ready to hang

Here's a shot of three of the oils that I just framed. All but two of the oils I've painted in the last few months are framed, although they only have retouch varnish on them because it's too soon to varnish them for real, or so I've been told. With the show in May, that's enough time for them to dry completely and let me put a coat of varnish on them before hanging them. What a process. I've also framed my favorite of my recent watercolors so I'm close to being ready for a show,

donna's garden

Saturday went to the house of a friend of a plein air painter to paint with a small group. The owner of the house was recently in a car accident and is confined to bed so we painted in her garden (and inside when it got too cold) and shared our painting experience and our view of her garden with her.

Coffee shop drawings

A little change in direction. Had forgot how much fun it is to draw people in coffee shops. I'm a little (!) out of practice but here's the first couple return tries. While I was in this coffee shop, I asked if I could hang a show of my other work (maybe the drawings too depending on if I do more) and got the month of May assigned to me.

still fall in my kitchen

Maybe one of these days I'll move into a new season but I can't stop playing with images from the workshop and Wendy's farm. I might be in trouble pretty quick here as I have a very small apartment... Also note this is a pretty awful photograph, For real the colors are much more brilliant and the image sharper than it shows here. I'm having trouble photographing these inside. I think it's the light in the room and/or the flash when I use it, Maybe one of these nice days I'll cart them out to the fire escape and shoot them all again... But, for now, you get the idea,

Fall, on fire

Getting a little crazy with the oils. Maybe I'll settle down or break through or something soon but, for now, I can't stop playing. I'm painting indoors (maybe it's the fumes?) but I am working- at least initially -from thumbnails of photos I took at the McMinnville workshop. The photos don't show it very well but also playing with drawing on top of the paint after I've exhausted my enthusiasm for putting paint of the canvas. Oils are great fun but they might make it possible for me to play too much, (Not sure if that's a good thing or not), Also, flash is washing out the colors which are a lot more vibrant for real than here.

Plein air painting workshop in McMinnville

Had a really great time at Dee Boyles' plein air painting workshop in McMinnville last weekend, Switched to oils for an experiment and may never switch back! Right now I've got 10 masonite boards all over my kitchen floor that I'm preparing for painting (photo to come) but here's a taste of what I got out of the workshop. I'm having trouble photographing the art work so that it stays true color-wise but this is fairly close.

More falls trees in downtown Eugene

These were painted almost two weeks ago. Just now getting to where I can post them. Joined Brooks who already had a painting down before I arrived. What a glorious day. I love painting quickly like this....just playing with color and not worrying about how anything turns out. Hope you enjoy.

Grove of trees

Posting this a little out of order as I've got a couple of earlier ones to post from downtown Eugene as well but I can't get to them right now. This was painted from the porch of the place I've been house sitting and working at for the last week. It was a beautiful place to paint but there wasn't much time or energy left over for doing so once I finished working, so this is all there is to report for the week.

Should mention too that my camera isn't doing a great job of capturing the actual colors of the paintings. They are slightly more vibrant in reality than they all show on this blog. But they are pretty close.

The weather has been soooo beautiful. I'm headed to McMinnville for a three-day painting workshop with Dee Boyles (my old friend/teacher from Alaska who moved with his wife Laura to McMinnville a year or so ago) this coming weekend. I'll be learning, hopefully, how to paint in oils on location.

Iris

This was originally painted earlier this summer but I just got around to reworking it to where I kind of like it so I'm posting it now. Painted it on an outing with the plein air group, just outside Salem.

Quick studies downtown this afternoon

These are both pretty small. It was an exquisite day today and I just had to get outside and paint something although I didn't have much time. The first is of trees in the square where Saturday Market is held and the second is of Ken Kesey statue downtown on Willamette Street.

More river views then a coffee stop

Met three people from the plein air group at Roaring Rapids in Springfield on Friday. This view is from the Roaring Rapids Pizza patio which overlooks the river and solves the problem of where to paint by the river and have fresh water and bathroom close at hand. But, the view was so tremendous I had a little trouble not freaking out at trying to paint it. Finally I just painted part of it, away from the rapids which I couldn't even begin to think how to paint...so my view was just of the area along the far shore which was a little tamer. Spent a fair amount of time on the first one, being very careful (it's actually called "Roaring Rapids 2" here, even though it was the first one I painted...go figure). Then, I decided to just quickly do another one before I had to leave. I think, because I wasn't being so careful, and I was playing more, it came out better ("Roaring Rapids, without the 2").

While I was waiting to pick up Phoenix for soccer I did a quick drawing in a coffee shop and then added paint to it during her practice. So the colors aren't true to the real place.

When I was taking the paintings across the street to go up to my apartment, someone on the street asked me if I was an artist and if he could see the paintings. I started apologizing about them before he even looked at them and said I was just learning to paint. He looked at "Roaring Rapids" and said "Oh, that's out at Roaring Rapids, isn't it?" Whew, I guess I captured the essence of it anyway.

This is so much fun.

two paintings at winery today

Just got in from painting at a winery southwest of eugene with the plein air group. Didn't have much time to paint as I got there late because of an early morning commitment and I had to leave early to deal with some things that were happening BUT, in between those two constrictions, I actually got a couple of paintings that I like. I know, I said it didn't matter.. that it was about the process not the product... but today it's about coming home with something I might actually frame and don't have to shove under a rug with all the others to keep flat til I figure out what the heck to do with them.

I couldn't have planned this...it just happened

when something's already ruined, it can free you up to play. Here's the campus tree with way too much drawing on top.

Back on UO campus

Okay, I did say I'd post them whether or not I liked them, right? I don't like much about these except for having had fun being outdoors, painting. I had something that was really working for me in the tree painting for a while, then lost it, found it, lost it, mucked it up and then, finally, threw water at it and got this faded mess. Still, I don't think I'm done playing with it. Took this picture and posted it now because I feel compelled to work it over again using ink lines. (I'll post that later).

The second one done on campus today begs to be cropped differently. So, I'm posting the original version and a second, cropped version. What do you think?

Painting on UofO campus today

Four of us painting today at or near the Knight Law building on campus. Beautiful weather. Gosh, I've got a lot to learn about painting landscapes but it's fun playing. Finally braved putting my bike in one of my paintings. That's Mark, another plein air painter in that same painting. Not particularly fond of any of these as finished paintings but posting anyway as promised.

Week one of painting

First week into "rewirement" and here are the results of my first real day out painting on location. I'm going to try and post everything I paint without editing out what I'd rather not show just so I can stay honest about the process. It was a beautiful day to paint as I joined a few other fellow plein air painters in Springfield, on the Willamette River. Here are my first two paintings (done on location) and a third painting I did once I got home. Interesting how different the two paintings of the same place are (one done on location, one done at home later). I don't want to get too crazy with liking or disliking how any of my paintings turn out, hoping, instead, to stay in a playful/learning place with the process.

Can you find me?

Curious about how long it will take somone to find this and make a comment, without me telling friends and family that this blog exists yet. Hey, you could be the first to say hello. It will take me a while to figure this all out and post some images of my paintings. Please visit again.