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!

I spent the week on the Colorado River.... part of the river anyway, it was the part they call Lake Powell. Back to painting next week!

Night jumper?

I titled this morning painting "night jumper?" with a question mark. the past couple of nights a government truck (like a road work type truck) has stopped at the base of the cliffs just above my camp. they shine this super bright light up on the cliffs as if they are looking for something or someone....then they work their way down the canyon. strange.

I managed to make my way into town to get some gas...the road into town seems to be under constant repair, and delays reach back to Green river....(hyperbole). After gassing up I headed to a spot I had seen last night to see what I could paint during the day. I found a shady place to hide and paint some rocks in the river. As I was climbing out the small painting fell off my easel and landed "butter" side down in the dirt... arghhhh.

I have one more place I am headed before I call it a night. I started a 9x12 there last night, but the light was fading so I only got it blocked in. On the way back to camp I found this beautiful shot... it took me 10 minutes to get my camera setting right and a decent image. This one will most definitely be a painting, maybe one of the 10x15s or even a 20x40.

very nice...

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 ...

The 5x7s

A little 5x7 of the mosquito pond series.. this was just a value and color study...it turned out OK.

I am getting ready to Launch a Kickstarter Project in the next few days, these are the 5x7 panels I am prepping for painting. I cut them all the same, sanded them and painted the edges and back black. I am still in the process of gessoing them.

My Dad bought me this easel when I was in High school. I have modified it some...but it is by far one of the best tools I own, especially for 5x7 paintings.

Full time painting

I am back in the studio full time now.. it has been a while since I had time like this, actually it is hard not to go do yard work and all the other things I need to catch up on. I worked on this painting from the "mosquito pond" series that I had started as a demonstration while I was at BYU Idaho in Rexburg last year.

I still have some glazing and rework...

5 x 7 oil studies

Here are the small (5x7 inch)studies I did during the Moab Plein Air event. They are my favorite paintings accept for the one of Castle valley. I think the reason I like them so much is the fast freshness of them, the strong technique..which may be more evident at a small scale. Its funny, they are painted on MFD primer with one layer of gesso, really an after thought, but I enjoyed painting them: That might be the Key.


This first one was painted in the morning as the sun was rising. The shadow was racing down the side of the cliff.



This last one is a Nocturne. I have painted many paintings of night, just never at night. It was hard because I would look at the landscape lit up with a full moon, then use my flash light muffled by my hand to illuminate my palette and painting. It takes a while for your eyes to become readjusted to the moon light. I had a hard time determining if I was actually seeing color; I knew there was value, but when I tried to assign color to a certain area my mind and eyes played tricks on me. "is that red...???"


This is what my set up looked like, I took the photo the next morning.

Moab Plein Air

I just returned from Moab and Arches National park yesterday; I spent Wednesday, Thursday, and part of Friday painting 'en plein air (French for painting outside). There are those who swear by the virtues of painting from direct observation and shun working from photos. I agree that observing colors outside is superiour to photographic references, however recording that color has always been my biggest hurtle; my canvases always look washed out. I think I am better equipped to deal with this issue after this week.

Here is my work from the last few days.


In all the times I have been through Moab I have never driven route 128 that follows the Colorado River. Beautiful! I could set my easel anywhere and find something awesome to paint.


This is a 10x15 inch panel, I started about 1 in the afternoon, and ended about 4 pm. The light changes so fast especially in the canyon. The shadow on the cliff on the left side of the painting had covered 80% of the painting by the time I was done!


This one is a 12x20, a large area to be sure, but I really like the longness of it. This image is from the park... Arches is incredible and a bit overwhelming when you look at all the picturesque things you could paint there. I had in my mind what I wanted to paint (standing on slick-rock with junipers popping up in the sand and from behind rock mounds) My internal vision and the final product don't match up yet, I was hoping for a bit more dynamic movement across the landscape. I flattened it out too much. I have noticed while I am refining I lose the energy my sketches had.

More watercolors from the mosquito pond

I am still working with the mosquito pond images, I like the warm sky and the greens and oranges, My watercolors feel washed out, I keep adding pigment to pop the colors, but it seems to always fade...frustrating...
This first WC is a larger version of one I have been working on for a while..I am going to do an oil of it next, the colors are a bit amped up here...



This last painting is the one I was working on in past posts. I am not sure I love the composition. I went with a taller format and I am thinking it should be more square...

Big Finish for the U

I worked on the HUNTSMAN CENTER floor last month, I had the family come and help me peel tape on the last day. they thought that was pretty great! Aaron peeled the "s" in huntsman, and has been telling everybody about it.


The "UTAH" is ready to paint,just need to sand the surface so the paint will stick....


Final Product from the camera boxes, Kevin and his guys still have the final coats of urethane to apply....


Here we are on the last day peeling tape...


The U is now in the PAC 12 conference....