Winter is here...

Winter arrived in earnest around the first week of December.  I was eager to get out there to see just how painful of an experience it would be.  I was pleasantly surprised, it wasn't that bad!  The hands presented the main challenge.  Below 20 degrees and it seems that mittens are a must; the loss of dexterity not only presents a challenge when applying paint to canvas, but it also makes all the other little things one does with their hands while painting very difficult.  The simple act of maneuvering different sized brushes from one hand to another takes on the form of an odd juggle with sticks.  I need to do some problem solving in this area.

The paintings were done in varying weather conditions,  the coldest day was probably around 10 degrees fahrenheit, while the warmest day, this past Sunday, was around 35.  It is about -2 right now.  All the days had one thing in common, there was little to no wind.

Quiet Afternoon, Lake Como, MN
8×10 

Steam, Smoke, and Clouds
 7×10

Slippery Slope
8×10

HWY 55 EAST
8×10

Thanks for viewing!

Paintings from Summer into Fall

Three weeks ago I took a plein-air workshop with Saint Paul based landscape painter Joe Paquet.  We spent three days in the cold, wind, and rain; it was great!  What a privilege to be able to take this course and be instructed by someone who thoroughly understands the art of landscape painting.  The last three paintings in the sequence were done during the workshop.

Lake Calhoun
8×10

Another Morning on the Mississippi
8×10

Brilliant Sun
8×12

Bridge Project
9×12

Barges on the Mississippi
9×12

View from Indian Mounds Park
8×10

Street View
8×10

Downtown Saint Paul
8×10

Thanks for viewing!

Morning on the Mississippi

Lock and Dam #1
8×10

I got out for my weekly painting session this Saturday morning, and ended up at lock and dam #1 on the Mississippi.  If it is not obvious, what you are seeing here is the river left side of the channel that the boats use to avoid the falls, which lay just behind this protruding thing.  Only two boats went through while I was painting, one canoe, and one sea kayak.

It was a great day for painting, a light wind and a very comfortable temperature.  I'm not sure if I paint better outdoors, but I still prefer it to painting in the studio.  Popular wisdom seems to share the belief that painting outdoors allows one to more accurately gauge the colors and values of the scene, and that the sensory experience of smells and sounds, combined with the race against the moving sun, contributes to a painting of unique quality.  For me there is something very satisfying about getting out into the world and interacting with all it has to offer.  I often feel fairly uncomfortable as I begin to set up my painting station in the middle of a public space, where I am typically the only one performing such an act, but before I know it I'm lost in the process of applying paint to the canvass, way too immersed to be self-conscious.  An occasional passerby will pause and maybe comment, and when they do it's always positive and encouraging.

Thanks for viewing!

Here are a few of the latest paintings from our new residence, Saint Paul, MN.

Late Summer on Cedar Lake
8×10

Witch's Hat Water Tower
8×10

Bend in the Mississippi
11×14

Now that we are living in a city I have become much more strategic with my painting.  The weekdays consist mainly of me taking care of our ten month old boy, August.  However, at least one day of every week August and I go out to scout for potential painting sights.  He seems to enjoy the long walks into the nooks and crannies of the city, and I enjoy the company.  After returning home, and contingent on Gus napping, I will sort through the photos and create sketches of the ones I like.

Saturday is my day for painting, so with the sight determined I head out.  I believe that limiting myself to this one painting session a week has actually been a good thing for my development as an artist.

Thanks for viewing!

Minneapolis/St. Paul Landscapes

My family and I have arrived in St. Paul, MN.  We've actually been here since the beginning of June, but only recently have I got back into the painting groove.  Here are a few paintings that I've done over the last month.

Loring Park 5"×7"

Fort Snelling 11"×14"

3rd Ave. Pillar 11"×14"

Old Mill   10"×11"

I am finding the urban landscape to be very inspiring.  Beautiful old structures commingling with the natural world.

Thanks for viewing!

Park City Barn 7×14

This is a painting I did a few weeks ago using a photograph reference.  This barn is in Park City, UT;  I took the photo when we were there last summer.  It is a bit monocromatic; in the future I would like to work more color into my grays and neutrals.

It has been almost two weeks since I last painted and it actually feels pretty good.  I think I was beginning to develop a bit of an overuse injury, with the main symptom being that I was becoming increasingly concerned about the end product, and feeling fatigued and frustrated by the process.  I want to apply the less is more approach not only to the construction of an individual painting, but to my painting practice as a whole.  Rather than churning out the paintings with hopes of improvement and recognition, I think it's time to slow down and take a more holistic and sustainable approach.

Thanks for viewing!

Tall Trees 6×9 and Haystack 6×9

I was able to pursue my new approach to painting during my last two plein air outings.  This new approach of scouting sites and making preliminary sketches was helpful.  As I predicted it gave me direction and helped me relax, kind of.  As I was painting the first of these two paintings (the tall trees) I was consistently distracted be the dramatic scene of cumulonimbus clouds unfolding directly behind me, every time I turned around they were stretching higher into the sky.  This scene of clouds was what I was immediately drawn to, but I stayed the course and stuck with my original plan.  Who knows, had I abandoned the original mission and instead followed my emotions maybe the painting would have been that much better.  It seems obvious to me know that painting is an act of balancing the forces of emotion and intellect.

Here are both the sketches and the paintings.

On a side note, my family and I are moving to St. Paul, MN at the end of this month.  I imagine the painting to slow down as the moving process begins.

Thanks for viewing!

