...and Now For Something Completely Different

I painted this in class a few weeks ago from reference material; a task outside of my usual method, style and subject matter. Painting animals is very much like portrait work- and fun, once in a while.
Aside from simply getting a likeness my challenge is to work as broadly as possible while still giving the illusion of detail for things like tufts of fur and whiskers.
In some areas I chose to show brushwork that reveals what brush was used, in other areas the brushwork is sublimated to the subject matter.


... more in my own vein -
this Caboose was a special
commission, (finished
right before Christmas)
to be a companion piece
for the Locomotive
purchased by a collector
a couple of years back.
Both paintings are 11"x 14".
Click on any painting
to see it larger.

Merry Merry

It's Christmas Eve; we have a holiday puzzle half finished on the kitchen table, it is 5 below but we are hoping temps will rise a bit with the sunshine. Most of Colorado will see a white Christmas.
In the season of Advent with all the holiday craziness, I am always looking for hidden moments to reflect:
on the mystery of Christ's Nativity, on the World and my place in it, and My world and my place in it.
My hope at this season is that you will find yourself, in the quiet moments, surrounded by peace and filled with contentment and hope.
Merry, Merry Christmas.

Class Notes: The Value of VALUE

What does it mean when we talk about VALUE?
Simply stated - VALUEs are the lights and darks in a painting, photo, etc.
Understanding VALUE in painting means knowing how to explain the LIGHT. What is it doing? Where is it coming from? How does it affect the objects it touches? It is also through VALUE that we make objects look 3 dimensional.
In class we have been painting quick, small set ups, on white, in order to get a sense for values in a still life.
One approach is to recognize the darkest part of the still life.
Is it a dark colored object or a cast shadow? Conversely, what is the lightest part? That could be where an object is getting the full blast of the light or just a very light part of the set up.
Either way, once those are clearly identified you can work your "values" in between the darkest dark and the lightest light, always comparing one value against another.
In both cases above I have used this method without trying to create any specific value "plan" - except to try to CONNECT the darks. By connecting the dark values, I try to lead the viewer's eye through the painting.
More about VALUEs later.
The countdown to Christmas is on. Here's wishing you a week of festive anticipation and the energy to enjoy it.

Thanks SALIDA

Many Thanks to the SteamPlant, who hosts the Paquette Gallery and to the art-lovers in Salida who came out on a subzero evening to see this show. It was well attended and we were very encouraged.
This show will hang until Monday January 16, in the Paquette Gallery at the Salida SteamPlant in Salida; just off F Street by the river on 220 W. Sackett Ave. or call (719) 530-0933 for info. Gallery hours are Mon - Fri 9 to 5.

3 FRIENDS show Opens in Salida

The 3 Friends Show, featuring the work of Susan McCullough, David Montgomery, and myself - opens tomorrow night, Friday
December 16th - 4 -6 pm, in the Paquette Gallery at the Salida SteamPlant Event Center, in Salida; just off F Street by the river on 220 W. Sackett Ave. or call (719) 530-0933 for info.

This most recent incarnation of our 3 Friends Show will exhibit over 45 paintings and many from the Salida area of Colorado. In September David, Susan and myself competed in the Salida based, Colorado Mountain Plein air Festival where we all awards.
Showing work with fellow painters Susan McCullough and David Montgomery has been fun, and because we so often paint together we enjoy the chance to highlight the breadth of style that we three bring to the discipline.

Come enjoy the opening, there will be food, Susan, David and myself will all be there and afterwards, the evening will be young enough to have dinner at one of Salida's great restaurants.

