A Magical Place

Morning Haze, Mont Saint Michel, 12" x 16"

If you're ever in northwestern France, try to find time for a visit to Le Mont Saint Michel. The site of a Benedictine abbey dedicated to the archangel St. Michael perched atop a tidal island just off the mainland, it presents an absolutely mystical vision as you approach. Though it's a popular tourist site, it's still a charming and interesting place to spend the day and from an artistic perspective it's stunning! This was an interesting piece, in that I first painted the site itself in its true color and then applied the sky wash over it to create the foggy atmosphere, and I then used an additional wash over only Mont Saint Michel to tone it down even more. So it was a bit of a leap of faith that it was going to accomplish the desired effect and not just muck things up!

Mellow Morning

French Farmyard, 12" x 16"

Out for an early morning walk in the small town of Azat Le Riz in France, I passed this farmyard and was drawn to the scene by the wonderful light and the stone buildings. My goal was to capture the quiet calmness of that time of day. By bringing some warmth into the sky and emphasizing the hard edge to the shadowed area you get the sense of the sun rising just behind the old house. I added the geese in the end for more life and interest to the focal point. This painting was one of those few occasions where I felt I had an "ah-ha" moment, and actually implemented some things I had been working toward!

Parisian Pigeon, 16" x 12"

This was kind of a quirky composition I put together. In Paris, I had taken lots of scenery photos, but had also taken one of this pigeon whose appearance I had thought was very distinctive. However, the original setting for the bird was not a particularly exciting one, so I decided to place it in the context of a more attractive view for my painting. The piece turned out to be sort of unusual, but fun I thought! I especially enjoy the way the sky mimics the pigeons colors.

Sun and Surf

Shining Sands, 10" x 14"

I thought this scene of the beach in Forster, NSW Australia, was intriguing because of the dark stormy skies in the distance contrasting with the white strip of sunlit beach on the far side of the bay, along with the bright shoreline in the foreground. The challenge here was painting the surf splashing on the rocks and rolling across the beach. It ended up not being quite as tricky as I'd thought and altogether, I was pretty pleased with the result.

Now Showing!

I am very pleased to announce that beginning in March my work will be represented by the Red Chair Gallery in Bend, Oregon. It is a cooperative gallery that features paintings, pottery, jewelery, fiber arts, mosaic and glass work. Stop in and enjoy some wonderful artwork by many talented Central Oregon artists!

Willamette Valley Morning

 

Amity Morning, 10 1/4" x 14 1/4"

Well, my wife and I just returned from a wonderful two month trip to Australia and I thought it was about time to get back to my blog as well! The beautiful landscape of their eastern coast (NSW) with farmlands surrounded by rolling forested hills and the occasional river flowing by reminded me a bit of the Willamette Valley here in Oregon. Living on the dry side of our state, I always enjoy visitiing the green lushness of the western side. This scene I painted of the early light cutting through the morning mist over the fields near the little town of Amity recalls the calm freshness of a new day.

Joshua Tree

 

Desert Window, 21 3/8" x 12"

Last fall, we visited Palm Springs for a couple of weeks. It was nice to extend summer (temp in the 90°s) for a bit at that time of year , just when the cold is beginning to set in at home. It's very refreshing to see palm trees and relax by the pool in November! Having visited it only briefly before, one excursion I wanted to make was to Joshua Tree National Park, with the hope of getting some photos for painting reference. I especially wanted to capture the morning light and strong shadows. Ironically, we arrived at the park early enough, but had gone to the south entrance and most of the boulder formations and trees are nearer the north side, so by the time we drove through the park, the light had started to change. It's still quite an amazing place however, and I enjoyed translating it into watercolor!