Friday, April 29, 2016

Nisqually Barns


"Nisqually Barns", 10 x 10 In, Oil on Museum Board
The Nisqually barns are a memorable aspect of the Nisqually landscape. They are the remnants of the Brown dairy farm from 1904. Now it is one of the most popular spots for people to take a walk along the Sound in the Olympia area.

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Nisqually Sky


"Nisqually Sky", 10 x 12 In, Oil on Museum Board
Our plein air group always makes Nisqually the first of our paint-outs for the year. This is the Nisqually Delta, where the river, originating from the Nisqually Glacier on Mount Rainier, flows into the estuary of Puget Sound. It is a beautiful flat marshy area with foot paths, meandering streams and raised walkways. The sky is big and the delta the home of innumerable species of birds and wildlife.

Sunday, April 24, 2016

Portrait Study #30


"Portrait Study #30, 14 x 10 In, Oil on Museum Board

This is the last portrait--for now! Thank you, all my subscribers, for travelling on this road with me!

Friday, April 22, 2016

Portrait Study #29


Portrait Study #29, 14 x 11 In, Oil on Museum Board
Only one more portrait to post after this--then I'm out in the sun and the wind.

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Portrait Study #28


"Portrait Study #28", 14 x 11 In, Oil on Museum Board
I'm almost to the end of my portrait studies for the winter. Time to get out my camera for next year.

Monday, April 18, 2016

Portrait Study #27


"Portrait Study #27", 14 x 11 In, Oil on Museum Board
I promise I am almost to the end of my portrait studies--a few more postings and then I'm off to the landscape--my goodness--the sun is shining here--after weeks of rain. I probably won't understand what I've learned until I'm off in the distance.

Friday, April 15, 2016

Portrait Study #26


"Portrait Study #26", 14 x 11 In, Oil on Museum Board
With every study, there is an attempt to try something different, and it may not always be obvious. There are so many variables, and maybe, at some point, more abstraction will become the main variable. But until then, this one is about warms and cools.

Purchase this unframed painting.
Contact me if you would like to purchase a plein air frame.

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Portrait Study #25


"Portrait Study #25", 14 x 11 In, Oil on Museum Board

Ah--yet another portrait. There was an amazing sight the other day out my back window that I wish I had moved quickly enough to capture in a photo. It was nearing dusk when we saw one of our Bald Eagles swimming across the Cove, probably with a catch in its talons too heavy to lift out of the water. Eagles do not float on the water, but they are powerful swimmers. It swam a good 300-400 feet in less than 10 minutes. We saw this once before years ago when we first moved here. Our Eagle pair was on the beach yesterday--brilliant white heads against the dark gray sand.

Sunday, April 10, 2016

Portrait Study #24


"Portrait Study #24", 14 x 11 In, Oil on Museum Board
This is another portrait I did a couple of weeks ago. It was a complete second try on a painting that I didn't like. The first one had been "fixed" to death. Strange how lifeless a painting can become with second thoughts. Sometimes even glaring errors have more feeling. I try to go with the idea that what I put down is it--to say it in the beginning--to question the voice that says, "you can fix it later."

Thursday, April 7, 2016

Portrait Study #23


"Portrait Study #23", 14 x 11 In, Oil on Museum Board
Long ago, someone asked one of my instructors at his workshop if he kept paintings he really liked (or something along those lines). He said he liked them for about half an hour--then he saw all the problems. It's sort of like buying in on a market high.

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Portrait Study #22


"Portrait Study #22", 14 x 11 In, Oil on Museum Board

I generally spend not more that 1.5 to 2 hours on a portrait study. By the next morning, some of the paint is dry and I like working wet-in-wet, so at the end of the day, I have to call it finished. Sometimes in the morning it's wet enough to completely scrape and start over and I have done that more than once! Other times I try to "fix" whatever is bothering me about the painting. But that is often what takes the life out of it--a tiny fix can change the entire painting, for better or for worse.

Friday, April 1, 2016

Portrait Study #21


"Portrait Study #21", 14 x 11 In, Oil on Museum Board
The other day, rather than painting, I found myself cleaning up my studio, taking old tubes of paint to the recyling bin and putting frames and canvases in the closet, throwing out stuff and find a place for all those little things that have no home. I actually had this on my To Do list, but its one of those things that is easy to put off--until its impossible to paint with a clear mind unless its done. I still have a ways to go. One of the things I found as I was rearranging my bookcase, was an old songbook by Judy Collins, and because the sun is shining after weeks of rain, I've been singing in my mind all morning the Scottish song, The Wild Mountain Thyme--"For the summertime is coming..."