Colored Pencil on Prepared Paper

Crystal Mountain Trees  9"x7"  sepia pencil on prepared paper

Merry Christmas, everyone!   There is nothing more beautiful in the Pacific Northwest than the mighty evergreens laden with snow.  For this piece I chose a prepared paper and sepia colored pencil combination - always a good idea to match the drawing medium to the type of paper used.  This is hot pressed watercolor paper toned with raw sienna watercolor and then painted with amber colored shellac.  The paper becomes very hard and receptive to Veri-thin colored pencils and white chalk.  It's fun to sit inside all cozy and warm and draw the snow piled branches and limbs.  There is a stillness in wintertime that fills my soul.

Color Harmony in the Landscape

This fall I worked outside painting the light in the Snoqualmie Valley.  We live about 30 miles outside the city of Seattle, WA in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains.  For this series I tried to capture a harmony of light, or envelope of light, as my landscape instructor,  Mitch Albala calls it.  

In his book, Landscape Painting, Essential Concepts and Techniques for Plein Air and Studio Practice, Albala said, "A painting, of course, is not illuminated from within or enveloped by atmosphere, as is the actual landscape.  It exists on a two-dimensional surface and can only reflect light.  But the harmony and unifying effects of atmosphere can be imported into our paintings by using strategies that emphasize the similarities among colors, showing that there is a shared essence of every color in every other color."

Flowers

Red Begonias 14"x11" oil on linen

Just finished a 3-day flower workshop with Michael Klein at the Whidbey Island Fine Art Studio.  We worked in all natural light - no studio lights on the easels, no lights on the flowers except what was coming in from the windows!  It was great fun learning how Michael works - back to front, starting with the background and laying the flowers on top.  Painting flowers feels like plein air painting -  you have to work fast because the flowers will wilt throughout the day.  These begonias were actually potted so I wasn't too worried about them dying.   However, I must say that leaves DO rotate toward the light throughout the day which makes blocking them in a real challenge.  I love flowers!

Mt. Rainier - Plein air sketch

Mt. Rainier  14"x11" Oil on panel  plein air

Luckily I caught the weather to make this sketch over a two day period.  We've had our stretch of no-rain, but the fires all over Washington State have caused a huge atmospheric haze, blurring any views.  This painting will be used as a reference for a larger, self-portrait painting in which I am looking out a window at this view.  I am very excited to have Mt. Rainier at my eye level!

Below is a picture of me painting this picture.  While I was working, a professional photographer named, Virginia Jamieson, stopped by to check things out.  She took this picture of me as I was beginning the painting.  Virginia has a facebook page under Nature's Soul Photography.  Her website is www.naturessoulphotography.

The Portrait Sketch

Portrait Sketch of Mark  11"x11" Oil on Linen

Portrait Sketch of Mark - Profile  11"x11"  Oil on Linen

 

 

A portrait sketch is an attempt to capture the essence of the model in a limited time frame.   The artist makes sense of the essential information, including basic shapes, value structure and color notes.  

Skagit Valley Plein Air Sketches

It was a scorcher last week in the beautiful Skagit Valley of Washington.  Temperatures in the upper 90's on some days kept us scrambling for shade.  We painted in the early misty mornings and later in the afternoons, with hopes of capturing the warm light and distinctive shadow shapes of the low-to-horizon sun.

View from Margaret's House  10"x8" Oil on linen

Along the Dike - Afternoon 10"x8" Oil on linen

Along the Dike - Morning 10"x8" Oil on linen

Early Morning Mist  10"x8" Oil on linen

Misty Morning  10"x8"  Oil on linen

New Horizon

This painting was finished in June, 2012. 

New Horizon  29"x18"  Oil on Linen

Birdhouse

For this plein air study I used a very limited palette of titanium white, cad yellow medium, yellow ochre, Indian red, alizarin crimson permanent, ultramarine blue, viridian green and ivory black.

