Driving West [in my mind]

Been thinking about driving west...I like the BIG SKY, the flat plains, and a long highway...probably won't happen this summer, but this painting conjured up some memories of camping and driving in the SoDak Badlands.

So Green

Mother Earth has performed her magic again and has taken us [in Minnesota] from two-tone-winter and transformed into 30 shades of green in four weeks. I love this transition. I love the faint yellow fringes of emerging leaves. I watch their progress every day...I just don't know what to do with them in paint.

Shouldn't there be more colors describing "green" in the crayon box for young artists? Colors like: yellowy green, pond reflection green, cool greeny shadow green, warm greeny shadow green, not to be confused with purpley shadow green, etc. Green is very complex and deserves a description with more expression and flare then---green. It should have two syllables, at least! Perhaps Verde works better!

Let this post serve as a humble retraction of the final statement from the previous post.

Kitchenscape

I love painting landscapes in oil. As long as I stay focused I can paint indoor-scapes with the same enthusiasm. Here is Instructor Richard's kitchen in the new spacious studio space. While purple is not the regular Home&Garden kitchen recommendation, it works great for a painting about a kitchen space. I vote for purple to stay...

Every single time I pick up a brush I learn something new and this one was no exception. The mantra: stay focused, on task, and think about the relationship of all elements together, is my guiding principle as learned from John Muir, the founder of the Sierra Club back in 1890s: "Tug on anything at all and you'll find it connected to everything else in the universe." This quote has carried me through Sierra Club advocacy campaigns, Grad school, painting, and life in general.

I can paint everything... including the kitchen sink...when I see the connections and simplify the complexities.

Winter is Over!

Cousin KK from CA is the only one enjoying snow scenes because she is basking in relatively balmy weather. Is the garden up yet?...While Minnesotans are getting testy and are starting to "request" spring paintings with open water and blooming trees to lift their spirits. Geez! Look outdoors!... Well, here is the last winter painting. And I saved the best for last! I (personally) think that MN outdoor painters must be the best due to extreme conditions and close values. In winter, we take 2 colors and capture a light that is rarely observed from inside the car driving down the freeway, and in summer, we take "salad bowl green" and give it perspective and form. Add the ability to draw graceful lines to represent trees and the courage to use #10 brushes to add some atmosphere and you could place us anywhere....except a cityscape, perhaps.

Brown is Beautiful

April is here and the white stuff is starting to get annoying. A couple of posts ago I was lamenting brown. Now I embrace it! Thank you to all for your public and private comments. And to John for reminding me that its time for another post. Sorry to report that you will have to look at one more winter scene in the post to follow and then if need be I will post paintings from Spring 08...or there may be a rebellion of sorts.

First Snow--Painting #2

Sometimes a place inspires you to paint with more expression than others. There is a library of memories that play in your head. You are there with the feel of the season and time and place. The brush marks symbolize the arch of branches that form a familiar canopy of trees in summer. Such is the love of This Place. Each of the elements are parts of a bigger whole. If I were a singer, instead of a painter, I would have sang this ever so sweetly...

Bail Out

Sunny Day. Temp reached 50 degrees. After changing locations 3 times, the painters were back to the Bruce Vento standard, but things were going badly...wind, ice, and a scene that was primarily raw umber + white on steroids. Instructor Richard had to put up with some whining and dispensed advice and color notes on how to persevere. The result was surprisingly pleasing and a good lesson on gravel roads. Will never see them again the same way.

What will we do next week without having bits of snow and ice glare for frosting? The world will truly be brown with a capital B. What would Wyeth do?