Jul 10 - The Cover, and Other News

The cover looks pretty good with the text laid across it! Lynda and I are working in harmony to create a good cover for the second in her series of writings about the magical brothers, and I am enjoying the process.

Working in collaboration with another artist can be both enlightening and exciting. I've needed some major distraction from recent events, and without even wishing for it, I've had some great opportunities. Lynda's cover, and then another opportunity presented itself! Collaboration with Ron Wood, who does architectural art glass for high end mansions and commercial buildings.

This project involved a trio of eight-foot-tall panels, one fixed and two as glass doors. With fused and laser cut glass, the panels have transparent and translucent painting in between those layers of fused glass. It's incredible to hold a sample piece of this artform--heavy, colorful, tactile. We worked for days getting the initial design to the architect, using drawings, scans, and hours on Photoshop to get the design in digital form. The architect will be presenting the idea to the client in the next few days.

So silence is healing for me, and I appreciate your emails asking how I'm doing. I'm OK. Art does that to and for us. Creating and immersing oneself in the art process can bring about an inner peace.

On other news, I'm again nursing a poisoned raptor--this time a Cooper's Hawk. I have the bird in an outdoor cage, and the mate comes down and rests on the upper edge when I'm not there. Wafarin is a nasty poison to all hawks, and people just don't realize that it is only for rats, sewers and indoor usage. Poisoning the ground squirrels is what causes it to end up in the raptors. I hope he makes it.

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.

Jun 18 - Hey, Virga is a Word and one of my Paintings!

Check this out! This Word-A-Day blog contacted me and asked to use my little 7x5 painting of the virgas for their blog--which reaches over twenty thousand people! I of course said yes, since they provide click backs to my site. What a treat to see this little painting in such good company!

It was a hot-hot evening in July, and I was painting outside the Riverside Art Association's gallery, on the opening of the "Au Naturel" exhibit of plein air work of the Plein Air Artists of Riverside. The evening clouds were lit from underneath with the setting sun, and the virgas were veils of cadmium orange and white. Entitling that painting "Virgas" is how the Word-A-Day folks found it.

On the home front, I've been drying garden pickings using my Excalibur dehydrator. Right now it's full of kale and spinach, which I pulverize and put in my morning fruit smoothie. Organic greens without the cookin', and I can't even taste the kale.

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.

Jun 17 - The Cover with more Work

WOW. I can't believe I let this much time go by without writing to you. Life gets in the way some times, and my last post was when I was down in San Diego for the opening of the Women Artists of the West show. I do hope you can visit the Wieghorst Museum and take in the show. It will be up through the end of this month.

Here's the cover, coming along nicely now. I have it almost finished on my easel as I type this, and share these stages with you to help you understand how it comes together.

I've had to take images of my friend holding a sword to make future corrections in the anatomy. I did these guys out of my head, so they have some, um... "issues". "Head copy" is what all the old art directors and illustrators were known for. If the director needed a quick sketch of a person holding a can of beer, illustrators were able to draw that directly from their head--no reference. I can do that now, mostly with horses and people, trees and what not--must pay homage for all that early training!

All of the foreground around the figures is done with the Cool Box colors. The only warms in this piece so far are the skin hues!
So on this one, the Color System continues to provide cohesive color and ease of mixing.

Nothing new on the home front, except the chickies are growing up, and Willow thinks she owns them all. A gentle spirit.

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.

Jun 3 - Thanks and the Cover Painting Continued

Now the painting is starting to take on character... That's Ethan in the back in the white shirt, and his younger brother Jake in the foreground, still in elven attire. I love the strength of this composition, supported as it is by the dark tree shapes on either side. and the light shape in the middle. Much more work to be done on this!

Thanks need to go out to all of you who were first turn kind, then angry, at the loss of my shipping boxes. If your emotions could hit the offender(s), I know they're rotting in whatever personal hell is their world. I've filed police reports, insurance reports and talked to the UPS people. My "regular" driver Steve was off sick on the day the boxes were delivered, or else it wouldn't have happened. I'm going shopping for some of the replacement items, which means I've pretty much given up hope of any returns, and guess I'll just have to knuckle down and make more and better paintings. Your benefit, and actually, mine, too.

