Near the Lions back

Moab is famous for 4x4 and bike trails, one of the most notable obstacles in days past was the Lions back, a difficult descent and even harder ascent. there are some great videos of vehicles losing control and terrific crashes, this is possibly why they have closed it to traffic.

It has been a cold and windy week, the day I painted this it was humid and rainy. The Scene was all cool purples and violets... about 1/2 way through the sun came out and lit up everything with golden light. I might do more of these, I like the foreground, but it doesn't feel exactly right in this study, it needs a little more depth, in the color and value changes, and the shapes defining the contours of the landscape. Still an OK painting.

 

Plein Air Moab day 1

It is cold here in Moab. I am usaully painting in shorts, a tee shirt, and sandals when I am here. Today I was working on a watercolor wearing a hoodie, knit cap and gloves! There is another weird complication that I can see affecting the entire event down here; the parks and campgrounds are closed because of the government shut down. I can't paint in Arches National Park, and I can't camp along the Colorado River. Since those have been the mainstay of my trips here in Moab, I am in new terrain.

 

Had my headphones on today listening to Les Miserables, my all time favorite book. It has been a long time since I last read it. I have to say I enjoy having George Guidall reading to me as a change. I heard these lines about work, written By Victor Hugo a Century ago, resonating in my mind today.

“He had stopped working, and nothing is more dangerous than stopping work. It means the habit goes, a habit that is easy to let go of, hard to get back…”

I have a parallel thought about momentum: In all we do energy is needed as a source of combustion to achieve forward momentum. When in motion energy needs to be expended to keep the wheels turning, with a constant application of earnest effort great feats can be achieved. 

A very good thing about Plein Air painting competitions is the artificial constraint of time that forces this application of effort, or at least creates a situation that necessitates moving out of your warm studio, and straining under sub-par situations. Struggle is good. Hard work is its own reward.

 

available paintings

A link to current available paintings HERE.

Summit Gold

Oil 2007

36x72

sold

Lapping all the way to the River Bank

I have been very productive the past month but have not been very good posting new paintings here! Sorry about that. Here are two paintings I finished before my family and I went on family vacation, I submitted them to the Spring Salon in Springville, but they were not accepted...Drat!

I think they are some of my best work.

"Lapping all the way to the river bank"

20x40 inches Oil

sold

This is a painting I have done before on a smaller scale, you can see it below, I called it " a running start" I called this one "Rock Curtain". It has some great things happening in it. I love the dark foreground. This is longer than a double square... I like the long format too.

"Rock Curtain"

16x36 inches Oil

$4200

A Running Start

A painting and frame I finished a week ago. I tried to keep the image a little on the abstract side. I know it is totally representational, but I was able to finish quickly without fussing over textures and details.

"A Running Start"

 9x18 1/2 inches oil

 $925

 I couldn't think of a great name for it, I was listening to "The Hobbit" book on my Ipod, so when I look at it I think of Bilbo and the dwarfs. I call it a running start; sorta a pun on running water.... Image is 9x18 1/2 inches, framed size is 24 1/4x 15 1/4 inches.

8 pm in progress...

I am back in Moab on the last leg of my Kickstarter project, boy it is hot down here! I took a few pictures as I was painting this last night, you can see the stages the painting goes through on its way to feeling complete. Sometimes I over work pieces... this one is about right, especially for  a study.

show is fast approaching...

here are a few shots around the studio right now, there is a lot of work ready to frame and hang, and many things in the process of getting done.

new painting

This little jewel came together very fast.... it's painted on a 8x10 inch Utrecht archival panel. The surface is not as smooth and wonderful as the Fredrix brand Belgian Linen archival panels that I really love. (I just ordered 2 dozen of those in 9x12 inches to keep me busy for the next few months.)

A Few New

Here are a few new paintings for my upcoming show in less than 3 weeks! I am madly ordering frames and supplies, and making plans... painting almost gets pushed aside. I have to keep in mind that is the reason I am doing all this! so back to the studio for me!

more from Moab....

My Camp is right off the water, I could probably jump in, I would have to crawl up the river bank to get out and get all muddy in the process. It makes a good base camp to paint in as well.

 

 I did this painting last night as the sun was going down, there was still light reflecting off the cliffs behind me, making the foreground warm and vibrant

I woke up at 5:30 this morning to paint this one. From my time here last year I knew I had to get up that early to beat the sun. as it was the sun lite up the cliff in the background as I was finishing.. it was tempting to add that light to the painting; maybe another painting...

It is interesting how flat the morning light is. very cool light. The contrast between these two painting really shows that.

