Yin and Yang, 12x12

Little Red Sparkles.....

.....would catch my eye each time I drove past.  It was only a matter of time before another pretty face lured me in.  A whole bevy of pretty faces.

Yin and Yang.  The balance of one thing against another.  Not just the red against the green but also the trees against the sky, the roses against the trees, the foliage against the lighter water, the shadow against the light.......plus soft edges against hard, detail confronting broad shape, sharp line yielding to amorphous form ....and more.

It's how a painter thinks.  At least it's how this painter thinks.

Help.

Gig Harbor Drawings

This rainy Friday morning.....

.....I found myself in Gig Harbor, a beautiful working harbor about an hour away.  Since the Marker Workshop is tomorrow I thought it would be a good opportunity to work on my chops.

My friends found a boat shed with an open end that we could draw from and I did two from there.....

.....and another from inside the wooden boat shop.  I find it so relaxing to do these but I have to admit that the first pen mark on a fresh expanse of white paper is always with some trepidation that it might not turn out.  Fortunately, I don't think that's a reason not to try....it's only paper.

This is the kind of thing we will be doing on the trip to Montisi, Italy....at least when we aren't smearing paint.   Come join us.  Visit the Winslow Art Center site for details.

Just keep drawing......

Beach Rose, 12x12

Cannery Cove....

....was on the way home from the grocer store and I figured I had time to do a drawing or two before the rain came in.....but when I got there these wild roses reached out and seduced me to paint them.  I always fall for a pretty face.

It took more time than a drawing and when I quit after 45 minutes the drops were just beginning... but I had a good time doing it.  I changed a couple things when I got home: the hue of the water became bluer and the bush to the right became a little darker, both done to help the foreground pull closer and be better delineated.

Like the last one, this is a painting done with no solvent.  It's a great freedom not to have to use it, even for brush cleaning.  While I dirty more brushes, I also use fewer paper towels and the paint is more fun to move around.  Who knew....

There is an absolutely full Marker Workshop next weekend that I am looking forward to.  It's a terrific way to draw and experiment with your art.  Maybe between now and then I can post a few drawings.   Be well.  Keep drawing....

Montisi, Italy

What is it about doing art....

....in another country?  How do these places let us look at the world with a fresh eye, not only when there but for long after coming home?  I've done painting and drawing in England, China, Hong Kong (before it was China), Mexico, France, Jamaica, Canada....and if I keep typing I'll likely remember other places.

Each time I sense I've grown as a person and an artist, and that feeling hangs with me.  It's a feeling of greater personal depth, of appreciation of another culture, of finding that no matter where I go that I like the people, their food and their customs.  My fears are their fears, my joys are their joys, my family is their family....it's just the little 'don't matter a bit' things that are different.

 I'm writing to invite you to paint and draw with me in one of the more unique places in the world, a very old hill town in Italy.  I don't know all of its long history but I do know that 'long' is the correct term, that it has suffered the wages of war over and over and rebuilt itself each time.  In WWII it was almost leveled, the population decimated, becoming close to a ghost town.  Yet here it is again redefining itself as a place for the arts and artists.  How could I not want to go and experience that kind of persistent spirit.  It must breath out of the bricks and stone.

Here are some more pictures and, if you are interested, you can go the Winslow Art Center website and investigate further.  Martha Jordan would be happy to answer any of your questions by mail, email or phone.  Ciao! (see how good I'm getting?) 

Most of these photos were taken by one of Martha's daughters who drove over to Montisi for the day.  Seeing these makes me just want to sink into the flavor of this place.
 

 

Nancy's Chickens, 12x16

When the sun shines in the Pacific Northwest.....

.....and someone invites you over to paint, is there really a choice?  So off I went to paint with Nancy and Gigi.  Today was obviously an adventure into how many greens I could think up.  Perhaps I had a few more in the quiver but this went through a lot of them.

This was also an adventure into painting without solvent or brush cleaner of any kind.  Usually I thin the paint slightly to mass in the major shapes but I thought I would try doing without any at all, even for cleaning, to see the result.  It took about 6 brushes but that's not too many more than I usually use.

I read on a blog recently, Lori Putnam's I believe, that she travels with just Gamblin's Non Solvent-based Gel Medium and uses that for brush cleaning.  After today's painting I can see how that is easily possible.

According to the grape vine people are signing up for the Italy trip.  What a great time that will be.  Tomorrow I'm going to post some pics of the town and area and you will see what an enticing place it is.  Of course, you could also go to the website of the Winslow Art Center and scroll through yourself.

Ciao!

Oh Wait!
Here are some progress shots that my friend Nancy took. 

That's Bella at my feet.

