ERIC BOWMAN

Fast and Furious

2012-02-14T12:49:00.000-08:00

No. 1

These oil sketches were done very quickly (approx 15 - 45 minutes a piece) on paper as skin temperature exercises...subtly shifting and exaggerating the warm and cool to create more interest and help aid me in my figure work. I did about 4 of them a day -- each one is approximately 14 x 11" and were referenced from either photos or previous pencil sketches. I have more that I will post at a later date...

No. 2

No. 3

No. 5

No.6

No. 10

No. 7

No. 8

No. 15

The Practice of Practicing...

2012-01-28T22:11:00.000-08:00

Gown Study #3

The other day, I went in for an annual physical and got to thinking about how my doctor has a "practice"... and just what does that mean anyway? Lawyers seem to have 'em too...hmm. In all the dictionary definitions I could find, the closest clue to it's meaning was termed as "Exercise of a profession".

O.K. that makes sense, but why does it only apply to physicians and lawyers? Is it because we hold those professions in higher esteem? But there is also something called "malpractice" (which is basically negligence) and of course who wants to go under the knife on the operating table with a doctor who's just "practicing" right?

But maybe there's another reason for this terminology; maybe there's a hint of humility in there somewhere -- a hidden confession that even as professionals, they indeed don't know it all. Perhaps a "Practice" is a profession where constant development, persistent study and a never-ending pursuit for knowledge of the truth is the norm... If that be the case, then I don't see why an artists profession can't be labeled likewise. After all, is not the artist of integrity in a perpetual "practice" as they strive for excellence? Is he/she not exercising their passion for a greater artistic truth?

And if we suppose "practice" only applies to a service-in-humanities type of vocation, then wouldn't art qualify all the more?

Gown Study #5

Of course, I don't plan on hanging a shingle above my studio door that says "Art Practice"... No, I just think in all fairness that artists too are in a kind of practice, as long as they engage in an effort to achieve the kind of mastery that only comes through shear tenacity of hard work. Actually, most deceased artists you'll read about usually admitted at the end of their lives that they still had a ways to go.

In an age of professionals and specialists, labels and titles seem to mean a lot -- especially in a society where art is often degraded and takes a back seat in our public schools. Of course everyone wants to be recognized for their skill and knowledge, but for artists it's about the creative process and what we produce in the name of art (and maybe that's where we lose our popularity status among other professionals).

In the 1950's, Wally Wood once drew a comic book panel with a cameo billboard in it reading; "When better drawings are drawn, they'll be drawn by Wood, he's real gone".... So I suppose however you want to define "practice" it doesn't really matter -- all I know is that I need a lot of it, and there's no end in sight to what we can learn.
(Good thing my check-up went well...)

Happy Holidays!

2011-12-22T10:09:00.000-08:00

Dancer at Rest (30x24) o/c

Well, the end of another year has arrived, and they just seem to keep coming faster... No matter -- I am still here and enjoying my life and family now more than ever. I want to wish any and all who periodically check this blog the best of everything -- happiness, peace and good health in the coming year, and to those of you who paint & create, much success in your endeavors.
Stay true to yourselves, love your neighbor and ditto on all the following salutations:

"Live long and prosper" -- Spock
"Be well and do good work" -- Garrison Keillor
"May all your wildest dreams come true" -- Pedro Sanchez
"Take care polar bear" -- Lily Bowman (age 6)

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you!

Eric Bowman

Temple of the Pacific

2011-12-02T16:44:00.001-08:00

"Temple of the Pacific" (24x36)

This piece was done from a couple of plein air sketches I did earlier this year, above a little cove on the north end of Boiler Bay (just north of Depot Bay, OR). I've painted here under different conditions and times of day, always returning for it's classic Pacific Northwest character, but having an entirely different experience every time...

Living where I do (approximately one and a half hours from the beach) it's unpredictable what you're going to find there. From here you have to traverse the coast range of mountains, and you never know what's going to greet you on the other side... Could be a clear, cloudless day from home to the horizon, but rounding that last curve of tall pines may reveal a thick fog bank obscuring the ocean altogether.

Or, an overcast gray day at home could fool you from perfect conditions awaiting at the beach. One thing I have become accustomed to though, is learning to accept what I find, no matter the weather (barring hard rain). Of course back home in the controlled environment of the studio, I could take any time necessary to expand upon my outdoor sketches (which I did) -- and that's a good thing, as I believe every painting should be markedly different from any other -- even if it's a painting of a painting...inspired by a previous painting.

BLUE, period.

2011-11-11T10:31:00.001-08:00

Burgundy Blue (24x30) o/c

This is a recent piece I had fun with -- the model for the singer had great attitude that made for a nice contrast to the more sober musicians, helping to covey a subliminal blurring of the lines between the genres of jazz and blues music...

While both forms produce sounds that have their associated moods, it's interesting what physiological effects a dominant colour palette can produce too.

(detail)

Of course the colour blue has long been associated with melancholy, and the musical genre of the blues, yet it is far from restricted to that emotion alone. While the musicians here appear serious and sullen, the singer's expression is on the verge of joy -- the paradox that blue music is...

On the one hand, it is an artistic moody expression that can yield a feeling of 'low down', while at the same time it can ease the pain of the suffering spirit... Strange, the effects art can have on the human condition -- be it audible or visual...

Back to the Figure

2011-10-28T21:44:00.000-07:00

Now that summer is past, I started painting the figure again from a live model. It's a great workout and the best way to study how light falls on the form, while transforming that information onto a 2-dimensional surface...

Green Mantle (20x16)

Of course this is for study and exercise and not necessarily intended to be a "finished" work -- that's why I don't bother with unnecessary details like finessing the eyes and mouth, etc. By sticking to the confines of a 3-hour time limit, you're forced to work quickly and spontaneously to capture only the basic information. This simple approach makes for a fresher, livelier image that retains more movement than a highly rendered one.

