Signature D presents OSA group Show at Elizabeth Lofts

Wonderful news!  My painting Multnomah Falls has been selected to be in the Oregon Society of Artists group show at the Elizabeth Lofts in the Pearl District in Portland, Oregon. It is presented by Signature D and will be showing from February 7 - March 6 2013.  Come see me and meet all the artists at the opening reception February 7 from 7 - 9 pm.     The address is: 333 NW 9th Avenue, Portland, OR  Plaza entrance on NW 10th.  See you there. 

A Checkered Past

 

A Checkered Past

Acrylic on Gallery Wrap Canvas

24 x 24

$250

 

 

Roosters are so colorful and have such attitudes.  They make for very fun painting.  This rooster is one of the legendary Hawaiian roosters.  When you visit Hawaii you can't help but come across many of these colorful characters. 

         "Rooster on the Green"                                                                           "White Poppies"



 

 

                 "Sweet Peas"                                                                                    "Newsboy Hat"
 

These four watercolor paintings are all approximately 11 x 14 and sell for $75



Acrylic Paintings in July

Multnomah Falls

24 x 30

Acrylic on Gallery Wrap Canvas

$300

(This painting took 1st Place at the Oregon Society of Artists Juried Show 2012!)

Multnomah Falls II

24 x 30

Acrylic on Gallery Wrap Canvas

$300

Evening in Purples and Blues
30 x 24
Acrylic on Canvas
$400

Sunflower

12 x 12

Acrylic on Gallery Wrap Canvas

SOLD

These are a few of the paintings I've been working on this month. 

Multnomah Falls - I've painted Multnomah Falls many times trying to get it "just right".  These two versions are my favorite so far.  It is such a beautiful place.  It is only a few miles from my home and studio.  I go there often especially when I have out of town visitors.  It is the number one tourist attraction in the state of Oregon.  I am very blessed to live in such a beautiful part of the USA.

Evening in Purples and Blue - Our youngest son lived in California for a short time and on a trip to visit him we passed so many beautiful rolling hills on the way to Yosemite National Park.  We were returning from our day trip to the park and this is a slightly abstracted version of those hills in the cool evening colors. 

Sunflower - Sunflowers are so fun to paint because they are so Big and Showy.  This painting was purchased by my cousin Launa at our family reunion auction.  Every person who comes to the reunion donates something they've made.  The proceeds of this auction funds the next family reunion.  Thank you Launa for buying my painting!

Watercolor class demonstration paintings from Spring term 2012

I thought you might like to see what the subject matter was for the beginning to intermdiate watercolor class I taught Spring term 2012 at Clark Community College.  We selected a subject for each of the 8 classes.  It is different every term.  These are the paintings I demonstrated this term.  

 The title of this painting  describes the look on this man's face.  The object of this lesson was to show how to choose a color pallette to help portray the character.  It uses a simple background, hard and soft edges, a portrait composition and use of only two colors to achieve the finished painting. 

"Despair"

Capturing the light was the focus of today's demonstration painting.  This subject also gave me an opportunity to demonstrate painting white fabric.

"Stephanie"

 

Painting flowers is always a request in my watercolor classes.  Over the years we've painted lots of different flowers.  One that is always requested is the big, showy, fun to paint, Sunflower. 



 

"Sunflower"

 

 

 

Pears always give me an opporunity to share with the class the necessity of lights, mediums and darks in a painting to help create form and dimension.  Each of the pears show a highlight, mid value, core shadow; reflected light and a cast shadow.   All of these elements are necessary to help the pear shape move from a one dimensional drawing to a 3 dimensional form.  We also created a dark pigment from two complementary colors. 

"Three's a Crowd"

The class wanted to have one class on the subject of a building in a landscape.  I'd recently been to upstate New York and surrounding areas to see the Autumn colors.  This barn was one of a multitude of paint worthy sights.

I demonstrated the watercolor on the right in class.  Then I returned the following week with the acrylic version.  I created this version to show how to make a tradition subject more contemporary by simplifying the foregound and middle ground and I also intensified the color in the sky. 

