Corrugated 3-watercolor

"Corrugated-Sulfur"
watercolor on paper, 2012
6" x 9" (15.24cm x 22.86cm)
Available, contact me at davidteter@att.net

The challenge on this one was the street since it takes up so much of the picture plane, about as much as the sky, and has the same colors so I made sure to vary the texture.
My favorite parts are the corrugated fence caught in a half light, revealing its buckled shapes, and of course the bright yellow accent of the sulfur pile.227

New Locomotive Series Coming Soon

PHL Sketch
ballpoint pen, 2013
4" x 5.5" (10.16cm x 13.97cm)

I mentioned a while back I was working on both new work and commissions. This is the reason for all the sketch posts as of late.

One of the commissions, of the Vincent Thomas Bridge, is near done and I will post it here soon.

Of the new work one is a series on locomotives and I will begin posting those within the next month.

In anticipation of that I did this quick sketch from memory to test my recall, to see how well I know the locomotive without reference. Oops, I forgot the number on the side of the cab within the diagonal stripes... could not do much about that since ballpoint pen is permanent.

Despite its whimsical cartoon approach you still have to know its proportions and most of the structure and details to get it right and I did OK here. I know because I tried this exercise before I had done many trains and fell flat on my face. It's all about practice.226

Sketchbook Page 3 (and cover)

Jobin, The Mad Catter
ballpoint pen, 2013
page 8.25" x 5.5" (20.955cm x 13.97cm)

The nature of sketchbook pages is that not all ends up good and there are a couple dreadful ones on this page but that is ok.

I'm experimenting with seeing how far I can distort the forms before I lose the cat. The top left for example looks more like a chihuahua or bat and borders on being too cute.
Trying to find a non-representational version of the cat while avoiding cute and cartoony is not that easy, at least for me.
Another Jobin, The Mad Catter here.225

Sketchbook Page 2

sketchbook page, 2013
ballpoint pen
page 8.25" x 5.5" (20.955cm x 13.97cm)

More fun sketching.
I don't really do floral.
Unless I can find a way to be anti-floral.
I have plans to do a painting from these studies even if for fun.224

Sketch Doodle Postcard Backside

Ballpoint pen on postcard, 2013
5" x 7" (12.7cm x 17.78cm)

Since I am working on several projects I don't have a lot to post so here is another sketch doodle.

This was done on the backside of a postcard tucked in my door by solicitors so I figured instead of feeding the recycle bin as usual I would make some use of it.

As you can see this kind of sketch doodling is very different from my usual work. That's the point.

It is a way to artistically get away from that. No pressure to 'make' anything. Just put pen to paper and see what emerges. I start with random scribbles and allow things to develop from there.223

Local Landmarks - White Point Battery Bunker

"Whitepoint Battery Bunker"
watercolor on paper, 2012
6" x 8" (15.24cm x 20.32cm)
Available, contact me at davidteter@att.net

A battery here in San Pedro California built for WWII and part of Fort MacArthur Museum, but never used in defense.

Originally Battery 127, its name was officially changed to honor the memory of Colonel Paul Delmont Bunker, Battery Paul D Bunker, BCN-127, hence the Bunker in the name. It's not a military bunker, it's a gun battery.

The road leading into the picture from the bottom makes a nice S line passing up through the contrails, ghostly echoes of its guns which never fired in defense and are long gone.
Adding the contrails also gives the sky some dimension. I prefer to make my skies a participant in the painting as a whole with some kind of texture, instead of smoothly rendered with no thought.

This is part of a new series of local military landmarks, many of which are within a couple miles of home.
Another local San Pedro battery drawing here.222

Email Update

My contact email with AT&T is currently down and has been for several days.
Although I think I can send emails I can not receive emails.
I hope to have this resolved by the end of Monday May 13th.

Sorry for the inconvenience.
David J. Teter

Update:
I can not receive emails or send emails.

David J. Teter

Update:
It seems my email is working again.

