Locality!

                                                Mid-winter oil on canvas 20x24  51x61 cm


 The local parks where I live serve me well. The bonds I vote for translate into maintained places that keep to a natural low key vibe. Just what I like. No picnic tables or swing sets, a visiting child can look for bugs. Most of my paintings, like the one above, come from my walks there. Occasionally though I get out of town and if the trip allows, into someplace wilder. Not back packing nature but more like car camping. I carried a pack in Boy Scouts but never since. I may give the impression I`m hiking in pristine wilderness but I`m really a mile away from my home.
 However last week, after a visit with nearby in-laws, we went to Silver Creek Falls state park. It`s a little chunk of old growth forest with multiple waterfalls and undisturbed rainforest vegetation. It`s a bath of green!

 With some really big trees

 As you can imagine, the atmosphere of the place is kind of reverent.
I just finished 'Barkskins' by the wonderful Annie Proulx and she shows the consequence of centuries of logging. Because she`s a great writer, I could stomach the descriptions of the brutal massacre of the New World`s forests and the incredibly arrogant attitudes behind it. It is ugly and the genocide of the people living in those places, will surprise no one. It is the story of our country entwined with the history of the timber industry. As an Oregonian, I`m glad I`m better educated now about the business that first produced the wealth of my state.
This was painted a couple of days later;

                                          Broken Promises oil on panel 20x16  40.5x51 cm

                                                       Spider Rock by Bob Stuth-Wade


 A couple of years ago, I was perusing the vast Valley House Gallery website when I stumbled across Bob Stuth-Wade and it was like a jolt of electricity. How had this magical realist ever gotten by me??
He knew the soul of the Southwest intimately, and his technique is so precise and skilled , it`s utterly baffling.Yet he is not a hyper-realist.  He works from life on location and his intentions seem to be humane, even loving. He takes realism to a rare, maybe holy place. A Stuth-Wade painting is a clear view into the miracle of existence.

                                                           by Bob Stuth-Wade

                                                                 by Bob Stuth-Wade

                                      Summer Meadow watermedia on paper 12x9  30.5x23 cm


I`ve done some more outdoor work myself. That meadow above is no other than the Bryant Woods meadow! That place just gives and gives to me.

    Mitch Burrell and me in a photo by Burt Jarvis. That was a fun day. I`m back to my old method of hauling around an awkward lawn chair and painting on my lap. The fancy easel I bought just wasn`t right and it took me a while to figure it out. The palette didn`t let me get close enough to the paper, I had to lean over it. Anyway being closer to the ground is nice. I was studying the grasses;

 which led to this;

                                              untitled  watermedia on paper 12x9   30.5x23 cm

                                                               by Richard Diebenkorn


 "I can tell as soon as he turns up at the garden gate. I can tell if he had a good day by the way he carries himself, whether he fumbles with his keys, whether he says hi. Just a few weeks ago, he came in and said 'it`s all over. I simply cannot paint!' The next morning he left early and stayed in the studio all day without putting a single mark on the canvas, just trying to look at it in a new way. And then he came home and said 'I think it`s the best thing I`ve done'." Phylis Diebenkorn, from the Diebenkorn Foundation on Instagram.

                                                                   by Michael Lipsey




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prints by Fine Art America

Jackson Bottom and the End of Summer

                                           Jackson Bottom watermedia on terraskin 24x18


 I was delivering a painting to Hillsboro for transport to the International Society of Experimental Artists annual show, this year in Newport Oregon. And the wildlife refuge, Jackson Bottom, was nearby. I love these places. There is hardly anyone ever there and those that are, are birders! Such lovely people! Because it was late August, the refuge was dry as a bone. The pond I painted [above] was dry and had only a living green rim that suggested moisture. Still, on a summer day made bearable by passing clouds, it was magnificent;

 The show in Newport had an interesting angle. Applicants were asked to explain how their piece was experimental. This text would be posted next to the accepted entries. Mine was a watercolor painted as if I were the painter Bjornar Aaslund of Norway. I was trying to figure out his fusion of abstract expressionism and landscape painting. Oddly, it sort of worked. Just changing my palette alone provided some insight. You can see the entire exhibit here.