Lowden Farm 6×8

I've decided to change my approach to outdoor painting.  After too many unsuccessful attempts my new strategy is to scout potential sites with my camera.  I will then come home and sort through my photographs, making pencil sketches of the ones I like and working on composition and value.  At a later date I will return to the field with my painting supplies and a clear vision of what I want to achieve.  The painting process should be much more enjoyable, I should be much more relaxed in knowing where I'm going to set up, what my basic design will look like, and what my values will be.  The only thing left to do will be to place the right pigment in the right place.  How hard can that be?

This is a painting I did from a photograph.  It's of a very picturesque farm located just west of Walla Walla, WA.

Thanks for viewing!

Homestead 8×10

I got up very early the other morning to go painting.  I ended up at the site of this homestead and when I left the scene my painting looked nothing like it does here.  What happened?  When I got home I decided to make one minor adjustment; of course all things are connected so this one adjustment led me to another, and another, and so on.  I am really starting to understand the importance of having a clear concept or vision in mind before starting a painting.  You know what you are after and you think critically about how best to achieve it, and when you leave the scene the painting is done, you don't have to go home and attack it with the palette knife.

Thanks for viewing!

Snow in the Blues 7×14

This was painted west of town (Walla Walla, WA) on a road that typically has cattle scattered about on either side.  My hope was to paint some cattle, but they were all grouped around a feed area that I just wasn't inspired to paint.  So I chose this scene, empty cattle shelters with the Blue Mountains in the distance.

Thanks for viewing!

Spring is Coming 6×10

The fields have turned green here in Walla Walla.  This was painted around the first of March on an overcast day.  Looking at it now I like the composition, I feel there is a sense of balance and that the eye does not immediately leave the painting, but rather circles its way around to different points of interest within the painting.  I'm reading a book on composition right now and am excited to practice the different theories out in the field.  My problem, however, is that when I arrive at a painting location I find it extremely difficult to slow down and consider various compositions.  Instead, fearing that the scene will suddenly blow away, I find myself in a semi-controlled frenzy, rushing to start painting, and only later do I consider the success or failure of my arrangement.

Thank for viewing!

Art Exhibit

I had my first public art display in February at our local coffee roaster.  After a few years of regular painting and a few months of frame constructing I had enough pieces to make for a decent exhibit.  It was very satisfying and to keep the ball rolling I put up another display at our local Patisserie just yesterday!  So if you are in the area it will be up through March and I believe a couple weeks into April.

Westward 8×12

Came across this location a few weeks ago.  Seemed like a great spot from which to paint.  It had many things going for it, an obvious focal point, some interesting linear perspective with the undulating dirt road, and maybe best of all, it was quiet and peaceful, just occasional gun shots in the distance.  Being that I was so focused on the painting, however, there was only a small portion of my brain considering the possibility of being shot while plein air painting.

Thanks for viewing!

Foggy Morning 8×10

I've been neglecting my blog lately, I guess I just lost the momentum.  Here is a painting that I painted about a month ago, end of January/ beginning of February.  When I left our house it was a blue sky day but as I drove west, descending slightly into the Walla Walla valley, I was engulfed in fog.  When I came to this spot on the Walla Walla river I walked around in circles for about thirty minutes trying to determine a vantage point.  I had a hard time deciding because it was all the same: fog, fog, and more fog.  I ended up going with this one, it seemed to offer a bit of variety with the curve of the river, the bridge, and the tall trees on the right.

Thanks for viewing!

Two Clouds 8×10

I painted this the other day.  It was a balmy 50 degrees and the farmers were burning their fields off in the distance.  As soon as I got my easel prepared a single small brilliant white cloud appeared, I did my best to capture it right away before it disappeared, but then another one appeared, then another (I decided to keep it at two).  This allowed me to relax a little.  That is the thing about painting from nature, there is a push to rush and get it down before it changes.  The trick is to work fast enough to capture some of those brilliant but fleeting effects, but not so fast that your painting becomes a record of every change that occurred.

Thanks for viewing.

Winter 9×12

Here is my most recent painting.  I was able to get outside for this one and it was a bit chilly.  Thankfully I have a very thick down jacket, I'm almost embarrassed to wear it it's so thick, I look extremely top heavy, especially when the hood is up.  I am grateful that I finally have a use for it: standing still in a snow storm for 2.5 hours.  This was a very picturesque scene looking across the valley toward the Blue Mountains with a group of cows in the foreground.  I think I need to work on my painting of leafless trees a bit, but overall I'm pleased with the result.

By the way, I know there are at least two followers of my blog who live in Walla Walla, so for the two of you, and possibly more, I will be displaying a selection of landscape and still life paintings at the Walla Walla Roastery for the month of February.

Thanks for viewing!

October 6×6

I had a short 2-hour window the other morning and decided on a whim to paint this small 6×6 landscape from a photograph.  My experience so far with photographs is that I have a tendency to over work the painting.  Without the moving sun and changing light there is far too much time to think and fuss, which for me leads to a loss of spontaneity, and a dull and static feel to the painting.  I am not suggesting that this painting is full of life, but I am pleased with the result.  To me it has qualities that I desire in a painting.

Thanks for viewing!

Tangerine 6×6

I'm beginning to recognize a recurring theme to my painting process.  I start painting, feel good about the initial monochromatic sketch, have high hopes in the beginning stages of color application, become frustrated and discouraged with the progression of color application, and finally make some desperate gestures with the brush that determine the success or failure of the painting.  In this case the painting was made in those final desperate brush strokes.  The result was that of color being distributed throughout the canvas, unifying the painting.  At least that is how it appears to me.

Thanks for viewing!