Update 5/22/13:
Now I can't send emails, only receive. :(

Curtain of Rain

"BNSF (Cajon Puddle)"
watercolor on paper, 2013
9" x 12.5" (22.86cm x 31.75cm)
Available, contact me at davidteter@att.net

Here's a recent work, a trio of BNSF locomotives, called a consist, passing through a curtain of rain, a sudden desert downpour, the kind that gives rise to flash floods.

The foreground puddle helped define the ground plane and gave the painting a cool starkness, like cut glass, hard sharp edges to play against the softer edges of middle and background. It also adds that element of danger, much like a lightening strike out of the blue, the idea of sudden downpours and flash floods. Otherwise the painting would (only) be a nice pleasant rain shower. So the rain puddle becomes the vehicle for that idea of danger, you can't miss it.
It is more on the man vs nature theme.

This is one of three styles or techniques I use in watercolor. It is traditional methods on watercolor paper but simplified, meant to have a more psychological impact. See this concrete plant, this river, and this lonely home for others.
My other traditional style is more hard edged and detailed or I as prefer to call it, clarified (Clarity). Another artist referred to it as intricate which I also prefer. Some treat 'detailed' as a bad word.

This is always a nice relief from the more intricate work which usually takes more planning, a tighter drawing and more careful application from the start. See this truck, this sulfur pile, and these two.

Here I focus on the big shapes, the main idea and how they communicate emotive qualities. This is more intuitive.
I like working these different ways, tight vs loose, going back and forth between the two. Both feed and compliment each other.
Doing the tighter work keeps these looser ones from getting too far out of control and doing these looser freer works reminds me to maintain expressive painterly qualities and keep it fresh.
I can't imagine spending my entire artistic career tied to one thing or style.221

Urban River 6

"LA River 4"
oil on panel, 2013
2" x 2⅜" (5.08cm x 6.01cm)

I know I know... it's really blue...
probably should have thrown some other colors in it!

This is another tiny painting, fun and quick to do. I like to do these when I am in the middle more demanding works. Works that require lots of time and lots of sessions layering, drying, layering, drying. It gets long and drawn out so I find myself wanting some 'finished' satisfaction. That is the case right now. I'm working on several paintings in oil and watercolor, two of them commissions.

This is a pipeline bridge and there are several along the southern end of the LA River in Long Beach California where much of the harbor industry is located.
I love these huge sheets of concrete. All they do is carry the pipes across the river, but are very simple and dramatic.220

Local Landmarks - Battery Farley

"Battery Farley-Study"
pencil on paper, 2012
11" x 8.5" (27.94cm x 21.59cm)

This drawing is from a series on local historical military landmarks. I don't have to go far since they are here in San Pedro.

Even though my notation says WWII (oops!), Battery Farley was actually built between 1916-1919, during WWI. This I did not know when the drawing was made as I found out later through research.

It is here in my hometown of San Pedro California and is part of the Fort MacArthur Museum. This is half of what is called Battery Farley-Osgood since there are two of these gun placements at the location.

In fact this whole coastal area of Los Angeles had been fortified over the years, all of which is now obsolete of course. Various gun placements from WWI and WWII to Nike Missile sites from the 60's.
This map (from the book "Rings of Supersonic Steel") on the above museum site shows the entire City of Los Angeles was encircled by Nike Missile sites, like the old video game Missile Command.

After concentrating hard on the battery study I found myself getting mentally lazy so I did not take the drawing of the USS Iowa seriously enough. Such is the nature of pages of drawings, not everything on the page is good. I will have to tackle the ship again later.

I have a recent watercolor of another battery here in San Pedro that was built for WWII and I will be posting that in the future.219

Value Thumbnails 6

"Value Thumbnails-Cliffs"
pencil on paper, 2012
8.5" x 11" (21.59cm x 27.94cm)

Here's a page of value thumbnails where my focus was the distribution of lights and darks and the patterns created. It is an exploration in how different the composition looks simply by shifting the values in the back, middle and foregrounds.
I imagined a sunny windy day where clouds are streaking across the sky dragging their shadows over the landscape.

