White Rock in shadow

"Wilson Mountain"
8x10; oil

Not as easy as it sounds.....

No revelations -- when I get one about this, you'll be the first to know

Plein air study: "Wilson Mountain"

Near Home.....

"Home Away From Home"
8x10 study; oil

In need of a break from red rock madness, I looked around for something a little different. At this point in my fledgling painting life, I'm just looking to paint anything from life....but in this case, after four days baking in the Arizona sun, I was being a wimp. What I was really looking for was: what can I paint without leaving the cover of my patio?

Since we live full-time in our RV in a beautiful park on the banks of Oak Creek, the most obvious choice was: an RV. Not all that exciting...but it made for a good exercise.

A friend and I always talk about critical elements to paintings. In landscapes, it seems important to me that someone viewing the painting should feel that it would be someplace they might like to spend some time. Several months ago, I saw a painting of an RV park in American Artist magazine that had exactly that feel to it....I tried to capture a modicum of this as best I could in this little sketch. It will definitely be a guiding concept when I do some future paintings from the comfort of home....

sketch: "Home Away From Home" 8x10; oil

Red Rocks are your friend

Schnebly Hill
6x8; oil

They are my friends......they are my friends.....
If I don't show them any fear, maybe I can learn to paint them
Red Rock study 3: Schnebly Hill

Insanity of Red Rocks

From Schnebly Hill
6x8

Don't get me wrong...I'm having a great time trying to figure these guys out. But as anyone who has been to Sedona - or the rest of the Colorado plateau for that matter - these rocks screw with you. The light changes about every twenty minutes, you start to lose yourself in the cracks and crags, and then there's the whole temperature thing.

I'm not talking about the desert heat. I'm talking about the fact that there are cool green colors in front of warm red colors -- something quite different than the usual cool colors receding into the background.

Second study: from Schnebly Hill

Plein Air

Steamboat Rock - study
6x8; oil on panel

I know, I know....I've been very remiss in posting of late. But I have a good reason: plein air. I'll just say one thing -- I get it! Not that I get how to be good at it -- yet -- but I get why it's so important...and fun. Hell, it has even made me go out and paint something that I thought I would not even want to try -- the red rocks around Sedona. Again, I'm not professing that I get HOW to paint these iconic structures...but I get why it's important to try and paint them.

First attempt...."Study: Steamboat Rock"

Things change.....

"Eastern Hills"
9"x12" acrylic on panel
Click here to bid on this painting

So here I am, breaking one of my cardinal rules....blogging/emailing after drinking a bit. Didn't I learn anything from watching "The Social Network?" On the other hand, the whole idea of a blog is that it is a forum where we can present ideas without being constrained by the normalities of many other venues in society.

That said, here's my radical revelation: I love masonite! Shocked? I can understand that. Maybe it's just the margarita talking...After all, does anybody really understand the difference between this stuff and other engineered wood panels? For instance, did you know that it's one of the only wood panels produced that doesn't use formaldehyde...I didn't. I mean, what was the chance that anything used for desktops and roofing in the 1940s was going to be naturally based and environmentally friendly?

Anyway, aside from it's unique quality to piss off the likes of James Watt, Christine Todd Whitman, and Stephen Johnson, it makes a very fun painting surface...It might also be pretty effective in the banging-the-head-against-it category should the need arise.

"Eastern Hills" 9x12 on masonite panel is a slightly different attempt at folding a bit more realism into the imagined landscape.

Moving Forward

"Morning Field"
8"x10" acrylic on canvas panel
Click here to bid on this painting

Even though I'm ashamed that I've been away from the blog for a couple of weeks - mainly because I promised myself this wouldn't be one of those things I'd be hot on for a short time and then drop after a few weeks - I've been pretty diligent in the studio. Several still-lifes, lots of sketching and studying, and some new landscapes have managed to emerge amidst ArtWalk preparations, and puppy neutering rehab. Lucas managed to be more spastic and silly while he was stitched up, collared up and drugged up....in a word, he was the quintessential Corgi.

