LES LULL

Rim Shots

2010-08-01T06:54:00.001-07:00

Had an opportunity to get away from the heat and travel up to our White Mountains for a little camping and fishing. This time of year can bring some intense monsoon storms that drop alot of rain in very short periods of time. The crisp vivid imagery that follows is nothing short of stunning. I am quite grateful that I have photography as a creative outlet until this lingering shoulder injury is in the rear view mirror.

South Dakota Home Visit

2010-07-17T15:55:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I have had a brush in my hands and my journey has led me in another direction until I get a torn rotator cuff fixed. About a year ago I ended up with a Canon SLR in my posession and have been chasing light digitally since then. I am looking forward to being able to paint again, but this will have to be my creative outlet for now. I have ended up learning a great deal about light in this little diversionary journey and have ended up selling a few prints along the way. I just got back from a trip to my homeland and had an opportunity to capture a bit of the light in the Dakotas.

The first shot is a view that I grew up seeing from the driveway of my parents house for over 18 years. It is easy to take something like this for granted until you don't see it anymore.

This second piece is about a quarter of a mile down the road from my folks house. Bear Butte is in the background beneath an evening sky.

This piece was a real treat to discover as the sun broke the horizon next to a pond with steam rising off it.

This last piece is an icon that I notice is disappearing a little bit at a time with every trip that I make home. I have always enjoyed the mystery of why anyone would just abandon a home a wait for nature to slowly swallow it.

Chiricahua Snag

2009-12-30T09:11:00.000-08:00

Had a little time this am to put the finishing touches on this piece, or at least until I digest it a bit and see if it really settles in. Clouds have been notorious for giving me heartburn in a painting. The subtleties of value and edges have to be just right in order for them to not feel contrived. I am happier with this attempt, but still not skipping rope over the results.

24 x 30 oil on stretched canvas.

Stillwater Afternoon

2009-12-30T08:59:00.000-08:00

This is a painting that has haunted the studio for longer than I care to mention. After I did a complete repaint on the piece, I could not for the life of me get a photograph of it that I was happy with or that did the piece justice. I finally got closer to what it actually looks like.

30 x 30 oil on stretched canvas.

Trying to find a groove again

2009-12-06T08:34:00.000-08:00

After a very long break from painting, I have made an attempt to get my toe back in the pool. Trying to be a little more deliberate and thinking about what I want to say. I keep finding myself going back to the trees and this time I am done fighting it. They are what speaks to me and that is what I enjoy painting. A little to thine own self be true I guess.

Standing Naked in an Approaching Monsoon

2008-10-27T13:16:00.001-07:00

18 x 24 oil on Alky Primed Canvas.

One of the finds I came across on the summer trip to St. George, Zion and Bryce Canyon. The weather was pretty wild the whole time we were there. It was a real active monsoon season this year and it made for some interesting drama. I took and unbelievable amount of photos and this was one of those that aked to be painted.

Mayhew Lodge Ruins

2008-10-27T13:00:00.000-07:00

18 x 24 oil on Alkyd Primed Canvas

Haven't painted anything new in a while. I have been busy studying and reworking some old paintings that just missed the mark. I have had this in the to be painted file for a while. I was instantly fascinate with the architecture and mystery of the place. It is located on the west fork trail just outside of Sedona. It is my understanding that the place burned down in the early 80's an a number of movies were filmed here. I liked the quarkiness of the oddshaped openings.

Grand Pinyon

2008-08-14T11:04:00.001-07:00

24 x 30 oil on alkyd primed canvas. Click on photo for larger image.

I don't know if anyone else has ever had a painting that will just not lay down, but this was my experience with this one. I started this piece back in March and could not for the life of me have it look anything but contrived. This canvas has been on and off the easel countless times and set aside in utter frustration. Just because I am stubborn, I refused to give up. I fiugured the reason why it was not working was because there was something missing in my painting toolkit that I needed to learn. I imagined it to be important enough that I was willing to contimue to dust off and make another run at the canvas until I had something that was working. It remains to be seen if what I learned from this experience will affect my work. It is no Curt Walters by any stretch of the imagination, but at least I don't feel completely defeated.

What did I learn? Values and temperature are the only way a scene like this can be even remotely believable. Pretty simple tools, but the canyon will bring to light any weakness in this department.

Pinion Pine and Couple of HooDoos

2008-08-08T13:51:00.000-07:00

20 x 24 oil alkyd primed canvas.

On our way back from the Paint the Parks exhibit in St. George, my wife and I spent a couple of days in Bryce Canyon National Park. One evening prior to turning in I went for a short hike along the rim trail to watch the sun go down. I was quite literally stunned to watch the display unfold. There were some great old trees along the trail that gave evidence that this canyon is continuing to evolve. The ground would erode away and leave these old pines with the feeling that they had been constructed on stilts. This tree in particular caught my attention, but the setting and the background left plenty to be desired. I also wanted to include a couple of hoodoos to give it a more honest sense of place. That ended up being a challenging element to fit in because of the strong graphic nature of those rock formations. This painting is put together from about four difference reference photos with a good bit of it made up. I am still deciding if I am done picking at it.

Zion Juniper

2008-08-01T14:42:00.000-07:00

18 x 24 oil on alkyd primed canvas. Click on image for larger view.

I haven't had much time to do any painting as of late. I had a commission that I have had on the easel for the last month with alot of interruptions. I was asked to speak at the St. George Art Museum for their art conversations because of the paintings that I have on tour with Paint the Parks. This year I was awarded the distinction of a signature member of their organization. When I looked at the map, I saw that the city of St. George was just outside of Zion National Park. I got a chance on the way back to spend a couple of days hiking Zion and a couple of days hiking Bryce Canyon. I saw a bunch of trees that caught my attention and this is the first chance I have had to make a painting from any of the reference. This is a Utah Juniper. I have been fascinated with these old trees and the evident struggle for life in their trunk structure. I came back with a little over 500 photos, and I am still combing through them to see what I want to say about these places.

Bristlecone Memorial

2008-07-24T08:28:00.000-07:00

Born 306 AD - Died 2005 AD

I had the privilege of visiting two amazing National Parks this last month as a part of an extended visit to the St. George Art Museum for their Tuesday night Art conversations where I was honored by being asked to speak. On the way back from the talk, my wife and I camped in Zion and Bryce. When we sat through the presentations at the visitors centers, I couldn't help noticing the small mention of a nation of people dislocated from a place of such pristine beauty.