Model at Rest (16x20)

For that, it would take another session or two, but this way lends itself to more potential for "happy accidents" (things you didn't necessarily intend, but sometimes occur when working quickly that benefit the overall picture)... Another benefit to painting studies, is the absence of investment -- I usually use cheap store-bought canvases or quick-coated masonite panels with a slight raw umber stain to kill the white (as you can see in the top example surrounding the image)...

Mostly I enjoy doing these because it develops instinctual skills thru repetition that carry over to finished pieces, eventually training you to get those spontaneous strokes that make for a better picture. Of course that said, I have a lot of studying to do!

Going Coastal

2011-10-17T18:23:00.000-07:00

Netarts (8x10)

Here are a few sketches from a recent beach trip -- all during a 4 day period including several weather changes...as long as I could get under cover before it rained, I didn't mind -- over cast skies at the beach make for interesting grays. This one above however was before the clouds rolled in -- a town called "Netarts" (don't ask, I have no idea).

Tide Pool Reflections (9x12)

This one is my favorite because of the colour and reflection of the pools on the rocks....

Cape Wall (9x12)

This is the wall of sand stone at Cape Kiwanda in Pacific City, north of Neskowin...

Gorilla Rock (9x12)

A local surfer told me they call this Gorilla Rock because of the monolithic rock about a quarter mile out that looks like an apes head at certain angles...

Beach Path (9x12)

This one was a quickie of a beach path near Devil's Punch Bowl that led to a rising tide -- an artist friend, James (who had shorts on) braved the water up to his knees to get a sketch of the bluff from the beach -- I played it safe. Still, as with all failures and successes, it contributes to the "mileage pile" on the way to better paintings...

Pressure Sensitive

2011-10-04T11:34:00.000-07:00

"Pressure Sensitive" (16x20) o/p

There are a number of ways to achieve a variety of textures in a painting, but the first thing to consider is what you're after and the surface it requires... In the painting above, it's the 'appearance' of texture on a smooth gesso'd panel...more of an optical illusion in this case than actual physical surface relief. This painting was done mostly in one afternoon with some tweaking the next morning (and it's more about the attitude and action, not finessing an abundance of details).

The brushes used were all synthetic flat sables, in three sizes... The dry-brush highlight stroke in the middle of her forearm is a good example of the kind of broken colour effect you can achieve on a smooth surface without shoveling on a boat-load of paint.

Of course, painting a woman's skin requires at least some passages of smooth blending, and the wet into wet technique with the sable brushes served well for this purpose. I also wanted to exploit the surface texture a bit given the nature of the subject's action, so a little variety of additional dry brush helped to achieve that end.

In this case it was the panel's surface prep that dictated the approach I chose -- like your individual style; sometimes the one you end up with chooses you, instead of the other way around...

Over the Rainbow

2011-09-21T10:39:00.000-07:00

"Backyard Apple Tree" (8x10)

At the end of the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy exclaims to Glinda the Good Witch; "If I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't go any further than my own backyard..." Well, I can't tell you how many times I have wasted driving around in search of that perfect landscape, only to fall into the trap of telling my self there's a better spot just around the next bend... Of course it never materializes, and you end up chasing rainbow's until the sun goes down.

This year summer arrived extremely late, and for a very short time. It probably wouldn't have phased anyone had a tornado touched down in the middle of July with all the gray skies we had. Still, I remained optimistic and kept my painting gear by the door. One afternoon as the day began to wane and I was feeling that twinge of anxiety wondering if there was enough time and where would I go and was it worth it blah, blah, blah, something caught my eye -- it was our apple tree...

We've lived here for nine years now, but I've only painted here all of three times; once it was a beautiful wisteria in full bloom (just before we yanked it to add on a bathroom). Another time it was the plum tree, but never the apple tree. I guess like most things we take for granted, unless we stop to really notice, we miss the wonder and awe of it's beauty (if I only had a brain). This day, the apple tree was glowing and had already dropped a few early "greens" which seemed to only accentuate a nice compositional pattern of cast shadows on the ground. I thought to myself, "no reason to pack the car -- just set up right here and make something work"...and I think it did.

A famous landscape painter once told me "Beauty is all around us -- you just have to look for it"... So next time I get the big idea to hit the road in search of the perfect muse, I might just take a deep breath, click my heels and say...(well, you know the line...)

Plein Air Trespassing

2011-08-12T10:57:00.000-07:00

Forgotten Homestead (9x12)

Not far from our house the geography gets rural pretty quickly. In fact, I'd like to live in such surroundings instead of the area we're in now -- we're close to the country, but still surrounded by freeways and suburban grid... Out where the above scene was painted, you could actually live on farmland without necessarily being a "farmer"...it just cost money. But for now, it's still free to go paint there as long as you ask permission of land owners (where appropriate). Most of the time, people are fine with it, although there are exceptions...

Somewhere on Sauvie Island...

Here is a good example of plein air-phobia aimed at passive artists such as yours truly. Of course this could have been posted by a disgruntled painter who couldn't find an ideal place to set up, or it's an official one-off alteration penned by Ranger Rick for an ITP* (intent to paint) warning...

Sauvie Island Pastoral (12x16)

Either way, I ignored such nonsense and forged ahead to sketch the piece above -- it was a beautiful summer day on the island and I enjoyed the company of a couple of artists friends taking in the scenery..... (now as soon as someone can bail us out of the county jail, I'm sure they'll forgive me for suggesting this location...)

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road...

2011-07-05T14:44:00.000-07:00

"Cello For One" (oil 20x24)

Ian Anderson once wrote a lyric that went; "I'd rather look around me and compose a better song, for that's the honest measure of my worth"... Now, I hope my worth is valued much higher than anything I've ever painted, but I think the point is, doing your honest best and not being afraid to be judged by that...

I've been becoming more and more enamored with the Russian aesthetic of impressionism, and it's greater emphasis on everything else but exact drawing. Recently I have visited some galleries that deal exclusively in Russian & Soviet era impressionism and while it's an easy sell in my mind, it's altogether harder to achieve in practice with nothing but pure desire -- it requires an exodus from my old way approaches of over rendering, extraneous detail and just plain literalism...

