Aug 30 - The Boy Finished

Although this accidentally went out before it was supposed to, I did further editing and here it is again.

It was a quick matter to put the finishing touches on this canvas while teaching in Sebastopol's workshop. The sailboat just fell into the composition, and made a complete story. I even like that the mast is a bit bent, like things in life--showing character!

The shadow on the sails was done with yellow ochre and the "usual suspects" of ultramarine blue and white. I drilled into the students' heads that over half of all shadows are made from the sky trio--ultramarine blue, alizarin and yellow ochre in some proportions, and it is in evidence here.

I hope you've enjoyed this lesson painting. It is available as I write this, although at $220 through PayPal, it might be gone before long.

The long-awaited Color System Flash Cards are AT THE PRINTER!!! I'll be proofing them in a few days, and THEN they'll be printed! Yippee! You all will be the first to know when they're in my hands.
Here's a sample of the back of one of them (the cards will be much larger):

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Aug 29 - The Beach Boy, Further Along

This image of the painting shows my source material... a kid sitting on the sand with a plastic cup making piles. As with most photography, the color leaves a lot to be desired. In the composition, I turned his body a bit so it appears that we are looking more down on him. I also made him a bit older than the five or six he appears to be. I wanted a child of about eleven, just before puberty, and then the sailboat takes on significant meaning as the boy grows up into a young man on his journey through life.

At the bottom of today's image is the warm box of the pillbox system that is integral to the Color System. Note that the colors are set up by value! That's a great help when making choices about how to lighten or darken a color. No black in the Color System, and better choices than only white for going lighter.

You asked for more images of my "boy" Chiron? Here's one, showing his Iberian heritage. Only little white coronet bands on his back legs, hardly noticeable. He's going to be a treat to train into an awesome saddle horse. My last horse was a Spanish breed as well--a Peruvian Paso, and he and I started together when he was only five months.



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Aug 28 - The Beach Boy, Continued

With the figure blocked in, it was time to work on the rest of the canvas. I like the angle of the boy being intersected by the shoreline, creating some tension and interest, instead of doing the "horizontal ocean mambo" with a flat horizon line out there.

Any time one can choose a dynamic composition over a placid horizontal one, it creates interest in the finished work. Diagonals create design tension.

In the ocean, I'm using good' ol' ultramarine blue (the workhorse) and in the sands, I used the warm complementary mix of thalo blue and cad red light, with white. There's a bit of ultra blue in there, too... Keeps it cool and wet looking. The boy will be playign with a sail boat, but that will come in much later.

Here's my birthday present, at four months.... finally fulfilling my life-long dream to own one of the most magnificent of horses--an Andalusian! This Spanish horse breed is thousands of years old, and is from the Iberian area of Spain. My boy is not going to go grey as many of them do, because he has not one white hair on him--meaning he will stay dark (which is more uncommon). His registered name is Chiron EP, and if you know Greek mythology, Chiron was the centaur god. He'll be coming home to me in October. We'll begin the journey of training him--called "ground work"--as soon as he arrives. I love a project!


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August 27 - One from a Workshop

In one of the earlier workshops I taught this year, the question came up about how to deal with the Color System and human skin.

Now, I know there are many, MANY "rules" about painting human skin, and confusion reigns. What I have found in working with the translucent nature of skin with the underlying blood of a living organ, the way to make it come to life is to "flip the boxes" in the Color System. Use warms in the shadows and cool mixes in the lights. Eeek!!

I started this boy on a beach to demonstrate this for a workshop. I originally planned to only do the figure (not my normal method) and finish it later. But I worked it through the material I had on hand and almost finished it back in March. The canvas went with me to Sebastopol, and I finished it up there.

The area of transition between the light and shadow has to have the most intense coloration to continue to convince the viewer that skin is translucent and alive. This is a 9 x 12 oil, and its progress and source material will continue tomorrow.

On another note, here I am celebrating my big sixtieth birthday at Medieval Times last month--and still losing those excess pounds with Dr. Gundry's Diet Evolution. I've never felt better! My sister is a card artist, and I'm showing off one of her creations.

