Window-'Re-dos'-ancestors

                                                                Window oil on panel 26x24


 When I paint purely from imagination, I can sure get bogged down in my compositions. Lots of trial and error to get this to look plausible. I`ve never seen such a view but I like the idea of openings leading to another 'reality'. Portals if you will. Coastal Oregon has so much in common with Hawaii, you can sit on the beach [with a blanket] and imagine the tropics just on the other side of those rocks.


Watercolors;

                                                                            6x6 paper

                                                           Grove 11x9 Yupo [plein air]


And here are some paintings I reworked. When I`m lacking an agenda in the studio, there are always lots of paintings around to improve or ruin.

                                                       Rainforest Windfall oil on canvas 40x56

                                              Streamside Spring watermedia on yupo 14x11

                                                     Fog in the Forest oil on canvas 40x30

                                     From Albuquerque to Home watermedia on paper 16x12

 A non-Tipton relative sent me a large box of Tipton memorabilia she had come into possession of. I poked through it some and it was wonderful to see photos of some of the elders I knew in New Mexico, younger and having fun. I`m waiting to be with one of my brothers to really dig in together. Ultimately I`ll share it with my Mormon niece who will know exactly how significant the trove is.
What the box will not contain is any information on my grandfather.
Anthony Meyers was a Catholic priest in Watrous New Mexico. He had a love affair with my grandmother Mary Tipton. The community was tiny and this scandalous relationship had to be hidden. When she became pregnant she fled to Durango Colorado to a home for unwed mothers where my father was born. She returned to New Mexico saying she had adopted her baby. She maintained that fiction well into my Dad`s life and as you can imagine this damaged him in many ways. There are many reasons I have so little respect for religious institutions and this a major one. It`s my understanding my grandfather never acknowledged my Dad as his son and the 'sin' of my grandmothers` tortured her the rest of her life. She was no fool, he had to have had compelling characteristics but they were imprisoned by their time and could not be honest. How utterly sad.
Priests still cannot marry.

                                                           painting by Harry Stooshinoff


 Harry Stooshinoff is a painter from Ontario Canada that I admire very much and have written about before. He takes the modest landscape where he lives and mines it for gold. His work is a rich exploration of what surrounds him. Then he sells them at very affordable prices. He`s really prolific and explains how he came to his unusual self representation in this podcast. It`s well worth listening to as he talks about practical matters such as economic survival and his business model. Great interview!

                                                              Harry Stooshinoff


 A friend asked me recently what my take on this 'virtue' of looseness in painting. My thoughts seem, even to me,  too extreme on the subject. Unfortunately it looks to me as just another way to impose hierarchy. The idea that an improvisatory technique is a pinnacle to strive for is absurd. Even if my own methods are described this way. I have the chaotic closets that prove it but others like more structure in their work [and lives too maybe]. The motives and means for painting are vast. It irks me to see earnest painters condemned for being 'tight' or careful or meticulous. Everyones nature is different! And the term plays into the worse stereotypes of artists. That we are irresponsible, libertine, unrealistic hedonists. Artists are so carefree!
Not at all, but we are resourceful. If you have a problem and a limited budget, talk to an artist before a lawyer.
 I can be an opinionated asshole about painting too but I try hard not to be. I shouldn`t criticize others. All life suffers, we know that. The painting path is rewarding but certainly not easy. Let`s try to be respectful and tolerant of all artists.

some work for sale in my studio

White Bird Show in Cannon Beach OR - September 1 through October 16
watercolor on yupo demonstration Sept. 23, 2 pm

Oddballs

                                                   Winter Marsh Forest oil on panel 20x18


 Here are some things I`ve been working on but never posted.
 Three or four years ago I was on Minto Brown Island in February and at first everything looked brittle and dead. But as I walked either the light changed or I did because it became much more interesting. I took some photos of a swamped forest that appealed to me because of its frenzy of vegetation and its utter inhospitality. I`ve painted it many times but only in this one did I get the mood right.

                                                          Sea Slot watercolor on Yupo 12x9


 In Oceanside, my favorite coastal getaway, there is a place at the base of the headland where the ocean is forced through a narrow passage between a massive boulder that looks like a hat box, and the cliff. As the sea surges in, there are all these sections in the water at different heights and planes that change  and shift in an instant as it pushes forward. It`s fascinating and somewhat hypnotic. Again, I had tried multiple times to get this procession right, but to no avail. Until now.