I live by the philosophy that "things happen the way they are supposed to" and this is just one of those "things". A little more time, and I ought to be over it. I had a bit of a shock when I discovered that the hiking shoes I'd bought on sale would cost over $95 to replace, though. Ouch.

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.

Jun 2 - The Cover Continues - Star Sons

Here's the first pass on the cover of the Star Sons saga. At this point, the 20 x 16 oil has the major shapes laid in, and the colors are starting to come out. I'm finding edges and making marks as I create, so the final painting only exists in my mind. There (amidst a lot of other issues crowding my eclectic mind), the finished painting is aching to get out and onto the canvas.

I've sent the image to the author and her printer, and adjust it as the needs of the cover printing demand. That's a minor issue to me, as I'm enjoying painting this--sort of like a road trip with interesting side journeys.

Other news... is there something going around? I had all of my paintings, supplies, DVDs and clothes stolen when my shipping boxes were delivered to the wrong house and quickly taken by thieves before my neighbor even knew they were there.

If you want to see the depth of my loss, please look over the last couple months' of my blog, and know that ALL of those paintings are now gone--the egret, the turtle, the mare and foal in the morning pasture, the groom with the grey in the green blanket...all in the hands of some lowlifes who wouldn't know a brush from a drug needle. I realize these are just "things", and I have the ability to replenish these works with better ones, but I sure ache at knowing some of my best paintings are gone forever. Gone, too, are all my samples from the workshops back east, as well. I'm so glad that many of you purchased those before I shipped the rest.

It will be OK. I've been through worse. It just could have happened at a much better time, ya theenk? I even lost my beloved Hennessy hammock. Ah well... Willow is a pure delight as she settles into being by my side at every move. Her new dog bed arrived today--via UPS to the RIGHT house. Sigh...

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 - New Commission First Sketch

Time for a new cover commission, and the first sketch is here for you to enjoy. This cover will be the second in the Star Sons series by Lynda Sappington. She's quite an author, as well as artist, and a good friend. This cover will go through several major changes, but the initial sketches are to iron out the major issues of position and "feel" of the cover. I'm doing my own aikido weapons training, so am really pleased at their sword positions. I want their poses to be authentic and deliver controlled power. A little drama won't hurt, though!

The two boys introduced in the first book are grown into young men now, and are continuing their lives associated with the magical world. My first cover featured the phoenix, which was a major player in that story. In this second book, the pair are now assuming the major roles.

Here's her first book, which is available through many sources. My cover is more brilliant than this reproduction, and that painting is in the author's hands now.

On other news, I'm dealing with some sadness about a dear friend going through some life challenges. It's hard when one cares, and yet cannot do anything to make a difference. All we can do is tell them we care, and hope they'll know we are giving them our best hopes. We'll all face our own mortality in due time, so how these people live to theirs is a lesson for us. My friend is an amazing woman, one I'm proud to know.

Next week I take three paintings to San Diego for the Women Artists of the West show at the Wieghorst Museum in El Cajon.

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 - How about a Workshop? And the name!

The Ocala, Florida, workshop was a great event in a grand locale, and I'm please to share with you the photograph taken by Maggie Weakley's husband--pro photographer, you can see his fabulous work here--of the ten people who participated. And of course, there is Sparky, hamming it up.

There has been an incredible response to my need for a name for the newest addition to the Two Trees household! Thank you all. A list of names, and creative they are! I looked over more than fifty naming options, and cogitated on it for a full day, and the choice is made.
Here are some of your creative offerings: (I'll never lack for a dog's name again!)
OhNo 'cause I'm positive that's what whoever cropped her ears said.
...she is a looker like "Vana White" on the game show and a lopped ear...Vanagogh
Shiloh...Oreo...Meadow...Bibelot...Harlow...Fargo
Hobo...Bardot...Margo (also Margeaux) ...Bravo...Aiko
Oido...Segundo...Solo...Yarrow...Juno...Echo
Shiloh (really "pup"ular)...CoCo...Calypso (almost picked this one)
Artisimo...Koloh...Arrow.. Halo...Duo... Mio...Timo...
and perhaps thirty more great suggestions. Even "Shadow", but I couldn't bring myself to name a dog after the Tibetan Mastiff pup I lost last January. Too painful. So Willow it is!

