Northwest Scenes

Here are a few more new works, northwest scenes of a waterfall and a river. First is 6x8, river scene is 5x7. I'm working on getting back to the daily painting routine I started last year about this time, and then finally slowed down in the fall after almost 150 works. The result is I'm getting a more consistent loose "touch" I've been working toward. Now the task is to get this technique to be refined on larger paintings.  

New Seattle Landscape

I've been very busy as President of the Evergreen Association of Fine Arts, so now slowly getting back to my own painting. Here is a great scene of a tugboat moving toward Puget Sound from Lake Union, in the fall color season. This is 8x10. 

More Maui paintings

Catching up on the blogging. Just took over at President of the Evergreen Association of Fine Arts here in northwest Washington and the tasks have been keeping me pretty busy. We have about 300 members, put on shows, have monthly meetings with artist's talks and demos, a public art program with many venues, do plein painting groups in the summer plus other activities. A busy group. 

These works below are 5x7's I did while on a recent trip to Maui. Will enjoy them all again as winter begins here in Seattle and will be missing the sun. I love doing these small "postcard" views in 5x7 and 6x8 sizes as I can capture the feel of the location quickly with a few loose strokes, then touch up what's "off" in my studio.  

Top item is the view toward Makena from Kihei area.
Next is the main intersection in Makawao, looking up toward the crater road.
Third is the view upcountry toward the crater from Kihei.
Last if the view from upcountry, in Kula, back down toward Kihei and the road to Lahaina. 

Maui Paintings

Returned from a great hot week in Maui. Did a couple of 8x10's on a canvas pad, a great way to do travel paintings and save space in the suitcase. The top one is a view back to the beaches from upcountry, in the town of Kula, where we visited a lavendar farm. Below is a view from Paia, looking up toward the volcano and upcountry. I did several 5x7's too but will show these later as they need a few touchups from the travel wear and tear. Both the below are done in the looser style I'm working on. 

Marymoor Park Mill

Our EAFA painting group worked at Marymoor Park, east of Seattle, Wednesday. I did an 8x10 on site, then did another 8x10 looser painting from the photos I took, while the scenes were fresh in my mind. Here are the two works. I'm leaning toward the looser style but like the results on both. It's a three bladed windmill, by the way. Bottom painting incorporates the slough that runs through the park.  

   

Outdoor work continues

The top painting is a 16x20 landscape of the Snoqualmie River. Feeling a need once a week or so to challenge myself on a larger work after a summer of smaller paintings. I've entered this in the next EAFA show and will see what happens. 

Next are two 6x8's of flowers at Fall City Farms. i did the top one on site, the second I began on site and finished at home. I wasn't happy with the composition of the top one and wanted to remove some of the detail yet keep the colors.

Second from the bottom is an 8x10 view at the same farm where I feel I got in some good detail and also nice lavender colors in the field. The last work is a small one again, 5x7, from my Lake Joy photos as I do love waterlilies and could paint them forever.  

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Latest Plein Air work

Have been outdoors at Fall City, and the UW Horticultural Center, for the past two sessions of the Evergreen Assoc. of Fine Arts Plein Air painting group. Weather is starting to change to fall here in Seattle so it's getting a little cloudier but we lucked out and didn't rain on us the past two Wednesdays outside.

The first work is 6x12, painted after I got home as the on-site work didn't satisfy me but the fog in the mountains behind the farm where we painting at Fall City fascinated me. 

The second work is an 8x10 painted at the horticultural center where I emphasized the water lilies at the shore's edge. This is the view looking north from the water's edge. It's a great viewpoint and I did several works last year facing west and south. 

Snoqualmie Plein Air winner

I attended the Snoqualmie Arts Commission Plein Air paint out Saturday, August 17. My 8x10 work, Snoqualmie Falls, won the first place prize of a $200 purchase award, and the image will be on the poster for next year's event. My summer of outdoor painting served me in good stead as I did 3 works in the 6 hours so the judges had a good selection. Although I see a spot or two I'd like to touch up, I feel I captured the mists from the cascading falls so it's successful to me in that respect. 

  

Catching up on outdoor painting posts

The local Seattle weather this summer has been fantastic, some say the best in 40 years, so the outdoor painting has been great. Here are some images from my recent painting trips. The top two are the Snoqualmie River, 25 miles east of Seattle. First is looking north, other west toward the mountains. These two are 8x10, and painted as part of the Snoqualmie Arts Commission Plein Air contest. (See my winner above) Yes, I did three works in the 6 hours of the competition. 