It helps to slow down too... When I leave a painting overnight to set up a little, I can exploit the surface's skin with dry brush strokes that leave a much more interesting texture and random design than I ever would've achieved alla prima...

Plein air sketching can produce some wonderfully loose material from which to build, but generally wet-into-wet is the short route that more often praises spontaneity, but rarely achieves what the long road is capable of. What I'm after now is more about equalizing the quality of the journey as well as the destination, and those differences that can be discovered no other way...

This model was primarily painted from life in one session, but I wanted to take it further -- I also wanted to pose her with a musical instrument, but didn't have anything classy enough on hand. So I called a local music shop who usually only rent out for no less than a month or more at a time, but in this economy I offered $20 for an over-niter and the owner was happy to oblige.

Anyway, the background and several key strokes were layered on after the figure was 90% dry and much of the texture and over all mood effects came a lot easier this way. Setting it aside for a few days also has a tremendous effect on your thought process in developing a painting that you simply cannot get in a rush to finish.

So 'goodbye' again to a little more of the old me and my old ways as I learn another of life's lessons -- that it often takes just as much time to cast aside what I no longer want as it does to gather that which I desire.

I'm sure Elton and Dorothy probably figured that one out awhile ago too.

Sonoma Plein Air 2011

2011-05-31T11:19:00.000-07:00

"After the Rain" (16x16)

Just got back from a week of painting at Sonoma Plein Air. This is a great event, except it's not really a competition like most of the other plein air shows that offer awards and prize money -- the only award at SPA is the "Artists Choice" award which has no monetary value -- just minor prestige and a bullet on your resume. The main thing is getting the chance to paint the landscape from life and hope you produce something a collector just can't live without... Still, the competition is there, only it's to out-paint yourself (which a true artists integrity would dictate anyway).

"Pork Stop" (12x16)

Doing these shows is kind of like being on the PGA tour...if your lucky and get juried in, you load up your clubs, er...I mean painting gear, make arrangements for housing, etc. and hit the road where you catch up with some of the same artists you saw at the last event. Another benefit in Sonoma is the high quality accommodations; when they put you up for the week, it's not in Junior's vacated bunk bed. These folks really know how to pamper their guests -- I was treated to the plush guest house of a very gracious host, overlooking their full sized tennis courts and personal putting green.

Of course it was hardly R&R time lugging a French easel around 12 hours a day, but I did sleep like Jed Clampett every night... The only downer came about half way thru the day of the show at the end of the week when it started raining... that may have kept some of the crowds away, but I still managed to sell a few pieces so all in all it was a great time -- I even got to see my brother and his family who drove up from OC to meet me there (thanks again guys, that was great!).

"Sonoma Valley Sunrise" (9x12)

I do miss the California landscape I grew up in though -- the eucalyptus and sycamore trees, the rolling, oak-covered hills and sunshine -- but this time even the rain was a benefit as it produced some really nice cloud formations...

Next is my solo show "Off Key, On Point" opening up at Bonner David Galleries in Scottsdale next week -- they've already pre-sold several pieces down there so maybe I can upgrade my hotel room (but I think I'll leave my brushes at home for this one)...

New Solo Show

2011-05-18T23:48:00.001-07:00

"Listening To The Playback" (20x16) o/c

Here are a few more pieces for my first solo show with Bonner David Galleries in Scottsdale, AZ. The show's title is "OFF KEY, ON POINT" which refers to the two main subjects; music & dance...

"The Rosin Box" (30x24) o/c

"When Harlem Was" (30x40)

"Warming Up In Amber" (30x40) o/c

"Another Girl In Black" (20x24) o/c

You can see more images that will be included in the show at my website: www.ericbowman.com
and at BonnerDavid.com -- Show opens on June 9... There's also an article about it in the new June issue of American Art Collector magazine.

Tutu Much Fun

2011-04-13T16:48:00.000-07:00

"Take Five" o/c (30x30)

Been enjoying working feverishly on new paintings for an upcoming solo show at Bonner David gallery in Scottsdale, titled "Off Key, On Point" -- it will be a collection of jazz music & ballet themed paintings... This one above is a recent piece that will be featured along with 16 to 18 others.

The model is an actual professional ballerina with the Oregon Ballet Theater, but couldn't hold this pose without eventually passing out. Not being one to overwork my models (or risk a liability suit) I just had her hold the pose for a few seconds to photograph what I wanted... The water bottle however is painted 100% from life -- no slacking there, boy.

"Before the Barre" o/c (16x20)

This one was done from life (and a much more reasonable pose). A lot of artists paint ballerinas and for various reasons, but I fell into it purely by chance -- James, one of the artists who comes to my figure sessions is also a photographer and shoots for the OBT (mentioned above) and got some of the dancers to come model for us.

We've gone thru about 3 of them so far, but I don't think any of them will be returning soon. These girls are professional dancers and in great shape, but not very excited about posing for the 3 hour pittance we offer. Still, they've all done great and there are several more we could probably persuade before the word gets around of how torturous it can be....

At any rate, I chose ballerinas because I was fortunate enough to have access to some, but also because like painting, dance is an art form full of grace, strength and beauty -- a natural for any painter to really get into. So is jazz music (the other half of my show) for that matter, which I will post on soon.

Until then, back to the easel...

That Thing You Do...

2011-03-27T13:43:00.000-07:00

"Every Day at Four" (18x24)

It's funny how people view what I do for a living. Many look at it through stereotypical lenses, seeing artists as irresponsible loafers who seemingly "drift through life, creating works of art that effortlessly flow from their fingertips" (actual quote)... with the underlying attached stigma that "it's not a real job anyway". Still others wonder why I bother with it at all.

Well despite the stereotypes, I am working those fingertips to the bone getting ready for a one-man show coming up in a couple of months, along with annual plein air events in Sonoma, CA this May and another one in Easton, Maryland in July.

"The Three Graces" (16x16)

Thankfully I have a very supportive family -- I support them financially, they support me with love and encouragement. I was fortunate to have parents who were supportive when I was a kid too, but I remember my mom counseling me to have some sort of back-up career in case things didn't work out. Sound advice I suppose, but it planted a seed of doubt that an artist could actually make a decent living....especially one who never went to school for it.

