Merry Christmas!

My best wishes to you this Christmas. I hope you will enjoy the new life that is at the heart of the season.

I thought I'd resurrect a few pictures from my archives that represent this time of year. In doing so I was impressed by the connection I have with these little landscapes. The empathy I have for these exemplifies an importance of painting from life.

Most painters that I know work from photos in the comfort and control of their studios. I do the same for some of my work, virtually all of the larger projects. So why do plein-air painters rant on about the value of working from life?

I'll use water-skiing for a comparison. You can watch others skiing on TV or play with a skiing simulator on your Playstation until you max out the levels.

It's not until you get on the water behind your crazy brother-in-law's boat, crash a few times and experience some real surface-tension at speed and then finally drink in the exhilaration of speed, spray and two-cycle fumes that you have skied.

When you get off the water to play on the simulator you surely will be even better than before but more importantly you will have experienced the sight, sound, smells and feeling of skiing.

When I look at each of these paintings I return to the exact spot where I stood before nature and grappled with the subject, trying to engage and express something true and real. I can even remember the smells and the warmth of sun and the chill of winter breezes as I leaned into a drifted hillside or sheltered beneath snow laden trees. I'm enriched by the encounters I had with deer, coyotes, fox and moose in this outdoor work.







Below is a larger studio piece that was based on a photo and executed indoors. You can see that I had time to explore with technique and being larger in scale I could also develop my ideas further than in my plein air work. I utilized some of my lessons learned from my outdoor observation. I am very happy with the result. The difference for me is that I could never find this little tree. I know exactly where all these others live. It's about spending time with them, engaged in observation.

So if you've never tried painting from life, go for it and you will see where the addiction begins.

Enough of that. Take a few minutes to watch this heart warming video. It demonstrates what this thing called "art" is about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wq1xGXzr3jw&feature=email

Until next year!

George and Friends

Here's a small taste of some of the paintings showing at the Leir House for a few more weeks. "George and Friends" is an annual exhibition organized by George Traicheff with work from 24 artists. It's well worth a look, plenty of variety and some quality work.






Me, I am continuing on with my portraits and starting to get into some snow painting. I will show some of that work as it develops over the winter. I hope you are all keeping warm and dry; and following your own dream.

Painting at the Lakeside

This weekend I painted on location for an event at a local hotel/casino. I thought I may as well photograph the process, as people are sometimes able to get something out of these little demos.

I begin with a white-killing wash of thinner and earth red oil.


Bethany was a great subject; with her dark hair and eyes, I felt her profile had kind of an Egyptian feel to it. She wore a red flower in her hair which I've roughed in here, but I think I'll have to play it down or remove it entirely so it doesn't become a distraction.


My value plan is predominantly dark with Bethany's lighted face being the highest value and, of course, the center of interest. I am using only transparent earth red and a little blue at this stage.



We had plenty of interested viewers. This lady was visiting from the Yukon.


Not being in the habit of working while seated, I am not very pleased at this point. I really need to step back to see relationships. When I'm too close, it is easy for a painting to get away. I will get this up onto my studio easel and see if it can be saved.

Now I can get a better idea of how my painting is working by stepping back. This frees me up to pull out my #10 flat and lay down passages with more confidence, straighten my arm out and get my back into it. That's really hard to do while seated three feet from my canvas. See the finished painting below.


If you are in the Penticton area, come on down to the Leir House reception to "George and Friends" this Friday at 7-9 pm. There is a couple of dozen of George Traicheffs' artist pals showing a few paintings each. I'd love to show you one new one I'm particularly proud of, barely dry but a success, for me at least.

Whats in a name?

A lady was visiting my studio this week and we had a short discussion about the naming of this painting, "The Promise".


When I produce a lot of work I can be so involved with the process of painting that the naming of a multitude of thematic pictures can seem redundant. At one time I was painting so many beach scenes (and really enjoying myself) in a series that I just started numbering them. One doesn't always have the time to consider a piece and let it speak to you . Often I am thinking about the next one before the present one is finished.

If you are the owner of Beach 3 or Beach 11 don't think I didn't care enough to come up with a specific name; I put all my energy into each one. It's just a different process than working on a singular subject.

Large paintings like "The Promise" require more time and energy during their development so the painter gets to know them intimately. They usually name themselves.
This one speaks to me about the promise of new growth in the spring vines and the promise of rain in the gathering clouds. Also not shown but implied is the promise in the coming rainbow of God's covenant , no global flood ever again.

"The Promise" can be viewed/purchased at Sleeping Giant Winery; be sure to try their great fruit wines.

Here's the finish of the painting posted last week. I will name this one "Garnet Valley"

Winter Workshop

It seems that anyone over six feet tall is destined to twist their back every once in a while and stretch something beyond its default setting. That's me this week. I can still crawl anyway.

I found a great old farm building in a small valley to paint yesterday. This still needs some work but is getting close to what I'm after. I'll post the finish later.


I am starting to re-arrange my landscapes to serve my intentions rather than just replicating what is presented to me. The trap of "painting what you see" is that nature does not often offer us great compositions. It has taken me a few years of plein air painting to learn this. So many times I found myself painting some weird looking rock or branch not because it helped my painting but because it was there. Some kind of twisted integrity thing? All good for honing my observational skills but it's time to grow up a bit.