Donna McCullough came up with Willow first, although Cheryl Pass, Judi Evans and Mary Lou Roberts also suggested that name.
Donna's email arrived first, so she'll be sent her choice of DVD as a gift for helping name this lucky rescue. And I thank all of you caring hearts who love the rescues. What a grand community of wonderful people! And it made my job so much easier.
Willow settling in...

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 20 - At Lucy Heyming's Garden

Yesterday I painted at the Heyming gardens, a certified wildlife habitat, and it was lovely. A large estate with all the amenities, including this watercourse and bridge. I was there in the early evening, and set up in the shade of the mature trees to look back at this heavily side-lit scene.

There is a diagonal composition going on, with the sculpture being the focal point, yet the bridge demanding more attention initially with all the nearby colors and contrast of values. One sees the sculpture because of its human form, so my intent was to combine and balance the two spots of interest with suggested directional lines. Can you spot them?

Here's the first of two new additions to the "estate" at Two Trees (ha, with me as the sole gardener and manager, "estate's" a laughing idea!). She's about two years old, and someone really did a botched job on her ear crop. However she's a gem in both personality and conformation. I used to show dobies back in the early 1980s, and can see how well she's put together. Amazing what people throw away. And she needs a name, so I'd love to hear from you on your ideas of names with the "oh" sound at the end of them--it's my tradition to name female Dobies with that end--in my past here was Cleo, Widow and Evoe so many years ago, and now this new girl. Send your suggestions! If I pick yours, I'll send you your choice of one of my Color System dvds. Let the games begin! Nameless wonder needs a name.

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 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 17 - Back Home Again, and Right Back Out

Home and right back out on Sunday to the Annual "Primavera in the Gardens" event at the University of California Botanical Gardens with my brushes. This is the annual fundraiser for the Gardens, and my paintings have been featured on the promotional posters for the last two years. I donate the original for their fundraiser.

It's a high-end restaurant and winery gala with silent auctions and beautiful weather. For example, the chef in the first booth pictured below (the one I painted--coming tommorrow) was serving scallops with glazed Maui onions with dark chocolate sauce. Amazing taste sensation, and I already love scallops! Raspberry sorbet, raw green pea soup, honeydew melon soups--wandering through the booths was my reward for being a fast painter, and oh my! It was GOOD. My painting from last year was auctioned off and brought a good price for the organizers.

I'll get a good photo of the one from the paint out and post it tomorrow, since it has been cool and completely overcast here on the West Coast and I've been doing needed yard work. Such a change from what was just a few days ago! The painting above is the 9 x 12 acrylic I dd during the event last year.

Now it's time to sort out and settle in, knuckle down and focus on the list of things to do this month and this year. Only one more Color Boot Camp for 2010, but it looks like I'll be back for more on the East Coast next year.

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 14 - The Back Lit Egret Continues

Sorry about sending this a day early...!

Now the warm circle around the focal point is in, and the basic deeper values of the bird, too. This is a white back-lit bird, so the darks aren't as dark as I would make them if the object were of a different hue. But I think I can pull it off, because the temperature difference between the bird and background is so extreme, even if not in value!

It's fun to scatter the warm box colors outside the "circle of warm" found in backlit subjects as I loosely put in the vegetation at this stage. And it is fun to play with all the greens in this subject. No high values yet, except for the lights in the overhanging moss. Such fun!

Ah. The final day of the workshop. The new Color Boot Camp graduates get their final critique today (individual) and I ask them four questions: What did you find to be most valuable? What will you do with the new knowledge? What goals are you setting for your art in the next 12 months and next five years? Will I get the pleasure of seeing you again? (Actually I ask them what can be improved in the workshop as that last question, but when I say good bye to my new friends and artists, it is very sad for me.)

Tonight I pack my boxes for shipping and get ready for the early morning pickup for the airport. My next post will be from California. See you soon!

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 15 - Flyin' Home... Flying with the Egrets, too.

As my plane lifts off for the West Coast and home, three weeks of painting and using the Color System have fired the creative energies, and I can hardly wait to be back in my studio.

The egret painting is finished, and I thought you'd enjoy seeing a closeup of the bird itself (below), and see how the accents of color play out on the canvas. He's only about two inches tall in the 12 x 16 oil, but enough value contrast makes him believable at any distance, even without the details that are the bread and butter of wildlife artists.