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August 26 - Back from the Workshop!

I've returned from a wonderful five days up in Northern California, teaching the Color Boot Camp workshop and doing a demonstration for the ASW painting group in Sebastopol, about 30 minutes north of San Francisco. What fun! Great group, and the workshop was full of laughter and "head-hurts" with the Color System knowledge going in. Many made great strides towards/into good color choices for the time of day they were painting.

The demonstration paintings I did during the workshop and meeting are examples of my evolving style in how I want to have my art appear after the hiatus of last two months. It's been wonderful to reach into the oils with such certainty about how I want the end painting to be.

It's easy to admit that artists grow and change, but perhaps not so exciting to know that other artists also go through this. Above is a painting I did back in 2005, and one I brought to the workshop to show evening light as it can be done on location. I knew the Color System in '05, but hadn't refined it enough to "pull it off" every time. That's typical of newbies to the CS, because it takes a while before the Color System can be involved in every one of your color choices. I was still relying on the "good ol' choices" because they were familiar.

While in the workshop, I told the students what I was going to do to the painting, and then did it. The changes are subtle, perhaps, but the overall painting has been "stepped up a notch". Here's the finished work.


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July 8 - Update and the Mosaic Project

I've been busy and quiet lately! Having fun painting a couple of horses for the Mural Project for Le Cheval ("the horse"). Here is the first of two I've sent off to them, both are acrylics. The panels measure approximately 18" on a side, and the artist must follow the guidelines for value and color to achieve the finished work. Mine was a challenge, but no more so than the others you can see here. Mine are not in place yet... numbers 136 and 216. Perhaps when you get this, the folks in charge will have put it up.
I know that I could not follow the Color System, or pull out the stops to make this painting my own, but I enjoyed the diversion from the other things I've been doing.

One of those things is to radically respond to the gas prices. I bought a smaller transportation vehicle--here's an image of it, complete with the two Teddy Roosevelt terriers, Onslow and Sparky. Getting 70 mpg is great! This was taken in our driveway.

And the other news is that I'm much thinner than what you see there--dropped 18 pounds, and still going. (Hey, that IS a helmet in my lap!!) I highly recommend the book, "Dr. Gundry's Diet Evolution" to take the weight off and keep it off. He presents a logical reason why our genetic code makes us unhealthy and chubby as we age. I'm winning, and I hope you will too!

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June 12 - June 12 - Rowdy's Memorial Service, Later This Afternoon

She may be gone from her friends and from this earth, but I know in my heart that she will be close for those who knew her and see this portrait. I'm through with it now, and it was as though in painting her, I was releasing my connection to my loss. That sounds selfish to say, but please know that to me, letting go is one of the most powerful and freeing events one can have. It's a closure.

You can see from the finished portrait that I did nothing to erase the life she lived, and it is fairly easy to see her approximate age. This was intentional--Rowdy made no bones about her life and character, and my mission as an artist is to not gussie up the people I paint by doing the "cosmetic surgery" thing with my brushes. I painted her strength, and yet I think I also captured her gentle spirit.

I'm chuckling, though, because Rowdy would have hated to be painted and I have to say I thought I could hear her yelling at me while I was doing it! This painting will be publicly displayed only once, this afternoon, at March Field Air Museum, where her memorial will be held. She worked there as a volunteer coordinator and loved the planes!

A 20 x 18" acrylic on canvas, it will be in the loving hands of Ruth and Ace Atkinson in their new home in Tijeras, New Mexico, next month.

For those of you who have lost loved ones, I offer a small book by Ted Menten, "Gentle Closings, How to Say Goodbye to Someone You Love" as a way to get through the hard times. It has helped me immensely in the loss of both parents, and allows me to gently understand what we feel when we've be left.

In talking about this portrait, the finishing layers of paint show best in the white garb of her "gi", and in the layers that are in her hair. There truly isn't a better way to see how I paint in acrylics if you'll spend time seeing those layers that end up looking like hair and fabric.

