Artist Journal: One Last Painting
The plein air competition season is winding down. Soon I’ll be moving out of competition mode and back into painting for myself. It’s been a good year, with several Best of Show awards along the way. I’m grateful for that, but I’m also ready for a change of pace. Paint Parkville is a five-day event…
Artist Journal: Pause To Take Another Look
A little over a week ago, I found myself wondering if the rain would stop—or at least pause—before the plein air event kicked off in Excelsior Springs the following day. It had been raining on and off, and the air was considerably cooler than it had been earlier in the month. During one of the…
October Studio Sale!
Every once in a while, I end up with a stack of studies that don’t quite fit anywhere. Some are developmental studies I made while working through ideas for a larger or more refined painting. Others are plein air studies created for quick painting submissions. Most have never been offered for sale. Normally, these would…
Artist Journal: Friday Night in the Big Town
The heat has finally broken, I think. I hope. I am so relieved to see a forecast showing lows in the 50s and highs in the 70s. 95 to 100 degree days have nearly broken me. And that doesn’t even acknowledge the flippin’ humidity. It’s one thing to be hot; it’s another thing entirely to…
Artist Journal: For Pete’s Sake, Why Gouache?
I’ve started and restarted this journal entry several times. I’m still not entirely sure what I’m trying to say. Maybe the problem is the subject. Why gouache? More specifically, why would anyone choose to paint outdoors with this stuff? Gouache has some maddening habits. The colors dry to a value that isn’t always what I…
Packed Paint Box, Unpacked Suitcase
One of the occupational hazards of having a studio cat is that sooner or later every available work surface becomes a cat bed. Smalls has recently decided that the paper cutter is hers. She can sleep there for hours, completely unconcerned with the fact that I actually need the thing. Yogi— “Momma Cat”—usually sleeps in…
Artist Journal: Fewer Choices
Three fairly large paintings hang in my living room. I painted them more than twenty-five years ago. Every once in a while I stop and look at them. Recently I noticed something I’d never really thought about before: I’m still using many of the same pigments today that I used when I painted those three…
Artist Journal: Going Big in Marceline
Gouache and I have an understanding. I keep things small, and gouache behaves itself. Gouache doesn’t really lend itself to large-format plein air painting, at least not for me. It dries quickly on the mixing surface. I’ll mix up a big, juicy puddle of color, put down one nice stroke, and by the time I’m…
Quiet Backroads
I’m out for a walk at six o’clock in the morning. It’s already humid and heading toward hot, so an early start is pretty much a necessity. In the fading darkness, a phrase pops into my head, unbidden: “land and sky.” Well, maybe it isn’t entirely unbidden. Dawn is coming on, and the trees are…
More Alike Than Different
Although I paint primarily in gouache, I’ve been enjoying working in oils again this summer. Looking at these two paintings side by side reminds me that the medium isn’t just a technical choice, but it does influence what I choose to emphasize. The oil painting is built around value rather than color. Using just four…
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