December 18, 2007

Morning Ride


This painting is for my sister-in-law Teresa. She has a couple of horses and lives in Alaska. It still needs work on the horse but it's getting close to finished.
Sometimes it's a challenge to keep narrative paintings like this one from seeming overly sentimental. I'm hoping the treatment of brushstroke and color will pull it over into a successful piece of art.

December 17, 2007

Let it snow...






















No, it's not snowing here in Seattle, lots of rain though. I can remember my grandpa saying "without the rain it wouldn't be so green in the Northwest." So welcome rain.

Painting is going well. Every time I sit down to paint a still life the form is more and more comprehensible and the subtle color and light changes are easier to see. Translating what I see has become less difficult.

Landscape, on the other hand is mind boggling. I am working on a couple of pieces in the studio and while some aspects are successful others are a disappointing. I belong to a critique group led by Mitch Albala which is incredibly helpful. Listening to the comments helps tremendously. One thing is have learned so far is not to just jump into a painting. Paying careful attention to composition, values and color in the planning process helps eliminate lost time on a mediocre idea.



December 15, 2007

Happy Holidays


Wishing everyone Happy Holidays and New Year!!!
2007 has been a very good year for me, a little crazy making but that's all part of the ride.
My goal for the new year is to work hard on the content of my paintings. Especially making deliberate choices of subject matter and their meaning.