Lines On Paper

An old car

2009-12-23T21:09:00.000-08:00

This was painted with PainterRon from Wet Canvas in mind. It was a trial run for a larger painting that I still haven't gotten around to. My back window got a little out of place there, but other than that I liked it. The reference photo was of an old car in Crescent City.

Dunes

2009-12-08T21:09:00.000-08:00

I painted this plein air a short while back. I was trying to work more color into my paintings.

Practicing Reflections

2009-12-07T19:31:00.000-08:00

This was a small painting that I did just practicing reflections.

Sorry I've been vacant AGAIN, was having computer issues...they are fixed now.

Two Barns

2009-11-27T20:46:00.000-08:00

My buildings are still a bit wonky but I was working plein aire. This is a small farm set back just a bit from the ocean. At some point I may do this again on larger paper and change my angle of view, from this direction you can't see the ocean but I like this side of the barns. The road curves around to the back sides of the barns (they don't sit as nicely) where you can see past them and the pasture out to the sea. It a beautiful view.

Swells on the ocean

2009-11-27T08:11:00.000-08:00

I've been away for awhile and missed posting. I've continued to paint and hopefully have gotten a little better.

The were swell warnings off our N. CA coast this weekend so I thought I'd have a go at painting the moving water. Must say that I caught a little more movement in this than I have been able to in the past.

Gathering dusk and AZ. rock

2008-11-20T14:36:00.000-08:00

I liked the quick colorful way that the rock turned out. One of these days I'll trust myself to use BIG watercolor paper; I have 2 pads an 8" X 10" and a 12"X 14" but I keep "saving" them for something special...duh.

The other painting was again just a quick splash of paint on paper as the dusk was gathering, 10 minutes later the whole sky turned beautifully orange!

Another of the Rio Grande and a meadow

2008-11-20T14:31:00.000-08:00

Here's the larger version of the eariler quick painting I did of the Rio Grande. The other one is just a quick painting of a meadow that I took the dogs for a walk in one morning.

Barn by Mancos, CO

2008-11-20T14:26:00.000-08:00

Gosh the gaps in my postings are awful! I just haven't had Internet service! I know I can go into almost any library and post, I'm just lazy!

This was a barn that caught my eye off the side of the road. I loved the erratic fence posts and the yellow trees.

Spruce Cone

2008-10-18T19:41:00.001-07:00

I picked this Spruce cone (pretty sure that's what it is) up this afternoon. Loved the curl of it and the blend of lights and darks in the seed sheaths. The photo came out really blue, I should have just re-shot it in the morning but it was done and I was tired, so here it is.

Up on the Rim of the Rio Grande looking down

2008-10-18T19:33:00.001-07:00

I did this quick sketch one afternoon, sitting at the top of the trail leading down in to the gorge. Yep, took the hike down, not a problem, now the hike back up was a whole different story! Although this was quick and I didn't catch a lot of details, I was pleased with the feeling of depth that it captured. If you find yourself in Nothern New Mexico and have the time, a visit to the Wild Rivers BLM area is well worth it! It snowed the last day we were there after being in the 80's a few days eariler.

Down on the Rio Grande River

2008-10-18T19:24:00.000-07:00

Spent the past 3 weeks on the Rio Grande River these are a couple of quick sketches that I did while we were there.

The first one was done with Tombow watercolor brushes. I forget sometime how different and fun they are to use! The second one was just a very small (maybe 3 X 5) impression to use for the larger one I did the next day. I haven't gotten to getting that one ready to post.

Plays of light and Shadow

2008-09-23T09:08:00.001-07:00

I looked out the window one evening and loved the play of light off the golden grasses and the silver foliage as the sun was playing hide and seek through the gathering storm clouds. A few minutes after I finished painting this the storm started in earnest.

Impressionistic Aspens

2008-09-23T09:04:00.001-07:00

One evening at sunset I went out to paint a bit and noticed that the Aspens were just starting to turn. Thought I'd try out a bit of scraping back the paint and a bit of wet in wet. Just quick and simple.

Another view of the Pit River

2008-08-11T09:13:00.001-07:00

Spent another couple of days up at the Pit River. I thought I'd try another view using stronger colors this time. I really liked the purple for the deep shadows on the ground.

Will be traveling again today and I won't have inter net for a couple of days so won't be commenting on anyones art or posting anything but I will be painting.

Summer Storm Brewing

2008-08-10T12:45:00.000-07:00

No I haven't fallen off the face of the earth; but I haven't had inter net access for several weeks either.

I painted this early in the morning int he high plains desert of Eastern Oregon a few mornings ago. There was a summer storm moving in and the lighting cause the darkness on the hill in the foreground. The contrast with that against the bright green of the grass along the reservoir caught my attention.

Trumpet Vine and Shed in Vineyard

2008-07-20T16:34:00.001-07:00

I've had stuff going on the past couple of weeks and just haven't seemed to be able to get out and paint like I would like to. I painted this Plein Aire this morning. I loved the rambunctious tumble of the vine over the roof of the shed.

Pit River

2008-07-04T11:58:00.001-07:00

Spent one night camping on the Pit River in Northern California. The campground was small, 8 - 10 sites and primitive, no water available but one of the most picturesque campgrounds that I've been in.
I did a 2 page spread, the page on the left is an eddy that the main river creates where it divides off and runs down in 3 small waterfalls before it joins back up with the main flow; shown on the right page. Again my river appears to tip off toward the edge of the page; it doesn't in the actual painting, it has to do with the curl of the page and the crop.

I saw a River Otter pop his head up out in the eddy while I was sitting there painting.

I am going to try to get a little more consistent with my painting and posting in the future. But we'll see how that goes. I thought with traveling, I'd have all kinds of time to paint but I'm not finding that to be the case. Some of the best views that I see to paint are going by, out the window, at 65mph! May have to start practicing painting from memory more often.

His Majesty and a couple of the Girls

2008-06-23T13:11:00.000-07:00

Don't know what it is about chickens that I find so cool but if they are around, I've got to spend time with them.