 H2O has opened at Ferris State University of Michigan in Big Rapids. The brave curator saw my work online, could see the importance of water in much of my work and included me.

                                                  Summer Water 4 oil on canvas 24x20


 The smoke had finally cleared out and the summer everyone yearns for was back, but only for a few days. The transition is often abrupt and this year especially. It was still August! The population has experienced true grief. Some hold out hope for that 'Indian Summer' but the sunlight is too angled now, the days too short. Our great fear is that every summer now will be one of massive forest fires. To those climate change deniers, you will breathe the same smoke as I do. My rage and disgust with the Republican Party make me choke for words, but listen to Harrison Ford. At least an actor can hold it together to speak the truth.

                                  The Mountain from the Train watercolor on terraskin 14x11

 From my great train ride to Seattle last month.

                                                  My buddy Mitch painting en plein air


 To anyone reading who is not an artist, I suspect you too know of this rapidly expanding phenomena called Plein Air painting. Doing it outside. Rain or shine for some. Here are some profile essays on the joys and frustrations. Made me want to do more again next year.

                                              Caravan of the Moon by Eric Merrell


 Speaking of on-site painting, Eric Merell, a painter I`ve admired a long time, does so in a most original way. Here is a wonderful little video of an artist in residency he did in the desert. This guy owns Joshua Tree.

                                                                 Richard Diebenkorn


Still another nine days to see the show of early work by the revered artist Richard Diebenkorn at the Portland Art Museum. I wasn`t going to see it but my brother Mike thought differently. I`m so glad I went! It isn`t my favorite body of his work but with the scholarship in the accompanying texts, I learned a whole lot. As is true for most artists, his early career was not easy and with WW2 in process, he had some tough choices. To see the work on paper he did during this difficult time was so sweet. He was a kid!


Only two days left to see the collection of astounding, one of kind automobiles also at the museum;

 For a long time it wasn`t appealing to paint with oils, I naturally gravitated to water media. Yet I can do the same things in oils, I paint thin and flat. Plus what one puts down in oil paint stays that way by and large. With watermedia there is always an accounting for things drying lighter in value. Basically oil is far easier and the paintings find homes much quicker. Economically, I needed to figure out my reluctance. Then I saw it;

                                                                     my palette !


No wonder! Yikes! The last time I gave it a good cleaning I ended up in the clinic getting stitches in my finger. So I decided to get a new one;

 Big difference! And I`ve promised myself to observe how it gets out of control. That took about a day. I paint until I`m tired and then do a half assed cleaning. Well, not the new Randall. Keeping the scraping razor pristine is key. It`s been three weeks and it still looks new. Wish me diligence.


Here is a disturbing photo;

Chinese students taking an exam for art school


delightful photo;

 my nephew`s new puppy securely fastened



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Portland Open Studio Tour  mid-Oct.

The Storm is Coming

                                                The Storm is Coming watermedia on Yupo 11x14


 More ink play.
I was looking over my new work and there seemed to be a lot of gray and pink. Yes it`s winter and that might be the reason I`ve been craving pure clear color. February often has mild sunny weather that can make one ache for summer. I`m usually immune being winter`s cheerleader but this year I could use some rich bright color. Ink is the answer. But the stuff is intense and figuring out how to integrate it into my work is a challenge. The landscape is not full of primary colors. The piece above was once extremely saturated and cheap was the affect. When I muted it, it came alive. Probably just my lonely Nordic soul looking for my Mediterranean mate.
Here was another attempt at high keyed color;

                                                        Bryant Woods November oil on Yupo 14x11

 The last remnant of autumn in late November is so special. What color remains is isolated now and bittersweet in the dying vegetation. I love being in the wet forest at this time. If I`m warm, I have a cozy, homey intimacy with the trees as I`m walking along.
So that`s what I tried to paint but I`m not sure I got it.
Hitting that expressive unequivocal sweet spot of color just short of overkill is my goal.


She had cut my hair twice, we had walked together and she was the mother in law of our handyman Joe. But it wasn`t until I looked closely at her website did I understand who she was. I had been aware of P A Jones of Texas for a long time. Peggy now lives in West Linn and we`re buddies!

