Rainy Day at the Pond

Rainy Day at the Pond

7 x 5

hard ground etching

Here' s an etching which I completed recently which depicts a rainy day at a nearby pond. This image was inspired not only by the rainy weather we have had this fall but by 19th century Japanese wood block prints which depict the landscape in the rain. I wanted to see if I could capture the look of rainfall and also to evoke the mood it produces.

The plate was step etched, meaning that different parts of the plate were bitten for different amounts of time. The lighter areas like the trees in the distance and the sky were bitten for the shortest amount of time, then stopped out (covered with asphaltum) to keep them from continuing to etch. I then continued to etch the areas I wanted to be darker. The lighter areas were only etched for a few minutes. The total etching time was about 35 minutes.

All images can be clicked for a larger view. Here are a couple of details. The first one shows the line work in the trees, bushes and grass.

 This one shows the rainfall and the pond water.

This etching as well as several others are available for purchase through my studio. Click here for purchase information.

In a Fog

The last few weeks we have had some lovely foggy mornings which are very typical for this time of year here. The exquisite, delicate color harmonies mixed with the mystery of forms enveloped by mist always intrigues me. So, this year I resolved to do a few paintings of fog motifs. In pursuit of that I did these three color studies last week. All are vine charcoal and pastel on toned paper.

Notes from the print studio

Winter Trees

10 x 8

Etching/edition of 50

This fall I have finally had the opportunity to get back to printmaking after a long hiatus. I love the process, a wonderful combination of artistry and craft. Up until now, I had concentrated on drypoint which is a type of intaglio process which involves working directly on the plate. Recently I have done some etching which involves covering the plate with a ground and then working the image into the ground. When the plate is placed in acid, the lines incised into the ground allow the acid to bite the plate. It's a little bit of magic every time you print!

I am offering a few of my efforts for sale through my studio. They are priced perfectly for a holiday gift! Click here to see what's on offer and to purchase.

Autumn Harmony

Autumn Harmony

24 x 18

It's my favorite time of year- finally! When I was saving this image of a newly completed painting to my computer, I had to laugh at the number of painting titles that start with the word "Autumn". There's Autumn… Light, Moment, Interlude, Sunrise, Evening, Morning, Sunset, Dusk, Road, Crossing, Woods, Reflections …well, you get the idea. Yes, I  love to paint autumn. This year, I am actually painting it "in season" instead of months behind, so I hope to show a few more with titles that start "Autumn" soon.

PS. There is a new post up on the Field Notes blog about Speed of the Line & Stoppers. Want to know more? Check it out!

PPS  Our popular online class Composing the Landscape starts October 31.

Check out Field Notes!

As some of you know, we recently started a blog  Field Notes over on the website for The Landscape Atelier. The plan is to post some great articles on drawing and painting the landscape, some art history and natural history stuff, video demos, as well as exhibition and book reviews from time to time. There are already several posts up that I think you would find informative. So,click on over and have a look!

It's Snowing!

Winter Woods

20 x 16

OK, not really. It is rare for me to be painting ahead of a season. usually I am several steps behind, still painting spring when summer is in full bloom or painting fall when it's Valentine's Day. In this case, I managed to get out ahead of the season. I was happy to conjure up the cold quiet of a winter's day inside my studio while heat and humidity still prevail outside.

This painting will be exhibited at the Collectors' Reserve Show & Sale at the Gilcrease Museum, TUlsa, OK, November 6, 2014.

Fall?

Is it fall? Not quite yet, but it is September and fall cannot be far behind. Fall and winter are my favorite seasons. Those spare, stripped down landscapes and subtle color harmonies thrill me as no saturated summer greens ever can. Here is one new painting for the Collectors' Reserve Show & Sale at the Gilcrease Museum opening in late October.

 Winter Reflections

20 x 16

detail

New Facebook Page for The Landscape Atelier

Hi All! I have just created a new Facebook page for The Landscape Atelier. Lots of good photos of our great new studio, workshop pics, etc. So, please. click on over and Like us!

