You Pick Flowers

I started canning for the first time in my life. I found this wonderful vegetable stand near my home where you can pick your own tomatoes. I spent $4 and now have 16 quarts of tomatoes as well as 2 quarts of salsa. While there, I saw this wonderful sign, "You Pick Flowers" next to the stand.

I had to paint it. Here are a couple of items worth pointing out. The pots were actually white buckets. What is so wonderful is how an artist can interpret the scene and often make it better. I hope you agree that making the pots terracotta is much more intriguing. Also, if you notice the white downward markings toward the middle of the center pot, that technique is dry brush.

One final note on how I handled the white wall moving into the darker room, which is a difficult transition to make. Adding the tan color tone toward the dark edge along with dry brush helps soften the corner and provides an element of interest.

October 22-24 Workshop

I will be conducting a three-day workshop on October 22-24, 2009.

Fundamentals create a strong foundation for any painting. A design and value discussion will include: composition - rules of line and mass; drawing skills; looking for overall patterns; strengthening the design edges - soft and hard; and problem solving.

Painters will spend time with color concepts: aerial perspective, transitions in value and color; and color harmony.

Finding your way as an artist is a life-long pursuit. How do you develop your own technique and style to establish your brand? How does the painter's mood and personality transmit to the canvas? Most plein air painters paint studio pieces as well. How do paintings from studies and photographs take on a plein air feel and look? These questions will be discussed during this workshop.

Attendees can expect daily demonstrations as well as time to create your own paintings in Napa and Mare Island. Individual attention and personalized feedback will be provided.

For more information, download a pdf brochure.

Block out

Tetons Beyond the Aspens Video Clip

Tetons Beyond the Aspens is a 24 x 30 painting I completed over three days. Be sure to have your volume up while viewing the video clip as I discuss various aspects of the painting and zoom into areas to help illustrate my narration.

Summer with Family

For months, I have been promising to visit my siblings and their families in Utah and Wyoming. I drove through the breathtaking Sierras on my way. But for me, nothing compared to Wyoming, where I grew up and had not been back to in eight years. For several days, I was in the Pinedale, Wyoming area in a lakefront cabin. Besides boating, relaxing and catching up with family, I painted. This scene is from the cabin porch and a view of Fremont Lake in the Wind River Mountain Range. During the trip, we went to Jackson Hole and the Teton Wilderness. We were looking for an old miner's cabin in the Kelly Wyoming area. Our exploration took us to places where plein air painters normally would not go. I have been wanting to paint more landscapes and this trip provided the opportunity and the scenery. The Tetons were even more beautiful than when I visited as a child. I have had several instances when I return someplace now that I paint full-time. Experiencing the landscape from that vantage point takes on an entirely new perspective.

I ended the trip in Porterville, Utah at a family BBQ. Relatives I haven't seen in years stopped by to catch up on our respective lives. It was an amazing trip filled with memories I will never forget. The mixture of seeing family and painting some of America's most beautiful scenery was a perfect balance for a painter.

Yes, I have a lot of siblings (4 sisters and 2 brothers).