Feb 11 - Finished Lily Rock Oil and Spring in California

Finishing up this 16 x 20 was a joy, so easy without any issues of what to do to make it "be" more than what I felt when I was there. Easy color choices, too because of the Color System.

The dark area in the sky is cast from my easel, and doesn't show in the finished image--even though it acts as a design element, pulling your eye to Lily Rock. I will photograph this one better at a later time. I love to hurry up!

Next week I'll be painting in the Plein Air Artists of Riverside week-long competition, and plan to do several in stages for you. Before that, I'll be showing you the "Calicobermans" that was accepted into the Art Show at the Dog Show.  I need to ship that one quickly, to arrive in Wichita before the end of this month!

On other news, those of you still caught in the awful cold, rain and snow east of here might enjoy what I saw this afternoon as I went out to move some more compost. This is from the top of the stairs which go down to the studio entrance. These large granite rocks are above the driveway and one can see how large they are by the picket fence of the rose garden down and behind them. No snow here, and still space in the March workshop! Do you see the lizards? Already out in the warm sun!

The newest DVD on the Color System is HERE
You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2011 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Feb 9 - The Mountains of Idyllwild and Lily Rock (Oil Painting)

In the studio, under the lights (sorry about the shadow on the sky!), I'm putting in the big fields of color to define and bring this painting further along.

Most of what's been added since yesterday has been done with the "Trifecta" trio of sky color--ultramarine, alizarin, yellow ochre and white to lighten the mixes.

My brushwork could be defined as erratic, loose, and non-repetitive. That's a good thing, because boring brush marks spell the end of excitement in painting.  Moving my brush outside the "norm" (writing style), creates these marks to catch the viewer's eye.

On other news, I've heard so many bad weather reports that I wanted to share with you what I was doing this afternoon--picking snow peas in my garden! And that blue sky is normal for this time of year in California--no clouds.  And I'm wearing a tee because it is almost 70 degrees. There are still spaces in that March Color Boot Camp if you want to get away from the wet and ice!

The newest DVD on the Color System is HERE
You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2011 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Feb 8 - Doing Idyllwild's Lily Rock, in Stages, Part I

The gallery in Idyllwild sold one of my desert paintings and requested a replacement of a local landmark - Lily Rock, or sometimes called Taquitz Rock.  It is a favorite climbing rock and many dots of humanity are seen on its almost sheer face on any summer weekend.

I've painted it before, en plein air during one of their open air competitions, and worked one summer as a camp nature counselor there, so I know this rock and love this little mountain town.  This view is up North Circle Drive, from downtown.  My gallery is actually on the right side in the trees!

The canvas is 16 x 20 and was toned with an acrylic glaze of yellow ochre and cadmium red and yellow.  I like the warm contrasting against the cools, and have found that this helps me balance the end result as I cover up more and more of the warm with the cools.  I'm using oils on this one.  Yummy!

And I'm getting ready for the week long paint out put on by the Plein Air Artists of Riverside, which is always fun and so well done by PAAR volunteers. This year the theme is water--and we sure haven't had any rain since the deluge in January.

On other news, I entered the Art Show at the Dog Show with some different art.  I'll be showing you how the "Calicobermans" came into existence once this oil is finished.  It was accepted into the ASADS along with another oil that's coming along the blog down the road a piece.  Life is good!!

The newest DVD on the Color System is HERE
You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2011 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Feb 7 - Second of the Plein Air Vistas at UCR Botanic Gardens

Heading up the hill from the first location, I sat down on a bench in the herb garden and looked out over the turquoise roof lines of the UCR campus. I pulled out a second 7x5 panel, and started to work, with the light slightly from my left and playing across the mostly dormant herb beds. Lavender is in bloom now, and it was a heady scent coming on the warm air. 

With the company of two of the board members for the gardens in conversation, I worked on this one only for about thirty minutes.  It was fun putting in the red bricks of the walkways and the atmospheric distance between the pines.

Here's a photograph of the actual vista, and you can see how I changed the composition to please my senses. That "dead" tree is a Gordon apple, and there were wizened, dried fruit still on the top branches. Later this spring, it will be covered in blossoms, as my apricot trees are today in this 80 degree unusual weather!

There are spaces in the March Color Boot Camp, and the links to signing up are up and running.  If you are a returning student, you have 25% off the price! (Of course, you KNOW so much more!)

The newest DVD on the Color System is HERE
You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2011 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.