Between Juneau and Sitka: Appleton Cove

Painting while we hang on the anchor has been a comedy of errors. And a source of frustration. If the wind blows or the current/tide shifts (which it always does), then my subject is no longer visible.

While we waited for the weather to improve and the wind to stop blowing through Peril Strait, I decided to try something new. I studied the arc of the boat and selected three subjects along that arc. Then, I painted all three paintings at once. As the boat swung, I just painted what was in front of me.

Swinging on the hook. I will try this again.

Between Wrangell and Petersberg

Rain, rain, rain, fog, clouds. The sun, weak and submissive, bows out and lets the dreary weather borrow summer days.

Another interpretation

After a day devoted to painting, I don't want to stop! Any day spent painting is a good day.

Forceful

Working with the same idea on Wallis Museum Paper. I stuck my watercolor under painting out the window to add some real water drops. Texture! Like magic!

Feminine can also be forceful.

Waiting for weather

At least twice a day, we listen to the weather broadcast to see if the conditions ahead of us are improving and making for a safe passage. So far, strong winds (to 20 kts) and moderate seas (swells/waves of 9 feet or more) have kept us tucked up in the bay near Port McNeill.

This kind of waiting around for weather to improve is not new to us. We've done it before with the boat. But, we've also done it many times with flying small airplanes. You don't rush ahead when a thunderstorm is ahead. Boat or plane. Safety first. Always.

I decided to paint the same scene in a variety of ways today. The low tide has revealed the beach at the end and sides of this point. Later in the day, high tide will bring the water line up to the bases of the trees. I'll paint again then.

Done on Wallis Museum Paper with watercolor under paintings.

I used the little Koi field kit for watercolor, and a 1" flat brush.
I love the effect of an under painting.

Unfinished but promising

36 x 48 WIP

18 x 24 under painting

It takes quite a bit of space to get distance on my big painting (top photo). Before I turned out the lights in the studio yesterday, I positioned the painting on my big easel and turned it to face the door. That way, as soon as I turned on lights and entered the studio, I would have that delicious experience of a first impression with it.

As soon as I saw it, I knew that I needed to do something with the background trees. They were coming forward and too detailed for the recession I desired. I brushed pastel off first with a 4" Hake and then wet the brush and wiped it around to flatten the color and pull out the definition. I don't know if it's the right value yet, but it's better and it's going back a little more. I'm slowly working my way down the painting. The land forms are folding and curving the way they should. I like working BIG!

The bottom photo shows the under painting for my next beach scene. No pastel yet, just Guerra pigments in water dispersion, painted onto Wallis Museum paper. It has some nice movement that I hope to keep when I begin applying pastel tomorrow. It will dry on my board overnight.

Any day with time spent painting is a good day. Today was a good day, indeed.

On my honor, I will paint only what I love

8 x 10

Only paint what you love. That will be my new motto. I've tried to paint what others want. What my family wants. What my friends want. What the gallery owners want. The result: bad paintings and a frustrated artist.

But, when I paint what I love, the chances are much better for a good outcome. I feel excited and curious about exploring my subject. The light intrigues. The colors sing. I feel right. Intense and focused and present.

Here, again at the wildlife refuge, hearing the sandhill cranes trilling, the geese gossiping, and the mallards chuckling because they always get the joke. Yes, here I am happy. I love this place.

Autumn Gathering

8 x 10

Light on an October tree

10 x 12
pastel on Wallis Museum

Cat Tails: Making it my own

Cat Tails
12 x 18, pastel on Wallis Museum

Today I felt quiet in the studio as I painted and my subject came from my beloved Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. I sketched and observed the wind on the cat tails for a long time last week. I sketched them, looked at them again, looked at the color, took a photo or two, looked at others. Some side-lit, some back-lit, some in full sun, others in shadow.

Today, a quiet painting. Still applying the design ideas, but making them my own.

I've known for a long time that I will paint cat tails, but Marc Hanson's painting, "Fluff," pushed me from 'will paint' to 'must paint.'