Art Journey Paintings

Cannon Beach on Friday

2008-07-19T11:19:00.001-07:00

We took a late afternoon trip to Cannon Beach on Friday and it turned out lovely. The sun finally broke through about 4 pm, right when we arrived. We found a nice quiet spot on the beach and painted for about an hour, then Allan wandered through the surf and took pictures, while I snoozed on the blanket! I did two little paintings in gouache (above) and the last shot is one Allan took of our actual view. You can see his paintings on his blog. They are quite nice watercolors. He's getting better all the time! Well, here's to the rest of this weekend. Marie

Nympheas No. 2

2008-07-12T21:28:00.000-07:00

Nympheas No. 2 - 11 x 14 - oil on panel

I painted this at the Longview Artwalk. I had plenty of time--we only had three visitors! I'd taken the photo the previous Saturday when I was at the lake doing this painting. It's the very same view, only this paintingwas done from the photo, not from life. I like it better. I think I worked out the composition and colors. Maybe I'm not cut out for plein air!

We had a nice day with lunch with Anne and Scott, and plenty of time to munch on caramel popcorn and people watch!

Nympheas No. 1

2008-07-04T12:19:00.001-07:00

Nympheas No. 1 - 11" x 14" - oil on panel

Painted en plein air at Lake Sacajawea on Sunday, June 29. The paint is still wet one week later. Allan painted an even more delicate and lovely watercolor that day. I love it and want to frame it for my office.

Yesterday we took in First Thursday in downtown Portland. We fell in love with the plein air artist Phyllis Trowbridge at the Mark Woolley gallery. Her colors were lovely and muted with lots of vibrant grays. I wish I could paint like that. Allan might take a workshop from her at Portland Community College.

We were also intriqued by the garden/botanical creations of Tamara English.

And we stopped in at JAX to see my friend Katie's paintings of motherhood and children. It was a lovely July 3rd.

Today is July 4 and I hope everyone has a safe and happy Independence Day.

Marie

Power of the Wind

2008-06-25T20:26:00.001-07:00

Here's my new magazine. It has all my wind energy paintings. Click it to view, or just let the pages turn. I hope you like it! Marie

Sunset Wind

2008-06-24T18:46:00.000-07:00

Sunset Wind - 5" x 7" - oil on panel

Here's another small painting. I was inspired by a photograph I found on flickr. This photo doesn't do it justice. The colors are actually more vibrant than I could capture with my camera. But with the ever gloomy Washington weather we've been having, it's hard to take a photo outside in the natural sunlight, and inside with a flash just never turns out right.

I love bright colors, and I wanted to paint this colorful sky and clouds with the turbine shape and make it all loose and brushy. It was about the best time I ever had painting a wind turbine. Maybe that's because of the small size. It kind of takes the pressure off! I hope you like it. Here's to sunset winds! I wish I was in Hawaii!

~paint the wind~

Dande Wind

2008-06-23T19:22:00.001-07:00

Dandelion Wind - 5 x 7 - oil on panel

This little painting was inspired by a picture I saw in North American Windpower magazine, where I find lots of creative inspirations. The idea of wind blowing dandelion seeds seems so simple because that's what wind does, blows stuff around. Even stuff we don't want blown around, like dandelion seeds! But if the wind didn't blow dandelion seeds, it wouldn't blow the wind turbine blades either. So there.

~paint the wind~

Blue Wind

2008-06-21T13:33:00.000-07:00

Blue Wind - oil on panel - 12" x 16"

I finally finished the Primary Wind series: Red, Yellow, and Blue. Here are the study and reference materials for this painting.

I used all the blues in my painting caddy: French Ultramarine, Cobalt, Thalo, Cerulean and Prussian. Mixing colors included Titanium White and Alizarin Crimson (for the purples).

Can wind have a color?

Can anyone paint the wind?

Renewal and Connecting Waters

2008-06-14T19:52:00.001-07:00

Renewal - 30 x 40 - oil on canvas

Lower Columbia College in Longview just finished an arts center called Rose Center for the Arts. The grand opening and dedication will be held on Saturday, June 28 from 1 - 5 pm. Inside the Rose Center is a new art gallery and the grand opening includes the opening reception for an art show called Connecting Waters 2008 Invitational. It will feature local artists that participated in previous Connecting Waters shows at the college. I'm one of those artists.

