Nice Day for Ducks

As a native Northwesterner, I am well versed in the culture of rain. When the days of endless drizzle get to be too much, we imagine we have webbed feet, put on a raincoat, and try to pretend we don't mind. Often, when the moisture is heavy, I've heard people comment that it is, "a nice day for ducks." With this in mind, I had a fun afternoon last week painting some little web footed creatures. This is one of my favorites. I placed this fellow on a sunny bank, gave him a shadow, and tried to imagine a little warm weather. In my world, it was definitely a nice day for ducks. The little painting was created with oil paints on a small 4x6 canvas panel. He's for sale in my Etsy Shop where I will be listing the rest of his friends as soon as the paint is dry.

Getting Ready for Snow

This week I've been doing some more small studies, auditioning my ideas for something larger. Both of these paintings were inspired by a series of photographs I took while on a snowshoeing adventure in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State last winter. Both are oil paintings, the top one 8x10 and the smaller one 6x6. I have some canvases that are 24x30 and 30x30 that need to be covered with paint, so these little ones might go big, or might stay small. Undecided at this point.

You can find my original work at Smallimpressions and at Ugallery, or click on any of the links to the right.

Painting Process

It feels good to be back in my studio after several months of travelling. Although my paint brush was still, I continued to store up ideas for future projects. The first step in my painting process is to take numerous photographs, store memories, and think. After I am back in the studio, I spend time reminiscing and reviewing. Exploration of different scenes follows. These two little paintings, size 6x8 and 8x8 are explorations of the same scene on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State. I couldn't decide whether a square format or a landscape format would serve the scene best, so I painted both with the idea of creating a larger version. I eventually sell the smaller studies here and the larger versions here. The decision on format is still percolating, but completing this exercise has help me draw some conclusions. What do you think? Square format or landscape? 

Mountains and Coast

Hurricane Hill

8x8 Oil on Canvas
SOLD

Salt Creek

8x8 Oil on Canvas
SOLD

Last month I had the pleasure of visiting the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State with a group of friends. We ventured from the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Hurricane Ridge and hiked along the sea and in the mountains all within one day. I arrived home with lots of inspiration for painting the lovely landscapes of the area. A series of 8x8 square format landscapes emerged after the trek. The two paintings above are my favorites. The rest can be viewed here in my portfolio. As the paint dries I will be selling the originals in my Etsy Shop and perhaps doing some larger versions to submit to my Ugallery portfolio. 

Encaustic Journey

Red and Black 1

6x6 Encaustic

Always eager to experiment with new art mediums, encaustic painting is a method with which I had no experience until recently. The ethereal sense that the process produces has long intrigued me, so I finally did some research, bought some supplies, and jumped in. Encaustic is a classic form of art that uses bee's wax and heat to produce a design.  Above is one of my first paintings using the process. I am delighted to report that it was fun and not nearly as difficult as I imagined. I'm sure I will continue to play with the process. Below are two more compositions from my exploration. I hope you like them.

Red and Black 2

6x6 Encaustic

Red and Black 3

6x6 Encaustic

Paint and Paper

Golden Marks No. 2

6x6 Mixed Media on Paper
Original For Sale

This past week I've been playing with some mixed media, acrylic paint, ink, and pencils. My surface is usually canvas, but I worked on paper this time, namely a 246 lb. archival acrylic paper. The focus was on making different kinds of marks, layering texture, and composition. You can view the entire series here.

After I was finished, it was fun to play with adding different types of matting and framing. My vision is a wall of these little abstract designs. Now, I just need a big blank wall. 

 Golden Marks No. 5

6x6 Mixed Media on Paper

Golden Marks No. 01

6x6 Mixed Media on Paper

Wild Grass

Last week I returned from a road trip along the West Coast from Washington State to Southern California and back again. It was a beautiful time to travel by car. Springtime was showing its face everywhere. The paintings above were inspired by the beautiful grasses that emerged on the landscape in Northern California and Southern Oregon. From the window of my car, the wild grasses provided color and abstraction that entertained me for miles. As soon as I got home I began working on this series based on those beautiful patches of wild grass. The paintings are abstract in both color and design, but I feel like they effectively capture the atmosphere provided by those lovely wild grasses. You can see more of this series here.

Bloedel Reserve

Near the Sheep Shed

4x6 Oil on Canvas

Through the Birch Garden

4x6 Oil on Canvas

Last week I had the pleasure of an invitation to visit Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island in Washington State. What a treat! I took hundreds of photos and enjoyed every beautiful moment of the adventure. Above are a couple of little oil studies I completed after returning home. I created several others, but the paint is still wet and difficult to photograph. These studies will serve well as notes for creating some larger paintings in the future. Can't wait! I better order some more canvases.

The Value of a Cup

This week I've been practicing mixing paint from a limited palette to create a full range of values. A cup from my kitchen was a great subject for this practice. I used Cadmium Yellow Light, Ultramarine Blue, and a tiny bit of Alizarin Crimson, and a tiny bit of white. A great little exercise to do inside when the weather is spitting rain and lying about springtime.

