Some Plein Air pictures...

Color Notes

2012-02-16T21:19:00.000-08:00

Done super quick because I spend more time wandering around looking than painting, as usual...

Among the eucalyptus above Lake Anza. 5X7 O/P

Last light at Wildcat Canyon. 6X8 O/P

For both of these I had just enough time to get the broad colors and values fixed before I lost the light. It seems lately, that once the sun goes down it's just instantly dark, but, it's not long til the time change. Also, the countless miles of wandering can be a bit dis-spiriting at times, but it's allowed me to find some new spots, and see old ones in a new light. Can't wait to get back to these locations, I'm prepped with my new studies!

Pre-rain

2012-01-21T12:32:00.000-08:00

The rains are coming now in full force, here are a few recents from brighter sunnier days.

End of the day glow in Tilden. 6x8 O/P

Arrival of fog at Inspiration Point. 5X7 O/P

Still here!

2011-12-06T20:37:00.000-08:00

Just a post of a little painting from this past summer (sigh). I have been painting lately, but...

4th and Camilia in Berkeley, Ca. 6x8 O/P

More Gouache

2011-05-16T20:20:00.000-07:00

I'm no photographer, but I do take loads of photos for reference, and of course they're overwhelmingly landscapes, but in this case the Masai are just such photogenic people I couldn't resist.

Masai Beads. Pencil and Gouache in my 3X5 Moleskine

This quick gouache study is from a set of photos snapped at a Masai women's craft market. I can see the allure for photographers, there were some real magic moments of interaction with these ladies. Some were camera shy, most very curious, and thanks to digital photography, they were able to see themselves instantly and candidly (I didn't see too many mirrors around the village) and I think they really got a kick out of it. I only wish I were a fast enough artist to be able to get on the spot portraits in paint. THAT would have been special!

Some Travel Sketches

2011-04-17T18:37:00.000-07:00

...because I haven't been painting : ( But I have been traveling... Walking the Cotswold Way in October, then a Safari in Tanzania in February. On both trips I was moving too fast for a paint box, but I did have a sketchbook for some quick thumbnails. You take what you can get, right?

All done in a mini Moleskine in Watercolor and Gouache. Still experimenting with the stuff...

4 Sale

2010-10-30T10:13:00.000-07:00

I just dropped these little guys off at the Studio Gallery for their annual "Tiny" show, which is billed as "small pieces for under $400". Check it out, there's some pretty amazing stuff going up on their walls (I got a sneek peek!).

Still at it

2010-10-02T20:17:00.000-07:00

After work paintings that is. I got a little boost from some nice encouragement, and also from this great painting spot I discovered not far from the office. It’s accessed from an easy to pass-by trailhead off of an equally scenic drive heading towards West Marin. I must have driven by this spot millions of times in the decade that I’ve been working in Marin (looking for painting spots no less!), but there it was. Great views of Mt. Tamalpais, the Bay, and of course those quintessentially Californian rolling gold hills. The dog loves it too!

Mt. Tam from the Terra Linda/Sleepy Hollow Divide
Open Space Preserve 5X7 O/P

Sunset Hills, Terra Linda/Sleepy Hollow Divide Open Space Preserve
6X8 O/P

The weather has been gorgeous, even during our mini heat wave.

But it's the light... ahhh...

Caught this moon-rise on the way back down, I'll have to try a nocturne out here soon.

It's always dark when I get back to the car, but what a great hike.

Down by the river

2010-09-26T16:12:00.001-07:00

Made a quick trip to Yosemite the other weekend for a friend's wedding. In between all the socializing, I was able to be a little anti-social and grab this little sketch by the Merced river near Mirror Lake.

Shadows on the Merced 6X8 O/P

Some after work sketches

2010-09-19T13:32:00.000-07:00

Preparing to say farewell to after work, early evening painting sessions. Hoping to squeeze in a few more before the dreaded time change.

Santa Venetia Marsh in Marin near China Camp 6X8 O/P

Hills above China Camp 6X8 O/P

Fresh Air

2010-08-28T20:10:00.000-07:00

Earlier this month, I took a little birthday backpacking trip into the Eastern Sierra (The Big Pine Lakes Basin) with my buddy Frank and my dog Kirkby. It was a tough slog straight up to 10,250 ft. above sea level, and I cursed the heavy painting gear, but it was all worth it when we caught first sight of the lakes. Still, next time I'm hiring the mule train to carry the gear!

Temple Crag at 6:30 am(ish) 6X8 O/P

Beach Rocks at Second Lake 8X10 O/P

I struggled with my paintings as well as the altitude and ended up scraping most of them down. My gear, process and site selection seems to need a little tweaking for mountain travel and light, but I had a great time nonetheless.

My trail buddies

Second Lake from our campsite

Temple Crag from Second Lake

View from Third Lake

Some new-uns

2010-08-03T21:31:00.000-07:00

I've been panicking lately, feeling that I've been wasting precious summer daylight. Gotta step it up!

Mt. Tamalpais from Big Rock Ridge 6X8 O/P

Return of "The Hat" 6X8 O/P

Marin Headlands from Land's End (S.F.) 6X8 O/P

Had some fun paint sessions lately with good buds Ian and Richard. In the first two paintings, I was experimenting with a full value scale block-in in warm tones to try to brighten up my palette, only it seems that I covered it up a little more than I wanted. It may be worth further testing.

Ford Econoline Pickup

2010-07-10T17:35:00.000-07:00

The COOLEST truck, where else but the Berkeley Marina?

1960 something Ford Econoline Pickup in my 3.5"x 5.5" Moleskiene Cashier notebook. Pen, watercolor, and bodycolor.

Hauled Out

2010-06-15T20:57:00.000-07:00

At the Berkeley Marina on a gorgeous sunny day.

The Hazel 'A' 6X8 O/P

Mayday!

