Randall restoration-new watercolors

                                                  Spring Lagoon watercolor on Yupo 26x20

                                               Streambank watercolor on Yupo 38x30 inches

                                         Coastal Stream watercolor on Yupo 30x30 inches

                                             Big Weather watermedia on Yupo 30x30 inches

                                                  Oceanside watercolor on Yupo 26x20 inches

 Since I last posted, I now have a fully functioning new right knee, do not have an abdominal hernia and two eyes missing their cataracts. I feel fresh. Until a couple of days ago, the typical and spectacular Spring was unfurling all around me complete with its typical unfortunate chill. Now we have some warm. Was that too much to want? Adding to the embarrassment of riches, the northern lights have been visible everywhere this weekend but not my front yard. I would have driven to somewhere dark but I can`t see at night to save my life. That`s why my 20 year old cataracts had to go despite not being 'ready' to remove. With my upcoming new glasses my hope is to be able to drive after dark. After so many years of depending on others, this would be phenomenal.

For the painting up above "Streamside", the Theobot Vision A I had this to say;

     The artwork presented is a vibrant and expressive landscape that is bursting with life and movement. The palette is rich with greens, blues, reds, and earthy tones that suggest a natural setting, possibly suggestive of a lush canyon or a verdant cliff-side. The use of color is both bold and nuanced, creating a vivid atmosphere while also allowing for a sense of depth and dimension.

The technique displays a dynamic interplay between detail and abstraction. There is a loose, almost impressionistic approach to the vegetation, which gives the work a dreamlike quality, as though capturing a fleeting moment in nature. The sky, with its broad sweep of blue, provides a pleasing contrast to the textured greens and the stark reds of the geological forms. The marks are confident and gestural, which conveys a strong sense of the artist's hand and their emotional engagement with the subject.

Delving into the emotional resonance of this piece, the artwork conveys a sense of both tranquility and wildness. There is a palpable energy that is inherent in the subject matter and the method of application, providing the viewer with a sense of nature's unpredictability and grandeur.

Not bad and certainly an easy ego boost. I can imagine this being useful. Can`t think of a title? just submit the image. No more maddening multiple  'Winter Wetlands" spanning decades and keeping an accurate inventory impossible. The amount of fumbling I do to make an online sale can be ridiculous.

I`ve been trying to do things differently. Instead of referring to photos and drawings for compositions, I`ve painted by memory. Believe me, it`s not that my memory is accurate, it`s not. But the technique I`m using of watercolor on the slick plastic paper Yupo, makes this possible. I`ll imagine the landscape I want to paint and then beginning with all over color washes, set the emotional tone of what`s to come. I walk a lot outside and remember the basic shapes of things. Not hard. I just start putting everything in and then the revisions begin. Because I can continually manipulate the watercolor, including removing it altogether, I`ll throw a number of techniques and marks at the paper and then start moving stuff around. It`s the way I`ve used oil paint for years but only recently found a way [attitude] to use watercolor in this manner. Before now I`d make corrections in acrylic, which of course dry permanently. That`s a way to keep the image going forward but this new idea returns me to the classic watercolor technique. Light values first, progressively getting darker, no white paint allowed. I rebelled against that tradition 50 years ago. It`s odd to now accept and work within those requirements.

                                                           Cook`s Butte, where I walk

Better days are coming to Portland. Houselessness and opioid addiction are huge national problems that require radical new thinking. The political culture where I live is trying to solve this humanely and practically. There is a kindness here that is pervasive and powerful and gives me hope we will succeed.

A trainee for our municipal bus system posted this on Reddit;

Yall, I am so impressed by your manners on the road. I just started training to drive for Trimet, and I'm rolling around the city in a 40 foot bus that I have zero experience driving. You all have gone out of the way to let me merge, give me space to turn, and not ride my tail when I'm too scared to get to speed. Thanks for making this easier on me.

                                                      Waiting for the Train watermedia

This a public service announcement. On my birthday this past autumn, my sister in law brought me some of this yogurt along with her famous apple pie. Both were sensational! This is by far the best yogurt I`ve ever eaten. Full fat [4%] and consequently creamy and sweetened the perfect amount. Made in Washington. If you`re in the East, look for it and get one with fruit and cream. My god!

                                                               Whitney Wood Bailey

                                                              Whitney Wood Bailey

                                                             Whitney Wood Bailey

 Here is an artist I check on from time to time. I love Whitney Wood Bailey`s interest in pattern, modulated color and organic shapes. Read her thoughtful artist`s statement and marvel at these pulsating 'landscapes'. She creates an exuberant world of her own.