Today I start the mural mosaic process for my two panels. I hope I can share the procedure with you, but I've heard through the grapevine that they are asking artists not to share early images. I'll have to ask about that.

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June 11 - Rowdy's Posthumous Portrait Continues

Well, she is coming along now... I'm building the facial planes with the correct values and colors, and starting to tighten down the smile she'd get just before starting an art on the mats.

She loved her sword, and showed it to us once, and that love of the martial arts of aikido comes through in this pose. As I build this composition, I also love the subtle changes I need to make to correct something that isn't working right. The beauty of acrylics is that we have many opportunities for change by overpainting! I've corrected her sleeves, her hand positions, and especially her stance, yet there are just as many more to come.

For example, although her expression/essence is in her face, she still doesn't have her nose and eyes "right". And her white top doesn't show the underlying form well. That's coming with additional layers and glazes.

I have to laugh, knowing that my model for the fabric is Alberto, and the model for the hands on her sword was another black belt--but she was wearing rings and bracelets!! Of course, no jewelry is allowed on the mats, so I paint it out....(grin)

In a design sense, I've lightened the area on the lower quarter so that the shape of the stance she's in will be stronger with the contrast between the dark hakama (skirt) and the lighter background.

Here's an image of the March Air Museum and our mats. These four are the others with whom I train, Ron, Alberto, our sensei (teacher) Ace, and Steve. They all knew Rowdy well.



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June 10 - Laying in the large shapes, Rowdy Portrait

Here's the painting completely in the "Uglies". The features are not correct, the hair's too yellow, the hands and sword aren't realistic-looking yet.

All of this painting has been done with layers in acrylics, and it is mostly done with the cools in the cool box. The background, however, crosses over from the cools of ultramarine blue and burnt umber with the addition of thalo blue to give it some "oomph".

I will continue to layer and make corrections, fixing the attributes of the face and start to tighten down the look of her humorous half-smile. She now has on the white "gi" and the black "hakama" of the aikido practitioner, and her hands are roughly in the position for drawing the sword.

I found it interesting that at this stage, Rowdy's face seems to share the sadness of not being here--perhaps I'm painting her with my own sadness. This will evolve....

On another note, today we had triplets born to Uke, the young goat I shared with you last year. She's now a momma, and with her first kidding, triplets are amazing! And what's more amazing is how they are the spitting image of their grandmother, whom I still have. Got kids? Looks like I'll be bottle feeding them, as first freshener goats don't always have enough milk. So cute...


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June 9 - Beginning the Portrait of Rowdy, acrylic 24 x 18

The aikido community lost a profoundly accomplished and funny woman on May 25, and I have offered to do a portrait for her memorial service and to give as a gift. Rowdy Arrington Twomey was a second level black belt in aikido, and has been involved in martial arts since she was seven and living in Japan.

This is the first lay-in, and is a tough painting to start--not only for the connection I have in painting someone who was a joy to learn with and whom I considered a friend. But also because she was intensely camera shy. The photos I have for reference are...well, blooming awful. And I want to put her in the traditional garb of aikido, and of course there are no images available for that.

I've asked friends to pose to get the hands right (they'll be on her sword), and to pose her in the position of just drawing the weapon.

This is a 24 x 18 inch acrylic, and I'll share its progress in the next few days. Her memorial service will be on the 12th.

After that, I'll be working on the two mural panels for the Cheval mural mosaic.

Congratulations to Randy Smith on his acquiring the Amicalola River painting!
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May 31 - Finished up the River Acrylic

How fun to put the finishing details on a canvas that already is moving well! At this point in the painting project, I'm using my brush to bring your eye where I want it to go--having decided that the high contrast point where the big rock slips into the water is the most important place. The sharpest edge is there, the shapes of sun and shadow are repetitive (think light and dark side) and if you'll squint at the composition, you'll see that the highest contrast is at that point. Everything else is subordinate to that place--which also happens to be close to the "Rule of Thirds" (intersection of lines dividing the canvas into thirds horizontally and vertically).