2010-05-02T17:43:00.000-07:00

No, not a cry for help, yet... Went painting yesterday with two amazing illustrator/artists and wound up in Tilden Park in Berkeley. This is what I ended up with.

Little Farm, Tilden Park, Berkeley. 6X8 O/P

Mike and Tiffany were working in gouache, a medium I've always struggled with, and came away with beautiful images of this scene. Hopefully they'll post!

New pochade in the wild

2010-04-29T20:09:00.001-07:00

Finally got to take the little Alla Prima Pochade outside for a proper session.

At the Berkeley Marina 6X8 O/P

It's been forever, but I finally got to use the new box. I actually "took it for a spin" way back when I first got it, but that session was unsuccessful, gear wise and especially painting wise. I ended up sending the box back to Ben for a quick modification, he put magnets on the top side of the lid to store the side tray when packed up rather than the bottom (the standard location). It's a small point, but without the change, it meant hving to screw the quick release plate on and off every time I set up and again when packing up. Kind of defeating the purpose of a "quick" release plate. Again, awesome service from a real craftsman, he didn't even charge me for the work, and I'm happy to report that everything works great! I thought I might have an issue with how small the mixing area is (it's REALLY tiny), but it actually made me scrape down the palette more often, which in hind sight is a good thing for me when trying to keep my colors clean. I'm still building my little kit ( I just got a new bag to carry it all in) but that's half the fun when you're a gear junkie : )

Tahoe in Snow

2010-04-18T20:39:00.000-07:00

Started this one outside, but the tree I was under was no shelter for sideways blowing snow.

Truckee River 6x8 O/P

This was as far as I got before being snowed out, a pretty fierce storm blew in pretty quickly forcing a hasty run back to the car. Still, it was more than enough information to let me play with and still be true to the scene (mostly). Once I got home, I saw how horrible my initial lay-in for the foreground river was and altered it for a more interesting angle. I also added a little more color because with the overcast, blizzardy conditions, it was pretty much just a black and white scene. A real nice subtle study in values. I don't know if adding color kills that effect, but it felt like it needed it. Maybe I'll go back and try it again in just grays.

Here's a picture from the previous day, the weather was much clearer, and my long slog uphill schlepping all my painting gear through knee deep snow only got me tired, and bad photographs. Still, scouting around for scenes was really fun, I just need to remember to pack the snow shoes next time. That and a lunch, dang I got hungry!

Spring 2010

2010-03-28T17:51:00.000-07:00

Some weekend stuff...

Near the Sugar factory in Crockett, Ca. 8x8 o/p

Looking North from the Es Anderson Equestrian camp, Tilden Park, Berkeley Hills. 6x8 o/p

New Rig

2010-02-10T20:16:00.000-08:00

Ooooo...!

Well my new pochade from Ben over at Alla Prima arrived last week, ain't she purty? Here it is right after I cut the glass and siliconed it into the palette bed (the ugly white silicone has since dried clear). It's a replacement for the Julian experiment. I really wanted a small paint box that I could carry around and use like a sketchbook for oil sketches, and I think this will fit the bill nicely. At 6X8 it's seriously tiny, but it's got the two key features I was looking for in a little sketchbox: integrated panel storage, and enough clearance in the lid to keep wet paint on the palette. As my buddy Ian says (he just got this guys' big brother) these are just beautifully crafted, with lots of clever design solutions. Maybe I'll go into a deeper review once I get it a little dirty : )

In the top pic, that's a tiny 5X7 panel loaded on the box. A 6X8 pretty much covers the entire mounting area, and slides perfectly into the lid.

Mt Tam from the Albany Bulb 5X7 O/P

Between Bouts of Heavy Rain

2010-02-01T19:16:00.000-08:00

Looking NE from the hills at Del Valle Regional Park 6X8 O/P

Looking north up the coast from the Muir Beach overlook 6X8 O/P

Del Valle Regional Park
Muir Beach Overlook

Leftover turkey

2010-01-04T19:14:00.000-08:00

Just getting around to posting this from a Thanksgiving trip to Bishop, it may be a little stale ; )

The White Mountains in low clouds. 6x8 O/P

I finally got around to testing out the little Julian Box over the Thanksgiving day weekend, and discovered a few key points. First, don't try a new setup in 30 degree temperatures and 20 mph winds. Second, if using a bare wood palette, make sure the wood is "seasoned" first or it will suck the oil out of your paints and make mixing (already thick and frozen paint) a real bitch. Third, the solid frame slides that hold the panel in place, make it difficult to paint to the edges of your panel. And finally, even if you're just experimenting with a new set-up, don't skimp on good brushes, always use the best brushes you have.

Everyone's a critic...

Even with, or perhaps because of the limitations of this session, it was actually really fun! The light was changing fast, so I had to fix a composition in my head and then paint like mad while it was still fresh in memory. I'm thinking that this race the clock mentality is the way it's actually supposed to be (at least for quick studies) as it really makes me more focused as I try to break down a scene into it's most basic components. And the added plus of fighting with your materials, and trying to keep your easel from blowing away only adds to the excitement. I finished this in under 40 minutes, because on top of the changing light, I could'nt feel my fingers anymore. Which brings up one final point, when painting in cold conditions, limit the amount of bare metal your fingers come in contact with eg. frozen paint tubes, leatherman tools that you need to use the pliers to open the frozen paint tubes, metal paint scrapers, wing nuts on your pochade box, tripods and tripod heads, and even the ferrules on your paint brushes.