I'm actually in the air, in first/business class, with free wireless internet on my laptop. Amazing that 15 years ago, this was nowhere in our reality--stuff of science fiction. Life is good!

I'm having wonderful memories of my East Coast trip, and now am looking forward to new artwork in my studio, and many communications with you, artists and collectors who have read this far.

Sadly, I'm going home to another loss--my Tibetan Mastiff Seiko (the "watch dog) passed away rather suddenly while I was gone. I will miss her, and am wondering how to replace such a gentle giant. Here's an image of her playing with Sparky. Yes, she was huge, tipping the scales at over 100 pounds. She died near this spot, one of her favorite places to watch over everyone. At the Rainbow Bridge now...

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 13 - Backlit River Scene with Egret

In Florida, I demonstrated a backlit scene so the Boot Campers can understand the way the Color System works with this often difficult subject. On this 12 x 16 canvas, I toned the canvas with a warm orange, and then used the complete Co0l Box colors to lay in the large shapes in this spiral design. I'm pointing to the future focal point with the end of my brush, explaining that this area will be done in Warm Box mid tones, to set off the contrast of the cool backlit bird.

The lids of the pill boxes I use are seen at the bottom of the image, with the cool family on the left, and the warm family on the right. With this plein air setup, I have them velcro'ed together on the end and bottoms, to keep them in place on the easel.

This photo and others are courtesy of Maggie whose blog is a great record of the Florida workshop experience. Thanks, Maggie!

On the Georgia workshop, we're winding down to the final day, and tonight will be the famous "BYOF" BBQ on the grass. Ah... so sad to know my East Coast trip is ending. I hope you've enjoyed the journey! Sparky and I fly home on Saturday.
Another image....

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 12 - Finished Painted Turtle Acrylic 9 x 12

Getting good images of paintings can be tricky, and none more so than photographing this image. The upper one is closer to the true color, yet taken indoors under artificial lights available to me. The second image (below) is taken OUTside, under overcast skies.

Taking images of paintings under overcast skies usually dilutes the warms in the Color System, because (as every Boot Camp Graduate knows) there is a pervasive blue in all shadows. That's because of the "sky shine" affecting those areas. So the true colors are warmer in the painting, but compromised in the second one below. I usually take images of my work in the morning before ten a.m., in FULL sunshine. That seems to hold the Color System well.

The last of the three Color Boot Camps here on the East Coast is in what they've dubbed "Tearsday", (as in Monday, Tearsday, Wednesday....) It happens when there is so much useful information. They are processing it and it seems so overwhelming to them. But there are benefits to being on the farm--they got to see a horse being shod in the barn below the workshop space.

This acrylic original with the river story is available for $250 directly from me, in the good color version that's somewhere between these two. Just let me know.

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 11 - The Painted Turtle Continues

How do you like it so far? This is the second stage of the painting, where I decide the major colors of the focal point (turtle) and then start to adjust and tweak the background to match it and hold its importance.

Lots of glazing in acrylics, and I'm using the traditional ones on this trip, so they dry fairly quickly and give me room to work on glazes. Now while I painted this one, I was chatting with people and also painting. Yes, there are design flaws, but hopefully I can pull it all together to share with you tomorrow!

Yesterday the rain started around noon and it is overcast today. Great for painting with the Cool Box, no problem as the Boot Campers are doing Morning and Moonlight! Ah well, the Color System prevails... This is turning out to be a fun group--they've dubbed themselves the "Mudder Day painters"... The Repeat Offenders workshop two weeks ago call themselves the "Sisterhood of the Traveling Paints". Lots of laughter, lots of fun!

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 10 - More East Coast Wildlife in Acrylics

While enjoying the Art Walk in Florida, I started this painting of the local wildlife (NOT alligators!) from an image I took while it was still light on the Silver River. I so enjoy the painted turtles, as they remind me of my childhood on Lake Barcroft in Virginia.
This is an acrylic, measuring 9 x 12, and I started it with an underpainting of thalo blue (!). Now the Cool Box colors are going over it as I pull it to life, shaping the natural environment in which it is enjoying it's afternoon sunbath. I hope you'll enjoy how it develops.