                                                                  painting by P A Jones


 My local plein air group, Las LOPAS, will be happy to have her join us. Anyone can join us! Talking shop with other painters in the cool morning sun of summer can`t be beat.


Speaking of Handyman Joe, if anyone local needs a fix it guy, he is the One! He repaired a hundred year old ceiling in my upstairs guestroom. cleaned our gutters, repaired our screen door, helped me with a framing issue in my studio, took stuff to the dump and built this sturdy little hand rail;

 I will need this after my surgery. Last year I was helpless to get down off our porches without assistance. This little addition will mean 'freedom', right when I need it most.
Joe is smart and very professional. Text me for his number. [me-503-380-4731]

                                                               Quincy Jones by Art Streiber



 If you haven`t read the profane, eye opening interview with Quincy Jones in the online magazine Vulture yet, I highly recommend it. Such a fascinating, behind the curtain look at the music industry! This guy has known everybody.

                                                                    by Richard Diebenkorn


 This is the most charming little painting I`ve ever seen by the master. I suspect it is in a sketchbook he carried on a European trip. When his wife Phyllis died a couple of years ago she donated his sketchbooks to Stanford. You can see them with this link.

                                                             Over the Sea 28 oil on panel 12x12


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Work for Sale blog

Glacial Lake + advice from the Master + LO plein air!

                                                        oil on canvas 30x24

 Contrary to how I always work, this did not come from a visit with a mountain. Not recently anyway. This unwound after covering two previous failed paintings, the last one a larger version of this view of Oswego Lagoon. I turned the canvas 180 degrees and began painting it with light colors. I was just trying to cover it up before beginning something new. Then this landscape took shape as I was concealing the dud. From the top working to the bottom, each new section fell into place. It was a strange experience and what is most odd is how specific a place it looks like. I definitely broke rule #5!

 Though I have trouble believing that is Richard Diebenkorn`s handwriting, the language and tone sound exactly right. These were notes he wrote for himself and he would probably be horrified to know they were now widely read. When I worked with him in 1985, he noted my interest in patterns but advised I must always 'violate' them. He was right. By interrupting the repetition, the whole feels less 'designed' and there is greater figure/ground integration.
 Such a beloved, influential painter! He was gone much too soon.

                                       Black Mesa from Chimayo-Night oil on canvas 48x30

Above was a piece done about a year before the month long workshop with Diebenkorn. I was doing lots of paintings with layers, stacking up the landscape elements like a tower.

                                             Parade watermedia on paper 46x32

 This was done soon after. I wrenched myself, with his encouragement, from those orderly rows.

 My show with Tom Cramer proceeds at the Museum 510 gallery space in downtown Lake Oswego. The official hours are limited Tues.-Fri. 11-4, but if anyone would like an 'after hours' look, I have access to the gallery. Just give me a call; 503 380 4731

 Tom and I will be speaking about the work in an informal talk Thurs. evening, March 19 at 6:30 pm.
The following Thurs. March 26, I will be giving a demonstration at the gallery at 11 am. All are welcome.

In my own studio, I will be demonstrating with watermedia this Sat. March 14 at 10 am. 5373 Lakeview Blvd. Lake Oswego 97035

 The city of Lake Oswego is having another plein air festival! Read all about it here! I`m participating and need some companions to paint with! My community is a beauty, lots of good places to paint! The public is invited to watch us.

 The exciting Willamette Falls Legacy Project is entering its next phase! It won`t be too long before something gets built! Oregon City is about to be reborn!

In closing, here is an article which was posted by encaustic artist Linda Robertson on Facebook. It`s about creativity and time management. It sure helped me understand my obsessive need to paint and the social fallout from that. It gets more intense with age. I`ve come to really resent sleeping for instance. When I was young, that was near the top of my list of pleasures! Now I force myself to bed. The great British artist Frank Auerbach began sleeping in his studio and refused social invitations at 78. He felt he was running out of time. I`m happy he`s still with us at and now 83.

                                                          Frank Auerbach


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I support President Obama