My friend, Dee has a flock and I gotten to spend some time getting acquainted with them. I loved the way the he came out, the Girls, well not so much...But a good time was had by all, so there ya go.

a sketch of Dee's garden

2008-06-21T20:42:00.001-07:00

I helped my friend in her garden planting and mulching with straw. After we were finished working, I pulled out my paints and painted the scene. The rows all looked so neat and clean and I loved all the different colors and textures. I did run into a bit of a problem drawing the wheelbarrow but pressed on regardless LOL.

Old barn in Kettle Falls, WA

2008-06-18T09:48:00.000-07:00

The sunlight bathing this old barn in soft colors drew me in. My perspective painting is getting a little better but after a short time, I can see where my lines are still off, although this barn was starting to bend just a little at the knees. There are so many barns and farm houses up here, just a delight for photographers and painters!

I'll be in a spot the has wifi for the next few days so hopefully can catch up on some of your blogs!

Lake Roosevelt

2008-06-09T15:03:00.000-07:00

I did this sketch of Lake Roosevelt the other morning. My daughter and her family live up on the side of the hill above the third cove. An easy drive for a swim but not close enough to walk.

Rim Rock

2008-06-06T16:22:00.001-07:00

Spent a few days in the high plains desert in Washington not too far from the Grand Coulee Dam. I find this area, although so totally different from the coastal range, incredibly beautiful. The horizon seems to be endless miles away. The skies were grey and cloudy while I was there so there wasn't a time when the light on the rocks was at the "OMG, how beautiful" stage, that I know it can be.

Again, I lost all the delicate greens and greys in the foreground. It's an ongoing frustration using my camera instead of a scanner. If I'd remember it at the time I'm painting, I could adjust for it but the painting came out pretty close to what I had in mind. I must admit, I tossed it off into the corner as a "no go" several times so it did come out a tad over worked.

Stuart Range

2008-06-03T10:07:00.001-07:00

I painted this yesterday morning from the rest stop we were in. I couldn't get the balance in blue and greens in photoshop to balance the same as the real painting. The band of greenish "fog" is a soft blend of light blues and greens that reads much nicer in real life. The lighting on the mountains is nicer IRL too.

This range is the largest outcropping of granite in the U.S.

River by Copalis Beach, OR

2008-06-02T19:42:00.000-07:00

ARRGH! My river slopes downhill! I think part of the problem is with using my camera instead of a scanner; the crop is never straight with the edges of the paper. It didn't look that sloped in the actual drawing. Anyway, I did enjoy painting it and will watch those bank lines closer in the future. That funny looking dark object over the water was a Blue Heron that flew by while I was painting.

Copalis Beach, OR

2008-05-31T13:05:00.001-07:00

I've been traveling so I haven't had consistent Internet access to post or comment on posts lately. I painted this yesterday in the early morning. Painted quickly just trying to capture the essence of what I was seeing.

Memory's Home

2008-05-19T12:18:00.000-07:00

I spent the last week in San Francisco with my Mom; when I got back my neighbors Rhododendron's and Lilac bush were all in full bloom. Yesterday morning I sat down to record the beauty. I did run into a bit of a problem with the shadow under the eve, I probably should have left out the vent but I liked the way it looked.

a couple of quick Plein Aire sketches

2008-05-09T11:24:00.001-07:00

These were just a couple of quick paintings that I did Plein Aire a few days ago. The bear is one of a set of two that stand at the entrance to the old Highway 101 bridge across the Klamath river; the original bridge was washed out in a major flood in 1964, it's been closed off and left as a historical land mark. The flood not only washed out the bridge but the old town of Klamath which had been flooded and rebuilt in the 50's. After the '64 flood the town site was abandoned and since then a newer, smaller and much less interesting town has been built farther inland.

The painting of the cliffs I painted the same day, sitting on a high bluff overlooking the sea. I had started painting it and had gotten so frustrated with the greens and blues being the only colors that I just started slopping the purple around; I liked the result. The brown smudges in the ocean area are dog prints...as soon as I sit down they have to find out what I'm doing!

Lost World

2008-04-27T10:05:00.000-07:00

I've been browsing around on wet canvas quite a bit of late and found an old link on pouring. It sparked an interest. We did a bit of pouring and using of salt and saran wrap, last year when I took a painting class from Jana. At the time, I was trying to learn more techniques for photo realistic painting. Of late, I've been trying to get away from such controlled and detailed painting, so the pouring on WC grabbed my interest.

In reality, I started out way too dark for a first pour but my "images" popped out and for me, were in the right places anyway, so it worked out fine. Looking at it last night I was going to paint on it to bring out what I see, but decided it would be more fun for the viewer to fine their own things...It was fun and did take me off in a different direction. I may try another one soon and see if I can "control" the out come a little more. Gawd! I get away from control, just to try and recapture it! LOL

Rock and Gulls

2008-04-22T07:20:00.001-07:00

I liked the way the gull in front of the rock turned out, the one over the water, not so much. I'm not pleaded with the composition, was going to add another couple of rocks in the back ground but it had turned windy and cold so I finished the water and left... I have found that trying to add things later, even if the pigment is dark enough to cover, muddies up the painting, so here it stands.

The horizon line is straight in the painting, during the shooting and cropping things go askew...

More Practice Sketches

2008-04-20T17:34:00.001-07:00

Here's more practice sketches; I'm going to try adding the url's for them but not entirely sure what order they will load in. I'd like some feed back on what I've done right, what I can improve and how. Thanks in advance.

http://www.wetcanvas.com/RefLib/showphoto.php?photo=59366&cat=57

http://www.wetcanvas.com/RefLib/showphoto.php?photo=24593&cat=55

http://www.wetcanvas.com/RefLib/showphoto.php?photo=78777&cat=55

Practice people sketches 2

2008-04-19T16:01:00.000-07:00

Here are another couple of practice sketches I did, again, using photos from the Image Reference Library on Wet Canvas. If I keep at it maybe one of these days I'll be able to "read" the important defining lines and get them down quickly enough to do "live" sketches and get at least fairly accurate representations of the people that I see around me. That's the plan anyway.