The richness of the acrylics layered one upon another without negating the under layers is one of the reasons I love the medium. Just like the forest itself, made up of thousands of different layers of leaves, sunshine and shadow.

Perhaps you already see the tension created by the lack of vertical and truly horizontal lines in the composition? I wanted the illusion of time passing, and leaning diagonals create the feeling of movement through space and time, unlike strict verticals. Even the "flat" water doesn't have any true horizontals!

This 12 x 9 acrylic is available from me for $275 via Paypal, delivered to your door.

Congratulations to collector Debbie Sullivan on her purchase of the acrylic "Playing Catch" (didn't have that title back in Georgia!) depicted below.

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May 29 - Continuing the Acrylic

Here is where some of the subtle magic starts! With the additional layers of acrylic brushwork, the painting starts to get a feeling of three dimensions, much like the way we actually focus our eyes when looking at nature.

The layers of brush work over the water area are now horizontal, indicating the flow of the surface. You'll remember that first I laid down the vertical strokes to indicate the reflections on the smooth surface--now I put in the actual movement of that water with the horizontals.

Still no details... Remember, the painting has to be interesting at every stage (except for the "Uglies" when a painting has a large focal point awaiting an appearance!). This painting never had an "Uglies" stage, because there is no really strong focal point to create confusion.

On other news, I've decided to not do the June workshop here at my studio--I'm finding I need some more time to adjust to schedules and demands... I am working on a painting of a recently departed aikidoist and friend, as a gift for my teacher. I am also working on TWO panels for the Mural Mosaic project, in Canada. You can view the panels that have already been submitted for the Horse mural by visiting their site. It is fun and I'll post the project as it unfolds. I'm working on General Lee's horse Traveler as my subject. I visited his grave in Virginia a couple years ago, and really liked that horse.

And then there's the 24 x 36 waiting to be started!!

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May 28 - Plein Air Demonstration Continues

Here's the next step in the painting on location of the rocks in the Amicalola River in Dawson National Forest. In the upper tree area, I am scumbling the paint onto the dry layers to give me reference for the details that follow. I like to make large shapes and then drive them down into the smaller shapes when I use acrylics. Heck, I like to do that with oils, too! Acrylics' ability to separate the layers does create a good deal of excitement in the textures that show up as one layer goes over another. I don't like to completely obliterate what has happened in those lower layers.

The energy of the brushwork is still quite alive and well at this stage. I have not done any glazing yet. Glazing (using paint thinned with medium) will bind and unify the composition, and also tie together areas of the painting that might not be unified without it.

Notice how my brushwork direction makes pathways for your eyes to follow. Mark-making is how we as artists give the viewer much more than a source photograph.

Congratulations to new collector Fran Carson of Grand Island, Nebraska on her purchase of "The Kind Eye" (Clydesdale).

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May 24 - Lesson Painting in Acrylics - Beginning

How important is the surface on which you paint? Does it have to start out white? I think the surface preparation is very important--equivalent to a foundation on a house. The energy conveyed in the earliest brush marks target the forms that will come later. This canvas was started on location at the Amicalola River a week or so ago, while I was teaching the workshop at Fay's farm near Dawsonville, and I painted it in one standing (vs. "sitting", which I don't do much). It is a 12 x 9 acrylic, and this first pass puts down the masses of the abstract structure of the painting. I'll add many layers of paint to bring it to a finish, coming in three lessons (I think--forgot how many pictures I took!) I'm quite pleased with the painting, sitting right by my computer here. There is a great deal of energy in it. Those brush marks from the get-go have that same energy!

Here is the source material--morning light on the river, with spring leaves on the forest trees. North Georgia is surely beautiful!

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May 21 - Another from the Workshops - Mini Lesson

The soft evening light of Georgia plays across one of the many flower beds on Fay's farm becoming the subject of this plein air 7 x 5 acrylic. Using the layering that makes acrylic painting so wonderful allowed me to set up and complete this work with no additional touch-ups later in the workshop.

