"Forever," oil on panel, 9x12, private collection |
A site for rumblings and ruminations about traditional oil painting, art, aesthetics, and the wider world of art. And for posting examples of my current and past work too. If you have an interest purchasing a work, or want to commission a portrait, or if you just want to talk about art, drop me an email at ghoff1946@gmail.com. All writing and original art on this site is copyright Gary L. Hoff, all rights reserved. All other images are copyright their respective owners.
Friday, August 01, 2025
Forever
Tuesday, July 29, 2025
Saturday Sketch
Last Saturday the sketch group decided to stay in Greenwood Park. There are sculptures and a big rose garden for subject matter, plus a lot of shade and a nice breeze coming up from the river.
I sat on a bench and sketched the view to the northwest of the rose garden pavilions. One of three stone cairns built by the British artist Andy Goldsworthy complemented the Pei Building (background).
Beautiful day in the park.
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"Goldsworthy Behind the Art Center," wc/ink on paper |
Friday, July 25, 2025
Taco Loco
Tuesday, July 22, 2025
Coastal Study
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"On the Shore, (study)" oil on panel, 6x8 |
Friday, July 18, 2025
Last Weekend
Last Saturday the sketch group (mostly) agreed to visit a marina that's very near downtown Des Moines. Situated along the Des Moines River and probably around a mile or two from the center of the city, Birdland Marina is home to river boating and also features a bicycle trail that extends much farther north, to Saylorvill Reservoir, more than ten miles away.
We each picked a spot near the river, in my case at a bar and grill next to the marina. Cyclists and boaters congregate at Captain Roy's, which lies on the river bank and next the the bike trail. I sat in the shade of giant cottonwoods and sketched the scene.
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"Captain Roy's," wc on paper, 8x10 |
Tuesday, July 15, 2025
Harbor Steps
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"Harbor Steps," wc/ink on paper |
Now, the area at the bottom has been developed into an attractive tourist spot, with older piers becoming stores and restaurants. The steps connect to the downtown above (there are elevators too) and are actually part of a mixed-use development of shops, condos and public space. I sketched the steps rising into a man-made canyon, flanked by contemporary architecture, and footed by older buildings.
Friday, July 11, 2025
Seattle Sketches
We've just returned a day or two ago from a week in Seattle, visiting with family. It's been a few years since our last visit, and this one included Puget Sound local relatives as well as a contingent from Florida. An outing sailing on the Sound led us to Edmonds, Washington, a few miles north, an attractive town centered on art of all kinds, and sailing. They even have a plein air sketch group like mine. Along the Edmonds marina is a boat launching facility I ran across. I drew it quickly in my pocket sketchbook, then painted and inked it the next morning.
"Prepping for launch, Edmonds," wc/ink on paper |
The next day we visited the famous Pike Place Market, once a bustling market for fish and produce, now more an incredibly crowded tourist spot. While other family members shopped and walked, I chose a public lookout spot with a view of Puget Sound and the opposite shore, including a new, enormous Ferris wheel. As with my sketch from the day before, I finished this one after arriving at our home base there, aided by a snapshot.
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"From Pike Place Market," wc/ink on paper |
Tuesday, July 08, 2025
Tabasco
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"Tabasco," oil on panel, 8x6, private collection |
This was one of a series of small still life paintings, usually finished in a single session. Doing a small, quick work forced me to be precise, careful with placement of strokes, and judicious about color.
Friday, July 04, 2025
Independence Day
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"George Washington (after JCL)," oil on panel |
In these troubled times it is good to remember men of valor, conviction, political and social wisdom.
Tuesday, July 01, 2025
Uncle Sam
Unlike many, my favorite concept of Uncle Sam isn't the famous one from a World War I recruiting poster ("I Want You," by James Montgomery Flagg, a renowned illustrator at the time.
Instead, I prefer the squinty-eyed, determined Sam painted later on by J.C. Leyendecker,. That Sam, whose facial features owe a great deal to Flagg is more reassuring to me. Instead of looking us in the eye he's watching something in the distance--perhaps gathering war clouds?
I made this 20x16 portrait of Uncle Sam from a Leyendecker July 4 magazine cover.dating to 1936 "Uncle Sam at the Helm," which shows him steering the ship of state. I was mostly interested in the face.
Friday, June 27, 2025
A Decade Back
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"Omaha Summer Arts Festival," wc/ink in 5x8 sketchbook |
This small watercolor dates from ten years ago, made during an art festival in Omaha, Nebraska. The site has been completely changed over that time, according to news reports, so this scene can't be repeated.
