Kanlica Village

Kanlica Village
5" x 7" oil on board
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I could not get a good photo of this painting to save my life. That aside, I really like the painting. The village of Kanlica is one of the stops along the Bosphorus Strait ferry tour my wife and I took last year when we visited Istanbul, Turkey. The Bosphorus Strait runs between the Black Sea and the Marmara Sea and separates Europe from Asia.  So, even though I only spent a brief time in Asia, I can say I have at least stepped foot on the Asian continent. One of these days, I hope to spend some more time there.

The Bosphorus tour was amazing.  The final stop was the village of A. Kavagi, where the Bosphorus empties into the Black Sea. Yoros Castle, built in the 15th century, overlooks the Black Sea on a hill rising behind A. Kavagi.  The tour gave us enough time to explore the village on our own and climb to the top of the hill to explore the castle.

We stopped at a little fish restaurant on the way down the hill and ate whole grilled fish and drank Efes, Turkey's most widely distributed beer. Everything was so beautiful, we could not put our cameras down. Any time I'm touring a new city that has any kind of waterfront, I make a point to see the city by water. I always see sights that would have been impossible to see otherwise.

Got One?

Got One?
5" x 7" oil on board
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I've been trying to paint outdoors as much as possible lately, but the last couple of weeks have been ridiculously cold.  This image is from our trip out west a few years back.  The scene is Echo Lake near the base of Mt. Evans, outside of Denver, Co.

Strange Path II

Strange Path II
8 &1/2" x 11" watercolor on paper


Last Sunday, Sarah said she was bored so I convinced her to do some watercolor painting with me.  Getting started, I didn't have the most serious of intentions.  I was going to give Sarah some pointers and have a beer or two while painting leisurely. However, I wound up really liking the painting.

Sarah's painting turned out nicely as well.  Here are the suggestions I gave her:

1. Draw out the scene very lightly before starting.
2. Use only three colors to keep things simple:  red, blue, and yellow.
3. Paint in shadow areas first.
4. Move colors around. Don't limit a color to one spot.

Here it is:

Top O' the Dryer

Top O' the Dryer
8" x 10" oil on board
$70 plus shipping

All I can say is sometimes I want to paint a still-life subject, but when I try to arrange the still-life it looks "arranged," and I don't like it at all. So every now and then I'll see something, similar to the way I saw the hammer and nail sets on my desk (see previous post), and I have to paint it because it's arranged in a perfectly un-arranged way.  With this one, I loved the way the dryer sheets were positioned perfectly, from a compositional and complementary standpoint, next to the blue bucket and green shirt.  Yeah, kinda weird.

Hammer and Nail Sets

Hammer and Nail Sets
5" x 7" oil on board


A piece of my travel easel popped off, so I had to put a tiny nail in it to keep the paint tray from sliding out and spilling all of my supplies. I left my hammer and nail sets sitting on my desk, and one day, as I walked past, I realized that I liked the way they were arranged. They were actually sitting on a blue towel that was covering my desk at the time. I used ivory black, red, and yellow ochre, so I wasn't able to make a true blue. The result looks a bit like plywood or something you'd find on a worksite.

February 1st

February 1st
8" x 10" oil on board


February 1st. Quite possibly the worst day of the year. Not only is February 1st the dregs of winter, my least favorite time of year, but it's also the day my mom passed away, 18 years ago.

I have tried not use my mom's death as a reason to hold back from enjoying the good things in my life. However, not a day goes by that my mom or her death doesn't cross my mind in some form. And although I've tried not to let if affect me negatively, I know that her death, and the chain of events that followed, have forever changed my life and my view of the world; in many ways for the better.

Because of my mom's death and my dad's a few years later, I spent a lot of time thinking about the point of life and what was really important and worthwhile.  I ruled a lot of things out; an obsession with staying busy, relentlessly staring at screens, blind consumerism and inactivity. Many people seem to think these things are the point of life. Ultimately, it was my mom who helped me find the truth.

An excerpt from a journal that she wrote as she was dying is framed by my bedside, and I read it often. My favorite line is this: "Every day of life has something good and valuable in it. Sometimes you have to look hard to find it, but it's there." This line may have been what spawned my love of painting, and my obsession with trying to see the beauty in life. I don't always succeed in finding it, and I often lose my way, but I've been able to return to this, and I've been happier for it.

With that in mind, I attempted to honor my mom today by braving the extreme cold and painting outside. Man was it cold. I think I may have been close to hypothermia. The wind blew harder and harder off the frozen lake as I painted. And, although the painting is pretty true to the colors and values of this cold, dreary day by Lake Fairfax, I'm not sure I captured the beauty of the scene. But at least I tried.

