that spends as much time talking about painting as it does drawing.  I'm finding it reinforcing and thought inducing....which is always a good thing in my world.  You can find pdf versions on the web if you search for them and can get a Microsoft digitized version at the Univ of California Library HERE.  Did I mention FREE?

The marker drawing was done in the morning, then the truck showed up changing the view and I did a slightly different painting.  I think the drawing as a painting might have turned out better but either way the confusing detail of all those lobster traps was what I was enjoying painting.....between my flurries of swearing.

REMEMBER.  Plein Air Workshop is the last weekend in June.  Come on along.  Have some fun.

Swan River Evening, 12 x 16

Curious how things happen.

Today I wrote to another artist to let them know how I admired their courage to follow their own artistic nose.  This evening I was digging around in the studio and ran across this painting from a dozen years ago.  I remember putting it in the scrap pile as a piece that didn't hold together and, though I enjoyed the process of painting it, thought it was a bit outlandish.

Now I see it as having elements of exactly where I want to go with color and brushwork. 

Perhaps some force was playing a joke with me and now, as I write this, is having the best time chuckling over the lesson I'm being taught.  While I can't  be exactly clear, at least in words, about what the lesson is, I think I better spend more time following my own artistic instincts just to see where they go.

I heard an interview with Carolyn Anderson recently in which she said several insightful things of which I'll share one.  Essentially self-taught, she spends time just exploring ideas and wading through the painting process until what she is working toward happens.  It's about what pleases her and she trusts that, if it honestly pleases her, it will likely please someone else.  Good advice.

On to exploration....

Vagabonds, 10 x 12

The other evening Noelle said we had to go for a walk.... so I got her leash and out we went.  She then said she'd rather go to a beach....fickle dog.

We ended up at a small harbor with just enough time and light left to do a quick study.  Like the last post, I used a limited palette but changed to more vibrant colors.....Thalo Blue, Quinacridone Red and Cad Yellow Light...plus white.  The rigging was a challenge because I didn't have a small brush and the boats kept swinging around, the light reflecting off different stays.  Stays.  I don't remember if that's the word I want for the standing rigging but Gary will know when he reads this.

Noelle spent her time growling at that reddish buoy.  Go figure.

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.

Spring Flowers, both 6 x 8

Gary was out boating.  Deb was traveling.....so I borrowed their backyard and Noelle and I spent a quiet hour painting this.  So many flowers happen in the Spring and I want to paint them all....probably won't happen, but I'd love to stop time for a bit to do it.

Nancy's Rhodie began in fog which burned off before I was finished so I had to readjust everything for sun.  I didn't draw for either of these pieces, preferring to just use burnt sienna to block in some shadow shapes and then carve out the color and light as I went along.  For me it makes for a more intuitive approach to painting.

Both were fun and quick.

Morning at Treehouse Point, 22 x 28

Treehouse Point.  I don't remember how many treehouses are on this acreage next to the Raging River, but they are all different and all are 15 to 20 off the ground, gently swaying in the breezes.  You can rent them out or host an event in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains.  A totally unique place.

So when Cathe says, 'let's go to the Raging to paint' I'm all in and have never been disappointed.  She has weather juju so, even though rain is forecast, it never seems to come through and we have a totally pleasant day.  Find a painting buddy that can do that and stick with them.

I remember spending the day in consternation because I didn't think my 'grays' were  good and there was too much color.....and yet I still like what happened on the canvas.  Like Popeye says, 'I yam what I yam.'  Color is my friend.  This is a larger piece from the original 11x14.

And here is a free plug for Treehouse Point.  Go HERE to see what they have built.  Very unique and playful.

Out My Backdoor, 10 x 12

The abstraction and intricacy of things is becoming more appealing.

This a small section of a hundred foot tall Big Leaf Maple that I have been enthralled with for several years.  It has leaves larger than dinner plates that, in the summer, just form a dark canopy.  However, in the Spring and Fall the leaves are more translucent and the colors get interesting.

The urge to 'just do it' finally overcame the 'reticence to try' and, after an initial 'scrape and start over', I like the results.  So many colors.  So many seductive opportunities to make a boring order out of interesting randomness.  And several times thinking that 'this will never turn out......no way'.

Just Do It.

Photo app for Painters

The Challenge of Getting Photos Good Enough to Paint From:
As painters we all know that working from life is the best approach.  Our eyes can pick up so much more than a camera can.  Sometimes, however, there are scenes that just won't hold still long enough for us to grab them with a brush....so we do it with a camera.

Cameras lie.  Not intentionally.  It's just their nature.  This shot, taken early on the last morning in Mexico is a great example.  The sunset was glorious but impossible to paint, even if I had the time.  The scene changes second to second and I don't have a photographic memory.   (that black stripe down the middle is actually the trunk of a palm)

The second shot I believe I could use as a reference for a painting.

What's the difference?

The first shot was with the standard iPhone camera.  The second was with one of several HDR apps I have on the phone.  The first takes only one shot with the best exposure it can figure out.  The HDR app takes three photos in quick succession, using differing exposures for the differently lit areas.  It processes the three, combining the best from each into a composite piece.  Pretty cool!

