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Pastel Landscape Process

Inspired to do a larger pastel piece, I worked on a 22″ x 24″ sheet of red Canson paper to create this drawing.  I took photographs along the way to illustrate the process.  First I began with a simple value focused watercolor underpainting.  It’s important to not overwork this step and stress the paper.  In landscape, I almost always start with sky.  Once the sky is established it is easy to build in front of it.  I may have to tweak colors in the sky later for cohesiveness, but I shouldn’t have to do much.  The most difficult part of this piece was the large expanse of grassland.  It was hard to be consistant without it being too boring so I tried to vary of the colors and marks.  However in doing so I walked the line of making it too “chunky” and imaginary.  After  a few days work on this piece I am happy with the end result, the balance of warms and cools, of ground and sky.

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Reflections on an Art Fair Summer

When the festival season is over for me (in 2 weeks) I will have 9 festivals under my belt.  By far the most I have ever done in one summer.  There has been a huge learning curve and I have tweaked my display at almost every show.  I have also kept notes on which festivals I will do again next year and which ones I won’t.  I had good festivals and bad festivals, but there is more to it than sales.  There were festivals this year I did not sell a thing at- but I am still considering returning to these festivals next year because it was good exposure, an art educated crowd, or just plain fun.  Next summer will likely be more concise in terms of my festival schedule.  I may also branch out a little further into Illinois or Minnesota.  Fellow artists have proven to be a priceless resource in providing pointers and recommending other shows.  Even when I was not selling I was learning, making connections, and gaining exposure.  This weekend is Mount Mary Starving Artist Festival (which will be a very different kind of show for me).  Following that is Hidden River the 14th-16th.  I will stay cautiously optimistic about these coming weeks!

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Little Paintings Continued

I have been focusing on making mini 5″ x 7″ paintings on panel.  I enjoy the quick discovery of new color compositions.  Also, the finished piece take on a more intimate, precious feeling as a miniature.  Many of the images are repeats of compositions done before.  I often intentionally repeat the same scene multiple times in different mediums or at different scales to see the contrast in impact.  Many of these pieces will be available for purchase at upcoming festivals.

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Little Paintings

Today I am beginning a series of small 5″ x 7″ paintings.  I am doing this for a few reasons.  First and most importantly I feel great artistic freedom in making these smaller works as simple but provocative color abstracts.  I envision this as being a possible wall at my next solo show coming up this September.  With the Mount Mary Starving Artist show also in September I need some smaller inventory.  Finally, my recent 20+ Paintings Class in Fish Creek has inspired me to return to small for a while.  Working small allows me to figure a lot of things out.  There is a sensitivity and a simplicity to the landscape when broken down to be contained at this size.

These are the first round of prepared panels.  I work on masonite.  I begin by gently sanding the surface.  Then I apply 2-3 coats of gesso.  Finally I apply a base color.  Here I have used red, orange, and yellow.

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Cedarburg Plein Air Event

The Cedarburg Plein Air Painting Competition is taking place through June 24th.  Artists from all over the country have come to Cedarburg for an outdoor painting event.  Finished work will be delivered to the Cedarburg Cultural Center and will be put on display for a  reception and sale Friday, June 22 from 5-7:30pm.  Works will remain for sale throughout that weekend.

I had a nice morning painting in a park called Herman A. Zeunert Park, just off of Hamilton Rd.  The only downsides were a lack of shade and an excess of goose droppings.  The sight of a large rock cliff across the lagoon was too tempting a view.  I have driven past here numerous times and have wanted to paint it  I am drawn the the various textures and colors of sky, tree, rock, and water.  I enjoyed my painting time today and am rather satisfied with the final piece.  I think I wil try to get out there once or twice next week also.