When we arrived in Bryce Canyon National Park and were planning the hikes we were going to go on during our stay there, I happened to notice a hike called the "Bristlecone Pine Loop". I have been fascinated by these amazing pines since my first discovery of them. The same thing happened to Robert Schuman when he discovered these amazing trees in a remote location of the California's White Mountains. In the toughest of growing conditions, the poorest soil and harshest weather, these little pines make their home. They almost seem to laugh in the face of adversity as they defy the odds and hang on. They will let half of the tree die off and keep a thin strip of living bark alive that connects the needles to the roots. Old Methusalaf in Schuman's Grove has survived to the ripe old age of over 4700 years old. The parks department has had the foresight to not tell visitors there which tree is the oldest, because even though it can survive everything that nature can throw at them, they are no match for the thoughtlessness of human nature. At the very end of the loop on one of the most exposed points stood a naked bristlecone, stripped of her life giving needles. I happened to notice that there was a forestry service plaque not far from this relatively young pine. I noticed in the picture on the plaque that there was a sizeable mass of dark green pine needles, which this tree happens to keep on the tree for up to 25 years as a way of conserving its limited resources. I made mention to my wife of my discovery and thought this was a recent death. I couldn't let the idea rest and set out to find the answer to the riddle of this ancients death. I found a Ranger in one of the visitor centers and inquired about whether or not he knew what happened. He said that this old tree had died whithin the last three years. It had been core sampled and verified to be over 1,700 years old but couldn't survive the thoughtless mob of visitors. He tired to soften the disrespect of this old pine by saying "The poor old tree was basically loved to death."

"Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children."
Ancient Indian Proverb

Garden Angel

2008-06-03T08:47:00.001-07:00

16 x 20 oil on alkyd primed canvas.

A couple of weekends ago I spent some time at the Serra Retreat center in Malibu, CA. The gardens were spectacular and they had a great collection of stone and concreted sculptures. A friend of mine studied at the Waterstreet Atelier in New York with Jacob Collins and had sketchbooks full of studies they did of Stone sculpture. The studies were of just a foot, a bust or a hand. The school uses the curriculum of Charles Barque to establish good structure. I was fascinated with the approach and made a mental note that I would give it a try if the opportunity presented itself.

One of my favorite songs is Calling all Angels by Jane Siberry and KD Lang. When I can across this little statue, something inside me connected to it and I decided this was the one to give the Barque approach a shot on. I had a good time painting it and felt quite challenged to get the values and reflected light correct.

This is the working drawing that I used to get familiar with the structure and a general value plan. It would have been easy to get carried away at this stage and take the sketch allot further.

Last but not least, the location where I found the subject. The light was amazing and created some interesting opportunities for study.

Stone Chicken Coup

2008-05-04T06:19:00.001-07:00

24 x 30 oil on alkyd primed canvas.

A little find from my trip to the Grand Canyon this last weekend. We came back through Sedona and hiked the west fork of Oak Creek on the way back to Phoenix. At the trail head, I came across this little building that was in an advanced state of decay. I was pretty amazed when I started to explore it to find that it had roosts for chickens inside. I am not sure if is started out being a chicken coup or not. If it did, that is alot of effort to construct the building out of stone.

I was pretty much instantly mesmerised by the cast shodow on the ground. This had a real similar feel to me to the painting "Under the Pier." Needless to say, this was a setting that got my juices flowing. I couldn't wait to get started on this. I was going to do a study of this one, but only got as far as the thumnail before I wanted to get started. One thing that I have learned is that with a scene like this, I better have an accurate drawing, or I will be asking for trouble later on. I have been really conscious of the basics recently. Shape, Value, Color.

Evening Juniper

2008-05-02T16:01:00.000-07:00

16 x 20 oil on canvas

I have been spending more time with rag and knife. Having just returned from the Grand Canyon with the family. I had a bit of inspiration to paint another juniper. I am constantly drawn to these stately old evergreens.

Part of the trip was to view the Paint the Parks exhibit at the rim of the canyon that I had two painting included in the showing. It was displayed in the Kolb Studio. I can't imagine a more spectacular setting to have a studio.

Here is a view off the back of the studio.

Studies, Studies, Studies

2008-04-19T08:11:00.000-07:00

One of the commitments I made this year was to spend more time doing studies. More plein air, still life, and life drawings. Some real week points in my work is overdetailing, too many sharp edges, not enough variety in shapes color and values.

Here are some recent explorations.

Sterling Picture Window

2008-04-19T07:56:00.000-07:00

One of the subject matters that created alot of interest in the Celebration show were the old trucks. This one had an old broken out winshield that frame the distant mountains quite nicely. I enjoyed the overstated contrast between the purple in the rusted body playing off the blooming brittlebush.

18 x 24 oil on alkyd primed canvas. Click on image for larger view.

Swimmin with the Poppies

2008-04-19T07:42:00.000-07:00

9 X 12 oil on primed board. For a larger view, click on image.

This year is supposed to be about exploring new territory and getting out of some ruts that I have created. I guess a floral is a good way to start that process. This is my first floral and I had a good bit of fun with it. I really enyoyed the opportunity for artistic license with the color. It was really obvious that the objective with this was to give the color something to read against. I believe it is Payne that said, "A color needs its compliment in order to exist."

Sunbathed Sycamore

2008-03-28T10:21:00.001-07:00

22 x 28 oil on canvas

Still trying to reacclimate to a normal life after tearing down the marathon show. I produced some real frisbees while painting in front of the watchers. A great experience, moved some work and met some great people and some lifelong friendships started. I had some pent up creative energy and some ideas of where I would like my work to go. Should be a fun year. It is quite nice to get back into the studio.

New stuff

2008-03-04T05:55:00.000-08:00

Eight week out of the way with the celebration show. What an experience. It has been and incredibly exausting emotional experience and at the same time alot of fun. I have made some lifelong friends and in some respects it feels much like the experience of being in a college studio enviroment. The main difference is that the artists in the show are very driven and serious about their work.

Desert Mother 18 x 24 oil on linen.

Russian Sunset. 18 x 24 oil on primed canvas.

Ironwood Arch 20 x 24 oil on canvas.

Autumn Gold

2008-02-24T05:16:00.000-08:00

This is a larger painting done during the week. The larger size was definately a challenge with all of the interruptions that keep happening when your are painting in a public space. This was a scene that had an overcast sky that made everything warmer. It presented alot of opportunities for orchestrating compliments. Tried to push the variety as much as possible to keep interest in the larger format. Another reminder of why it is important to work from life as the camera change the values in the light and dark areas.

30 x 40 oil on alkyd primed canvas.

Cool Creek

2008-02-24T05:09:00.000-08:00

A new one from the show. It is an experience to put together a piece while keeping an eye on the traffic moving in and out of the space. I have had to capitalize on bits of time when I can focus on the more challenging passages of the painting. I have painted this area before and was drawn to this area because of the high content of Iron in the creek bed giving it a warm red glow. The other piece was horizontal and I had wanted to do a vertical piece to increase the drama.

