December 2024

“You are accepted”

3 Comments /
Pacific Northwest Plein Air 2025

I’m happy to say that I’ve been accepted into the 2025 Pacific Northwest Plein Air event in the Columbia River Gorge April 21-26, 2025. This is my third time to apply to this event, and my first time to be accepted.

I’ll be joining about forty other painters in Hood River, Oregon, for the opening get-together. From there, we’ll spread out to paint anywhere in the Columbia River Gorge. It’s a great honor to be selected, and I’ll be painting alongside some excellent painters. I’ll have to be on my game!

As more and more people take up plein air painting, there are increasing numbers of plein air festivals like this one. Typically, a small number of artists are selected on the basis of the plein air paintings they submit in their application. On the first day of the festival, each artist gets their papers or canvases stamped on the back, as a way of certifying that their work has been done in the time period allowed.

Usually artists are given four or five days to produce their paintings. On the last day, artists bring their framed paintings to a gallery where they’re hung for an exhibition. The judge selects the award-winning paintings, and a reception is held for the public. Often these are gala affairs with wine, refreshments, and lots of people, including collectors. Paintings are sold!

Here’s a link to the event.

“You are accepted” Read More »

Try, try again

5 Comments /

Sometimes I paint a subject several times in an attempt to improve my painting skills. If the subject is interesting, I try to find a way to improve the composition in the subsequent paintings. Maybe I can sharpen the center of interest or move things around to make the painting more balanced. As I paint the subject a second or third time, I feel more confident in my choice of colors and I try to improve my brush work, especially by creating soft edges and blended colors. Although subsequent paintings aren’t necessarily better, I think I learn something through the series of paintings.

I first painted this farm near Kingston on location, and since then I’ve taken several more stabs at it to improve my painting. See what you think.

My original plein air painting, 11 x 15 inches. A little rough
My first studio version of the plein air painting. You can see how I changed the composition by omitting the sheds to the left. 11 x 15 inches.
A second studio version, 11 x 15 inches. I like the crisp edges of the barn that draw the eye to it as the center of interest, but the background line of trees is too sharp. Also I feel there’s too great a contrast between the dark green pasture and the bright sky. The pasture should be lighter, or the sky should be darker.
I made this small painting for our annual Christmas painting exchange at Poulsbo Artists League. 5 x 7 inches. I like the softness of the barn, the pasture, and the background trees that melt into the clouds, but that line of dark trees going down to the right needs to have a softer outline.
My latest version. 7 x 11 inches. I like the softness of the barn, the cows, and the background trees, but, again, that line of trees going down to the right is too hard-edged.

Try, try again Read More »

Painting in the cold

4 Comments /
Indianola estuary

If you follow the road past the old vacation homes in Indianola, WA, through the big fir woods and past the Methodist Church camp, you come to a beautiful estuary that is virtually untouched. When I asked the caretaker of the camp for permission to paint, he explained to me that the Suquamish Tribe owns most of the land in and around the estuary. For that reason, it’s protected as a wildlife refuge and hasn’t been developed.

It was a cold morning when I set up my tripod and made a pencil sketch. Luckily I was able to wear Guy’s warm ski parka that kept the wind off and kept me toasty. The tide was just past high, and the sloughs in the estuary were full of water when I started. The trees on the far side of the marsh grass were reflected in the water, making for a good composition. A line of white driftwood logs bordered the trees.

Painting in the cold Read More »