Again it feels like every day in the studio brings something new that six or eight months ago I wouldn't have dared to attempt...to some they may seem to miniscule, but to this wandering saxophone player, they're beyond huge.....

On familiar ground, "Morning Field" is the last of the small acrylic studies that I plan to re-visit in larger oil format...

Guerilla painting...err...painter

"Don't Fence Me In"
8"x10" acrylic on panel
Click here to bid on this painting

New -- fresh off the pochade box....

Poplars

"Poplar Trio"
9"x12" acrylic on panel
SOLD

Truck back home (please see aforementioned Grand Canyon accident).....Lucas recuperating from surrendering his manhood....everybody finally healthy.....

New paintings! Yes!

Celebration of Art

"BEFORE THE RAIN" 10"x10"
acrylic on panel
Click here to bid on this painting

It's interesting how the universe sends you a message when you need it. Granted sometimes, you haven't a clue what that message is -- or where it's trying to send you. Witness my recent encounter with the fates at the Grand Canyon wherein my sturdy truck suddenly decided to be much less so. Still no idea what was going on there....

I was beginning to think that someone had decided to reiterate that message yesterday as Kim and journeyed down to Scottsdale for a day of extensive art viewing that we had been trying to arrange for months. Ten miles outside of Sedona, the enigmatic and ubiquitous "VSC Trac" dashboard light came on. Keeping with the spirit of our society's dauntless march toward technological subjugation, this light can apparently indicate anything from the engine may burst into flames to a loose gas cap. Upon calling the dealer, we determined that the engine was probably not going to burst into flames, but little else. After discovering that the gas cap was indeed loose, I made a calculated decision -- on to Scottsdale. Now understand, I don't normally gamble on the word of dealer service reps coupled with educated guesses when it comes to cars, but damnit, we really had been trying to get to this thing for months -- and if we didn't go this day, it probably wasn't going to happen.

Message number one: If you really want something, the universe is probably going to make you work for it a bit more than is comfortable.

We made it to the Scottsdale Celebration of the Arts with no further drama and immersed ourselves in one hundred artists that had traded their comfy homes and studios for a large mega tent off the 101 freeway for interested on-lookers and aspiring painters like yours truly that can pester them for three months. I know how some days can be in my own studio when people walk in and ask questions like: "Is that paint by numbers?" or "Did you get that idea from the guy with the red afro on channel eight?" I figured after two and a half months, some of these folks might be more than over it. Not the case....in the least. They were, without fail, the most generous, warm, and enthusiastic individuals I have ever encountered. (The car ordeals were forgotten.)

Message number two: Perseverance pays off....on every level.

The last couple of weeks have been a series of questions for myself...Am I making the right choice? Should I be venturing down this new road at such a point in my life? Is Kim going to kill me if I break another car? (I was driving on this trip as well)....

Doubts removed. Thank you Shanna, Aaron, James, Kirk, Sondra....

(Also, the car issue was diagnosed by the dealer as a bad gas cap....so I'm safe for a bit longer)....

Stormy Weather

"STORMY DISPOSITION" 12"x16"
acrylic on panel
SOLD

No insights today; just a new painting....peace

Mixed Messages

"MIXED MESSAGES" 12"x16"
acrylic on panel
currently at Gallery 527
Click here to bid on this painting

Listen up kiddies, I've got two new lessons for you.

First up: Karma is a bitch.

Less than twenty four hours after using this very forum to elucidate about some recent close-calls with unobservant drivers near our studio and home, I wound up in an accident on a snowy road at the Grand Canyon that has shaken not only my confidence in the four-wheel drive capability of my previously mentioned truck, but left me questioning what the universe is trying to tell me from time to time.

Which brings me to lesson two: The universe has a perverse sense of humor.