In addition, we have launched the new blog Field Notes, which is at home on The Landscape Atelier website. There you will find lots of great information on painting and drawing the landscape, art history notes, natural history stuff and much more!  So, please check it out, and follow us there. And, share it with your friends!

Happy Painting!

Workshop demo completed

This little painting started as a demo in my recent workshop in Telluride. It will soon be headed to its new home in MA! Click for larger view.

Fallen

8 x 12

Here is the reference material I used. The drawing is one of several studies I did of the small blue spruce that seemed to be everywhere. The pen and ink drawing  (dip pen, sepia ink and wash) was done on location. The stream was actually about 10 feet to the right…but I moved it.

I started the painting during the workshop to demonstrate the technique I use in my underpaintings. It was completed later after I got home from my reference drawings and memory.

Summer Savings on Fall Online Classes!

Spring Suite #1

21 x 18

Hi Everyone! We are gearing up for a great Fall lineup of online classes at The Landscape Atelier as well as a three day workshop in October and a residency visit by several of our Atelier students. 

This month only sign up for two or three of the Fall online classes offered and receive summer savings! If you sign up for any two classes together you will save $100; if you sign up for three online classes together you will save $150! Our Fall lineup includes our newest offering Foreground Studies, and two of our most popular classes, Drawing & Painting Trees and Composing the Landscape.

Choose the two class or three class option when you sign up. Then, as you check out you will be offered the chance to leave a comment. If you are signing up for two classes just type in the names of those classes.

These classes will fill quickly. Take advantage of Summer Savings today! Click here to register.

Close to Home

Spring Morning

18 x 24

I have just returned from two different sketching trips to Colorado and also teaching a workshop there near Telluride. I love Colorado and I have a whole sketchbook full of ideas that I am looking forward to painting over the nest few months. But close to home is, as always, the real source of my inspiration. Right across from our property are acres of land owned by a neighbor who generously allows me to tromp around in all seasons. This painting was started this spring during the workshop at The Landscape Atelier and completed in early summer. 

Field Sketching Adventures

This past week I spent several days in a beautiful aspen grove. On about the third day I decided to do a study of an individual aspen tree. I noticed what I thought was an odd growth tucked between two branches. I got out my binoculars and discovered it was a broadtail hummingbird sitting on her nest! I  spent a delightful couple of hours watching her as I worked on the drawing.

On my last day I spent a few hours doing a study of the trunk and branching of a ponderosa pine.

it's been a wonderful trip. I am headed back to Texas, but will return to Colorado in just a few weeks to teach a workshop in Telluride.

Colorado!

I am in Colorado on a two week sketching trip! The mountains are beautiful and the air is cool, but I still seem to find myself in the woods, whether it's an aspen grove or stands of huge ponderosa pines. Here are a few drawings. All are charcoal on toned paper.

New Website for The Landscape Atelier

 

While I have been shockingly unproductive in the studio since the Lennox Woods Show opened on March 29, I have been busy teaching and doing lots of things that have needed to be done for a long time. Years, in fact, in some cases! One of those things was to create a stand alone site for The Landscape Atelier. It is still a work in progress but it's up, so click on over there for a visit!

Remarked Lennox Woods Catalogs

I have been having a great time this week filling orders for remarked catalogs, that is, Lennox Woods catalogs which include an original pen and ink drawing. Each one is different and includes a personal note. Click for larger view.

  If you would like one of your very own, click here.

The Lennox Woods film

I am still decompressing from the show and the week long workshop at our new Atelier space immediately afterwards, But I do want to share the final film which played at the opening in both venues. Allen Phillips did a great job!








The Ancient Forest from Archfern on Vimeo.

Lennox Woods Show Schedule

Only a few weeks away from the opening of Lennox Woods- The Ancient Forest. This project has been two years in the making and it is hard to believe we are almost at the finish line!