I essentially used 3 values here, the white of the paper being the lightest, but threw in a forth when it was necessary to separate elements, as in #3 where I wanted the background a light value but needed to separate sky from ocean.218

Value Thumbnails 5

"Value Thumbnails-LB Courthouse"
pencil on paper, 2012
page 11" x 8.5" (27.94cm x 21.59cm)

I did these thumbnails of the new Long Beach Courthouse about midway through its construction.
It is currently near the end and will soon be open. Part of the urban renewal of Long Beach California.

Shown here in its iron skeletal form, i-beams and steel girders.
Even as small thumbnails these were more challenging than I thought they would be.
The simplification proved to be harder to do than I anticipated since there was a lot going on.

The middle right thumb especially tough since the angles are not 90°. Even though drawn right it still looks wrong. I only like the top and middle left, don't care much for the others. This is one reason to do thumbnails, to work out and/or discover potential problems early.217

Sketchbook Doodles 4

Ballpoint pen in pocket sketchbook, 2012

5.5" x 4" (13.97cm x 10.16cm)

And another...
216

Sketchbook Page 1

sketchbook page, 2013
ballpoint pen
page 8.25" x 5.5" (20.955cm x 13.97cm)

I hope you had a good Easter. I don't know why it didn't occur to me to post this earlier... I must have been asleep too... oh well, here you go. Don't be mad... 215

Sketchbook Doodles 3

Ballpoint pen in pocket sketchbook, 2012

5.5" x 4" (13.97cm x 10.16cm)

And another...
214

Sketchbook Doodles 2

Ballpoint pen in pocket sketchbook, 2012

5.5" x 4" (13.97cm x 10.16cm)

Here's another page of sketchbook fun. Nothing serious, just letting it flow.213

Sketchbook Doodles 1

pencil in pocket sketchbook, 2012
5.5" x 4" (13.97cm x 10.16cm)

I do these when I need to warm up, am stuck waiting somewhere or need a break from the tighter more intense paintings.
This sort of sketching is really about nothing specific. Instead, just letting my mind wander and see what emerges. It is a good way to re-enjoy the creative process when struggling with more serious work and I feel the fun draining away from it. Then when I return I am refreshed.
It's all about the fun.212

Avid Art Store

I am currently designing a new blog site for sales of artwork and will eventually link all work for sale to that site even when shown here.
This will take some time as I must learn a whole new system. It will be open during construction.

The new format will feature a grid page, making it far easier for me to manage as well as easier for a buyer to see what is available all on one page. My initial plan was to keep it all here on this blog but Google does not offer any kind of grid layout so I had no choice but to find another source.
When all my art is loaded to the Store I will remove the Available art pages from the right column.

Click link below or at the top of right hand column.
http://davidteterartstore.wordpress.com/

Shiny and New

"BNSF 7620"
oil on panel, 2007
5" x 7" (12.7cm x 17.78cm)
private collection

Here is an earlier painting of a BNSF train moving through the port all shiny and new.
I remember fighting the 'mud' battle on this one, one of the first I did of these BNSF locomotives. Orange and yellow are tough colors due to their transparency and that they dirty easy when mixed with other colors.
In the shadows it is difficult to get to those darks and maintain a certain high chroma to depict the shiny and new.
Ironically the two most prominent railroad companies here in Southern California are BNSF (orange) and Union Pacific (yellow), two of the most temperamental colors. Thanks a lot.211

Urban River 5

 "LA River 3"
oil on panel, 2013
2" x 2⅜" (5.08cm x 6.01cm)
private collection

Here's another for my Urban River series, although on a small scale at only 2" x 2⅜". Not really sellable but I do have my reasons for painting these mini's.
This is the LA River in Long Beach California looking north at the Willow Street Bridge. Viewed laying down on the sloping concrete bank makes for a strong angular composition and a nice sweeping line from corner to corner. With landscapes typically being in a horizontal format I am always looking for verticals, and especially angles to either counter or compliment the side to side landscape.

I used a similar compositional device in this locomotive painting, making the subject, here the bridge and the BNSF engine in the other, smaller within the design yet still the primary subject.