18 x 24 oil on canvas

A couple of new ones

2008-02-12T06:46:00.000-08:00

18 x 24 oil on stretched canvas.

I have had and itch to do this one in a larger format. I did a plein air study of this originally and found that it didn't quite capture the inviting feeling of the scene. The more subte I made the transitions in this piece, the more natuaral it began to feel. The camera dropped out the subtel pink tones in the canopy of the tree, but still communicates the general idea.

24 x 30 oil on stretched canvas.

I had this piece sitting around the studio for a number of months now and really liked the composition. In the process of painting it, I lost my way and missed the depth of the canyon behind the junipers. I have been concentrating on narrowing my value range to better communicate my ideas. When I put it on the easel again it was more than obvious what direction this one needed to go. I premixed my pallett to harmonize the energy of complimentary colors to create the depth that was lacking and better unify the idea. I get a little anxious to start moving the brushes and overlook the importance of premixing my pigments. When I take the time to set out the colors I am planning on using, it is more than obvious the importance of slowing down and planning the harmonies. When I just mix on the fly, I tend to lose my way.

Here is the version before the rework.

Devil's Bridge Vista

2008-02-04T07:09:00.000-08:00

18 x 24 oil on stretched canvas.

Another painting from the show. Some type of a juniper species that I am not familiar with. I took a quick peek in some Audobon books that I had laying around and could not find it. Oh well, it caught my attention anyway.

I have a bit of fun painting these scenes where the lighting in indirect and diffused. This was on the back side of a mountaing that was in shadow. The light that was pouring out into the valley was filtered. It makes everything soft and subtle. It also warms up the already red soil and shadows. I thought that made for some fairly interesting contrasts of warm and cool. Got much tighter than I had planned. Fussed with the lighting to the point of overworking it.

I met Mick McGinty at the show for the first time. I find it very cool to chat F2F after meeting on the web. Another fellow painter from my home state. He commented on how much different my work looked in life vs. a photo. It pretty much solidifies the line of thought that it is imperitive to work from life. A camera only records what it sees. Our eyes are so much more sensitive. That dovetails nicely with the old addage, "Don't just paint what you SEE, paint what YOU see."

Mill Avenue Bridge

2008-01-31T06:26:00.000-08:00

Started this one a couple of months ago and threw it aside in the studio. Finally had a bit of time after the dust settled at the show to give it another run. I was a little unsure of the sky at first, but thought it provided a resting spot for the eye. The water is so busy that it seemed to call for a subdued sky.

24 x 30 oil on canvas. For a larger image, please click on photo.

Backlit Meadow

2008-01-28T20:10:00.000-08:00

18 x 24 oil on canvas.

It has been a while since I have thrown anything new at the board. It has been an absolute madhouse with Celebration of Fine Art going on. It is an experience painting in front of a crowd and trying to maintain focus. I have to just walk away from time to time and find my wits. Anyhow, here is a fresh one off the easel.

Fallen Cottonwood

2007-12-30T19:29:00.001-08:00

Well, I managed to get one more study together for 07. I was drawn to this image because of the opportunity to play with the reflected light in the shadows. I believe my new years resolution will be to get serious about edges. I have had quite a bit of fun as of late playing with these small studio studies.

For a larger image, please click on photo. 9 x 12 oil on primed board.

A couple of studies and a studio piece

2007-12-28T20:00:00.000-08:00

First piece is a studio painting where I tried to concentrate of th subtle tonal qualities of the foliage in shadow. It ended up that my favorite part of the painting was the background blue of the sky sillouetting the sycamore.

"Oak Creek Afternoon"

16 x 20 oil on primed canvas. For a larger image please click on photo.

"Oak Creek Vignette"

This is a little 9 x 12 study from a photo taken the same day as the first studio piece. I liked the unusal composition of this piece and have been wanting to do a study to see if it would work for a larger painting.

"Transcendental Mesquite"

This last one is another 9 x 12 study. These always get mixed reactions. Some people think they are spooky, blah blah blah. I guess these are paintings that I do for me. I have always enjoyed the experience of gazing up at a tree and seeing the dancing figures and forms.

Melissa's Christmas Gift

2007-12-24T07:44:00.000-08:00

Well this year has definately been a wierd year. I have continued to immerse myself into my creative side more and more. It has worked out that the economy has impacted my day job and made alot more time available. As a result, money has not been as available as years past. It also happened this year that I have my first major show opening on January 12th, which means that I have a small fortune invested in frames. I asked my wife Melissa if it would be okay if I made her Christmas present this year, she heartily agreed. Getting her blessing to make a gift was definately the easy part.

A common theme that has showed up in my painting has been trees. I often get asked, "Why trees." That question quite simply does not have a short answer. There is not as aspect of my life that has not been influenced by trees, in fact our whole culture has been shaped by trees. My grandfather was a German craftsman and I grew up in his shadow until I reached adulthood. I have been fascinated by building projects and carpentry since I was a a kid. I don't have an explanation for why, I simply know that to be the case. That interest has inspired a number of projects including log home construction.

The four woods that I chose for this project are ash, zebrawood, purple heart and ziricote. I chose ash not only for its beauty, but because it is indigenous to where I grew up. The other extotic hardwood are all tropical and chosen for their color and grain.

I wound up with a good sized challenge with the locking mechanism on the chest. I got some of the steps of fitting out of order and had to improvice mortising the the lock. I almost blew it on that step of the process. I was questioning whether or not to put a lock in at all because of the degree of difficulty. In the end, I am glad I did, since it is not a very good treasure chest without a lock.

I tried to capture the beauty of the purple heart lining in a few accents on the box without having in appear over the top. Who knew how important the balance that a painter learns in painting would apply to woodworking?

I used the same bookmatched zebrawood that I put in the lid in the bottom of the removable drawer. It made for a nice accent and helped to bring out the beauty of the purple heart. I found the hinge hardware at a local supplier and was extremely pleased with the outcome of that piece of hardware. Simple, elegant and functual, doesn't get any better that that.

Thanks for looking. for a larger image on any of the photos, simply click on the picture.

Celebration of Fine Art

2007-12-14T12:47:00.000-08:00

The clock is ticking away and time is rapidly evaporating until the show. For anyone interested in checking out the venue, the website is http://www.celebrateart.com/ . I just got off the phone with the frame manufacturer and they are shipping the order on Monday. What a pile of work this is. Anyone that has an opinion on how easy artist have it, has not tried to make a living at it.

I just finished an installation piece to accompany the painting they used to promote my booth on the website.

