New plein air sketches...

 Summer Landscape (12x16) o/linen

Been out sketching lately in preparation for Sonoma Plein Air, the only plein air event I do anymore (it's my California landscape "fix")...and a wonderful area to paint!

 Foothill Colour (8x10) o/l

These sketches were done during August in northwest and central Oregon. Summer weather usually arrives after the July 4th holiday and runs thru September, and I'm looking forward to getting some autumn colour while temps are still nice when I get back from Sonoma in a few weeks~

Helvatia Fields (8x10) o/l

Smith Rock (8x10) o/l SOLD

Smokey Sky Landscape (16x20) o/l

Opening at Astoria Fine Art, Aug 1st~

 "Summer Trail" (24x30) o/c SOLD!

Our 2-Person show (Jill Soukup & Eric Bowman) opens at Astoria Fine Art in Jackson Hole, WY August 1st, 2018.   I will have a total of 10 paintings, both western subject and landscapes in this double showcase event~

http://www.astoriafineart.com/artist/286/Eric-Bowman---New-Artist- 

Commission:

 (Untitled) Final Drawing 6x8"

I was recently commissioned to do a 36x48" southwest desert scene painting for a public space in Oklahoma city... Not exactly mid-western fare landscape-wise, but the client's vision for the space required some "western" atmosphere, and of course this is a subject I can really get into~

I first did about 10 thumbnail sketches based on my plein air paintings and sketchbook doodles from a trip to southern Utah and Maynard Dixon's homestead/studio last year...

  
After reviewing the pencils and using examples from previous paintings on my website and social media, we agreed upon an amalgamation of several of my thumbnail roughs into the final design (at the top of the page)...

 

Here are the final canvas stained and ready to paint (background) and a 16x20 "test" painting (with altered composition) under way to make sure I've got my colour palette working...

 

So far I've done about a dozen drawings and 4 colour studies in various sizes...you never can do too much homework before undertaking an important commission!

Outdoor quick sketches~

Scotch Church Road (9x12) oil on panel

These are just a sample of field sketches I've done lately, studying colour for my larger western studio paintings...

 Untitled (9x12 cropped) oil on linen

These were all done not far from home in Tualatin, Hillsboro and Sherwood, Oregon.

Summer Pond (9x12) oil on panel

Even when on a deadline with studio work for galleries, I still make time to get out and paint from nature -- the ONLY way to learn the subtle nuances of light and colour...

Desert Perspective (12x16) oil on linen

Feature article in Plein Air magazine!

Plein Air magazine, May 2016

Thanks to Steve Doherty and Plein Air magazine for featuring me in the new May 2016 issue!

 

Plein Air Easton 2015

 Point Pleasant Poem (16x16) oil on linen SOLD

Had a wonderful time returning to Plein Air Easton last month (my 4th time) and the beautiful landscape there. Surprisingly this was NOT the hottest week of the year as is usually the case; still there were plenty of bug bites and lots of humidity, but that gets forgotten in the midst of all the camaraderie and great events the PAE organizers put on...

Made in July (9x12) oil SOLD

I was able to stay with a painter friend afterwards for a few days and tour the Smithsonian Museum of American Art where they have several Thayers, Benson's and Tanner's that were all amazing to see in person (especially the Thayers)! We even stumbled upon a William Wendt that was being cleaned in their restoration room. Good times again in Maryland -- hope to return next year!

There Was a Crooked Man...

"There Was a Crooked Man..." (16x20) o/l

This is a recent plein air painting done in Yamhill County, Oregon... Nice old lady was out tending her garden and gave me permission to paint her dilapidated barns. Everything looked old there -- might have been a "century farm" but before I finished my painting and could inquire about it, the old lady disappeared! 

Sometimes it's that way out in the country you know; folks are a little skittish (and indeed it was a 'crooked' mile to get there)...

Where??