There are quite a few different apps to pick from:  HDR FX Pro, True HDR, Pro HDR, HDR, Top Camera are the ones I have.  Each has a little different twist but they are all inexpensive, some are free.  These photos were taken with True HDR.

Yes, there are drawbacks.  Because three photos have to be taken it doesn't work well for any scene with too much movement in it.  People walking, for example, will have some blur where the figures are.  Still, for most landscape shots, they work great to capture more of what it's like to see with our own eyes.  I'm sure they will get even better.

Yes, they have a little of an 'other worldly' quality about them but I'd rather deal with that than a photo like the first one.

Here are two more taken that same morning.  I think you can see how difficult this would be to get with a regular camera.  (check your camera.  some newer ones have HDR built in)  Snap.....

All Dressed, No Place to Go, 10 x 12

OK.  Last Mexico post.  I have more paintings but it's time to move on.  Maybe later.  Went out painting today with CG and have new ones to post.

One evening I wandered up to the roof after it had gotten cool enough and did this.....and tweaked it a bit the next night.  I sort of got fascinated with the palms and if we had some around here I think I would be out doing more.  So many colors.

So here is the real reason for this post.   There was this guy who showed up to trim the palms.  In this country there would be a crew of four, a boom truck and traffic cones.  In Mexico an old red Datsun pickup comes down the street.  He gets out his equipment....consisting of three yellow plastic ropes and a machete.  He loops the rope around the tree and begins to climb.  Here.  I took some pictures.

I'm taking the pictures from the roof.  Notice that little guy in the tree?  He's six feet tall.  He's hanging on with one hand.  Insurance?  Workers Comp?  Probably not.

And here you can see that yellow rope lightly looped around his waist and under his butt...sort of.  His feet are in the other loops and he seemed perfectly comfortable, even enjoying himself.  Wait!  I don't see the rope!  What the....??

Arroyo Morning, 12 x 12

 

During the rainy season, later in summer, this often has water coursing through it.  On an April morning it was completely dry and deserted, except for myself and a fairly irate possum.

The bougainvillea are hard to believe.  Despite pulling out every red I had, their color when hit by light is impossible to capture....but I could at least get my impression of it.  It was a delightful early morning experience, although the possum and I were glad to part company.

This Saturday's Marker Workshop is almost filled.  If you can make it, please contact the Winslow Art Center and spend a Saturday having fun while you learn.  I'm going to be covering some things I haven't included in other classes and I have a few extra markers for you.  If you can't come at least keep an eye open for an article about my approach to markers in The Scream Online's upcoming issue.

Palms Against El Mirador, 12 x 12

Painted from the rooftop, this evening painting was the last one of the trip.  I was sad to leave because, once again, it felt like I was just getting into the swing of being in and painting in this small town.

I like the abstractness of the large hill.  It was covered with vegetation that had gone dry until the coming rains when it will spring into a jungle like green.  The palms are an endless source of subtle color variations.

The drawing is of some young banana trees in the back of the courtyard and just outside the door where I slept.....oh, yeah....you can see it.   Love those markers for making quick form out of my sketches.  You really should try it.  I just got an order for some new colors for sketching on toned paper which I'll post later.

Oh yeah.  Here is one of those baby 18" iguanas that would drop off the roof occasionally next to us.....a bit surprising.

On the Sunny Side, 10 x 12

In the drawing below you can just see....way over to the left....something that resembles a bush with a wall behind it and a jog in the curb.  It's titled 'Waiting for the Locksmith', which may tell you something about what I was doing while I did the drawing.  There is a story there....I'll never tell.

The next morning, while my friends Mic and Truman were busy painting a glorious beach scene, I walked back to the shade on the street.  This was fun to paint; simple, direct.  I tried to get all those lines...curb, pole, wall, weeds, shadows....to gently converge on the bush.

The marker drawing was just an exploration of shapes and overlapping form.  Other than the truck, I did it with no real focal point in mind.  It was just a desire to play with the pens but it probably led to the painting on some level.

That also brings up my Marker Workshop to be held on April 20th.  Contact Winslow Art Center for details and to sign up.  It's a fun event.

Alamos Nights, 10 x 12

Night painting is such a different experience....because of low light levels I'm never sure what I've put on the panel until the next day when all is revealed in the light of day....like it or not.  Here are two that made it without being scraped.

The doorways were a challenge.  The bluish tones on the right were jarring next to the orange hues on the left.  I had to find a way to weave the colors together so they maintained their identity but still flowed into one another making a whole.  Without that it would have ended up as two paintings on one panel.

'Cathedral at Eleven, 10x12' was a case of blind faith.....quite fitting in front of a church.  My palette was completely dark.  I was picking paint from just remembering where it was on the palette.  Occasionally I shone a small LED light on the panel but it distorted the color and wasn't much help.

This painting could use some more work but I want to keep it the way it is, mostly as a memory of that night and the power of painting by the seat of the pants......or faith.  Your pick.  Besides, I like the strokes.

