In the Light

In the Light

12 x 10

This small painting is available at Galerie Kornye West. It started out as a demo for a class and then morphed into a meditation on chiaroscuro. I was less concerned about depicting a particular time of day, and mostly focused on organizing the lights and darks in an interesting way.

Palette Talk

Like most artists, I love the stuff that goes with the job- luscious paint, new brushes, clean sharp palette knives, a big roll of my favorite canvas, a new kneaded eraser....I could go on and on. One thing that did not get updated much for many years was my palette. The first one you see here is about 20 years old and as you can tell, its been around the block a time or two. It is wood with a laminate surface. That's a tuna fish can for medium up there is the left hand corner. It is heavy!

And, over the years it has been abused and used.  It got bashed in in the back of my Suburban a few years back. For the last few year's I have not used it much- just taking it with me to demos when I need a portable, large mixing surface. It is about 27" wide at its widest point. I love it, but truthfully it is not only past its prime but also way too heavy for me to hold for any length of time these days.

For many years I used an Open Box M for painting outdoors and of course the palette is part of that rig. So I just needed something to replace the old clunker for studio work. So, I got this. I have had it for about 10 years. The mixing surface is glass with a neutral grey underneath. It has great storage for paint, brushes, medium, gamsol, etc. It's on wheels so it can easily be moved around the studio. It is 64" wide.

About a year and a half ago when I started to work on the Lennox Woods work and to tackle some larger canvases, I realized that there were times I might need a smaller palette. Oddly, the larger the canvas got, the more I seemed to need a small palette to work on specific areas. Having a small arm palette was the perfect choice. So, I got this. It is a small Turtlewood palette which is about 13" across. I have also been taking it with me out in the field since I switched back to using my Julien easel outdoors. It's a beautifully made,  really light small palette.

I really enjoyed using an arm palette again and liked having my colors right in front of me as I worked, particularly on a large canvas. But, sometimes the little Turtlewood was just too small. So, I just got this today - my New Wave Expressionist palette! It is amazingly light for a large palette- 25 + "- and has this very cool shape- which just happens to be ergonomically designed. It is so beautiful I just want to look at it and I will feel bad when it's awash in pigment and solvent and medium. But, I'm pretty sure I'll get over that...probably first thing tomorrow!

Summer Skies

This year I reorganized my online class schedule to better fit the course to the time of year. In the past, classes were added when a need seemed to arise and as a result some students in colder climes found themselves struggling to work outdoors. As a result, The Painted Sky is being offered again this summer (having just been taught in February). Summer is, of course, a glorious time to go skying.


Recently when I was looking through some old portfolios of drawings I came across these pastel cloud studies done in the summer of 2001 in Santa Fe. I wrote about The Summer of Santa Fe here. It made me smile to see them and think of those big New Mexico skies once again. Pardon the skewed cell phone photography.

The Painted Sky Online Class

July 26- August 23, 2013 For landscape painters, painting a believable sky means creating a sense of distance, atmosphere, light, and mood. This course is designed to give students the knowledge and techniques to paint beautiful atmospheric skies. In this course we will cover: ~ gradation of colors in the sky at various times of day ~ gradation of values in the sky ~ types of cloud formations and how to depict them ~ use of atmospheric and linear perspective to create believable skies ~ glazes and scumbling techniques ~ using a variety of edges in painting skies ~ composing skies for maximum effect Registration for The Painted Sky here Online classes are a great way to study at a slower, measured pace and on your own schedule. Participation is limited to ten students, so there is plenty of individual attention. To learn more about how these classes work, click here.

Many students find this way of learning to be challenging, effective and convenient. In any given class I may have students from throughout the US as well as Canada, the UK and Europe, so it makes for a lively, interesting learning experience. Click here to read what students have to say. And registration is here.

Summer and a Studio Visitor

Late Afternoon Light

16 x 20

This painting recently found a home in Chicago. Thank you Hildt Galleries! It reminds me of those hazy afternoons that summer brings. So far, we have had a cool spring and our start to summer has been cooler than usual as well. I am not complaining!

My days start with an early morning walk and then the rest of the day is spent on Lennox Woods- working steadily toward my solo show next spring. But occasionally I have a studio visitor. A few days ago I came back from my lunch break and found this guy waiting on my studio steps!