So in the end, I'll have to give the Julian box a 'fail' as an oil paint box. Probably the biggest drawback it has, is the lack of space between the palette and the stored panel. This means that you can't leave paint on the palette and close up the box, which to me, means longer prep and cleanup time, as well as wasting paint. Who knows, it might still find a new calling as a sketching/watercolor box, but that may require a few mods... : )

Driving Southeast to paint the Southwest

2009-12-16T19:18:00.000-08:00

The Matt Smith Workshop in the Superstition Mountains Arizona

From Horse Mesa, Tonto Natl. Forest 8x6 o/p

As I said last time, I’ve wanted to paint the desert for a long time. I fell in love with the South West many years ago when I hitchhiked around New Mexico after college. The light, and the landscape stayed lodged in my brain, and I wasn’t even painting landscapes back then. So this workshop was just the excuse to pack up my paints and drive east. This was my second workshop with Matt, but this workshop was much smaller, only eight students (all of them really cool too!), which is quite indulgent, allowing for more one on one time with the instructor. I have to say about Matt, that apart from being an incredible painter at the top of his game, he is also a remarkable teacher. He has an easy rapport with students, communicates ideas and opinions clearly and honestly (and is a heck of a nice guy to boot who loves his wine almost as much as I do). So when you team up Matt with his artist/wife/workshop organizer/den mother Tracy Avant-Smith, you’ve just doubled down on good people!

Unfortunately, just about everything I painted during the workshop is really horrible so I can’t bring myself to post them, but I’m not too bothered by that. I go into workshops with an open mind to experiment with different approaches and maybe new materials. This workshop was no exception, and I really feel like I picked up a lot. I wish I could verbalize all that I learned, but I guess that’s the point of taking a class in the first place. I’m one of those people who learns from seeing things done and then doing it (kinesthetic?), so I found it really helpful when Matt would demonstrate a particular point directly on my canvas. . It really loosens you up when you’re reminded how easy it is to put something down, as well as taking things out, like an undo button (in oils anyway). I’m often guilty of seeing marks as precious, or I’m too lazy to experiment, but that’s really the point, isn’t it? Matt constantly reinforces this trial and error method, and I found it a helpful relief when he would say something like “I’m not one of those guys like Richard Schmidt who can nail a color or value on the first try” Yeah, me either! Disclaimer: because Matt was "hands on" I can't really claim all credit on these paintings. They're shown just as a record of the workshop and largely unfinished (I paint slow...). For instance, the prickly pear shown below, wouldn't have the "pop" that it does if I hadn't been shown what adding the dark passages behind the plant do for the composition as a whole. The actual background was a very bright sand. Inventing and experimenting like that is imperative, and it's too easy to get sucked into "recording" a scene rather than "creating" a painting.

Prickly pear near The Peralta Rd. Trailhead Tonto Natl. Forest 6x8 o/p

Here’s a fun tidbit though:
I learned to limit my earth colors ( yellow ocher, burnt sienna and the like) in my distant color passages. Use them only as modifiers, as earth colors are just too warm to sit back in the distance. Instead, mix the color base from your primaries, a tough thing to get a hang of, as all those desert colors ARE earth tones. Look at your scene and determine which of the primaries your hill (for example) is based on. Is it blue or more on the red side? Then start from there, rather than starting with (mostly) burnt sienna and trying to cool it down (it will just get too chalky). So for my palate, distant earthtones were mixed with alizarin crimson, cad yellow lemon, ultramarine blue and white, (all cool colors) with a smidge of ocher and sienna here and there. (Well, it was something like that, I’ll mix some again and confirm it). This reached comical heights as one by one, people were banned from having earth colors on their palates. I had burnt sienna scraped off my own palate.

From Horse Mesa Tonto Natl. Forest 6x8 o/p

Painting the desert is challenging to begin with. Values and colors can be pretty close depending on the time of day, and you’re challenged to push and find contrasts where there may not be any. To top it off, we were plagued by overcast skies most of the week, and even got rained on, on our last day. I’m not making excuses though, I still want to go back and paint more. That magic hour right before sunset, in the desert, and man does everything just come alive, even driving on the freeway is beautiful, just something about that light...

Joshua Tree N.P.

2009-12-07T19:41:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of last month I took a little road trip...
I've been jonesing to paint the desert for the longest time, so when I saw that Matt Smith had a workshop planned for the Superstition Mountains, how could I NOT go? These are two quickies done in Joshua Tree, the top one done on my way to Phoenix, the other done on my way home.

A Joshua Tree along the trail back from the Wall Street Mill in Joshua Tree N.P. O/P 6x8

Sunset at the Cottonwood Spring Oasis, Joshua Tree N.P. O/C 6x8

San Quentin Ca.

2009-08-31T20:11:00.000-07:00

You'd never know from the peaceful setting that I was walking distance from death row, but there I was. This is some kind of pump house or something on Main St. heading to the main gate of the penitentiary. I drive by this spot everyday on my way to work, and decided to explore this beautiful little peninsula on my way home.

Down the street from San Quentin 6x8 O/P

There's a rather quaint little community outside the gates, and some stunning views overlooking the Bay, no wonder developers are salivating over the prospect of shutting down the prison. There was beautiful late afternoon light on this little structure just crying out to be painted, but the best light hit just as I was wrapping up ( of course!), the sky went all purples and reds, but it was just too late to add it's full intensity to my little sketch. I did sneak some in, but it's really another painting. Enough chasing of the light for one session. Even though the final product isn't much more than future reference for another painting, this was one of those sessions that make you glad to be an outdoor painter. Despite being a stones throw from the Richmond Bridge, it was somehow quiet, or maybe just muted. The weather was perfect, with balmy, gentle neo-Hawaiian trade winds, and then of course there was the evening light show. Perfect.

Yosemite Rocks

2009-08-12T18:51:00.000-07:00

Rocks near the "Devil's Elbow" on the Merced River 8x8 O/P

A broken boulder on the Merced heading out of the Valley 8x10 O/P

A USGS marker? This was hammered into a big slab where I painted the above picture, way too close to the road.