                                             Foothills Storm Study watermedia on Yupo 12x9


 This is an older piece I could never quite let go of, the inspiring experience was too memorable. I was driving to Ashland one Spring and the hills along I-5 north of Eugene grabbed my attention as usual. Storms were rolling off the Cascades behind them almost giving them the appearance of islands in a mist.

                                                           River Study acrylic on Yupo 24x18


 Another go at the copse of trees that borders the Tualatin River in a place where I walk. I get obsessed with certain views and try repeatedly to get their character.

                                                          Rainforest Autumn 4 oil on canvas 20x16


 Cold and muddy, late autumn at Tryon Creek.



 My only hope was that he wasn`t really a Republican. I mean would a true conservative politician hang out with Howard Stern? Well I guess they do. As the president elect announced his cabinet, it was quite clear he was going to surround himself with minds as small and mean as his own.
This is going to be awful yet I do think our country and it`s democratic institutions are up to the daunting challenges ahead. This essay from the New Yorker articulately spells it out.
I`ve joined the ACLU and intend to make my voice heard. I wrote the president and the Justice Department about the Standing Rock confrontation and it looks like the good guys won!
I`m going to change my party affiliation to Independent with the idea that I may be taken more seriously if my vote is perceived as winnable.
With the Black Lives Matter movement we have begun to tentatively talk about race in an uncomfortable but honest way. This is no time to turn away from that discussion and oddly, the rise of hate crimes may propel this forward even more. I hope so.
I was doing errands last week and heard the poet Clint Smith on Here and Now. A transcript is here and there are links to two TED performances where he eloquently describes in poetry exactly what it`s like to be black. At least as it interfaces with authority. It is just heartbreaking.
I want a world where young black men fear for their insurance rates at traffic stops just like I do. Not their lives.



I first saw his work 30 years ago in Portland and immediately thought we were on a similar 'quest'. Now we`re both showing at the Marcia Burtt Gallery in Santa Barbara Calif., and he feels like a friend. Though he lives in Tacoma we`ve not met but I think we will. Take a look at the landscapes of Michael Ferguson.

                                                              by Michael Ferguson

                                                                by Michael Ferguson

                                                               by Michael Ferguson



 Finally "Tet" by Morris Louis. [Nine by Thirteen feet]

                                                                Tet by Morris Louis


 He wasn`t the first to pour paint, that was Helen Frankenthaler, but he invented new techniques that expressed the deepest of human emotion.
Look at his 'veils'.
For me, art doesn`t go any higher than this. In his 50 years on earth he produced a profoundly moving body of work.


work for sale in my studio 

Near and Far - Cape Arago

                                                  Near and Far - Cape Arago oil on canvas 30x22


 Georgia O`Keefe famously titled a painting " From the Faraway Nearby". With great poetry she contrasted the temporal with the eternal. It`s an existential image of yearning. I`ve experienced that in looking at the stars or out to sea. It`s been a wake up call to make everything count. When I saw this young spruce and the exposed roots of a fallen tree beside it, silhouetted against the ocean, I had that bittersweet sensation again. As I worked on this, I thought a lot about color temperature and its conveyance of emotion. This was a view in summer so I wanted a benign mood lightening the sober and stark.


 We secured the financing and I had a check for earnest money. So when the prospect of owning the blue house I posted last week fell through, I thought 'I can`t do this!'. Which of course means 'I don`t want to do this!'. It was suddenly very clear I didn`t want this giant upheaval after all. When my Mom died and I made the decision to move, it seemed absolutely correct to be closer to my family but I couldn`t do it then because of commitments. My resolve must have faded and I was in denial. I feel stupid and sorry.
My family is 30 miles away which isn`t far, it`s just the traffic in between. I will work it just like I did when Mom was alive.


How about some schadenfreude? That will cheer us all up!
Both of these may have gone viral, I have no idea, but they are hilarious! Be sure to have the sound on!

Neither the Brazilian government nor any US court of law could punish the Olympian Ryan Lochte more thoroughly than these two TV anchors.

I never condone violence but listen to this account from an observer of a traffic accident.


