Watercolors

Shed on Big Valley Road

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Big Valley Road

You can still see the fences and pastures of the old pioneer farms that settled Big Valley years ago. As I drove up the road winding through the valley, my eye was caught by this old shed nestled against the woods above the pasture, and by the blazing orange of the bigleaf maple tree next to the dark fir tree.

It’s hard to find a place to park along Big Valley Road, but I managed to pull over safely and walk back to this pasture. I set up my easel in the shade of the trees to the left and began to paint. A pleasant elderly woman came out from the house next door and admired my painting. “I hope it’s all right if I paint here,” I said. “Oh, heavens, yes,” she said.

When I got home, I made a studio version of the same scene, making sure to show how the field slants upward. Somehow I lost that in the plein air version.

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Shed on Central Valley Road

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Central Valley Road

When autumn leaves start to fall, it’s a great time to be a painter. I drove up Central Valley Road, looking for a good subject, and came across this shed in the woods a couple of miles from our house. I found a place to park along the road and set up my easel. It was a fresh autumn morning with partly cloudy skies, and it felt great to be alive.

I kept the painting fairly loose and I’m pretty happy with the result. After I got home, I noticed that the two apple trees are spaced equally across the middle of the painting. It’s better to create unequal divisions. Also, they create a “bulls-eye” pointing to the shed. That’s a little too obvious.

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Windy day at Shine Tidelands estuary

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On a blustery day I walked along the beach to the estuary at Shine Tidelands State Park. The wind was blowing and the tide was coming in rapidly. It felt good to be alive! Because of the wind, I couldn’t set up my easel, so I knelt down in the grass and painted while kneeling.

Below the painting is a short video taken on the spot. It’s difficult to hear because of the wind, but it gives you the idea of my experience.

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Liberty Bay on a cloudy day

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It’s not easy to find a good subject to paint on a cloudy day. There are no shadows or streaks of sunlight to paint, and every surface has the same dull light. The good thing about cloudy days is that you can paint a more moody picture.

On this day, I went to Virginia Point Road where it crosses an inlet of Liberty Bay near Keyport. The tide was high and I found a good place to paint just off the road. I had to paint the clouds in the sky and the reflections twice because they weren’t dark enough the first time, but I think I got it about right. I like the sky and the feeling of depth in the painting.

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Dappled sunlight on house

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I chose this house as my subject because of the dappled sunlight on the front of the house. When I set up my easel across the street, I noticed a woman in the back yard, so I waved at her. She waved back, and I went across the street to talk to her. She was probably 50 years old with long blonde hair and a weary face. She said she’s lived there for 18 years. She was surprised that anyone would be interested in painting her 100-year-old house, but I reassured her that these classic old houses are my favorites. Besides, the sunlight and shadows made a great subject.

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Getting the groceries

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On a sunny autumn afternoon, the warm sunshine and cool shadows on RK Mart in Manette caught my eye. Manette is a lively, funky neighborhood of Bremerton, just across the Manette bridge. As I painted, a number of people with yoga mats passed me on their way to the yoga studio nearby. I enjoyed painting the figures as they were coming out of the store or going in.

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Getting out of the studio

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This summer I’ve made a concerted effort to get myself out of the studio and paint in the open air. I grab my watercolor bag that has my palette, brushes, water container, and paper, and jump in the car for an adventure. In the car is my collapsible aluminum easel and a homemade shelf that holds my palette, water, and brushes.

I’ve driven all over Kitsap County and the surrounding area looking for good painting locations. I especially like the hidden, forgotten, and out-of-the-way places, like waterways, shorelines, estuaries, and back alleys. Not only do I enjoy painting the scene, but I feel connected to the place I’m painting. I soak in the sights, sounds, and smells. It’s an immersion experience; it’s exhilarating.

Painting “plein air” like this often produces exciting paintings because of the immediacy and freshness that goes into the painting. There’s no time to be fussy; just get the paint on the paper. Some of my best paintings have been painted outside.

On the other hand, the chances of producing a total failure go way up. Sometimes my plein air painting is a disappointing flop. This is especially true if I’m attempting a scene I’m not familiar with. But you can’t grow unless you take risks, so I plunge ahead.

Here are some of my recent plein air paintings, both good and bad. Click on an image to see the slideshow.

09-09-Discovery-Bay
09-10-Corvo-Cafe
09-10-Horse-and-Cow
09-11-Port-Townsend-boatyard
09-17-Skokomish-River-falls
09-18-Tracyton-Beach
09-19-Gorst-estuary
09-20-Port-Madison-sailboat

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North Cascades splendor

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Mt. Shuksan

Artist’s Point, as the name implies, is one of the most grand vistas for painters and photographers in all of Washington. From this viewpoint, snowy mountains stretch away in every direction. There’s a painting everywhere you look. The huge parking lot at the end of the road was jammed with vacationers, tourists, hikers, and artists.

I camped along the Nooksack River at a campground about 40 minutes from Artist’s Point, and spent two days painting with my friends from Plein Air Washington Artists. The weather was sunny and hot, even up at such a high elevation. As a result, the washes dried very quickly, making it difficult to make the painting flow together. After several disappointing paintings, I tried soaking the back of the paper with water before I began painting. This helped a lot.

I made three paintings each day, but this was the only one I was remotely satisfied with. Despite my struggles, the experience of being in the high mountains was well worth the trip. I’ll be back another year.

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Goodbye, old friend

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This dilapidated old house is just off the main street in downtown Manette. I love these old houses that have such character; they have a certain charm that comes from old-time craftsmanship. As I was painting, the neighbor drove up, and I asked him about the house. He said it was recently bought by a developer and will likely be torn down soon. Too bad. So long, old friend.

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