Cart Path

Cart Path
8" x 10" oil on board
$70 plus shipping

I registered for a "plein air workshop" this Saturday at Art Frame Solutions, which backs up to Reston National Golf Course, the location for this painting.  I think this is the twelfth hole. Turns out, I was the only one registered, or maybe I was the only one stupid enough to stand outside in the freezing weather to paint.  It was chilly to say the least.  There weren't a lot of options for subjects, and there were a few people who apparantly like playing golf as much as I like painting, so I chose these two bushes.  They were the most interesting subjects and this was the location least likely to lead to death by golf ball. It was so cold that my paint literally froze.  It was like wiping play dough on the board, and I forgot to bring any linseed oil or medium that might have loosened it up.  Still, I like the way it turned out.  I tend to overwork my paintings, and maybe because it was so cold, I spent as little time working it as possible.  The photo makes the color temperature appear a little warmer than it appears in person.

Autumn Begins

Autumn Begins

Oil on two, 8" x 8" cradled hardboard panels

$175 plus shipping

I should have taken a profile picture to show the edges of the hardboard panels.  They are 3/4" deep with finished edges, so you don't even have to frame these if you don't want to.  They look really nice. It was such a pain in the ass to arrange these side by side in the blog editor that I was afraid to add another photo.  

The location is the George Washington National Forest right on the border or possibly in West Virginia - the Tibbet Knob hike.  This was a tough subject, but I like the way it turned out and, as usual, they look better in person.  

Here's a closeup of the brushwork:

Midmorning in Forest Edge

Midmorning in Forest Edge
5: x 7" oil on board


The second of my power outage paintings.  Did I mention that it was 6 degrees outside?  I started this one around 10:30am, and it got a little cold inside by the time I was finished.  This one is a little cleaner than the first because I had a lot of my colors mixed after the first painting, which freed me up to focus on my technique.

Morning in Forest Edge

Morning in Forest Edge
5" x 7" oil on board


We had a snow day on Wednesday, and the power was out all day.  I had nothing else to do; even the battery in my Kindle was dead.  So I sat by the back window and painted.  The light was changing quickly, so I had to paint fast, and I went with another limited palette of Prussian blue, cadmium red, yellow ochre, and white to keep things simple.  I started this one around 8:30am and fished around 10:30am.  Then I did another.

Watering Can

Watering Can
6" x 8" oil on board

I experimented with my color palette again, and I really like the effect. The colors I used here were ivory black, yellow ochre, and cadmium red.  I feel like this palette creates a nice earthy look that goes well with the watering can.  The toughest part of this painting was the initial drawing of the can and getting the right proportions on the board.

I also experimented with my edges, attempting to direct the viewer's eye by softening certain lines, making others disappear altogether, and making some hard and clear.  The idea is to direct your eye to the hardest lines.  You might have to zoom in to see, but there's some cool stuff going on in this one.

Escapee

Escapee
8"x 10" oil on board
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I've been experimenting with color palettes and values a lot lately, especially with the effect of limiting the darkest values in my paintings.  I feel like limiting the range of values to a higher key creates a pleasing, harmonious effect. However, my photo editing woes continue; in this case, the photo increases the contrasts and makes the darkest values look darker than they are in person. I did this with a palette knife using ultramarine blue, cadmium red light, and cadmium yellow light. I really like the way it turned out.

Dickie Brother's Orchard

Dickie Brother's Orchard
8" x 10" oil on board
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The photograph of the painting makes the shadows look a little darker than they actually are.  I intentionally tried to limit the range of values, particularly the darkest values, in an effort to create harmony.  In reality, the shadow on the end of the hay bales is much darker, and the shadows on the trees to the right are almost black.  From observation, I've noticed that many of my favorite painters use value restriction to add harmony to their paintings.  I'm still going with a thicker painting style and a limited palette;  ultramarine blue, cadmium yellow, and transparent oxide red for this one.  My goal lately has been harmony and a painterly style, and I think this one achieves both.

The scene is the back of Dickie Brother's apple orchard down near Wintergreen Resort in Virginia. I don't think my wife and I were supposed to be back here, but it was too beautiful to pass up.

Nightstand

Nightstand
8" x 10" oil on board


Yep, that's my nightstand. That's my alarm clock, my scallop shell full of rocks from places I've traveled, my notebook, and books.   The star is the hurricane lamp that I inherited from my granddad when he passed away.  I love the warm light that it puts out, and I have wanted to paint it for a while.

I used another limited palette of ultramarine blue, a couple of reds, and cadmium yellow, and I slapped it on thick.  I like the colors in this one, but I also like the greys that I created for the shadows on the books and notebook.

I have sold thirteen paintings this month; my best month ever!  And one thing I've noticed is that people are attracted to unusual, ordinary, or sometimes ugly scenes such as my bathroom, which created a stir at the latest Marriott craft show, and, ugliest of all, the beltway around DC.  I don't consider this one ugly, but it fits in weird-wise.

