Plein Air in the Columbia River Gorge

This little plein air painting is of a small waterfall in the gardens of The Villa at Bridal Veil Falls in Oregon's Columbia River Gorge. 5 x 5 inches, Golden Open Acrylic on Claybord.

Oregon Upland Game Bird Stamp Contest 2nd Place

Deja vu all over again (one of my favorite Yogi Berra-isms) seems to be a theme with this contest for me! I sure do hope to win someday! These are sharp-tailed grouse, which gather before dawn in flocks where the males perform fabulously ridiculous and sometimes rather violent dances to attract the attention of the females, which appear to be half ignoring them!

13 x 18 inches, Golden Open Acrylic on Claybord

Pear Pair For My Mother

It's a strange and wonderous thing, how artists through the ages have chosen pears as subject. There are countless paintings featuring just a pear or two. Do a Google image search and be amazed! My mother has always been attracted to such paintings, especially those in the trompe l'oeil tradition. She has wanted me to give one a try for years. I finally got around to it in time for Mother's Day and am pleased with how much she likes it. What an interesting project it was! I am a bit amazed with how much I actually enjoyed painting such a simple subject. The reflection of the sky on the left pear and the reflected light from the left pear onto the right pear captivated me. 4 x 4 inches in Golden Open Acrylic.

New Show at Howden Art & Framing

These paintings are part of a new show opening today called "Celebration of Honor" at Howden Art & Framing in Oregon City. All are beautifully framed. The top four are 2.5 x 3.5 inches, $125 framed. The Arabian horse is 4.25 x 4.25 inches, $175 framed. All are acrylic.

Delaware Trout Stamp Contest Finalist

This painting of a Brown Trout was awarded an Honorable Mention in the recent Delaware Trout Stamp Contest. It is about 9 x 12 inches in Acrylic. I also entered the Delaware Duck Stamp Contest, making it into the second round of judging. I will post a picture of that entry when I receive it back from the competition. I neglected to scan it before mailing it off!

Huge Mural Unveiled at Olympics

Here it is at last! The Mural Mosaic "Kunamokst". It's 21 feet long and 11 feet high! 180 artists were involved in it's creation, all from the West Coast. It is on display in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, through the Olympic Games. Go to http://www.muralmosaic.com/kunamokst.html to see an image of the mural with each painting being clickable to it's own window, enlarged with info. My panel is #147. Scroll down my blog to see and read about this panel as it developed.

Silver Sea Mini Painting

This is a stormy sunset on the Oregon Coast. This little painting is 2.5 x 3.5 inches, ACEO sized and is in Golden Open Acrylics.

My art is in a Gallery!

My artwork is now being shown at Howden Art & Framing in Oregon City. This is a very nice, bright and airy gallery full of wonderful stuff! The framing service is top notch with lots of frames to chose from, and the prices are reasonable. I am very excited to see what the future holds as my relationship with this gallery develops. The current show "Give me Shelter", runs through April. I have two paintings in the show, including the one above.

My Federal Duck Stamp Entry

This is the painting I entered in the duck stamp contest. Although I didn't win, it feels good to have been a part of such a competition. I hope to enter again next year. This painting is in acrylic, 7 x 10 inches, a drake wood duck.

Mural Mosaic Progress Post #8 Finished!

It's finished and on it's way to Alberta, Canada! Be sure to check out the mural at http://www.muralmosaic.com/kunamokst.html My panel is #147.

This was a challenging project and lots of fun. I learned quite a bit about my working methods that I wasn't conscious of, by having to paint on top of an abstract design. The detail is about actual size. The panel is 12x12 inches, acrylic on hardboard. I've titled it "Surf's Up!"

Mural Mosaic Progress Post #7

Step 7: Really getting into detail on the duck now. Still a long way to go....

Mural Mosaic Progress Post # 6

Step 6: More detail on the water and a little more refinement of the duck. I've changed the waterline on the duck so he seems more like he's in the water. Check back for more soon. This painting has a tight deadline and I am pushing to finish it pronto!

Mural Mosaic Progress Post #5

Step 4: More refinement and starting to pick out shapes in the rocks. I"ve also added a bit more shading and lighting to the duck.

