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 have 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 

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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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Collage and a new year

                                           December Marsh watermedia collage 14x22 inches

                                                  High Pass watermedia collage 14x10 inches

                                                   Fissure watermedia collage 14x11 inches

 Though not a fan of celebrations that terrorize dogs, there is something touching about the hope and optimism of the new year. Again. A mere 12 months since the last yearning for true change this time. If we weren`t so ridiculous it might be sad. 

And another election year, oh boy.

I wish I had saved it. There was an editorial in the NYTimes that made the case that it had to be a rematch between Biden and Trump. The 45th president got 74,000,000 votes. He has to be vanquished once and for all. Biden is still the best guy to do it, just like four years ago. Even if he`s 80. He`s no ones first choice just like he wasn`t in 2020. I remember watching one of the early Democratic debates and Biden was mostly ignored and when he did respond it was like he had woke from a nap. Then the pandemic crashed upon the world, we saw with horror how Trump reacted to this catastrophe and nearly every person in the country with a functioning brain realized Biden was exactly the man to beat him. Because of his experience but mostly because of his decency. He overwhelmingly won the Texas and Massachusetts primaries on the same day. 

Anyway the op ed made the case that the country still had unfinished business. Will we fight to be a democracy or do we want to believe a con once again? The polls say Biden is in trouble but I`m not worried. I wish he would address the country on two issues. Everyone knows the rate of inflation is much better but it is still shocking to pay the new prices. They are not going down. He needs to assure the public that he understands how troubling this matter is and explain how it happened. How he tried so hard to keep the economy healthy during the pandemic, avoid a recession, and inflation was a by product of that effort. Yet it worked. The US has one of the strongest economies in the world right now. 

And I`d like him to explain to the country the difference between Republican and Democratic approaches to immigration. I follow public affairs and I don`t really know. To no ones surprise he is being demagogued to death on the issue by Republicans. Not much of what they say is based in reality but nonetheless the public needs to know where the Democratic party stands on this.

 Speaking of inflation, I know the local solution. Non-northwesterners bear with me a moment. 

Because I didn`t really understand how Winco Foods worked, I foolishly ignored it for years. Even after reading a profile of the company and learning it was employee owned. This past autumn a friend returned from overseas and needed a lot of food to replenish her home and mentioned she had spent a chunk of money there. I started asking questions and my curiosity was provoked. I`ve shopped there four times now, none of them under an hour and a half and without exaggeration, I estimate it`s about 40% cheaper than Safeway or Albertsons. I have yet to spend over $90. It is truly amazing. The bulk foods are a big part of it. I`ve never seen such variety. It`s almost overwhelming and definitely more time consuming bagging stuff up. Not much to look at and it`s busy with many different flavors of society. Purposeful women who understand value abound. Each one an excellent cook, I`d bet my life.

 Look familiar? I knew what it was but I had never tasted one. Winco had a huge display of Dragonfruit and each one was of perfect ripeness, you could tell. $3. So I bought one and it was a delicate treat contradicting its fierce name. The produce here is unlike any I`ve ever seen. They must contract with completely different farmers and brokers. Big bunch of cilantro is $.68. Have I convinced you? If I was young, I might try to work there. A cashier told me the pay and benefits were great. They are hiring.

                                                                       HOPSCOTCH

 Another report for the locals. 

Because it`s winter and the weather too unpredictable, instead of hiking, I wanted to do something with my friends indoors. I had heard about a permanent 'art' installation that was interactive, colorful and cozy. My sister in law was sort of tongue tied in describing it when she returned and now I understand why. Hopscotch is a collection of rooms designed by individual artists with lots of computer driven visual effects that the viewer moves within. It reminded me of the 'light shows' the art club created during our junior high dances in the 60s. Psychedelic! The displays were interesting even if baffling in their intent. Yet as a social activity I think it was successful. Somehow seeing my lovely peers in flashing strobe lights was endearing. I had to be helped out of the trampoline 'environment' when I sank thigh deep into the surface. I`m getting a new knee in February and am not so flexible right now. The only exhibit that really felt like art was the the room of secrets. On entering you hear murmuring, overlapping voices. Three suspended domes hang from the ceiling. When standing under one of them you could hear a solitary voice speak one of their secrets. A soundproof booth to record the secrets was also part of the set up. Listening to the voices anonymously 'confess' was engaging. I could hear the restraint and relief in the voices. This is what I like about conceptual art, it makes me feel in unexpected ways. In the photo 3 above, my pal Kevin is entering a fuzzy dome as I am still getting my bearings. It was fun, not too expensive and a nice place to be with old friends.