                                           "Red Barn"                                             "Red Barn"

                                       Acrylic Version                                          Watercolor


Another simple demonstration of light, medium and dark values to created form.  I also demonstrated a simple "wet on dry" background, wet pigments on dry paper.  It is important, when painting flowers, to get the paint on the paper in the least number of strokes as possible.  This helps maintain the luminosity of the paint. 



"Pink Tulip"

 

 

This was our final demonstration of the term, a quick, loose, colorful painting of a rooster.  The roosters cocky attitude and beautiful color make it a class favorite. 

 

"Hawaiian King of the Yard"

"Chic, chic, chick" watercolor painting in WSO Spring Juried Show



Chick Chick Chick is a transparent watercolor on Fabriano 140 cold press paper.  It originally had a little girl in the painting.  I cropped her off, plunged in a dark background to bring the attention to the two chickens on the right that are having a conversation.  I hung the painting up and looked at it for several months wondering if it was finished.  One day while working in the garden I came across a rusted chunck of chicken wire.  Immediately I had an idea for the background for Chick Chick Chick.  I laid the piece of chicken wire on the dark background and then "lifted" the paint in between the wires to create the wonderful spots of light behind the chickens.  DONE!

Summer and Fall 2011 Paintings

"Driftwood"

A 12 x 12 Acrylic painting of the lighthouse on the Long Beach Peninsula in Washington State. Rosa and Stephanie were my models on the driftwood.

12 x 12 acrylic on canvas - $125







"Copper and Sunflowers"

The sunflowers of late summer just beg to be painted. They are so big and colorful and remind anyone who sees them that summer is drawing to a close. Sunflowers paired with copper create a dramatic and earthy still life.

12 x 14 watercolor on paper - $125


SOLD











"October Glory - The Harvest"


I thoroughly enjoy October. It is my favorite month of the year. Maybe that is because it is my birthday month. I love the smell of moist dirt and the cool crisp air. I love the colors of the season; the changing of the leaves, the berries, vegetables, gourdes and pumpkins.

"October Glory - The Harvest" is my tribute to the season.

24 x 18 acrylic on canvas $200



"Cherry Season"

July and August in the Columbia River Gorge means fruit season. One of my favorite fruits is cherries. I wait every year for Cherry season and then eat them, can them, cook with them and of course, paint them.

14 x 14 matted and framed watercolor - $95











"With A Little Help from A Friend"


One of the joys of being a parent or grandparent is to have a little friend reach up and take hold of your hand. Their trust is absolute. Every journey is better when you get a little help from a friend.


10 x 12 Watercolor on Arches 140 paper- $75

Watercolor and Acrylic - a few of each

"Miss Addie"

Watercolor on Paper

SOLD

Fulani Herdsman - Nigeria

Watercolor on Paper

SOLD

"Imagination"

16 x 16 Acrylic on Canvas

"Blue Floats"

20 x 20

Acrylic on Canvas

Columbia River Gorge

Living in the Columbia River Gorge provides infinite inspiration for views that are
close to my heart and my home.  I live in the Columbia River Gorge.  Every single day there is beauty right outside my window or only steps away.  These paintings represent three of the most viewed sights in the Gorge." Multnomah Fall"s hosts over a million visitors a year.  There is never a bad day to view the falls.  "Vista House" at Crown Point is a historic monument built after world war II when they were building the Historic Columbia River Highway. " The "Columbia Gorge" painting is the view looking east from Vista House.  It is a spectacular vista, which was undoubtedly the source of  inspiration for the name for the domed view point near by.

Columbia Gorge  - Acrylic on canvas  36 x 18 - $300
Vista House at Crown Point - Acrylic on canvas 36 x 18 - $300
Multnomah Falls - Acrylic on canvas 18 x 36 - $300

Purchase all three in a set - $825

Becoming Xandy

Xandy, full of humor, passion, talent, daring - what will you become?  The title for this piece is "Becoming Xandy".  At the beginning of his life's journey Xandy has so many possibilities and experiences ahead of him.  What kind of man will Xandy become.

"Becoming Xandy"

Transparent Watercolor on Arches 140 lb 

$600

"Aviators"

Beautiful girls at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada were the inspiration for this painting.  Jenna and four of her friends taking in the sights and excitement of being there.  They were all wearing aviator sunglasses, hence the title.

"Aviators"

24 x 36 acrylic on canvas

$600

Sold