Painting Water (ponds, lakes and streams) 1-Day workshop June 30, 2013

"Quiet On the Lake" 11x14  Oil

Painting this elusive and liquid element can be an artist's biggest challenge, but can also give you wonderful results. Learn the qualities of light on water, depth, transparency, reflections and all considerations when painting water. I will teach you how to see water, what to look for in water, and simple effects you can use with your chosen medium to make the water read as water. Student artists must have a full understanding of their chosen medium.

Any medium welcomed. (Demo will be in Pastel)

June 29, 2013

9:00-4:30

$95.00

Location: Sequoia Gallery

136 SW 3rd

Hillsboro Oregon 97123

United States

Supplies?

Bring your painting supplies and a drop cloth.

Extra panels would be helpful 

Sketchbook for notes and sketches

Portable easel

Water bottle or something to drink for hydration.

A sack lunch or lunch money. (great restaurants in walking distance too)

Bring a selection of photos of water. (No photos from published works please, due to copyright issues.)

I will also have an extensive collection of water photos to choose from.

Class limited to 10 students

Register by calling Claudia at (503) 750-6453

The Best Part about Being an Artist is...

The best part about being an artist is...

About a week ago I was visiting over the phone with my dear friend Beverly, who was telling me about how her frail Mama escaped death's grasp a few days prior. Beverly has been caring for her Mama for a couple of months now and was telling me about Mama's hospital stay over Mother's Day weekend, and her ride back home.  On the way back home from the hospital, Beverly observed her Mama from the rear view mirror of her car, how she was drinking in all the sights from the back seat windows. What was she internalizing? What was she thinking? I imagine a lot. 

After Beverly shared with me about her Mama's hospital visit and observations, she asked if I would call her when I plan on going out to plein air paint so she could bring her Mama to watch me paint. The other day I made hasty plans to go out painting, but the weather suddenly changed to rain and my plans were dashed. So I decided to call up Beverly and asked if I could come over that morning and paint for them...and that I wanted to paint her Mama.

"Mama" 14x11" Oil

Now I'm not normally a portrait painter and there are many who are truly talented enough to make a good living with this genre, but for me it's just fun and a great exercise in observation. We sat over coffee in the kitchen nook, set up my pochade box and posed Mama with the window light streaming on her left. We then draped a dark cloth over the window behind her and closed the opposing blinds to make for more dramatic light. Beverly tenderly applied some makeup on her Mama and then dressed her with a white blouse, black blazer and some silver earrings.  Within thirty minutes we had transformed the room into a studio and Mama looked like a queen. We then placed a large mirror behind my easel so she could watch the painting (as well as provide something for her to focus on) while being the model. Beverly put on this beautiful Opera music, which I don't usually listen to, and I felt my heart come alive.  The painting poured out of me and the joy of the experience of painting Mama was overwhelming. We all felt the beauty of art. I had only a few hours to paint before I had to leave to pick up my son from school, and as I was finishing up, I decided that Beverly and her family needed this painting more then I. 

The best part about being an Artist is in the sharing.

And here is a clip of the session... it's a bit long, but you can enter in for just a moment.

Scooter Stop, 10x8

"Scooter Stop" 10x8" Oil

Life has been non stop for me so please pardon my lack of posting activity. Honestly, I can't tell you how much busier life has been for me since March, and I don't see it stopping until I get my daughter off to college and all settled in. The distractions are plentiful and too much to list lest I bore you. Just suffice it to say I have been brewing up a lot of pastel dust and oil.  Here is a piece I did today that I am pretty happy with from an outing in the low down area of Union Station (the famous Go By Train station in downtown Portland). There have been many other paintings that I have worked on but not many that I am satisfied with or have completed.

There are many new events I've listed on the right. A Plein Air Showcase at Art Elements Gallery, a 1 day workshop on painting water, and a few plein air events that I will be participating in and jurying are listed. Please take a moment and check these venues out, all worthy of a few blinks.  

Planning out my schedule has been most difficult with the onset of drier painting weather and also the Plein Air Conference had taken up the bulk of my absence. Also, I do have to blame my lack of blog posts on Facebook for it's immediacy of posting. It seems that my blog has taken a back seat as life gets busier and it seems that if I can get snippets in at a fraction of the time. Oh, but I miss the diary of sorts that a blog offers, hoping not to bore anyone at the same time keeping time with my artist career.

I do hope to post a few new pieces here in the next few days, so please drop by and I'd love your feedback.