The sloping wall takes up more than half of the picture frame but due to its architecture the bridge gets the attention. This also lends a good variation to the blue sky shapes in the arches so each is different and is not so repetitive.210

Stifling Air

"PHL 67 at 47 Underpass"
watercolor on illus. board, 2012
5" x 8" (12.7cm x 20.32cm)
Available, contact me at davidteter@att.net

My Pacific Harbor Line Series:
The Pacific Harbor Line, the workhorse of the LA Harbor. These black/white engines are part of the low emission line of locomotives for the move towards a greener port. Black and Shiny as tar with striking graphics, they don’t blend in, they stand out. Not graceful looking, they look like they mean business. The back end diagonals point down, the front point up to distinguish front from rear when seen head on. Its side panel graphics angling forward. So a nod of beautiful work to the designers of these burly beasts of burden.

The PHL 67 about to pass under the 47 bridge approach, which in this case is the Commodore Schuyler F. Helm Bridge, too long for the title. The 47 includes two bridges, the other is the Vincent Thomas Bridge.

Representing a hot, humid, sticky day I painted in a warm overtone, yes, an overtone, not undertone as in oil painting. My palette tends to lean to the cool side and this was going that way too so as I approached the finish I consciously began overlaying warm washes and mixing warm versions of each color. Previously the sky was blue, the foreground concrete a cool gray, the bridge a cool green... and I was starting to get bored. I spared the locomotive and the underside of the bridge, leaving them a cool black and uniting them in a single dark value shape.

This is part of experimenting and in watercolor usually leads to muddied up paintings if not done thoughtfully and carefully. However this is one of my 'non-traditional' watercolors, which means the surface and technique are non-traditional giving me a lot of freedom to work the medium in unusual (for watercolor) ways. The paint sits on the surface initially and can be pushed and moved around, lifted out back to lighter values, shaped, carved, sculpted etc. Changes, even major changes, can be made at almost any stage of the painting. That is a fun way to work and is much more akin to oil painting.

It was crucial to saving this one. On a traditional watercolor paper I would not have been able to paint out the overall cool cast and would have scrapped the work. On paper the pigment stains or absorbs into the surface and unless you go darker you are stuck with it. In addition it is almost impossible to change the warm/cool cast.

I also had some shape design problems in the foreground, the bottom half of the composition, that needed to be worked out. What we see in our minds eye, before we start, does not always pan out. This puts the work in artwork. It's the challenge of problem solving. And I wouldn't want it any other way. I redesigned the shapes into more angular ones and 'troughed' them towards the center. This loosely echoed the upper half triangle arrangement and put the attention back on the locomotive.

As I said in the beginning, I was getting bored with the painting and boredom is a sure sign you need make some serious changes. That was when I decided it needed something else. Not other added elements or objects but something else. Other than fixing the foreground shapes I still wanted something additional to focus on.

Choosing a weather phenomenon or condition seemed like a good solution. But one that is invisible and is felt or sensed so rain, fog or stormy weather was out. I decided to challenge myself and try to depict the temperature or more specifically the air, hot sticky air. The kind that you can't escape, that offers no relief... the dreaded humidity!
When it is cold you at least stand a chance to get warm somehow. When it is hot there are ways to keep cool but humidity you can't do much about. You can't see it but its everywhere. You feel it, it's stifling and permeates everything.
Finishing with a warm overtone seemed to accomplish that.209

Others in this non-traditional approach can be seen here, here and here as well as all the recent "Past Work" posts

Ricky the Cat

"Ricky"
oil on panel, 2010
5" x 7" (12.7cm x 17.78cm)
private collection

I painted a cat.
That looks oh so fat.
But really is just a fluffy black cat.
A cat that really is black like a bat.
A simple painting of Ricky the cat.

Attentive to something that must be a gnat.
Surely he'd get up if it were a rat.
So tell me, just what do you think of that?

Stretched out on the floor til it's time to chore.
Cats catch all the varmints till there are no more.
This is their story, from all days yore.
Or maybe it is just feline folklore.