 

                                                   Above Hanalei watermedia on Yupo 16x12

 A friend is going to Kauai soon and just hearing that name makes me want to paint those mountains. I`ve been there once in 2013, not likely to return, but it has a grip on my imagination. This chunky painting is all acrylic, the grace of watercolor was lost long before this limped to conclusion. Again, no reference just 11 year old memories.

Some of the best suggestions 

Click HERE for work for sale in my studio

slow watercolor

                                              Winter Sunlight watercolor on Yupo 26x20 inches

                                                 Otter Crest watercolor on Yupo 16x20 inches

                                              Winter Light watercolor on Yupo 14x11 inches

 

                                            Bandon Beach watercolor on Yupo 14x11 inches

 2024 began with uncertainty. A long expected knee replacement now was urgent. This is the final correction in an ordeal that began with partial implants in 2017. Soon after that surgery it was clear that both were infected and that set off a long process involving further surgery and home IV antibiotics. I was a mess but eventually healed. Right now in healthcare, a backlog of procedures that stacked up during the pandemic are still being addressed. I was told I had a seven month wait so asked to be on a waiting list in case of a cancelation. That worked out and I now have a new knee. Preparing for the operation and now recovering have left painting a lower priority. I have vague ideas about new collages and urges to paint the coast, but I`m drifting, doodling, planning and looking as much as painting. The great fact of the moment is how manageable my pain is. Just two weeks ago I had my leg cut in two [so to speak] and I`m already walking down the block. The techniques must have advanced and I think the surgeon must have executed his job really well. He told John he had to cut through lots of scar tissue and that my recovery would be painful. But it`s not. Dumbfounded and grateful, I know all too well what it`s like when these projects go south.

 Otter Crest up above, was painted with a time limit. I`ve done this sporadically and have to say I like what happens.  What I`m not sure of is how to integrate this looser approach. My process is based on constant revisions and thoughtful response to what is happening in the moment. I use a hairdryer often to arrest the paint, make it slow down . Yupo is so smooth, the paint obeys gravity, not me. So the way forward might be to delay my editing impulse and let the confusion flow longer before I try to organize it.

                                                                        RDT and Carter

  My brother Mike says the only people who don`t like cats have never been loved by one. Reality is sometimes that simple. Both my guys have been super attentive as I lurched around the house with my walker. Daily, they offer to me the experience of deeply loving something. That`s no small thing. Our pets make us be better versions of ourselves. Less inward and more generous.

 Less than a month ago, this was a sickening common sight The ice storm was preceded by extremely strong wind and temperatures in the teens. Then ice fell on top of the snow and all predictability was gone. 

Medical people are needed in any circumstances so John slipped on the ice trying to get to work. After his shift, an X-ray showed a fracture in his wrist. As unfortunate as that was it was minor compared to the tragedy of trees falling into homes. A modest house in my neighborhood was cleaved in half by a massive Douglas Fir. These very tall trees were the original source of wealth in the new Oregon Territory, and they were and are, everywhere. If you live in a frame house it`s likely the timber came from the Northwest. So in these extreme weather events, few homes are out of reach if these trees go down. Like the big earthquake that is coming, it`s not something to dwell on. We prepare as best we can. The storms seem to be increasing in frequency and people are adapting.

I had to get down my icy front steps too and I had the idea that if I put a towel on the ice I could step on it. It worked! After getting down I tossed them back to the top, in reach, to reuse when I returned. As soon as stores are restocked, I will buy coarse salt to keep our pathways clear. We have already bought cleats for our shoes. Ice is serious.

                                                          Edward Reginald Frampton

 Isn`t this magnificent?! I had no knowledge of his work when I found this. The concise sections of landscape with their clear color and complex design, beneath that soaring sky seduced my attention. I love it in the same way as Indian Mughal painting, jewel like with intricacies to explore. 

                                                               Vincent Van Gogh

 I love Van Gogh, who doesn`t? His earnest work grabs you at the heart. But it`s in his drawings that his pure genius shows most clearly. First of all this was done with a pen and ink. One color. The variety of tone and texture is staggering. There are two human figures and a flock of sheep but this is not a narrative. It`s the raw vitality of those dormant trees which is the subject, they bristle with energy. Seems he had direct access to the source of life.

 

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