Foggy River Farm vista

This is the view I had while driving away from Foggy River Farm (in Healdsburg) one day this fall. I had gone there to pick up our CSA box of produce. The sky and the colors of the landscape were so spectacular that I stopped right in the road and snapped some pictures.
Continuing to LOVE my new paints; can't imagine ever going back to acrylics.

Rodin said....

"He who is discouraged after a failure is not a real artist."
                               
--Auguste Rodin
  (Born on this day, 172 years ago)

On my easel today...

I am working some more on a painting I began yesterday using my new water-based oil paints (Holbein Duo Aqua Oils). I am astonished at how wonderful these paints are! Their consistency is great for blending colors.
In addition to working on this painting, today I am painting over some previous (unsuccessful) paintings so that I can re-use the canvas. Fortunately, I can paint over the old paintings with an underpainting of acrylic, and then paint a new painting on top using the new oil paints. I have the whole week of Thanksgiving off from work, so I hope to paint a lot.

New Medium!

Today I will use my new water-based oil paints for the first time. I have been wanting to try painting with oils for some time, but I had doubts about trying it for several reasons: 1)As an amateur painter, I wasn't sure it was smart to switch mediums when I haven't mastered the one I was already using; 2)I didn't really understand the difference (other than drying time) between acrylic paint & water-based oil paint; 3)I thought that maybe I should try to use up all my acrylic paint before spending money on new paint. In the end, I decided that life is short (and unpredictable), so I should go for it. I did research to learn more about the water-based oils, and decided to purchase 8 tubes of Holbein Duo Aqua Oil paints. I don't think I will need more colors since I prefer to use a limited palette. I'm hoping to be able to produce paintings with a richer, more luminescent color. Don't really understand how to use the mediums I purchased, so we'll see how it goes! 

My painting sold!

I was thrilled to receive a letter from Face to Face of Sonoma County telling me that the painting I donated to their Art for Life auction sold for $150. It is exciting to think of someone having it in their home and enjoying it!

Monte Rio Cottage

Today I went to the neighboring town of Monte Rio, thinking I would sit next to the river and paint the bridge. However, there was no good view in which the sun wasn't shining directly in my eyes. I walked around a bit and saw this cute cottage. I've been trying to paint more buildings lately; I'd like to learn to do townscapes. This little painting still needs some work, but I think it is off to a good start!

Andre Gide said....

...."Let the important thing be how you look at things and not what you are looking at."

Guerneville Bridge #3

This is my third attempt at painting the Guerneville Bridge. I think it is better than my first two attempts. I am sure I will go back, to try again soon.

The laguna....again!

I love to paint the laguna! I am always astonished by the variety of color found there; it is different each & every time. I need to fix the sky holes in the trees, but the colors in this little painting make me very happy!

Slusser Road Barn

I've been meaning for some time to paint this barn. Among Sonoma County's many beautiful barns, this one has to be one of the most-photographed and most-painted. It is looking more rickety in real life than in my painting; I was beginning to worry it may fall down before I painted it!

Coastal Barn

This was painted on Highway 1 just south of Goat Rock Beach. I was attracted to the deep orange of the rusted roof in contrast to the blue sky. 

Prep for travel to London

My wife & I are leaving for London in one week! We will be there for two weeks and are lucky enough to have tickets to some Olympic events. In addition to spending time in London, we will visit a friend in Hastings, and also go to Ramsgate to see the vacation home my sister-in-law recently purchased. Since the trip will be quite busy, I don't believe I will have a lot of time to paint, so I'm not taking my pochade box with my acrylic paints. Instead, I will take ink pens & my travel watercolor box. I have been practicing a quick way of sketching which I will use on this trip. First, I use a black gel pen (water soluble) and sketch the scene. Afterwards, I use a watercolor brush to add water and create a black/white/gray image. Finally, I go back and add just one or two (or, as in this case, three) watercolor washes  just to add a bit of color. As long as I get the first step done on location, I can finish the sketch at a later time, which will work well while traveling.
This building is a local bar called George's Hideaway; the structure used to be a train depot. Over the years, the building has settled and now appears totally crooked.