                                                Baptism watermedia on Yupo 26 x 20 inches

 My painting is in transition, lots of disappointments. This came from my preoccupation with red and a less demanding attitude. I want my acrylic paints to act like oils. They refuse so I have to work within their limitations. This is reflexive with watercolor but I have trouble accepting the quirks of acrylic, particularly the lower pigment load. The beauty in gestural technique is lost if i have to repaint the movement.

                                                                           de Kooning

 I have been a devout student of the work of Willem de Kooning for decades. He`s been gone a long time now. Suddenly within the last year or two I am seeing work like this which is entirely new to me. How has this escaped my attention? My guess is the original collectors and their heirs have died and the paintings are coming onto the market where they are photographed and eventually I see them. This piece is so rich and stunning I was shocked when I first saw it. I`ve never seen red and orange together like that. The vigorous white areas set off the jewel like colors while the whole composition is tumbling. I would kill to see it live.

 The city of Palm Springs bought this oversize sculpture of Marilyn Monroe based on a famous still photo from her movie The Seven Year Itch by Billy Wilder. She offers shelter from the sun as well as the rain.

Happy New Year!

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Travels, a Demo and a birthday

                                           Northwest Canyon watercolor on Yupo 26x20 inches

 This painting was once a long view of one of the Silver Creek Falls. It was acceptable but I didn`t want to look at it. Recently, I thought I would develop it further into something I could continue with as a collage. Except now I like it.

The day after the open studios I flew to NYC to see an old friend with some health challenges. I had bought my ticket thinking this can`t be delayed but before leaving we talked and I learned she was actually better than stable so I saw some different, also old friends, first. A solid week of nonstop talking ensued. I only took a duffle bag with the pants and shoes I was wearing. Being on a subway or train with a big suitcase is no fun. It was possible because it was still early autumn. The visits were so fun and so  satisfying it was as if we were all still young. My timing was perfect! I overthink everything but this time imagining the transportation, likely activities and selecting what to take as if I were backpacking was smart. I was stunned that I pulled it off.

 I always want to go to the botanical garden and it never disappoints. There was an art installation that involved over 400 black vulture sculptures integrated into the gardens and greenhouses. I never read a statement from the artist but I think I understood the 'warning'. They were amazing. I wasn`t visiting as a tourist  but when you fall into someones life in progress, you need to do something. So we had little excursions.

One was to the Metropolitan Museum of Art rooftop sculpture installation by Lauren Halsey. Inspired by the Egyptian Temple of Dendur a couple of floors below, the artist incorporated portraits of her family and friends in this new 'temple'. The video of the project is well worth watching.

 Another was a trip to the Museum of Modern Art where a massive wall of moving digital images derived from the permanent collection greeted visitors in the lobby. It was mesmerizing. Responding to justified criticism, the museum now has works by women and foreign artists I`ve never heard of, everywhere! My head was spinning which maybe was the point in this abrupt adjustment.

Once home, John and I delivered 36 paintings to the White Bird Gallery and returned a few days later for the opening of my show in conjunction with the annual Stormy Weather Arts Festival. I did demonstrations Sat. and Sun.

A few friends were about which greatly helped my confidence

                                Stormy Weather 1 and 2 watermedia on Yupo 20x13 inches

Last weekend, the months of painting, the open studio meetings and the travel had all concluded. The next day I turned 70.

I don`t give my own birthdays much thought. I`ve felt that wanting them somehow special was for the kids. This one was different not that I had expectations but internally, this had my attention. Obviously now facing the [hopefully] distant exit, how would I respond? What did I want to change? What could change? Curating experience was important, trying to only do things that are meaningful. At long last I have some economic peace I can work from and try to help. There is a strong sense of a threshold that I`m crossing, even if just mentally. What does it mean to be an undeniable elder? Until we actually are, it seems like a looming condition best not to dwell on. It`s easy to see the freedom and release from younger concerns yet how to manage the emotions that arise from the physical limitations and setbacks and the loss of loved ones? I don`t know but I`ll take it a day at a time. Finally the true value of time itself is clear. My parents did everything they could to show me attitude was everything, I know this to be true. With my mind more or less intact, I will define this for myself and figure it out. Just like everyone else.

