When we think of landscape, I think our minds automatically jump to images of the romantic era--great sweeping vistas, ideal views, the simple calm beauties of the pastoral, the great impressive fervor of the romantic sublime. But the translation of landscape has changed as much as our relationship to place has changed. We are no longer removed, no longer remote from these places. We know so much more about the ...
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Here's another piece in my recent series, where I'm exploring thinner layers of color over an underpainting of sepia tones. It's giving my work a looser, more gestural look as well as building up layers of light. As with "Odyssey", I began this piece with burnt sienna mixed with a glaze, then wiped out the highlights to begin feeling the composition. Subsequent layers deepen the dark tones and add highlights to ...
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This piece marks a solid change for me, in the fact that is is made up of many transparent layers and gestural brushstrokes instead of the thicker, more solid layers I generally use. It brings the excitement of my experimental drawings into my oil paintings, something I've been working towards for years. "Odyssey" used techniques from my watercolor and drawing background, resulting in a fresh approach. I usually begin my oils ...
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So here's the finished piece. I'm pleased with the overall emotion and composition. Even though there was a lot of back and forth in my mind on this piece, the overall resolution works for me. It reflects the spirit and emotion I felt when I stood on that bridge over the river at a point in time last July, with a storm moving in from the west. A sense of ...
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Here are a few images documenting the progress of this painting. It's still a work in progress, but I'm pretty close to resolution I think. The mood is almost there: a storm moving in over this mighty river, an image from last July. It could be the Colorado, or the Snake, or the Green River. There's just something about a river, particularly when you live in the West. It's a blood ...
Read MoreSo when you train dogs for basic obedience or agility, it's important to focus on your intent. You want to have a clear vision of what it is you want the dog to do, then use your body language as well as the command to communicate that to the dog. This clarity is also important reinforcement of alpha-dom; anytime the dog thinks it might be the one driving the bus, ...
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New painting! 36"x60", oil on canvas. This is from a hike I took a couple of weeks ago at Lake Crescent, one of the most amazing places I have ever been. It's the Washington State version of a fjord. The water is this weird blue; it has a lot of nitrogen which inhibits algae. The true depth of Lake Crescent has never been established; a glacial lake created by an ancient ...
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The Marine Science Center in Port Townsend has one of the very few intact orca skeletons in North America, owing to the fact that orca bones sink. This adult female had many health issues, and died on the Dungeness Spit 7 years ago. The remains have been in the process of cleaning since then. Scientists and volunteers are about to articulate the skeleton. They invited a few artists in to draw ...
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Irondale Beach is a beautiful little spot where Chimacum Creek runs into the bay. It is being remediated by various groups owing to contamination from a very old steel plant that was on the site. Friend Deanna, who is involved with the remediation, gave me a great tour of this unique place on a beautiful day in winter. I caught this magical light just before it disappeared over the hill ...
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So I fought and fought and fought with a trio of paintings this past week. Today I set them aside and began a new painting which painted itself. My muse, she's a humorist. So this new work is 16x20 in size and is, as yet, unnamed. I am open to suggestion. Thus far possible names include: Seriously? Was That Really Necessary? and Sigh. I have no process images of this one as it ...
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