Taking Risks

As a painter, I often take risks. It is what moves me forward as an artist. I ask, why wouldn't I try something new? Well, to prove a point, one wouldn't grow from doing the same thing over and over again now would they? So I take risks. I also live for the moment. I love the experience of doing things that others would find silly, challenging, or perhaps a bit dangerous. I think I get this perspective from having lived a life full of health challenges that pose a potentially shorter life expectancy. Perhaps there is safety in knowing I lived my life with no regrets, and so I do things that are a bit over the edge as in this fine example of painting on a railroad track.

Autumn Tracks 8x6" Oil on canvas panel

A good painting friend and I decided we'd go out to paint by the Beaverdam in our town of Beaverton (Oregon"s state animal) at daybreak. When we met up, my painting buddy already arrived and was up on the tracks that cross over the dam. As the sun broke, it was so beautiful. All the Fall colors were glowing and the light was clear, but it was the tracks that made for a pattern of curves and light reflecting from the sky exhilarating.

As seen from my point of view

A perspective not often thought of.

So, I had shared this image on Facebook and someone commented that we could be arrested for trespassing on railroad property. Well I guess jail time is not that fun and so this was the first and last time I'll do this ever again, but at least I can say I did it!

Pouring the Foundation, 9x9

"Pouring the Foundation" 9x9" Pastel on Paper

When I present a pastel workshop or class series, I love sharing new ideas and materials that I have experimented with my students. Here is one example of a pastel piece that was painted on a navy blue Canson paper using the lumpy side.  I enjoy using the lumpy surface because it sort of feels like the sanded surface that I am so enamored with. I use the side of my pastels to lightly glide over the texture, allowing the pits to remain unfilled. It gives it a funky look that sort of looks like I painted it on a window screen. It worked well with this particular subject as I loosely conveyed the activity of this scene, leaving the viewer to "fill in" the rest.