As I was driving up to said canyon grandness, I was bemoaning the fact that there wasn't any snow on the ground. This is because my wife and I, both being artists have been waiting two months for weather -- any kind of weather -- to arrive here in Northern Arizona. You see (as other artists will attest), bad weather makes for great paintings and photographs.

I was worried that once again, the National Weather Service had promised us snow, and all that I was seeing was rain. Granted, rain is better than nothing, but snow is better.

About ten miles south of the canyon, the snow hit. And it was clear that all of my concerns were unfounded. At this point, just for kicks, the universe had someone pull out in front of me at a snails pace as if to remind me of the previous evening's rant. Not to be deterred from my winter wonderland mindset and with visions of Moran Point covered in snow and hoar-frost, I slowed even further, shifted into four-wheel drive, and settled back to enjoy a slightly longer drive to the spot where Kim and I were meeting up.

So here I was, in one of the world's wonders draped in new snowfall, with my lovely wife and happy puppy, nestled safely and warmly in a large four-wheel drive vehicle. None of which matters when a snow-covered ice patch decides to send you into opposing lanes.

Mixed messages indeed.

Back at the easel finally; and for sale....

"BACKLIGHT" 10"x10" acrylic on panel
SOLD

Sometimes it's not about art. Sometimes it's nice just to have a forum in which to vent. Like this time...

Unrelated to painting, over the last week or so, I've been unfortunate enough to have several drivers pull out in front of my car on a highway between Sedona and Jerome (AZ). And all of them have been at the same intersection/side-road. Now granted, we're not talking about I-405 in LA here; most of the time, there's barely another car around for more than a mile. But...it is a highway. Those of us traversing it lawfully are usually doing so at between 65 and 70 mph....others are often proceeding at a somewhat more brisk clip.

Anyway, being a four-lane highway, when a mid-tone sedan with one or more octogenarians -- did I mention that the majority have been a bit on the elderly side? (I don't want to generalize, but...) -- suddenly pulls onto the the highway at 7 mph with less than 1000 yards warning, and in my lane; well, it's more than a little distressing. Now understand, by necessity, I drive a very large pickup...it checks in at around 12,000lbs.

I just can't comprehend what these yutzes are thinking when they do this....did mom and dad never tell them to look both ways back when they were little ones? Anyhoo...to move this anecdote along...because I was forced to reduce my speed by nearly 90 percent as I moved into the VACANT adjacent lane, I got a good look at the offending driver. Oblivious, unaware, vacantly staring straight ahead, hands dutifully at ten and two on the steering wheel, and apparently applying equal pressure to brake and accelerator -- brake lights illuminated, but neither slowing nor accelerating.

Three hours later, he walked into my studio...same expression. Didn't look at the paintings, photography, or even the excessively cute puppy bouncing up and down in front of them. Walked out without uttering even a grunt.

I've always known that most people go through life asleep, I just wasn't aware that the dead had now started to arise and were driving imported sedans.

Martini time...

Sometimes it's just about the painting... My mind was strangely quiet this weekend. Perhaps being in awe of the slew of great painters I've been studying. So many brilliant painters, so much paint to place Pear Martini: 8x10 oil on canvas panel

Fear

The concept of an open studio is an interesting one. The idea of course being that while you are working in your studio, anyone can walk in and watch you while you're in the midst of your process -- in this case, fencing with a canvas. Painting can be such a solitary pursuit, especially for those that seek the solitude of outdoors and the tradition of plein-air.

Being new to this, the fact that at any time, a stranger can walk into my studio and look over my shoulder as I put paint on the canvas, mix paint on the pallet, or just stare at the spot where I intend to place paint while I'm figuring out the next move in this game of chess, can be very disconcerting.