Gaining Perspective--Time Will Tell

Yesterday I raided the pantry for bottles, arranged and rearranged the set up, and painted from life. I prefer to paint still life subjects from life rather than photographs. Photographs hide the subtleties of color and shadow that are so crucial to an attractive depiction. The two paintings, 8x8 and 6x8 inches will take a while to dry since they were rendered in oil paint. While they are drying, I like to let them sit for a few days in a place where I can get glimpses each time I pass by. It helps me to get some perspective. Sometimes I will have a wonderful time painting a subject and fall in love with the experience only to find a few days later that the painting really isn't very good. Then I either paint over it, wipe it out, or restretch the canvas and start something new. On the other hand, sometimes I will struggle with a subject and want to wipe out my work only to find that with a few days sitting on the easel, the work is actually not as bad as I thought. Finished work sitting on my easel needs a gestation period before it is released into the world. These little paintings are still in that gestation period. I think they will probably be hatched in a week or two when the paint is dry. What do you think? Wipe out, paint over, or birth?

Big Wall--Big Art

Lately I've been working in a larger format. It feels good to change sizes from time to time. This week is the week of big art. I just finished some 24x30 inch landscape paintings and have ordered some 30x30 inch canvases. It is liberating to use a big brush and a lot of paint. This 24x30 inch original landscape in now for sale in my Etsy Shop. I'll be adding some more large works in the near future. Of course that doesn't mean I will be giving up smaller works, it just means painting is a whole lot of fun.

Playing with the Color Blue

I had some fun this week playing with paint, paper, and digital mixed media. A mixture of oil painting, acrylic collage, and a photo of a crafty raven merged to create the contemporary composition. I love the colors, the shapes, and the design. Pure fun. Below is an image of the design framed with a simple black frame and white mat. My print shop also created versions on canvas and metal. Hope you will stop by and see the possibilities available for display. They've even come up with it on a throw pillow. Some wonderful options. Visit my print shop here.

Little Birds

Spring is coming and I can't wait. Too much wind, rain, and winter this year, so this past week I celebrated the coming of warm weather by painting some little bird portraits. All were created with oil paints on small canvas panels. I will begin listing them in my Etsy Shop today. As the paint dries, more will be added. Hope you have a warm and sunny spring!

Snowshoeing at Mount Rainier

Winter Road

8x10

Oil on Canvas

A few weeks ago I was fortunate enough to go snowshoeing at Mount Rainier National Park in Washington State. It was a gorgeous Monday. I snapped hundreds of pictures as we drove through the park and hiked the trails. When I got home I began some small studies based on some of the images. This small painting is the most recent. The paint is still wet. When it is dry, I will probably list it in my Etsy Shop or create a larger version for Ugallery. 

Below is a picture of the underpainting. I used dioxine purple, burnt sienna, and transparent orange acrylic paint to get the values established before completing the painting with oils. I'm looking forward to completing some more landscape memories. It was a great day with a wonderful group of friends.

Northwest Collection

The past week I've been working on little scenes from the Northwest. Mountains, rivers, and a little bit of snow all have found their way into my work. As the paint dries, these small format oil paintings will make their way into my Etsy Shop. Some of them might even serve as studies for larger works at Ugallery. With these small studies, I always try to imagine which ones would look good in a giant size over my fireplace. What do you think?

Winter Season Study

Winter by the River

8x8

oil

This is a small study of a scene from the banks of the Deschutes River in Central Oregon where the region experienced a record breaking snowfall last month. I am finishing up a larger version of this scene which should be dry fairly soon. Both are completed with oil paints on stretched canvas. This original study is for sale in my Etsy shop and reproduction fine art prints of the study are available at my print shop for a reasonable price. Eventually I hope that the larger original will be accepted by Ugallery along with some of my other larger landscape paintings. For all who have experienced a similar snowy winter, though beautiful scenery emerges, my hopes are for some warm weather in the coming days.

More Little Houses

My little house paintings proved to be quite popular in my Etsy shop, so I worked on a few more and will start listing them in my shop this week. The largest  in this picture on the left is 8x10 inches and the smallest on the lower right is 5x7. There are a couple more not shown in this photo because the paint is still wet, but as soon as it is dry they will join this trio of paintings looking for a new home. Hope you will stop by to see my shop full of small format original oil paintings.

Cascade Mountain Range

Mountain in Morning Light

8x10

Acrylic

This painting was inspired by Mount Hood in the Cascade Mountain Range of Oregon. The range extends from British Columbia south to Northern California. It includes numerous peaks, both volcanic and non-volcanic. It is the views of many of the Washington and Oregon summits which I see most often in my travels and provide beautiful subjects for painting. I especially love the subtle range of color that reflects off the snow and rock. This painting was created with acrylic paints on an 8x10 stretched canvas. The original is available for purchase in my Etsy shop along with a similar, but smaller oil version. Click here to view this painting or here to see the smaller oil version.