Great Blue

2008-04-18T17:32:00.000-07:00

On a hike with the dogs the other morning, I looked across the water and spotted this Heron looking for something to eat...He stayed in the same position for long enough for me to quickly grab a sketch of him...

forgot to leave enough white of the paper to suggest waves...I need someone to follow me around and remind me of all these little details...LOL

practice people sketches 1

2008-04-14T18:29:00.001-07:00

One of the things I want to learn to do is quick sketches of people. Today I spent a few minutes practicing sketching from some of the photos in the Image Reference Library at Wet Canvas. Was trying to work quickly, pull predominant lines and capture some of the shadows. I had a difficult time working with a pen. The gentleman in the lower left corner had dark skin but was closer in age to the other gentleman sitting with him than my sketch shows. Some of them came out better than others. Pushing out of the comfort zone, it's what's it's all about...

Just playin' with color

2008-04-12T18:21:00.001-07:00

The idea here was to just stay as loose. I wanted to do something colorful but I didn't want a lot of detail. This didn't come out quite like the picture that I had in my mind but I did manage to stay fairly loose. I painted and I had fun, that's the important part, right?

Crooked Little House

2008-04-05T16:43:00.000-07:00

Spent a couple of days at Harris Beach, Oregon. I went for a walk early one morning and did a this sketch. I took a lot of artistic liberties with this one, at least as far as the house is concerned...I am sure the owner would love to be the only one on the bluff and with his own private stairs to the beach. Instead his neighbor has the stairs and his house is in the second row back, it is also much larger than it is here, though. The landscape is pretty accurate and I enjoyed painting it, that's the important part.

Oregos at Requa

2008-03-28T17:39:00.001-07:00

I want to paint this on a 1/2 sheet of WC paper. This morning, I thought I'd try it first on my small 10"x7" WC pad. Boy, am I glad I did! I think I'll eliminate the forward most rock. The yellow is a bit bright and the tilt of her head is a bit too far forward. For the most part, I really like it.

This rock formation fascinates me. It is at the mouth of the Klamath River. If you scroll down to the previous post, you can read the legend. I couldn't put them in the same post because you can only enlarge 1 image...

Oregos Legend

2008-03-28T17:32:00.001-07:00

Sorry, I cut off the bottom right corner...

Mouth of the Smith River

2008-03-27T19:06:00.000-07:00

This is the Mouth of the Smith River where it meets the sea. There is a cluster of seals on the tip there and while I was painting this, one of them got out of the water to climb up.

I can see now that I have this posted, that my water line on the river side, slopes down toward the bottom left. Sigh, details, details, details; part of why I hold stuff to post over night, I tend to catch these things. Although this I painted the same day that I painted the rest of the plein aire stuff, just hadn't looked at it closely enough.

How-On-Quet Cemetery

2008-03-25T09:56:00.000-07:00

I ran across this Tolowa Indian Cemetery in How-On-Quet the other day, when I was out sketching. The Tolowa Indians had their tribal grounds at the basin of the Smith River in Northwestern California and Southwestern Oregon. Entry into the cemetery seemed to be private as there was a "No Trespassing" sign posted and a chain on the gate. It is one of the loveliest "resting places" that I have seen.

I started this and then tossed it aside because I was frustrated with the way it was coming out. This morning I pulled it back out and decided to finish it. The graves weren't as uniform as they are in my picture. The ovals are raised mounds, there were several of those, the one in the bottom right corner had Abalone shells all the way around it and flowers on top. I had painted just the plain graves all the way across then realized that the mounds weren't "prepared for a burial" they were the finished grave... so I changed them, makes it difficult to see the flowers on top. This whole thing was painted tighter than I would have liked but I guess this is better than tossing it...

Black Ribbons in the Sky

2008-03-24T09:31:00.001-07:00

Yup, I realize my barn has a serious slope. I wanted to paint quickly and not get caught up in the details. I was afraid if I started fiddling with the lines I'd lose the looseness of the painting and I liked that. This was across the street from the cows (from my last post). While I was painting the cows, I looked over at one point and it looked like a black, lacey quilt blowing over the field, there were so many birds, a minute later they were all gone...

Nap Time

2008-03-21T18:22:00.001-07:00

I wanted to do some plein aire sketching today, so I headed for an area where there are farms scattered along the sea. When I do plein aire sketching, most of the time I do it from inside my car just because I have a place to put my paint and water. Today, I pulled off to the side of the road to paint these cows; during the time that I was parked, 3 people stopped to ask if I was ok. I finally figured out that part of the reason they were stopping was because my lights were on. If I open the door, the buzzer sounds but not if I am just parked. I guess between the angle that I was holding my head and the lights folks thought I might be in trouble. Kind of them none the less.

These cows made me laugh because I'd start to sketch one and look back up at it and it would be laying flat. After I was all done then some of them decided to stand up and eat.

The grass is a more of a spring green , this whole scan ended up with too much pink as I was trying to get the green right. Sigh..one of these days I'll get Photo Shop to always work the way I want it too...until then, I'll do the best I can.

Snags at Lake Earl

2008-03-18T14:37:00.000-07:00

Our local art gallery has demonstrations once a month by various oil or watercolor artists from around the area. The folks at the gallery video tapethe demos and have them available for checkout by the gallery members. Since I am now a member, I checked out a demo done by Deborah Dawson http://www.deborahadawson.com/. She had taken some photographs at one of the local wild life preserves and did her painting from those photos. I love the way she did the sky and since I had been thinking of trying to paint some of the Alders in the area that were going to require masking, I thought I'd give her techniques a try. This is the result.

I went out to the same area yesterday and took some of my own pictures so that I could get my trees drawn correctly. From there, I pretty much followed along with the colors she was using and the way she was laying down her paints. I'm pleased with the outcome even if I can't really claim it as "my own". I learned a lot about not judging too quickly when something "isn't working out" as there were several times last night , I thought that, looked at her painting and realized that hers was in about the same state. Using the masking fluid was fun for this and now I'm looking forward to trying a painting with the Alders in it.