I think about those words of my mother who is gone 5 years now -- who missed my first ever one-man show and my first TIME magazine cover, and all my other blah blah blah's since then. Not that I need those achievements to validate what I do for a living. I mean, I appreciate those things, but I'm an artist whether I stink or not -- my paintings validate themselves, good and bad (and I produce in both categories with equal abandon thank you very much).

Anyway, when doubt creeps in, I just have to consider myself blessed as I have made a living for many years now doing what I do. But there's no rest for the artsy.... so what if my fingertips are bleeding, at least I'm enjoying myself -- it's what I do.

A Draftsman's Draftsman (i.e. Hero Worship)

2011-03-18T23:22:00.000-07:00

DEAN CORNWELL (illustration jedi 1892-1960) was a master draftsman & painter. If I had only one word to describe him it would be "Volume" -- volume in the amount of work he produced in his prolific career, volume in the amount of paint he applied, but mostly volume in the way he rendered his subject; he gave everything mass and solidity. You know there's integrity underneath his paintings, built not just upon the understanding of space and three dimensional structure, but the implementation of it....

Having an awesome facility for drawing and then studying under Harvey Dunn (another gusto illustrator of the "Golden Age") he knew how to build character into his figures from the ground up. Take a look at these Captain Blood scenes above; Where there's a hand clinched into a fist, he doesn't always delineate all five digits -- doesn't have to, he just lays in the planes of the fist and leaves it at that. It reads as a manly fist with a sculptural quality (which certainly serves as a better use of brush strokes, portraying a rough and gnarly pirate!)

He was also hugely adept at composition (sampled here by his association with British illustrator, painter & muralist, Frank Brangwyn) who adapted an organic oriental-influenced approach to all facets of design, including textiles and furniture. Cornwell obviously picked up the torch and ran with it, but to more of a precise end...

He often would take a mundane area of information (such as the captain's shirt sleeves pictured above) and apply much more design to it than the average artist ever would. Where most would either simplify or literally "follow the camera", Cornwell would boil down the folds into their base geometric patterns, then create more depth, volume and interest by rendering the planes of each individual fold (but without excessive detailing). He capitalized on these areas based upon a simple 3-value scale; dark accents, high-light & half-tone shadows with a very effective use of reflective light to increase the depth -- I just don't know how he ever found the time to do it all...

Examining his creases and folds, you can often find the resemblance of letters of the alphabet (as stated in Jack Hamm's book on Drawing the Head & Figure) Y, X, S, U, V, and even P & R where one fold passes underneath another, are woven into an orderly context. I know I may be getting a little anal here for some of you, but the attention to each of the individual components of his pictures are what makes his works so superior.

When considering his output over a 40+ year career, it's clear Dean Cornwell was an indefatigable craftsman. Biographies describe him working 7 days a week, even sketching to relax in his spare time, often at the end of a busy day at the easel. This of course was not without price to his family life, but whatever the price he paid, many an artist are indebted to him for the influence of his high standard of quality.

Anyway, I usually blog about my own work here as a supplement to my web site, but today I just had to share a little about one of my biggest heroes, the "Dean of illustrators" Dean Cornwell.

Loose Women & Bag Ladies...

2011-03-04T16:51:00.000-08:00

Diane (pastel on Canson paper 20x16)

About 10 years ago when I did the study above, I was more inclined to detail (as much as a 3 hour pose would allow anyway). Pastels were more in my comfort zone then so if I was accurate with my drawing, I could get what appeared to be a more finished rendering than just a loose study. Although this has a more finished look, it's still a study -- only it's a bit "tighter"than what I would do now (as well as less dynamic).

Bag Lady (10x8 pastel on a paper bag)

This is a little more my speed now -- fast and loose (and I use that phrase loosely, as in loosely rendered). This was done on a piece of grocery bag (sorry, I forget which store it's from) but it was handy and worked well in a pinch.

Anyway, because I was limited by a really short pose time, the extremely edited strokes here actually have more interest than something more polished (plus I think she was late for a nap or something)...

Lindsay (o/c 20x16)

When I do a study now, I try to grab only the essential information; form, light, colour, value & edge... the rest is left for creative interpretation -- both for me and the viewer. If I were to take it to a more finished level, I would hope to transfer most of the movement from the loose study and not sacrifice any spontaneity I might have captured from the live subject.

It's amazing how little information the brain really needs to turn a few loosely rendered abstract shapes into the familiar -- but that's the part I want to leave for the viewer instead of holding their hand all the way through a polished, highly rendered image...where would the fun in that be?

Colleen (20x16) o/c

Long ago, the ad men of Madison Avenue learned to say more with less -- with the limited attention span of the average television viewer, or the split-second exposure of an outdoor billboard to a speeding motorist, they had to. So likewise in painting, the detail I forgo when I apply an economy of brush strokes, I gain back in a picture that is more alive with movement and interest.... but that's less likely to happen if I don't stay loose.

Some of my favorite Soviet impressionists were obviously not too concerned with fussy detailing, yet their paintings are very representational, filled with emotion and energy because they were diligent to stay true to their subject without getting lost in the details.

So whether it's a study or a finished work, I want to retain that same element of energy that comes from direct observation, limited by real time. Loose studies are an important exercise that can yield interesting developments and aid tremendously in your progress as a painter, so keep it loose and leave a little wiggle room -- you may be surprised at what you discover!

Name That Painting...

2011-01-28T16:18:00.000-08:00

"?????" (24 x 36)

Every now and then I get writer's block when it comes to naming a painting, so I thought I'd throw my dilemma out there and see if anyone who actually looks at this blog (sorry I haven't posted in several weeks) might be so kind as to suggest some titles...

If you're interested, I'll give you a jumping off point by clarifying that this painting is not attempting to depict a scene from Swan Lake -- however I did get the inspiration from that famous ballet. In most productions of Swan Lake, the dancers wear a feathered head dress -- mine is a rose garland, and hopefully you can recognize the birds are not swans, but indeed doves...

