Winter Solitude

Winter Solitude
24x36

One of the great aspects of the Pacific Northwest is snow. Not so much on the valley floor, but all around in the mountain ranges, foothills, and east of the Cascades does the magical wonder of snow, truly gain traction.

Snow, with its blanketing ability can take any scene, no matter how pretty or ugly, and totally transform it.

Being in snow, makes us think, makes us feel like a kid again. Snow is deep, moody, and inspiring.  It's almost as if life transcends.

Some of my personal favorite paintings are of snow scenes.

I knew I wanted to have at least a couple snow pieces in my show, and one of them is Winter Solitude.

And since Christmas is near, I thought this might be a good time to give you a preview and wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 

Peaceful Coastline

Peaceful Coastline
18 x 24

One of the greatest attributes of the Pacific Northwest is the stunning coastline. It's a coastline that can be experienced and described in countless ways, with awe inspiring moments at every turn.  It's a coastline that can be as rugged as a steel mill, and as peaceful as a cup of tea.
With such a broad range of emotions that can be felt there, it's not surprising that it's such a draw to most everyone. 

For me as a painter, I am always trying to capture the mood or the feeling of a subject. And that's part of what makes painting the Washington/Oregon coastline an obvious choice. 

The amazing subtle grays on display any given day, offer substance and depth that you can sink your teeth into. Like a hot bowl of homemade stew, it warms the soul and feeds the spirit.

Make sure to save February 1 2013, on your calendar for my First Friday, solo show debut at Art on the Boulevard , "Moods of the Pacific Northwest."
It's sure to be a moooooding experience.....:)

Show Update

Tree Line Of Color
14 x 18

It feels good to finally give you an update on where my show, "Moods of the Pacific Northwest" is headed.

 Beginning in August, I found myself thrust into the chaos of figuring out how to put together a solo show. Planning the various places to visit and scenes I wanted to paint, has been exhilarating and exhausting all in one. 

One question I have been asked is, "how do you keep up with the pressure of the impending deadline?" A valid question for certain, but not one that I really thought about much. I have felt the pressure of time, but all it really did was to propel me to another gear. I knew that in order to pull this off I would have to step up my game, and in no time I found myself painting a lot larger format out in the field. Plus my wife, Victoria, has been a huge support. Between the two of us, she is the organizer and she has played a big part in me being able to do this. In addition, Kevin Weaver, gave me ample time to work the project.

Having said that, there is still work to do; I still have some moody pieces to complete and plenty of framing to do.

Tree Line of Color, happened to be an early piece in this series. I painted it from one of my favorite spots to work, the Steigerwald National Refuge. At the time it was my largest plein air painting attempted which came with great satisfaction by pushing those boundaries. And even though this is an intimate landscape, whenever I see it, I instantly think of a Cheetah and/or a Giraffe. I think.because of the subtle dark spots against the orange.

It probably sounds corny, but I really wanted to name it, "Cheetah"

What do you think, should I change the name?......

Links

Vicki's blog - theshyshutterbug.blogspot.com

Kevin Weaver - artontheboulevard.org

Mixing it Up



Matterhorn - detail



I would like to share some great and exciting news with you. Now, most of you know that i show my work in Art on the Boulevard, gallery in Vancouver,WA. Well, recently the director of that gallery, Kevin Weaver, notified me that i was selected to have my very own solo show. How awesome is that?.....

I am so excited for this great opportunity, and i can hardly believe this honor has been offered to me.

Let me tell you just how significant this is......

First of all, Art on the Boulevard, is one of the premiere galleries in the Pacific Northwest. Second, Kevin has well over fifty incredible artists; all of them are just as deserving of a show as me. And third, there are only six shows per year.

Spots like this are pretty rare, and i feel very fortunate that the gallery has seen fit to promote and support me like this.

So, my show will debut on First Friday, February 1st 2013 and is entitled "Moods of the Pacific Northwest".

Two of the great things about the Pac. NW is the dynamic weather and diverse topography. My goal is to capture the feeling, the mood of the different seasons, and celebrate the endless beauty, of our textured landscapes and atmosphere from various locations.

During this process of preparing for the show, i might be a bit light on my posts, but i will do my best to keep up. I will begin posting work for the show in December, to give you an inside peek.



The Matterhorn

In case you were wondering these photos are of my mound of titanium white after battling with brush and knife. Plus its always fun to look for interesting shapes, colors and textures in the not-so-obvious places.

Until next time....... Keep mixing it up!



Inspired



Hood's Veil
8x10

Last night i took inspiration and implemented a lesson from a fellow artist, and dear friend who lost her life to cancer earlier this week.

To honor Shirley Nelson, i set out to paint Mt Hood, which has long been a favorite subject for her. To my frustration, i found the sentinel covered by clouds; clouds that i was sure would add interest to the sky, just not this much interest.

I stood in disbelief as i knew this was going to ruin my plan. What could i do? How could i make this work? Obviously, Mother Nature has a will of her own and there was no parting of these clouds anywhere on the horizon.

I was just about to head for home when i thought, wait a minute, why don't you just take what has been offered to you and work with it?.... This thought process just happens to be how Shirley lived her life. She had dealt with cancer for years, a lot of years. In an out of hospitals, countless procedures, rounds of chemo, the list goes on and on. Yet, if you were to meet her, you would have never guessed she was dealing with such serious issues. She was ALWAYS a beam of sunlight, just a sweetheart of a person to be around. Always, genuinely interested in what and how others were doing.

Even though, i am sure she had her dark days, Shirley chose to focus on the positive side of life and enjoy it for as much as she could squeeze out of it and refused to give in to the negative.

So, i took this inspiration to heart and forced ahead and painted the scene as it was, without the mountain. And in many ways this painting may not work for most people, but it wasn't painted for most people, it was painted for one person.

Shirley, you are one of the strongest people i have ever met and i will take your inspiration and your example and do my best to honor your courage.

Thank you for being a friend.

Reflecting on Art in the Heart



Saki Stoneware
9x12

Even though we dealt with some pretty high temperatures at last week's Art in the Heart event, i had a blast. It was so great to visit and hang out with talented artists and view their work. It was also equally exciting to meet with collectors; some i hadn't seen for a while and others, this was our first meeting.

A big thank you to all who braved the heat to come enjoy a great weekend of art!

During my wanderings i came across many great pieces of art. One artist in particular, Robin Hominiuk, a local potter had some lovely stoneware pieces. And of course, me being me and always on the lookout for new and interesting things to paint, i knew in a flash that i wanted to step up and get some of this awesome stoneware.

So, i was torn between two small displays.... couple that with the fact that my wife was out of town for the weekend at a writers convention and i had sold a few paintings, and...... Bingo, you guessed it - i got both sets. I just couldn't resist, plus i had NO adult supervision.....

Even though i did offer one up as a gift to, My Dearest, i'm sure it will soon wind up in a painting too.

So, again, a big thank you to all who visited, Downtown Vancouver, to partake in Art in the Heart, you really helped fuel an artists fire. And many thanks go to Kevin Weaver, Director of Art on the Boulevard, for hosting and keeping us hydrated. You're THE BEST Kev!

Art in the Heart 2012



I am really excited to be a part of Vancouver's annual art festival -
Art in the Heart 2012.

This will be my second year to show at the event and it promises to be a great time.

If you are in the area, make sure to come down and enjoy this city's tradition, meet local talents, and see some great art that you might not normally see in the gallery.

Make sure to stop by and say hi - i will have a canopy just outside Art on the Boulevard.

Looking forward to seeing you there!