Look closely and you can see the unopened can of solvent.

 Ciao....again.....I think my Italian is getting better.

Spring Runoff, One and Two

Field Version and Studio Version.....

......can you tell which is which?  The one from the field is 12"x12" and was painted standing on the only vantage point I could get, a slanted rock that I was half falling off of.  The studio version is 20"x20" and was painted from the study in my friend Tannis's home studio on a day that was too wet to be outside.

I like them both and found the grays intriguing to mix.....but there are parts of each I like better than the same parts on the other.  This art thing drives me crazy.....it's so elusive and complex.

But maybe that's why we keep trying.  I talked to an artist friend recently who had decided to quit, hang up the brushes, throw in the paper towels.  We didn't get through even one cup of coffee before he realized even quitting was a lost cause.  The art thing finds you, you don't find it.  He could no more quit than stop breathing.

Here is the other one.....the field study.  Which do you like better?  Tell me, I'd like to know.

The energy is building for the Painting and Drawing Trip to Tuscany!  The hill town we are going to looks to be a superb place to do art.  Martha at the Winslow Art Center can answer all your questions.  Don't miss this!  Imagine painting for a while, relaxing for a while, eating Italian food for a while......sounds good to me. 

No Trespassing, Rail Yard!

Since I got kicked off.....

.....I thought it deserved a drawing.   "Whhadya tink yoo doin'?", he asked, "get off our prop'ty!"  It's OK, I didn't mind.  He had a job to do and keep....and likely a family to feed.  I just thought it was funny that he referred to it as property he was part owner of.   I'm not sure the railroad company would have agreed or he'd be sharing the profits.

Here is the drawing that caused the ruckus....drawn from my vantage point sitting in the street.  He said they didn't own the city streets but he was reluctant to admit it.

You can meet the most interesting people doing art.....

The Marker Workshop on May 24th is already filling up so if you have an interest call Martha at the Winslow Art Center.

'Net Shed'

The Historic Net Sheds....

......of Gig Harbor were unknown to me until last night.  Scheduled to do a Marker Drawing presentation for the Peninsula Art League I had just enough time before to spin down to the harbor and do a drawing of one.  There are seventeen of these interesting structures and most are still in use.

Working harbors are rare in this area, so this one has me excited to return with some paint and canvas to explore the area.  Usually I have to travel out of state to find this sort of thing.  If any of you know of working harbors in the area I've missed, let me know.

The Peninsula Art League members are gracious hosts.  They evidently have art demonstrations regularly at their meetings and it's open to the public.  Last month they had Ned Mueller.

My next Sketching With Valued Markers Workshop is on May 24th at the Winslow Art Center.  Find out more HERE.  Take the one day workshop and get up to speed for some good summer sketching.

Plans for the Italy Drawing and Painting Workshop continue to evolve and you can sign up or get more info HERE.  Montisi is a small, undiscovered by the tour buses, Tuscany hill town with a strong artistic community.  Good food, good company, drawing and painting sources galore.....I'm looking forward to taking a small group there.

Go do a drawing....send me a picture!

New Edition of Sketching Book

Finally!   I Finished It.....

....and the printer delivered it this morning.  The updated version of my book Value Sketching With Markers, A Guide for Turning the Visual World into Artistic Ideas is back on the market.

This book shows you how to use simple markers to find compositional possibilities for your paintings, prints, or just for your own amusement.  It's easy and there are very few tools you need to carry around with you.

Best of all, markers with gray tones of 30%, 60% and 80% (or 70% and 90%) encourage you to move values one direction or another, simplifying your visual statements.

'In art, the hardest skill to learn is to be simple.'   Sergei Bongart

Click on the Page link above to find out how to order.  The price, unfortunately, will have to go up a few dollars on May 1st, 2014.  Right now I have it at the old price but will have to raise it by the end of the month.

Keep Drawing!!

Just ONE marker makes form and dimension!

Portraits Three

The faster I go....

....the more in the dust I get.  I'll never post everything, so here is a group of portraits done in the last couple of months, in an effort to get more of it out.

I decided to spend some time with profiles because they are a hit or miss kind of thing for me lately.  There isn't much room for error. 

'Red Beret', 12x16 was of a friend whose likeness I have always had trouble with, this one included.  Still, I like it as a painting.  I used Raw Umber, Cad Red and Yellow Ochre.   Rim lighting.

'No Wrong Notes', 11x14 is the daughter of another painter.  Get this.  She also races sailboats, is a computer programmer and a couple of other things I was too blown away about to remember.  She is sailing solo from Seattle to Hawaii just to be in a competition.....and then sail back.  My usual split primary palette.

