May 18 - The Primavera Oil at the UCR Gardens

This 9 x 12 painting just fell off my brushes in about an hour as I painted "en plein aire" at the UCR Botanical Gardens on Sunday. The image from yesterday's blog post was my view--and of course--artistic license creates a totally different "feel". '

Painting quickly and knowing where to put those dots and blobs of paint is primarily due to the Color System. I didn't scrape out one iota of this canvas!

Interesting, I felt as though I was painting a younger version of my folks on the right--it happens. So much of our lives are tied up in our memories, that the many people who walked through that spot melded into versions of my own family. The chefs, Miguel and Sarah, were pleased that their booth was featured in this work. I know I enjoyed their cuisine!

I'm liking the confidence of my work now, the ease with which I can take a horridly complex scene and turn it into something interesting for the eyes, without feeling rushed or too tied up in the details. Today I paint the gardens of a friend of mine, Lucy Heming. I'll be heading over there later this afternoon to catch the evening light!

On other news, there are two rescue dogs assuming the place of Seiko--adjusting to the routines, learning the priorities (no chasing of sheep, chickens are not dinner, small dogs are to be respected; and no, those cats will never come out to be playtoys). Fortunately, at least one has a great mind. The other is aloof and constantly "on point". I'll post pictures tomorrow. I'm back to three sheep, too, since the shepherd came and took the other four he owned back home. The grasses and weeds are definitely less now!

This original 9 x 12 oil is available for $250.

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.

May 22 - UCR Botanic Gardens Plein Air Primavera

Last Sunday found me on the grounds of the University of California Riverside Botanic Gardens as a guest artist for the Primavera event. Many fine restaurants and wineries were on hand with samples of their cuisine and beverages--and I enjoyed that as well as the light and activity.

It was a warm afternoon, and so I painted this scene of the tents, ribbon banners and people gathered around socializing in a quick 9 x 12 Golden Open acrylic painting. Mostly just gestural mark-making with the brush, nothing is clearly defined. But that lets YOU define it in your mind.

The warm and cool boxes are much in evidence with the light and shadows working together.

Here's another memory of the misty morning light in Florida, on the grounds of the Carriage Museum. Many ideas for future paintings down the "road" in reviewing these images. They are so peaceful. Grand place, as is the Georgia farm and the East Coast in general. I'm ready to return!

You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2009 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Feb 25 - More on the 30x40 Oil

I have the title for this one... "Secret Pasture". Many times when I work on a painting, a title will come and sit with me and smile, offering its name, and so it is with this one. Seems I am moved to paint places like this one, seeking out secure and safe sanctuaries during these troubled economic times.

As I continue to cover the canvas, I am more concerned with maintaining the middle values than I am with the purity of the color. I still have NOT opened the Warm Box of my Color System. Look at the way the colors already offer their cool and distant feel, without any friction among them. Am I concerned about edges? Not at this time.

The movement of the arched fenceline in the foreground is repeated, upside down, in the distant edge of the field. Nothing is straight! To create movement in a painting, it is always a good idea to keep things angled, curved or tipped. If your goal is static feel, then make your design lines parallel to an edge. Locks 'em down every time!

On other news (I just love those three words!) my art was selected for the poster for the University of California Botanic Gardens Spring Show. Here's the flyer for it. Funny that the poster comes out with the same complimentary colors I've been using with my latest large landscapes--red-violet and yellow-green. Hmmmm....mystery afoot!

You can see my entire blog HERE.

My workshop schedule for 2009 is HERE.
(June workshop, which still isn't officially open, is filling fast--only two spaces left.)

Color System information can be found HERE.

If you need to email me directly, please click here.