Palms of San Carlos, 10 x 12

Ever need a winter break and, unexpectedly, find yourself in Mexico painting with two good friends?  No?  So sorry for you.....(he says, gloatingly).

When I go somewhere else to paint it usually takes me up to the last day to begin to see the color well enough to do a decent job of representing the area.  I don't know what happened this time but it all seemed to flow the way I wanted it to.  This is the first one I did on the trip.  I won't post them all, just the more interesting ones.

Lately I've been interested in brushwork, finding that line between interesting paint application and enough accurate description that you have an idea what I'm seeing.   I haven't gotten 'there' yet but with this piece I was satisfied that I'm headed in the right direction.

The next five days are predicted to be rain mixed with low clouds.....you need a break.  Go somewhere and paint.

Alamos Square, 6 x 10

Town Square, Alamos, Sonora

Announcements!

1.  I'm back from Mexico where I ate great food, lived in a small mountain town and painted from dawn to dusk with good friends.  If there was a downside it was that the lady that sold the Tres Leches cake was only in the town square twice.

2.  The Scream Online, an online international magazine for the arts, will be having features on myself and two other artists in their upcoming edition.  The focus will be on drawing...in my case Drawing with Valued Markers.

3.  Finally, for all those who have been asking for it, I will be teaching my marker workshop on Saturday, April 20th at the Winslow Art Center.   I've had wonderful feedback from those who have taken it before so, whether you are a painter, sketcher or dabbler, you'll find something you can use in this course.  It is such a great way to quickly capture the essence of your wanderings in the world.

The drawing above is only two values and white yet so much depth and movement can be expressed.....and in only a few minutes.  I'll be posting more drawings, as well as Mexico paintings, between now and the 20th so stay tuned.

Provence Time VI, 8x8

What is this urge we humans have to beautify our world?  From the ancient caves at Lascaux to the petroglyph decorated boulder at the north end of this island.....and to a doorway somewhere in the south of France, we seem to have a need to decorate.  Ourselves, our surroundings, our walls.  It's a nice urge.

Maybe that's a reason why we paint.  We're decorating. 

That....but I think more than that.  Color is certainly exciting.  I like using it to halt time to entice your eye so we both can see and share something for just an instant.  Our worlds connect.  When it works, our minds make a fleeting communication....and we know each other better.

But it's more than color alone.  Shapes and forms, values, mystery, belief, history, dignity, angst, edges and edginess all play a part in the depth of our communication....even in something as simple and direct as a pot of flowers on the steps of a very old home in Provence....placed there to decorate the world.

Beach Apple, 8x10

 

iFLOPS.  With this blog post I am suggesting we 'locals' start a new organization.  There's PAWA, the organization of Washington Plein Air Painters.  There's OPA, the Oil Painters of America....but no iFLOPS.......the Flat Light painters of Puget Sound.  I think I got an idea here.

These thoughts occurred to me late yesterday afternoon as I was standing in the rain painting this lovely little wild apple tree on the shore of Pleasant Beach.  Flat light has its challenges.  Flat light with drops rolling down into my eyes presents another.  BUT, after several years of driving past this little wonder I finally painted it.  It would have been so much better with a little sun.

I wonder how it got there.  Did an apple drift to shore....or did someone toss a core out the window as they drove by?  Did you know that you can't plant an apple seed and actually get the type of apple you planted?  They all revert to their wild state.....which was somewhere in Kazakstan.  All those Red Delicious, Braeburns, Cameos, and all the others came from grafted trees.

My goal is to educate.

By the way, the 'i' stands for 'idjut'.

(Update a few days later.  I've been informed that this is a plum....the apple is just down the beach....does this mean someone threw out their pit?     ....nah, flowering plum)

In For Groceries, 10 x 12

 

'How do you know when a painting is finished?' asked someone in class the other day.  I smiled politely and muttered something unintelligible.  I can usually tell when the dishes are finished, the gas in the car is finished or the day has ended.  Paintings, at least in the case of this one, seem to go on forever and stop only when I am lying on the pavement or studio floor gasping for breath.   (That might be a bit of an overstatement.)

I still puzzle over how some simple subjects can be a struggle and seemingly complicated ones can roll off the brush.  This is not always so but often enough that I take notice of it. 

Attracted by the orange/blue thing of the boat, dock and water I was unaware of how delicate a balance they had with each other.  I still don't think I it is 'right' but got tired of picking myself up one more time to give it another go.

At this point in my life I know nothing more to do so I guess it's finished.  Time for another one. 

Forest Spring, 20 x 36

 

Rob Weiss and I had planned a day of painting yesterday but he got called away to help a friend....so rather than re-figure my Monday I headed once again across the driveway.  Despite many interruptions here is the result, which I like but, of course, if I painted it again I would.....(absolutely never satisfied).

This is one of the larger plein air pieces I've attempted and I don't think it would have been successful without the study 'Caught' from a few posts back.  That was done two weeks ago and much in the forest has changed as well as the light being very different.  All those branches and twigs were fun to paint even though there always seemed to be one more that was forgotten.  So many decisions about what to include and what to leave out.   Just under four hours with a bit of studio tweaking.

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.