Check out Joel Janowitz. Because of his first name, I figured he was a recent MFA prodigy but no, this guy is venerable!

                                                                      Joel Janovitz

                                                                      Joel Janowitz


Great painter! I approve!

And here is one of the late masterpieces of Franz Kline;

                                                              Scudera by Franz Kline


And an I-pad thing of mine;

                                                         Randall David Tipton I-pad


Not as charming as I thought coming after a mighty Kline!

I`m ready to love again, we are looking for a kitten! Is it wrong to want an orange one?


work for sale in my studio


"New Landscapes" Coos Art Museum until Oct. 1.  [Southern Oregon Coast]

"On Paper" Marcia Burtt Gallery, Santa Barbara Aug.26 - Oct.2

Plein Air Black and White and other landscapes

                                             Beside Oswego Creek watercolor on Yupo 12x12


 To avoid the nightmare of parking for the Lake Oswego Arts Festival, I pulled off the road and parked illegally above the creek and walked in. This bright idea left me wet with sweat looking for a cool corner to compose myself once I arrived. Soon I was dry enough for polite society and saw the shows. When I returned to my car, I retrieved my outdoor painting gear determined to do something on location. It`s a paradox that a process that is such a hassle ever produces anything of merit. I walked and slipped down the embankment to a sweet little spot near the falls. Once in position with a board across my lap, brushes,watercolors, kleenex, sponge, q-tips and water all within reach, I think my focus sharpened. I wanted to make this count. Using a severely limited palette freed me up to pursue the mood of the place.
 Productive week! It`s truly amazing all that can be accomplished while procrastinating something really important. I also did these and two mediocre abstractions;

                                                            Creek Pool watercolor on Yupo 10x8


 From a walk in Tryon Creek Park the other day. The water is already slow and dreamy.

                                                        Sea Slot watercolor on Yupo 12x9


 A view in Oceanside I`ve tried to paint several times to no avail. This one I`ll keep.

                                                             Na Pali Stream watermedia on Yupo 10x8


 It`s been three years since I was in Hawaii so this one was a struggle. At one point I was even scrubbing it with sandpaper!

                                                       Iron Mt. Group watercolor on Yupo 5x5


 Such a beautiful clump of trees jutting from the overgrown side of the mountain.


 Portland has a new art supplier and it meets my approval! No more stupid Dick Blick. I`ve been to the Artists and Craftsman Supply off SE Powell twice now and it`s wonderful. Knowledgeable staff, good prices and a huge selection!

work for sale in my studio

"New Landscapes" Coos Art Museum July 9 - Oct.1

Columbia Gorge Getaways [excellent for residents and visitors]

Circle of Cypress

                                                   Circle of Cypress oil on canvas 40x56


 My stint of art school took place in Mendocino Calif. in the fall of 1972. The small village sits on the south side of a huge sloping headland jutting out into the ocean. A meadow covers the rest with spectacular views of the sea in three directions. It is now a protected state park.
 Near the bathrooms and picnic area was a grove of Monterey Cypress. One group of trees formed a circle with the trunks like pillars framing the scene. I loved to go there and sit at a table and watch the ocean beyond the cliffs. Lots of activity, loud and salty, but the trees made a peaceful sanctuary. Another group of these magnificent trees was planted in a double row as a windbreak for the high school football field. Walking between them was a spiritual experience! At one end I had a favorite to climb and often took a sketchbook up with me. I was like a refugee, I had escaped the horrible heat and pollution of inland south Calif. I was 18 and so ripe for a different life!
 The last time I was there was in 1986 when I drew these cypress for a future painting;

 That painting was a large watercolor I did in the early 90`s;

                                                  Circle of Cypress watermedia on paper 36x56


 Though I liked it well enough, the place never left my imagination which is why I just tried again. Closer! The trees formed a cozy little room and I think it`s the contrast of their serenity with the raging ocean outside it that I found so compelling.


 God love the internet! Because I`m easy to google, I hear from my past quite often. Usually it`s from someone who purchased a painting long ago and they want me to know they still love it. How kind an impulse is that?! A photo of the piece is often included. Usually I cringe to see what my younger self did, but not this time. Here is one from the 70`s, a creek study from the palm canyons of the Coachella Valley;

 My workshop in Coos Bay in July is full, I`m sorry if anyone was left out!