Had a great birthday weekend in Yosemite. Perfect weather, did four paintings, and I even scored the very last camping permit in the Valley. Can't believe I haven't painted in two months, and it showed in my first attempt (which I've since burned). On Saturday I decided to hike up to Upper Yosemite Falls with my not-so lightweight paint gear in search of Germans, Brazilians, the French, and some great views, and I found them all in great abundance. The painting was no success, but it's hard to feel bad in such a beautiful spot. However I did curse myself for carrying all that gear for a "warm-up" panel. I've REALLY got to get my Thumb Box in order. After descending from my 7 mile stroll, there was still light left, so I was able to knock out a quickie of the Cathedral Rocks from near the base of El Capitan.

Sunday I kept to the river and walked down the Merced from the El Cap Bridge to a bend called the "Devil's Elbow". I was in deep concentration when I saw a little movement out of the corner of my eye, and looked up to see a little Black bear right behind the rocks I was painting. My reverie was broken by an ugly stream of tourists stopping their cars (in the middle of the road) and chasing down the poor bugger for a photo (into the middle of the road). Wildlife paparazzi. I didn't get the satisfaction of seeing the fuzzy little guy's mother chasing the tourist's though, too bad.

Cathedral Rocks 6x8 O/P

More Clouds

2009-06-13T21:27:00.001-07:00

Clouds Over Zephyr Cove 8x10 O/P

Went up to Tahoe to attend a quick painting workshop, and it rained pretty good on Friday and Saturday. This was done on Sunday, and the sky was spectacular...

Cloud Study

2009-06-01T17:11:00.001-07:00

Paso Robles Hammerhead 8x8 O/P

Spent a relaxing and productive weekend visiting some wonderful friends at their family ranch in Paso Robles. This was done in the shade under one the many great oaks on the property. After catching a gopher snake in the yard (by the tail!), I also kept an eye out for rattlers. I painted this very quickly... : )

Bayside

2009-05-11T17:26:00.001-07:00

Dockside Crane 6x8 O/P

Stumbled upon a great spot a while ago and just got back to it last week for a quick after work paint session. Lots of cool boats, old and new and lots of cool old rusty junk, not to mention an honest to gooodness Victory Ship/museum. What was really cool, was there was no one around except one old guy who rode by on his bike and exclaimed "Plein Air" then gave me the thumbs up. True story!

Exercise

2009-04-26T22:01:00.000-07:00

Inspired by the bold colors of Mike Dutton and Bill Cone, I decided a little exercise was in order.

Lunch time behind Costco in Novato 6x8 oil on cheap ass cardboard

There are a number of things that have been bothering me about my paintings lately, and I wanted to address them with this sketch. I've noticed on several paintings, that my colors are looking muddy and also my brush work seems to be lacking finesse, and lastly, back to color, I feel I've been approaching color too literally. So with this sketch, done quickly during lunch, I tried to really concentrate on these issues (with the exception of brushwork, which I chose to make a non-issue altogether by focusing on color as very basic SHAPES). For starters, I did this painting on cheap ass card board, which due to it's unfinished surface, really sucks the moisture/medium out of your paints. This forced me to do a couple of key things when mixing and applying color. You can't be lazy (which I've found myself getting lately) or stingy with your paint. You have to really mix a big pile of color, and lay it on thick or else you can' get any color down at all. Doing this, makes you more aware of the color you're mixing, not just idly adding dabs here and there, you have to be decisive, which can lead to boldness! So active thought in color mixing and application was one thing I tried to work on. I continually had to fight the urge to dabble, instead mixing a pile of color for EACH color note. Color choice was the other thing I tried to play with, I like the expressive use of color used by the Impressionists as well as the Tonalists, and I'm trying to keep in mind how they implemented color by pushing and exaggerating (even substituting) various colors for effect and mood. The painting above is godawful, but I really feel like it was a valuable lesson for me in concentration and being truly conscious. Which of course brings up all other kinds of debates about intuition and going with the flow or being in the zone. I've never claimed to have any answers.

This next painting, done the same day, basically chucks away everything I tried in the previous painting : ) It was the end of the day, and I was getting shut down again trying to find a nice spot to paint in Marin (how can you NOT find something in China Camp? Sheesh!) When Mike texted me that he wanted to paint in Berkeley. How could I resist? I was saved! Well it was blowing a gale out at the Albany bulb, so we decided on an old stand by, the cement plant on 2nd and Cedar. The light was perfect when we rolled up, which of course meant that it would be gone in about 15-20 minutes, which it was. We finally had to call it quits when the industrial sodium street lights kicked on. But, the lights also came on at the cement factory, and that will make a really cool nocturne! Another time...

Berkeley Cement Plant 6x8 O/P

An Early Bird Returns

2009-04-24T11:57:00.000-07:00

Got up early on Tuesday to hit the hills with a new flock of Early Birds, and a few returning ones. It was a gorgeous day and I really enjoyed being surrounded by some truly great artists, I hope they post their pics over at the Early Bird Site.

Mike's Experiment 6x8 O/P

I love seeing Bill and Mike's pieces over at the Early Bird site, their expressive use of color is nothing short of inspirational. And speaking of inspirational, Bill has a show up over at the Studio Gallery of some absolutely stunning pastel paintings of the Sierra that he's been hoarding for the last few years. See it NOW! What are you waiting for? You can see a few on his blog too.

Away from the hills

2009-04-16T10:24:00.000-07:00

Haven't been having much luck painting "nature" lately, so here's a truck.

Cement plant truck @ 2nd and Cedar, Berkeley Ca. 6x8 o/p

And some lunch-time sketches from the front seat of my car.