Hearts and Stars in Taos

I have been a little slow about blogging of late; whatever the word might be for "un-motivation" - I have felt it creep over me like a fog (and not on 'little cat feet') as I grieve the recent loss of a dear colleague and mentor. See a few posts back.
Creativity, motivation and making a living - these things cannot wait for the luxury of good feelings - so we press on.
And Christmas is impossible to ignore; no matter how slow you have been driving on surface streets, once you hit the on-ramp - prepare to be swept up into the fast lane of Christmas craziness. (please indulge the freeway metaphor. Now I am showing my roots- but I digress).
It may be a fallow time in the landscape but no where else. Painters, like everyone else, have realized, about now, - we should have started working on holiday inventory last January. Too late now.
But, my brain is starting to perk like crazy with more ideas than I could use in a lifetime - conveniently, I don't have time to pursue them.
It is one of those universal laws: the best ideas bubble up when there is no possible way they could be addressed. Hmmmmm.
At this moment, I am just happy to have some motivation.
And FINALLY, to my point -
the TAOS Hearts and Stars Party; one of the best holiday party/fund raisers with a focus on giving back. This is one holiday- miniature show that covers all the bases, bringing together work from some of the best artists with art lovers, collectors and the Taos community at large - to support Taos Coalition to End Homelessness, Inc.
All the work is under 8"x 10", and very affordable.
Rob Nightingale at Wilder Nightingale Fine Art does a wonderful job hosting this event with live music and fabulous food - all for a good cause. It is his gift to the community. Thanks Rob.
If you are within 200 miles - of Taos on Saturday night - it is a party worth attending.
Saturday, December 3rd from 5-7 pm at Wilder Nightingale Fine Art on Kit Carson in Taos; suggested $10 donation at the door.
My piece is at the top of this post: 'Showers Ahead', of the road to New Mexico from Colorado - in fact the road I will be taking to the party.
It is 8"x 10", oil on panel.

Quiet Times

November is not the nicest month in Colorado; fall colors are gone and the real cold is setting in. It is good time to sort out things in my studio and go through the chaos on my drafting table: half baked ideas and sketches done in a flash of inspiration that got trumped by any opportunity to "go out" and paint.
The piece below is one of those ideas, based on a plein air piece that sold quite awhile back. The idea for a large Gorge painting has been in my head for months - and I needed to shake it out; for better or worse. Two weeks ago I dove into this 24"x 36" piece and this week, in an effort to get it dry, I drove around for several days with it in the back window of my car. More about that later.


Once there is snow on the ground I will be anxious to get back out into the landscape, but for the moment I am trying to make the most of a few quiet weeks.
I find that during a period of working mainly en plein air, things come up that either work or don't and there isn't always time to really do any serious thinking about what is needed. For me - the only way to address some problems is to spend time in the studio: looking, thinking, painting.
That also means going through the work of the past few months with a critical eye for some serious editing and destroying work that is not up to speed.
Ah...... and at the bottom of the pile of papers on my desk is the abandoned sketch for a commission due at Christmas. YIKES.
No more putting that off.
Happy Thanksgiving.

Art Opening in Lone Tree

The 2011 Lone Tree Art Exhibition and Sale opens today, Saturday, November 12, with a Cocktail Reception from 3:00pm to 5:00pm, at the Lone Tree Arts Center.
10075 Commons Street, Lone Tree, CO 80124
303.707.1818


Lone Tree is south of Denver, and about 15 minutes north of Castle Rock off I 25.
I will be there with my work and you are invited to join me at the show , view and purchase great work, and enjoy a performance by a Lone Tree Symphony Orchestra quintet. That's a nice twist to the usual art opening - and of course, there will be food.
This juried show is presented by the Lone Tree Arts Commission and the Exhibition hangs in the beautiful lobby of the fabulous new Lone Tree Arts Center. The show will remain on display through December 31, 2011.

Season Ender

New classes will start this week in the studio and my Plein air classes are over for the season. It is always a little sad but that is tempered by gray trees and mornings that are below freezing.
This 6"x 8" was done out on the river here in Alamosa.
Pre-Christmas seems to be a good time for small pieces: they go quickly in galleries and are very useful for Christmas fundraisers and miniature shows.

Ghost Ranch Paintings

I finally got to posting all 5 paintings that I did at Ghost Ranch New Mexico. We were lucky enough to be there with a full moon. Those 2 moon pieces are only 6"x 8".
Our plein air season in Colorado is coming to an end. Now we wait for snow.

And another note on Ann Templeton; probably not the last.
There is so much to say that I don't even know where to start - but at this moment what I really feel is just gratitude: for her time, her generosity in art and friendship. What she gave me in inspiration and wisdom - is a resource that I will tap into for the rest of my life.
Thanks Ann.