In this case there is a fence blocking the foreground that would restrict your eyes from entering this scene. I would need a much wider aspect ratio to accurately describe this pasture but just needed to move some contours about to get what I'm after.
Notice that I've tied all my dark values together. Squint down to see that. If I broke them up as they are in nature this composition wouldn't be as pleasing.

Some people have recently asked if I would be doing a workshop anytime soon. I think I should put some energy into that if there is some interest. I have been studying and experimenting with the working processes of some great long gone painters and learning some valuable lessons. A workshop may be an efficient way to pass these ideas on.

I can put forward a detailed curriculum outline later but I'd be interested in two days of exploration; how we create our paintings, regardless of medium, with an emphasis on composition and subject selection. We can look at a bit of historical and contemporary art to understand some principles of artmaking that will inform our personal work. This would be a hands-on "WORK"shop for those interested in making a breakthrough in their own artistic journey.

If I get any response I will dedicate some time into developing something worthwhile.

I will be painting on location at the Penticton Lakeside in the lobby I think on November the 13th, 10 to 2. If you are in the area drop in for a chat. It would be good to see you.

A Mystery

You remember this little painting (The Reader) that I demo'd a couple of posts back. She was accepted into the FCA show that I'd entered her into which was great news. I figured she was dry enough so I applied some varnish as usual and set her away to dry.


Look what has volunteered to light up my sky. This is one of those rare gifts that can come along when you are making art. Where did all those tiny stars come from? Pixies? Well the left side of my brain says of course there was some kind of chemical reaction from the varnish.


Probably, but I have used the same varnish on hundreds of paintings and never seen this before. Also, the little milky way only appears in the sky area of the painting. Not a speck anywhere else. Curious, but I'll happily take it. Any theories?

This morning I tramped around the back country scouting out locations and subjects for the winter. I am really looking forward to painting snow and winter light effects this year.

Any of you painters out there seeing potential here? How do you select your subjects and what would you leave in and take out of these spots?



I'd be interested to get some comments from other painters and get some different input on your process when painting outdoors. I will be working in this area soon and will try and demo a few landscapes in upcoming posts.

The Scribe

Since my last post featured "The Reader" I think today's is appropriate. One of the benefits of my portrait project is meeting people I likely wouldn't have had I not ventured out into this idea.

Don Gayton is an very accomplished writer (see more at www.dongayton.ca) as well as an excellent subject for painting. For a painter of people there is nothing so fun as a beard.

His portrait which I call "The Scribe" was successfully juried into the FCA 70th Anniversary show at the Granville Island Gallery in November.



Notice how engaging the eyes are and yet if I enlarge them you can see that not much detail is in there. You have completed them yourself. Sometimes less can be more. Also you can see how I've intentionally heightened the value contrast in the sunlit eye. This would not happen in reality. His pupil would contract and the value would be lighter. I liked this better as it pulls you into his eyes. Art defeats illustration in a case like this.





I am going back outdoors to paint again. The fall colours are here now and I'm looking forward to painting the winter this year.

Working Small Pt. 2

OK, jumping back into this. This morning the paint seems to be pretty stable. I guess I have saturated this canvas with enough oil that I can count on this retaining its strength.

I looked at the modeling of Mekfira's face, particularly her forehead. I wanted to warm up the parts of her face that are turning from light into shadow so I put more red in there. It's not really accurate to observed colour but the value is right and its more visually exciting. I want to draw attention to the star of my painting which is this lovely young girl.
You will also notice some stars appearing in the darkening canopy of sky.

I'm putting in more cobalt into the sky which by value contrast makes the stars pop .

Blogger isn't showing it so well but the sky is deepening and I've amplified some highlights on the clothing.
Here's a closer look at where Mekfira's face is at.

This painting is called "The Reader". When I initially painted Mekfira's portrait I was inspired by her involvement with the book she was engrossed in while sitting for me. The written word is able to transport us all to unlimited worlds and experiences. That is the idea I'm trying to express here.
I need to let this piece rest for a while and I will decide tomorrow whether it needs more work or not.

I have decided to finish this off tonight. It's always good to get comfortable and sit back to consider what if anything a painting may need. In this case I can see some weaknesses.


I decided to deal with the clothing with a stronger value range . This, I think you'll agree clarifies what is in sun and what is in shade. I thought the braids on the right needed a bit stronger work so darkened them some. There was a little annoying negative shape beside the ear that was distracting so I knocked it down. I think I'm happy now.