Task is all done, catnap on the table.
This is the end of my little fable.208

Long Beach Landmark-Breakers

"Breakers"
watercolor on paper, 2012
8" x 6" (20.32cm x 15.24cm)
Available, contact me at davidteter@att.net

Here's a simple watercolor of a notable building in nearby Long Beach California that has had a roller coaster history. It's 14 stories, was built as a luxury oceanfront hotel in 1926 and designated as a Historic Landmark in 1989. Its seen more than its share of ups and downs over the years and never quite maintained its luxury hotel status for very long. It now operates as a retirement home.

This time of day the sun reflects from nearby glass buildings creating interesting patterns across the side and illuminating the bottom half while leaving the top in shadow.

It is these kinds of atmospheric effects I look for, and quite often add to a painting myself, for turning what would otherwise be an ordinary image of a city building, into one with some life and vigor.207

Trackside Watercolor Landscape

"Trackside"
watercolor on paper, 2012
6" x 8" (15.24cm x 20.32cm)
Available, contact me at davidteter@att.net

Here's another done in a looser approach. I only do the barest line drawing of the big shapes, then find the image in paint. A landscape in Oceanside California, trackside on the scenic Amtrak route.
For me this is a departure from the usual industrial railroads I do. It is more landscape than railroad, the only hint is the shed at the edge of the tracks, which are represented by the only straight line in the composition.
This is similar to the approach I used on this cityscape.206

Interior Blight

"Interior Blight"
watercolor on paper, 2012
6" x 8" (15.24cm x 20.32cm)
Available, contact me at davidteter@att.net

This was done from a visit to the Cajon pass to chase trains, one of those accidental discoveries. It's an old barn which looked like it had functioned as different kinds of business's over the years. It was boarded up, broken into, and now is a dumping ground for the people too lazy to haul their discards to the dump. Eventually the roof will collapse, swallowing up the interior and all its illicit cast offs.

I had to resist any natural inclination to tighten-up the painting, allowing the looser less controlled approach to hint at the litter without really defining anything. It is about its blighted condition.
I made sure to indicate enough of the interior structure, the ceiling joists, to make it recognizable.205

I did a drawing of the outside seen here.

REALLY Private Collection

One of my paintings was recently added to someone's private collection, although in an unauthorized manner.
They offered themselve's a huge discount you might say, surreptitiously collecting the work from the venue it was being offered.

I should say this puts my work in good company. Other more famous artists' work have been acquired in the same manner, and all you have to do is a web search and you'll know what I mean.

I can only take this as a compliment of course since no one would bother if it had no value to them.
I would actually like to hear from the uh... 'really private collector'... so feel free to leave a comment, I would enjoy your thoughts on the piece, what attracted you to it, why did you have to have it?
Any thoughts you might have...

Thanks

Original post here.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

"Rock and Roll"
oil on panel, 2009
5" x 3.5" (12.7cm x 8.89cm)
private collection

"Stump"
oil on panel, 2009
5" x 3.5" (12.7cm x 8.89cm)
private collection

Hello...                         2013?

Thank you to all who helped in 2012 Avid Art successes and to all of you who checked into my blog to view my art and have conversations via comments.
I always enjoy our little art talks throughout the year and enjoy visiting your blogs as well!

Hopefully we won't end up at the bottom of the fiscal cliff and can jump for joy in 2013!203,204

iPad Landscape Study

"Landscape Shape Study"
Digital, Brushes App

I am still working on various pieces so without much (traditional medium) work ready to post I figured I had better get something up on the blog.

This is practice, exercising my design muscles, done on my iPad with the Brushes App. Drawn relatively quick focusing on the design of the big shapes and simple composition as well as the distribution of soft edges.

I also managed to get some quality of light into it by adding some texture of the vegetation.
I like it when simple drawings 'spill out' easily. Enough said.202

6x6 Machinery

"Machinery 2"
oil on panel, 2012

6" x 6" (15.24cm x 15.24cm)
Available, contact me at davidteter@att.net

Here are two of my seven paintings I submitted to the recent 6x6 show that weren't accepted. I had four in the show.