The devils tools

2009-04-12T14:05:00.000-07:00

You know what they say about idle hands and all... Well my motivation for slinging paint has been pretty low, so rather than slip into black holes of despair, I thought I'd continue my quest for going ultra light with my gear. I picked up this Julian Thumb Box from Utrecht a while ago as it was on sale and looked even more compact than my Openbox M. My thinking is that if I make it easier to bring my paints around, I 'd be more likely to use them. Plus, I've been finding that I've been doing a heck of a lot of 6x8's with a limited palette, so I don't really need to carry around as much stuff. Anyway, the box seems to be a good size, but I needed to make some mods to be truly useful. First, I fabricated a new brass hinge lock mechanism as the old one was entirely too flimsy AND it wouldn't allow the box lid to open beyond 90 degrees. I broke out the power drill, the Dremel, and some brass stock and shamefully copied the mechanism from the Open box M. It's not pretty, but it really does work well. Next I added a tripod mounting bracket to the underside as I couldn't really see using the thumb hole. I may still add a beefier hinge to the back to supplement the two flimsy ones inside, and I'll also create a vertical panel holder adapter. Currently, the lid can only hold horizontal format 6x8s.

The Julian Thumb Box with new hardware (the junk on the right side of the box).

That palette is way too clean...

Quick release tripod mount.

In a slump

2009-04-05T20:58:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to work through a painting slump, and trying different approaches. Here's another limited palette painting, just white, ultramarine blue yellow ocher, and maybe a touch of burnt sienna, I can't be sure. The idea for me was to concentrate on values. Painted on the cheapest piece of throw away cardboard I could find (packaging from an Ikea shelf, I've got a nice stash to play with now!).

Berkeley Hills, just off of Claremont. 6x8 Oil on cardboard.

Here's another that started out with the limited palette, and then at the end, I added a little light green to the hillsides. I was surprised how close I could get to the vibrant green value with just blue and ocher. The added green helped to give a little pop to the foreground. Both of these were done on pretty hazy days, I'm curious if this palette will work in different lighting conditions. I'll be trying different color combinations, so we'll see what shakes out.

TildenPark along the Skyline trail. 6x8 O/P

Let it snow!

2009-01-27T16:58:00.000-08:00

Across from Meeks Bay, Lake Tahoe 6x8 O/P

I was up in Tahoe for a friends birthday the other weekend, and got in a few oil sketches while I was supposed to be snowboarding : ) Mixed success, but I found that the paintings done at the very last moments of sunlight, when I really had to move fast turned out better than the ones where I had more time to work on them (pride keeps me from posting the REALLY rotten one). Reminds me of when I first started painting with Ian during lunch breaks at work. There was a crazy rush in trying to get a painting done in 45minutes! Other than a few random blobs of white at the tops of peaks, I’ve never really painted any snow scenes. I found it pretty fun and not as intimidating as I had built it up in my head to be, but then maybe that's just ignorance being bliss. The Meeks Bay scene was done in about 25 minutes partly because I only had 25 minutes of light, but also because a big blank field of snow is really easy to block in!. I looked for my big shapes and broke down them down into their local color and the rest was just edges.

Before Eagle Lake on the Eagle Falls trail. Lake Tahoe. 5x8 O/P

This Eagle Lake pic didn't turn out quite the way I imagined it. It was a beautiful, but somewhat icy hike back into Desolation Wilderness. I took it for granted and dawdled and gawked at the scenery as the light slipped away and shadows changed, which led to the inevitable and dreaded "chasing of the light". Took more than a couple of hours to slave away on this, if you can believe it. But it WAS a beautiful HIKE.

Overlooking Vikingsholm on Emerald Bay 5x8 O/P

I did however have way more fun painting Emerald Bay. After a morning of falling on my ass snowboarding, I had had enough and made a hasty drive to this gorgeous lookout with just enough daylight to warrant a quick setup. The adrenaline was pumping, and not just because I was precariously perched on an icy slope. The light was moving fast and I really wanted to capture the mood of this spot. This was one of the quickies, maybe an hour or so.

Top Dog

2009-01-07T16:45:00.000-08:00

Our dog Kirkby on a foggy day at Lost Rocks 8x8 o/p
done from one of my photos.

Ok, it's a "studio" painting not a Plein Air painting, but I couldn't resist playing more with the limited palette (plus it was a great X-mas present for my girlfriend). I don't really have a painting studio set up, I've never had the room, which is why 99.9% of my paintings are done outside. So it was a great learning experience for me in the limitations of indoor lighting. Even though I set up my easel near a window in our sun-filled extra room, I still had to paint alot of this in artificial light. I had a "daylight" photo bulb in one photo lamp, a "GE Reveal" lightbulb that's touoted to have an "extended spectrum" or something like that in another photo lamp and I also had a high powered halogen work light. I thought that the mix of these would give me a balanced lightsource, but even with all those lights I could really tell that I was missing a swath of colors, and that seeing all the subtleties were gone. A bit like driving at night with sunglasses. You can stay on the road, but you know there's a whole lot of stuff you're not seeing. If anyone has a good indoor lighting set they'd like to share, I'm all ears. I took a few progress pics of this one too.

Here's where a preliminary drawing paid off for me. This was my original drawing, but after I had it transferred to my panel, there was just something about the placement that bothered me. I realized I had drawn him in too close to the top edge, which especially after it's framed would more than likely chop off the top of his head. Also, I noticed that his head was a little too centered. So I took out a fresh panel and transferred the drawing at a smaller size and moved him a little off-center. Subtle changes, and a pain in the butt, but better to have caught it in pencil than paint!