View of the Russian River

Last week, I packed my small pochade box and other art supplies, along with my dog, into my car and headed out to paint the Russian River. I had noticed a spot in Duncans Mills, facing east on Highway 116, which has a beautiful view of the river and a small area to pull off the highway. One thing that caught my eye about this portion of the river is that the water looks blue here, whereas it usually looks green (or sometimes brown when there has been lots of rain to churn it up). In this photo, the water looks a brighter blue than it does in the painting.

Bye Bye, Baby (I hope)

Well, here she is, all dressed up in her frame, ready to be donated to the 2012 Art for Life auction. It is a bit unnerving to send a painting out into the world, to see if anyone wants it enough to spend $ on it. I suppose that if no one does, I will feel humiliated. Ah, well.....won't be the first time!

Plan B

Yesterday, I had planned to paint at a beach right on the Russian River. I packed my painting gear, and an extra chair with an umbrella for my old dog, Mr. Wilson. We got all set up on the beach, and then a large family came & literally surrounded us, only about 2 feet away on all sides (sigh). This wouldn't work, as Mr. Wilson is not friendly to strangers. We moved down the beach, a distance from everyone. A large man, with his swim trunks hanging extremely low, promptly came and stood directly in front of us in the river, about 3 feet away. Then he began casting into the river with a fishing rod. Each time he swung the rod back, the hook was inches from my head (sigh). This is summertime on the river. A bit frustrated, I packed up all the stuff, put my dog back in his bed in the car, and set off to find a different place to paint. Driving along Highway 116 towards Forestville, I saw this tree with flowers blooming underneath just at a curve in the road. Fortunately, there was a shady spot to pull into by the side of the road. I opened the windows, and a breeze blew through the car. I had the radio on, and the dog snoozed. It turned into a lovely painting day!

More painting with Lola

On June 21st, the day after Lola's birthday, we drove down to Tomales Bay. We ate delicious grilled oysters at the Marshall General Store, and then drove further south to one of my favorite painting spots on the bay. Lola painted in watercolor; I painted in acrylic. It was a gorgeous day!

Painting at Flowers Winery

Last Tuesday, Lola and I drove north along the coast to Cazadero. Our destination was Flowers Winery, where our friend Dar works. We had lunch with her there, and had the good fortune to try 3 of their fabulous wines. After lunch, we sat overlooking the beautiful rolling hills that surround the winery and painted these two paintings.

Painting at Bullfrog Pond

This morning, Lola and I drove up above the redwood trees in Armstrong Woods Park to an area near Bullfrog Pond. It was HOT. These are our paintings, as we looked out at the same scene. 

Painting with Lola

My friend Lola is visiting from Spain and we are painting a lot! Last week, we painted one morning at a cafe in Jenner, right at the mouth of the Russian River. In the distance, we could see the ocean. It was a beautiful, clear morning. While we painted, we enjoyed fresh, just-out-of-the-oven strawberry scones...yum!

Lessons

" The lessons you are meant to learn are in your work. To see them, you need only look at the work clearly---without judgement, without need or fear, without wishes or hopes. Without emotional expectations. Ask what your work needs, not what you need. Then set aside your fears and listen...."
--from Art and Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland

Dillon Beach

On my first painting excursion of the summer, I drove to Dillon Beach, where I had never been before. I wanted to check it out because my friend Lola (from Madrid) is coming to visit, and I thought it would be fun to take her to a different beach. Lola is a painter, too, so we are planning to paint a lot during her visit. I want to post our two versions of the same scene on this blog each day. Dillon Beach is a beautiful, wide beach, with lovely sand dunes. I will definitely take Lola there!

River view-Monte Rio

Went to sit on the bank of the Russian River in Monte Rio one day this past week. My dog was with me, so I couldn't stay too long as it was hot for him. Quickly did this sketch of the river bank across from where I sat. Probably needs more work. This summer I want to paint the river a lot; it is a challenge for me because most of it is just varying shades of green, and reflections off the water.  

Cows at the laguna

For one of my first paintings of the summer, I went to the laguna in Sebastopol...on that day there were cows grazing there, something I had never seen before. I like landscapes with cows in them, though I need a lot more practice. 