" FALLEN PRAIRIE ASH "

The painting is of a tree that was found on my dad's ranch in South Dakota.

I thought it only appropriate to make a hall table to display cards and brochures that was made from the same kind of wood as in the painting. I chose the inspiration for the table from Gustav Stickley, the godfather of the arts and crafts movement. He disigned and built furniture that celebrated the beauty of the wood in a simple but functional design. He typically used quarter sawn oak for his pieces, but I figured the same idea would apply for what I was hoping for.

The following pictures I have included in this post are of the table in the various stages of construction including the final dry fit.

Blooming Aspens

2007-11-15T11:01:00.000-08:00

For a larger view, please click on image.

18 x 24 oil on stretched canvas.

Another studio piece from a photo taken this fall. I liked the effect of the overcast lighting and how it softens the acidity of the yellow in the turned leaves. Not a real obvious compostion. I wanted to use variety to create the interest in this painting. I am still contemplating how successful it is.

Comments and crits always welcomed and appreciated.

Dry Creek Juniper

2007-11-13T06:01:00.001-08:00

18 X 24 oil on stretched canvas.

I needed to do something a little smaller and less ambitious after the last piece I finished. I was fascinated by all of the reflected light in this piece. There is still a bit of doubt on whether or not this needs a bit more massaging.

Comments and Crit always welcomed and appreciated.

Autumn Meadow

2007-11-07T11:09:00.000-08:00

For a larger image please click on photo.

I had an itch to scratch with painting a larger piece. I have an upcoming show in January and was a bit lacking in larger paintings. This is not a huge piece, but large for my standards. This is a 30" X 40" canvas.

For no paricular reason, I haven't painted anything larger than 24" X 36". I have to admit I have been a little intimidated by a larger format because it has a way of magnifying what I don't know about painting yet. Issues in a smaller painting become glaringly obviuous in a large painting. Christensen said usgly is one thing, but big and ugly is a whole different deal. I was a little nervous coming off of a recent failure of a painting, but decided to push forward anyway.

I have gone back to this meadow for several years in a row to see the fall colors. I had a particular motief in mind on the visit this year. I wanted to use the aspens as a screen or a frame for the distant mountain. I have had this image in that back of my mind and wanted to get some good reference for the scene I had in mind. The lighting wasn't real cooperative but managed to piece together something I believe I am happy with. As always I learned some more by doing a larger piece that should enhance my plein air and smaller studio work. It is always amazing to me how these three approches strengthen the painting process.

Comments and Crits always welcome and appreciated.

Autumn Road

2007-10-23T17:08:00.000-07:00

For a larger image please click on photo. 18 X 24 oil on stretched canvas.

Not sure if this one is completely done or not. If it looked as bad on the canvas as the photo does, it would be a repaint for sure.

I have been itching to get this one off of the easel to get started on a larger autumn piece. At least it seems big for me. A 30 X 40. I have the tumbnails complete and the canvas is prepped with an oil primer. I also picked up some new oils today and am anxious to give them a shot. I played with them a bit on the finish of this piece and really like the pigment load and the creaminess of the paint. The brand is Fragonard and from first appearance it acts alot like Vasari, but a whole lot less in cost.

I tried to keep this from getting too acidic. I worked on balancing the yellows with violet grey mixes. If nothing else, a good warm up for the next piece.

Riparian Respite

2007-10-16T10:12:00.000-07:00

For a larger view, please click on image. 18 X 24 oil on canvas.

Here is another piece for the consideration of the Sonoran Desert Museum. I have been involved in an ongoing project for conservation of endangered plants and places. This is a fall scene from the San Pedro Riparian area. Places like this have been disappearing because of the increasing demand for water in urban and agricultural areas. In my exploration of this area it was easy to see the impact of drought. The cottonwood trees were about half dead and the river could hardly be called a trickle. The Museum wanted to document these places so at least there would be a memory left since there are no easy answers.

Oktoberfest

2007-10-14T09:49:00.000-07:00

Melissa and I got out of town over the weekend and spent the night in Sedona. We had supper reservations at Elote' which is a restraunt that a friend of hers is the chef. Great food and a nice way to end the day after an invigorating hike to Devil's bridge in the red rocks. The shot below is the view up throught the natural bridge.

This little get away, along with the belated celebration of anniversary was to gather some more painting reference material. We shot a little over 400 hundred photos. Now the tedious process of organizing and making thumbnail sketches to see if anything is worth a painting. We got some great shot and the air was crisp with fall in full bloom. There were still some area that had not hit their peak and some that had past. That is a beautiful thing about painting, when it comes time to paint them, I can make it look like it was peak time or not.

One of the cool thing that has helped me in my photography is to think of what I am putting in my view finder in the sens of it becoming a painting. There are thing that I know are nice to look at but just don't translate well.

If I find an area that has something that I know I want to paint, there are things that I have learned by plein air painting that helps me to compile usable reference material. I will take at least three shots, correct exposure, underexposed and overexposed. With the three exposure I can put together a painting with all of the info I need. I can see what is going on in the shadows and the highlighted areas. I knew that I needed to pack in some research since the Celebration of Fine Art fast approaches and I won't have the time in January, February and March.

Tahoe Blue

2007-10-07T17:46:00.000-07:00

Tommorrow is my wedding anniversary and it will be two years. I only mention that because this is a picture that I took on our honeymoon.

I use to sell swimming pools and they had a color of pebble tec called Tahoe Blue. The theory behind it was that it would make your pool water a certain color. When I got a glimpse of Lake Tahoe, I understood why someone would use the color of this lake as a reference point for a desirable color of water. The swimming pools were a far cry from the color of water that I saw but I knew why it would be used to promote the product. I was absolutely awestruck with the beauty of this lake.

I have had this photo in a folder of pictures I would eventually like to paint. I avoided it because it far exceeded my ability. I finally got the guts to attempt it and those rocks underneath the surface of the water close to shore were as difficult as I imagined they would be.

For a larger image, please click on photo.

Plein Air Season

2007-09-29T13:38:00.000-07:00

The long awaited nice temperatures for Phoenix have finally arrived. I have wanted to get out and paint at least one study a day since attending Christensen's workshop in June. Too blasted hot. Well it is finally possible. Here are a weeks efforts.

This was a favorite little fishing hole here in the urban lakes. I did a littl multitasking and fished whild I painted. I caught 4 catfish, 2 bluegill and a white amur. They put copper oxide in the water to control the growth of algae, so the water is actually this goofy color.

This a little spot about a block away from the house. A mother and her daughter were quite entertained by my painting effort and she asked if she could photgraph the progress. I felt a bit like a performance artist.