'Daily Dress' 18x24, is of a woman living north of here who has decided to dress like someone in the early 1900's.  She has done it for the last ten years.  Her corset has given her the tiniest waist.  The hat is from the 1870's but the other clothes she makes.  She speaks frequently to groups who want to know about period dress.....and to others who wonder where her internal organs have gone.   Split primary palette again.  Another backlit scene that affords those wonderfully colorful shadows.   When she first took this pose she had a defiant kind of stance which as the session went on became much more relaxed.....I'm glad I was able to keep the 'attitude' in this one.

A Safe Rest, 18x20

Envy....

.....is on my mind and in my heart.  Ever since I realized the Plein Air Convention was in progress down in California I've been wishing I were there.  Not enough, however, to actually spend the time and money to go to it.  But the desire is building.  Maybe next year.

The scene is the California coast near the convention area so at least I'm there in spirit.  This is from another photo lent to me by Tim Deibler and used to create the painting.  Lots of interpretation going on here.  I think I'm making some progress on this paint from photos thing.  Still, I'd rather be there, standing on those rocks.

Here is another one from photo.  It was a quick 30 minute one and, since I'll be gone a week, maybe the last posted until I get back.  Remember that Spring Training for Painters begins on the 15th.

 

Snow Fields Summer, 18x20

It's the colors in the shadows.....

.....that most intrigue me.  Back lit things appear to exude more life.  The shadow in the mountain and foreground, even though darker, have more luminosity to them.

The scientific reason is that, having little or no white pigment, they have greater transparency and the underlying board, like in watercolor, reflects through the paint.  In the sunlit areas opacity from the pigments, white especially, traps the light and prevents that 'see-into' effect.

If you look at natures shadows, from a face to a forest, they look like they have transparency about them.  Rembrandt, even with his limited palette, played the transparent/opaque thing to the hilt.

I think I'm getting better at this 'paint from photos' thing.  When glancing at the photograph I find myself continually asking 'what would I see if I were really standing there'?  You know, breeze in the air, sun on the face....bugs on the arms.   It helps.
This photo source was generously loaned to me by Tim Deibler.

'Spring Training for Painters' begins April 15th!  I'm planning on having fun!

Orchestration, 12x16

Ken Auster's words rang in my head.....

.....while I was wandering around the Winslow Art Center during my painting class.  Ken is an intriguing and talented painter from Laguna Beach who said 'good painters paint what they know, not what they see.  What you see is just resource material'.  His website is HERE.

Having dealt with the 'am I a camera or an artist' syndrome myself, I wanted a way to demonstrate for the next week's class what orchestrating a painting could mean.  So, while the class was doing other things, I painted this one when they weren't looking.

I had this panel with me that, for some unknown reason, I had toned green....but it was all I had.  In looking at the still life setup....and this is a picture that doesn't describe the side lighting....the white coffee cup and the cloth around it was by far the most strongly lit area.  That's not where I wanted a viewers eye to go.

Here is the sequence.....remember the photo of the setup is not true.

Sketchy drawing just to place shapes.

Beginning color block in.

Just before 'going for the finish'.

From here I threw in a few lighter portions and called it done.  The cup now takes the role of supporting actor.  The 'Lady Gaga' flowers lure your attention.

My workshop in Italy, Simplifying the Tuscan Landscape: Drawing and Painting, has been officially announced HERE.   Susan Ogilvie is also teaching pastels there a week earlier.  The place is spectacular.

  Also, my workshop in Spring Training for Painters, begins on April 15th....so come get your painting arm and eyes in shape for the summer season.  Find out about that one HERE.

Keep painting.  Summer is coming.....really!

Four in One,18x24

Tim Deibler.....

.....came to town to teach a workshop and needed a car.  We worked out a deal where I could sit in on part of his workshop as an exchange for some wheels.  Seemed like a good idea to me, so for part of his time here I put myself over in the corner of the studio and just painted.

When I was learning how to paint outdoors I used to take a panel and tape it off into squares similar to this.  I tried to get 8 or 12 little areas filled in a day.  When the tape got removed they were self framing little snapshots of what I had gotten done.  It made for easy comparisons and reflection on what I could have done better.

These rectangles are larger, as this is an 18x24 panel.  Here are some closer views:

 

Tim is a very good painter and teacher.  If you happen to be one of his regular students you are extremely lucky.  If you aren't in his area he has some well done videos on his website and another coming out soon, plus a book.  All the videos are good but my favorite is 'Finding Geometric Shapes in the Landscape'.  Go to his WEBSITE and check out some wonderful paintings.

I'll post some more in a day or so.

The Switch, 7x8

Artists know.....