To Practice Art

"To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make the soul grow. So do it."   ---Kurt Vonnegut

Santa Cruz Vista

This past week, I had the opportunity to go on a field trip to Santa Cruz with the Honor Society students from my school. I took my pochade box with me, and (in between correcting essays on Anne Frank) sat on the wharf next to the beach boardwalk and painted this view. It was wonderfully relaxing...the sun was bright, and there were four or five seals frolicking in the water in front of me. It was the first time I had used the pochade box to paint in a very public spot. It worked beautifully; the box is small enough to be pretty discreet. A few people came up to me, but they were friendly, so it was fine.

Cemetery Painting

This 5" x 7" study was painted very quickly because it was extremely hot that day and I was with my dog, who is old and can't tolerate the heat for much time. I painted it at the cemetery on Green Valley Road in Sebastopol. I love cemeteries for their peacefulness, and this one is especially lovely for its small size and beautiful view. Before I started my painting, I was sitting on a bench taking in the view. I noticed a handmade wooden box attached to a wooden post next to the bench. Inside the box, I found a small notebook and a pen. Inside the notebook was written, "Welcome, all! This notebook is lovingly dedicated to the memory of ______. Please feel free to leave a note." Family members of ______ had left notes, photos, and cards over a long period of time. Additionally, people who had never known the deceased gentleman but were visiting the cemetery (like me) had left their thoughts about a wide variety of topics. Interesting idea.
I still need to work on the foreground of this painting. I'm not happy with the grass, and the tree needs more branches... 

Painting a Pug

This is Tuffy. He belongs to my friends Nancy & Angie. He lives with them, as well as four cats. His favorite toy is "Devil Guy," which you see in his mouth. As you may imagine, I chuckled to myself the entire time I was working on this painting!

Learning to be astonished

From "Messenger" by Mary Oliver:


"Are my boots old? Is my coat torn? 
Am I no longer young, and still not half-perfect? Let me 
     keep my mind on what matters,
which is my work,


which is mostly standing still and learning to be
     astonished...."

Pelicans and Painting

Yesterday, I had the day off. I needed to go to Sebastopol to run errands, so I took my pochade box with me so I could paint a view of the laguna on my way to town. It was beautiful, as usual. What made it extra spectacular was a group of American White Pelicans that landed in the laguna while I was painting. At the moment they landed, I was looking at my painting and did not see them. I heard an impressive noise (as they swept their large beaks through the water) and looked up to see a group of birds such as I'd never seen before. At first I thought I was seeing swans; then I noticed their huge beaks. I was trying to figure out what I was seeing when a woman walked over to take a photo. She told me what they were and said they usually were found at the other end of the laguna. She also told me that they have an 8-foot wing span. We both stood watching them, and then they took off. They circled up slowly in ever widening circles; underneath their wings is a distinctive black pattern (on top they are pure, bright white). It was truly a magical experience to see them.

Reworked Painting

This is the reworked version of one of the paintings I did (and posted earlier) during my Spring Break vacation. I altered the colors to increase value contrast, and I'm much happier with this version! I'm going to give this painting to my friend Geri, who is a fabulous chef, and who invites my wife and I to her home twice a year (at Thanksgiving and Easter) for an amazing feast. So....a trade....my art for her art!

What is important to an artist

Poet Mary Oliver, from her book Our World, on her life with photographer Molly Malone Cook:
"In some consideration of my writings, a reviewer once surmised that I must have a private income of some substance, since all I ever seemed to do (in my poems) was wander around Provincetown's woods and its dunes and its long beaches. It was a silly surmise. Looking at the world was one of the important parts of my life, and so that is what I did. It was as simple as that. Poets, if they ever make a living from their writings, do not do so when they are first beginning to publish, and this was years ago. We did not, as I have said before, have much income. We had love and work and play instead."

On the easel today....

Still have a ways to go on this painting....colors and values need adjusting, and the grass & sky need work. Painted from a photo I took years ago of the Russian River under stormy skies. The river did look an interesting aqua color on that day. 

Final paintings of Spring Break

Rain will start tomorrow, so today was my final painting excursion of this vacation week. The sky was full of perfect clouds today. The painting on top was done on Green Valley Road in Sebastopol; the other painting was done overlooking the Laguna down the road from Analy High School. Yesterday, I began using a different, lighter yellow: cadmium yellow light, as recommended by artist Kevin Macpherson for a limited palette. For both these paintings, I used only 4 colors---the cadmium yellow light, along with ultramarine blue, alizarin crimson, and titanium white. It makes the whole process simpler to use so few colors, without really limiting any color possibilities for the paintings, since so many colors can be mixed from those four. 