Cloud studies

2008-03-14T14:27:00.001-07:00

I've been frustrated with my skies lately, they are blah and uninteresting. So last night I sat down after getting some good advise from Karen @ http://www.karensblog.com/ and did some quick studies. These are the two that I liked the best as I achieved more or less, the look I was after. I am sure I will be posting more in the future as I can tell, this is going to take some practice. If any of you have found any cool techniques you'd like to share or just want to join in with the practices, I'd love it...

Forest Bridge

2008-03-12T18:02:00.000-07:00

A cool thing about hiking in the woods up here is all the wooden bridges laid out along the trails. Sometimes they cross creeks, or as in this case, they may just cross a difficult gully. That is a small set of stairs in the lower right corner, another one of the simple pleasures to be found. They weren't that steep in reality but I wanted to get them in the picture so I changed them : ) I love the rustic feeling they lend and am glad that the forestry department doesn't use metal despite the fact that it would be much more impervious to the rains and fog. All of the forest wild flowers are springing up, in another couple of weeks all kinds of blooms will be popping.

This path meanders along a small lagoon. The water lilies are turning from winter brown to a nice green, buds are already starting to form on them too. It is a scene that I want to try painting but it started getting to chilly to sit and paint this afternoon as a storm was moving in.

2 pager of beach combers

2008-03-05T17:58:00.000-08:00

It was beautiful up here today, lots of folks out enjoying the sun. I started with the left page painting of the Dad and his two boys. They seemed to be having lots of fun. The older boy looked about 5 and the younger one (in front) was about 3. The little one kept doing everything the older one did like carrying the staff. I had actually left and then decided to go back and paint the other page which is why the sea isn't fully consistent. The horizon is actually straight but I had a rough time with the photo so it looks like it slants up. On the first one, I painted the horizon water all the way across then put in the rocks, consequently, the shadowing on the rocks isn't correct. While I was painting I was listening to the barking of the sea lions and the sound of the fog horn mixed with the cry of the ever present seagulls. This week has just been one of those where I can't seem to hold the brush the right way to paint. Painted LOTS nothing would come out the way that I wanted it too. Hopefully things will be better from here on out...

Trinidad Bay

2008-02-26T18:20:00.000-08:00

I took a drive down to Eureka today with the sole intent of taking pictures and sketching in Trinidad. Once I got there, I started to get intimidated by the scene a bit but went ahead and pulled out the ole paper and paints anyway. Once I was done I felt fairly good about the sketch, it looked fairly accurate and I didn't duck out on drawing that pier (LOL). The one blue boat looks a bit like a sub but all in all not too bad, after all, it's a SKETCH... I had my lines fairly straight, but when I took the photo, the pad was on a bit of an angle so it appears to have one of my signature lilts to it. While I was painting this, a dense fog bank was hanging just off shore but I wanted to keep the closeness of the feeling of the bay so didn't include the skyline.

Trinidad was, and still is, a fishing village. It contains beautiful old houses gathered like anxious wives along the crest of the bay. In the past few decades, it has moved to include a bit of an artsy fartsy flavor but not to the point of being snobbish. The village has kept it's smallness with one main street covering about two to three blocks of local businesses and a small gathering of homes.

Wonky is Good

2008-02-24T10:39:00.000-08:00

I wasn't going to finish this or post it when I realized how slanted my building was but since I am always saying that I like wonky and funky drawings, I kept going. In real life given the age and amount of rain and fog we get up here, it probably does lean to one side or the other. I love the glow in the window of the "open" sign especially on rainy days along with the trail of smoke puffing out of the chimney. It always looks so welcoming. The driveway is actually asphalt but I liked the idea of a dirt drive better and Hey, it's my picture...

Sketches from the Harbor

2008-02-23T19:27:00.000-08:00

I was up in Crescent City today and did some quick sketches while looking at the harbor. Although I have stopped there lots of times, I've been too intimidated to do any sketches. My boats could surely use some help (LOL), but it's all in the name of learning. The black and white birds were really pretty small, I was painting them so that I could look them up later and figure out what they are. They aren't a type of duck, I don't think, as their beaks are very small. They reminded me of wind up toys because they move forward really fast and the the same time bob their heads up and down very quickly. Funny little things.

I found out that the local Art Gallery has a group of painters, both oil and watercolor, that get together on Saturday mornings and paint with coaching if you feel like you need it. They also have demos once a month from some of the local artists; these are video taped and if you are a member you can check them out at no cost. Also available is a library of workshop tapes from outside artists that you can watch there at the Gallery. I was pretty excited to find out about it as I can't seem to find any classes in the area to save my soul.

Beachcombers

2008-02-21T18:09:00.000-08:00

Beachcombers come in all shapes and sizes. I was sitting in my car by the beach this afternoon watching this older couple taking pictures and looking for "stuff" on the beach. It was windy and stormy but neither the couple nor the birds seemed to mind the weather.

Mike's Smoke House

2008-02-17T17:46:00.000-08:00

When I step out on the back porch I can see across the fence into my neighbors yard. He has a small smoke house in his back yard for smoking salmon, as do a lot of the folks that live up here. Along with that, he has a large shed with windows on the back side. Not sure what it was originally built for, but some how I like the way you can see out beyond it. He has a low, but large old apple tree (I didn't get the grass dark enough in the back ground to make it stands out), it's silvery bark and gnarled branches, along with it's supporting "cane" please me. The tall green reeds add to the feeling of mystery also.

Life in the country

2008-02-06T12:29:00.001-08:00

I was going to the post office to get the mail and ran across this scene at the end of our road. My neighbor obviously was not happy that the pig from the farm behind us had escaped and was laying waste to her flower bed. The pig didn't seem to be very bothered by the whacks from the broom either. By the time I returned the pig was gone and the farmer was attempting to repair the escape hole in his fence; peace was once again reigning in the Glen.

I tried to stay loose painting this. Things were going along fine while painting the pig but when I got to the woman...well suffice it to say, "she was fiddled with way too much". It would have helped if I'd done even some stick figure drawings to get her posture and the angle of the broom right, her hands are choked too far up on the handle,but it is what it is... My original plan was to have the house real sketchy and barley discernible in the background but her face and the house were almost the same tone so I had to go back in and fiddle with house to darken it enough to make her face stand out so the house got fiddly and became part of the subjects...