Super Moon (6x8) o/p

Tomorrow (Wednesday) June 10th thru Friday the 12th I am participating in the "Where In The World Is" three-day live plein air video event! Each day 3 videos will be posted of me painting (one at the beginning,  one half-way through and one of the finished painting) then posted on the gallery's web site for viewing and purchasing. Over 100 artists are participating in this event, some as far away as Australia!
 

 http://www.whereintheworldispleinair.com/ 

Please tune in via the link above starting tomorrow and see where in the world I am painting!

Palm Springs show!

Ancient River Light (8x10)

Excited to be a part of "Portland Paints the Desert: A Plein Air Exhibition" opening at Brian Marki Fine Art in Palm Springs, March 13 thru April 8, 2015. I will have 4 pieces in the show that were painted on a recent trip to the California desert...

Sonoma Plein Air 2014

 Sonoma Skies (8x10)

Just back from Sonoma Plein Air 2014 and what a beautiful place to be and not just to paint; perfect sunny weather and gorgeous landscape and coast to explore. Here are a few of the dozen or so pieces I did there...

 California Cloudscape (8x10) SOLD

It was also great to see and paint with some friends that I only get to see a couple of times a year at events like these -- these are "my people" who understand the artist in me the most, who face the same trials and tribulations that creatives have to deal with...

 Moonlight Drive (12x16) SOLD

So while we encouraged one another, we commiserated some too, to vent our frustrations and compare notes on what's not working and what is...

 Silver Sonoma Coast (6x8) SOLD

But the best parts were sharing the excitement of caravaning thru the pre-dawn hours to reach the coast and capture the first light on canvas, and spontaneous dinner parties at the end of long days painting to share fun stories of triumphs and failures -- camaraderie among artists is a very special and needful experience (and it also elevates the homesickness I often feel away from my girls back home).

 Summers End (8x10) SOLD

This piece (above) was the first of mine to sell on Saturday and was painted on the Annadel Estate Winery where I was given full access of the grounds, and a complimentary glass of award-winning Chardonnay before I left (thank you Abi!)...

Bodega Rocks (8x10)

At Bodega Head on the Sonoma Coast there were dozens of paintings in every direction; zero wind, zero clouds, zero crowds -- just nature at it's finest! I only wish I had more time to explore better compositions, but the richness of the day will last me for months to come. Can hardly wait to get back next year, but what a way to close out the summer -- thank you everyone at SPA for a great time and to my host, Bev Raaka for another comfortable stay!

Recent plein air work and a beach trip...

 Yamhill Evening Colour (8x10)

Been having great weather so far this summer! Found a new area to explore in Yamhill county, about 30 miles west of our place with plenty of hidden valleys and mostly oak covered hills (which is a nice change from the pine trees) ....and kind of looks like northern California...

 Nestucca Moonrise (6x8)

This was a last minute quickie as the light was going fast on my way back to the beach house. There was a new observation deck built overlooking a nature preserve in the Nestucca Valley about a quarter mile in from the beach facing east...

 Arcadia Monolith (12x16) oil on linen

This was done at Arcadia Beach, a nice spot just south of the town of Cannon Beach. The base of the bluff is to the right, but I wanted to focus on the interesting shape and size of the large vertical rock formation...

Painting on the beach at minus tide...

Was able to actually drive south down the beach (just north of Pacific City) for about half a mile...painted these rocks during a very low tide, but the terrain was very flat so the tide could rise quickly...kept the keys in the ignition just in case, and it wouldn't have made for a bad Subaru commercial either!

Thankful again to visit the lonely Oregon coast -- a wonderful place to paint and recharge...

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...

Dusk.

"Dusk" (12x16) Oil on Linen

I will take this post to make another shameless plug for my upcoming Open Studio Sale... HUNDREDS (about 350 - 400) paintings and sketches for sale at loowww "studio prices". 

