Golf Course Gone Wild

A fine artistic benefit of the city closing a golf course has been the return to a lovely savanna like park of rolling land and scattered trees. The grasses grow tall and sway gold in the late fall ... and then they mow it! It's unattractive for a while but I like that they are selling the virtually pesticide free hay.

Here are a couple of the tiny paintings from there, and it'd be lovely to do more soon, before it does get sold for condo development (can you say, there's a housing glut?)

Working title is 'tiny skinny I'

'Tiny skinny II' below:

Some of what's fun to paint there:
• Juniper and pine, arborvitae and other evergreens with the orange and green problems
• Opportunity to look deeply at light as it falls between trees at differing depths from the painter, this is excellent to see how much a few degrees can matter in whether something is contra lit or flat front lit, sometimes both in the same tree
• A small pond that can be used for relief from the pattern of similar size forms against the grass
• The chance to paint dead weeds! So fun for pastel handling and mark making, great rusty colors of dock and dried umbels of Queen Ann's Lace
• Shadows in tall grass and trees that shade one another
• ...and at this time of year its a chance to get away from the "wall of green" that is happening most other places in the mid west.

Working titles will change after I have a few more in the group.

It's been a long haul getting back to writing this blog, a few highlights from the interim:

Began a new format on site, what I call my *big* paintings. Compared to the tiny "Jewels" at 6x6 inches the more recent format of 24x9 inches seems large. These two are not completed, left 'em just how I ended the session in the wet spring a while back. 

The titles are working titles so ya know...

 The Flood and Beech 

The river beyond the tree was flooded, muddy brown wonderful, and the April coolness kept the trees in that lovely pink, cloudy mauve period when they just begin to sprout out their blossoms and leaf sheaths. 

Beech trees have very thin bark and in our neck of the woods the temps can freeze them so they split, this looks to be the case, but it's hard to know for sure. She's repaired the wound and climbs on up higher. 

Also interesting is the development of very rough bark on the base, under that zippy green moss. 

This is an old tree with many stories observing the life spans of swimmers and gliders down the river. 

By the way, if you don't already own Forest Forensics, go get a copy.

Green Skin and Root Beer Pond

Nice comparison of Beech and Plane trees with shade over a vernal pond, fun challenge that blue/rust/green reflecting thing. 

This wetness was great fun to paint, and kept the people traffic low but lead a few weeks later to the mosquito hatch of the century! 

The spring melt and warm sitting water was consistently followed by torrents of rain so that the river didn't drop down to it's usual level until late in summer and the vernal ponds remained — an extension of surface area for biting reproduction.

It kept me outta the woods most of the next three months after trying, trying, trying all manner of protection; with the right bug dope my skin was safe but the little nasties flew into my nose! 

Couldn't deal with that. 

And, the mosquitos were heavily supplemented by black flies. 

That's all past and I have another stack of work from the experience. 

Show scheduled for September, probably small things, no idea what yet, several tiny projects in the works. 

Last August I was featured in the pastel magazine for the largest French language how to art magazine in France. (I know, that was a long one!) And on the cover too. The magazine is quite lovely, sometimes, somewheres available in North America but the pastel supplement, sadly, is only available in France.

Praqtique des Arts, available link here.

Anybody else out there painting, what are you working on? Does this too-much-green phase in the midwest have a comparable challenge elsewhere?

http://www.pratiquedesarts.com/

Here's the frozen underpainting, even the brush froze after a few splashes and behaved more like a twiggy weed than bristles. After 30 minutes wandering around to photograph and drink coffee while waiting for the underpainting to thaw, I broke down the easel and walked over to where my painting buddy for the day was located. They weren't painting with ice cubes and were working in water colors. So it's all about location, location, location.

"Roaming Apple Tree" 8x10 inches, pastel over gouache on Uart.


Four painters roamed for four days over the Door Peninsula the third week of October this year finding it cold, cloudy and often wet. Fortunately there are many ways to find shelter and this painting was from within a row a trees against which the wind buffeted. 


The first morning I didn't set up due to continual rain that became increasingly dense. But the oil painters continued to work, some without cover, so it'll be interesting to see how that turns out. Being the only person working in pastels, I can't say if that was an advantage or no. 

That was the only day that I couldn't get going. After that, these wild apple trees continued to get my attention, seems like I did four or five paintings of various groups ... it says a lot about the former orcharding going on in the area.

This sample of Uart brand sandpaper worked well enough for me to want to try it again soon. The paper was mounted and nicely flat, a light tone to it to start, took the washes well and dried at least as well as Wallis which was slow only because of the really high humidity.


These old apple trees were a persistent source of sculptural forms, even holding their fruits which ranged from brilliant yellows with carmine tints to deep lipstick reds which had even darker blushes of burgundy.


