These paintings bring up deep memories of past landscapes. Perhaps my ancestors walked through here. When I get that feeling from the painting I know I’m done…. time to stop or I’ll loose it.
Memory of a place
New Exhibit
7 local artists will be exhibiting at GalleryOne in Ellensburg February 3 through the end of February, 2023. We all have been making our art around here for over 50 years. It’s an honor to be part of this group and it’s a very interesting, skillful and varied show, spanning the gamut from Jane Orleman’s huge, intense mural to Julie Prather’s glowing glass lamps. I’ve include 5 new watercolors all done this winter. The reception is 1st Friday, February 3rd 5 to 8.
Oil Class
I’ve been teaching a Saturday afternoon oil painting class at GalleryOne in Ellensburg, WA. We started with a small still life of a lemon…. not so easy, but everybody did great. The second Saturday we got a good start on a landscape, learning to simplify and look for values. Next week we’ll dive into a portrait. It’s an interesting process to figure out where people are at and what they need. I hope I’m doing a good job.
Out of the Doldrums
We’ve been socked in with winter fog for days. This morning the glorious sun hit the hills outside our kitchen window. I’m trying to narrow down my view in a few small watercolors trying to catch one fleeting effect. An enjoyable hour with morning coffee at the kitchen table.
Winter
Each season has its own lighting effects. In small colored notebook sketches I can explore different techniques to find the magic I’m after.
Structure
When I’m a bit lost I remind myself to get back to the basics. Composition is the foundation for all that sits on top of it. Value is where form is described and color is like the flavors that make up a good meal. Out of many tiny thumbnails a few will stand out and call for more exploration and refinement. It’s design at this stage, pushing the shapes around and easy to adjust anything at a small size, no more than a few inches. Then after many small idea sketches a few will stand out and hopefully one will be interesting enough to take into a painting. This is just one process of many, but a good one to remember.
In my little watercolor notebook I start working this out. I want the brightest glow from the sky to just hit a bit on the right wall and around the figure. Perhaps the left wall is still too light. And I have to do a couple real vanishing points so the walls read correctly. And then the water reflection shapes need to be worked out as I don’t have a real photo of this, just a snap from a TV image.
Fall Notebooks
After being completely focused on the straw bale building project for eight months, I’m feeling a bit burned out. So my watercolors and notebooks showed up and I started to play with some little landscapes again. It feels good to put the brush in the paint. The curves and shadows of nature are endlessly inspiring.
Last Bales
Up in the loft the last straw bales are going in. This area is just above the tub on the first floor so I used conventional stick framing to make the walls less permeable to moisture from the tub and shower. You can see here the extra layer of rock-wool insulation on the outside. Way overkill on the insulation but it was much easier to set these bale vertically than cut them all around the 2x6s and wiring.
Interior Wall
I just did the base coat on the first interior wall. This will have the propane heater so we can work inside soon.
Stucco on for Winter
The long days of summer 2021 have been spent on this 12 sided “Yurt House”. Our old 30ft canvas yurt gave 20 years service and will be set up as a gathering spot next spring. Now I’m finishing the “brown coat” of stucco on the outside walls of the new building. The cement/lime mix should have enough moisture permeability to let the strawbale walls breath.
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