Blocked in with very thin washes

Hot Tub

2009-01-06T09:34:00.000-08:00

Chip's boat the Hot Tub 6x8 o/p

Next from my cold dreary X-Mas painting sessions is this little experiment in using a limited palette. I've been kind of low from a string of rotten attempts, that I've been in a "can't get any worse so I may as well try something new" phase. Case in point was my approach to painting this little piece (and another I'll post later). I started with a carefully drawn pencil sketch, partly because it's harder to fake perspective and proportions in architecture and cars and boats, but also the drawing helped me resolve compositional and detail issues. Next I did a more thorough tonal block-in, which I found really helped me work out my values on this pretty low key scene. Also the gray lighting conditions really lent itself to playing with a limited palette, something I've been meaning to get back to for a while. And lastly, I used a smaller brush to finish up the detail work! All stuff I rarely do and I also had the consistent overcast conditions to thank for letting me relax and take my time and think, rather than throw down paint in a frenzy against changing light. Richard Schmidt in "Alla Prima" says that this is why he likes to paint in these conditions.

Chip said he hadn't formally named the boat, but if he had, he would have called her "Hot Tub". He put a hot rod Cobra V-8 engine in it hence "hot" and the tub part, well... Here's some progress shots that I thought to take AFTER I had covered up the initial drawing *sigh*

Initial block-in.

In progress..

Check with the boss and call it a day!

New paintings from the old year

2009-01-05T16:41:00.001-08:00

Looking out over Cox Creek 8x10 O/P

Well I dragged my paints all the way home to Virginia, so I was damned if I wasn't going to put them to use! The first few were pretty rusty, and this is the only one I could stomach to post so far. I've got a couple of sisters (you can say that when you have six of 'em) who live on Kent Island in Maryland just north of Annapolis on the Chesapeake Bay. Painting out there this time of year is tricky for me for a few reasons. Overcast light, fast moving clouds, and very subtle colors (see: gray). Finding a dynamic composition in such flatness is also tough for a guy who loves to paint in the Sierra and the Berkeley Hills. It was damn cold, and I was (am) out of practice. The sky was pretty dramatic though, and I need lots and lots of practice with my skies (Turner was famous for his numerous cloud studies and look where it got him!) so I thought I'd focus on that. More to come!

Buttermilk Country

2008-12-08T11:43:00.000-08:00

Looking S/W towards Basin Mountain (?) behind a rocky outcrop on Mc Gee creek. 8x10 O/P

Check out Mike Dutton's painting from the same day. Mike started later than me and caught that glorious magic hour light skimming the tops of the peaks looking N/E.

Thanksgiving on the East Side

2008-12-04T16:39:00.000-08:00

East side of the Sierra that is. Took a nice trip the week of Thanksgiving over to Bishop with a side trip to Bodie hoping for a little bouldering and sketching. Did very little of both! Here's a quick watercolor sketch in a Fabriano sketch book, done after a great day bouldering.

A couple scribbles in my mini watercolor moleskiene from a morning trip to Bodie. I had camped just south of Bridgeport so I could get to Bodie first thing in the morning. I woke up to a gorgeous sunrise and chilly 20 degree temps. I could have spent all day there roaming around, but it was so damn cold, and I got really hungry... : )

I did manage to get in an oil painting, I'll post it when I can get around to taking a pic.
CYA!

Denali 2

2008-09-30T11:15:00.000-07:00

Finally took some pics of the oil sketches I did up in Denali, and the reasons they look muddy are 1) my crappy photography, 2) my muddy painting, and 3) it really looked like that due to mostly overcast conditions. Despite the overcast, there were times when the heavens opened up and the most amazing fall colors just exploded in front of you. Painting up there was definitely challenging, and I'm not just making excuses for these paintings, I actually enjoyed the different challenges. That's what makes you better, right? Well the weather was obviously the primary one, as I said, it was mostly heavy overcast and a few days of rain too. When we found a scene we liked, with dramatic lighting contrasts, it was more than likely to change in a heart beat. Those clouds move fast. Wind was another factor, it's what drove those fast moving clouds and was at times a little too stiff to set up an easel and canvas that are only too efficient at mimicking a sail or a kite in flight. Wind and weather of course are not exclusive to Alaska, but they can be just a little more extreme up there. What was a little more frustrating was limited access to roam. It sounds funny, because Denali N.P. is probably the most easily accessible of all wilderness areas in all the U.S. Parks system, but our timing was such that we landed there in Moose rutting season, so the usual "roam anywhere you want to" policy was limited to "roadside only". And with only 15 miles of accessible road (not counting the $30 shuttle), and less than ideal weather, options quickly grew slim. I'm still learning anyway, so any bit of mileage on canvas is good for me. Quickly changing conditions, have been teaching me to quickly lay down my ideas, and I can feel that I'm getting a little better lately. On this trip, I had one composition laid in (in line work) that had to be abandoned due to weather, one total scrape down because it was too ugly, but the rest were done or at least close enough to finished that when the weather turned for the worse, I was able finish the few remaining bits later. It's the mantra for the teachers I've had and have read, to lay in your broad values early. So when I do that, and the scene changes in front of me, and I'm able to finish a sketch because I've got the structure down, it's a real "aaaaa, so that's why" moment. Unfortunately though, that won't help a crap composition, or poor drawing, but at least you can see early enough before you invest too much time and paint so you can still scrape it down!
As Pablo mentioned in the comments for the last post, there's a great PBS series on Plein Aire painting featuring Matt Smith, Kenn Backhaus, and Jean LeGassick as they paint in Denali and other spots in Alaska. This series was the direct inspiration for this trip, as I think Frank had heard of their trip before the show came out, and also heard stories from Ralph Oberg who apparently has made several trips to Denali. This series is a must see, not only for following these remarkable artists and hearing their musings on painting, but also to hear of the history of painting in Alaska. I had never heard of the great Sydney Laurence, or Belmore and George Brown, and the series shows some of their amazing inspirational work. These guys mastered plein aire in ALASKA! On GLACIERS! Man, I feel so wimpy : ) Who could turn down this call of the wild?

Along the Nenana river, just outside the Park. 4.5x8 O/P
Our first day in Alaska, and we were amazed that the rain held off just long enough. I had been checking the weather forecasts before leaving Ca. and all I saw was rain, rain, and more rain. The truth was though, that it was more like typical Colorado weather, where the weather moved in fast but could also leave just as quickly.

