Allies for a Season

(click to enlarge photos)

Allies for a Season
acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas
24" x 36" x 1.5"
Available for purchase at Carnation Corners, Carnation, WA

I came down with a head cold this week and fell behind on my painting. Nonetheless, I managed to produce this wintry painting, which definitely fit my under-the-weather mood. :)

The pigments have been mixed with incandescent pearl paint, and I laid the colors on layer by layer. A soft purple/magenta shows through the blue layers, but this unfortunately doesn't show up so well in the photographs.

The snow whispers about me,And my wooden clogsLeave holes behind me in the snow.But no one will pass this waySeeking my footsteps,And when the temple bell rings againThey will be covered and gone. -Amy Lowell, "Falling Snow"

Grazing - SOLD

Grazing I & Grazing II

acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas

8" x 8" x 1.5"

sold

I bought some crackle paste awhile ago and finally decided to try it out. I combined it with a light molding paste so that the centers of the canvases wouldn't be as crackly.

These two can be hung individually or as a pair. Grazing I has more of a reddish tint to it, and Grazing II has a lighter tan tint.

I will leave in the hills a bit of myself--
The heat of my eyes which saw them bloom;
And cicadas, nesting on thorny branches,
Will sing out the shrill cry of my desire.
-Anna de Noailles, from "The Imprint"

The Great Gray Ghost

The Great Gray Ghost

acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas

14" x 11" x 1.5"

Available for purchase at Carnation Corners, Carnation, WA

The weather has thankfully returned to normal after being above 90 for far too long...so it's finally a tolerable temperature in my studio again, and I'm getting caught up on painting. This particular piece is a departure from my usual four-legged subjects...I just had to paint that beautiful eye! That striking yellow-orange color is the actual hue of the owl's eye - I based the whole color scheme of the painting around it, accordingly. Iridescent gold paint is mixed in with the pigments.

The sea, the stars, the winds, the trees,
The stream, the waterfall, the dell,
The bird, the flowers, the meadow-bell--
I felt that all of these

Were but the symbols of a soul
Alive with hope or memory;
The mind's immortal harmony
That through its chambers stole.

And to the spirit's listening ear,
Whilst slept the limbs and senses all,
Made every thing seem musical;
How could I cease to hear?
-Christopher Pearch Cranch, from "The Music of Nature"

Shy Elk Calf

Shy Elk Calf
acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas
11" x 14"
$365 framed
Available for purchase from Freshwater Studio & Gallery, Dillon, MT

I still had wet paint leftover from some recent paintings, so I decided to keep rolling with the elk theme and produced this little guy. I never realized how knobby an elk calf's knees were until I painted them...

I'm also prepping several larger canvases and waiting for paint to dry, so stay tuned!


April had covered the hills
With flickering yellows and reds,
The sparkle and coolness of snow
Was blown from the mountain beds.
-Amy Lowell, "Azure and Gold"

Awakening

(click to enlarge)

Awakening
acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas
18" x 24" x 1.5"
$775 unframed
Available for purchase from Freshwater Studio & Gallery, Dillon, MT


Here's another elk in dawn light with an entirely different color scheme & mood (as compared to Morning's Call). Iridescent copper paint is mixed in with the pigments to give the piece a more subdued glow.

I've been having a lot of fun trying new directions lately - it's far too easy to box oneself in, so I'm working on experimenting more and forcing myself to let go of the attention to composition in my reference photos. Over the past few months, I've been focusing more on the portraying the form of a subject (I waxed philosophical on that in July) - I'm trying to convey the "elk-iness" of an elk, the "morning-ness" of morning, etc. I have a lot of work to do, but it's an exciting journey:)


How fair it comes, the wonderful hour
When nature from sleep awakes,
And over the face of the earth at last
A newborn gladness breaks!
The stars grow pale in the shadowy sky,
And over the mountains creep
The mists that are part of the waking world,
And part of the earth's sweet sleep.
The restless birds in the tree-tops high
Are shaking their wings at last,
And chirp, and twitter their songs of praise,
As the dawn comes on so fast.
But who can tell of the wondrous charm,
When over the distant hills
The day's bright king in his glory comes
And the earth with radiance fills?
Now scatter, ye mists, from the mountain-side,
And die in the sky's soft blue;
For the dawn has passed, and the day is here,
With its light and joy so true.