After getting the kids off to school, I grabbed my kit and headed down to Saratoga lake to watch the morning light wake up on a pontoon. I was pleased with the water on this one.

This one I wanted to try a real high key painting. I have been looking at Bato's artwork and have been fascinated and blown away with how he handles the suttle transitions.

Not real happy with this one. It got later into the afternoon and it was pretty warm out. I think the temp blew my mood.

I went to the park up at Scottsdale and couldn't resist this tribute to Robert Indiana. A lot of lookers and interest in what I was doing.

Saratoga Lakeside

2007-09-23T16:27:00.000-07:00

It has been about 3 and half months since I have had the plein air kit out. It has just been too blasted hot this summer. We finally got a break and the temps is about 5 clicks below 100. Squeezed out some grease and ran down to one of the local urban lakes to find a scene and see how rusty I have gotten.

Now that the weather seems to have opened up, time to try for one a day until it gets too hot again. Plein air season is here.

9 x 12 oil on board. for a larger image, click on photo.

First Light at Red Rocks

2007-09-13T14:45:00.000-07:00

24 X 30 oil on stretched canvas. Fora larger image, click on photo.

The objective on this piece was to capture feeling of cool damp air with mornings first light. I have been working on creating a bit more of a tonal feel to the paintings and asking myself, "Where do I want the viewer to go."

This area outside of Sedona is one of my favorite places to go scouting for ideas. The red rocks and Junipers make for some interesting subject matter.

Comments and crits always welcome.

When the Wagons Stopped Rolling

2007-09-06T13:01:00.000-07:00

Wanted to do a painting that was about not fussing with it. I have been doing some fairly tight work as of late and wanted to plow through one in a single session "Alla Prima."

The objective on this one was to capture the heat of a July day without burning up the canvas. More warms than cools.

I found this old wagon on my way back from Jackson this summer in an area that I am familiar with the history of it. It was 107 degrees that day and I couldn't help but think of the courage of the homesteaders that come west for the promise of a better life.

Drawing is a little wonky, but I thought that might add a little flavor.

For a larger image, click on picture.

Targhee Meadow

2007-09-04T08:37:00.000-07:00

For a larger image, click on photo.

On my vacation this last summer, My wife and I drove up to the Targhee Ski Resort. The sky at that elevation, The stark white of the aspens and the groomed meadows seemed to scream paint me.

I am working on being conscious of having an objective when I paint. The objectives that I was working on in this piece were to keep the influence of the blue of the sky dominant over the local color. Unequal distribution of shapes, sizes and color. Orchestrate variety with a temperature shift instead of a value shift. In the forefront of my mind, where do I want the viewer to go in the painting.

Swamp Trestle

2007-08-28T08:04:00.001-07:00

For a lager image, Please click on photo.

I have had three paintings going at once and was able to put what I belive to be the finishing touches on this one this am. This is a scene that I painted about a year and a half ago in acrylics and always felt like I didn't capture the moodiness of the piece or the softness of the humidity in the distant trees. I tightened up the crop and painted it larger.

Thanks for looking. Comments always welcome.

Last Light Targhee Glacial Runoff

2007-08-27T11:52:00.000-07:00

Finally finished this one or at least I believe it is done. Anyway it is at that point where I set it aside digest it and look for gremlins. This was almost an impossible piece to photgraph. The original has so much more that is able to be seen in the way of shadows. The original has shadows that seem to breathe, and in the the photo they look almost black. One of the mistake that is easy to make when working from a photo.

This scene was littered with fallen trees over the stream. I wanted to capture the feeling of that without painting in every limb.

Two quotes that I had in my mind while painting this one are as follows. They are both from Carlson.

"Reserve is strength; Overstatement is weakness. No one cares to hear the singer's topmost notes when the voice is nigh unto breaking. The art of conservation is strength, and makes a masterpiece a masterpiece. Otherwise, the man who simply bought all the different colors obtainable, and squeezed them out upon the canvas to give it full force, would be the greatest master, instead of being merely extravagant."

"We must not train our eyes to copy tone for tone, but think of the bearing of such colors and harmonies up the main idea of our picture. BEARING- to support or to hold or to remain firm under such a load."

For a larger view, click on picture. Comments and Crits welcomed and appreciated.

Arroyo Ironwood

2007-08-23T10:04:00.001-07:00

18 x 24 oil on stretched canvas. For a larger image, click on photo.

Another one out of the ironwood series. I have been completely fascinated with the diversity of these trees depending on location. In washes it is obvious how different these trees respond to the availability of submoisture. The light has some amazing personality to it in these areas. I am trying to continue to increase the viariety in the midtones and shadows.

Crawdad Creek

2007-08-16T13:14:00.001-07:00

For a larger image please click on photo.

This is a little backlit scene from just outside of Payson Arizona. Crawdad Creek is not the name of the creek, but I could not for the life of me remember the name of it. There were kids catching crawdad by the bucket full out of this little creek. The backlighting and blues of the hillside in the distance thought this would translate on canvas.18 x 24 oil on stretched canvas

Intimate Creek

2007-08-12T12:12:00.000-07:00

This is the first piece since the workshop with Scott Christensen that I have had an opportunity to play with some of the techniques that I have wanter to try since then.

One of the thing that I was fascinated with was that Scott uses alot of glazes on his studio work. I guess that I assumed since his work is so embedded in Plein Air that he would be fairly set in stone with an Alla Prima approach.

For anyone that may be interested this is some of the methods and approaches I have been playing with. This piece is painted on oil primed canvas (three coats that have been lightly sanded between coats.) A light drizzling of liquin on a limited pallet of premixed colors. I am trying to work away from an intuitive approach to color. This piece three sessions to get it to a state of completion. About three hours the first session two the next and the final session where I glued together the color harmony and ajusted the temperatures of certain areas with glazes about a half an hour. Each session I wetted the entire painting with a sponge brush and liquin. I have found that I do not fight the medium when I pay attention to the method.

Some of the other things that I have been working on is having a strong reserve of color. Trying not to get carried away with color in the beginning stages of the painting but to get the painting to a stage of completion as quick as possible so that I can get a read on the lighting.

This piece was fairly complex as far as getting the lighting right. This little scene was in a canyon in the White Mountains of Arizona. There wasn't any direct light to speak of. Everything was reflected and ambient light. I found that it was pretty easy to lose my way and forget the what type of light I was painting.

24 X 30 oil on canvas, for a larger image, click on picture.

Teton Christensen Workshop

2007-07-05T18:13:00.001-07:00

Well here are some of the attempts from the Christensen workshop. I am not going to post the really bad frisbees. I had a day so bad that I took the canvas off the easel and sailed it across the canyon.