I also need to announce that the group of painters on this trip and I have launched a blog for the group. Please give us a few days and then see what happens ... there is a lot of energy and with everyone so attracted to the Driftless area, or from that region, we've named the site after it. See the links to the right for the Driftless 6/10 Blog.

"Green Begins in March" is a working title for this late winter painting done last year. 6x6 inches, pastel and gouache on sandpaper.

As usual, it is en plein air pastel on sandpaper and the location was a farm copse with a pond during the winter and spring. What was interesting was the bits of green, of course, which after a winter can seem dramatically strong. Also, the tremendous blue band of shadow which because the overall terrain was pale, dead grass, took up the reflection of sky deeply. A hazard here became apparent as I watchrd the foreground tree shadow sweep quickly to the right and change the composition to uninteresting ... another reason to be decisive at the beginning and design immediately.

During this season of painting, I was also chasing the blanched quality of light which also indicates winter and some other conditions. The damp, light absorptive tree trunks made a dramatic and graphic contrast with line-based statements.

The gouache underpainting can be tough in winter weather, however, it pays off as a design tool for me beyond what a thumbnail can do. Thumbnails are great exercises and can produce good paintings, but my own do not excite me with the moment and the energy like an underpainting can. The potential handicap can be that I fall in love with the underpainting and am hesitant to obliterate it. Risk all to gain.

Here is another from that season:

"Forebearer to Spring" is likely to be another working title. 9x12 inches, pastel and gouache on sandpaper.

Working titles are a way to tie together the image and a word or two or three. Sometimes the title process can be the most difficult part of it all, or perhaps the organizing of that process is not yet well enough developed in my work flow. "Dead Pine with Friends" was a working title that was not going to do anything useful in the wide world, but still recalls the painting more thoroughly.

These two paintings remain labeled with working titles, at least until I sit down to do formal ones.

"Indication of Spring" 6x6 pastel on sand paper.


Back in town for a few weeks between trips I have been working to wrap up pieces that were part way through and needed to be completed. This is one that I did out of my window one late winter morning and set aside for quite a while. The raking light and complexity of the distant houses made it interesting but since it is small I wanted to wait until the energy of the thing returned. It did and was an easy completion.

That's when I know the design was right, the purpose was right and the painting worth waiting for.

The underpainting was quite detailed and nearly a painting in itself. That can be a worry, too much commitment too soon and the risk of what happens in the rest of the painting process can cause all sorts of "avoidies". That is what I call the design elements, strokes or color I've become attached to.

What happens in the beginning of a painting is different from the end, so this too much too soon thing means there sometimes is not enough psychic latitude when I return to one of these to see it as a whole.

This one worked out and is a nice story of the oak leaf remnants, emerging grass among dead, dead winter sop. It's hopeful the way that sunlight can be after a long winter. It has a lot going on and is still relatively simple. Interesting too that the sand paper is a dark tone rather than the white I usually prefer. Dark and light, it's always about that.

Working title: "Dusk" 6x18 pastel on sand paper, Door County Wisc.

This piece shows quite a bit of underpainting and the delicacy that I most enjoy and with which I have wrestled over the summer to incorporate into larger pieces. It is a light touch that works well in the smaller pieces and was elusive as I changed subjects, format and size. 

Coolness but lightness in the shadows of this June painting were a direct contrast to the startling radiance of light striking the aspen. Deep dark pines in shadows with a few cedars also in shadow in the upper right. The scene is a long abandoned homestead, hence the irises in the sunlight area along with other garden flowers in a now weedy field. The large shrub left and background right of center were old, old lilacs long past their bloom and presenting an odd display of seed pods–a rangy color of rusty brown.

"Wetland Jewel #60" 3x18 inches, pastel and gouache on sandpaper.

The colors of fall are showing up and the raking light emphasizes it much more.

"Reclamation Pond, Dusk" Detail 6x18 inches, pastel and gouache on sandpaper.

This detail is one of several underpaintings I set myself up with to work on later. The goal is to set down the initial structure and go back, speed and decisiveness practice. This was painted last week, about Aug 17.

"First Light", 3x18 inches, pastel and gouache.

Another long skinny from painting at the very formal Victorian garden in town, this one is probably sold, maybe sooner than later since I have two entities vying for it. What was fun with this painting is that blanched quality of light when it's so angular and bright and contrasts strongly with the equally angular shadows ... all with light touches of roses, bar berry and blue shadow colors.

And with this painting, there is a "going in and in" that people have described with some of my work. What I understand that to be is an effective illusion of space, detail, atmosphere.