'Freedom' or being set free was where I was going with the general theme, but just can't seem to pen an appropriate title with a lyrical, poetic sound to it...

Anything come to mind? Feel free to explore the spiritual metaphors as well with the dove(s) -- I'd sure appreciate your input...

Thank you guys!

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-20T12:27:00.001-08:00

"Desafinado" (18x18)

Well it's just about Christmas time and I'm sitting here with a bad cold, but enjoying some family who flew in to surprise me on Friday for my birthday. Birthdays are one way to mark the passing of time, but when you're an artist, so are your paintings... I hope my work is improving as the years go by, but I certainly know my approach and knowledge of painting is changing with time...

(detail)

Here are two new pieces heading for Bonner David Galleries in Scottsdale, Arizona. I am still much interested in music-themed work (obviously) so I am continuing that exploration. As writers are best when they write about what they know, so too is art when artists paint subject matter they understand or have connection with...

"Instruction in Grace" (16x12)

I have been reading a book on drawing by Robert Fawcett (British 1903 - 1967) that is strongly influencing. Drawing is a broad term that applies to all stages of a painting; from rough sketch on paper to finishing strokes on canvas -- it's all rests on design (which is drawing, which is design).

(Detail)

Fawcett says in his book (from 1958) "The artist cannot communicate unless he understands, and the moment of understanding becomes the moment of communication." I know from my own frustrating experiences that I do best when I have understanding about something. Understanding something happens when interest develops beyond casual to passionate, and when you can convey that passion through imagery...well, then you've got something.

Hopefully that will become apparent in my paintings some day (preferably before my next birthday) but until then, have a very merry Christmas and a happy new year!

Back in a Moment:

2010-12-06T16:31:00.001-08:00

o/p (12x16)

We've always kept photo albums in my family, but I've never seen a pic of a relatives backside (let alone a naked one, thank God). Photographs are usually always from the front -- smiling, but there's something intriguing and mysterious, even beautiful on the flip side of the human body...

pencil (8x6)

These of course are just studies, but for artists they're important to do. For one, it's information they need to know to understand the whole form of human physicality and two, studies help develop an understanding of the varied types of backsides of the human body while developing shape, line & value practice as it pertains to figurative rendering...

Pencil on newsprint (20x16)

pencil on newsprint (20x16)

The illustrator and instructional art book author, Andrew Loomis once said the back is "a tough old bird" -- memorizing it's myriad amount and function of musculature is worth going over and over again. After all, even chiropractors and surgeons are still learning the depths of the human torso...

Pencil on Canson (10x6)

o/c (14x11)

Your average portrait painter may never render a commission from this angle, but nevertheless there's as much character & interest back here as there is in the front... if you look for it.

Confessions of a Closet Tree Hugger...

2010-11-23T10:24:00.000-08:00

October Moon (20x16)

Trees have always fascinated me; from when I climbed my first one as a kid, to when I fell out of one and sprained my shoulder a couple of years ago... their beauty, their majesty and the way painters have captured them throughout history. Examples that come to mind are the watercolours of Percy Grey, or the California Impressionists of the early twentieth century and the sarcastically labeled "Eucalyptus school" -- (Eastern art critics just never understood it)

Here on the Oregon coast, we have a variety of pine that takes such a beating from the hurricane winds that they often resemble the Cypress trees of the mid-California coast -- ragged and spindly, it's amazing how hearty they must be to survive the winters.

Beach Trail Treeline (study)

Every region of our country has it's own indigenous species of tree that is equated to it's landscape. I miss the Sycamore and Eucalyptus of California, but the Oaks we have here are gorgeous in the fall and the white trunks of the Birch & Aspens are an excellent subject when the light is right and makes them glow. Painting trees are a joy and a freedom from the riggers of figure work too -- you can add a limb to a tree to enhance a composition, but that somehow doesn't work as well with the human form...

Oh Well, Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

But Can She Act?

2010-10-04T11:34:00.000-07:00

"Variations on a Diva" (24x30)

Why do I still assume because a model looks good, that she'll pose good as well? Actually, this girl did (does) so I've painted her again... But I do know some rather attractive people who couldn't make a facial expression or strike a convincing pose to save their life -- too bad, because you really need to be able to act a little bit to help the artist make a convincing picture... This girl is an excellent figure model, but when I asked her to give me a smoky night club singer, she went to town making up dozens of great poses without any direction -- it was fun just watching the wheels turn in her head as she kept trying new ideas...

Even though these poses are still, they're not static -- due to her imaginative acting skills, and loose edges in the brushwork. If I did anything right in this painting, it would have to be this one stroke on her infra-spinatus (don't quote me) muscle just left of the scapula shadow edge -- like Dean Cornwell said, when you pull off a happy accident like that, you should fall on your knees and thank God for it!

Anyway, I'm no DC, else I'd do it on command everywhere I wanted, but that little shape sure helps this piece. Working quickly through a multi-figure painting of this sort helps you stay fresh and not get bogged down in finessing the details (which would only drag the whole thing down into the manikin basement at Macy's).

After working out the composition, this one was all about edges and subtle value shifts in her skin temperature. I kept her eyes in a lighter value range to deflect too much attention to that area and keep a balance with the rest of her form...

The interest happens up close in the abstract edges of the strokes that break contours and create chaos amongst shapes that actually lend themselves to movement, keeping the original concept more fresh & alive. Of course I could never do that without a great looking model...who can act to boot.

Goodbye Summer

2010-09-30T10:25:00.000-07:00

"Haystack Rock"

Like the fog bank rolling in on this beach, here comes Autumn... In fact, it has been building all summer , so I could have written that line back in July. Every once in awhile we get short changed on summertime weather, and this seemed to be one of those years, yet there were definite highlights and some 90 degree days too.

This was painted spur of the moment -- it was 11 AM when I decided I would chance a run to the coast (about an hour and a half away) and see if I couldn't get one more beach scape in for the season and get back in time for dinner -- which I did. I also managed to go with my family a week later and painted some more that I'll post next time.