Today, a nice gentleman walked into my studio, and unlike most visitors that linger at the front of the room and tentatively tip-toe about so as to not disturb "the process," this fellow greeted me very boldy and walked right up to the easel. I was in the middle of mixing several different values for an attempt at a Bosc pear. As I placed my first value on the canvas - darkest dark, of course - he shook his head and said, "I just don't know how you guys do that...I'd be terrified...I'm just not creatively inclined."

I thought...well...I am terrified...trust me...but I have to finish this painting ....cause, you know, it's what I do now...and in order to finish it...I have to start the bloody thing....so take a deep breath and....after the first stroke, it gets instantly easier...and before I know it, it's fun....(not to mention, being new at this, I don't really feel like I know what the hell I'm doing half the time)...

...and this is the way I've always worked. In music, I was always fearful when starting a new composition. I just had to get that first note on the page and then it became about the fun. That's when the real creativity begins.

In truth, I could just close the door and work in privacy...but what fun would that be?

Offered: Pansies and Vase; 8x10 oil on canvas

Age and energy

The topic of age was in the air the other night. Listening to NPR, the programs "All Things Considered" and "Fresh Air" were discussing artists and age. A question posed was this: does an artist create more lasting and meaningful works of art because they are advanced in age?

One person mentioned was Monet, who arguably created his best work during his advanced years in his garden at Giverny. Also J.S. Bach, who completed singular works including the B Minor Mass at a point in his late fifties -- advanced age for the 18th century.

While the list of aging geniuses is long, so too is the list of highly accomplished youngsters creating their seminal works before the age of forty.

Does then, the maturity and experience of age surpass the energy and risk-taking of youth when it comes to art? Ironically, the question may be itself a victim of infancy. Consider that only in the last 80 or so years has the average life expectancy increased beyond fifty. A relatively short amount of time in the history of human artistic endeavors. In short, we maybe haven't been living long enough yet to arrive at an accurate evaluation.....and does it even matter.....

I suppose I found this interesting because it hits so close to home for me. Here I sit in front of an easel, embarking on a new artistic life at the age of 46. I sincerely hope my best work is in front of me.

"Watermelon and plums" 9x12, oil on canvas panel

Fall Pear

"Fall Pear"

My first attempt at painting a Bosc pear. Interesting color relationships in this one -- the majority of the painting centering around the warm reds and oranges of fall, I found myself trying to find places to put any kind of blue in the piece...the instructor warned of this, by the way.

Anyhoo, this was a fun piece. I'm anxious to try a larger version

Orange, Grapes, and Bowl

So, here is Assignment 1 from a new painting class with Dan Edmondson. A bit more complex than the daily still-lifes from before, but I tried to stay within the same time-frame and same size: 8x10.

Looking forward to the critique....

Kim is photographing a few more of my contemporary pieces today ad I will post those as they're available...

Also looking forward to Scottsdale Celebration of the Arts which starts this weekend. Some very talented painters that I'm anxious to see their work in person...

Beautiful Arizona blue sky this morning over the red rocks...

Inspiration everywhere these days

study, paint, study

Started my first "organized" painting course today...with Dan Edmondson...very excited

...stay tuned tomorrow for Assignment 1

..in the meantime, this piece is a larger still-life from a little bit ago. I was pretty happy with it, although I know where some drawing issues already exist. I just didn't feel I had the "chops" yet to fix it without making it look like I fixed it. I can't wait to try this one again after some critiques over the next few weeks.

Tonalism 1

Ever since college, while squeezing an art appreciation class into my practice room dominated schedule at the music school, I've been fascinated by the American Tonalism school of painting...George Inness, James Whistler, etc...

There are some fantastic painters up in Utah (Doug Fryer, Michael Workman, Andrejz Skorut, and Shanna Kunz --- Shanna has a blog on this site that I follow regularly) that are right out of this school and working in a modern style. One of these days soon, I'm going to pester a couple of them into taking me as a student....

Until then, I'm experimenting on my own: Here is a value sketch and the first stage under-painting of a new attempt from today....