First placing the large dark shapes of shadows and deep shrub coloration, it was an easy matter to add additional layers, keeping the values close until the final accents were added in the iris blooms and sunlit rock wall.

I used filbert brushes to paint the entire subject. Those brushes allow such flexibility in marks to make the trunks, the broad brushwork on the foreground, and the calligraphic marks of the fence posts. They are Ruby Satins by Silver Brushes, and I really do love them!

This painting is already in the collection of Sam Gullo of Cleveland, Ohio.

Here's another view of the lovely area of the North Georgia Mountains... beautiful! Right before haying season, the fields are lush with new growth. That's one of the farm's hay storage sheds in the distance.

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May 20 - Back and Coming to Center Again

Back in California again, and after a couple of days of untangling knots and watering, petting the critters who didn't get to go along, I'm ready to bring out the work that was done in the workshops in Georgia last week and earlier.

As a demonstration of both back light and morning light, I painted this 12 x 9 oil in a 40 minute demonstration to share how the Color System works to depict these attributes in a canvas that's both flat and without luminosity. I

t's hard to compete with Nature, when Nature brings us such beauty! While on Fay's workshop farm, several of us would go out at 7 a.m. and walk the fields and woods, bringing back beautiful source material such as the image below. Those morning walks set the stage for the long hours to follow, filling our eyes with beauty and brightness we would later transfer to canvas.

Having such a gorgeous area for a workshop is one of the reasons I'm so grateful to Fay for opening her heart and farm to the "Boot Campers", many of whom actually staying on the farm for the duration. They would paint well into the night--working hard to settle in the guidelines of the Color System before their five short days were over.

This painting is in the hands of new collector Beth Haislip from South Carolina.

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May 14 - In the Middle of the Workshop in Georgia

What a great group of returning "repeat offenders" coming back for this week of art "camp" (AKA BOOT camp~!) that are here this week. Today is the day that it either starts to sink in, or at least they find one time of day that really works. We're sliding toward the inevitable Friday, where we have to go our own ways, and hopefully have enough of the Color System to be able to paint with better color, every time! (At least that's my hope.)
I do have a wonderful bit of image to share with you--one of last week's Boot Campers stopped by to say "hi" and meet the repeat offenders this week, and she shared with us the work "before Color Boot Camp, and after". The still life on the left is before. I'm so pleased to see such growth in a student's work in such a short time! She really was ready for Color Boot Camp!!
Now, for my demonstration of moonlight for the boot camp attendees, I painted this 8 x 10 oil of round bales of hay in moonlight. You can see it below--it is an oil. I hope you'll enjoy it! I have many more, including a lesson painting in acrylics for morning light on the Amicalola River from yesterday. Thanks for reading!




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May 11 - Between Georgia Workshops

Here's an acrylic demonstration piece I did, 9 x 12 inches showing a cow in evening light. A quick study with lots of loose brushwork, this was done in the first Color Boot Camp last week.

I've been enjoying my stay in Georgia for the past ten days, and have begun the second Color Boot Camp for "repeat offenders"--another group of folks with a passion for getting color right, right from the start, using the Color System. I've done some demonstration paintings, and will share them with you here.

Georgia is full of gorgeous scenery, not the least of which is the Amicalola River in the Dawson County Forest. This is not far from where we are holding the workshop--and I'm holding Sparky as he looks at the enticing water movement! Bringing him along on the plane trip and having him as my shadow/companion has been a pure joy. Many painting subjects abound in the area, and I can hardly keep my brushes still! I've done eight paintings so far, and in the morning I'm taking the class down to this river again for an on-location lesson at 7 a.m.