The fog receded when I arrived, then rolled back in before I left so timing was good and worth the trip. If you haven't been to Cannon Beach, Haystack Rock is a spectacularly huge and well known formation and surprisingly not the only one shaped like it on our coast -- an hour and a half or so south is another haystack almost identical to this one in Pacific City, several stories high and even another one or two similar to Cannon beach's elsewhere on the Oregon coast I'm told.

Anyway, Fall is here and with it's long shadows, light & colour, more reasons to get out and paint before the rain starts... of course then comes figure paintin' time!

Happy Fall everybody!

The Lonely Oregon Coast

2010-08-24T09:29:00.000-07:00

"Gleneden Morning"

Since growing up in California, I've always had a love of the beach -- specifically the southern California beach where you can actually play in the water without hypothermia or being crushed by a rogue tree log. The central Oregon coast however, is a special place with unique attributes all it's own. Somehow (and I'm sure the climate has mostly to do with it) things are slower up here; you can drive for miles along undeveloped coastline and still get a sense of what Lewis & Clark must have experienced when they first arrived. That, and the fact that I have some roots up here where my mother and her sisters grew up and once owned a beach shack together in Seaside, Oregon helps to create a fondness of it's solitude for me...

"Small Town Beach Road"

There is a 'loneliness' here, especially after school starts that I truly enjoy -- where the weather is still nice, but the vacationers are gone. In many of the coastal towns you can see remnants of the businesses of years gone by that catered to the summer beach goers; an old A-frame structure that once was a kite shop now empty and grown over with wild blackberry, or a one time family seafood restaurant turned auto parts store that still has it's old signage, cracked and peeling. Many older shacks and buildings still painted the pastel colours of the fifties & sixties; mint & pink, peach & aqua blue hold a nostalgic attraction... Perhaps it's middle age, but my own nostalgia really kicks in when I'm here, and coming to paint makes it all the more enjoyable.

For about 15 years before my mother passed away, she had a beach house north of Neskowin, a little bit hidden away where you had to drive through a forest to get there... the beauty of which was best appreciated in doses of seasonal extended weekend trips. Rain or shine, there was always something to do; beach comb for sand dollars or read a book, barbecue on the deck or watch the stormy surf by a warm fireplace...

In many areas with only service road access and fir tree forests all the way down to the shore, there are hidden spots yet to be discovered and I hope to get out here next month and tap that experience again. Like generations of families before us, I'll spend memory making time with my own family combing the beach for shells and agates, sandcastle building & flying kites and with permission, sneak off to discover another spot to paint and create new memories of this place I've come to love, the lonely Oregon coast...

Mud and the Blood

2010-08-04T15:54:00.000-07:00

'54 Chev (9x12)

It's amazing how one tiny bit of information can change your fundamental understanding about something... take painting for instance -- it's been a long road of trial & error, practice, patience and searching for answers (some before I even understood the question). One day a friend of mine pointed out how valuable 'mud' is. Mud, of course is that pile of un-nameable colour you scrape off to the side on your pallet because it's in the way of your 'pure' colour. In my first attempts with oils as a kid, I used to get frustrated when my mixing always seemed to turn to mud -- little did I realize what a gold mine that pile was!

What my painter friend told me was this; every colour on your pallet that you're mixing together & using in your painting can (and should) be scraped together and taken advantage of, because that muddy pile of leftover paint is the next-of-kin blood relative to what's on your canvas. It can now be worked back into the painting in areas where you need to tone down or gray off colour and value that is too intense without losing colour relationship -- it can even become the very vehicle that brings colour harmony to your canvas... just pay attention to the value & temperature.

Warm Up in Mauve (18x14)

Have you ever heard the vocal harmony of the Mills Brothers? They were a singing quartet of brothers popular from the early 1940's thru the 1950's with hit's like "Across the Alley from the Alamo", "Up a Lazy River", "Til Then" and others -- before my time of course, but still great. Anyway, Dean Martin idolized them, recognizing their talents were in a class by themselves because they were all related by blood. When you have the same DNA, raised in the same household and developed your tight harmony from your youth up, you're ahead of the curve -- that kind of harmonic resonance can't be taught, bought or faked! It can only come from a blood relationship.

Colour relationship works the same way -- even when it's all messed up on your pallet, if it went into the painting in pure form it will still relate in the mud form because it came from the same source. The plein air painting of the pick up trucks at the top was done entirely with the mud that was already on my pallet from a previous painting earlier that day, but because it all came from the same source it has harmony. The ballerina was done in the studio with a limited pallet, but the harmony here is in the mud from that pallet...

No matter the subject, un-namable grays & browns whether cool or warm, are inherent in the natural world and a good representational painting won't survive without their balance & influence -- just remember to keep it in the family...

My Studio Condemned...

2010-07-21T16:43:00.000-07:00

Old Brick Firehouse (9x12)

Recently one evening while I was downtown hunting for a subject to paint, I came across this old firehouse -- there used to be several of these around Portland, all built 100+ years ago and long since converted into commercial properties. I actually used to work in this one -- shared a studio here with a couple of other artists until we outgrew it. A number of studios were located on the ground floor with an architects office occupying the entire second floor. The original barn doors were still on the front when I moved in -- they used to have a photograph of the horses that pulled the fire wagons hanging in the entrance when you walked in. This building now boarded up and slated for demolition, is in a neglected part of town near the train & bus stations.

When we were working there (often late into the night) there was always plenty of what we called "theater" going on behind the building. More than once my studio mates called 911 while witnessing addicts shooting up or the local gals servicing their clientele right outside our window... One night a bottle flew through the window, and you always had to wear shoes in the summertime when taking trash out to the dumpster as the side parking lot was usually littered with hypodermic needles every morning. Still it was a cool building to work in and I learned a lot from the other artists there -- hard to believe that was 20 years ago, but I'm glad I got to capture it now before it's gone. This painting is currently hanging in the Laguna Plein Air Painters "Best of Plein Air" show in Laguna Beach, CA.

Recent plein air work...