I think there will be a lot of people at the grand opening. The Rose Center is a really beautiful building and wonderful addition to the community. In the lobby is a huge painting by Portland artist Lucinda Parker called "Where Water Comes Together with other Water." One of the events on the grand opening program is a video about the creation of this artwork. I can't wait to see it.

Renewal (above) is one of the paintings I'm going to have in the Connecting Waters show. If you've received this, you're invited to the grand opening. You can read the grand opening program on the college's web page at: Rose Center for the Arts.

Take care and I hope you enjoy my blog! Marie

The Salal Review

2008-06-13T18:54:00.000-07:00

Water Reflections #7 - 18 x 24 - pastel on paper

I was honored to have my painting chosen for the cover of Lower Columbia College's 2008 literary magazine: The Salal Review.

I did this painting in 2003, shortly before my daughter graduated from high school. I was looking forward to having more time in my life for art. I was also fascinated with all the colors and shapes created by boats reflected in water. This painting is titled '#7' because there were six other paintings that preceded it. You can see all of them on my website.
I'm no longer working in pastel because it costs so much to frame pastel paintings. However, I framed #7 and it's hanging in my office.
This painting was inspired by a photograph taken by my friend Bob Bernstein, a talented photographer I met while working in the maritime industry. I tried to find his website but Google didn't return any search results, so I don't know what happened to him.
And finally, if you're like me, you have no idea what 'salal' is. Here's the Wikipedia definition.

Yellow Iris at Lake Sacajawea

2008-06-07T18:29:00.000-07:00

Yellow Iris at Lake Sacajawea - 11 x 14 - oil on panel

done en plein air on Sunday, June 1, 2008

The day was cool and overcast, and we weren't sure we could paint without getting rained on. But the rain held off for 45 minutes so I could finish this painting. Because I was working so fast, I put the paint on really thick and loose, and didn't try to make it perfect. I guess the formula is not to have any expectations about a painting, that way it can't fail!

I think last Sunday was the last day it didn't rain. This whole week has been drab and cold for June. I haven't been able to walk and my back hurts from hunching over a computer so much. I think that means I need to exercise more and get back to doing Pilates!

The second image is a close up of the painting so you can see how thick and juicy the paint is. I hope you like this painting, and I hope the sun shines soon!

Columbia River at Kalama

2008-06-01T20:16:00.001-07:00

Columbia River at Kalama - 11 x 14 - oil on panel

Saturday, May 24, 2008

done en plein air

We sat on a grassy knoll near one of the covered picnic areas at the Port of Kalama's Marine Park. The morning was sunny and warm. I painted with only a knife for about one hour. This is the result. It took a week to dry because the paint was so thick. Several people on their walks stopped to visit and look at the paintings. Allan painted the lupines. His turned out much better than mine. That's how it goes sometimes!

Take care until later!

Green Wind - gouache studies

2008-05-24T09:40:00.000-07:00

Two studies in gouache for Green Wind - 10 x 14 - on paper.

These are the compositions I'm working through for my next painting called Green Wind. I have several ideas I want to incorporate, but I've had some challenges and "start-overs." Fortunately, these little paintings don't take long, and they give me an idea of the values and balance of the composition.

What I want to capture is the essence of green and wind. The painting by Vincent Van Gogh called Mountainous Landscape View from St. Pauls Hospital originally inspired me because I can just feel the wind moving through the field in the painting.

Plus, I want to capture the symbolism of "green." So the placement of the turbines is really important for balance. This will also be a pretty big painting, so I have to make sure the composition sizes up to 48" x 60".

I ended up discarding my first idea (above) because the fields don't seem to work and the greens will be hard to capture on a big canvas. The turbines are too little and there's not enough movement in the clouds. It looks like a storm is brewing, which is not what I want to say.

This second study is closer to what I want; waving fields of green, turbines moving in the wind, and clouds scuttling across the sky (which they can only do if there's enough wind!)

If you look closely, you can see some of Van Gogh's mountains in the background. These will probably be more prominent in the full-size painting, becuase I love them and don't want to lose them.

Green Wind is a continuation of my Primary Wind series: Red, Yellow, Blue. Does wind have a color?

Allan has been busy ordering frames for a whole bunch of new paintings, and he's doing the framing. In addition to getting paintings ready for my Power of the Wind show in September at the Rake Gallery, both of us are going to feature paintings at Anne and Michael's studio, and Cowlitz Bank. It's just a matter of pulling everything together.

Also, I was honored to have a painting selected for the cover of Lower Columbia College's Salal Review, a literary magazine featuring local artists and writers. My pastel painting Water Reflections #7 was chosen by students to be on the cover. I'm honored!