For those of you who are in the Dallas-Ft Worth area and plan to visit the show, here are some details. The show is in two venues- Galerie Kornye West and The Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT), both located in the Cultural District of Ft. Worth. March 29 is Spring Gallery Night, an annual event sponsored by the Ft Worth Art Dealers Association., so there will be other galleries hosting events as well. Spring Gallery Night runs from 12:00 noon to 9PM on March 29. The Lennox Woods show will open at noon at both venues.

I will be at the gallery from noon to about 5:30 and I will be giving two gallery talks, one at 2PM and the other around 3:30 PM. 

BRIT is hosting a member reception from 6-8 PM which the public is also invited to. I will be there from 6-8 PM and will be giving a talk at 6:30 PM.

The show will hang in both venues through May 8.

Catalogs (which include five essays about the Woods and the work, as well as color plates of most of the paintings ) will be available for sale at the opening and are also available for purchase here. A portion of the proceeds from catalog sales go to benefit the Red River County Historical Society.

You can read the Southwest Art Magazine article about the show here.

Hope to see you there!

Spring?

With cold temperatures and an ice storm just this week, it is hard to imagine that spring is just around the corner. But, it is!  So, it's time to start thinking about painting and drawing outdoors.  Field Sketching I and II  online classes are coming up in April and May, just in time to kick off a great season of work outdoors!  Working from Nature and direct observation is the time honored way to learn how to paint landscapes. Unfortunately, many aspiring landscape painters miss the essential first step: learning to draw and sketch in the field. If you are unable to draw the landscape you will have a much more difficult time learning to paint it convincingly.

Most classes and workshops jump into plein air painting without giving students any tools to make a success of their efforts. This course is designed to give you the tools to draw and sketch in the field with confidence, both improving your plein air paintings and leading to better, finished work in the studio. More information and registration are here.

                                                                        Spring Bouquet

                                                                   10 x 12

Lennox Woods Exhibition Catalog

I am happy to say the Lennox Woods Exhibition Catalog is now available! It contains 64 pages, with five essays about the history and ecology of the Woods and of course, the art. It also has over 40 images of drawings and paintings.

You can purchase the catalog here. 

Please note that the catalog will be available for shipping in mid March. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the catalog will benefit The Historical Society of Red River County.

Southwest Art Magazine Article

I am thrilled to say that the Southwest Art Magazine article is now out. It appears in the March issue. There is a link to the article below.

Link to Article

New Studio & New Home for The Landscape Atelier!

About this time last year we started thinking about a new space for a studio and for The Landscape Atelier. The south side of the historic square in our little town was being renovated, and a 4000 square foot, north facing brick storefront was available. The building is close to a hundred years old and in its time it has been a grocery store, a clothing store, movie theatre, and most recently a flooring store.

This is what is looked like in April 2013.

Now, almost a year later our new space is almost ready! It includes an exhibition space, studio, kitchen and full bath.

We are really excited to welcome our first group of students to our new space in March!

Sprint

Reflections on Winter

16 x 12

It's a sprint to the finish line! That's what I told a friend yesterday. Actually, it's more like a slow motion ant farm. With two ants (me and Steve).

I have a brand new online class starting at the end of February. This one is called Understanding Values in the Landscape. Value problems account for a lot of what goes wrong in painting. So, learning to sort out those pesky values is an essential part of learning to paint well. We'll cover Carlson's Theory of Angles of course. In addition, we will study how to create certain effects of light by careful attention to the value range or 'key'  which is used and how to compress the value range effectively from what is seen in Nature and what our materials are capable of producing. Students will learn the value ranges to use to create the illusion of a sunny day, an overcast day,  a foggy or rainy day, backlighting, patchy sunlight, nocturnes, etc. So, give yourself an early Valentines Day present, and sign up here!

News for the New Year

A Patch of Sunlight in a Wood

60 x 48

I am very excited to say that I will have a feature article in the March issue of Southwest Art Magazine. The article will include the work for the Lennox Woods show! After spending the last two years working on this project, it is very gratifying to have this happen at this time.

My schedule now is long days in the studio followed by dinner and returning in the evening. I have about five weeks to finish and there is still much to do.