Here in Georgia after the first day, I'm tired but assured that the "newbies" are caroming into the Color System. Lots of good paintings! We lost one Boot Camper who went to town after class, but several phone calls later and she is safely on her way back to the farm. It is a remote location, but with the natural beauty of the area, it is ever so easy to miss the road signs. Sparky has settled into the routine of my teaching, and he enjoyed a wonderful morning walk with the students, where we captured lovely lighting situations such as the one below. May in Georgia is beautiful!
I'll be using this one for a future demonstration in the blog of that elusive overcast light!

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 9 - Greeting the New Boot Camp Recruits

As I sit and await the arrival of the seven newest Color Boot Camp recruits in gorgeous North Georgia, I'll share with you one of the two six by eight inch canvases I did during the other workshop.

Although there is glare on the upper right, you can see the Color System working in the gentler light of the Florida evening. Note the repetition with variety in the trio of duplicate shapes--clouds, palms and shrubs. One might think that it is a no-no to repeat in twos, but in this case it works, as the dark cloud on the left middle balances the weight of the duos on the right. And each of the dual objects is similar but not equal. Design is such a strong aspect of painting; one I'm always considering!

Georgia is cool and lovely this time of year, and holding a sumptuous spring feel, and no better place to enjoy it than Fay's farm. Her generosity in allowing us to descend upon her for a five days is not to be taken lightly, and I'm honored to be considered her friend. Here's an image of the barn apartment upstairs with the balcony where the workshop will be held, across from the main house.

After this workshop, the only one remaining will be in Maine. I do hope to meet some more East Coast artist friends there! Color Boot Camp is special. Here's Maggie's most recent post.

You can see earlier posts from my 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 8 - Back in Georgia, New Boot Camp Coming!

One of the demonstrations I did for the Florida CBCer's was this 6 x 8 oil of evening light, Florida Style. It starts with bland colors and some mid and low values, yet progressed rather quickly to the image you see below. It was quickly purchased by Peggy in the workshop and she says she'll be enjoying it in her studio. I enjoyed the juicy thick paint!

And what fun! The Florida Workshop finished up on Friday evening with Ocala's Art Walk, and afterward I settled in with two good friends, a bottle of wine and lots of good art conversations.

This morning I left and drove up here to North Georgia, where I was again greeted by two good friends, and we settled in for a good dinner and grand conversation before turning in for the night. I love the connections artists have. It is truly special.

One more photo from Florida before close down the computer--this one from the memory of Silver River, and the headwaters flowing around Jackie in her kayak, before we headed back downstream. You can see the sun leaving the tops of the trees here. It was dark before we regained the launch area, yet this was truly a moment in paradise.

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 7 - Serious second pass on the 12 x 16 oil

I've spent a good amount of time working on this painting to get it to this point (far from finished at this point). Still here in Florida, and today was the last day of the wonderful first-timers Color Boot Camp. Details of the journey as viewed by one of the attendees Maggie can be seen here. (Thanks, galfriend!)

I've been putting details in the grasses of the pastures and talking up composition to the Boot Campers. I will miss their pleasure at learning the beginning steps with the Color System, and hope to see them again in Florida next year as "Repeat Offenders". Tomorrow morning I drive up north to Georgia and return to the Farm for the second week-long Color Boot Camp for newbies. I'm not tired at all!

Lynn Wade came by the Art Walk event in the downtown area, including a visit to Voilart Gallery, and I had a friend take this image of Lynn, Shraron Crute and myself with Sparky. Both Lynn and Sharon are great equine artists and I do hope you made some time to see Lynn's paintings: www.lynnwade.com and Sharon's web site.
Sharon is the co-owner of the gallery with Jackie, who put up with me. Kathie Camara organized the event and for all that, I'm eternally grateful! Thanks so much for a wonderful time!

My hair's gone all curly because of the humidity. I was born with curly hair, yet it went straight when I moved to California years ago. LOVE having it back! Can you say, "POOF?"

