“Waimanalo”, pastel on board, 22 x30″

The finished painting is now happily and safely framed,  and hanging.  Here’s a look at the finished piece, plus a couple  of other working shots. DSC_0103

I won’t get into much about the painting here, because I’m in the process of  getting each day’s work into shape for a step-by=step demonstration piece on the website this week.  I hope you’ll look it over when it’s ready!

P9250002 Commencing the last day’s work in exactly the weather conditions I needed. And the artwork is level with the horizon, a big deal when working outdoors.

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Unfortunately I didn’t  shoot the painting in it’s mat and  frame before the glass was placed. The final combined effect contributes to the work a great deal.  Most of my attempts to shoot work already behind glass are an exercise in frustration, so you will just have to visit Hawai’i to check it out in person.

I can’t  believe I’m still wearing that t-shirt after all these years.

A good bit of weather

After a couple of less -than-optimal days of weather, I got a nice break yesterday, and was treated to the light conditions that this painting is about. I was able to see the ensemble effect (all the components in the same light) and work on the water and foreground areas for over an hour.  Some color notes I never could have imagined presented themselves and I was able to catch them.

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The blues and greens in the water are easy to hokey-up into a mouthwash aqua color…so I especially valued the opportunity to study them under the right conditions, along with the surrounding greys and warm notes that envelope them.

I hope I can avoid the piecemeal look that an outdoor painting stretched over days can acquire.  So far, I think I’m okay.  Give me two more afternoons of the right light and I’m probably done.

Here’s a look back at the first afternoon’s work for comparison.  I love the texture:

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And the sketch that started it all:P9080013

Pastel in process- halfway around the track

This pastel is springing into shape after several sessions on location. It’s being documented in stages as a new demonstration piece for the site.

It’s 22 x 30″, painted on a surface I prepare myself.  If I can accomplish nothing more, I hope to keep it lively and unified.  The beautiful subject deserves it.

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P9150003A little close-up.  The warm and cool notes of color have been tricky to get a handle on.

Waimanalo

Painted on a recent visit into the backroads of Waimanalo, an agricultural community near our home, this little oil seems to communicate the qualities I was trying to capture.

The entire area is only slightly above sea level, and hedged in by the magnificent Ko’olau mountains, whose violet-grey tones are constantly in transition,  providing a marvelous backdrop to the foreground colors. DSC_0095The Backroads-Waimanalo 9 x 12″ oil on panel

Aside from composing paintings, which I consider my continuous and greatest challenge, I take a particular pleasure in trying to capture the effect of light and the color relationships revealed by it.  I’m happy to exchange some tidiness in the paint handling if I’ll get the sensation of what I’m experiencing in the bargain.  But if I can get both, I’ll take it.

I’m looking forward to getting some more things painted here.


6.28.11 An evening with Jeff

A quick post of a three hour portrait sketch done last night.  Jeff was a new subject who had never posed before, and he did very well. DSC_0038_2 Jeff, oil on lead primed panel, 10 x 8″

I worked with thick, straight paint over a warm wash of some ochre and Gamsol.  The biggest shapes came first, working from the outside to the inner smaller shapes.  No details of the features until the end.DSC_0038When painting on these small panels, I use this larger  16 x 20″ support panel, toned a middle gray . This helps keep the little panel from getting visually lost on the easel, and provides a consistent neutral tone to help me see the colors and values when the light on my painting is less than ideal.  Works well with outdoors  subjects, too.

An Inspired Eye

I’ve been working hard getting about ten pieces ready for a show opening in a couple weeks. This is the largest piece by far…Summer Storm, 40 x 50″ oil.  It’s gone through it’s share of changes, and I’m looking forward to finally fitting it into it’s frame and seeing it up.  It does have a bit of a presence.

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The rest of the show are pieces from the last few months, and include one pastel figure and a drawing to boot.  I include the figure pieces because I like the look and feel of them, and  to remind people that understandably regard me as mostly a painter of the ocean that I love to draw and paint the figure as well.

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Kewalo Basin Morning 600

I also just finished this small (12 x 16″) harbor piece that I think  is effective.  And I have a perfect frame for it.

More later!

4.01.11 Night and the ocean March 18th

I’m haunted by ocean images, no doubt about it. While I’ve come to  know that this subject doesn’t  resonate with everyone, I return to it often and for reasons that are not entirely clear to me.  It’s beautiful, suggestive, sensitive and dangerous. It’s mysterious, and  all five senses are involved in appreciating it.  The ocean is a response to something larger, and points back to that larger source.

This small pastel ( 12 x 16″) is a product of  imagination and recollection, supported by drawings and lots of looking.  The ocean won’t sit for me like other subjects, which is part of the challenge. Good thing, too. I need to tailor the craft to suit the mood as well as the look.

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3/16/11 A pastel figure in midstride

A studio piece from the model, coming along.

I always try to create pastel with an eye to letting it be pastel…my belief has become that the best qualities of the medium are often shown when the color is applied straightforward, simply and without fuss. “Blending”, as in the stumping sort, is becoming something to be delayed  as long as possible, or at best considered just another technique in the arsenal.   The paper color was really important here, and this one was the right choice for the model and for the subject,  I’m enjoying allowing it to flavor the entire painting.

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I’ll have about another two hours to work out the hands and some other aspects of the figure, and that’s it.

I’d enjoy seeing more work by oil painters who occasionally move into pastel.  There are some wonderful pastel pieces from Paxton and Tarbell that I’ve seen which reinforce my observation that a strong oil painter can make himself or herself at home in the adjacent mediums (watercolor and pastel) with relatively little difficulty. Several of my all-time favorite watercolors are by Sorolla, as a case in point.

I’ve got a hankering to work out a street piece in pastel next. Something urban. Watch for some pencil sketches to start that brewing.