Working Small

Today I'll illustrate the process of creating a particular painting. It's pouring rain outside and I'm not interested in fighting the weather so I will try to pull this little project off.
I want to enter an upcoming juried FCA show and it stipulates that submitted works must be no larger than 165 sq. in. I don't usually work on such a small scale but it is good to try new things. I had to beg a chunk of canvas from my friend Will, knock together some stretcher bars and staple the thing together. This is some heavy mill cotton, more like leather but I was able to fight it to the ground. It is coated with some kind of smooth sealer suitable for Will's Giclee printing. I don't want to paint on that so I mounted the canvas un-primed side up. This could bite me as you will soon see.
Why the weird aspect ratio of 20" X 8" you ask? I have an idea for expressing a BIG idea on a small scale. 20X8=160 so I am within the guidlines. I used wide stretcher bars so I can wrap the canvas eliminating the need for a frame. This will be fun.
I will be basing my painting on a portrait I did last week of a little girl named Mekfira. I set up the completed portrait and am painting from it. Here you can see my initial block in starting to take shape.
I am already in trouble with this unprimed canvas. It is so thick and so THIRSTY. My oil paint is disappearing before my eyes. I won't turn back because I have to get this finished within a couple of days for the deadline( I didn't intentionally procastrinate, honest) . It would be smarter to prime this thing but I decide to persevere and just see what happens.
Establishing main values--feeding the beast more paint!
I want some springlike, youthful coloration as a base. There will be sky behind so I start laying some blue in; it keeps soaking back but eventually it starts to level up and behave like oil paint.
More modeling and fiddling with the hair. I think the three braids on the left are too similar so I'll start to push them around a bit once the paint stars to behave.
Okay, a little head refinement. I am warming up the lower horizon portion of the sky now.
Mekfira has some little coloured plastic decorative things in her hair. I'll start to pull some colours down into the clothing.
Okay, I think I better let this dry a bit overnight and see what I've got to work with tomorrow. I'll post this much tonight and carry it through in the morning. See you then.

Art and Excellence

I am reading about painters from the Victorian era lately. Almost completely written off by the art establishment as overly sentimental and dismissed by the modern art movement these artists are being recognized and appreciated by serious representational painters today. (by representational art I mean paintings of recognizable things as opposed to abstraction, minimalism, colour field painting or installations.)
What impresses me about these artists beyond their obvious skill in all aspects of painting is an appreciation and execution of an element that is missing in most contemporary painting.

RESTRAINT.

We really don't see much restraint in painting today. With a few exceptions when you enter a commercial gallery these days you are bombarded with bombastic, intensely high-chroma, almost electric paintings. As a painter there seems to be an impulse to scream for attention within a choir of visual psychopaths .



This painting by William Bougoureau, "Just a Taste" is an example of what I'm on about. There are strong values, great composition and palpable emotion. This isn't about photo-realism as when it is viewed closely the paintings brushwork is readily apparent. It is about pulling the viewer into a mood or idea with sensitivity and some grace. You need to spend time with this art in order to see the nuances and beauty. The artist is not bombarding our senses with unrelenting colour and textural trickery.

Think about another artistic discipline, music. We'd be bored and dissappointed if the artist cranked his amp to the max and screamed full force for an entire concert. Even metal bands use variety and space to bridge between or build up to their climatic bits. For some reason visual artists, myself included and the public have been convinced that painting must be loud to be heard.

As an example I'll humbly present my recent painting, "Okanagan Tranquility". Even though I am trying to work with a more sophisticated and controlled palatte you can see I have a long way to go.




Colour excites the eyes but is a short-lived pleasure I think. I will try to gain a little control over my palatte in future work.

Until next time.

Portrait Process

Here's a sample of the portraiture that's happening in my studio these days. I had great fun painting Lynn on saturday. This young lady is an animated conversationalist and our discussion of some lofty and compelling topics did distract me from my real job of painting. When I find myself pushing the paint around without any thoughts about values, edges or composition it is time to stop everything and reflect before proceeding. That is where we pick up on this painting.

This is my initial block-in. I've established the basic value pattern.(squint down and you'll see it ). As usual I don't worry about exact detail or even likeness. I want to get some paint down so I have something to push around with my next strokes.

A little adjusting to the left eye, the mouth and cheeks and neck.
I decided to introduce Lynn's glasses at this stage. I sometimes leave glasses off until the end to eliminate the need to paint around them. Right or wrong, I tried it differently today. That's the joy of art, you do whatever you want.

More adjustments with a little work into the hair. Lynn had arrived with slightly damp hair but as it dried it became apparent that all those blond curls could easily take over the painting. We were set up with strong, natural light washing in from the left which when it reflected off the hair gave back an amazing almost white glow.

I introduced a knocked down greenish background wash here. The intention is to use a variety of alizarian and cadmium reds in some skin tones later. The complimentry background should make the main player, the face, really pop. We'll see.

More adjustments. I leaned the eyes a bit further towards green than they really are just to please my color goal. I feel comfortable enough with how the painting is hanging together now(and it's 9:00 in the evening and if I'm going to see my wife today I better start wrapping this up) so its time to loosen up and paint that hair.

A bit of blue and orange in the shaded hair and some very blistering high key values in the sun-lit side. Some thickly applied suggestion of bright red blouse and its time to step back and leave it alone. The Blogger platform isn't very high resolution so you would have to see the actual painting or you can trust me when I say the hair frames Lynn's face without taking over.

You could pick up some smaller brushes and use a variety of colour mixes to take this to a whole different place but for this project I have arbitrarily limited myself to a size and a time frame that results in an dynamic alla prima painting.