Stay tuned for progress on Green Wind!

Orchid

2008-05-17T22:06:00.001-07:00

Orchid - 30 x 40 - oil on canvas

I've been painting wind turbines for so long I needed a break. A story in The Independent about orchids flourishing because of warming temperatures inspired me to paint it. Why? I love the colors and shapes, like an O'Keeffe abstract floral. It also made me think about global warming and all its ramifications. One of which is more orchids! A strange connection; that something as scary as global warming could cause more of these beautiful flowers to bloom.

I have to give inspiration its due, and tell you that I found the reference photo for this painting on flickr. The moment I saw it I knew I had to paint it. The photographer is from Rotterdam.

PS: The Independent is a London publication about the environment. I stumbled across it in a keyword search for "global warming."

Now it's time to get back to the wind turbine paintings!

Blue Wind - here's the gouache study

2008-05-14T21:52:00.001-07:00

Blue Wind - gouache study - on paper - 11" x 14"

This is the study for Blue Wind. I wanted to get the feel for the colors and composition.

Lots of people ask, what is gouache? I like to use it because it's opaque and I can cover up my mistakes! I never mastered transparent watercolor, and the gouache is almost like acrylic. It dries very quickly, and I can complete a small painting in as much as an hour.

When I finish Blue Wind, I'll have Primary Wind: Blue, Red, Yellow.

Can wind have a color? Can anyone paint the wind?

~paint the wind~

Blue Wind - idea and study

2008-05-13T20:12:00.001-07:00

I'm getting ready to start on the third Primary Wind painting - Blue Wind. Here's the gouache study (top), the two reference photos, and the white panel where you can just see the outline.

Well, if I wasn't spending so much time blogging, I'd get more painting done!

Red Wind

2008-05-07T18:43:00.001-07:00

Red Wind - oil on panel - 12" x 16"

This is the second in my series: Primary Wind. This time I used only reds, in fact every red in my storage caddy. Cadmium Red, Cadmium Scarlet, Alizarin Crimson, Permanent Rose, and of course, Titanium White.

Can wind have a color? Almost every Van Gogh painting I have seen has fields of waving grass and wheat. The colors are greens, yellow and blues. His brush strokes mimic the movement of air. A couple of years ago I saw his paintings in the Seattle Art Museum. On close examination, I saw a brush hair embedded in the paint. I almost cried. It was like he was right there! The movement in that painting was phenomenal. Like he captured the wind.

Check out the paintings of another blog artist, Dar Presto. I like her style.

On to another painting, Blue Wind?

Yellow Wind

2008-05-06T18:44:00.001-07:00

Yellow Wind - oil on panel - 12" x 16"

I got to thinking about primary colors: red, yellow and blue, and how cool it would be to paint "primary wind!"

So this is my first primary: Yellow Wind. I used every color of yellow oil paint in my painting caddy, and that includes colors bordering on orange. Some of the dull tones that look almost greenish came from Yellow Ochre, which when you layer it on orange or cool yellow, looks almost green/brown.

It was lovely to paint on this panel, the paint blended like silk.

I hope to complete Red Wind and Blue Wind soon!

That will round out my series on primary wind! Then maybe I will start a series of secondary wind, which naturally would include green wind!

Noon Clouds and the Wind

2008-05-04T12:00:00.001-07:00

Noon Clouds and the Wind - oil on canvas - 48" x 60"
Have you ever stood at the base of a wind turbine and looked up? I have. This is what you see.
Sky, clouds, behemoth wind turbine.
Whoosh, Whir, Hummmm. The sound of power, energy, electricity.
I tried to capture that in this painting. Just sky, clouds and turbine. Powerful!

Here are some progress pictures as the painting developed over a month's time. Sometimes I have to turn the painting sideways, or even upside down while I work, because it's so big.

This is just bare canvas with a burnt umber wash, and the charcoal drawing. That's how I start a painting. You can see my previous painting, Bats, Butterflies and the Wind, leaning against the wall in the background. Usually I cover up finished paintings, so they don't get splashed with paint from the painting I am working on.

Woodland Tulip Fields

2008-04-27T14:45:00.001-07:00

Woodland Tulip Fields - 11" x 14" - original oil painting on panel
done En Plein Air - what is plein air?

On Saturday we finally got a break in the weather and Allan convinced me to set up my easel at the Woodland Tulip Festival. Ordinarily, I'd be hesitant to paint in a place where there are so many people around, but we left early in hopes that we could get in and out before the Saturday crowds arrived.