Paying Attention

Invitation


Oh do you have time
to linger
for just a little while
out of you busy


and very important day
for the goldfinches
that have gathered
in a field of thistles


for a musical battle,
to see who can sing 
the highest note,
or the lowest,


or the most expressive of mirth,
of the most tender?
Their strong, blunt beaks
drink the air


as they strive
melodiously
not for your sake
and not for mine


and not for the sake of winning
but for sheer delight and gratitude---
believe us, they say,
it is a serious thing


just to be alive 
on this fresh morning
in this broken world.
I beg of you,


do not walk by
without pausing
to attend to this
rather ridiculous performance.


It could mean something.
It could mean everything.
It could be what Rilke meant, when he wrote:
You must change your life.


                                  by Mary Oliver

Dramatic skies

Yesterday, the skies were unbelievably beautiful and dramatic. As I drove out of Guerneville to run errands in nearby towns, it seemed to me incredible that this show in the sky--completely unpredictable from day to day--is available to us earthlings every day. I am far from capturing even a bit of its splendor, but it is fun to try. The first painting I did (top) was painted from the parking lot of Martinelli Winery on River Road. The second painting was painted down the road from Analy High School in Sebastopol, looking out over the laguna. My practice this week, of completing as many small paintings en plein air as possible, has certainly been humbling. I will keep at it, with the conviction that with time and practice, improvement will come....right?

From Art and Fear by David Bayles & Ted Orland

"Art is like beginning a sentence before you know its ending. The risks are obvious: you may never get to the end of the sentence at all---or having gotten there, you may not have said anything."


Yep. (sigh)

Patience

Painted in the Alexander Valley. A disappointment. Will try again today.

About ART and also LIFE....

"The lesson here is simply that courting approval, even that of peers, puts a dangerous amount of power in the hands of the audience. Worse yet, the audience is seldom in a position to grant (or withhold) approval on the one issue that really counts---namely, whether or not you're making progress in your work. They're in a good position to comment on how they're moved (or challenged or entertained) by the finished product, but have little knowledge or interest in your process....the only pure communication is between you and your work."
                                   --from Art and Fear by David Bayles & Ted Orland

Spring Break painting

Painted on Wohler Road; acrylic on gessoboard. I have used gessoboard only a few times, but I like its smooth surface much more than canvas. It's more expensive, so I want to experiment with having boards cut at a hardware store & applying coats of gesso myself to save money. Used the actual palette of my pochade box as a palette for the first time. I had thought it would be too small, so I was putting down foil and just disposing of a layer whenever I needed new space. I found today, however, that since my paintings are so small, I don't need much space to mix paint, so it worked great!

Honore de Balzac said....

"Passion is universal humanity. Without it, religion, history, romance and art would be useless."

From Art and Fear by David Bayles & Ted Orland

"If you think good work is somehow synonymous with perfect work, you are headed for big trouble. Art is human; error is human; ergo, art is error. Inevitably, your work (like, uh, the preceding syllogism....) will be flawed. Why? Because you're a human being, and only human beings, warts and all, make art. Without warts, it is not clear what you would be, but clearly you wouldn't be one of us."

Spring Break painting #1

Yesterday, I went out in the rain to paint from my car using my new pochade box. The setup worked great. This is a 5" by 7" painting of an old church in Guerneville. It appears to be someone's home these days. The blue sky is made up; the actual sky was pale, pale gray but I thought it needed to stand out more from the building. There were cars parked in front along the street; I just painted greenery instead. Lots of the magenta underpainting shows through, but I don't mind it in this little sketch. It was great to be relaxed and painting! 

Monet said....

"When you go out to paint, try to forget what objects you have before you: a tree, a house, a field or whatever. Merely think, 'Here is a little square of blue, here an oblong of pink, here a streak of yellow,' and paint it just as it looks to you, the exact color and shape, until it gives your own naive impression of the scene before you."

New Pochade Box!