Young Whale

2008-02-01T18:45:00.000-08:00

When I got close to the beach on the way to Crescent City this morning, I noticed a large gathering of folks. My first thought was that they must be holding some kind of surfing or kayaking class. But as I got along side the group, I could see that they were all gathered around something very large. Being of a naturally curious nature, I pulled over and could see what I thought was a whale. I got out of the car and walked down to get a closer look, snapped a few pictures so I could get his body angle right and left. The lab folks were already on the scene working on the far side of him with the intent of figuring out how he died since he/she was a fairly young sperm whale (this I was told by one of the audience). The whale was approximately 15' long, I probably should have included the crowd of folks standing on the other side of it, as it would give a sense of scale. I appreciated who ever placed the flowers at his tail, it kind of reflected how I felt. One can't help but be awed by an animal so large and intelligent. May he be breaching happily in whaley heaven even as I'm typing this.

A Bike Ride

2008-01-27T11:04:00.001-08:00

I saw a picture, not THIS picture but one similar and it inspired this picture. The only real similarities are the bike rider (yes, that is a bike rider LOL) and the road. Funny, where our imaginations find a "jump off point" and just go. It's done in my sketchbook and the plan was to just keep it loose. I feel like I did accomplish that part. I started to paint this last night but ended up with so much foreground that I hated it. Does anyone else have this problem; too much foreground to fill and nothing really to fill it with? What do you do?

While I was painting this I realized how much I miss the vineyards and farms from home. I love the trees and the ocean up here but I miss the farms, too. I accidentally got the green a little saturated in PS, it's actually a little more yellow but closer than I've gotten in the past with those colors.

Wave Work

2008-01-21T11:21:00.000-08:00

I went to the beach yesterday thinking I would just practice painting a couple of waves at different points of breaking. I had my watercolor block with me and decided that I'd try that instead of my usual sketchbook. I can't believe the difference the paper makes! So if I am growling about a picture, feel free to ask me what paper I'm using; in the meantime, I'm going to try to be more consistent with using the right paper for the right work. The sketchbook works great with my pen and inks with simple washes like my "IF" post from the other day.

Now, let me go see what I can find to paint today....Still could use more practice on those waves.

Sunset in the Glen

2008-01-17T20:41:00.000-08:00

I'm not overly pleased with this but, "ya' win some, ya' lose some...", and in the interest of painting on a regular basis, here it is. I didn't realize that I didn't have enough color in the sky until I was all finished with it. See that little smoke stack, that's how you tell if some one is home up here. Every one has wood burning stoves and in the winter we all have them going during the day. It's kind of comforting, seeing the smoke drifting up.

IF....

2008-01-16T12:14:00.000-08:00

If...it were spring in the California foothills; the Lupin and Poppies would be in bloom.

And

If...I were 20; I'd have long red hair.

And

If...I had a convertible; it would be red.

And

If...I had the top down; this would be how my dogs would ride.

So...

The only reality in this whole drawing is my dogs...

I woke up with this picture in my mind. Wasn't sure if I could draw it well enough for others to be able to tell what it was; but I think it came out fine. Hard to get the tones right in PS with the golds and greens...The Lupin really are purple, not mud blah...

Hay Hook

2008-01-14T19:20:00.000-08:00

I miss my Scanner! If I take pictures of my paintings during the day, when the light is bright, so I don't have to use the flash, I don't get the blue background. I guess the solution is either paint eariler in the day or wait till morning to shoot. I wanted to get this posted tonight because I am trying to get back to painting every day; so you get blue. Looks like my shadow is a little off too. I was working from an imagined light direction since the lamps were casting odd shadows.

When I was growing up, my grandfather had these hooks hanging around all over the barn, we used them to move the bales of hay. Deadly looking things none the less. Found this one laying around my moms house.

Three Shells

2008-01-13T20:34:00.000-08:00

Although it was sunny today, there was so much glare from the moisture in the air, it made plein air painting virtually impossible. After telling myself that I wasn't going home with out painting something, I painted these 3 shells (they were painted at home however). I had a little trouble with photo shop getting the background a little blue but the shells themselves are pretty true to what I painted. Had some trouble with the form on the top shell, it is actually shaped like a conch but you can't tell by the way I've painted it. Fiddling just made it worse...

Life on the Forest Floor

2008-01-12T10:03:00.000-08:00

If you've been wondering where I've been, I've been with family for the past 3 weeks and am finally back home.

I took this picture a while back. I couldn't see the fine trails of spiderwebs until I up loaded the image out of my camera. I loved the thought of that spider carefully stitching together all of these mushrooms.

After 2 hours of painting, I realized that I was doing way too much work for this to be in my sketch book instead of on good watercolor paper. This is a picture that I'll be re-doing in the future as I really like the way it turned out...

Thanks to all of you faithful, who keep checking my blog to see if I posted anything new. A special thanks to those of you that give me the nudges with your e-mails to pick up the brush...Now that the holidays have passed and things are settled back down, I intend to paint and blog consistently again.

The Walk Home

2007-12-17T20:38:00.001-08:00

I'm having so much fun with these gesture paintings. They aren't about correct perspective or anything else, they are just a grand time!

When I first started really getting interested in painting, it was because of an artist that specialized in skewed perspectives. I can't remember her name off the top of my head and I have her work packed up in storage. It's the same kind of thing pen and ink with watercolor washes does for me; keeps me away from photo realistic. Anyway, I enjoyed slopping the paint on the paper and painting this.

Stormy Sea

2007-12-16T19:08:00.000-08:00

Had the first storm blow in today that we've had in a while. When I took the dogs down to the beach to see what the sea looked like, I decided to try to paint the water hitting the rocks and some of the turbulence of the rest of the ocean. This was my first attempt at trying to really capture the movement of the water. I found out how important it is to preserve those whites. It's ok, some things I like about it, some feel over worked. I'd love to get some other opinions on what I could do better and how...