It's all in the method. I first block in the composition and large shapes, usually with orange paint where the green of the trees will be. Then, I add blue and white for the sky and river highlights, until all the white of the canvas is covered. I'll put in a few of the darkest areas at this stage too to get the contrasts I need. This quick start, and the fast setup of the water soluble oils, gives me a decent hour or more to put in the details. While the underpainting sets, I mix a range of greens and other tans and oranges as appropriate on my palette. I can then lay in the major smaller color areas, and finish with details and highlights. The northwest has an infinite range of greens in the landscape so I try to work in 8-10 of these variations into these works to show this variety.     

Bottom two are the Tolt River, also about 25 miles from Seattle. Both are 6x8.  

California Trip

Took a vacation trip to California and did a couple of small works there, 5x7. The top one is the view out my hotel window in Rincon, Cal. There were vineyards up the hill, the middle ground in this image. Below are two coastal views. I like the color variety I worked into the bottom one.   

Painting at Lake Joy

Our EAFA group was out painting at Lake Joy, about 30 miles east of Seattle. I did an 8x10 distance view of the lake and mountains, but also took a few photos of the lake and since I love water lilies, I did a larger, 16x20, at home the next day. Here are the two images. The top image is a little light, the photographer's (me) fault. LOL.

  

Summer Paintings in Edmonds

Have been outdoors painting in the Seattle sunshine, although seems our painting days on Wednesdays do end up with clouds in the morning. Here are some new views. 

The top three are views from Edmonds Bracken's Landing, or the Ferry terminal area. I varied the underpainting in top two yet did the same view, with much different color choices. Below that is the bath building at the beach. These are all 8x10.

 The bottom work is a 6x8 of another view at Edmonds, a beach cove, showing the cloudy sky.

The 4rd work, also 8x10, is at the Maltby Flower World park. 

   

Summer Plain Air Painting

Here are two outdoor works, one from Eugene, Oregon, of the river running through town, and the other from Bob's Corn and Pumpkin Farm in Snohomish. I finished both in the studio however, but the results were worth it. Both are 8x10.

Summer paintings

Catching up on a few images from my files, plus of few more from outdoor painting. First is an 8x10 of the road to Dead Horse Ranch State Park in Arizona, from my recent trip there. 

Next, an 8x10 from my plein air session at Flower World, in Maltby, Washington.

3rd is a mountain sunset, 8x10.

Last is a mountain cabin in the snow, 6x8. 

Recent work

Took a trip to Arizona and didn't get too much painting in due to family visits so painted once I returned. Here are a couple of my favorites. First is a square format, 8x8, of the road from Cottonwood to Jerome, a mining town up the side of the mountain. 

Next is a view of highway 101 in California, at 5x7. 

Also started outdoor painting although Seattle weather is still not favorable but as we move later into June we should get a better painting climate. I'll post some of these later.

I chose these two as they are the most colorful and I like both compositions. 

Painting in SDC EAFA Members Exhibit

Here is a painting of The Bathhouse Theater at Green Lake shown in the member's exhibit of the Evergreen Association of Fine Arts at the Seattle Design Center. The exhibit runs through June.   

Latest work

Took a little break from painting while visiting relatives across the country. Ended up doing hours of tech support reviving a broken computer and was successful and it's still running, so all's well that ends well. 

Will be showing two landscapes in the Evergreen Assoc. of Fine Arts Members juried show at the Seattle Design Center, with the opening reception on the 16th of May. 

Here are two paintings, one is 10x20 or the Mendenhall Glacier in Alaska. The second is a small 5x7 of a Seatte sunset seen from the I-90 bridge. Night scenes are becoming my favorites and need to get out late and take some more good reference photos. 

    

Latest small works

Here are five 6x8 completed paintings from the past few days. They include a night view of a Seattle street, a dramatic sunset over lavender fields, a view of coastal rocks and ocean, and  northwest tulip fields, which are just now blooming north of Seattle.

   

Mountain Scenes

I have a friend who hikes and runs in Washington's mountains with her beautiful dogs, places I'd never go. She graciously provided me with some of her photos to use as a basis for paintings. Here are a few of the results. These are in order of descending size, 8x10, 6x8, and 5x7. Enjoy.