Tool -- new and cool

I'm pretty sure that I've seen it before, but at Dawn Emerson's workshop earlier this month, I saw this tool again. Not only saw it, but saw it being used. 

If you are working on tuning up your color harmonies in your paintings, like I am, allow me to recommend this tool to you. The "Analogous Color Wheel" lets you dial up the main colors in your painting, and shows you which colors complement and are discords. Is you painting mostly blue (as I have dialed in above)? Then orange is the complement and yellow green and red violet can offer some discord pops. Where to get this nifty tool? I bought mine through Dakota Art Pastels here.

And that brings me to a question Casey Klahn threw at me during his recent workshop in town: what would happen if you just turned the color wheel and painted this piece again, but one click to the right or left? I am working on that one.

Do you have a new favorite art tool? Do tell!

Lose what's precious

 A cheap, dry brush was my tool of destruction for a section of the foreground grass. Once I lost it, I was able to see past the grass to the marsh behind and open it up more with bits of green and pink and more grayed violet. Did I gain new strength in this painting when I was willing to lose something precious?

Nearly finished -- Oysterville

At the workshop, CaseyKlahn mentioned several times that we should be willing to "lose something precious to find something new." I think that the grasses in the foreground of this piece have become too "precious" to me, so tomorrow I will brush or wipe them down and see what something new I discover.

I love how the start from yesterday provides a dynamic surface for painting and the incised calligraphic marks give me a happy zing when I paint over them. And, because they are my marks, they speak my language.

Here's a sweet little piece to enjoy, if you like. Why try to change me now?

More workshop thoughts -- Klahn

Casey's palette is set up like a rainbow, violet to red

It is always great to see how another pastel artist sets up his/her box. You can see Casey Klahn's box arranged like a rainbow, and within each color section they are further arranged by value and saturation. His are a mixture of brands, including some that he has made himself (some of those are made from easel tailings!).

Before repainting one of my "failed" paintings, Casey suggested I make several composition sketches before jumping in with the re-do.

Casey Klahn Workshop -- Day Two

Earlene, Sarah, Suzanne, Casey

Casey Klahn describes his use of color in "Fauvist Forest"

Casey comments on Earlene's painting

originally a failed painting, but transformed into the seed for this new work

24 x 24 on Wallis Museum

You are right to feel jealous that you missed this workshop with Casey Klahn. It has been a weekend of ideas and challenges. I have much to think about and will post more of my thoughts later in the week. 

We painted more today, by using a failed painting and correcting the mistakes as we discovered them. It is a struggle, a dynamic back and forth of correcting what is not working and then working to see the next thing. Work, work, work. And then, too soon, it was over. But the ideas linger ...

Casey Klahn Workshop -- Day One

keep it simple

Casey Klahn demonstration on composition

my studio during the workshop

Whew! We've had a full first day. I'm pondering all of the the ideas and thinking about what are my ideas about painting. Oh, the beauty of the simplified composition! More to come tomorrow!

Casey Klahn is coming to town!!

turn left at the sign

studio is empty and ready

Yes, you read right! Casey Klahn, pastel artist and blogger of "The Colorist", is coming to town. He's not only coming to town, he's coming to MY studio to conduct a workshop! Starts tomorrow! Casey promises that we will "Never look at your pastels the same way again."

Oh, yeah. It's gonna be GOOD!

"The Colorist" Top 10 Posts!

Fitzhugh Sound/900
16 x 20
pastel on prepared board

Sometimes water acts as a giant mirror, reflecting the intensity of a beautiful sky.


I am honored to be one of the artists named by Casey Klahn, pastel artist and author of "The Colorist" blog, in his "Top Ten Posts on an Artist's Blog 2010." He acknowledged my posts from my four month boating trip this summer from Olympia, WA to Juneau, AK. Thank you, Casey!

I love to read "The Colorist" because it is filled with fine art and art thoughts. And Casey always answers his readers' comments with thoughtful responses that invite dialogue and conversation.

You raise the bar high for bloggers, Casey. Thank you!

Filling up

Calder Cow

Sargent "Leon Delafosse"

Paint. Paint. Paint. I can be driven when I am pursuing art. Push. Push. Push. Things flow and it's a joy to be in the studio or out in the field. Then, without warning, I am dry. Parched of ideas and energy. Not that I love art any less. I just need to be recharged.

Spending time with art friends is one way I fill up. Even better is spending time with art friends on an all-art adventure. That is exactly what I did.

A day trip north to the Seattle Art Museum to see the Michelangelo exhibit and Calder exhibit. To stand in front of Michelangelo's drawings of the human form that date back to the mid-1400s is nothing short of amazing. It made me want to draw and to draw more. One hundred times or more. There's a nice series of lectures about this exhibit on the SAM website if you are interested in seeing/hearing more about this exhibit.

In another special exhibit, the whimsy of Alexander Calder. I LOVED the cow. A bit of wire bent like a three-dimensional contour drawing. Udders and all. A delight!

Of course, no trip to SAM is complete without adequate time to admire the Sargent portrait of Leon Delafosse and the Robert Henri portrait of the dancer. All four of us stood for a long time looking at these two masterful paintings. We would walk up close to inspect a brush stroke, then step back to see the strokes come together to form a hand or the fold in the skirt. Close again to see how he did that, back again to admire the perfect effect.

The timing was just right to zip over to the hills of Kirkland and peek at Casey Klahn's "River Series" exhibit at Northwest University. It was lovely to see in person the paintings that I have admired on his blog. I enjoyed that very much.

Then, a short drive down the hill to the Howard Mandville Gallery for a look at their small works show. We watched the sun set over Lake Washington, the Seattle skyline in periwinkle silhouette

with a lemon yellow and soft orange ground.

Now I feel full to the top. And I'm ready to paint again.

How to you replenish your artistic energy?