Gesture figures 2

2007-12-13T15:28:00.000-08:00

These were my gesture paintings for today. These things are so much fun to do. There is something very freeing when you primarily work tight and controlled, to just drop the paint on the paper and see where your imagination takes you. The first one that I did, "Rainy Afternoon", I wasn't overly pleased with. I liked the figures but over did it on the windows. The second one, "March of the Clowns" I loved even before I decided to put Emmett Kelly up in the sky. To me they all looked like they were heading somewhere and the largest figure looked like a clown, hence the name. I did have to look up a picture of Emmett Kelly to try to get a resemblance of him, and found out that his birthday was Dec. 9th. The last one, "Girl Friends", just looked like a bunch of friends laughing and talking, one of the things, at the moment, that I am sorely missing. Can't wait till tomorrow to see who or what shows up to visit.

Gesture figure 1

2007-12-12T19:31:00.001-08:00

I've been playing around with gesture figures all day trying to get a little practice in. Tonight I decided that I'd just paint a figure and then create a scene around him/her. Well, here it is. I hope these get better over the next few weeks. In the meantime, if you stop by and are inclined to say, "what the hell is that?", it's just me practicing...

Dinner Inspiration

2007-12-10T08:59:00.001-08:00

It's Crab Season! I knew this because of all the pallets and pallets of pots that I'd seen lining the harbor a couple of weeks ago. Then one day they were all gone, so were most of the working boats in the harbor.

Yesterday I took the dogs for a hike along the spit; the sand bar created where the Klamath River meets the sea. It has the most spectacular waves that I have ever seen, when they break on the shore they are often at least 10 foot high. That's not an exaggeration, there appears to be a ledge just beyond the sand that pushes the water back on it's self creating these tremendous waves. Anyway, while I was out there I saw quite a few crab boats out toward the horizon. Walking back to the car I found this crab claw and decided that the pull for fresh crab was just too strong, so took myself out to a very nice crab dinner accompanied by a spectacular sunset. On the way home, as dusk turned to dark, I saw strings of lights out on the water; the fishing boats headed for home. A fine day!

Battery Point Lighthouse

2007-12-08T18:50:00.001-08:00

Today was just pristine clear. I went down to Crescent City, looking for subject matter to paint, when I saw the lighthouse (this is the back side from a few days ago) I knew I wanted to paint it. However, I was scared stiff. I drove away from it twice before I decided to go back and just have a go at it in my sketch book. I am rather pleased with the way it turned out although, I sometime wish someone would just take the brush out of my hand before I can start mucking it up. I love this "accidental" larger sketchbook. I didn't realize how cramped I was in my small one.

Trees at Sunset

2007-12-06T20:33:00.001-08:00

This was intended to be a quick 15 - 20 minute painting. After all, it's only on 5.5 X 8.5 paper, but when you over work something, it's never quick. Part of the problem was waiting till after dark to paint. My shadow gets in the way, in the chair I'm painting in and heaven forbid that I sit at a table like a normal person. The end result is OK, not exactly as crisp as what I was aiming for, but I painted and the was the important detail. Maybe tomorrow I will get an eariler start.

Foggy Road

2007-12-05T21:00:00.001-08:00

The past couple of days when I've made the 20 mile trek into town the fog has been thick and low to the ground. I love the way it obscures things, leaving them mystical and undefined.
This will be a subject that I try again. It got over worked while I was trying to get the road right but I got a lot of the trees the way that I wanted them.

The great funghi

2007-12-04T16:29:00.000-08:00

One of the really cool things about living in the "rain forest" is that there are so many amazing types of mushrooms! No, I don't pick wild ones to eat but I do love to stop and look at them.

This painting however, was headed for the trash on several occasions just because I kept getting stuck with how to handle the background. I'm still not totally happy with it but it is what it is. I'm not crazy about the shadow either but over all, I pushed my self out of my normal comfort zone and learned a few more things...

EDM challenge #93 Egg Carton

2007-12-03T18:46:00.000-08:00

I threw this egg carton in the fire the other day, as I watched it burn, I remembered the challenge to draw and egg carton. I knew this was how I wanted to do it so I grabbed the camera and took a picture.

This is a fairly close representation of how it looked and since I couldn't come up with anything better for today's painting, here it is.

It's the simple things

2007-12-02T18:01:00.001-08:00

We had a pretty soggy and windy storm move in this afternoon. One of those days where the best things in life are drinking tea out of a favorite cup and eating fresh baked oatmeal cookies while sitting by the wood burning stove. Ahhhh....

Quickie of Crescent City Lighthouse

2007-12-01T15:04:00.000-08:00

This was a quick sketch of the Crescent City Lighthouse, from yesterdays outing. If I'd have been thinking about "darks against the lights to pop the center of interest" when I stated painting this, I would have done the sky with much darker, more dramatic colors. Oh well, it's all part of learning and at least I painted a building!

When I get a little better, I want to paint it from the other side, there are a lot more roof angles and a cylinder. Not quite there yet...

Dog Beach 2

2007-12-01T12:06:00.000-08:00

I know, I uploaded this picture yesterday. I'm trying to learn/remember to place darks against lights for depth and center of intrest. So I added some darks and reposted. Let me know what you think...

I'll post something new this afternoon...

The dogs beach

2007-11-30T16:50:00.001-08:00

After thinking about what Lin was saying on her blog about sketching vs. painting, I realized that I missed doing pen and ink with watercolor washes. So I set off this morning to do just that. I love the step away from the finished product looking photo realistic, don't get me wrong, my jaw drops as quick as the next persons when I see art work that is so real looking it comes off the page. However, I really like impressionistic art.

This beach is where I take my dogs to run. It's about 5 miles from my home so we come here at least 3 times a week. I'm sitting in a parking lot at the far end of the beach looking toward where we usually stop and hike. There are lots of tide pools and drift wood and usually drifts of mist and fog.

Forest Path

2007-11-29T10:41:00.000-08:00

I'm going to try to get back into the habit of "a painting a day". I've missed Blogging and painting. I've had a bit of trouble getting my paint brush back in my hand without Donna's voice cheering me on from the side lines.

I wish I could paint sound into a picture. This painting is from a walk I took with my dogs yesterday afternoon; just out the edge of the forest, on down the hill, is the ocean. All the way down I could hear the sound of the breaking surf getting louder. The forest sounds were muffled by all of the thick undergrowth.

