Straight from Lake Quinault

Lakeside List
9x12

Last weekend's trip to Quinault was mostly filled with work. However, Monday morning i did manage to get out and paint a couple plein aire studies. The Willaby Creek Campground has some interesting trees along the lake that are great subjects. The real treat with the trees in this area are their shapes and how few of them stand like a stagnant Beefeater. They're all over the place directionally and it helps to create some fun compositions.

 It was an overcast day, so there is not much in the way of dramatic light. Instead, i am trying to let the ccomposition do most of the speaking. There was some fresh spring color laden on the tentacle like branches of these two twisting listing trees that helps gives some zip to the piece.

However, on par with my thought process in painting, i want the viewer to feel the mood, feel the subject and become connected with the piece on a soulful level. This is something the Russian Masters were awesome at capturing. The work of painters like, Levitan, Korovan, and many others; the list goes on.....  are very inspiring to me and is certainly a level of painting that i strive for.

What list inspires you?.....

Texture, texture, texture......

Quinault Summer Rise

11x14

One of my goals on our vacation a few weeks ago, was to paint a plein air painting on multiple day settings. Going back to the same place and re-working the same panel is a good challenge, especially at a place where the weather changes quickly. So, i landed on this composition near our cabin that i have enjoyed for a long time and decided this was my challenge piece.

Day one was a good start with calm water and nice reflections

Day two, weather was socked in and no sun to be had (no work on this piece)

Day three, sun was out again, but the water changed and my foliage reflections diminished, so the painting changed too.

Day four, well there was no day four on this painting, at least en plein air. Over the next couple weeks it was studio noodled for it was not as textured or as deep as i wanted it to be.

Layer upon layer did color get applied, worked, re-worked, then worked again in an effort to blend and use broken color so the under painting would show through and the texture would be evident. I think i accomplished this.

As i think about my favorite parts of this painting; the foreground foliage, the way the sky blends with the evergreens, the middle ground foliage was fun too. Actually the entire painting was fun for i gave myself the freedom that nothing was sacred. All was fair game for re-work.

The biggest challenge of this piece was the foreground water, and it was what i spent the most time on. A lot of thought, a lot of mixing of color, a lot of making shapes, and a lot of layering took place in this area. It was at times frustrating, but i was determined to get believable texture, and giving myself the "nothings sacred" frame of mind made all the difference.

I also remembered and implemented the mirror trick. Viewing a painting in a mirror, really gives a different perspective and allows the "problem areas" to become more obvious. It should also be no surprise that this painting came on the heels of Pacific NW Plein Air art show in Hood River at the Columbia Art Gallery, where Eric Jacobsen took First Place with "Peaceful Evening". The juror was the acclaimed painter Jim Lamb. Now, i am in no way saying that my stuff is on the level of Eric's, but his work is a huge inspiration for me and he is a dear friend.

Good friend and fellow artist, Celeste Bergin, also took Honorable Mention with "Serenade". Great going Celeste!

Click on the link to see the award winning paintings of that show:

http://www.pleinairhoodriver.blogspot.com/

Willaby Creek Falls

Willaby Creek Falls

10x8

I have started a series of paintings of the Lake Quinault area on the Olympic Penninsula in the great state of Washington. My wife and i have a small cabin on the lake and it is not difficult to find inspiration at every turn, so i think its time that i come up with a collection depicting the amazing scenery. If you have ever been to Lake Quinault and hiked the network of trails, then you've probably seen and photographed this very scene near the Willaby Creek Campground.

Now, I'm sure that most have not heard of Lake Quniault, it's not what you would call a hotspot, but it is like taking a leap back in time and getting in touch with nature. The bizarre thing is, a good portion of tourists are from Europe.

Being that Lake Qunault is in the only temperate rain forest in North America, a place that get's an annual rainfall of around 15', it's not hard to find green. This can present a particular challenge for the plain air painter trying to capture the color notes of what they are seeing, and i'm here to tell you, you've probably never seen so many variations of the wonderful color known as - Green.