Tuesday, June 24, 2025
Saturday's Sketch
"Big Walnut," wc/ink, 12x5 |
This little watercolor was the result for me. One of our group took a folding chair and sketched under a giant black walnut tree. I was interested in the tree and its bark, so I sat in even deeper shade and did this one. As I usually do, I made a preliminary sketch in pencil and then painted the image with watercolor. One of the things about many watercolors one sees is how washed-out the darker values can be, so I worked hard to make my dark greens rich and believable and the tree bark varied from very dark to quite light. My initial plan was to use only paint, but after the watercolor was dry it seemed to need something, so I added grooves and ridges to the bark with ink.
Friday, June 20, 2025
After Goya
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"Senorita Sabasa Garcia (after Goya)," oil on gesso panel, 24x18 |
Like many artists, I have learned my craft in many ways, not the least copying paintings by masters of the past. In my formative years I made copies of works by Picasso, Velazquez, Monet, Hopper, and certainly not least Francisco Goya. Manet was an enormous fan of Goya's work, as many of his successors have been. The above is my copy of a Goya portrait of about 1806, which I painted maybe twenty years ago or more. .
Francisco Goya (1746-1828) was one of the painters I enjoyed learning about in college, but I had never seen one until my first encounter during a first visit to Museo del Prado in Madrid. The Prado (as it's commonly called) is the repository of the Spanish Royal Collection from centuries past as well as other masters and more recent additions. When I visited in the 1970s, unlike today, it was quiet and less crowded but there were still plenty of college kids on their backpack tours of Europe. Hippies or their look-alikes were omnipresent on the grounds, under the plane trees. I was in Madrid owing to military assignment and had taken an hour or two to investigate the Prado. Then as now, the Prado ranks in the top 5 or 10 art museums in the world, along with the Met, the Louvre, the Orsay, and others depending on your taste.
I knew that the Prado has an enormous collection of works by the two particular Spanish masters everyone knows--Francisco Goya and Diego Velazquez. If you're interested in either of those two, the Prado should pull you in. But the museum also has important works by Durer, van Eyck, Titian, Bosch, and Rubens to name a few. Anyway, during that visit I found myself stopped, awestruck, several times, notably by "Descent from the Cross," by van Eyck (ca 1435), an astonishing former altarpiece (but that story is for another time). Goya was my interest that day, primarily because I had yet to meet Velazquez face to face, but I had known of Goya since adolescence.In one gallery, facing each other I found what are arguably Goya's most famous works, "La Maja Desnuda," (below) and "La Maja Vestida" (that is "The Nude Maja" and the "Clothed Maja,") each a portrait of the same sitter and supposedly commissioned by a wealthy patron. Scandalous in its day, the nude was at first hidden from view but later discovered by the Inquisition, which prompted Goya being interviewed by them.. He somehow escaped prosecution by the Church, but the painting was hidden away for at least twenty years. It was astonishing work, the sitter challenging us directly, her exquisite skin tones and anatomy equally masterful. I was enraptured by both works.
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Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, "La Maja Desnuda," oil on canvas, ca 1795-1800 |
My copy is slightly smaller than the original, but the colors, especially skin tones, are comparable to the original. To make this copy I gridded a blown-up image and transferred it to my panel, then made a charcoal drawing. After fixing the drawing I painted the portrait directly, in several sessions, working carefully to match value, color and other details.
As a copy, this has never been shown or offered for sale. I happened onto it in storage a few days ago.
Tuesday, June 17, 2025
Last Saturday
Unlike my usual Saturday sketching jaunt, last weekend the group was invited to a country place around 20 miles from the city. Although Iowa is renowned for being flat, it really isn't. Instead the land rolls and tilts, leaving small glens and ancient watercourses, especially in the southern counties. The acreage where I painted is one such piece of land. It slopes north from a gravel road, down to a small pond flanked by woods and a bright meadow. The house is a wooden geodesic dome under vast mature trees. The quiet is almost palpable, with the exception of bird song.
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"Emily's Place," oil on panel, 11x14 |
Friday, June 13, 2025
Garden Lantern
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"Garden Lantern," oil on hardboard, 14x11 |
Tuesday, June 10, 2025
City Wildflowers
Friday, June 06, 2025
Sherman Hill
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"On Sherman Hill," oil on linen panel, 16x12 |
Here, the autumn colors and slanting light were my primary interest. The area is well-named, hilly and filled with mature trees. This particular studio painting is a result of many watercolor studies and reference photos.
Tuesday, June 03, 2025
The Red Umbrella
Friday, May 30, 2025
The Patriot
Thursday, May 29, 2025
Courtyard
Tuesday, May 27, 2025
At the Fairgrounds
Friday, May 23, 2025
Along Druid Hill Creek
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"The Creek," wc on paper, 3.5x11 |
This is the final page of a sketchbook I've kept for a couple of years, documenting my view of the creek from the north window of my studio at home.