Scott is an excellent teacher and this was definately painting bootcamp. He encouraged us to just get infomation and not try for finished paintings. He also wanted us to keep our studies to 20 minutes to keep from noodling them too much. I was out of my element with the amount of green that there was in front of me. He said that Sargeant said that if you can paint green, you can paint any thing. He also reminded us that red is the most underused modifier of green.

I have a couple that I was happy with, most of them were not what I would call a success. I plan on posting my notes and some of his demos, but this will have to do for now.

Paint the Parks - Top 100

2007-07-05T18:00:00.000-07:00

I have been out of town to attend a workshop in the Tetons with Scott Christensen, so there hasn't been alot of activity here. I got a chance to see some beautiful country and came home with my head buzzing with info. I plan on posting some of my notes and demos that Scott did at the workshop. It has been a mad rush since I got home with a holiday in the middle of arriving home. Yesterday it hit 116 degrees and today it got to 114. What a welcome home. I miss the Tetons.

I was surfing Wet Canvas today and saw that Michael Johnson had recieved a phone call from Paint America regarding his entry in the mini 50. Curiosity had the better of me and I immediately thought that I simply did not get in. My phone fell into the swimming pool and has been out of commision. I still had functional voice mail, so I called voice mail and there was a message to call Ashley at Paint America. My heart jumped into my throat as I dialed the number and come to find out, both of the pieces that I submitted were accepted in the top 100. I guess a trip to Topeka will be in the near future to attend the event.

Tetons

2007-06-18T06:03:00.000-07:00

Well I made it to the Tetons. What a magnificent place to do some plein air painting. There is something to paint at every turn of the head. I am not sure I can do it justice. It is quite humbling just to be here. I spent the day yesterday scouting some possible locations and snapping some pictures for possible studio works.

I woke up this morning to a temperature of 32 degrees. Brrrrrr......... When I left Phoenix it was 85 degrees at night. I brought along an extra quilt but didn't think I would need it last night. I know better now. Today marks the first day of boot camp. I am a little nervous. I get a little uptight at these workshops. I told Melissa yesterday that I just don't want to look stupid. It is kind of rediculous, if I already knew everything I wouldn't need to be here.

Ying Yang Grove

2007-06-14T17:36:00.000-07:00

24 X 30 oil on canvas. for a larger image click on picture.

This will be the last studio work for a while as I am packing to head for Jackson Hole, Wyoming tommorrow morning to attend Scott Christensen's 10 day painting workshop. I am retooling again for another plein air adventure. It seem to be an ongoing process to find the ideal setup for outdoor work. I put together a setup that is light and fits into a backpack.

I haven't had time to let this one settle in to go over with the final value and color adjustments, but it is close enough to post.

This is yet another scene from the White mountains of California. The sky does some uniuqe things at 11,000 ft of elevation. You get a sense of being immersed in the sky. The sky is also a purer blue than I have ever seen before. The title of this piece is in reference to more than the obvious dead and live tree. The bristlecone are the Grandfathers of conservation. They survive the harsh elements an sparse rainfall by allowing the windward side of the tree to die off and keep the needles alive on the protected side. The found fallen trees next to living trees that were 7,000 years old and still intact. It makes me wonder how old the dead standing tree is in thin scene?

10,000 Ft Grove

2007-06-09T10:02:00.001-07:00

For a larger image, click on picture.

After painting some real dogs as of late, it was a pleasant surprise to get one that I like.

This is a scene painted from a photo that I took on my honeymoon a couple of years ago. My bride and I drove up to Shuman's grove to take a hike through the trees that rewrote time. Scientist finally had an accurate organic sample that was 10,000 years old to calibrate radio carbon dating equipment. On the east side of the White Mountains hiking back to car, I stumbled across this little scene. The trees and shrubbery were out of this world. I felt like I was on another planet. The pinon trees and creosote bushes were like none I had ever scene before. The park ranger said that the most amazing thing to her was the fact that creosote bushes at this elevation could live as long as 10,000 years. Everyone comes to see the bristlecones and overlooks the oldest living specimens in the grove.

I have no idea what kind of trees these are in this little grove. They had the darkest colored bark I have ever seen on a tree. I don't know if this due to the difficult slow growing nature of the plants at 10,000 ft above sea level or not. All I know is that I liked the contrast they provided against the distant mountains. This was taken in late October and I wonder if the maustard green foliage was caused by frost.

This is the first bank of clouds I have been happy with in a long time.

Thanks for looking.

Leaning Tower of Mesquite

2007-06-01T15:32:00.000-07:00

For larger image, click on picture.

It has been a painting or two since I have painted something that wasn't just a frisbee. Time for another tree portrait. That will usually break me out of a slump. Something theraputic about attempting to capture the personality I feel in the presence of a tree. Joseph Campbell once wrote that God is the experience of looking at a tree and saying Ahhhhh. I guess it is kind of that way for me since church is not a place I frequent.

This was a grey day in early spring in the desert and all of the light was soft and diffused. I was walking along the Salt River and happened to look up on the bank and saw this honey mesquite that contained alot of character. I simplified the heck out of the branches on this scene and still felt like it was required to to put alot of them in order to capture the lyrical quality of this tree. It is alot less color than I like to put into a painting, but I made a decision to keep it as truthful as possible.

Thanks for looking.

Petroglyph Ironwood

2007-05-16T09:33:00.000-07:00

For a larger image, click on picture.

I managed to put the finishing touches on this piece this am. This piece was walk through memory lane as I have painted this scene before. This was a piece that was purchased for The Sonoran Desert Museums permanent collection. The piece they purchased was done in acrylics and this one is done in oils. A very different feel to this piece and more truthful to the location.

A friend of mine picked out a piece for purchase and then decided that he wanted to have two paintings. The second piece he picked out was this painting which was already sold. I couldn't have it work out to sell something from my already painted stock that is growing out of control. I retained the rights to the painting in the event I wanted to do a printing of the piece someday. My hope has been that after they get the collection of painting published that it would possibly have appeal for that. Might be a pipe dream. Anyhow, with owning the rights, I can paint a piece for his home.

This scene is from the Petroglyph trail in the Superstition Mountains here in Arizona. A group of us hiked up the trail to catch the sunrise and meditate next to the petroglyphs in the canyon they are located in. On the way up to the location, this ironwood tree caught my attention because of the interesting burl growth in the midsection of the tree. When I got home and developed the pictures, I noticed that the burl had the resemblance of a dragon head. I didn't paint the piece for a long time because I thought it might be a little too Bev Doolittleish. Oh well, I wasn't adding in something into the paiece that wasn't there.

