Desert Perspective (12x16) oil on linen

New Stuff...

 The Mystic (16x20) linen

 Passing By (8x10) o/c

 Daisy (16x20) o/c

Garden Path (8x10) o/c

Landscape Variables:

 "Harmony in Silver" (12x16) oil on linen

This piece was painted in Spring near our home in Oregon just before a late afternoon rain storm hit (from behind me). Some of the best 'sky-drama' is right after or right before a storm; clouds are moving, colour is changing -- the design of the sky can determine your entire composition, and often become the focal point of it...I packed up and ran to the car just in time!

 "Sonoma Sunrise" (6x8) oil on panel

This little sketch was painted at dawn (and sold) during the Sonoma Plein Air show in California last October. I knew from the previous morning where the sun would hit first, so I was already set up before light. The intense blue is due to the moisture in the valley and made for a stark contrast of temperature as the sun hit the hilltop -- a very fast, but rewarding execution that I would never have captured with the same spontaneity from a photograph...

"Oak Cluster" (9x12) oil on canvas

This one was done on my way home from the beach in Oregon wine country (not sure what town it was closest to). Early in the evening, I was fortunate to find a spot to pull off the road where usually there is none (as local farmers like to plow every square foot of soil). This was last summer when the sun was low and colour was most intense. Setting sunlight on a subject can make for a more interesting composition with long-stretching shadow patterns like these...

Born in a Barn?

 "Happy Little Barn" (16x20) oil on linen

I wasn't raised on a farm, but may have been born in a barn (I've been painting so many lately). These were painted outside the town of Newberg, Oregon not far from my house. 

"Catawampus" (16x20) o/c

Was never a big fan of 'barn paintings' before, but lately I've been noticing how the old ones with all the character are going away for good in our area, being replaced by steel structures... Better for the farmers I suppose, but sad to see charm of the old school wood going by the wayside... I guess I've warmed up to them now that they're an endangered species -- might even hug one if they weren't so big (and farmer John wasn't watching)...

A shame to think in a few more years, we'll only have pictures of them...and paintings.

A tree grows in...Oregon?

 Thumb nails from Sketchbook

Of all the various trees there are to paint, my favorite are the Eucalyptus and the Sycamore; unfortunately they don't do well up here in the Northwest climate so they're very scarce. Oak trees on the other had are everywhere and have a wonderful shape, especially in winter when they're bare-leaved. Pine trees I don't care to paint at all (which may seem ironic in logging country) but they're even more abundant than all the other species put together, so I tolerate them as supporting cast members at times...

 Narrowing it down...

This past January there were a number of cold, but clear days and I was able to get out and do some studies. These quick pencils from my sketchbook were done before starting the composition near the bottom, titled "Behind Winter's Veil".

 This one...

I shifted a few elements around until I came up with a composition that focused the light on one large shape with a second, larger shape in the foreground...

Monochrome study variation in chalk on Canson (5x7)

This drawing is from another location using the same 'dominant light combined with a large shape' idea...

Start on a burnt Sienna canvas

Initial block-in

I originally had some light and shadow lines breaking up the foreground... 

"Behind Winter's Veil" (20x24) o/c

Here is the finished painting; I decided to put the entire foreground in shadow at the last minute to concentrate all of the light on the background tree -- this proved to be more dramatically effective.

It's about the shape and colour in nature and their integral relationships... The old saying, "paint shapes, not things" is good to keep in mind, divesting yourself of preconceived ideas of everyday objects. Trees are noble with individual character, and should be observed that way by the painter, carefully and thoughtfully arranged into pleasing, if not ideal compositions...

SUMMERLAND show opens tonight!

"Land Patterns"

Tonight my landscape show, "SUMMERLAND" opens at 

Brian Marki Fine Art in Portland, Oregon! 

23 pieces in all - runs thru October 2nd, 2013

 

The Hour of Romance...

"The Hour of Romance" (30x30)

This piece will be in my show opening September 6th at Brian Marki Fine Art in Portland, OR.

23 landscapes in all... (the new work will be on their web site shortly at which time I will post a link).

Five O'clock Shadow

"Five O'clock Shadow" (9x12)

Painted this one on site somewhere in the country west of where we live in Oregon... I could find it again, but probably couldn't tell you how I got there. Sometimes you drive around waiting for the light to get good -- sometimes you drive around looking for a decent subject to sketch... Either way, you usually do a lot of driving around, but at least this time I came home with something.

Sometimes you don't...

Simplicity every now and then...

"On Sauvie Island"

A simple design with a quick execution is a good part of a balanced diet... I try to keep this in mind (especially after struggling with a complex painting). If I were a Zen master (my painting might be better for one thing) but I could probably explain the benefits more concisely too. 

I can say this however; simplicity in design sheds an immediate and clearer light on the truth (how's that for profundity?) Like running water taking the path of least resistance, go with the truth you see before you without trying to say more or adding to it... Don't forget, your effort is all that's needed to make it your own.

Smith Berry Farm

"Smith Berry Farm" (8x10)

"Colour Riot" (9x12)

Winner at Plein Air Easton

"Talbot County Landscape" (16x20) Second Place Winner

I just returned from Plein Air Easton in Easton, Maryland where 58 artists painted for a week in some pretty extreme weather. It wasn't quite as hot as last year's event, but upper 90's with high humidity was still exhausting. Last year I blogged (whined) about my gear being lost by Fed Ex for the first 2 days of the event, then sleeping on the airport floor in North Carolina where I was stranded on the way home, but I still had a good time... Anyway, seeing old friends, meeting new ones and staying with my host family, the Tremain's was a great return treat, and taking home the Second Place prize with several sales was icing on the cake...beautiful country and great fun -- can't wait til next year!

Confessions of a Closet Tree Hugger...

October Moon (20x16)

Trees have always fascinated me; from when I climbed my first one as a kid, to when I fell out of one and sprained my shoulder a couple of years ago... their beauty, their majesty and the way painters have captured them throughout history. Examples that come to mind are the watercolours of Percy Grey, or the California Impressionists of the early twentieth century and the sarcastically labeled "Eucalyptus school" -- (Eastern art critics just never understood it)

Here on the Oregon coast, we have a variety of pine that takes such a beating from the hurricane winds that they often resemble the Cypress trees of the mid-California coast -- ragged and spindly, it's amazing how hearty they must be to survive the winters.

Every region of our country has it's own indigenous species of tree that is equated to it's landscape. I miss the Sycamore and Eucalyptus of California, but the Oaks we have here are gorgeous in the fall and the white trunks of the Birch and Aspens are an excellent subject when the light is right and makes them glow. Painting trees are a joy and a freedom from the riggers of figure work too -- you can add a limb to a tree to enhance a composition, but that somehow doesn't work as well with the human form...

Oh Well, Happy Thanksgiving everybody!