"Watching Fog Rise", 9x12 inches, pastel and gouache, 5:30 am during the Door County Invitational Plein Air Competition, week of July 19 thru the 28th.

"Shadows and Light: Perfect Moment" Pastel on Wallis with gouache underpainting, 9x12 inches.

The festival wrap up was yesterday so I'll post a summary to cover the week, photos here and there, therefore it'll be a longish one.

The painting above was highly energized, lots of interest while I painted it. It was done at the site I chose for my demo site. It's a real nice gallery in Sister Creek called Fine Line Designs and represents several of the artists invited for this competition. It could have sold five or six times this week – from the moment the preview opened at 5 pm on Friday until Sunday.

A very fun woman bought the piece at the preview auction and I'd had a lot of fun talking to her all week long, one of the palette sponsors who are an art committed group who purchased access to a number of extra events where we invited artists could talk and socialize with them.

Beginning on Sunday with stamping and ending the next Sunday at 2:30, the painting was full on, the events were full on and the people were full on...I didn't have time to see the other work until I walked the final two on Sunday!

Sales were good, I painted 16 or 17 paintings, even though working with an equipment handicap from Tuesday on. (Best laid plans.)

Kudos to the volunteers, staff, director and board members of the Peninsula School of Art, this event was incredibly complex, intense and entirely well organized. When the Tuesday disaster struck my equipment and I was without a working easel the school stood behind me and ordered a replacement along with helping me get back on my feet to paint. A really incredible group of people dedicated to art.




"Solitude" 12x16, pastel and gouache on Wallis. This painting was done the first evening and remains one of my favs though you're seeing it here as the photo on site which has shadows of grass across it. There are many incredible painting locations here which I didn't get to yet and will likely return to paint sometime late in the year – both winter and fall are said to be stunning.

This really was incredible and it really was intense – so much beauty and work.

I'll be staying with another host tonight and return home tomorrow. After that more info and photos from the event when I settle back in at home.

"Sand Road Park", Door County, WI

The weather on the peninsula is varied and with so many beautiful places to paint, it's pretty easy to work around whatever happens. I was interested in the light, the water effects and subtlety of color in this "widie". 

Painting in this area for the last week with a painting in the morning before my friend wakes up, and one in the evening is not nearly enough to satisfy my curiosity about all the magic here, the wilder areas are especially attractive, and even with the bloom of biting bugs in the last few days, call for extended work. 

Between painting we've toured around the peninsula, and done a bit of research for the coming invitational competition in this area about three weeks from now. Yikes, it's coming up quickly. 

One of the challenges here is the contrast of man-made and wild subjects. The wilder subjects are most to my tastes and style, but the human components function as anchors for the viewer – a way into the painting. As with gardens they dictate more and allow less free handling. 

Am heading out now to explore just such an opportunity.

"City Sanctuary", plein air pastel on dark Wallis sandpaper, 14 June 2009.

Painting the garden has been a combination of fun and extraordinary challenge. Verbalizing the difficulty with fellow painters has raised the issues involved and helped pinpoint them. The design is already done. There is a wild variety of shape/color/pattern issues that both limit artistic interpretation and force compliance of some sort for there to be a rendering at all. The color swaths also add a potential compositional hazard but are required in order to anchor the subject in reality. There's a lot going on. Because there are so many shapes/patterns/edges, the effects of the sun traveling is much more apparent than when in nature a plant community is rarely isolated to a handful of specimens and also limited to a handful of species. There is a formalized aspect of the garden space that again is predetermined and limits/compells the design making artistic processing much more convoluted and risky for the final interpretation to be successful.

And, so, today I learned something important about getting the work done in a garden. Use the rectangles. Working in my currently happy format of very wide, and wider, I'm finding that the inherent rectangles of the garden can be used to structure the shapes in my painting compositions to my advantage. It is more geometric and much less organic, so be it. Leverage these things. 

As Robert Genn has said many times about showing up for the work and finding one's way, today's painting showed me how to wrangle the rectangle into a subordinate position that helps the composition rather than hacking away at it.

Socks for my easel

The trick legs on my trick easel began having trouble after two years of working it hard. The manufacturer suggested that I pull off the feet and wash water up the legs to remove dirt. Did this twice but one leg still didn't hold it's position and was difficult to retract. 

We took the worst leg apart, wiped it down, removed the worst offender – the screw used as a stop for the rubber foot – and it worked again. That aperture at the bottom of the leg is necessary, but what a hazard! The screw must have been just loose enough and the leg tilted just right. the screw had to roll just so and the easel carried in such a way for it to get in, stay in and work its way up to where it lodged. 

I made some socks to protect the legs openings from dirt. Painting outdoors there will always be dirt. Problem solved.