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April 8 - Taxes Done and the Vertical from the Floral Exhibit

This is another "plelin air" acrylic, a 12 x 24 canvas, only placed vertically for visual interest and design. The exhibit I chose to paint in the Riverside Art Museum was set up with mirrors and tiered glass shelves with these vases of live flowers... I had such fun creating a good design with the division of space to create interest. Only the brightest orange captures the eye after the journey through the scrollwork and vertical/horizontal lines. The orange is set off with the light tourquoise vase to create harmonious color tension.
As one looks closer, there appear to be beads of some sort in the paint surface, and so there are! These are the glass beads that come in many of the Golden Paints mediums for use with acrylics. I love experimenting with visual and actual texture, and these uniformly-sized beads in the painting surface unify the whole.

The other great piece of news is that the painting "To the Ring" which is featured in my DVD on painting Noon Light and Evening Light has been chosen for the image to represent the 2008 Menlo Charity Horse Show up near Sacramento. Appearing on the program, on the goodie bags for the sponsors, and also on many other trade items for sale, the best part is that I have had a giclee made at 27" by 36" to be used for the gala charity opening night auction. The original is only 12 x 16, and I still have it in my collection. Here's a small image of the painting selected! Again, the web sites are working their magic!


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April 7 - Plein Air INside the Riverside Art Museum

Such a wonderful week full of wonderful news! But first the details about this painting. It is a 12 x 24 acrylic, done from the "Art Alive" exhibit at the Riverside Art Museum (down at the bottom of the Exhibitions page). The Plein Air Artists of Riverside were invited in to paint the still life setups during the opening weekend. Because many of the exhibits contain real flowers, it only goes on for a very short time. But the two paintings I did (this being the second) will live on for quite a while. I'll post the first one tomorrow.

I enjoyed the play of light and dominance of form on this shelf of greenery, part of a larger portion of the exhibit. It came together quickly with acrylics, and darn it all, I forgot my camera to take in-process images.

So, other news! The Del Mar Turf Club contacted me for the second year in a row to have one of my Del Mar Race Track paintings on the front of the VIP cards for the press, trainers, owners and VIP visitors. What an honor! They picked "Training in the Ways of Del Mar" from my Del Mar Race Track paintings. It's already in the hands of a collector--sorry! Here's a small jpeg:


More news tomorrow!!
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March 28 - Plein Air in the Evening from Two Trees

Wow, just when you think you have all your cats herded, here it is the end of March and I've not posted for a couple weeks! But with spring planting and garden care, teaching workshops, enjoying a reunion of friends here at the house, I've been busy! Now this 12 x 16 painting is one I've had on display at the Corona Art Association, and I picked it up last week. Problem was, I had not photographed it prior to taking it in!
It was painting during the Plein Air Artists of Riverside visit to our place, and it was done as the sun was going down, with the evening light golden orange. The lights of the distant sports park were on, as were some other evening lights.
I was standing on our patio by the pond when I painted it, in acrylics. One must move fast to capture that elusive evening light!
Interesting side note: The Italian cypress standing vertical near the sun is a favorite perching place for the red tail hawks that have set up housekeeping in one of the big pines behind the house here. We see them carrying branches to the nest, and hope to have baby hawks when the time is ripe.
ON the reunion--my two friends came in from CO and No. Cal. for a wonderful five-day visit. We worked together in Frankfurt, Germany, back in the 70s, and still get together once every two years at each others' homes. This year was my turn. In 2010 we're going to meet up back in Europe! I'll take my paints to Switzerland, for sure!
Here we are at lunch at the Mission Inn, Las Campanas, margaritas in hand!

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Mar 7 - One More for Norco's Show, Pack Mule

This is one more oil painting that is currently hanging in the Norco Western Art Show on my premier artist wall--a demonstration for the workshop in February, which turned into noon light without any help from me a bit later on! (Note the blue shadows!)
It is an 8 x 10 oil, and is called "In Line". The background is noticeably softer in feel, and the trees flanking both edges present structure for the viewer that perhaps is not obvious until pointed out.
The color scheme is definitely analogous, following the well-worn path of Hal Reed's color wheel (based upon Munsell's).

All of these paintings will be up on the dailypaintings.com site later next week, and then they'll have prices on them as original works. Next week is the March workshop Mini Color Boot Camp here in my studio!

