Summer Pond

After a long visit with my Mom yesterday, I didn`t have the energy to jump into the oil painting in progress so I did this little watercolor.
watercolor on paper 8"x6"




Available Work

Laramie to Lander

From my drive from Southeast Wyoming to Yellowstone.
oil on panel 6"x6"

Plein Air Watercolor on the Calapooia

Though I don`t do it often enough, it`s always fun to paint on location with friends. I don`t think I get more 'authentic' paintings by doing so, it`s just a fine way to sink into summer. Yesterday Ruth Armitage took me to her family`s farm near Albany and we painted on the bank of the Calapooia River. The oak forests created a canyon of trees with the river slowly flowing through it. She gave me a piece of Terra Skin 'paper' to try, and it`s sort of like Yupo. Made from powdered stone, it`s also non-absorbent but with a little more grip. Beautiful breezes dried our work quickly.
watermedia on Terra Skin 14"x11"

Available Work

Pool

I`m easing back into oil painting. Although I really do think it`s more versatile and easier to move around than watermedia, something about the texture takes some getting used to.
This is inspired by the uniquely clear streams that spill down from the Cascades.
oil on panel 6"x6"

Wetlands Somewhere [again]

Look familiar?
Occasionally someone comes over to work with me.
This began as a demonstration the other day to show a mixed watermedia technique. Just as I did with the first version in oil last December, I chose a cloud as the subject because the sky is the most flexible, forgiving element in a landscape. I don`t usually repeat a painting this closely, but when I`m teaching, I want to paint things I`m fluent with to make my point.
watermedia on paper 12"x9"



Available Work

North Umpqua Study 4

I think this is the last Umpqua study, it`s time for oil painting. This was painted on a blue ground to emphasize the shade.
Acrylic on Yupo 8"x26"



Available Work

North Umpqua Study 3

Another from my wonderful experience near the Umpqua River last week.
watermedia on Yupo 12"x9"




Available Work

North Umpqua Study 2

Another study from my recent trip along Oregon`s most beautiful river. Without any forethought really, this series is painted almost entirely with acrylic. With many layers, using the hairdryer often. In some places the paint is fairly thick. My usual technique on paper is to begin with watercolor, mess up, then correct with acrylic, trying to maintain a sense of transparency.

In my explorations with Tumblr, I keep seeing the work of Felix Vallotton, a Swiss painter associated with the Nabis. I swear, those guys just keep on giving a hundred years later. I love how they use ordinary life, then infuse it with contrasting patterns, vivid color, and disproportion to give those moments and views an electric presence. Vallotton`s landscapes especially, are charming in the best sense of the word.

watermedia on Yupo 12"x9"

North Umpqua Study

After leaving Ashland and Crater Lake, we returned home along the North Umpqua Wild and Scenic River. Being protected by law, it is healthy and pristine. Most people enjoy it for fishing or rafting yet it has numerous trails along its tributary creeks. We hiked in a canyon which was deep, dark, quiet and spectacular with enormous fallen boulders covered in mosses and ferns. All the streams had waterfalls and the atmosphere was primordial. I painted this immediately when I was back in the studio.
watermedia on Yupo 12"x9"


[updated] Available Work

Red

When I was making collages last week, I soon learned that if the base layer had some painterly activity, it would add interest to the shapes of cut Yupo that would be applied. That`s how this began, but I got involved more than I intended and kept it as a painting.
watermedia on Yupo 12"x9"

Fire in the Forest

At the height of the fires near Ft. Collins CO a couple of weeks ago, this happened without intention as I played with some new acrylic ink. I pressed a wadded up kleenex into the wet surface and when I removed it I thought 'that looks like fire'.
watermedia on paper 12"x9"




Available Work [updated]

Geothermal Study 4

A remarkable quality to these pools is how invisible they are until you're right next to one. All of their complexity and beauty is in the hole but you have to get close to look into it.
There is a wonderful interview with Julyan Davis at Painting Perceptions. He`s a realist who knows how to show loss and abandonment with a visceral yet poetic touch.
watermedia on Yupo 9"x9"

Storm on the Lake

Yellowstone Lake. A helpful young employee at the hotel told us 3G reception was possible on a hill overlooking the lake. Although it wasn't close, we found it, read our mail and saw this magnificent storm advancing over the water.
Following David Page Coffin`s advice, I painted this on Fabriano Artistico that I had applied a thin coat of acrylic matte medium. It acts as another bit of sizing preventing too much absorption. Yupo, my usual watermedia 'paper', is completely non absorbent and the difference between it and normal papers is huge, requiring different techniques. A little layer of acrylic on cotton fiber papers bridges the gap somewhat.
watermedia on paper 9"x12"



Available Work [updated 7-4-12]

Eastern Oregon Study 4

I`ll be having an opening this Friday night the 6th, at the Hanson Howard Gallery in Ashland OR. I want everyone near southern Oregon to stop what you`re doing and come say hello.
acrylic on Yupo 12"x9"


Available Work