I think this was Riley Creek, which feeds into the Nenana. 8x10 O/P

Along the park road looking south. 6x8 O/P
We were filmed by a Japanese film crew here for a story on the activities in Denali! If anyone gets Asahi TV, look for two scraggily painters in Denali!

Some of the Alaska Range behind the Thorofare River (dry)near the Eilson Center. 8x10 O/P

A long bus ride (4hrs each way) to get this sketch. We were again photographed by several tourists while we painted, including full video by a very nice German guy. I guess people just got tired of taking pics of the 'other' wildlife in the park ; )

Looking south down the Savage River (great name!) 6x8 O/P

This was at the last mile on the road (mile 15) that you were allowed to drive a private vehicle on. Had most of the painting done, when a giant squall came rolling in forcing us to beat a hasty retreat to the truck!

North, to Alaska!

2008-09-17T15:56:00.000-07:00

I just got back from a painting trip to Denali National Park in the Alaskan interior with my buddy Frank Serrano, and damn was it beautiful up there! We flew into Anchorage where we rented a camper, then drove four hours north to the park, it was so easy. The weather was chilly, and mostly (heavily) overcast with a few showers and wind storms here and there just to test your plein aire mettle, so needless to say, I completed far fewer canvasses than I had hoped for. But I can't really say that I was disappointed because I took a ton of photos, saw all the "big five" animals in the park (and then some), viewed Denali (Mt McKinley) at least twice which I'm told is very rare indeed, and even got a few pages done in the mini moleskiene sketchbook while waiting for weather to improve (while sitting in the cozy camper!). I'll post the oils when I get a chance to take some snaps, in the mean time peep these if you please.

That's me on the left. We hopped a shuttle bus (the only way to get this far) to the Eielson center 66 miles and four hours down the only road in the park. We had just enough time to get a quick painting done before a squall moved in bringing heavy clouds and rain.

Rusty

2008-08-22T14:53:00.000-07:00

Yep, it’s definitely been a while since my last post… I’m not saying I’m not lazy (because I am) but I DID have to move house, which pretty much ate up any painting time I may have had. The result was a tough struggle when I finally busted out the paints. Let me know if you see a progression from the bottom image (oldest) to the top one (just last weekend). I’ve got an even more recent painting from last night when I tried to capture the Fox Theater in downtown Oakland with Mike Dutton, but oil and scanner beds don’t mix.

Above Lake Chabot 6x8 O/P

China Camp 5x7 O/P

Fishing Boat @ China Camp 5x7 O/P

Schnitzer Steel @ the Port of Oakland 5x7 O/P

With the exception of the bottom image (at the Port of Oakland) these small sketches were done right at last light, which was a result of lack of planning, but the cool thing is that it really forces you to be focused. There's no time to let your mind wander, as you have to race to get your info down before you lose the scene. Even when the results are less than stunning, the process is exhilarating and a little liberating. More soon!

Mt Diablo... again

2008-06-12T18:33:00.000-07:00

A quickie from last month from one of my default spots. This is in the field at the crossroad of Claremont Ave., Grizzly Peak Blvd. and Fish Ranch Rd. in the Oakland/Berkeley hills. I just love this spot because there are so many views packed into such a small area. You can stand in the field and spin around 360 degrees and have a compelling composition. Factor in time of day and you have a life time of paintings. Added bonus on this day was a guy practicing his bagpipes at the top of the field, cool!

Grizzly Peak Blvd. X Claremont O/P 8x10

Memorial Day Weekend

2008-05-29T18:13:00.000-07:00

A few more sketches in the mini Moleskiene from a climbing trip up to Klamath in Northern Ca.

Header madness!

2008-05-22T19:00:00.000-07:00

Slowly but slowly, I'm customizing this old blog. The new header is from sometime last year, probably summer by the looks of the hills. Picked by default because it was roughly the right size: )
The type placement (which I don't know how to adjust up and down) offends my design eye. I'll get it eventually!

I've been bad...

2008-05-01T19:22:00.000-07:00

...about making time for painting lately, and when I do finally get out, I'm faced with more tossers than keepers. Sheesh! and my last post was so full of promise... To at least make a vain attempt to keep my eyes and brush hand from completely rusting over, I've been trying to get in an occasional lunchtime sketch in my mini watercolor Moleskiene. So here's some not so recent stuff. Oh yeah, for the 5 of you out there who might be following this, I think I got the comment thingy working. Fire away!

Steep way down from the Ivan Dickson trail at Briones Regional Park

6x8 O/P

Hooray for Daylight Saving Time!

2008-03-18T18:58:00.001-07:00

That means more time to paint in the evenings! To celebrate, I went to one of my favorite spots up in the Oakland/Berkeley Hills. It was a late start and I was thinking I was going to lose light fast, so I rushed out this sketch. I was psyched to see so much light left at 6:30, and it's only going to get better (the light that is, and hopefully the paintings too)!

Grizzly Peak @ Claremont O/P 6x8

Here's one done on Busy San Pablo Ave. in Berkeley a few weeks earlier. Lots of people and cars and noise all of which I edited and blocked out : )

Woodshop on San Pablo O/P 6x8

And wrapping things up, I just found out over the weekend, that this one sold from the EarlyBird Painters show to someone from L.A. That's three paintings sold from my first show. Now I can buy a house ; )

Missouri Lounge O/P 8x10

Point Molate

2008-02-29T12:17:00.000-08:00

I struggled to find a composition of a great old building with crenulated walls out at Point Molate at the base of the Richmond/San Rafael bridge, but the light just wasn't working for me. I think it's more of a morning light kinda place. So I followed that 18o degree rule and did this tree in front of another little building (also with those cool castle like crenulations).

