Riverbend, 11 x 14 Plein Air Watercolor

"Riverbend" 11 x 14 , plein air watercolor painted near Duncan's Mills along the Russian River.

Bob did Levi's GranFondo bicycle event in October and I was lucky enough to go to Duncan's Mills to the Christopher Queen Galleries. Contemporary painters and wonderful watercolors upstairs by Percy Grey and Lorenzo Latimer were inspiration for this piece. It was sunny along the coast, our best weather in Northern California is September and October. It was a such  pleasure to see green trees and flowing water.

After the Mount Diablo Fire Series, After the Fire V and VI

After the Fire V 12 x 16
This is looking up at the summit in the fire zone. We had had some rain and there was new growth in the chaparral areas that was a lovely fresh green, the bare chert soil was a  deep red, burnt orange that contrasted nicely.

After the Fire VI 16 x 20
This is at Devil's elbow, just below the summit. The fire hopscotched through this area leaving patches of soil and singeing the lower part of the pines.

"Summer Hill, Upper Valley" and "Luminous Meadow" in 103rd California Art Club Gold Medal Annual Juried Exhibition and Sale

 

 Summer Hill,Upper Valley 18 x 24

 

 Lumimous Meadow 14 x 21

 

103rd Annual Gold Medal Juried Exhibition
March 30 – April 20, 2014

 Here the paintings are framed:

Autry National Center website
4700 Western Heritage Way, Los Angeles, CA 90027

ARTISTS’ GALA RECEPTION: Saturday, March 29, 6-9 p.m.
Art enthusiasts can meet the exhibiting artists at this preview reception to be held the evening before the exhibition opens to the public. A highlight of the evening is the awards ceremony, at which “Best of Show” honors will be announced.
For more information: http://www.californiaartclub.org/exhibitions/annual-gold-medal-juried-exhibition/

I entered these because they represented what I think are my best paintings from the last year.
Summer Hill,Upper Valley is a monumental hill whose panormic view needed to be big, I've been painting 18" x 24" recently.
"Luminous Meadow" is from my coastal  atmosphere series of paintings from last summer  and represents a much softer range of values. As this was being painted the fog lifted and the warm colors made this a successful painting.

October Oak 12 x 12 Plein Air watercolor

October Oak 12 x 12

I ran out of Q Burnt Orange while painting this one.
The importance of the bits of blue green ( I used manganese blue hue and cobalt turquoise for the blue green color patches.) to contrast with the warm autumn colors is what I was concerned with colorwise .
The distance away I was standing was important , it allowed me to see the larger shapes and not try to paint every leaf.

Progress on "Desert Hill"

Desert Hill 14 x 14

Here's where I am after a couple of days painting and staring. It's probably 95 % of the way done, the last 5 % is a lot of staring , moving around the house etc. to evaluate values and warm /cool contrast. In the hill paintings how far colors advance and recede is important to create distance.



Here's a few of the evaluation and  finishing techniques I use:


Upside down, this removes the reality of the subject and helps me look more objectively at the shapes, colors and values.

Black and white. This is a quieter painting  for me with  muted taupes and palest sage greens and  lightest blue grays, but are the values too close?

Desert Hill black and white

Generally I let paintings sit a week or two at this stage just to give myself some time for objectivity. This is why it helps to have more than one going at once.
If you scroll down one entry ,you can see the earlier stage of this painting.

In Process " Desert Hill " Study

Desert Hill Study, not done yet ,on my easel this Friday.

Malibu Canyon

I get to enjoy this painting a bit longer.
It is an intensely personal  abstract vision of a hill near Malibu Canyon Road .
 I entered it in a second museum exhibit ( it was previously exhibited at the Pepperdine Art Museum in Malibu) and it was not selected this time, but that won't stop me from entering it again. Sometimes I find the most original paintings take a while to find a buyer or a judge who shares the vision. How about you, do you believe in paintings and find that the ones you believe in most are eventually valued by curators or collectors?

Malibu Canyon 20 x 30

Spaces and Places Juried Exhibit in Danville Ca June 29th to August 10

Zuma Canyon 14 x 21 Plein Air Watercolor

This painting of a ridge in Malibu was selected by Juror Dewitt Cheng( he is a San Francisco-based artist, writer and curator) for the "Spaces and Places" exhibit at the town-sponsored art space right here is Danville.

The ridges in Southern California have less vegetation and their lovely fractured geometry makes the tectonic forces used in their creation almost completely visible.
This painting is getting quite the exhibition profile: It was selected by Michael Zakian ( Curator of the Wiesman) for the "On Location in Malibu" exhibit at the Weisman Museum of Art at Pepperdine University and by Phillip Linares, Curator of the Oakland Museum of Art for the "Imagine California" Statewide Exhibit.