Last Light in the Woods- Lennox Woods

This painting began as a monochromatic study for a larger (48 x 64) work which is still in progress. During last month's workshop I took it out to demonstrate some glazing techniques and then decided to finish it - albeit in a different palette, season and light effect than the large piece. 

Last Light In the Woods

18 x 24

Western Visions Show and Sale

I am happy to say I have been invited to exhibit at the Western Visions Show & Sale at the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson, WY in September. This small oil will be part of the fixed price sale, while the drawing will be in the "Sketch" silent auction.

 Evening at the Pond

8 x 10

Aspen Study

Charcoal - 8 x 6

Recently Adopted!

These four paintings recently found new homes. Thanks to my wonderful collectors!

 Sunset Pines

11 x 14

 Dusk-Edge of the Woods

18 x 24

 Aspen Twilight

20 x 24

Winter Morning

18 x 14

Ft. Worth, Bernini and an Article

Yesterday I drove to Ft Worth to deliver a painting. After meeting with Paula Tillman (Galerie Kornye West owner) about the upcoming Lennox Woods show, we headed to the Kimball Museum for lunch and to see the Bernini: Sculpting in Clay show.

Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) was the artistic titan of the 17th century and the author of the Baroque style. His dramatic naturalistic style was the perfect sculptural counterpart to the painting style of Caravaggio and his followers. This show, which originated at the Metropolitan Museum, traces the development of some of his most famous sculptures through the terracotta studies or bozzetti he created to work out his designs.

One of the things I love most about seeing original works of art, and particularly studies and drawings of artists that I love, is the palpable sense of being in the presence of the artist. In this case, that feeling is almost overwhelming. Seeing the thumb prints in the modeled clay, the textures created by quickly applied tool marks, the measuring points used to scale up the figures- one feels acutely the presence of the master and for a brief instant, can trace the movement of his hand as well as his thoughts.

This was not the first time I had seen some of these terracotta studies. Many years ago (too many!), Bernini's bozetti were the subject of my senior thesis. I traveled to Boston and spent a week in the Fogg Museum looking at their collection of bozetti and digging through their archives for unpublished research. So when I saw them again, together with the others from collections around the world, it was like greeting old friends from one's youth. Familiar, yet different, and seen through a different, more experienced lens.

Coincidentally, yesterday an article was published in Professional Artist Magazine tracing the careers of fours artists including me. The theme was "its never too late" which in my case meant not a late start, but a detour.  It was interesting to experience the Bernini show and relive those times many years ago when I first saw that work and have this article appear in print on the same day.

Drawing Trees- Student Work

My Drawing & Painting Trees class is off to a great start! In this  class we have students from Alaska to France and all across the USA. I am really pleased with the work they are doing and also with the enthusiasm they are showing for drawing and for trees! Here are a few examples. Enjoy!

Carole Baker

Carole Baker

Jessie Cook

Jessie Cook

Jon Main

Jon Main

Jon Main

(copy of Asher B. Durand)

Lolly Shera

Lucy Durfee

Mallory Agerton

Mallory Agerton

Maria Glodt

(Copy of Wm. Trost Richards)

Beppy Deaton
(copy of Asher B Durand)

Workshop Week in a few words and lots of pictures

The workshop bunch has come and gone and I am back at work in the Woods and in the studio. It was a good week with lots of hard work, fun and camaraderie. Here are a few highlights.

Obligatory group photo!

We spent day 1 & 2 in the field

Lolly drawing at the secret pond

Bea among the bois d'arc

Steve's wonderful food

My favorite workshop moment courtesy of Fleda Kraft

At work in the studio

A walk through Lennox Woods

Low country shrimp boil

Whatever I was saying provoked a sneezing fit!

Workshop Week is Here!

Spring's Promise

20 x 20

Later this afternoon, twelve hardy souls arrive in Clarksville from all over the US- Washington State to Florida to Boston and points in between. It is the inaugural of The Landscape Atelier, which is designed to provide a start to finish, eight day course in landscape painting. Our first two days will be spent in the field, drawing and doing painted studies to use as reference for the remainder of the week's work. Luckily, our stormy, cooler than usual weather is gone for the moment and we are enjoying a beautiful spring day.