My scanner isn't going to happen so it's photos of the paintings for now. The quality isn't the same but it does the trick.

I had the "happy accident" of ordering the "wrong" size sketch book the last time I ordered. I ordered 9"X12" instead of my regular 6X9...Opps! It works out much better because I am always trying to cram too much detail into too small of a page!

Life doesn't always work out the way you think it will

2007-11-03T10:29:00.000-07:00

Hi All,

Last month was a very difficult month, I lost one of my closest friends, Donna in a tragic motorcycle accident. Not only was she one of my muses and supports for my art but she was also a fellow gardener and just a great friend! In the aftermath of the loss I found myself wanting some down time just to put my life back into perspective.

I should be up and running with a scanner shortly so getting back to posting on my blog soon.

Taking a short pause

2007-08-26T09:36:00.000-07:00

Hi All,

Just letting you know that I won't be posting anything for awhile as I am getting the house ready to rent out and going to be traveling after that. Once I get on the road and the scanner is unpacked or once I get on the road and I have a little more time, I'll get back to posting. The prepping of the house has been why I haven't been consistent in my postings of late.

Hills and Marsh

2007-08-19T11:07:00.001-07:00

I'm working to stay loose, finding painting wet into wet seems to help that, it's not as controllable. I have been looking at the distant hills in the mornings, for several months now, thinking that I wanted to try to paint them; this morning seemed as good a time as any...Once I had them in place I was left with trying to figure out what to do with the foreground; marsh was where I was so I plugged that in, using a bit of artistic license. What I am finding is that once I get home and close up to the painting, I start to add just a "few" details and that's when I start over-working it.

Marsh Greens

2007-08-16T10:37:00.000-07:00

I took the dogs out for a walk early this morning and was, as I always am, amazed by the variety of greens laid out in the marsh lands.

The scanner didn't pick up the true colors in my painting the yellowish greens in the mid ground are more of a spring green, but overall, not bad.

I was working toward a looser approach in my paintings and I think this fits that very well...

Mike and Tyler in the waves

2007-08-12T10:45:00.000-07:00

I tried sketching my Son and Grandson playing in the waves at the beach. Again, I was working on too small of a pad to get the detail that I wanted. I will sit down again in a day or so and sketch one of Tyler to complete the scene.

Since I have very little practice or skill at drawing portraits, this was a definite challenge.

Morning Vineyards

2007-08-09T16:42:00.000-07:00

I went out to paint this morning and tried to draw a house that I like...failed miserably. I think the problem was I was trying to work too small. Next time I think I will try drawing the house on one sheet of my sketch pad and the land around it or what ever other things of interest that I'm trying to capture on another. Then combining the two on larger paper when I get home.

After the failed attempt at the house I decide I would try a landscape using suggestive washes first and then adding minimal details with pen. I liked the way the sunlight was kissing the tops of the hills above the vineyards and tried to capture that in the washes. Although it isn't exactly what I was after, it was pretty close. I think I will try exploring this technique some more...

Cloud practice

2007-07-19T15:42:00.000-07:00

I'm working on painting clouds...looks like I still need some work...I got confused somewhere along the line and thought I'd missed an EDM challenge for "Clouds" so did this. These things are NOT easy but they are FUN! I'm also practicing painting with a sponge; yes, I know there is a "sponge" challenge, not ready to do that one yet, still learning to paint WITH it.

At the Sea

2007-07-17T15:21:00.000-07:00

Went to the sea a few days ago and although it wasn't cloudy and it wasn't cold, this is the picture that I painted after I got home...I saw this woman standing off in the distance and I just liked the way she looked so I painted her, as quickly as I could, while I was there. After I returned home, I painted in the background and the shoreline. I'm still learning how to paint the ocean so that it appears to "move". I think I have a problem where the water comes to a point in the middle, didn't catch that till after I posted this, oops! Playing with the breaking waves at the edge of the shore was fun and I really liked the finished shoreline. Any suggestions on painting the sea would be gladly taken!

EDM #127 "Skyscape"

2007-07-17T15:13:00.000-07:00

I had painted this the same day the EDM challenge for "skyscape" was posted but I've had to change the way I have been scanning images so had put off posting it. I definitely need to work on perspective drawing! But here it is, just the same, the colors in the sunrise were correct, it's soft blue at the top and pink near the horizon, it's hard to tell in this scan so you'll have to take my word on it! Loved the way that part came out...

EDM Challenge #124 Something Yellow

2007-06-20T09:40:00.000-07:00

This particular animal, in this particular position is affectionately known as "Miss Hollywood" , her real name is Bridget. I have tried to paint and draw our dogs several times with absolutely no success! This was really quick and she got up and moved as soon as I got the rough outline in pencil so the color tones are all from memory... She's half Yellow Lab and half Golden Retriever, so she does qualify as something yellow...

Putah Creek Rocks

2007-06-20T09:29:00.000-07:00

I went up to Putah Creek the other morning with the intent of painting pictures of the Creek. I was too impatient to want to work with frisket out in the open so settled on painting this outcropping of rocks instead. The main problem I see with this painting is that I didn't have my rocks taking up as much of the page as the foreground so the viewer gets a little lost on what the main subject is...So it's up to you, Dear Viewer, to use your imagination to reinvent my picture...I did like the tone in the rocks and the tones of the sky though!

Another Trail

2007-05-28T20:26:00.000-07:00

I went back out to Rockville to paint again today. This little section of trail, slipping by a large cracked boulder and disappearing over the hill caught my eye. Still working with color tones in the transition from sun to shade... I wanted to try to do some loser, impressionistic style painting but can't seem to just let the paint float onto the paper. I'll have to keep working on that technique.

Rockville Park Fieldtrip

2007-05-24T12:30:00.000-07:00

I went back out to Rockville Park yesterday and discovered I was sharing the park with a group of 8-9 year olds on a field trip. The painting without the crowd in the back ground is what I painted while I was up there but I wanted to capture more of the things I was seeing and hearing. This morning I scanned the image and added the group in the background and the captions around the edges. I was tempted to just sit there and watch but decided to push myself once again and try painting some of the kids.