I am excited to use my new Guerilla Painter pochade box! They can be purchased in a multitude of sizes and configurations; I chose their smallest model (called a "pocket box"). The lid holds two 5" x 7" canvases and protects them while they dry. In the box is storage room, and the sliding piece functions as a palette. Thus, it is a self-contained mini studio, perfect for painting en plein air. I can add a gadget to the bottom that will allow me to attach it to my camera tripod; haven't done that yet. My reason for choosing such a small size is that I want to take it with me when I travel, so I want it to be as easy to carry as possible. I think painting on the 5" x 7" canvases will be good for me as I want to practice capturing the light in landscapes more quickly. This week is my Spring Break and my goal is to paint a lot. Since rain is forecast almost every day, this means I'll probably be painting from my car. The wild mustard is blooming here; I hope this means that even on the rainy days there will be some interesting color around.

Learning Color

I am creating a sketchbook that is dedicated to nothing but color studies. This page is a study of all the greens that can be created from the tubes of acrylic paint I take with me to paint en plein air. I have needed to do more of these studies for some time but I keep putting it off because I find them tedious. My plan for the immediate future is to do another page of greens with a more limited selection of just 1 blue and 1 yellow. Then, I want to do pages dedicated to oranges, purples, grays and browns. Since I know that I am not patient about doing these, I will just work on perhaps half a page at a time. Maybe that way I won't abandon the project as I have in the past.

Why I paint....

Second Version

The very first photo posted on this blog was my first attempt at painting this scene (from a photo of Bear Paw Vineyard in Sonoma County). I am much happier with this version. You can't tell from the photo posted here, but this version has quite a bit more texture, as well as more depth of color. The tree on the left, for example, has several shades of green, as well as red, yellow and purple. Ditto the shadow on the right. This is something I always try to achieve, but rarely manage. I am still at a place on my journey where, when this happens, it feels a bit like a happy accident. Perhaps it will always feel that way....who knows? I feel it is the journey of a lifetime.

Picasso said....

"Are we to paint what's on the face, what's inside the face, or what's behind it?"
                                                    ---Pablo Picasso

Playing with ink

Today was a fun day for art! I experimented with the new artists' acrylic ink I recently purchased at Riley Street Art Supply (as pictured above). I am clumsy with them; they are more different from watercolor than I had previously thought. The sketches above are the view I had from Red Hill Trail, above Shell Beach, where I walked last Friday with my wife.
Today, I also worked on a larger acrylic painting of Goat Rock Beach which I started some time ago. It's still not done, so not ready to post.
 So wonderful to have a day filled with art!

Thumbnail sketches

I have had the pleasure of two weeks of vacation from school. I worked on two acrylic paintings (12" x 16"), but they aren't quite finished, so I won't post them yet.  I also went to the coast every chance I got and painted small sketches in my sketchbook. One particularly beautiful day, I was on Blind Beach with my wife. There was a very low tide that afternoon, so we were able to walk the entire length of the beach. We found a large number of beautiful shells, and I decided to start sketching them in my sketchbook. 

On human perception...

We call it a grain of sand,
but it calls itself neither grain nor sand.
It does just fine without a name, 
whether general, particular,
permanent, passing,
incorrect, or apt.


Our glance, our touch mean nothing to it.
It doesn't feel itself seen and touched.
And that it fell on the windowsill is only our experience, not its.
For it, it is no different from falling on anything else
with no assurance that it has finished falling
or that it is falling still.


The window was a wonderful view of a lake,
but the view doesn't view itself.
It exists in this world
colourless, shapeless,
soundless, odourless, and painless.


The lake's floor exists floorlessly,
and its shore exists shorelessly.
Its water feels itself neither wet nor dry
and its waves to themselves are neither singular nor plural.
They splash deaf to their own noise
on pebbles neither large nor small.


And all this beneath a sky by nature skyless
in which the sun sets without setting at all
and hides without hiding behind an unminding cloud.
The wind ruffles it, its only reason being
that it blows.


A second passes.
A second second.
A third.
But they're three seconds only for us.


Time has passed like a courier with urgent news.
But that's just our simile.
The character is inverted, his haste is make-believe,
his news inhuman.


-by Wislawa Szymborska