Blue Teapot with Lemon

Blue Teapot with Lemon
5" x 7" oil on board
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I've been working with a limited palette of ultramarine blue, cadmium yellow light, and some sort of red; this was transparent oxide red.  I like the harmony that a limited palette creates.

Outside the Grand Bazaar at Night - Istanbul, Turkey

12" x 16"
Oil on Board


Stepping into the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, Turkey, the largest indoor market in the world, is like stepping into a smoky,  dimly lit roundabout, whirling and reverberating with the taunts of aggressive traders, the glint and clank of ancient brass, and steamed in black tea, tobacco and wood smoke.  There is no way to gauge how far you've ventured into it or where it will spit you out.  And if the bazaar itself is a maze, the blocks surrounding it are a labyrinth of ancillary markets, formed into districts such as rugs, scarves, men's clothing, wallets, guns, weapons, or wedding dresses, the district featured in this painting.

You don't really get the sense from the painting, but the bazaar and surrounding markets close promptly at 7pm.  At that time, the storefront lights turn off and the market empties of people.  You're walled in on all sides by buildings.  The streets are narrow, the sky is a blue slit above you, and there are no street signs.  How we found our way back to familiar streets is still a mystery to me.  I never felt unsafe in Istanbul during the day, but I have to admit that I was a little sketched out walking through the weapons district at closing time, stumbling across smaller and smaller markets, many operating in darkened parking lots, selling outdated, secondhand electronics like Walkmans and Blackberries.

I know the price is a little high on this one, but I feel like this painting is representative of the intense studying I have done lately;  my focus on value, color, and a thick, painterly style came together in this painting. Although I'm not where I want to be yet, this painting represents the best of my ability at the moment.

White's Ferry Landing

8" x 10"
Oil on canvas panel
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A few things I've noticed about the way my favorite painters paint:

1. Paint is applied thickly.  They don't draw or scratch; they paint, and the paint is thick, with visible brush strokes.
2. Value (the relationship of light to dark) is more important than anything else.  Shapes, forms, subject matter, color - all meaningless without correct value.
3. Small details are ignored.  Impressionist, or perceptual painting forces the viewer to fill in the details.
4.  After value, color is most important.  Shadows are not black.  They are warm or cool versions of local color that can still be beautiful.
5. Every painting has a color scheme and color harmony.  Maybe this goes along with number 4, but I've noticed that my favorite paintings have harmony.  And that's usually achieved by using a dominant color (one color is included in all color mixtures) or through a limited palette (using a small number of colors, usually three, to mix all values and tones).

I guess these ideas are obvious, but I have to repeat them to myself over and over as I paint.  For this painting, I took in interesting approach to help me focus on value.  I removed my contacts and wore my glasses while painting. When working on the values, I lowered my glasses so that I was essentially blind (I can't distinguish my own hand in front of my face without glasses or contacts).  All I could see were value relationships.  So I focussed on values, completely disregarded details, and did my best to mix beautiful colors while using a limited palette of violet, phthalo green, and yellow.   I think I did alright for a blind man.

Holiday Cactus

8" x 10"

Oil on Board

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Even though it was a cloudy day, I liked the way the light was barely able to penetrate the cactus paddles while the flowers just kind of exploded with light.  With the number of paddles and flowers and the changing light, this was a difficult subject.  However, I think it turned out well and, if nothing else, it has harmony.  To achieve harmony, I went with another limited palette; phthalo red rose, phthalo green, and ultramarine blue.  

Saint Francis Chapel - San Diego, CA

8" x 10"
Oil on board
This painting no longer exists

I've been painting a lot of "green" paintings lately.  To get away from green, I went with a limited palette of violet, cadmium orange, and ultramarine blue (I think).  Definitely a different color scheme, but, because of the limited palette and dominant color, violet, that I mixed into every value, I feel like it has unity.  This is Saint Francis Chapel in Balboa Park - San Diego, CA.

View of Mt. Desert from Somes Sound, ME

8" x 10"
Oil on Canvas Panel



My wife and I toured the coast of Maine from Portland to Bar Harbor a few years back.  My favorite day of the trip was when we rented an old wooden Boston Whaler and explored the waters around Southwest Harbor, part of Great Desert Island; the island where Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park are located.  We saw lots of seals and wildlife, and we docked at an island that is only accessible by boat.  We found a lady selling sea-glass mobiles, one of which we purchased.

Somes Sound cuts directly into the heart of Mount Desert Island along the western edge of Acadia. The day was crystal clear with occasional white, puffy clouds casting shadows on the water and mountains.  I tried to capture the peacefulness of the scene in this painting.