The ironwood tree is an amazing speciman. It is a nurse species for over 650 plants and animals. A real central plant in out Sonoran Desert. They can reach ages of near 2,000 years old. With all of the urban sprawl, developers would go in and level the ground for homes and began destroying these magnificent trees on a grand scale. Congress finally passed a bill to make them an endangered species several years ago. A major milestone in desert conservation.

Tagged

2007-05-15T09:57:00.000-07:00

I have been tagged. My initial response was "not going to do it, feel too much like a chain letter." Upon further thought, I decided it could be a fun thing.

I was tagged by Bart who has been a faithful poster on my blog. He describes my work as "wonderful warm paintings, carefully made." Hey, hey I am trying to loosen up. Famous last word of every painter that has ever viewed Schmid's lovely loose work.

Part 1 SECRETS

If I share them they are no longer secrets. How about little known facts that anyone who doesn't know me wouldn't know.

1. In my second year of painting, I had work purchased from me for a Museum's permanent collection. (Tooting my own horn there.)

2. I have not had any mood altering chemicals in my body for over 18 years.

3. I enjoy meditation as a way to connect with my creative path and work out being stuck.

4. I grew up in Sturgis, South Dakota. The ever infamous Bike Rally in the heart of the Black Hills.

5. I dedicate a minimum of 4 hour a day to painting and studying art. It usually exceeds that.

6. I am going to study with Scott Christensen in June. I love his work and this is a goal that I am really jazzed about.

7. I have a book that I am writing but not making a lot of progress on.

Well that is done. Hopefully everyone is still awake.

Part two - tag 7 other bloggers.

Here are my seven bloggers.

1. Michael Chelsey Johnson-A fellow plein air painter that I had the privilege of meeting at a Ray Roberts workshop. His work has alot of air and is worth a look.

2. Danny Griego - another plein air painter, figure painter that does amazing work and is very dedicated to his craft.

3. William K. Moore - A very prolific artist that has a blog that is a very interesting read about Bogata.

4. Frank Edwards - Another Plein air painter whose work has a terrific amount of life and expression.

5. Michael Pieczonka - A Wetcanvas patron with a wonderful painterly style.

6. Mick McGinty - A daily painter that is from my home state that does incredible work that I would like to get to know.

7. Karin Juricik - Another daily painter that does incredible little scene that are full of stories.

All right there are my seven secrets and seven bloggers and I am still alive.

Fallen Prairie Ash (update)

2007-05-12T07:23:00.000-07:00

Here is an update to this piece. With some help from my friends on Wetcanvas, I lightened the russian olives behind the prairie ash. It helped cool the scene tremendously and give the painting alot more air. This is a difinate move in the right direction.

Mogollon Juniper

2007-05-11T12:44:00.000-07:00

Another tree portrait.......I find that when I work in series I am able to build on my past discoveries. I like the way the light was bouncing all over the place in this juniper. The photo of the painting is alot warmer than the original, even though this piece leans toward the warm side. Sometime I think a warm pallett is appropriate to capture the feeling of the day, and needless to say this was a warm one.

18 x 24 on stretched canvas

Fallen Prairie Ash

2007-05-08T15:43:00.000-07:00

Needed something to loosen up with after doing some fairly tight pieces. Not sure what attracted me to this half destroyed ash tree. I liked the play of reflected light in the fallen trunks and it gave me an excuse to paint something that I could just stroke out and just enjoy smearing paint.

For a larger image, click on the picture.

Thanks for looking.

16 x 20 on stretched canvas.

Christopher Creek

2007-05-07T10:52:00.000-07:00

This is a little scene from our White Mountains in Arizona. This is a boulder strewn creek with a little trickle of water in between the large rocks. When we get a downpour it has a tendency to get busy and almost overflow the banks. This was an afternoon with a ton of ambient light. I wanted to capture the denseness of the surrounding forest and glow of the filtered light without painting every little detail. I think I will be forever haunted by Schmids handling of similar scenes. I tried to focus on edges and paint what matters and suggest the supporting cast. I learned alot and still am digesting the info.

Thanks for looking. Comments and Crit always welcome.

Intimate Canyon Arch 24 X 30

2007-05-03T10:54:00.000-07:00

Just pulled this one off the easel this am. I have been taking a little more time to draw the parts that matter. It has been my experience that when I paint a scene with rocks, it is important to have a strong drawing. If I try to hurry and fake it, I end up paying for it when I am a ways into the painting with an area that will not read right no matter how hard I try to rework it. I drew this out with charcoal again just like the "Canyon Amphitheater" piece. You can see the grid peeking through the drawing. This is and old trick I learned from doing large murals. It helps me keep from getting lost and it is a good way to measure. I use a golden mean grid to keep compostion in the forfront of my mind, so it ends up serving two purposes. I find it a great tool for a balanced interesting composition. A lot of the time I will put the intersection of the grid on smaller pieces to remind me of the importantance of composing something interesting.

I did and earlier study of this piece in a vertical format in a much smaller piece. I had it in mind that I might do a larger studio work later. I sat that painting within view to use as a map for color recipes that I worked out. This scene was mostly in shadow except for the sunlit flat plane on the top of the outcropping. I played with value and color more on this piece than I did in the study to increase the dramatic quality of the piece. I wanted it to be detailed in the right places without overpainting the whole piece. I also included some of the trees that I chose to eliminate in the study. A larger piece seems to call for more of the scene because there is roomofor it without making the piece too busy.

This was a fun piece too paint and this is about the canyon instead of the trees.

Thanks for looking. Comments appreciated and welcomed.

Canyon Amphitheater

2007-04-28T14:00:00.000-07:00

I thought I would put this together as a tutorial since this was experimental and the first time I have used soft vine charcoal to lay out a painting instead of just drawing the layout with a brush. I have always enjoyed drasing but seemed to lose some of the effect I get with a pencil when I paint. I was up at the Scottsdale artist school on Thursday and I overheard someone talking about laying out their entire painting with charcoal before they started their underpainting. I thought this seemed like a novel concept and wanted to try it. I try to stay experimental with my work and not move any furniture into the ruts I create. I have done a few of these compositions now where the canyon is a supporting character to some juniper trees so I decided I was confident enough to do a larger studio work. The layout of this painting is mostly made up from a number of different photographs. I liked the basic layout of one photo in particular but it had problems that would not make a good painting. I needed to solve the composition problems before I could start a painting and thought what better way to try out this charcoal approach than to do my thumbnail on the canvas I was planning on painting.

