trees
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Saturday, February 28th, 2009
Bird’s Eye, Banff, Alberta, Canada, 11H x 11W x 3D inches acrylics on canvas, wrapped sides painted. Frame unnecessary. Hang on a wall or display on a flat surface. Signed on the side so as not to impose on the composition.
Progress thumbnail images below:
St. Catharine’s Sunset
Friday, February 27th, 2009
St. Catharine’s Sunset Ontario, Canada just north of Niagara Falls, 11H x 11W x 3D inches acrylics on canvas, wrapped sides painted. Frame unnecessary. Hang on a wall or display on a flat surface. Signed on the side so as not to impose on the composition.
There is no one method for starting a painting. When faced with a blank white surface, sometimes our mind can go blank too. When that happens I use a base color that inspires energy. Here, water and paint were dripped down a wet surface of Hansa Yellow Deep. Painting intuitively with a wide raggedy old brush, the fraying bristles are used to advantage, and those marks direct how the painting proceeds.
This painting is dedicated to my Mom, born in St. Catherine’s, Ontario, Canada whose birthday was two days ago.
Winter Reflections
Thursday, February 26th, 2009
Winter Reflections, winter in Coppell, TX, 11H x 11W x 3D inches acrylics on canvas, wrapped sides painted. Frame unnecessary. Hang on a wall or display on a flat surface. Signed on the side so as not to impose on the composition.
Jack Pine
Wednesday, February 25th, 2009
Jack Pine, 11H x 11W x 3D inches acrylics on canvas and detail of right side; wrapped sides painted. Signature is on the side, so one is superimposed here on the front. Hang on a wall or display on a flat surface.
Dancing With Trees 03
Thursday, February 19th, 2009
Dancing With Trees 03, 85H x 45W x 3D inches acrylics on canvas, wrapped sides painted, trim frame. Signature piece for the Dancing With Trees exhibition, formerly entitled ‘The Majesty of Trees’. There is no black in this painting; the darkest areas are dioxazine purple. Aside from a couple of areas that are still questionable this painting is now finished. Specifically: I’m not sure about adding shadows and contrast on the bark of the main trees because it may take away from the cheerful expression of colors.
Progress in previous posts: January 19th and 30th
The name of the exhibition changed to ‘Dancing With Trees’ to avoid plagiarizing the title of a book, ‘The Majesty of Trees’.
On Cloud Nine
Sunday, February 8th, 2009
On Cloud Nine Left: The view from the road to the Giant Redwoods in the John Muir National Forest, western coast CA. Right: A forest fire still smouldering in October 2008, Mariposa Grove, Sequoia National Forest, central California.
Some new photos of the Giant Sequoias have been posted on majestyoftrees.com
Method reflected by purpose
Friday, January 30th, 2009
Left: Hemlocks, Queen Charlotte Island, 1980 – 48 x 48 x 2 inches 
acrylics on canvas, painted plein air. Right: Birch, 1993 – 6 x 4 watercolors. I have been trying to return to the same carefree approach I painted with during the earlier years. While some of my first paintings were a little on the sloppy side, the look and feeling of life in the work comes through the first reactive sloppy-looking brushstrokes. Too much refining tones down that energy. It has taken about six years to rid myself of a lot of habits that developed by painting murals, like tidying up too much and mixing colors on the palette as opposed to just throwing the color onto the canvas. Not that mural painting is valued as less than canvas paintings, but they require entirely different methods, and because their intended purpose is slightly different, so is the approach to painting them. Switching back to canvas now, even if the surface is large it’s taken six years to re-adapt to the process of painting on canvas. All that I think I know can get in the way sometimes. In Dancing With Trees 03 I’m rediscovering some of the joy that pushed everything forward in the first place. Virginia, you say that this sings and dances…well, that’s exactly how I feel while painting this one.
Dancing With Trees 03 work in progress, 85H x 45W x 3D inches acrylics on canvas, sides painted
Logic is one-dimensional, creativity is not
Monday, January 19th, 2009
There are at least four active projects on the go here, and that’s the case with most artists. Because creativity is all-encompassing, and when the unpredictable nature of it is revealed on a daily blog, a defining statement or mission and re-evaluating it every once in a while is all-important.
* Career artists do not generate production like a factory or have the same business formulas and game plans as retailers; for us everything from conception to sale is self-prompted. Motivation to work every day on something often means doing something different every day. I give myself the guilt-free permission to do whatever I want at on any given day. However…
* One main piece of work needs to be on the plate always, and the others are like a sort of coffee break; the mind needs to think of other things for a bit then return to the main work with new perspective.
* About faith and fortitude: eventually things are finished one after the other, some in one day, some not…but every day no matter what, if one puts forth effort even with no results, then something is still accomplished.
* Self-discipline: if a client is expecting an original concept and a complete product within 48 hours, then absolutely: results can be forced. Within that limited time frame, the usual way of working and thinking becomes temporarily chaotic; a difficult process for some, because presupposed thoughts have to scatter and previously-done ideas need to be let go. At some point, maybe with only one hour left – crunch time – trust that chaos regroups into something totally new and unexpected..the best, most rewarding work can occur during these times. In other words, here’s how anything is created: you’ve gotta be willing to go a little kooky if you have to, but always be alert to reason and bring a thing into reality!
* We have long-term goals and short-term goals, and mini-goals within the short-term ones, but the process is one and the same: shifting the usual and expected way of thinking – or working – is the best way to regenerate creativity on a consistent basis.
Encaustic – painting with beeswax
Friday, January 16th, 2009
Windy Maple Leaves, 8H x 10W x 2D inches encaustics
1) design inspired by Flamboyant Tree Seed Pods, white beeswax inlay on black, and 2) using a print of an old painting Dahlias as a base, techniques were more spontaneous, each 10H x 8W x 2D inches encaustics
Encaustic Artist Deanna Wood offers her studio space and supplies to her students on days when she’ll be there working. It’s a bargain for $30 per day so I went yesterday and finished the two pieces above. Painting with wax is a messy process, and Deanna’s studio is all set up for it, so it’s a perfect arrangement for artists who work primarily in other mediums, who don’t yet have their own supplies and wish to continue exploring encaustics. BYOS – Bring your own surface!
With a FAQ page on her website, Deanna outlines a brief history about encaustics and herself. Her most recent solo exhibition displays a portion of the extensive amount of encaustic works created around the theme of tornadoes. Including a few multi-media pieces as well, the show runs January 10th – February 29th, 2009 at the Leslie Powell Foundation and Gallery in Lawton, Oklahoma.
Sumac Bushes director’s chair started
Tuesday, January 6th, 2009
Sumac Bushes director’s chair started. Back and seat of 47H x 22W x 16D inches acrylics on canvas, will be varnished. Up-cycled tall wood director’s chair, work in progress, functional art. The wood will be painted a cherry color.
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