May 1 - Oops, out of order!

How about if we go back in time for a bit and see that painting from yesterday's post at a different stage of development? Oopsie. Here's the first lay-in of colors, and shows more of my working method. I don't paint the most interesting and riveting part of the painting until I am certain that the background stands on its own merit.
So I'm always thinking about division of space, light, pattern/texture, atmosphere, repetition of shapes, dynamic line, and (of course) COLOR when I work.

The Color Boot Campers who just finished up their five days of intensive painting are on their way home now, taking some outstanding work with them. Here's one of the sillier examples of their work, which is what I used to have them warm up to brushwork and thinking about the value (lightness or darkness) of their palette. Called "silly paintings", the challenge is to not mix, but to paint with the inherent value of the pigments of the Color System. Eye-popping, to say the least! Each source image is below the painting. It's a fun exercise, one filled with much laughter.

You can see my entire blog HERE.My workshop schedule for 2010 is HERE.Color System information can be found HERE.If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Apr 18 - The BonFire of Paintings

Did I mention that I was going to burn about one third of my body of work? Over 220 paintings went into a bonfire last week, and it was cleansing and freeing. I've been sorting through the work I have created over the last three decades, and decided it was time to cull the ones I wouldn't want around to be examples of my legacy.

Was it hard to do? Yes, and yet no. Seeing and evaluating each work on an individual basis was like going back in time... remembering the places I've been, the events surrounding each of the paintings. In that regard, it was hard. But for the quality of the work, it was easy. After all, who is going to know or care what I felt or thought while I painted that garbage piece? Most collectors only want the best works, and they want to know the back story on those paintings alone. The angst I felt when I struggled through (and never completed) poorly designed and poorly executed paintings is of no importance to anyone except me, and YOU. You? Yes, because everyone wants to know that even the good artists have cr*ppy paintings.

The image above is a 12 x 16 reworked from that pile of bonfire paintings. I demonstrated how to fix a lousy painting during the Fallbrook workshop yesterday, by painting over it using the Color System to change it from almost evening light to DEFINITELY evening light. This is now a survivor of the bonfire. Here is what it looked like before I pulled it from the flames....

I'm sending my stuff to Georgia tomorrow and am flying myself and Sparky there next Saturday. Tons to do before that, and I'm SO looking forward to Georgia and Florida in Spring!!!

You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2010 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Feb 10 - Demoonstration Painting, the Beginning....HVAA

Today I had the pleasure of going back to Hemet and meeting 80 people who had come out to see my demonstration in oils. It was a wonderful afternoon, and everyone seemed to have a good time watching me paint and chatter along about how I do these images. I didn't quite finish the painting, but did photograph it in stages as I painted it. So here's the first step. This is a 16 x 20 canvas panel, and comes from source material I took while at the Kentucky Horse Park several years ago. This is the initial drawing of the polo ponies tied and resting beside their trailer, and shows the essential design. The canvas has been toned with a warm "peachy" middle value, and I draw the essential shadow shapes as well, so that the whole design is cohesive and shows the structure. The drawing is done with a brush filled with burnt umber thinned to an ink-like consistency.

The demonstration went well, and I have the wet canvas behind me, and will finish it tomorrow in the quiet of my studio.

Many of you have asked how it is that I do all that I do (in my 60s) and how I can be so positive and caring as I face recent challenges. I offer to you one of the major reasons I am able to live with joy and physical fitness (Believe me when I say I was pudged out and lost 27 pounds doing this!). The more I learn, the more it trains me to handle whatever life throws at me. I'm ending my third year of training now.



Although a true martial art (deadly and effective), it is based upon a philosophy of blending and taking the energy of what comes at you, without "winning" or resisting the attack. Powerful stuff, both on the mat and in my mind.

And now I'm sending this to you before I leave to spend a few days with a close friend in a gorgeously beautiful place, rejuvenating, relaxing and reassessing. Life is very, very good.

You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2010 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.