I bring this up because I did all seven as a group with an overall theme of light. Not a new idea, artists have been doing it for centuries, but in each of the seven I really made a point to capture different qualities of light. I worked on the group simultaneously, working up each without really finishing any one until I was about 75% done.  Other than these two, the seven (actually ten) were not officially a series together so the simarlarities end there. No attempt was made to using the same palette, design etc. So they do not look like a series other than a common theme of light.

I like machinery and sometimes its function preempts design. Its look or design born out of its function instead of a design based on aesthetics.
In this one, a really bright day, the sun bouncing off the ground or any light surface is blinding, without sun glasses you end up squinting all day. The colors are true to the site, industry subjects like this often lack color beyond silvers, rusty and metal grays, the small blue color note of sky serves as reminder of that.

I loved the composition of this the moment I saw it... the variety of shapes and their arrangement. It's that variety I see in industrial subjects, their size and texture differences, the scale of them that I respond to initially, that's what first gets my attention... here there are the ellipse', cylinders, flat and angled planes, linear pipes and wire conduit... all neatly arranged within the picture plane. After that I look for what it says to me, what is present beyond the artistic and design observations. That is part of seeing. Seeing really is observing and asking yourself questions and it's not always obvious.

I saw industrial might or brawn, this is industry flexing its muscle but on a small scale, a microcosm of industry. All the rust and dust seemed to add to its tough physique instead of conveying degradation. It is a weight lifter sweating in a gym or a cowboy roping doggies on a ranch.

I love the work of precisionist artists, like Charles Sheeler, and while that influence crept into the treatment of this painting I still remained faithful to my own artistic vision. I don't want my work to look like it belongs to a particular school of painting. Instead I am constantly striving to allow these influences without simply rehashing them.

"Machinery 1"

oil on panel, 2012

6" x 6" (15.24cm x 15.24cm)

Available, contact me at davidteter@att.net

This painting is in direct opposition to Machinery 2 as far as its anthropomorphic character. The configuration of these two is not as muscular. That was my impression so as an artist it is my job to communicate that idea. In Machinery 1 I chose a broader view while in Machinery 2 a zoomed-in one. Those compositional choices helped support each impression.

It is also part of the old retired Sunkist packing plant in Orange County California, so it is no longer operational.

It is rich winter light when the sun is low, closer to the horizon, in the afternoon, softer light diffused by the glass, a rich cool shadow with warmer edges. It is not the showy light of Machinery 2. It is the end of an era. It is the final flicker of a candles flame.200,201

See previous four posts for the other 6x6's

6x6 Show Opening Night

It was another great showing at the 6x6 Show Randy Higbee Gallery this past weekend.

I was quite happy my painting "11th St. Rain" sold on the opening night.
The turnout was huge, a lot of people showed up and it was a very festive atmosphere.

I always enjoy meeting new people and especially seeing all my artist friends.
We usually end up going to a restaurant afterwards and have a good time talking art and getting caught up on what we all have been doing.
Among the group this year were artist Susan Hogan Girard and artist Wendy Wirth, both of whom had their work hanging in the show.

If I can get any pics from the show I'll post them here.

Night Rain at 6x6 Show

"18th St. Rain Nocturne"
oil on panel, 2012

6" x 6" (15.24cm x 15.24cm)
Available, contact me at davidteter@att.net

My fourth painting accepted into the 6 Inch Squared Show at the Randy Higbee Gallery in Costa Mesa California.
Another rain painting in the show here.

A simple enough idea, more challenging to paint than I thought.
Warm light on a cold night. Yellow green from the house, orange from the sodium street lights meant the two had to be interspersed in some places.
In reality the light is actually blueish white but made for a cold uninviting image. This is when artistic decisions must be made.
I initially had more yellow from the house light but the painting lacked depth so I added green as the light spread out from its source, even further under the shine of rainy conditions. I finished it off by adding some color accents of blue in the sky and red of the taillights.199

Another "18th St. Rain" here, a view slightly up the same street.
Click rain 'RAIN' LABEL to see others.