.....when 'the switch' happens.  The more you do art the easier it is to get to that 'switch' when the right 'spatial artistic' side naturally takes over from the left 'rational symbolic' side of our brains.....the one that's usually in control.

Here it went the other way.

There I was having a peaceful time sitting in our living room putting pen to paper, letting the shape relationships easily seen by my brain's right side just take over and guide where the line went.  It was nice just floating along with those lines and shapes.....and..... 

Then the phone rang.  And it 'picked up' the call.  And 'they' left a message.  Can you see where that happened?  Where my left side listened to the call and, as long as it was in control, let my line go where it 'should' based on its bent toward symbolism. 

Phone hangs up.  Right side of the brain gets control again and back we go to finish the drawing....except for that wonky lampshade.

I still had fun....and the toned markers again did their magic.

Tentative announcement:  We are putting together a week long workshop in Montisi, Italy, an old hill town, for this Fall.  I'll be teaching Marker Drawing and Painting and pizza eating.  I may have to practice that last one.  This promises to be fun.  Stay tuned for details.....or write me an email if you want to be on the list for the actual announcement.

Ciao.  (I'm practicing)

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....

Morning Painting, 30x30

So, Here Is How It Goes.....

Wake up very early last Thursday.  Check.
Answer email.  Check.
Go buy some flowers.  Check.
Figure a still life set up and gather materials.  Check.
Drive to Studio 12 and set up before others arrive.  Check.
Begin Painting about 9:45.  Check.
Don't stop.  Check.
Paint until 1:00.  Check.
Drive Gail to an appointment.  Check.
Grab some quick dinner.  Check.
Ride bicycle to clay studio.  Check.
Spend three hours sculpting a ridiculous caricature.  Check.
Ride bike home.  Check.
Pet Noelle, Hug Gail.  Check.
Fall into bed.  Check.
Don't 'grow up' (whatever that means).  Check.

Tough work but someone has to do it.......

No. 8 Venterol, 11x14

Excuses.....

.....for not following our hearts, for not doing what we love, for abandoning our dreams....are plentiful.  'No. 8 Venterol' is a case in point.  For years I didn't paint from photos, believing that I could only paint well from standing in front of a thing....but, where I live, that meant for half of the year I was very limited in my choices.   Not using photos was just one of those excuses.

Now, before you assume I think photos are just fine as sources for paintings, I still believe that the best way to do it is from life.  Only the true colors and values can be found that way.  But.  If combined with lots of plein air experience and awareness of what photos distort it can be rewarding.....but only a few paintings a year come that way from me.

And so that excuse goes out the window.  This painting is from a photo....but one that first became sketches and color studies before brush ever met canvas.  I especially like the way the wall texture came out.

Will Terrell is a cartoonist who puts out YouTube videos so you can watch him work.  The best part, however, is that he talks as he sketches and inks up his stuff.  His words apply to many things in life.  Here is video of him working on one of his field sketches back in the studio......and he talks about those pesky 'Excuses'.  I often like to sit back for 20 minutes and watch him work and listen to him talk.

About ten years ago Will was told repeatedly that he shouldn't be a cartoonist or an artist because he 'just didn't have the stuff'.  He was told his work was horrible and to find a different line of work.  But now he has been a full time, family supporting cartoonist with a YouTube following of around 12,000.  He is worth listening to......besides, he has a great laugh.

Not The Demo, 18x24

The Intention was.....

.....to demonstrate an initial block-in of a painting and stop....just a large amorphous transparent shadow shape.  I did that and hopefully made the point but, while I was wandering around talking to people, I'd stop and take a few strokes at it.  It was just a pot of flowers stuck in a grey green corner and not really much to work with.  Seemed like a good challenge.

By the time class was over this is what I had which, considering the subject, isn't so bad.  It will have a new owner by tomorrow. 

Seahawks Playoff and Primary Colors

It was GAME DAY....

.....and I had to go to Seattle....so I left on the first ferry I could, figuring I'd miss most of the fans heading to the game.  Wrong.  The boat was wacko with yelling fans...and they still had six hours until the game.

With a few minutes to kill, I sat in the terminal and drew what was in front of me, a guy dressed in green tights and a Hawks jersey waiting in line with one of the K-9 cops.  Getting a Subway at some early hour.....

And here is another marker drawing done just before the painting I posted recently.  You can compare the drawing to the painting and see where I decided to change values to make the painting more readable.

One is in warm gray tones and the other in cool gray.  I once tried mixing the two figuring that was a great idea....but later decided it wasn't.  Sticking with either a warm or cool seems to work the best.  You try.  Maybe you can pull it off.

Thanks for looking.