Donald Neff

Sequoia Art Group

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I was invited to do a demo at the monthly meeting of the Sequoia Art Group last night.  The organization is a lively and friendly group of 25 or 30, and it was a great time.

I started the demo around 8 o’clock and painted until about 9:30.  I didn’t quite finish the painting, but will probably only take me another hour or so to complete.  The demo was a 16×20 seascape of the Big Sur coast around Garrapata State Park.  Below are a few pictures from the evening.

I had blocked in the basic composition and painted the sky in my home studio before the demo.  Starting the demo–

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Here is a picture of the group during the demo–

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Some of the group crowds around to watch–

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Towards the end of the demo–

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I’ll try to finish the painting in the next couple of days and post an image of it.  Thanks to the Sequoia Art Group for having me, and I hope they took away something from the evening!

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Seasons of Martis

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I just returned from the Seasons of Martis plein air event.  Rather than detail the entire trip day by day, I’ll just throw in a few pictures of my 5 day trip to the Lake Tahoe area.

After checking in on Wednesday, I headed out to the Truckee River to do a painting.  I ended up painting close to Patricia Wallis, another participant in the show–

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Below is my easel by the Truckee–

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Below is the completed Truckee painting.  This is just a quick snapshot and I will try to get a better photo on my website–

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The next morning I headed over to Waddle Ranch.  The gate is normally locked, but they unlocked it so we artists could paint the area.  It was very windy, so I huddled right next to the car–

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Below is my partially completed painting on the easel–

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Friday morning I went out on Mt Watson road which had a magnificent view of the valley–

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Below is a quick snapshot of the painting–

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The clouds rolled in Friday afternoon, and snow was predicted for later in the day, so I retreated to the motel to do touch-ups and framing.

I ended up entering just two of the four paintings in the show, the Truckee River painting and the view from Mt Watson road.  There was a reception on Saturday night, but I forgot to bring my camera.

I had Sunday morning free, so went out and painted the lake.  It was probably my best painting of the trip, but the show didn’t allow paintings of Lake Tahoe…just Martis Valley–

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Below is a shot of the show on Sunday afternoon–

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Local Color

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I recently received an email from Karlene at Oil Painters of America.  It is actually a forwarded email from Tony Pro about an exciting new film being released in November.  The movie trailer and film clips look wonderful!  I will quote the entire email below as I can’t say it much better!

Greetings in art! I hope this email finds you well.

I am contacting you to let you know about an exciting event that is happening in the world of representational art. My good friend and painter, George Gallo has made a film, Local Color, loosely based on his life about becoming a painter and the trials and tribulations he went through to train with a Russian master. This film has been picked up by Empire Film Group, which they will distribute for a national release!

Personally, I have seen this film and I can say it is not only a well-directed and well written film, but the core principle of the film is based around making people see the RELEVANCE of Representational Art and calls to attention the ridiculousness of the Modern Art movement. Through the Oscar worthy performance of Armin Mueller-Stahl, we see a Russian master painter who speaks the truth about what Modern Art has done to the world of Representational Art and ha s grown tired of fighting back. Any of this sound too familiar in your life?

I am TIRED of walking into places like Los Angeles County Museum of Art or the Metropolitan Museum of Art and find that they have taken down another Sargent or Rembrandt and replaced it with a piece of Modern “Art” that I can’t even identify what it is. It kills my soul when this happens and I know it kills the souls of many artists around the world.

George and his wife Julie have made a film from money out of their own pockets that promotes this very idea. The studios wouldn’t touch this film because it didn’t have sex and drugs and they don’t see the relevance of Representational Art. Well, my friends, we are relevant and we are here to stay.

The ONLY way we can refute the modernist movement is to make Representational Art RELEVANT again. How do we do this? Not by local shows or even national shows that only get the attention of other artists, it has to be done through the media on a mainstream basis. It needs to be injected back into the mainstream and it needs to become a part of the World Culture again.

This film is going to be out in the mainstream, it’s even trailering on Apple’s website. This is our champion piece for our cause to start moving Representational Art forward and make it relevant to the masses.

PLEASE, I implore you to go support this film in it’s first week of opening nationally the week of November 7th; take your spouse, go with friends. This movie has something for everyone to discover. The film is so well made that you don’t need to be an artist to enjoy. It’s a heartwarming story that will touch your soul, I know it did mine and it made me realize how good and proud it feels to be a representational artist and to cherish life through art and the relationships we make along the way.

For more information and to see a trailer:
http://www.localcolormovie.com/
http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/localcolor/

Respectfully yours in art,
Tony Pro

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Yellowstone by Harley

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I have been back from my motorcycle trip to Yellowstone and the Tetons for over a week, and have really been remiss in reporting the trip.

Although this was primarily a riding trip, I managed to break away from the pack and do two paintings in Yellowstone.  I have been to both Yellowstone and the Tetons many times, but riding around on a Harley is definitely a unique and fun experience!  To demonstrate that point, below is a picture of me on my Harley wondering where that beast was headed.  He actually ended up walking off the road right behind me!

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My first painting was at Firehole Falls.  Below are a couple shots of the falls, and my portable easel.

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My next painting was of Lower Yellowstone Falls and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.  I started the painting late in the day, and the falls were backlit by the afternoon sun.  What a wondrous view!  The first photo was actually taken earlier the next day, and then the painting sitting on my tripod.

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Below are a couple shots of the paintings after I returned home.  They need touching up a bit, but just painting in this wondrous place was reward in itself.

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On to Yellowstone

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I am blogging from Wells, Nevada, a tiny town at the crossroads of Interstate 80 and Highway 93 in the Northeast corner of Nevada.  I have been on the road for two days on the Harley with the destination of Yellowstone and the Tetons.  I’m travelling with a couple of couples, one on a Honda Goldwing, the other on a Yamaha FJR.  Needless to say we are having a great time riding!

Tomorrow we will travel up 93 into Idaho and then across to West Yellowstone where we will stay for a few days and tour the park.

I brought my paints, and plan to let my fellow motorcycle riders tour the park while I pick out places to paint.  I’m travelling with a unique set of painting equipment (at least for me) as I have to carry 11 days worth of living on my bike.  If it works out, I’ll give details later.   I have been to the Yellowstone a number of times, so am more anxious to paint than see every geyser! 

After that, we are off to the Tetons for a couple days.  Below is a plein air I did of Mt Moran the last time I visited this area….hope to do more!!

 

 

 

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Seasons of Martis

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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.

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Yosemite Renaissance Benefit Art Auction 2008

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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–

Snow on the Truckee

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.

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Of Big Sandy, TX and Water Soluable Oils

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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–

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Demonstration at James Harold Galleries

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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.

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Reception at James Harold Galleries

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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–

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Me again flanked by a few larger paintings–

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A couple larger paintings over the reception desk–

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Tomorrow I will be doing a demonstration painting in the gallery. I’ll have to decide tonight what subject matter to paint!

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