Pacific Harbor Line at 6x6 Show

"PHL 64"
oil on panel, 2012
6" x 6" (15.24cm x 15.24cm)
Available, contact me at davidteter@att.net

My third painting featured in the up-coming 6 Inch Squared show at the Randy Higbee Gallery. See two previous posts below for more.
You can also see and purchase them online here before the show opens on December 8th 2012.

Although many train artists might shy away from overlapping the train with objects I don't see it as a painting of a locomotive with stuff thrown around it as a second thought, but instead a painting in all its totality first, then one of a locomotive.

A sunny day with the marine layer hugging the ground and thin wispy clouds yielding soft undefined shadows.
I pushed the limits of this kind of light from the front to the back of the locomotive, highlighting the front then severely dropping the back into (soft) shadow.

That gave it some extra depth and enabled me to nearly bump the front of the locomotive up against the edge of the picture plane and break the compositional rule of 'avoiding tangents'. Using the bright sun and atmospheric effect for value control also puts the emphasis on the back end of the engine.

One final touch was throwing a reflected light on the far side of the back of the engine.198

Click on image to larger view

Industrial Landscape at 6x6 Show

"Industrial Landscape"
oil on panel, 2012

6" x 6" (15.24cm x 15.24cm)
Available, contact me at davidteter@att.net

The second of my four paintings accepted into the 6 Inch Squared show at Randy Higbee Gallery

Since most landscapes are composed of strong horizontals, square formats are a challenge.

So this is loaded with the verticals of poles and the angles of steam, tree line and road, to compositionally offset the horizontal band across the middle and make for a stronger stacked composition within the square format.

This is one of those views typical of industrial vista's in and around the harbor. I compressed the refinery into the middle ground, but allowed the foreground and background to breath.

The drifting steam coming from the refinery, the softer shadows, and perhaps the light too, all help to relieve the densely packed industrial forest of the middle ground.197

Click on image for larger view

Rain at 6x6 Show

"11th St. Rain"    SOLD
oil on panel, 2012
6" x 6" (15.24cm x 15.24cm)
Randy Higbee Gallery

Here is one of my four paintings accepted into the 6 Inch Squared show at Randy Higbee Gallery.

If you are like me you never tire of rain and weather images. I love shiny glistening streets under these conditions. The landscape under a canopy of clouds with the golden sun breaking through.
I've always thought of rainy days as slow days. Here I've painted the late afternoon with a lone figure returning home from work in no particular hurry.196

Click 'Rain' or 'Weather' LABELS to see others.

Note: I updated the image here with one that is more color correct.
Click on image for larger view

6 Inch Squared

I am happy to announce 4 of my 7 paintings entered into the 6 Inch Squared show at the Randy Higbee Gallery were accepted.

I'll start posting them soon.

Past Work 6

untitled portrait
watercolor and colored pencil on illus. board
13.5" x 12.25" (34.29cm x 31.115cm)

Here is another blast from the past... the same experimental stuff on slick illustration board.
This was when I began to get the hang of it, however it is still a tough surface to work on.
Often the surface takes over, dictating too much for me, how it looks. I prefer controlling it. I want decisions to be conscious ones.
That's not to say I don't like happy accidents but you can't start with too many uphill battles.
This is one reason I generally don't work on canvas in oils. You can't escape its texture, especially when photographing the art.

I was still having some problems controlling the spottiness in the shadows but overall I was happy with the results... the design of the shapes, the palette, etc.
I was experimenting with mixing-in the colored pencil with watercolor. Not knowing how well it would work and not wanting to risk ruining the head ,which I was feeling good about, I reserved it for the shirt. I liked the way it gave a velvety depth and texture to what would otherwise be a flat graphic shape. It is hard to see the subtlety of its application in this photo but there is green pencil underlying the blue watercolor.195

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Past Work 5

"Megan"
watercolor/gouache on illus. board
13.5" x 12" (34.29cm x 30.48cm)

My niece at around 5 or 6 six years old...
The color palette here is atrocious, at least to me, but is reflective of colors my niece loved back then, which was one of my intentions.
Remember, experimental work means leaving your comfort zone in part so here I wanted the palette to be tied into her instead of relying on the usual familiar palette (from then) without much thought.
That mauve in the background and lavender in the shirt makes me shudder. However, even now when I look at this I don't just see Megan at that time, instead I'm taken back to memories of who she was too, it radiates with her personality beyond just a likeness. So with that, I'm happy.