2010-07-08T17:51:00.000-07:00

Finale (9x12) o/c

Prelude to Summer (8x10) o/c

Mt Hood Study (8x10) o/p

Multnomah Village Antique Shop (9x12) o/p

Avoiding Temptation...

2010-06-26T11:57:00.000-07:00

Diva (16x12)

After a long figure painting session, we asked our tired model if she would strike a pose or two for photos (with the heels that she couldn't endure during the pose she held earlier when we painted...). The temptation of course with photo reference is that you have the luxury to return to your frozen subject over & over whenever you like, usually resulting in too much detail and an overworked piece in the end (if you ever get to the end!).

(detail)

So, I tried to stay away from too much detail by using the edge of a #4 brush for the smallest areas -- the idea is to keep more freshness to the brush strokes & paint texture. Another trick many painters use is the 'time limit method'; set an equivalent amount of time on the clock that you would have under a live figure model condition and quit when the buzzer goes off.

Rehearsing Young Dancer (16x12)

This was done from a black & white photograph, so I stuck to a limited palette (it's very difficult to invent convincing colour) but the mood reads better like this anyway....again, avoiding extraneous details that are tempting with smaller sized brushes.

(detail)

Without small brush work, this painting has a fresher and more spontaneous feel than if I had noodled the details with tiny brushes. I'm not a great painter, but I have learned that a well placed heavily-loaded larger brush stroke will read as detailed as a multitude of smaller, finely finessed brush strokes...it may take a few tries, but the end result will have a fresher look to it.

Oswego Homestead (16x20)

Last but not least, this piece just received the Purchase Prize award at last nights"Chronicles Invitational Exhibit" at the Lake Oswego Festival of Arts. The Festival selects one painting annually into their permanent collection that chronicles the history of the town of Lake Oswego, Oregon.

Say "NO" to Flesh Tone!

2010-06-21T15:12:00.000-07:00

Lindsey (8x6 0il)

Figure studies are done quickly -- just long enough to capture gesture, shape, colour. Something to consider when working quickly in an editing mode is the use of exaggeration of colour and contrast. Often in figure drawing studios, the lighting is less than optimal so improvisation is helpful if you know what to push...

(12x9 oil pastel)

Think in terms of temperature, not colour. The phrase "Skin tone" has a premeditated effect on your choice of colour so I try to not use it. "Flesh tone" is even worse (not to mention prejudice) -- it immediately conjures up pinks where greens, violets, and a variety of unnameable grays & browns are much more accurate. Skin (of any race) has a unique, absorbing surface and is always visually effected by it's surrounding light and background colour.

Sue (12x16 dry pastel)

In most cases (especially with lighter skin) the larger the form, the grayer it appears/ the smaller the form, the redder (or warmer). Blood runs closer to the surface on small forms; the nose is redder than the face, the face redder than the head, the head redder than the torso, etc. Exaggerating the temperature of forms helps define them while adding interest palette-wise. Extremities such as wrists & ankles, fingers & toes, ears & nose, knees & elbows have a warmer tint compared to broader parts such as thighs, torso/back, etc. By keeping the larger, broader areas of the body cooler and the smaller parts warmer, you will have a more convincing palette of colour in your studies as well as your finished works of the human figure.

On the EDGE...

2010-06-01T16:02:00.000-07:00

Study for Betty Carter (16x8)

Edges -- there are several kind; Soft, Hard, Broken, Lost... Without a variety of edges, a two-dimensional painting will appear either out of focus or as flat as flat can be. Edges of course turn objects in space, and give the illusion of space itself as well as make the subject of a painting relate to it's background plane. Edges also create texture, energy and movement...

In this study sketch, all of the main edge categories are present -- mostly created without much thought by painting rapidly with little investment. One of the joys of painting this way is not worrying about the outcome -- it's a "study" not a final product, so there's plenty of bandwidth for mistakes along with happy accidents -- stuff you leave behind or carry over to the next version. Her cheek on the left side of the picture has a soft to lost edge -- this soft edge turns the curve of her face away from us. Conversely, the drop-shadow of her lower lip casts a hard edge on her chin. Those edges create form. Other edges present in her hair, dress and even the edges of random strokes in the background express energy & movement...

Banjo Player study (detail 16x12)

Broken edges are interrupted lines, either skipped along with repeating staccato-like strokes, scrubbed in with a coarse brush or achieved with a dry brush technique (thicker paint, dragged on lightly). Sometimes a wet-into-wet squiggle will suffice for a broken/soft edge as with the banjo player's shoulder -- this also creates energy within the composition.

Lost edges are just that -- they don't really exist where you know an edge really does. These edges are atmospheric tricks of the eye where the value of one shape runs into the area of another shape without any defining border. These edges are often found within shadow shapes because of the lack of defining light, but can also be used (or exaggerated) in the light areas as well to create moody effects or to help in unifying the subject with it's background. A lost edge gives a receding effect to a shape adding extra dimension to the picture plane, but of all the edges, this one should be used the least -- too many times or in too large an area it can read more gimmicky than believable. Back lit objects have a halo effect of soft and lost edges and are a good exercise to render along with hair or folds in clothing and when studying edges.

More Life Drawing...

2010-05-24T17:30:00.000-07:00

Heather (oil pastel 16x12)

Kira (charcoal 12x9)

Sivonna (charcoal 12x9)

An Accent Waiting to Happen...

2010-05-18T14:35:00.000-07:00

Kira (12x16)

Study sketches -- their either good, or good for you (but preferably both). When you squint your eyes looking at your subject, details fall away and all that's left are a variety of shapes and values... This is the best approach to doing a study from life, stripping down to the bare essentials (pun intended). What I wanted to blog on here are the accent strokes... Accents can be light or dark, usually hard edged and potent (high contrast within it's particular context). Accents are usually small and serve two purposes; to link together bigger shapes and to draw attention to an area...

Detail

Here, the accents are the 2 dark cast shadow strokes of her knee against her shin, and the robe against the couch. Accent strokes are only effective when executed with an obvious spontaneity -- a deliberate single stroke. In other words, not rendered, finessed or smoothly overworked in several brush strokes. Make it work like an exclamation mark to amplify a statement. Used properly and sparingly, accents marks can say a lot with little and lend integrity to the overall picture.