The day was perfect! We were there about two hours, and during that time I managed to finish this painting, even though there were quite a few visitors milling around and watching me paint. But everyone was very nice and complimentary of the painting, which gave me confidence that I can set up and paint even with people around.

Allan painted the very same view, only in watercolor, and you can see it on his blog. It was a wonderful day!

Water Lilies at Lake Sacajawea

2008-04-20T10:46:00.001-07:00

Water Lilies at Lake Sacajawea - original oil on canvas - 24" x 36"
Last summer I wandered around Lake Sacajawea taking dozens of photos of blossoming water lilies. Almost one year later the inspiration to make a Monetish water lily painting grabbed me. I set my Claude Monet coffee table book opened up to one of one his water lily paintings on the floor next to my easel, and proceeded to try and emulate his colors and brush strokes. But alas, my painting did not turn out anything like his! Allan says it is antiseptic. I agree. It's too perfect! I wanted that loose painterly style, but the more I tried to capture it, the more it eluded me.

My plan was for this painting to hang in my office, but I've changed my mind. I'm going to give it another shot (being as I have another canvas the same size) and this time I'll try to loosen up! Seriously.

Water Lilies - original oil on panel - 5" x 7"
This is the little companion painting I worked on at the same time. I used it to test out colors and shapes. I actually like it better than the big one! I might frame it for my office. It's a teeny bit closer to Monet!

Painting in the Gorge - and more Wind!

2008-04-13T18:33:00.000-07:00

This is me painting at Horsethief Butte in the Columbia River Gorge today. It was a lovely day, with a little wind, but blue skies and a clear view. This is about the fifth time we've painted at this location.

Here's the painting I did. I tried to capture the blueness of the sky and contrasting warm shadows and shapes in the bluff. Afterwards, we had lunch at Los Reyes in Bingen, Allan's favorite place to eat.

The day started out with our plan to visit a soon-to-be-opened gallery in Hood River. In the process, we discovered the quaintness of Hood River. We stopped in a cafe to get a coffee, and the barista told us that lots of artists were having a "visit the studio" day.

So we got to wander through a big old building full of artists' studios! In particular, we met two artists whose work I have admired many times in Portland. It was inspiring!

Then we found the Benjamin Benjamin art gallery storefront. It isn't open yet, but it seems like a good place to hang paintings. Recently, the gallery owner asked if I'd like to show my paintings there. (I haven't actually met her, but we've corresponded via the Internet.)

So that was the real reason for our visit to Hood River, but getting to see the artists' studios was an unexpected bonus! A long time ago Allan and I spent a night at the Hood River Inn, but I'd forgotten how nice a place it is.

This is the little wind painting I did on Saturday. It didn't turn out exactly as I'd planned - that's what I get for having a plan! But I did get more of a feel for the guoache.

It was a very nice weekend. I hope we get back to Hood River soon!

Coal Isn't the Answer

2008-04-07T19:22:00.000-07:00

Coal Isn't the Answer - 8" x 10" - goauche

I've been wanting to try watercolor again because it's so much easier to paint with on location than oils. So I had to dig through all my old watercolor stuff and put together a carton of supplies. While I was doing that I discovered my stash of goauche paints that I used to paint with years ago. I was amazed they hadn't dried up. I love goauche because it gives you the best of both worlds. You can get transparent effects like watercolor, or opaque effects like acrylic.

The I discovered I didn't have the right kind of paper. I've always loved the hot-press watercolor paper because paint just sits on the top and you get brighter, clearer colors. So we had to make a trip to Portland for supplies. I picked up a block of 9" x 12" Winsor & Newton hot-press paper and Allan got some larger blocks of cold-press paper.

Of course, the weekend's weather was so nasty there was no way we could paint outside. We'd talked about visiting the tulip farms in Woodland but the wind and hail were blowing like crazy. So we stayed home and I tried out my long lost goauche on this little painting. I did the turbine with opaque white so I could get the shape correct but the rest was done with lots of water. I didn't plan it, just gave myself one hour to see what happened. In fact, I fit a load of laundry in between one layer drying. I ended up with a black blob on the right and I turned it into a coal plant. It must have been my subconscious expressing how much I think a coal plant in Kalama is wrong, no matter what kind of fancy name they give it.

I wish more people belived in wind power. I think it is really important. The answer my friend, is blowin' in the wind. And it isn't coal!