I originally thought that I took the drawing alot further than I needed to but I kind of got lost in the drawing and didn't really care about the passing time. I recently browsed Scott Burdicks website and he had some demos that he had drawn out and he does a pretty accurate drawing for some of his pieces and I kind of missed the sketching process so I thought that would just take my time and enjoy the process. When I started applying paint thinned with turps, I discovered something that worked out quite well. The charcoal lifted with the thinned paint and made for some really good darks to start with. I played around with this a bit and found the process of planning a good tonal sketch without adding any ultramarine blue to get darks to start with. I was able to wipe out any areas that got too dark and reapply thinned paint if needed. I kept the pallett to Burnt Sienna and Yellow Ochre on the underpainting.

After getting a fairly solid underpainting I started blocking in colors to work out my color comp. I was concerned that the underpainting might bleed a bit with the charcoal being in the mix, but it stayed put quite nicely.

And finally the finished piece. I didn't want to lose the freshness of this piece and end up overpainting it. I need to set it aside and think about it for a few days before I decide it is finished. I am pretty happy with the brushwork and painterly quality of this work and think this is a method of working that I will use again on some of my studio work. If I become confident enough with it I may have to throw some vine charcoal in my plein air kit for field use.

Thanks for looking. Comments and crit always welcome.

Last but not least, it is a 24 x 30 on stretched canvas.

Balboa Fig

2007-04-26T06:52:00.000-07:00

Another study to play around with some technique before committing to it on a large canvas. This is a fig tree that is in Balboa Park in San Diego. They now have this tree surrounded with a chain link fence to keep the kids off of the natural playground because all of the traffic on the ground was compacting the soil and suffocating the tree. It is easy to understand the attraction as I was tempted to jump the fence and go for a climb myself.

I ended up a litte unrestrained in this study and overheated the painting again. The balance of warms and cools is pretty far one sided. I got a little too fascinated with the root that hangs off of the front of the tree and looks like a snake. Good news is the stuff that I wanted to have happen with this one did actually work out.

Canyon Sentinal

2007-04-22T12:01:00.000-07:00

Haven't had much time to any painting as of late. My Wife had knee surgery and has needed me to provide care for her. Needles to say, I have been jonesing to smear some color. I took a trip back through some reference photos and came across this scene. I will earmark photos that I believe are potential painting and put them in a seperate folder so that I am not sorting through a bunch of dogs to find something to paint. This is a photo from a recent trip to the Grand Canyon. I liked how the juniper seemed to be reaching across the expanse of the canyon almost framing the beauty of that amazing spot.

I have been working on doing a better job of leading the eye through the painting and subordinating certain elements. I wanted to draw attention to the amazing character of the juniper and use other elements to give place to the tree. Another thing that I have been doing with my skies is to make sure the last strokes of paint are on top of the blues of the sky to push it back and add more depth. Schmid suggests it as a method and it is easy for me to see why after trying it a few times.

Thanks for looking, comments welcome, criticism accepted.

Spanish Bay Sunrise

2007-04-05T17:43:00.000-07:00

16 x 20 alla prima oil on canvas.

I was digging through some old reference photos looking for something that caught my eye and came across these Monterrey Cyprus bathed in morning light at Spanish Bay on the 17 mile drive at Pebble Beach. Thought this might be a fun piece to have a go at. This was a photo I took on my honeymoon a year and a half ago.

Time to pull it off the easel and give it a day or two to percolate and see if I got lost and missed anything obvious.

Thanks for looking.

Ancient Pine

2007-04-04T10:06:00.000-07:00

A little 8 x 10 study on a canvas panel.

Tried to focus on the color variations and transition that happen in shadow and the transitions that occur in direct sunlight. Form ended up being pretty secondary in this study.

This is a scene from the white mountains of California. I imagine these two Bristlecones to be somewhere over 2500 years old. They have a grove of around 15 trees all over 4000 years old. It is impossible to wrap your mind around what you are actually looking at.

Thanks for looking.

Canyon Juniper

2007-04-02T13:13:00.000-07:00

I decided to put down the cigarettes and as quickly as possible become an indignant ex-smoker. I got tired of listening to my kids bitch at me not being around to play with their grandkids and being looked at like I am a homeless leper everytime I smoke in public.

I decided to post this as a WIP for anyone that may be interested. In this piece I made it a point to be conscious of not overpainting the work as I have a tendency to do when I do a studio work. I have a freshnes to my work when I plein air paint that I seem to lose when I do a studio work.

I have been toning my canvases with burnt sienna and then drawing with a diluted mixture of liquin and burnt Sienna. I have been trying to pay attention to advice that I recieved from Ray Roberts at a recent workshop I took with him. He advised me to slow down and take the time to draw the parts that matter. I approached this piece that way. This is a 16 x 20 stretched canvas.

After finishing a rough but fairly accurate sketch, I begin drawing with a mix of burnt sienna, ultra blue and liquin. I put the darks in a pay attention to where my darkest dark and lightest light is going to be in the painting. I have a tendency to lose my dark accents when I plein air paint, so I will overpaint them a bit in the initial sketch.

At this point I start to add some greys and midtone values. I need to get paint all over the canvas in order to be able to harmonize the values and color choices.

After adding the greys I begin blocking in the greens in the juniper. I will mix three different values of green on the pallett to make sure I end up with consistent variety.

After blocking in the greens I will add the sky and sky holes in the foliage. Schmid said that he finds it hard to have it look like the sky is behind the subject if he paints it last. I used to paint the sky last until reading that. I switched immediately figuring he should know.

And finally on to the finish. Time to correct vlaues and decide where highlights should be. Also a good time to slow down and look at the piece from a distance to see if it is actually a painting. It is easy to forget that bottom line the goal is to make a painting. Fill in the empty spots, leave a little underpainting peeking through in a few places and add a little branch calligraphy. Time to set it aside and look at it a couple of days later to see if I still like the work.

Thanks for looking.

2007-03-31T20:38:00.000-07:00

I have been picking some complicated stuff to paint recently, well at least for me. I find that careful draftmanship and careful attention to values are indispensible to it reading right. This is a little 16 x 20 of a favorite playspot outside of Sedona. This is the start of the natural waterslide.

Grand Canyon

2007-03-31T19:24:00.000-07:00

I took a recent trip to the Grand Canyon which produced alot of material for future paintings. It had been almost ten years since my last visit to the canyon and I had forgotten the magnificence of that place. We drove along the south rim and spent some time walking to Bright Angel. After another night in Flagstaff we drove back through Sendoa via Slide Rock.

After sorting through all of the photos from the trip, I managed to paint a few of the scenes. I have been trying to pay close attention to value and edges. The canyon photos proved to be some great material for studying the veils of atmosphere.

There has been a change in how I paint and arrange the composition after taking the recent workshop with Ray Roberts. I am alot more consciuous of making a painting and planning the contrast in color and light. I have what feels like a long way to go before I start accomplishing what I want the paint to do.

Here are the latest works from that trip.