These are pieces that either already had their shot in a gallery, or haven't left the studio yet; some are non-exhibited plein air studies and some were painted in competitions such as Plein Air Easton, Sonoma Plein Air or the Laguna Beach Plein Air Invitational (among others). 

There are also many figure paintings in oil, pastel studies and small nudes in oil on vellum, along with a number of sketches that were made to assist me in completing larger canvases. 

The sale will be Saturday, June 14th from 9am to 5pm at my studio in Oregon... Please drop by if you're in the area! There will be free posters and refreshments -- hope to see you here!

7311 SW Pine Street  Tigard, Oregon 97223 

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.

Barn Storming.

 Spring Barn, Helvatia (16x20) o/c

Spring is here, after a fairly mild and noticeably short winter. I was able to get out the other night and again the next morning and painted a couple of barns in the Helvatia area here in Oregon. I worked with what was there and kept any touch-ups to a minimum when I got back the the studio...

Century Barn (16x20) o/c

Conferred with a couple of painter friends (one on the east coast and one in the mid-west) whose opinions are that barns are 'stand alone' subject matter; they are a relic and record of the past at the same time as having their own personality in our contemporary world -- like a portrait they have character and style, and like strangers on the street, you pass them by without much thought. These were a joy to paint en plein air and I hope to get out to do it again soon (got one more on my mind out in that area)...

 Thumbnail Sketch (2x2.5)

Winter Studies...

 Winter Creek (9x12)

When it's sunny with clear skies here in Portland in the middle of January, it's usually COLD...however it wasn't too bad this month; I was able to get out and do a few plein air sketches as long as I bundled up... I'm used to doing sketches like these in the warmer months when the trees are covered with plenty of foliage, giving them more body and shape to work with...but this was a nice change of (brisk) pace...

January Sun (9x12)

I really enjoyed focusing on the movement of the trunks and branches, and the hues they produce when massed together; beautiful grey-violets and pink-sages that compliment one another. I hope to get out again soon, and gather more colour reference before Spring hits. Not often we have a dry winter like this, and I'm happy to take advantage of it! Hope to turn some of this raw material into some larger works too...

Fall Colour in Plein Air!

 

(9x12)

These are from earlier this Fall, painting with my friend, Anton Pavlenko in Washington state. It was actually a nice warm Autumn day and the colours were turning everywhere -- a great time to paint in the Pacific Northwest!

 

Unfinished (16x20)

This one I didn't get finished on site, but got a good start -- sometimes time and sun light are taskmasters that work in your favor, causing you to stop before you normally would in the controlled light of the studio... I'll finish it later (and with as few strokes as possible to not overwork this foundation done from life).

Secret Spot

Flat Rocks, Oregon Coast (12x16) o/c

This is a favorite spot on the coast near Pacific City, just north of Neskowin, Oregon. I got there at minus tide which reveals a whole maze of rock channels that are usually partly submerged even at regular low tide. The high sandstone wall of Cape Kiwanda (local popular surf spot) is just to the right, out of view -- in the distance is Cascade Head at the north end of Lincoln City...

I know a lot of plein air painters from other parts of the country who would love to paint the central Oregon Coast (if they knew such a place existed). 

 

For now though, we'll just keep it a secret between the two of us...

Laguna Plein Air Painters Invitational

 "Autumn's Reprise" (16x20)

Here are a couple of my paintings from the recent Laguna Plein Air Painters Association's Invitational event held in October. It was a great week of painting in summer-like weather, and seeing friends & family in So Cal... I grew up in that area and have many fond memories going back to my early childhood when we would visit my mother's best friend there.

"Laguna Gold" (16x20)

In the mid 80's I had a small studio space in north Laguna and lived just south of there in Dana Point. A lot has changed over the years, but the charming character of Laguna remains along with the beauty of it's rocky coves that lured William Wendt and Edgar Payne there a hundred years ago... I hope to return to next years event and do it again -- never tire of that beautiful place!