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Mar 5 - 5 x 7 Oil of Clouds and Cows

This little 5 x 7 oil was started in the February Riverside workshop on the third day, demonstrating how skies can come together with the "magic three" plus white--how all skies can easily be done with this limited triad plus an occasional oddball color. In this case I added the cool yellow in various places.
I was specifically addressing the values in the sky during the lecture that accompanied the demonstration--emphasizing that the shadows on clouds are always lighter than any shadow on the ground, which makes for a believable "up there" in one's composition. Yes, there can be dramatic skies, but keeping those dark shadow clouds a skosh lighter than the shadows on the ground makes it readable for the viewer. And it always has to READ RIGHT.
Here's the version as the attendees at the workshop saw it--I didn't finish it until later on, and it is now on display, framed up at the Norco Western Art Show, which opens tomorrow with the Sponsors/Buyers Reception and Dinner.

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Mar 3 - Mules for Norco and a Demonstration

Here's another one I took over to Norco this morning. An odd size at 12 x 13.5 inches, I painted this one as a demonstration for the workshop last month, depicting morning light (even though the source photo was a black and white, and taken later in the day) for the students.

What I really like about it is the color harmony of the yellows, dusty salmon colors and the blues and violets, creating a nice complimentary balance. The distant buildings are essential for that color balance, even though they are compromised with cool yellow to gray them down. Note the darker shadow shapes in the nearby areas, where distant shadows are not as much of a contrast. "As things get further away, the contrast of values lessens".

This one is hanging and framed in dark warm wood on the wall of my "space" in Nellie Weaver Hall in Norco. The premier buyers' night will be this Thursday. I have nine paintings over there, and I like every one of 'em... High hopes here, even in a downturned retail market!

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Mar 2 - How Times Flies!

I didn't realize how much time has gone by--but then again, February is a short month. Here's one of the paintings that was in process during the workshop, sitting on my easel awaiting time to finish it before delivery to the Norco Western Art Show next weekend. This is a 24 x 30 acrylic, and is loosely taken from the area behind us up on Box Springs Mountain.
It is done with many, many layers of acrylic paint, applied thinly and semi-transparently, and this digital image cannot show the depth and richness of all of those layers. I'm almost pleased with it.
There are five horses coming down from the hillside, and they are so much a part of the landscape that one notes them only secondarily after the pathway contrasts and colorful autumn foliage, yet they will hold your attention long after your eye wanders the landscape.
This and eight other paintings will be delivered tomorrow to Norco, where I'm honored to be a Premier artist for this weekend show. Lots of fun and western art and artists whose company I always enjoy!
The workshop was, according to the attendees, a roaring success. The survivors of "Color Boot Camp" are shown here on my studio steps with one of the many paintings they did during the concentrated weekend. I am so pleased that every artist came away with important knowledge they can use immediately! The Yahoo group "Color System" is a-buzz with their new painting journeys! In two weeks, the second workshop will be taking off!


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Feb 15 - Finished with the Citrus Heritage Plein Air

How time flies! Yesterday was the commercial version of loving someone (Valentine's Day), and we showed our love for our friends by going to dinner with another couple, laughing and enjoying the time we have together. Our pleasure in being with others we care about ought not be just an occasional occurrence, don't you think?
Tonight I share my life, my art and my teaching with the opening of the first workshop here in my new studio. It's ready, I'm ready and I have such high hopes for every attendee's success.
Here's the finished 12 x 12 plein air acrylic painting of the Citrus Heritage Park vista toward Corona, California. Several of you wrote expressing concern about the palm tree line matching the distant mountains, but perhaps that isn't so important now that the focus and details of the foreground have been set in place. The line of palms doesn't bother me that much now.
Darkening down the foreground shadows brings the eye to the path area and the edge of the grove, yet paths of lighter, sunlit trees allow the viewer to transition upward to the more distant vista. I had to use glazing with burnt umber, thalo green and ultramarine blue to get those darker shadows. This painting is supporting a complementary color scheme of yellow green and violet, a color scheme that has not had much favor until the last 20 years. It still hasn't edged out the blue/orange theme yet, but is gaining ground.