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 6 - Silver River, Alligators and Evening Light

OK, gang. After the workshop today, I finally got to do something I've wanted to do for ages... kayaking on a river, and wow, did I get my wish! Here I am on the Silver River in Florida outside Ocala, kayaking into the evening and heading for the headwaters of this massive aquifer. Clear, clear water! I'm with Jackie Shindahette, my hostess, on her second kayak, and our intent was to go for a few hours. We left at 4:30, and didn't get back to the launch until 9 p.m., well after dark--not smart, but who knew? The springs that spew out 0ver 550 million gallons of fresh water per day to create this river are three miles upstream, and we thought that would be a nice trip. (Remember, UP stream.) But try three miles of kayak paddling without being in condition to paddle. And we had to paddle back, because we lost the daylight about two miles out from our launch location. Tomorrow I'm going to be seriously immobile, methinks....

Here's one of the alligators who greeted us. When Jackie was distracted, I poked one with my paddle and was rewarded with a spray of "slough" junk, all over me, over the the kayak and Sparky as the 'gator took off, flipping his tail. Sure stunk. He was formidable, but I just had to go "poke". (I've done the same in my past with a skunk. Some people never learn.)
Today I painted two 6 x 8 skies, one sunset and one backlit for the Floridian workshop new recruits. I'll share them with you tomorrow, (if I can lift my arms).

What a great day, which just goes to show you that any life of excitement is just a few short decisions away! Now off to a much-deserved glass of wine and sleep.

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 5 - Springtime Morning Beginning

Happy Cinco de Mayo! I have had such a wonderful time today watching and teaching the Color Boot Camp students who were painting all day. I've worked on this 12 x 16 morning light landscape in oils and this is the first pass. I started it up in Georgia, and have brought it to a more finished state, which I'll share with you tomorrow.

You can follow one of the attendee's blogs on the workshop here, which will give you one participant's perspective of what goes on--far more than I can share with you in these short notes. I hope you enjoy it!

Tomorrow I'm going kayaking on the Silver River--where the water is so clear that the kayaks seem to float on air. I'm looking forward to it!

Today, though, after class, I drove down to Gypsy Gold and visited my artist friend Lynn Wade, and took this image of Latcho Drom, the top stallion in the country. Even in the rain, he was magnificent! (By the way, Lynn kindly gave me a print from one of her lovely pastels of this horse, a portion of which is the opening image on her web site!)

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 4 - Misty Light Demonstration in Florida

At the Florida Boot Camp and ending the first day, I thought I would share with you the misty light painting I whipped up for their first demonstration. They are working with the Cool Box, and learning to really MIX color. I "imagineered" this Florida water landscape without seeing any of it. I need to get out more!

The painting still needs tweaking, but the idea of overcast light is conveyed, and their examples were really well done! Today they are working on Morning Light and Moonlight paintings.

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 3 - Finished the acrylic horse

First day of the Florida Color Boot Camp here in Ocala, and what a great group of artists and students! A wonderful facility and I'm staying with one of the organizers. This evening we spent it with wine glasses in their swimming pool!

This 12 x 12 acrylic has had the final "punch" put in the color to fine tune the relationships in morning light, to bring the viewer into the image, and to tell the story.

My story for this painting is in the people who do the hard work of keeping these equine athletes ready and healthy for performing. The title of this one is "It's not about the horse". I hope you like it.

Here's an image of the facility at VoiART in downtown Ocala. Yes, we have chocolate!!


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 2 - The Acrylic in the Workshop

Here's the next stage of development of the morning light wash up. I'm really enjoying the traditional acrylics again, even though I love the workability of the Golden Opens and of course my oils. I'll be returning to them this week and next, as well.

Those of you familiar with the Color System can see the cools in the distance (over 300' away) and the warms in the sunlit areas of the living things in the painting at this point. What's fun is to put the "sky shine" on the shadowed sides of the figure and horse, as well as in the wet ground. I moved the bucket to the left side for design reasons.

The advanced students in the CBC (Color Boot Camp) received a snootful of design challenges this week past. They not only dealt with the time of day, and the value plan, but also had to consider using elements and principles of design to create dynamic compositions and paths for the viewer's eye to follow. Lots of complaining, but the end results were awesome. And everyone did two or more compete paintings each day.
Check these out!