This one, like the other recently posted portraits, I simply reached a point and stopped. Although I saw some problems with drawing, form transitions and even design issues I did not want to lose or destroy that spontaneity associated with experimenting and lose the liveliness of her character... remembering that experimental for me means it is more about learning and discovering than about making a finished piece of art.

I can also see where I struggled with the medium leaving some areas unresolved.
The hair is a little too coarse and abrupt since I did not refine and soften it for its bright sunny light. Some areas like the shadow in her arm and shirt are too busy but again I did not want to refine at the expense of freshness.194

Portrait of Megan as an adult here.

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Past Work 4

"Miao"
watercolor on hot pressed illus. board
9.25" x 8.75" (23.495cm x 22.225cm)

A slight break from the previous celebrity portrait/caricature posts, this watercolor was done during the same period.

This was when I was experimenting heavily with watercolor on different substrates, exploring their various surface characteristics.
I tried watercolor boards, cold and hot press illustration board, kid finish (paper) fixed to board and some others, eventually arriving at a really slick surface, one that requires great patience in the early stages of building up the surface but gives the work the same kind of depth and richness of oil painting.

Although this painting has a traditional watercolor finish or look to it the surface and working methods used was not. This was after buying Burt Silverman's book "Breaking the Rules of Watercolor" which was both an epiphany and has had a lasting impact on my own work, especially in my less traditional watercolor technique like these here, here and here.

It is a way that invites working the medium back and forth, breaking down the surface then building it back up, a method that generally goes against the more traditional approach of additive (only) painting, applying washes from light to dark, building up the painting in a straight forward manner.
It is a more physical approach, scrubbing and wiping areas out then repainting, really taking advantage of the solubility of watercolor.
Lights and even whites can be brought back from dark passages, unlike traditional watercolor paper, which allows greater freedom to aggressively push paint around, never having to worry about holding back and preserving the white of the paper or the hassle of masking fluids.

While an art student I had instructors who taught the same kind of mentality, one that suits my temperament better. I no longer had to work in that kind of 'point A to point B' manner which is far too easy to screw up when you suddenly realize, half way through, you have gotten too dark, have the wrong color or temperature or want to completely remove some defeating element.

I can go forward, backward, sideways... it does not matter, there is no fear so it is a much more liberating way to work and it is certainly much more fun.

Incidentally, it also helps when I do paint using traditional methods and surfaces which I still enjoy as well, like this one here and here and "Union Pacific 8381".193

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Past Work 3

"Billy Idol"
mixed media on illus. board
13" x 11.5" (33.02cm x 29.21cm)

Number 3 in these past work posts, another experimental piece.

There is a lot I don't like here besides its unfinished state. The whole right side never got resolved. That's OK though. Sometimes it serves as a record of some exploratory technique and quitting on it early is better than killing it with overworking. And maybe that rawness is what I want to remember ...other times it is one area of the work I want to preserve, something new I learned, if I got that out of it that is enough.

That having been said I may decide to 'finish' the right side, if I can do so without spoiling the rest.
The harsh cast and core shadows were intentional (experimental) and lend themselves well to his persona if you know anything about him. Normally a more refined shadow transition would be better but then again this is a stylized portrait.192

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Past Work 2

"Murphy's Law"
mixed media on illus. board
9.5" x 9.5" (24.13cm x 24.13cm)

Here is another past experimental piece done at the same time as the previous post.
This one is gouache, ink and acrylic paint.

The difference in this one from the previous is the acrylic paint. Part of the experimentation was beginning with the gouache and ink then finishing with another medium, just seeing what I could do.
My experimental work is often left in an unfinished state or is not refined so as to not lose the freshness of the process, allowing me to easily see the steps, and is more akin to drawing than painting.
Having fun, no pressure.191

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