-Mary Dowe Brine, "The Awakening"

Freshwater Studio & Gallery

I was able to make a quick trip to Dillon, MT to visit Freshwater Studio & Gallery and deliver these four paintings. It's a beautiful space that's full of eclectic artwork by some of the most talented artists I've ever seen (LeAnn Boyd's frescoes and AM Stockhill's paintings blew me away). I'm thrilled to have my work hanging there! The owners were kind enough to email me a photo of the temporary hanging arrangement - frames will be arriving for these pieces shortly.

I've also managed to re-design and update my web site (finally!), and my web-editing software fought me every step of the way....but at least it's done.

Morning's Call

Morning's Call

acrylic on canvas

24" x 12"

$625 framed

Available for purchase from Freshwater Studio & Gallery, Dillon, MT

This was my first attempt at painting an elk, and surprisingly enough, I found that the antlers were my favorite part of the process...I had assumed that they'd drive me batty. I mixed more of that lovely iridescent gold paint in with my pigments. I dripped paint from the bottom of the canvas toward the top to vaguely suggest the appearance of a field.

Have you ever heard an elk's bugle, by the way? It's a really surprising sound for such a massive creature to make: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYzWmKlZtrU

into the world of elk...

I just finished this one and snapped a quick photo of it drying on the easel. Freshwater would like some elk paintings, so I thought I'd try my hand at painting an elk giving its famous bugle. I'll have more information on this piece soon - it'll be on its way to the gallery in Dillon shortly.

I'm also revamping my web site, which should be updated sometime next week.

More to come...

I have several paintings in progress that should be posted soon, so keep an eye out for those. I also finally have my web-editing software back on track, which means I can update my neglected web site again.

I'm thrilled to now be featured at the Freshwater Studio & Gallery in Dillon, MT. It's truly an honor - Freshwater has an impressive collection of artists, including one of my favorite contemporary painters: A M Stockhill. I'm so excited to be a part of this amazing group of artists! It will be an inspiring experience.

Freshwater will soon be featuring three of my paintings: Uphill, Summer Relief, and Running Before Time Took Our Dreams Away. Please contact Freshwater if you're interested in purchasing any of these pieces.

Morning Mist

Morning Mist
acrylic on canvas
16" x 20"
$575 unframed
Available for purchase from Freshwater Studio & Gallery, Dillon, MT


I finished this painting up at an Art-a-Thon at the Proctor Farmers Market in Tacoma, WA. We were painting all day at the market to raise money for the food bank. It was a great experience, but the weather was so cold, windy, and drizzly - strange weather for July! Alexis St. John, another artist painting at the market that day, said the buffalo had a very meditative look to him, so I decided to keep going in that direction with the painting.

In other news, I'm temporarily unable to update my web site...I'm having some technical difficulties with my web editing software, but hopefully things will be fixed soon. In the meantime, new work will continue to be posted here.

Harmonious Thoughts

Harmonious Thoughts

acrylic on canvas

20" x 24"

Available for purchase at Revolution Gallery, Issaquah, WA

This is actually a departure from my Montana paintings, although it doesn't look like it. We came upon this sunset in southeastern Washington.

The texture is more subtle in this piece than in my other landscapes, and I used some pearl paint to give it a glow.

"Harmonious thoughts, a soul by truth refined,

Entire affection for all human kind.

...

How pleasant, as the sun declines, to view

The spacious landscape change in form and hue!

Here, vanish, as in mist, before a flood

Of bright obscurity, hill, lawn, and wood;

There, objects, by the searching beams betrayed,

Come forth, and here retire in purple shade..."

-William Wordsworth, "An Evening Walk"