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 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 30 - Georgia and Acrylics and Horses

I'm here on the East Coast for the next three weeks, teaching the workshop of Color Boot Camp returnees/repeat offenders (AKA "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Paints"). They have had almost five full days of rejuvenation, reflecting and reinforcement of the Color System, tempered with the laughter and shenanigans that only these "repeat offenders" can produce. I'm painting with them, but not in so much of demonstration mode but more to expand on topics already covered in the computer lectures and specific training for each boot camper's needs.

So I started this morning light 12 x 12 acrylic from Kentucky Horse Park source material, knowing that the deadline for the AAEA (American Academy of Equine Art) fall show is approaching.

There is so much to see and do here on the farm--over 700 acres of woods, pasture...and a new foal! This is Star and her new kidlet, and with a colorful mare and foal such as these two, you can imagine the fun it is to photograph and think about painting the different times of day with this subject!

I've already started an oil from one of my reference photos!

Georgia at this time of year is gorgeous, both in weather and in the warmth of the folks who call it home. I love coming here, and will be taking next week to teach the Florida group, then back to the farm here to introduce new "CBC recruits" to the Color System for Artists. There might be one spot left. I know the Florida group next week in Ocala has almost filled, too!

What a glorious life of an artist!!

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.

Apr 9 - Painting Finished and More Sheep

Did you notice the similarity of colors and temperature between the photo of the sheep yesterday and the painting at that point? The painting in its cool box family colors MATCHES the overcast day of the sheep photograph with uncanny accuracy--pointing out yet again the validity of the Color System! I find myself in awe of it, and how well and easily it works for these overcast days. (As well as other distinct times of day!)

But now the painting has come to a completed state (for a plein air piece, which of necessity cannot have too much busy details). The figure is painted, with the cadmium red in the sunlight and the alizarin (cool red) in the shadow of the hat and shirt. The sunlit areas of the roadbed are in, and show stark contrast to the cool shadows of the earlier state of the road. Yes, there is some thalo blue in that sunlit mix!
I enjoyed painting the "blips" of light between the cement staunchions of the bridge on this near side, earmarking and defining those shapes.

The sunlight (warm family) areas of this painting are primarily hovering around the figure--found in the tree on the left, the spotty sunshine on the bridge, and the sun-kissed area of the figure. "Easy-peasey" as a friend of mine would say!

I'm moving forward on the trip back east, making arrangements for critter care and airport delivery, packing a box or two of supplies for the trip, and getting excited about teaching THREE FULL WEEKS of COLOR BOOT CAMPs! Yippee!!

Here's yet another picture of the sheep doing their work. Three of the ewes shyly come up to me for treats now, and I can lead them in new directions with a little grain in a bucket. I have bells on two of them, and I can hear them as they herd moves around the property. Not hardly as headstrong as Vincent van Goat and Heather-Not-The-Momma goat... sheep are fun!!

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 8 - Tax Time and More Painting

Continuing to cover the canvas, I've pulled in the lighter greens of the distant grasses and the shadows on the roadbed of the bridge. This is a crucial point in the painting, because up to this point, I have COMPLETELY stayed in the cool box color family. The harmony of the painting is palpable, and I am happy with it at this point.

I'm going to move to the warm family of colors to finish this painting--having the sunlight come onto the figure that will appear on the bridge (I've already finished this painting, and the blog posting is going to automatically come out tomorrow.). These details and "punch" are withheld until I know the rest of the painting will stand on its strength of design and harmony. In my work, this is the essence of how I create my finished work. I realize many artists paint the "most important" stuff first... I like to make sure the supporting players "play well together" before adding the icing on the painting's cake.

In other news, I have a new flock of sheep doing the weeding around Two Trees these days. I own three, and four are "guests" while the weed abatement proceeds. They are fun to watch; it is as though wildlife goes by the windows as they move in unison across the hillside out the back door. This morning I watched a coyote barking just outside the fence--not a threat, since Seiko (the "watch" dog) is on duty, guarding her charges. Here's an image of the "gang" by the back patio. Oh boy! More ideas for paintings!
I am also working on a MAJOR project in conjunction with and ongoing to the newest Misty Light DVD (which will be out before the end of this month!). Stay tuned for big news in June!

Thanks, as ever, for reading this far, and for forwarding this on to your artist friends.
You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2010 is HERE--still some spaces in Florida and Maine!
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.