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Feb 9 - Three Quarters Finished, Citrus Heritage Park, Riverside

Setting the timer for fifteen minute increments has really been a boon to the creative process. Although I started to do it so I could show an in-process painting while on location, the added benefit is I'm taken out of the concentration realm, and forced to draw back (pun intended!) to see the entire concept and view again, because I need to photograph the in-process phase. The result is I make better decisions about the painting, without getting so mired in the procedure of painting this or that small part of it. This "release" if you will, brings me back to center and allows me to start anew, perhaps on a different area. I highly recommend it!
At this phase, I've started with the "wiggle" brush, (that's a 3/8" filbert going all over the canvas with different colors)--making the larger areas more interesting with additional layers of color.

I added the palms now, stitching across the horizontal bands with those verticals, like the overstitching in a quilt to tie the pieces together visually. Notice that the palms, although similar in height and shape, are all slightly different. Even though a row of palm trees can be as boring as a picket fence, the artist must "make the firecracker go off", and not be driven by the match that only lights it. I varied them intentionally for visual interest, so no two are alike.

The little vertical dent in the right-most sky will come out with some water applied to the back of the canvas to tighten up the weave. It isn't in the paint, and spritzing the back of a canvas is a time-tested method of taking out any sags or dents.

Wow, next weekend is the February three-day Mini Color Boot Camp! I'm spending this week arranging the work space, organizing supplies and running off the paper material for it. Ten people are ready to come in and be crammed full of the Color System. The gardens are spruced up, and the patio is an inviting space for breaks now. I'm looking so forward to it!

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Feb 8 - Next 15 Minutes on the Citrus Heritage Painting

I set the kitchen timer for 15 minutes and started up again with the acrylics. I wanted to put layers of color on the large areas again, letting some of both the background and the first layer showing through. That creates visual interest. No details now, except way off in the distance, where I'm keeping things light and indistinct, as befits the miles of distance and air between me and the objects. The sky in this afternoon painting was done with the trio of sky colors--ultramarine, alizarin and yellow ochre plus white. The mountains were done with a veil of darker sky colors leaning toward the blue. As I painted the lower portions, and lay in the shadow green of the citrus, I'm into the thalo green and burnt umber. No palm trees yet--they'll go in at a later stage to "knit" together the horizontal areas of citrus and distant fields.
Here's the view from that bench, and you can see how much I've already changed the image. I am bringing the viewer's eyes into the painting on the path, and then making much more interesting the layers that march up to the horizon, adding color and interest. Keep this image in mind as we go forward in the next two steps to the finished painting!

Remember, it isn't the view that drives the art, that is only the match that lights the fuse. You, the artist are the firecracker that explodes in creating the fireworks of your paintings! Don't let the tiny match drive your work....

And anyone who has driven west on the 91 freeway through the Santa Ana Canyon might easily recognize Santiago Peak and the mountains of the Cleveland National Forest from this vantage point.

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Feb 4 - At the Citrus Heritage Park, Plein Air

Off and running again with another four-stage painting lesson! This one was done in 15 minute increments. Here's the first go.
Starting another plein air painting, I'm on location at the Citrus Heritage Park in Riverside for this one. A 12 x 12 box canvas, underpainted in acrylics with Quinacridone Burnt Orange and GOLD paint... how fun is that?
The first acrylic layer is done with a 3/4 inch filbert, just to get the basic colors in the areas where they will go. I'll show you the source material tomorrow, because I have a special photo to share with today's email!

Why did I choose this direction to paint? Well, the location chose me--I looked in all directions from the top of the knoll, and then noticed that someone had placed a nice bench facing the view toward Corona. So I figured if they thought the view was good in that direction, I'll paint it!

The other news is that the book for which I did the cover is now available on Amazon.com! Here's a tiny URL for it, and you can see the cover. I already pre-ordered my copy!
http://tinyurl.com/3655g8

And here's an image of the cover! Yup, that's my painting!


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