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!

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.

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!

Dordogne Countryside

Dordogne River View, 10 1/4" x 14 1/4"

I thought this as a pretty scene with the chateau and the river. The composition with the row of trees was interesting and I also thought that painting the reflections in the river would be a bit of a challenge, and it was, but it turned out okay. Just a nice summer view!

The Golden Bicycle

 

La Bicyclette d'Or, 14 1/2" x 17 1/2"

This was a scene from the farmhouse where we stayed near Mouleydier, in the Dordogne region in France. I thought it was a rather quintessentially European country image with the bicycle, flowers and rustic building. I also enjoyed the concentration of golden hues and felt that it had a warm, summery feel to it. One of the great things about painting from my travel photos is that I get to re-experience the ambience of those wonderful places!

Lake Tahoe, again

 

Tahoe Shore 2, 14 3/4" x 11 1/4"

Lake Tahoe is such a picturesque area with the beautiful blue water and granite boulders, and is  always an inspiration. This was sort of a quickie, once again trying to keep it fast and loose, without getting too wrapped up in details and the end result. I find that it's often refreshing and helpful for me to simply make a point of that right from the start, and it's something I should probably practice more often.

California Coastline

Big Sur, 14 3/4" x 11 1/4"

A couple of years ago, my wife and I took a nice road trip, part of which was driving up Hwy. 1 along the California coast. I hadn't been on it for quite some time, but it's still beautiful and certainly quintessential California! One of the loveliest stretches is through the Big Sur area. Here, I tried to capture some of that beauty and also make my first attempt at painting the ocean. I messed up the sky on this initially, but actually managed to save it, and then went on to do exactly the same thing while painting the water! One of the things I have learned with watercolor is to give it another try if you think you've screwed something up - it often works and besides, if you already think it's ruined you've got nothing to loose!

Place de Vosges

Place de Vosges, 10 1/4" x 14 1/4"

Paris is filled with beautiful parks, and this one was right across the street from where we were staying. With their wonderful water fountains and manicured gardens, they are very popular and frequented daily by locals and tourists alike. This was a small painting I tried to do quickly and loosely, and to convey a stroll through the park on a warm summer day. One of my goals in watercolor is trying to give the impression/suggestion of the image without fussing the details; giving the viewer the opportunity to "complete" the scene with their imagination. Including people in my paintings is also something I'm working on, and once again, without being too detailed about it!

Parisian Elegance

 

Pigalle Balcony 21 1/2" x 14"

Wandering through Paris, it's impossible not to be enthralled with it's beauty, and certainly the architecture is at the forefront. Every avenue seems to be lined with elegant buildings displaying elaborate architectural details, from sculptural stone work to decorative wrought iron. This was actually a fairly typical large multi-story building with numerous windows and balconies, and altogether striking. One of the more difficult things for me, when faced with an abundance of rich imagery like that, is in defining a focal point and distilling it down to the essence of what I want to say. So I reduced it to this view of a single balcony enhanced by the summer flowers, which really 'explained' my interest in the whole building. Interestingly, the street level of the building was unoccupied store fronts covered in graffiti, which were a marked contrast to the classical details of the apartments above. Although there was probably a painting involving that juxtaposition as well, I preferred this instead!

More French Scenery

 

River View, Mouleydier 21 1/2" x 14"

Another painting of France, in fact it's the same building as in the previous post viewed from across the river. I found this scene inspiring, not only in it's architectural beauty, but also from a compositional point of view. The diagonal zig-zag of the of the rampart, treetops and clouds along with the vertical elements of the stairs, the evergreens and buildings created an interesting dynamic. I also enjoyed the shadows and dappled sunlight coming through the trees on a summer afternoon. I wasn't quite sure how I was going to deal with the lacy foliage of the trees against the darks or the masonary of the walls when I began, but apparently that seems to be standard operating procedure - just dive in and figure it out!

The Inspiration of France

 

 Hotel de Ville, Mouleydier, 11" x 14 3/4"

A couple of years ago we took an absolutely delightful trip to France; spending time in Paris, the Loire Valley, the Dordogne region, Brittany and many places in between. It was a splendid adventure, sharing all the beauty and hospitality of France with family and friends. I also discovered that there's a "Kodak Moment" around every corner, and easily managed to max out my camera's memory card! The method to my photographic madness was in fact, to bring home not only memories, but also plenty of imagery for painting.

This painting of the city hall in Mouleydier, where we stayed in the Dordogne, was the first of several I have done. French architecture is gorgeous, and I thought even this small building merited a painting. Just for fun, I did the entire piece with a No. 12 Round brush in an effort to keep it rather loose, and I think it created a somewhat soft impressionistic feel.

Northwest Watercolor Society Open Exhibition

In for the Evening, 18" x 18"

I'm very pleased to announce that my painting "In for the Evening" was accepted into the Northwest Watercolor Society's 2011 71st Annual Open Exhibition and also included on the announcement!  The exhibition will be on display from March 21st through May 13th, at the Mercer View Gallery in Mercer Island, Washington. This piece was a bit different than my typical work, but I thought it captured the wonderful tranquillity of the early evening light.