Sand and Sea

2007-05-20T12:31:00.001-07:00

I decided to upload both the inspirational picture and my painting. This was taken at Pt. Reyes, on a beautiful day, back in March. I loved the tapestry of ice plant and grasses coming down to the sand. Any suggestions on painting ocean and waves would be helpful as I'm still learning...

Alstroemeria

2007-05-19T12:37:00.000-07:00

My Alstroemerias are blooming in the back yard; I decided to try painting one... I know the reason that I stay away from painting flowers; they end up feeling to me like paint- by-numbers paintings. They don't have the free feeling that painting landscapes has for me. Never the less, I have pushed myself and posted the finished result.

Manzanita Path

2007-05-15T19:41:00.000-07:00

Our winds the last few days have been incredible, common for our area, but incredible from a painters point of view just the same.

I got up at sunrise, anticipating a beautiful, CALM, clear sunrise with lots of painting opportunities, and Lo and Behold, WIND AGAIN! Skipped the sunrise idea but still felt the need to put brush to paper, so went out to Rockville, our regional park. I found a fairly calm spot with the Manzanita trees that I wanted and proceeded to pull out my paints. It was along about that time that I realized, once again, that I had forgotten my glasses in the car... So any errors in this painting I am going to blame on lack of ability to see. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it! Although, I must admit, more details were added after I returned home and had my glasses on...

Marsh Turtle

2007-05-13T07:12:00.000-07:00

We have LIFE!!! This is a major accomplishment for me; something living. Field glasses are an amazing invention! I am constantly reading about artists using them but never think to bring them along myself. The last few days have been so windy here, I have been restricted to the car for painting. When I saw this turtle sunning him/herself on a drainage pipe the only way to get a good clear look was through the field glasses. Lo and behold, he didn't dive back into the water either so I was able to study him long enough to get him on to paper. I always get the feeling of sneaking away with something very special when I spend the time to work out an angle for a photo that I really like or when I slow down and become fully involved enough to paint a subject. This was one of those paintings.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you that are Mothers!

Marsh Creek

2007-05-11T17:39:00.000-07:00

Well, I am back after a long winter. To update those of you that don't know; I lost my Grandmother in January. "Thank you" to all of you that e-mailed me to see how I was doing and tried to encourage me to pick up my brush. The winter brought a lot of changes but I think the Muse has returned.

The marsh is beautiful in the spring, lots of bird life and assorted other animals frolicking in the warmth. Haven't gotten good enough to include wildlife in these paintings yet but I'll get there.

Quick Update

2006-12-30T19:47:00.000-08:00

I am sure some of you are starting to wonder if I have chucked all my paints and pens in a drawer and locked it tight. I assure you I have not. Those of you that have been with me the past 9 months of blogging know that I care for my 98 year old Grandmother. She seems to have started into a fairly steep decline and I don't believe that we will have her much longer. At this point, I am having trouble staying focused long enough to get anything down on paper. I know the situation will change soon and am looking forward to, once again, being able to not only focus to paint at home but have the free time to paint in the field. Happy New Year to all of you and thank you for all of you encouragement and support this past year.

Testing new paints

2006-12-16T21:36:00.000-08:00

Just loaded MY paints into my travel paint set. I haven't used it much because I didn't like the student quality paints in it once I got used to my artist paints. At lunch today I was just playing around trying out the paints and my water brush. I added the background after I got home tonight. I am very pleased with both the paints and the water brush.

Cow with an attitude

2006-12-15T10:08:00.000-08:00

This is a close up of the face of the cow from a couple of days ago... Since I don't draw often in just pencil and it is recognizable, I am pleased with it. I did end up darkening it quite a bit in photo shop so that it would show up better on my blog. I can see some areas that I could critique but I'll leave that to the viewer...

Path in the afternoon sunlight

2006-12-14T19:15:00.000-08:00

Paths that wander off into the unknown intrigue me, as do Small, winding side roads. This one was no exception. I painted this from a photo I took on the same afternoon outing as the "purple cow" painting from Tuesday. I am still learning about capturing sunlight and shadows but progress is there (as long as I put brush to paper).

Bad Hair Day

2006-12-12T21:13:00.000-08:00

What happens when you don't paint for a while? You end up painting purple cows having bad hair days.

I actually, wanted to work with tones rather than just black, brown and grey so I started layering on washes. I like the way she can out however, I couldn't quite capture the look in her eyes. I may try doing a close up of her face later on. One of the things I find, when I settle in and paint a subject, is all the little details that I would normally miss like, cows too, have bad hair days!

Fork in the path

2006-12-01T10:11:00.000-08:00

Life is at best, unpredictable. The path can be clear and smooth for miles and all of a sudden come to a split. The problem with forks in the path is that you never can seem to see very far up either trail so it all becomes a game of chance. I think how we come to terms with the forks and how true we choose to stay to ourselves influences how difficult the paths are to navigate.

This is the first painting in which I used one color for the background and then built up the foreground on top of it. I like the way it turned out.

Watercolor in Raffine sketchbook.

California Buckeye (Aesculus californica) Stump

2006-11-22T10:16:00.000-08:00

California Buckeye's grow wild all over our hills in this area. The trees have a mystical quality to them especially in the early spring when they are flushing out chartreuse new leaves in full umbrellas that touch the ground. This time of year all or the leaves have fallen and the knobby gnarly trunks are exposed.

On a hike, with the ever present dogs, yesterday, I pick up a piece of stump to draw. I had no idea how hard it is to make bumps "stand up" off of a flat sheet of paper. Half way through the drawing/painting, I thought this stumps true calling in life was to the fireplace! This morning I came back to it for a few minutes and finished it the best I could, for now. I think I will try the whole thing again in just plain pencil, to see how that turns out, (if it doesn't become fire wood) I'll post the results in a day or two.

View off Mt Tam

2006-11-18T13:09:00.000-08:00

This is painted from a photo I took. I am still practicing some techniques like "fog", distance perspective and blended land colors. Over all I am pleased with the final out come. The land masses in the distance were barely visible up through the fog.