paintersworkshop

Pilchuck River, Under The Bridge At Dubuque

PILCHUCK RIVER 2007 NO. 1, oil, 21 x 29 in, work in progress

Painting under the bridge where Dubuque crosses the Pilchuck River is always exciting. We were visited by some Dippers, a Great Blue Heron, a couple of warring Kingfishers, an immature Eagle whose head and tail had not yet turned white, various snakes (hebi wa kawai desu!), and we watched the spawning Humpies at the end of their life cycle. We were briefly joined by two young men and a boy intent on fishing, but whose casting rods were quickly stowed under a bush when a game warden's helicopter flew overhead.

Snohomish Valley, Summer/Fall 2007

SNOHOMISH VALLEY 2007, LARGE, oil, 36 x 48 in, work in progress

I've returned to the site where "MT. RAINIER UNDER THE CLOUDS" was painted. There are a few more houses there, constructed within the past year. In the painting above you can actually see Mt. Rainier, although it may not be very evident in this jpeg. I was especially excited by the intense acid greens of the cultivated valley and the beautiful iridescent reds and greens of the grasses in the field. This painting was executed almost entirely on site, with a little bit of studio work towards the end. It is always somewhat of a challenge, as the fields change quite rapidly as they are plowed and planted.

Tucson II

FOX THEATRE, TUCSON, w/c, 9.5 x 13.5 in, copyright ©2007

In September I traveled to Tucson again, to help my friend Wm Dubin celebrate his 70th birthday. We spent our mornings downtown, doing watercolors of Tucson's urban environment. We made a day trip to Phoenix to see a rather disappointing exhibition of Taos Society painters (it was too small, and not very representative.) And we spent a delightful afternoon at the Tucson Museum of Art.

Urban vs. "Pure" Landscape

FLAT IRON BUILDING, oil on canvas,18 X 24 in., work in progress

I've been engaged in a discussion with the sculptor Wm Dubin, about the relative merits of urban vs. "pure" landscape. Whereas it is true that Modernism was predominantly urban, the Realist thread that I find so important in the art of the 19th and 20th centuries (and into the present,) took as its subjects the full continuum of human habitation, leisure and labor. This discussion will be covered in more detail on my companion blog, realismblog. I thought that I would use this occasion to present some works in progress and discuss their evolution.

Self Portrait on Panel - First State

MY SELF, oil on panel, 18 x 24 inches, work in progress

This self portrait is being executed under a bank of daylight spectrum florescent lights. It is slightly larger than life size, and is being painted on an Ampersand Gessoboard masonite panel. It was begun with a quick cartoon in Burnt Umber. The lay-in uses a full palette of Ultramarine, Cerulean Hue (a pthalo variant,) Viridian, Burnt Umber, Burnt Sienna, Venetian Red, Cadmium Red Medium, Cadmium Orange, Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Yellow Medium and Titanium White. This is the first self portrait that I've done in approximately ten years, and I've aged a bit since the last one. I'm nearing 60, and the hair is getting a bit gray. I didn't wear glasses when the last self portrait was finished, but they became necessary not long after. Exercises that we do in karate practice have made my neck thicker and my trapezius muscles more prominent.

Discovery Park, Second State

DISCOVERY PARK, 2nd State, oil on canvas, 30 x 40 inches, work in progress

I've continued working on the Discovery Park painting in the studio. The changes are primarily in degrees of refinement, with no major change occurring in the image itself. This painting will be completed soon, after a little more work in the foreground grasses and in the sky. This open field in Discovery Park is deceptive in its initial impact. The yellow grasses are full of rich color, but one does not notice it at first glance because of the sun's intensity. I've placed the wedge of visible water in the center of the picture plane's vertical axis intentionally, to accentuate the lazy lines and static horizontals of the composition. The grasses are being developed in a series of diagonal strokes, to suggest wind as well as provide a subtle and understated dynamic to counter the general stasis.