Seasons of Martis
I just received a copy of the poster for the upcoming Seasons of Martis event which I am honored to participate in this October. Below is the poster. You can get more information from their website here.
Month: August 2008
Yosemite Renaissance Benefit Art Auction 2008
I have a painting up for auction in the Yosemite Renaissance Benefit Art Auction 2008. All proceeds go to charity, specifically to support the Artists-in-Residence program of Yosemite Renaissance. The painting is a winter scene of the Truckee River, 6×8, Oil on board. You can see the actual painting on their website here, or I have included it below–
It is interesting the completely different colors between their image and mine…I am not sure which is more correct as they have the painting now. Shows how hard it is to get good representation of a work on a computer!
If you always wanted a Neff original, you might be able to get a good price here, as similar paintings are going for around $400 at my regular galleries.
Of Big Sandy, TX and Water Soluable Oils
I just returned from a week long trip to Big Sandy, Texas. I visit fairly often as my parents and sister live there. My last visit was December of last year to dedicate a painting I donated to a local church there.
I had been experimenting with water soluble oils recently and brought those on this trip. Sometimes when I travel, it is too inconvenient to find turpentine at my destination, so many times take acrylics, which I recently did on our cruise to Alaska.
Many of you know I spent 15 years in East Texas from the time I was about 13 years of age. I started painting while there, and at the time painted from other peoples photos such as calendars, etc. of far off spectacular places. Didn’t seem like there was a lot to paint in my local area. Now that I go back, I find good painting subjects everywhere! I think the mark of a good artist is to make the seemingly ordinary and mundane into something of beauty.
With visiting family and friends, I only took one morning to paint. It didn’t take me long to find a nice pasture and pond just south of Big Sandy close to the Sabine River. I brought only minimal equipment and ended up using the hood of the car as my easel. It was somewhat cloudy, but the pink of the early morning sun was wonderful. However, it soon began to rain, so I had to stop as the water soluble paints were smearing all over the canvas! I will continue to experiment with these paints.
Below is a picture of the scene. You can see the painting in progress on the hood of my car–
Demonstration at James Harold Galleries
Following the reception yesterday at James Harold Galleries in Tahoe City, I did a demonstration painting in the gallery today. I had forgotten to bring any printed reference material, but have been using my iPod Touch more and more to display digital photos I have taken for studio paintings. Some of the gallery personnel wanted a painting of Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe, so that was fine with me. The iPod Touch screen is so detailed, it is almost like looking at a slide. I had no problem finding some good reference photos of Emerald Bay, so time to start painting!
Below are a few shots of me painting. If you look real close below the canvas on the easel, you can see the little iPod Touch I was using to display my reference photos—
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The painting turned out quite well. The gallery kept it and put it on a special easel until it dries and they can frame it. I forgot to get a good picture of it, so hopefully someone at the gallery can take a photo of it before it sells.
Reception at James Harold Galleries
Today was the reception at James Harold Galleries in Tahoe City, California. The show actually started several weeks ago, but they decided to have the reception a little later than the actual opening. The show goes on until the end of September, so if you are in the area, be sure and stop by. Below are a few shots today–
Yours Truly with some of the smaller works–
Me again flanked by a few larger paintings–
A couple larger paintings over the reception desk–
Tomorrow I will be doing a demonstration painting in the gallery. I’ll have to decide tonight what subject matter to paint!