Who knows what this bird is? The photo was the best my I-phone could do. I was in the living room and it was on the fence outside. Tiny thing with a pale peach colored head and longer tail feathers than one would expect. New to my yard! In this warmer climate now, it could be from Mexico!

                                                                    Spring!


work for sale in my studio

Metolius [River]

                                                   watercolor on Yupo 26x20"

When I saw this river last week, its lush aquatic nature was in stark contrast to the bone dry, flammable-at-any-moment Ponderosa Pine forest it flowed through. This morning it has begun to rain, very gently. May it continue.

                                       Over the Sea 16 watercolor on paper 12x12"

The cure for anything is saltwater - sweat, tears or the sea.
                                                                                  _ Isak Dinesen


available work for sale in my studio

Portland Open Studios  [mid-Oct.]
studio address;
5373 Lakeview Blvd.
Lake Oswego OR
97035

Sunsubiro Nebulo

                                             oil on panel 20x20"

Doesn`t the Esperanto "Sunsubiro Nebulo", sound better than 'sunset fog'? I think so. What I`m trying to figure out is, is it subtle or flat out dull? I suspect this may be a question common to Tonalist painters. On the last night of my stay in Gleneden Beach a couple of weeks ago, the fog finally rolled in. The view of these stunted and dead trees looked starkly poignant 'framed' through the bathroom window. I thought, I think I have to paint those, so I took a photo after my shower. Now I`ve painted them but I`m not sure I accept this as final though there`s nothing more I want to do.


work for sale in my studio

Over the Sea 26 - class demo

                                                         watermedia on Yupo 20x26

This was my demostration painting from this morning at the Newport Visual Arts Center. I was invited to paint for the Yaquina Art Association members. The site is stunning, perched on a bluff right above the ocean. The classroom has huge windows overlooking Nye Beach and the sea beyond. As I proceeded and explained my methods and intentions, I only had to glance up and out for inspiration. You can see the seascape outside, in the photos below. I had a special visitors too. Joan Corley  and her brother in law Frank Issac drove down from the Hood Canal in Washington to watch! An effort like that means a whole lot to me, I feel like I`m communicating.
Also, I`m working out details to teach a two day workshop in Lincoln City this summer at the Art Center, early July maybe.

available work in my studio

Over the Sea 24

                                                           watercolor on paper 8x8

Tonight, after three earlier attempts I had to throw out,  I went back to basics and made another in this elegiac series. Two of my elders died this week and although my involvement with them was years ago, it`s sad. One was my 90 year old cousin Elizabeth who had the courage to be a free spirit when that wasn`t cool at all. The other was my former landlady, Olus Ramsey in New Mexico who lived to be 95. She gave me a beautiful place to paint at a rent I could afford just as I was starting out as a painter at 23. Joseph Campbell said when you follow your deepest desires, doors will open where there were only walls. She was one of those doors.
So I`ve been painting badly for a couple of weeks now. The well is dry. I don`t know why but it`s like something vital was simply shut off. I`m annoyed but not too concerned as I realize I have a month of total painting immersion coming up on the coast. Still I keep trying, that`s what I do but I`m not getting anywhere. Tonight, those departed ladies are in my thoughts as I`m ripping up wet paintings and I begin yet again. My brother Mike has given me a CD he wants me to hear. He kindly and patiently sees that I have beautiful music to listen to. I don`t even remember the name of the group but I put it on and immediately go to the first track he has noted as the best. That song isn`t half way along and I am standing over this painting, brush in hand, weeping. It doesn`t stop soon.
Music will find the sore places and clean them.

Into the West

Today is my 60th birthday and I finally have convinced my family that I like it quiet, no fussing. At this age, everyone has personally known a life cut short. Our own survival just feels lucky. As on any other day, I will avoid cameras, mirrors and shop windows. Why dent the gratitude with rude reminders? I`m going for a walk in the rain in a forest I love. Like any other day.
watercolor on Yupo 8x6.5


available work in the studio

Near Hug Point

This is new though it comes from my visit to Arch Cape last Sept. All the beaches in Oregon are public but this little jewel of coastline is never crowded.
watercolor on Yupo 8x6

If I had seen this as a kid, I would have run away from home.

White Bird Show
Waterworks Show

Portland Open Studios Tour