Concept to Completed

Many painters go through a relatively extended process of observation, study or studies, preliminary sketching, and eventually completion of a finished painting. For me, that kind of work up to a completed oil painting would be ideal, and sometimes I even do it that way. Many times though the final painting seems to leap off my brushes and onto the canvas. 

When I do go through studies and sketches many don't get saved, but here's a painting of a Des Moines landmark that went through several stages.

"Des Moines Pagoda," ink and marker, 2016

This small ink study is the result of several visits to an Asian pavilion that was constructed on the east bank of the Des Moines river about 15 years ago as a commemoration of a former governor and his humanitarian efforts on behalf of Asian refugees. The building is in the traditional style of Asia, with a deep red structure and a multicolored roof with upturned corners. To me it was a bewildering cacophony of forms and shapes that I wanted to master. 

"Study for Landmark," oil on panel, 2020

It took about four years before I was able to return to the subject, but as a beginning I made a 12x9 plein air oil study, from the south side of the building, trying hard to capture shapes and colors without much regard to detail. Even though I omitted much detail, the on site work was invaluable when I did the finished work, below. 

Still not satisfied with a first plein air work I returned a few days later to work from the opposite side and refine some of my ideas. That work was larger and I posted it here about two years ago. I considered it a success in itself but wanted to do something more descriptive of the pavilion.

 In total, besides graphite sketches now discarded I did at least four or five rendering of this complicated subject before feeling satisfied.

 

 

 

"Landmark," oil on panel, 14x11

"Landmark" is still not a very large work at 14x11but the size is appropriate to the amount of detail intended. My interest was in the roofline with its various devices for luck and to propitiate the heavens with the sculptural effects of clouds and foliage. But it was important to have the colors right and the tiles of the roofline.

Eternal City

Because of the pandemic and other considerations, it has been a number of years since we visited anyplace outside the United States. It would be lovely to revisit favorite places, countries and cities that we've loved, but time is fleeting. In the meantime, looking at works from years past can be engaging. 

"Eternal City," oil on panel, 2010 (private collection)

 

"Eternal City" is a good example of memory in oil paint. This particular work is partly based on a melange of reference photos of Rome. My memories of the city and its life is embedded in this one.

Five Years Back

Around five years ago one of my daily pursuits in the studio became a small watercolor of one kind or another. This particular watercolor is a view of Druid Hill Creek from the north window of my home studio. It's nearly five years to the day since that view, but this year there's little snow because the five inches that fell last Thursday has all melted away. 

2-19-2018, Druid Hill Creek, wc on paper

 

Probably Just Me

Public discourse these days seems more like a cacophony of shouts in a room of deaf people. We have deeply-felt opinions and grievances and we bellow our anger and pain. We don't hear the pain of others. Or so it seems to me...

Part of my daily artwork is a digital drawing or two, most days (Daily Digitalia is my blog of those drawings, linked to the right). This head study is actually from 2020.

More Colorado

After about three days on the train from Iowa, devouring the majestic views of the West, we arrived in Seattle a few days back for a family visit. The high plains, Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevada, Cascades, and hundreds of miles of unfamiliar forests--mostly evergreen--and hills are stunning. 

I couldn't resist posting another watercolor sketch of the trip to Washington. We leave for home today, reversing the journey. That is, here to Sacramento on the Coastal Starlight thence to home via the California Zephyr.

"Near Glenwood Canyon," wc and ink on paper.

On the Train

Since arriving here in Seattle I've had an opportunity to work on a few watercolor sketches in followup. These are based on my observations as we rattled along plus snapshots. The train isn't a high-speed vehicle and can only make a maximum speed of 70 mph or so, but almost never achieves top speed owing to factors like track geometry (which can be problematic when rounding a curve at high speed) as well as the basic condition of American tracks. So at lower speeds you have considerably more opportunity to take useable photos and make notes as well. 

This watercolor is a view of of Glenwood Canyon, which provides part of the route for the California Zephyr and Interstate Highway 70. The canyon is geologically new sandstone formations that were cut by the Colorado River, which runs alongside the tracks. The walls of the canyon soar as high as 1300 feet above the river and huddle close in the narrow valley. The banks of the river are covered in cottonwoods and other trees but the rest of the landscape is arid, rocky and sandy The colors are remarkable, even in a dry and cold winter environment.

We will be in Seattle for a few more days so I'll post more as the days pass.

The California Zephyr

For the past few days we've been aboard an Amtrak train bound for Seattle. We boarded The California Zephyr, which originates in Chicago, here in central Iowa. The Zephyr is one of Amtrak's premier routes because it passes through the Rocky Mountains, providing stunning scenery as you climb to the heights. Besides the mountains there are something like thirty tunnels to traverse, including one that's more than six miles long and takes ten minutes (Moffatt Tunnel). Not only do you visit the high Rockies but you also travel along the Colorado River and into Glenwood Canyon, with its deep red sandstone bluffs. The train stops in Salt Lake City, Reno and other places out west before reaching the Sacramento area. The line is the longest route on the Amtrak system (nearly 2500 miles) and is an amalgam of the original California Zephyr and two other lines predating the current system.  

From Sacramento we took the Coastal Starlight which reaches Seattle via Portland. The Starlight is very like the Zephyr, with bedroom and roomette sleepers. The trip north through the coastal mountains through Oregon and southern Washington, country I had never seen. The best thing about train travel is the chance to settle in and watch the beauty of the land as it seemingly passes by the window. It's so different from air travel--unhurried, more quiet, less crowded. You could say it's more grounded. 

We had a great trip. Next week we'll reverse the journey.  

Winter Sketching Outdoors

For me, most winter days mandate studio time, not outdoor work. The skies are often low, as are the frigid temperatures, along with wind and all manner of precipitation. But once in a while the skies are bright and the temperatures high enough to venture outside. Last month, for the first time in several weeks I managed a Saturday afternoon with the sketch group. In the end I did my sketching from the front seat of my car because even though the weather outside seemed welcoming the cold was distracting and the warm kept the car cozy. The little red building is a pump house in Waterworks Park, the giant city park not far from my home studio. The second sketch shows the Raccoon River bend I've sketched and painted many times, not far away. Each of these is watercolor and ink in a 3.5x7.5 pocket sketchbook.

If you haven't read about the group before, follow this link to a post about us that went up a bit over a year ago. Basically the group has a fluid makeup of professionals, dedicated amateurs and interested others who go out together to sketch and paint every Saturday afternoon. Incredibly, the group has continued and evolved since its origins in 1947.