Bird house 7"x7" oil on linen on board

 

Skull on a Fence Post

Skull on a fence post 6"x4" graphite and white chalk on toned paper

Loved this new Strathmore paper, Toned Sketch!  My friend, John Unbehend sent me a sample packet to try and I really like the surface.  Not too smooth, not too rough.

Funny thing, this skull looks like it has a baseball cap on, but, really, the "cap" is dried hide, curling up toward the sun!

Lolly's Studio

Here is a picture of my summer studio.  It sits 15 feet off the ground!

Lolly's Studio

Tonal/Compositional Studies of the Landscape

A lot of times I like to relax by sitting and composing pictures of trees, plants and the landscape.   Doing several small studies prior to jumping into a painting is extremely useful for working out the composition as well as the overall tonal design. 

I like to experiment using a variety of media and papers because I'm always on the hunt for the perfect "marriage" of drawing implement and paper.   

 

 Sage Study

 Outcrop Study

Sumac

Plein Air on the Deschutes

I just returned from a week of plein air painting on the Deschutes River in Eastern Oregon.  It was 105 degrees - really hot and dry!!   Between jumps in the river I managed to do a couple of oil sketches.

My very limited palette consisting of the following:
titanium white
yellow ochre
Indian red
ultramarine blue
permanent alizarin crimson
cadmium yellow medium
viridian green
ivory black

All of my panels were toned medium gray which I do not recommend for plein air.  It's nice to be able to do an underpainting first and to be able to choose a color, say, a warmish red or reddish-yellow, that goes with the overall feeling of the light.  In this case the light is very golden on the eastern shores of the state and the gray tone did not help emphasize this.   Next time I"ll head out with un-toned white panels and I'll have more flexibility to respond to the conditions at hand.  Live and learn!

Here are the paintings:

This first one is the boat we use to cross the river.  It is attached to an overhead cable and if you squint into the painting you can just make out the purple-colored cable overhead.

Boat Crossing 8x10 Oil on panel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On this day it was 105 degrees!  I sat in the shade of the cabin to paint the view looking upriver through the trees.

River Sense 8x10 Oil on panel

 Sitting under a tree with my feet in the river I managed to stay out of the sun the whole time painting this one. 

River Sense 8x10 Oil on panel

Stay tuned for more works from the Deschutes River!  There is so much to paint (and draw) there!!!!!

Graduation Night - Georgetown Atelier! June 30, 2012

What a wonderful evening to share with friends and family!  Special guest speaker, Gary Fagin, founder of Gage Academy, Seattle, WA, spoke about the growth of contemporary realist art in the Pacific Northwest.

Our graduating class consists of six artists, including Brandy Agun, Courtney Estevenin, Susan Spar, Kathy Joe Troyer,  Holly White and myself.  I can't wait to see how each of us moves forward in art! 

Thank you Tenaya Sims, founder and teacher extraordinaire of Georgetown Atelier, for your excellent instruction and guidance.  Now it's time to fly!

Here I am standing in front of some of my paintings at the party

 

 

 

This is my certificate of graduation!  Yea!!!!!!!!

Georgetown Atelier Works

Skull Study, Oil on linen, 13.75"x15"

  Release, Oil on linen, 39"x24"

 Ragazza Paese, Oil on linen, 28"x20"

 Copy After Rembrandt-Self Portrait at the Age of 63, Oil on linen, 20"x16"

 The Poet, Oil on linen, 24"x19"

 Cast Study, Graphite, 21"x13"

 La Madre, Charcoal and white chalk on toned paper, 24"x17.5"

 Portrait of Zach, Charcoal and white chalk on toned paper, 24"x18"

 Veronica, Charcoal and white chalk on toned paper, 12"x18"

 Portrait of Rachel, Oil on linen, 20"x16"

 Hoagie, Charcoal and white chalk on toned paper, 24"x18"

 Portrait of Jenna, Oil on linen, 24"x18"

Slim Chance, Oil on linen, 24"x 24"