Step 5: Getting into the fun part - detail! I've put quite a bit of work into the rocks and started to define the water. I have a long way to go but it is starting to look like something. The blue shape at the bottom is strange, but is part of the design for the mural, so I must work hard to retain it and make it look like a reflection of the sky. Katelyn's hampster idea would've been a whole lot easier!

Found out that the mural project will be the subject of a documentary during the Olympics!

See the active grid of the mural as it comes together: http://www.muralmosaic.com/kunamokst.html

Mural Mosaic Progress Post #4

Step 3: Now I'm starting to work out how the water and rocks will look. This is a challenge because I am pretty much winging it, needing to conform to the tones and shape of the predetermined design. I am depending on memory and past experience observing and painting surf. As I post the stages of this project, you'll notice the colors shifting. Much of that will be due to the various light conditions present when I take photos of the art in progress. The first two stages were photographed outside and this stage inside at night. I will be sure to post the finished art as close to actual color as I can manage! Be sure to check out the active grid of the mural to see how it's shaping up. Can you guess what the image will be? I sure can't yet!

Active grid:
http://www.muralmosaic.com/kunamokst.html

Mural Mosaic Progress Post #3

Step 1: Here is our duckie now in his native surf habitat. I've painted him in pretty quickly and as you can see, it will take a few layers of paint to cover up the background showing through him. Oh, this is acrylic by the way.

Step 2: Here he is after a bit more paint, starting to give him some dimension. I will probably paint on him a little more and then work on the water and rocks. I typically work on the whole painting, bringing all the elements together in stages. Some artists do the subject to completion and then do the background, or visa versa. My paintings tend to be a mess until the very last stages.

I haven't done anything to the background yet. It appears darker because of the changing daylight between photos. Keeping the overall purple-ness of the panel will be a challenge!

Mural Mosaic Progress Post #2

Harlequins! One of the most beautiful ducks in our Lord's waterfowl collection! I haven't painted one in years so this will be a treat.

First I gathered some reference, not the best photos but they'll have to do.

Some drawings from my sketchbooks, all done from life.

I then did a quick rough sketch:

I cleaned it up and came up with a final sketch

This sketch I transfered onto the panel.

http://www.muralmosaic.com/kunamokst.html

Mural Mosaic Progress Post #1

A mural mosaic is a very large work of art made up of many individual paintings, which when arranged together, form an image. This project, The West Coast Mural Kunamokst, is a compilation of 231 separate pieces of art by over a hundred different artists. Each piece will depict an image in keeping with the west coast theme. None of the artists know what the finished mural will look like (except it's designers of course)! Konamokst will be 11 feet high and 21 feet long when it is complete. There is an active grid of the mural, with updates of finished panels being added at http://www.muralmosaic.com/kunamokst.html



I am very excited to be one of the artists involved in the creation of Kunamokst. It is an honor to be among such a wonderful group of talented painters.



Below is the panel assigned to me - panel #147. It arrived as a one foot square piece of hardboard with an absract splash of color painted on it complete with "up" arrow. I am to come up with a design that retains the color and tonal aspects of the panel, covering up all the original surface with my own painting.

So, what to paint? I stared at it for a while. Talked with my niece about it, who suggested a hampster riding a sandpiper. Yup, you read that right...Gazed at it some more. Drew up a few sketches, none of which did a thing to inspire me. Then, in the wee hours of the morning, I woke up with an image in my head: a harlequin duck in surf! I love harlequins and have seen many in the surf around jetties and headlands. A very west coast duck for sure! Look closely at the panel. Can you see a duck in there?

Sunny Forest Mini Painting

Here is another view of our back woods. The snow is all gone and everything is green and fresh. A beautiful day for praise and thanksgiving! This was painted yesterday en plein air in Golden Open Acrylics, 2.5 x 3.5 inches.

Snowy Forest Mini Painting

This is the view off our back deck last winter when it had snowed way more than usual. It is 2.5 x 3.5 inches, Golden open Acrylics.

Gerber Daisies Mini Painting

This is a nice bunch of Gerbers resulting from a weekly drawing event at Wetcanvas.com. It is 2.5 x 3.5 inches (ACEO sized) in Golden Open Acrylics. Happy Spring!