For far better inspiration than mine, study the trinity of Sorolla, Sargent & Zorn; masters of the accent stroke and saying more with less...

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-06T10:23:00.000-07:00

Sun Hat (20x16)

Heading up to the Seattle area for the Howard/Mandville Gallery anniversary show opening (and mom's day getaway) tomorrow, but was able to do this study yesterday... this model, Quinn has posed a few times for us before and I've always been happy with the results. Sometimes no matter how good the model is, you just can't keep up (which is why I don't post everything) but I got out of this session what I was after; interesting strokes and texture, lighting and edges... working information that contributes to the next painting.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Just the facts, ma'am...

2010-04-09T09:59:00.000-07:00

Grace (25x15)

When sketching from the live model in one session, you just go for the facts; light & shadow, edges, value & colour....but no details. Details will bog you down with unnecessary information and cause you to lose spontaneity and kill the overall freshness of the picture. Instead of trying to record everything you see in the time allotted, edit as you go, deciding what's essential and what is extraneous -- it's surprising how little information is actually needed to capture the spirit of a subject. A few accent strokes will will do for the illusion of detail and help hold the shapes together... the tricky part is to know when to walk away and quit messing with it (something I have yet to learn my lesson on...)

And now back to our program...

2010-02-22T09:37:00.000-08:00

I just can't stay away from painting blues and jazz subjects...and I have no idea if anyone would buy such a painting, but they're going to have to pry that #6 flat Simmons Signature series hog bristol from my cold dead fingers before I give it up...

Tenor Sax (9x12)

These are more or less studies for possible larger pieces (or parts of larger paintings) but are O.K. to stand alone as small works. I'm both a music lover and an art lover, and the older I get, the more I appreciate the music of my parents generation and am inclined to explore that as subject matter.

Fascinating Rhythm (9x12)

Since my mother passed, I have repeatedly returned to the popular Samba influenced pop that was in the background when I was small (Astrid Gelberto, Sergio Mendez & Brazil 66, etc.) perhaps I'll venture into that genre for subject next... Interesting how much of the memory of our lives music can store and trigger when the timing's right.

Time on your side...

2010-02-15T09:27:00.000-08:00

TIME usually gets a bad rap since most of us want more than what's allotted, but when painting outdoors on location, time can actually be your ally...the setting sun, moving clouds -- elements we can't control that change the shadows, values and colour can keep you from overworking a piece, which is a good thing. Spontaneity is a desired and important quality in a plein air painting, and too much time will steal it from you. In the case of the piece below, a delivery van parked right in front of me just as I was nearing the finish -- I thought I wanted more time, but later realized it would have gone down hill from here (maybe it already had a little, but it still has some freshness to it).

Urban Assault Vehicle (9x12)

Bridge of Size (9x12)

Like many landscape paintings, urbanscapes are more interesting in the hours of early morning or late in the day when shadows are long and more interesting things are happening abstract-wise... Of course you're asking for it when staying in the confines of an hour or so, but that hour of golden light is worth the pursuit. For the piece above, I took a reference photo so I could add the white van later when I got home. Moving vehicles are almost impossible to paint, but leaving them out of a city scene (along with pedestrians) can sometimes have the "neutron bomb effect"...

"I'm bored..."

2010-02-08T15:02:00.000-08:00

Probably the most foolish two words a ten year old boy can mutter in the presence of his mom on a summer afternoon... At our house, if you didn't have your wits about you and decreed such a statement out loud, it guaranteed time in the yard pulling weeds. Artists should never be bored. We should always be working on something -- be it a commission, heading outdoors to paint, cleaning the studio, promoting our work or filling up pages in the 'ol sketchbook. Of course when at all possible draw from life, but if a live model is unavailable, doodle off the top of your head or from photos in the magazines lying about the house.

Doodles from magazines and/or imagination

Like painting, it's about the mileage -- whether it's a successful painting or not, you learn and grow from each experience. With sketchbooks, you're honing your drawing skills, recording ideas & reference and providing yourself a journal of progress all at the same time. And it's a personal thing -- doodling in your sketchbook can be a relaxing past time because there are generally no rules, no deadlines and no one looking over your shoulder (unless you're doing it in public).

studio model

studio models

A couple of famous painters both told me, "Work on 'starts' and don't worry about the finishes...they'll come on their own". That's what drawing in sketchbooks is like -- a lot of starts that ultimately contribute to my progress as a painter. So if you ever feel bored, draw -- it's the foundation of everything you create...and it definitely beats pulling weeds.

New Blog, new work, new year

2010-02-01T17:10:00.000-08:00

I recently read an article about the misconception of artists; how beautiful works flow effortlessly from their fingertips while they enjoy a fun-filled life of leisure...uh, sounds good. Actually, just the other day I checked in with a much more talented artist friend to see how things were going, but our talk was cut short -- he said he'd have to call me back as there was someone there to see him about a kidney...(true conversation). Yes, the flowery description of the artist's life you may have read about in a Danielle Steel novel contrasts quite starkly to the real thing (mine anyway). But before I contemplate hocking any vital organs, I thought I'd start this blog to see if I could generate some more interest in my work. So please check back often -- I promise to update regularly and do my best to keep it interesting (although I can't help but wonder what a kidney fetches these days)...

Shimmy Dancer (36x24)

This piece was inspired by the old vaudeville/1920's jazz age entertainers who sang as well as danced... although there are no instruments depicted as with my other musical genre paintings, I felt this still relates to the same subject matter.

Trumpet Solo (8x10)

I've done so many guitar players I thought it was time to branch out a little... This is a fairly quick sketch (for me) about 3 hours, including lunch and a very limited palette.

Good as it Getz (12x16)

Here are Stan Getz and Benny Goodman jamming -- been studying Soviet painters lately, and after getting over the initial depression and subsequent inferiority complex, I took a shot at these guys in cool values...again, limited palette.