Painting for others

Amazing to do, this painting for a target event or for other external objectives. My work will be featured at a fundraiser for a destination garden. This involves all manner of contract, aesthetic and painting issues. Good for learning, but I think the painting is suffering.

Looking forward to travel, next stop Sleeping Bear National Park

Three days staying with friends and painting, then four or five days working with my painting buddy in Sleeping Bear National Park ... after the holiday. 

There's a swamp on my radar which will be a first choice. And, there are always the classics: beach and beach goers, shoreline, cedars, drive in theater and a few nocturnes. It all should keep me busy and get the painting back on track.

Other problems solved:

SPF clothing, rated 150 SPF and comfortable, hoping it also resists biting bugs – ticks are a bane but so is sunburn! And, painting for the Door Plein Air Festival will be in late July so the systems are being tested during the next three trips.

The Mackerel Sky show made YouTube!

This is a lovely gallery and fine craft store whose owners are deeply kind, aesthetically and professionally savvy. You can see the video here and a link to it in the links section right. Oh, yes, the show is selling well, three more since the opening.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHn4QwoJF0U

"Twist and Shout" Plein Air, 9x9 inches, Williamston MI...

This painting is from the favorite swamp for a couple of years spanning 2006/07. The painting was an opportunity to isolate and simplify, something I didn't find easy when I initially was confronted with this subject.

The swamp was packed with mature trees and had been initially a woodland that was wet, became boggy and later was flooded as part of a county drain commission project to direct farm runoff.

Beautiful light on the tree forms, from the period of my peak painting here...

This information was given me by locals over the course of the first few months of painting there.

A condo project very nearby and a small subdivision within a half mile leads to walkers and bikers along the adjoining roadway. When painting here, my set up is highly visible me accessible to the local exercise gang.

I eventually heard the pieces of history that explained why there were so many large trees in such a wet location as well as why the trees in the far half of the swamp had been "topped", their upper third broken off – tornado.

This close looking and seeing, which are a large part of painting en plein air, and what a friend of mine says would make me a good biologist, also feed my curiosity in ways that distinguish me in conversations – people simply do not notice the world around them.

But I've found that folks do notice when the details of beauty are present in a familiar subject but interpreted, focused upon. Reading how the brain works, how the nervous system functions, and the tracks of evolution and perception's biases, leads me to see an artist's successful isolation, composition and deployment of their materials as far more complicated than I would have thought...the things we do easily appear less complicated.

"Life Force Jewel #4" A.K.A. "Jane's Little Cutie" since the buyer and I took months to finally be in the same town at the same time with the painting.

This was an experiment in delicacy and understating the forms, done on Belgian Mist Wallis sandpaper with a gouache underpainting. The swamp where I have been working for the last year and a half has great forms and the late day light must cross a row of trees on the Western edge to strike the standing ones, no longer alive, that stand about the wetland.

After the first few months, I started to collect information about this wetland, which has only been flooded for about five years, hence, the mature trees. When I first discovered this area, there were many more trees with bark still surrounding the wood and this has almost entirely changed. The painting here was done at the transition point, when I first came upon the swamp and there were still many trees with bark shrouded in lichen and moss.

Here's where I plug in my mea culpa band aid about the long delay to actually getting the blog up and talking. More regular postings are on the schedule, however, coming back to this, I've much to post so I'll give a summary of the highlights:

Recognition:
• May thru early Nov 2007, outdoors painting 30 or 40 hours a week. It was great!
Met a mink at my usual swamp
• Oct 2007, juried into the Degas Pastel Society
• Nov 2007, two pieces included in the Springfield Museum of Art plein air show
• Nov 2007, one of the paintings at the Springfield show sold, "The Fall of Albert". It was the only painting to sell at that show.
• Dec 2007, interviewed on Insectapod.com, episode #6: My series on Coleoptera earned this attention, give it a listen it's light and has a couple of thumbnails of the work. These were last winter's answer to the weather in mid-Michigan.
• Jan 2008, two paintings accepted to the National Pastel on Paper Show, Wichita Kansas, exhibit runs March thru April
• Jan 2008, awarded scholarship to paint in Tucson March 2008
• Jan 2008, painting accepted into the Texas Nation Art Exhibit
• Jan 2008, scheduled for two-month solo show at Mackerel Sky spring of 2009


Work:
• Working larger, sold the first 18"x18" studio piece painted from a site piece at the reclamation area near MSU
• Studio/indoor assignments this winter include working at the entomology department specimen museum. And, after doing a short class in portraits, I'm negotiating access to the symphony to sketch. Other figure sources have been elusive. However, it is February and the inclement weather can't last. If nothing else, I will be in Tucson painting for eight days next month.