Art in the Blogosphere

2008-04-06T09:34:00.000-07:00

I don't have an artwork to post, just an observation about art in the blogosphere. Last week a colleague who is the art gallery director at Lower Columbia College forwarded me a blog posting written by Eva Lake, a Portland artist, mentioning Lucinda Parker's artwork at the Laura Russo gallery in Portland.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Lucinda Parker, she's the artist who was commissioned through the Washington State Arts Commission to create the mural that is installed at Lower Columbia College's new Rose Center for the Arts. It's a wonderful and magical interpretation of the coming together of many waters, symbolizing the many rivers that converge in and around Longview, Washington.

Since I always try to visit a cadre of galleries on First Thursday, I stopped at the Laura Russo gallery (which is outside my usual route) and had the most unexpected pleasure to meet and chat with Lucinda Parker. She's a charming lady, and talented artist.

Lucinda told me her experiences in creating the mural, and how she researched and developed the concepts by visiting the Cowlitz County Historical Museum, where I live. I saw all of the studies she did for the commission, and she explained the development of each and how they were received (and interpreted) by the panel who ultimately selected her for the artwork

To sum it up, this shows me just how powerful art news in the blogosphere can be. The happenstance of receiving an e-mail about an art blog, which led to me visiting a gallery I would not ordinarily have gone to, followed by the discovery of another artist (Eva Lake) who displays in a Portland gallery, was totally random, and yet each occurance has a unique and personal connection to my own artistic life.

I subsequently visited Eva Lake's blog and discovered she's a Portland artist at the Augen Gallery, and her most recent blog posting covers the opening at the Rake Gallery, of which I'm a member! Most likely Eva and I were both at the Rake Gallery on Thursday night at the same time, yet totally unaware of our connection via the blosphere!

Small world!

Plein air - Tree Reflections at Lake Sacajawea

2008-03-22T21:05:00.000-07:00

Tree Reflections at Lake Sacajawea - oil on panel - 11 x 14

This is the painting I did this morning. We painted at the Japanese Gardens at Lake Sacajawea. I was looking south towards Nichols Boulevard The water was still and clear. By the time I finished in two hours, a slight breeze had come up and the reflections disappeared.

Allan painted the little Japanese shelter and trees close to where I was painting.

In the afternoon we went to the opening reception at the Columbian Artists Annual Show. I was surprised to learn that my plein air painting of the Community Church won an honorable mention. We had a nice time looking at all the paintings. It was a nice day.

Bats, Butterflys & the Wind

2008-03-16T16:55:00.000-07:00

Bats, Butterflies & The Wind - 48" x 60" - original oil on canvas

One dreary morning in January as I sat sipping coffee and flipping through the newspaper, an article about global warming caught my eye. It said flying fox bats were dropping dead in Australia, and butterflies had gone extinct in the Alps. The photo accompanying the article showed a little bat panting in a futile attempt to keep cool. Its little face reminded me of my cat, who’d died two months earlier. I still miss her. She was sweet and gentle and died of kidney failure, through no fault of her own. Seeing that little bat face, with its uncanny resemblance to my cat, made me feel sad for all the helpless creatures who find themselves at the mercy of forces greater than themselves. I wondered about all the complexities of global warming, and if it really was causing bats and butterflies to become extinct. And if so, what species was next?

Of course I can’t answer these questions, who can? The only thing I can say is that a painting was born. Painting inspirations are usually elusive and transparent, flowing through my mind while life happens. Sometimes they manifest in pictures and clippings from magazines, or quick sketches I tear from the corners of notebook paper. More often than not they never reach my canvas, expiring instead in a dust-collecting, ever growing stack of clippings, sketches and photos. This one made it to the canvas. It’s close to my heart. The little bat faces, that remind most people of Dracula or late-night horror movies, are like cries for help. Their little faces remind me of my cat, who trusted me, right up to the end. But I couldn’t save her, no one could. The real question is, can anything save us from global warming? I don’t know. But I labored on this painting from January until March, while my life unfolded in a whirl of unexpected complexities. During that time, as always, my painting kept me grounded. Here's my painting: Bats, Butterflies & the Wind, in honor of my cat, and all the creatures that put their trust in man.

This is my palette. The colors were bright, primary and intense.

During this time, I moved my studio. You can see this painting in my new studio on my Art Journey Techniques blog. You can also see some photos of the preliminary composition.

I hope you find a connection to this painting, like I did. Sincerely, Marie