  Artwork that was considered for this exhibition depicted either a real, invented or a psychological space or place to fit within the theme, Spaces and Places. The juror for this exhibition, DeWitt Cheng, a San Francisco-based art critic and writer for various art publications and web media, selected 48
pieces of artwork from 41 artists.


Opening Reception

Friday, June 29 from 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Village Theater Gallery, Front Street Danville

"Zuma Canyon" also appears in the June/ July Issue of Plein Air Magazine

Two Paintings Accepted at the 81st Annual Statewide Contemporary Landscape Exhibit: Earth Portraits at the Santa Cruz Art League on exhibit through June 26th

Pacific Passage 14 x 14

 The Curve of the Earth 21 x 14

81st Annual Statewide Exhibit       
EARTH PORTRAITS:
Contemporary Landscape Painters of California

May 28 - June 26, 2011



Juror: Scott A. Shields, Ph.D.
Associate Director / Chief Curator Crocker Museum
Curator: Ed Penniman


The first Santa Cruz Art League Statewide Exhibition was
held in 1928. This year, as a celebration of the 81st Annual
Statewide Exhibition, this competition and exhibition will revisit
the high standards for acceptance, which made this annual Landscape show one of California’s premier art events.

I am thrilled to have two paintings accepted into this exhibition.
"The Curve of the Earth" was one of the few times I've painted from the summit of Mt Diablo and I thought it fit the theme of Earth Portrait .
I've been working on a series of  paintings of the Pacific Ocean and "Pacific Passage" is my favorite so far. I have found that in winter the waves are full of foam and a much lighter value than the rocks , so the compositions  work for me because there are clear value pattens, and it is a fun excuse to paint delicate watercolor washes in a high key.


Santa Cruz Art League
526 Broadway, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Phone: (831) 426-5787
www.scal.org
Wed.- Sat., 12AM - 5PM,
Sun. Noon-4PM
Here is a statement about the exhibition by the curator Ed Penniman that I think sums up the intentions of contemporary landscape painters pretty well:



Statement by Exhibition Curator Ed Penniman
It is my belief that there is still considerable interest in stunning, inventive and inspirational landscape paintings of California by California artists. It is my hope that this exhibition will reinforce the idea that landscape painting still lives as a vital and expressive art form, particularly at a time of global environmental degradation. Perhaps the appreciation of natural beauty as expressed by these talented California painters will serve as a call-to-action and also heighten awareness that we all play an important part in the stewardship of nature.

Update 7/9
Ed Penniman was kind enough to send the link to the lecture by Scott A Shields that I wasn't able to attend.
I just watched it and it is very educational and entertaining. The topic is landscape painting through the Crocker Art Museum Collection. Here's the link:
http://www.communitytv.org/programs/online/earth-portraits-contemporary-landscape-painters-california

First prize Watercolor at the Santa Cruz Art League 79th Annual Statewide Exhibit of Contemporary Landscape Painters juried by Kevin MacPherson

October Afternoon, watercolor on arches, 14 x 21

My Painting " October Afternoon" just won 1st Prize Watercolor at the Santa Cruz Art League this afternoon. Kevin Macpherson was the juror for this 79th Annual Statewide Exhibition of Contemporary Landscape Painters titled "Irreplaceable Places" and I am thrilled! MacPherson is one of the leading landscape painters in the country. His book "Landscape Inside and Out " is one of those books I study again and again. Kevin MacPherson one of the country’s leading plein air painters, is highly respected among collectors and fellow artists alike. Past President of the Plein Air Painters of America, Kevin is a popular instructor, guest lecturer, and art jurer throughout the country and abroad. His website: http://www.kevinmacpherson.com/.

October Afternoon was painted in Danville ,started plein air and finished by glazing over to create darks later. It is Mt Diablo as seen from near Blackhawk. This show is very balanced and overall has a very high level of quality and variety. I have a second painting in it as well and will blog more about the rest of the exhibit next post.

Acceptance into "Poems without Words Contemporary Landscape Painters of California", Juror, Jean Stern

I am happy to announce I received my acceptance into "Poems Without Words", Contemporary Landscape Painters of California" The 78th Annual Statewide juried exhibit of SCAL. The juror, Jean Stern is Executive Director of the Irvine Museum, which owns the best collection of California Landscape Paintings that I know of. The exhibit runs May 30 to June 29, with a reception on June 7 from 3 to 5. For more information, including a lecture on 100 years of California Landscape Art by Jean Stern on May 29 go to http://www.scal.org/