My new painting is titled "Vessel." I began this piece during my oil painting class, and my students commented on how the under-painting looked like a ship. This was complete serendipity. As I have spent so much time drawing and painting boats in the course of my graduate work, the structure of the boat unintentionally manifested itself into my under-painting of trees. I, unfortunately, did not get a good picture of ...
Read MoreNew painting! In fact it is still quite damp... This is from an image I saw several weeks ago. In real life the bay was not nearly as interesting, it was a flat grey day with this random ray of light. The light is what I was after.The bay is different each and every time I see it. Within an hour the light, the waves, the tide, everything changes. I ...
Read MoreI am enjoying working on some smaller panels at the moment; these are 9x12 oil paintings. The subject is direct from my birdfeeder; these are two of the feathered beasties who are currently eating me out of house and home. The first is an Oregon Junco, the second is a Black-Capped Chickadee.This is a fun format; the small scale works with the images. I am planning on ...
Read MoreThe murder is complete! This is the piece I started 3 weeks ago; I had to tone down the value shifts a bit to pull it off but, in the end, it has the subtle shimmering light of the Sound I was after.Please note: the first image here is my underpainting which, as we remember, looked like a poorly formed pterodactyl. The final image here shows you the ...
Read MoreI was travelling this past week so do not have a studio image to share; that being said here are some sketchbook pics for you from my travels. Here's the problem with hanging out with graphic designers: you begin to think that the way you lay out a sketchbook page makes a difference. Here's the really annoying thing: they are right. I am liking the text as an element on ...
Read MoreCheck out this little bastard! It was one of those paintings that painted itself. Some paintings seem to just flow like magic while others fight for it. My friend Ginny came over to paint with me yesterday and the painting just emerged. It is a 9x12 on a panel, the name is "Crescent Lake," the unframed price is $175. The subject is a beautiful glacial lake in Olympic National Park, ...
Read MoreBwahahahaha! Murder on the Sound! Ok, so I'm inordinately pleased with my blog title. (Wasn't "Murder in Progress" a Goya painting?)Yes, I am in the process of painting a herd of crows which, technically, is referred to a murder. After the last piece ("Bird, Reborn") I felt the need to bring more birds into my recent landscape series. I superimposed various crows over the landscape image, working to create movement ...
Read MoreHere's a new technique for you. I wanted to work on a different underpainting technique in response to my new environment; basically I wanted to start with less chroma in the underpainting and keep adding subtle color layers as I built up. In other words completely different than my usual underpainting which starts out technicolor and gets toned down with each layer. The result is this quiet ...
Read MoreI am so excited about this idea! Okay, so this is a diptych titled "We Begin to Remember." Usually when I use photo reference to create panoramic images, I take two pictures side by side, then use my artistic prowess to smooth out the edges where the two images will meet. In other words I fudge it so that it becomes one united piece for the painting. In this case, ...
Read MoreOne day this past week I was working on the computer when the power went out; I decided to lay in an underpainting instead. I opened the blinds as far as they would go on a darkish rainy day. I laid in the entire underpainting; the power came back on, and I realized that I had the values down perfect but some of the most bizarre colors I have ever ...
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