Point Molate generator building O/P 6x8

Studio Gallery opening and some nice guys

2008-02-25T00:18:00.000-08:00

So the opening went really well. The rain held out (mostly), saw some great friends old and new, and… (drum roll) I actually sold two paintings! These two:

Steel Plant, Berkeley O/P 6x8

Aquatic Park, Berkeley O/P 5x7

The second one, done at the AquaticPark in Berkeley was sold to a nice chap from Seattle who happened to be wandering by the gallery earlier in the day. It’s a pretty gray little piece, and I can only imagine that it reminded him of home ; ) Thanks to all, especially Jennifer and Rab at the Studio Gallery for making it all happen. Anyway, I’m feeling uncharacteristically chatty so I might as well update the ol’ blog a bit and add a few more links, and recognize a few good people. If I were hip, I’d be giving a “shout out” to these peeps, but I hate that phrase, unless I’m drinking with a Kiwi or an Aussie. The guy to blame for my addiction to this oil painting en Plein Air stuff is the super talented and all around nice guy Ian Berry. I worked with this guy back in the Lucas Arts days, and he invited me to come out and paint during lunch. I was doing these dull little watercolor sketches at the time, but Ian inspired me to switch back to oils and it was all over after that. I even have the exact day in one of my sketchbooks.

Check out the date! After LucasArts, I went to work for Activision at their Z-Axis studio in Foster City for a while, but eventually transferred up to Novato at their Toys For Bob studio where Ian had landed a job too. We resumed our lunch time paint sessions until Ian moved to New York (sniff…: (. Ok, a few more influences. My first Plein Air workshop just luckily happened to be with Matt Smith and Ralph Oberg in the Colorado Rockies, I just can’t say enough about these guys. Both talented, generous and supportive artists at the top of their game. Truly a remarkable week. The next workshop I took was Frank Serrano’s in the Sierra just last fall. Met some great people, the painting sites around June LakeTuolumne were beautiful, and I got a new painting buddy. Stay tuned for Jimmy and Frank’s Alaskan painting adventure in September. Besides the Studio Gallery here’s another gallery that bears mention, The Thomas Reynolds Gallery in San Francisco. I first discovered this amazing little gallery a few years ago completely by accident while wandering Fillmore St. It was so easy to miss, but it was one of those serendipitous little finds that happen every now and then in life. Besides having impossibly good taste in art Thomas is a gentleman in the true sense of the word. Recently, he generously took the time to give this artist, his honest and insightful (and yes it was solicited) opinion on some pieces I brought by the gallery. During this impromptu critique, I was treated to several colorful local characters who dropped by. This isn’t just a gallery, it’s a neighborhood institution! It was also through this gallery that Kim and I discovered the art of Terry Miura. We were both so taken by Terry’s work that we eagerly await each new show, in hopes of new work from this Sacramento based artist. Kim surprised me on my last birthday by taking me to Sacramento for one of Terry’s open studio evenings. I guess the theme of this post is “nice guys”, and Terry was no exception. He couldn’t have been more personable, and we spent an enjoyable evening drinking wine, and discussing art. Now that I’ve brought up Terry, he’s a perfect segue to my next topic here, and that’s the sharing of artistic knowledge. No not me, I’ve got too far til I can start imparting any pearls of wisdom, but Terry, through his blog really does just that. Rummage back through some of his posts and you’ll find a virtual art class on the web with salient thoughts on everything from color theory to design. The last link I’ll mention has much the same sense of sharing of artistic knowledge. You may or may not know James Gurney from his Dinotopia books, and if you don’t, crawl out from under that rock. You will be as blown away as I was to see Mr. Gurney’s amazing Plein Air paintings and sketches. Terry Miura and James Gurney’s blogs are must reads on the web. They are wonderfully personal accounts of working artists and their processes, so bookmark them now! Many more links to share, but for now I need to re-think the title of this blog. Laconic, yeah right… : )

Time flies...like an Early Bird!

2008-02-21T18:20:00.001-08:00

Whooops! Look how time flies. Somewhere between too busy and too lazy, I just plain forgot to post notice of this group show that I’ll be in. It’ll only be up for a few weeks and the opening reception is this Saturday. It's a painting show (duh) and the people in the show are some (mostly) new to me friends who loosely organized to get up at the crack of dawn before our "real" jobs and go out and paint "en plein air". See our blog listed to the right to see the talent. So it's the Early Bird Painters Show! Here's the particulars:

Wednesday, February 20th - Sunday, March 9th

Reception: Saturday, February 23rd, 4-8 pm

And here's the Gallery info:

Studio Gallery

1718A Polk Street (between Clay & Washington)

San Francisco, CA 94109

415.931.3130

Check it out here

For those of you who'll miss it, here are some of the pieces I'll have up at the show.

Cement plant in Berkeley. Oil on panel 8x10

The road out of China Camp. Oil on panel 6x8

The view looking south at Pirates Cove near Muir Beach. Oil on panel 8x8

Hope to see ya at the show!

A few more from Yosemite

2008-02-06T10:01:00.000-08:00

Made it out to Yosemite a few times last year (three to be exact), but it's never enough...
Here's a stand of trees (I don't think they're aspens) in front of Yosemite Falls in May.

Oil on panel 8x10

The same trees in November. I loved the hot spark of light behind the trees. Everything was glowing like embers.

Oil on panel 6x8

Another in the Valley from the trip in May.

Oil on panel 6x8

I'll see if I can dig up some from Tuolumne that I did in Frank Serrano's fall workshop. Thanks to Mike Dutton for giving me "tips of the day" on blogging (see the link to his excellent site on the right).That's it for now!

Half Dome

2008-01-23T11:58:00.001-08:00

Oil on panel 6x8

Testing out this new blog thing. Let's see if it works...

Artwork coming soon

2007-11-02T17:17:00.001-07:00

hopefully...