Evening Reflections, 6x6

"Evening Reflections" 6x6" Pastel on sanded paper

This little piece "was" once an unsuccessful painting. Well, at least in my eyes. With all the work I create, there are a number of failed pieces that accumulate in my studio. So with all the clearing out I've been doing lately as well as all the new work being produced, I have been rethinking what to do with the many failed pieces I have on hand. With this one, I just washed off the failed painting from the sanded paper and "reclaimed" it, or what some would call recycled. With reclaimed mounted pastel paper, there is usually a ghosting of an image from the prior piece still on the paper. This can create an interesting color play as it did on this one.

Converging Pears, 9x12

"Converging Pears" 9x12" Pastel on sanded paper Sold

"Out with the color," I say! The fall is taking a back seat to the more colder, grayer days of winter where I live, so I wanted to paint something entirely colorful to brighten my day. I'm now producing studio work due to the season's prohibitive weather. (If you haven't guessed by now, I am a fair weather painter). Oh, the pear! It is so commonly used for students who are learning how to create shape, shadow and volume. On the other hand, I love it's complex layers of color, some of it just flat, and some more intriguingly mixed with layers of reds, peaches, yellows, and warm greens. Because of the cooler light source, I have made the shadows warmer. The shadows may be a bit too warm, but because I intentionally wanted rich color, it is just so. Loosely painted, fun and colorful!

As the Water Rises, 6x6

"As the Water Rises" 6x6" Pastel on sanded paper

A few weeks ago, a new blog "Subject to Interpretations" was created for the Portland Plein Air and Studio Painters for sharing painting experiences. The inspiration comes from the incredible concept of Karen Jurik and her successful Different Strokes blog. "Subject to Interpretations" is intended for the Portland group to express and converge online.

Here's my interpretation of the first bi-weekly photo reference. Have you ever noticed when you put an image on the screen, the work looks entirely different and more often you can find the boo-boos in the piece? Looking at this online I find that I need to make some corrections by suggesting the distant trees' reflections in the water. Later, I say, later.

Aurora Gallery Artist's Reception

Last night was the Aurora Gallery artist's reception for Cast Shadows: Pacific Northwest Plein Air Landscape". The show was a fun one to attend with the buzz of energy and a packed gallery with art-goers from the downtown Vancouver, WA area. There was music and many familiar faces and just incredible Plein Air work! Here are pics of my friends as we enjoy an evening of art and music. Can you tell I had a blast? I love my artist friends and enjoy their company!

Girls [and boy] just wanna have fun!

Back: Amanda Houston, Gretha Lindwood, Barb Szkutnik

Front: Michael Fisher and me.

L to R: Patty Gifford, Karen Lewis, Gretha Lindwood, Katherine van Schoonhoven.

A little animoto video production

Every once in a while I will stumble upon something that catches my eye on the internet. Recently I found this link from an artist blogger Celeste Bergin and loved what she did. She used a service called animoto and they offer these quick 30 second videos for free. You can make a longer one for a few bucks, as I did here. Check them out and try it! It was easy, fast, and really innovative! And no, I am not being paid to post this, I just think it's cool!

Sauvie Viewpoint, 9x12

"Sauvie Viewpoint" 9x12" Pastel on sanded paper

In my earlier post "Rise from Water" I mentioned the view in which I painted a larger piece. In "Sauvie Viewpoint" I paint the view just left of that scene, but with a much broader view before me. Whenever I go out of doors to paint there is so much information to wade through, and it becomes somewhat overwhelming at first. The good thing about this is there are many paintings from just one viewpoint. Narrowing the subject down usually comes once I've settled down and established myself in the moment. While painting with others in a paint-out event, it is always fun to see what the others come up with. Their interpretations are entirely different from one another. This is what is so awesome about art! Not one piece is the same, no matter what the subject is and it goes to say that any one artist could repaint this very same view the next day and it still would be entirely different!