1st Kickstarter trip to Moab

I left home today at 6 am. Its about 3 1/2 hours to Moab from my back door. First things first; campsite. Found one, paid for 3 nights in advance, and set up my tent. Next I drove up toward Fisher towers so I could get my feet wet... the water is really nice. If I wasn't in the middle of the picture you could see Fisher Tower in the distance... but this is the was the best shot I could get setting my camera on a rock in the water on self timer... so...

I set up my easel further down the river and painted this... I call it "Lazy Fish Shadows" because a big fish was feeding near where I set my easel, almost oblivious to me, he was rolling and making a lot of noise, but just moving real slow. Of course when I reached for my camera he recognized movement and shot away. I like the cliffs and the background..Not sure I love the water.

I turned my view down stream next to paint this big rock in the water. It stood out against the cliffs that were farther away... I left it unfinished, I might return to the site tomorrow to complete it, the wind picked up and changed the water from calm and reflective to choppy and light blue... just didn't seem to be working.

I will be adding updates the next few days as I complete paintings. There are only 2 days left on my Kickstarter project. It will fund... that's why I am here painting, I need to get a jump on the Work!

Goblin Monday...Etc.

I spent some time this week with my friend and artist Peter Sakievich. We traveled to the San Raphael Swell, through Buckhorn wash, Goblin valley, did this little painting

After Checking in at Goblin Valley, we raced down past Hanksville to watch the Annular Eclipse (annular we found out means ring). This shot was captured with my camera and eclipse glasses that look like 3-d movie glasses held in front of the lens.

Then It was back to Goblin valley campground to camp out for the night. It was cool to wake up in the morning before the sun was up and walk around those crazy rock forms and mud piles. After a breakfast of unsugared peaches, nuts, and pork Jerky, we drove to Kodachrome Basin State Park. I should say Peter drove... I sorta snoozed. We painted and drew nearby at Grosvenor's Arch.

After a very dusty drive back to the Basin we turned in early; Peter in his car and me under the stars. Perfect night; no bugs, no bears, no critters.

 It was cold in the morning, I had to wear gloves to wear to complete this little gem...

We broke camp and drove to Capitol Reef. I had seen a spot along the Fremont River that I wanted to paint. I was hot but the river was nice and cold to wade in. I found a spot in a shady area with some churning water nearby and painted this little one...

This trip was a Dry run for my Project along the Colorado River (which I will not be able to wade through). At this point I am about 2/3 funded with 9 days left. Hopefully in a few weeks I will be adding posts about my adventures along the Colorado.

Orchard on the Colorado, a Kickstarter Project

I launched a Kickstarter project about a week ago; If you are not familiar with Kickstarter, it is a new way to fund creative projects. It is powered by a unique all-or-nothing funding method where projects must be fully-funded or no money changes hands.

 Click here to go to my Kickstarter page.
   

 In 1997 I traveled abroad to paint and visit museums. Before I left I approached my friends and family with a unique proposition; the opportunity to pre-purchase watercolors that I would be painting while I was in Europe and the UK. The funds helped me pay my way to 6 countries over 2 months. The Paintings remain important to both me and those collectors that backed my artistic endeavors.

 I am proposing a similar creative project and presenting “Orchard on the Colorado” to all that are interested in original art work, Giclée prints, or just a show announcement from the body of work this project will yield. My exotic destination is the Beautiful Colorado River In Moab, Utah

I have 21 days to fund this project; I hope you can help by becoming a backer and passing it on to people you know! 

Virgin River paintings

I spent the week in Hurricane, Utah (pronounced hur-a-cun) working on the new High-school gym floor. it was a much bigger job than I had anticipated, but due to dry time I had a few hours to paint while I was there.

All three of these paitnings are oil on panel, 5x7 inches. I have been doing these small paintings as a means to simplifying and expediting the plein air process. This first painting is from Snow Canyon near St. George, I'm sure I could spend a month down there painting nothing but Snow Canyon. It seems a little smooshy, possible because I was videoing myself while I painted it. my plein air box broke as I packed up to leave...

This second painting is looking west toward Washington from Hurricane just as the sun came up at 7 am. I didn't want to drive very far because I needed to get to the job and get a good start on the day. As it turned out just finding a location and getting to work paid off as it usually does.

The last painting is of the Virgin River. I started at 6:30 am, after I put the last coat of paint on the "HURRICANE" lettering around 5:30 in the morning. I called this "promising day" maybe because I could see the light at the end of the tunnel on this gym floor, but the sun coming up in the east toward Zions Park could is also quite inspiring.

Mixed Greens

MMMM mixed greens! make me want to take a lunch break

Another small 5x7 in the Mosquito pond series.. I might make a larger one from this image.

an 8x10 from scrap I took on the Colorado River last year... I am hoping to do many more of these type paintings in the next few months ...