An Image Flies Into View!

Copper Convergence, 9 1/4" x 21 1/4"

I was standing at the kitchen sink one afternoon looking out the window, when a robin flew down for a visit to our birdbath. It was one of those moments when everything seems to align to create a beautiful image - there was the red-breasted robin on the copper birdbath against a backdrop of the rust colored twigs of a fall shrub - truly a convergence of copper hued elements! It begged to be painted! Naturally, I ran for my camera and managed to get several photos, with the birds being amazingly cooperative! This was the most complex painting I'd done thus far and though it was challenging, I was pretty pleased with the result.

Another Vineyard Scene

 

Vine and Roses, 21 5/8" x 14 1/4"

I spent a couple of years studying architecture and my wife and I also designed our home and  several remodeling projects.  We both have an attraction to architectural design and beautiful spaces which shows up in many of our travel photos as well as in my artwork.

The tasting room at Amador Cellars vineyard (also near Plymouth, CA), with it's concrete and timber construction, and tall wainscot and clerestory windows had a bit of a European flavor to it, and it inspired me to do a painting of it - so here it is! I thought the perspective of the view emphasized the building and made for a nice composition, along with the roses creating a rhythm and drawing  your eye into the scene. The shadows cast by the deep eaves were really fun to paint in at the end!

Wine Country

 

Wine Time (Red Umbrellas), 11 1/2" x 15 1/8" 

While touring through the Sierra Nevada foothills a few years ago, we stopped at Young's Vineyard near Plymouth, California. Enjoying their wines and their beautiful gardens offered the inspiration for this piece. This shaded terrace overlooking the vineyards was especially inviting. Over the years, I've noticed Adirondack chairs seem to occasionally be the focus in artwork, probably because of their interesting shape and their traditional white or bright colors. What I found intriguing about these was that they were unfinished weathered  wood, which reflected the character of the old barrels and also seemed to mimic the color of the dappled shadows. The combined effect was a pleasant feeling of tranquility, which I tried to capture.

Beautiful Boulders

 

Tahoe Shore 1, 11 1/2" x 15 1/8"

With this painting, I was trying to work more loosely and allow the medium to display it's fluidity - which is the true beauty of watercolor. This scene of granite boulders along the shore of Lake Tahoe was my first opportunity to experiment with gray hues. In reality the granite is a very even neutral gray value, but by mixing the grays using the primaries it created much more variety and interest in the way the colors interact. Dropping some color into the washes of the mountains created some subtle detail while still representing the imagery convincingly. To me, the ability to see the nuances of the medium itself is what makes watercolor truly distinctive and dynamic!

Watercolor No. 2

Turquoise Door, 15 1/8" x 11 1/2"

Happy Holidays, and here's wishing everyone an exceptional 2011!

After managing to not make a mess of my previous watercolor, I grabbed another photo and decided to venture forth again. As an absolute newbie to watercolor, I was trying not to get overly invested in the outcome and simply get my feet (brush) wet! I thought this image of a doorway in Hydra, Greece was interesting and this piece was really just another opportunity to practice putting some paint on the paper. I enjoyed experimenting with the various textures and added the cat to help bring some life and balance to the composition. I find the process exciting and it reinforces my interest in watercolor.

Venturing Into Watercolor

Greek Hut, 13 1/4" x 9 1/8"

Well, this was my first foray into watercolor. Actually not really the first, but the first in my more recent artistic endeavors - this was done about two years ago. As I've mentioned before, I'd primarily worked in colored pencil. I think that was in response to my years as a sign painter, working daily with oil based paints and solvents, which I then wanted to avoid at home. However, as much as I truly enjoy drawing, I found some of my pieces became very labor intensive. Lord knows I try to fight my artistic nature and loosen up, but somehow I keep finding myself mired in detail! For instance, just doing the background motif in "Pond Shadows", seen in my first post, took two days to complete! So, while the effort is often worth the result, I just felt I wanted a break from it and had a desire to pursue a new medium.

A beautifully done watercolor has a dynamic to it that I have always found intriguing. I think because it has that whole Yin-Yang thing going for it. While it can appear very spontaneous and fluid, it's also a challenging medium that requires control and planning. I thought it might be a good fit for me, in that it still allowed for some drawing but a more immediate approach to the coloring of the image - and I love the transparency and luminosity of it! Many of my earlier attempts at watercolor seemed to end up in a pool of muddy color, probably from my impatience and lack of forethought. This time around I decided to try to be a bit more deliberate and methodical. With that in mind, I grabbed an old vacation photo of a rustic building near Hydra, Greece and jumped in! This was the result, and I was encouraged that it actually came out somewhat as I'd hoped and it left me inspired to try some more watercolor!