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