 

 

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Opening at Woodwalk Gallery

This Memorial Day weekend was the season opening reception at the Woodwalk Gallery.  My work is represented at the gallery along with numerous other artists.  This is my second year with Woodwalk, and once again they put on a great show.  Food, drink, great weather, art, and lots of people made this a fantastic event.  Sadly I could not stay long as the 3 hour drive each way makes for a long day.  It was totally worth it though.   I got to talk to fellow artists like Pamela Anderson and reconnect with old friends like Julia Bresnahan (my high school art teacher).  Big thanks to Allin and Margaret for including me in there gallery! For more info, visit the Woodwalk Gallery website:  http://www.woodwalkgallery.com/

 

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Art on the Walk

Ahh.. I had forgotten how fun art festivals could be.  I woke up this past Saturday morning around 6:00am and groaned when I heard the thunder.  Oh how I contemplated not getting up!  Who is going to show up to an art festival in a thunderstorm anyway?  But, like they say in Wisconsin, if you don’t like the weather- wait twenty minutes.  In this case it was three hours….

I drove to Menomonee Fals for Art on the Walk.  I set up my tent and display in a thunderstorm.  My expectations and spirits were low for the day.  By 11:00am however, the sun was out an so were the crowds!  While I didn’t see the sales I had hoped for this day, I had a great time talking with people.  It was a fun and easy festival so the lack of sales was something I could live with.  I will probably do it again next year!

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Critique

I feel very fortunate to have been included in MARN’s recent Painting Salon.  The show is hung at MARN’s headquarters at 5407 W. Vliet Street.  There are six artists represented, including myself.  Other artists are Ann Baer, Fred Bell, Jim Zwaldo, Michael Davidson, and Katherine Rosing.

We were treated to a full weekend of art conversation.  The show begain last Thursday with a private curator night.  Area curators along with special guest curator Scott Speh were invited to come and talk to us about our work.  I received a range of comments and found the experience incredibly useful and thought provoking.  Friday night was a public reception which was fun, social, and exciting.  Finally, Saturday morning peers and public were invited to come critique the work.  We had a small but thoughtful group.  Again, I left with a head full of ideas.

I know that this experience will change my work.  Plans are already in the works for a new series and I am fired up about the potential.  Maggie Sasso, who curated this exhibition, did a remarkable job of hanging the work and putting together a successful event.  The show will remain on display through June 16th.

To learn more about MARN: http://www.artsinmilwaukee.org/

 

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May En Plein Air

What a great week to be outside painting!  May now is feeling like summer and I cannot resist any opportunity to get fresh air.  Yesterday I went to Grant Park in South Milwaukee around 9am.  It seemed early but the sun was still hot.  I of course chose my painting spot in the middle of an open field with no tree cover so that I coud paint the tree line out in front of me.  I was also facing the sun.  Not ideal conditions… but I caked on the sun screen and made it work.  Three hours was about all that I could stand.  I had plenty of water and sunscreen but was still feeling drained by the sun exposure.

After packing up my easel I decided to cool off by dipping my feet in the lake.  It was one of those inspiring mornings that words cannot do justice to.  I walked the path through the park crossing wood bridges over shallow streams.  I didn’t know I was so close to the lake, but when I found it I saw it open up in fornt of me like it was waiting for me.  And best of all, there was no one else around!  I slipped my feet into the icy water and walked along the shore.  I enjoyed the sounds of birds and waves.  I found a few interesting rocks.  I thought about painting.  It was good.

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New Techniques

Over the past few months I have been refining my technique slightly.  I have continued to use a palette knife or painting knife as my primary tool.  However, I have begun to modify the painting with a brush once the paint is in place.  This allows my to create a larger diversity of mark making with finer details of the focal point or area of interest. The paintings, as a result, have become much more controlled.  This does not feel static or stale to me, but rather a more mature version of my earlier work.  I am also returning to color a as a primary subject matter (in some of my work I feel this intention had gone a bit off course).  With the festival season starting for me next week, I am excited by the prospect of clearing some space in my studio to make room for new development.  I have just finished gessoing a series of panels and canvases that I cannot wait to paint on!

 

Image: Approaching Storm (detail), oil on panel, 2012