                                                             photo by Cameron Nelson

 Of course it`s on me to do the research but is it too much to ask of the press or local government to serve up factual information about eclipses?? Before they happen? I`m still upset that i did not know that to have the profound experience from a total eclipse, it has to be total. Like 100%, not 99% like it was at my house in 2017. I could have seen a once in a lifetime event by driving to my in-laws 35 miles away. When I learned the truth about an hour before the event, it was too late, the roads south were jammed. 

OK, then a month ago all of the sudden there is another one happening for Oregon but it`s not the 'night in the daytime' type it`s the annular kind which has a ring of visible sun around the shadow of the moon. Not nearly as cool but if we want to see it, too bad, storm clouds are likely. You need special goggles anyway. What is not mentioned is that those goggles can penetrate through the clouds and that cameras can too. So another spectacle of nature eludes me. Even in my shadowy driveway the light had changed dramatically. I appreciated that. 

A friend of a friend took the photo above.

As I understand the situation.

Believe me, I have no delusions about who reads my blog. I am not trying to influence anyone, but I want my own thoughts visible. Many writers claim they don`t know what they think until they start writing. In a small way that`s also true for me.

In the killing and chaos in 'Palestine' in the last month there has been a lot of international concern about the deaths of Palestinian civilians. Rightly so. If ever a people have suffered, they certainly have. War has limited but particular objectives with many innocent casualties. This is always the reality.

Israel is a democracy, the Gaza strip is not. Hamas was not elected, they violently seized power from the Palestinian Authority, the guys in charge on the West Bank. Benjamin Netanyahu has been Prime Minister in Israel for a very long time. He is not a straight-shooter and his arrogance and dishonesty has weakened Israeli society. I don`t believe he thinks Palestinian self rule is possible or even desirable. Under his 'leadership' many illegal Israeli settlements have been built in the West Bank, It seems he believes Israel can take possession a little bit at a time. He has serious corruption charges against him that are pending. He has striven to stay in power and change the very nature of the judiciary to do so. He is distracted which is why the attack on Oct. 7 was so horrific. Israeli intelligence and technology was a massive failure that day. His political life is seemingly over, thank god. Much of the decay and deceit of the 'peace process' is directly on him and his right wing allies. In one tied election after another, he has been able to assemble a governing coalition by bringing in religious nut jobs into the government. I don`t think he can now ever win another election. He has done serious damage.

Hamas is a terrorist organization that has been in control of the Gaza strip. Funded by the ruthless Islamic fundamentalists ruling Iran. Being terrorists, Hamas launched a sneak attack on ordinary Israeli citizens. We all know what happened, the atrocities have been documented. Because they`re terrorists they located their headquarters undergroud under the largest hospital in Gaza City. The Palestinian people are their human shields. They have a vast network of tunnels that are only for Hamas to shelter in and launch raids on Israel. The needs of the Palestinians are the responsibility of the UN one of their leaders explained recently. Israel believes only the total destruction of these terrorists will protect their country. I would say good faith negotiations toward the two state solution is also in Israels interest.

As this affects the politics of my country, I want people to know who is who. Hostile statements and generalizations about Jews are completely unacceptable. Antisemitic beliefs are as repugnant as racism and must be condemned. One can care about the humanitarian crisis of the situation without hating Jews. Jews do not equal Israelis. The government of Israel is not the citizens of Israel even though elected. Hamas is not the Palestinian people, they are butchers who put the Palestinian people directly in harms way. Anti Islamic bigotry is equally wrong. Americans, including me, need a real education about Islam. It gets mingled with government in several countries to no ones benefit. Saudi Arabia is just as distasteful as Iran yet they are our 'allies'. I don`t understand the big picture. Fossil fuels are killing the planet yet we act as if those near eastern countries are indispensable.

                                                               Circle of Life by Moises Levy

 Paintings by Victor Higgins, an early modernist landscape painter in New Mexico. This guy is Beloved in NM and deservedly so. Using abstraction to strengthen his vision, he seems to get rather effortlessly the unique singularity of that landscape. New Mexico doesn`t look or feel like anywhere else. Arizona and Texas share long borders with it yet its cultures are distinctly different. There is a dreamy quality to it that is perceptible even when living there. Even with all the difficulty making a living there.

click HERE for work in my studio