A small book of sketches of the same subject becomes a different sort of art--a visual journal. Here, at the end of April, I did a watercolor on both pages, making it very tall and narrow. The greening trees in the distance are set off by the tree and its spread of branches. And the creek is a dark smudge below the leafing honeysuckle. Spring at the highest levels.
I've posted this one almost life size, to give the viewer an idea of the actual sketch.
Tuesday, May 20, 2025
Three Retirees
Friday, May 16, 2025
Study to Partial Finish
A decade or so ago I did a series of studies of railroad subjects,
intended to celebrate the history of railroading in southwestern
Virginia. The small graphite and ink sketch to the right is an initial idea for a poster,
incorporating the mountainous terrain, an old switch tower and an
approaching train. The poster was intended for a historical society in
Clifton Forge, Virginia.
After several iterations and sketches using traditional materials, I decided on the layout below, then colored it digitally to explore the final effect before completing the painting for printing. Not long after that the agreement fell through and the painting was never made.
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Tuesday, May 13, 2025
Racing
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"Racing," casein on panel, |
Friday, May 09, 2025
Cubist Self
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"Cubist Self,"charcoal on paper |
In this image you can see two noses, two mouths and mustaches, and only two eyes.
Tuesday, May 06, 2025
Saturday
As the season advances and so many flowers burst into bloom, the sketch group has spent much of our time doing landscape sketching. But last Saturday we spent the afternoon in a local neighborhood with a number of houses dating to more than a century ago. Many have been restored or rehabbed and painted in Victorian color schemes. Many have a tower or turret or other sorts of architectural gingerbread, making them interesting for their own sake.
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"19th & Pleasant (Sherman Hill)," wc/ink on paper, 8x10 |
Friday, May 02, 2025
Cascade
This small landscape was done in the studio, from reference materials. It's an oil on panel of a spring bubbling and tumbling over worn rocks, somewhere mountainous. The challenge with this was finding ways to show the immense variety of water--transparent, reflective, many-colored and a lot more. To give it motion and substance was on my mind, too.
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"Cascade," oil on panel, 9x12 |
Tuesday, April 29, 2025
Last Saturday
This time of year, with the riot of flowering trees lighting up a significant part of the Waterworks arboretum,. the sketch group goes there every weekend. Last Saturday was delightful, warm and sunny, and I chose to sketch an old gazebo at the southern end of the flowering grove. The gazebo is tucked into a less-trafficked corner, shaded by old trees.
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"The Gazebo," wc/ink on paper, 8x10 |
I sat on a bench nearby and sketched the scene before me.
Friday, April 25, 2025
Bottle
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"Bottle," oil on panel, 6x8 |
This small still life was part of a much larger group of works done about fifteen years ago. My intent was to simplify by limiting the palette while observing the subject minutely. That is, there are tiny reflections, color shifts, value changes that describe contours and edges, and a lot more to observe in this simple setup.
For me, this kind of deliberate simplification is a useful way to advance the skill of seeing.
Tuesday, April 22, 2025
Exploding Flowers
This time of year, rain and a bit of warmth come along and bam! all of the flowering trees in town burst into bloom. In Waterworks Park there is an arboretum that's been planted with flowering trees--crabapple, plum, etc--mostly in shades of red and pink but also some beautiful whites and others. It's in full flower now, and the park is crowded with folks strolling, snapping pictures, and (in our case) sketching.
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"Arboretum View," wc/ink on paper, 8x10 |
Friday, April 18, 2025
On the Raccoon
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"Early Spring on the Raccoon," wc/ink on paper, 8x10 |
Tuesday, April 15, 2025
Life Portrait
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"Portrait of Hugh," oil on panel |
This portrait is from a workshop maybe two decades ago. I was give a head-on position and good if diffuse lighting. The image is a result of about twelve hours of work over four or five life sessions.
This one hasn't been shown before.
Friday, April 11, 2025
The Courtyard
Last week some of the sketch group ventured into the Des Moines Art Center galleries to sketch. In the museum (as it is in many) you can only use graphite and paper--no paint, markers, etc. However, the courtyard in the middle of the galleries, accessed from the front lobby, is not restricted. So I sat outside in the sun and sketched the confluence of the three buildings that comprise the Art Center.
"In the Courtyard," wc/ink on paper |
Tuesday, April 08, 2025
Spring Sale
This painting sold last Thursday in the Salmagundi Members Spring Auction, an annual event limited to fellow members of the Salmagundi Club, in Manhattan. Numbering about 1200 members worldwide, the Club is one of the oldest art clubs in the United States, founded in the 1870s.
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"Wading," oil on panel, 9x12 |
Friday, April 04, 2025
Here Comes the Sun
"Early Spring, Druid Hill Creek, wc/ink on paper |
Along Druid Hill Creek, there is a haze of spring green that seems to hove about two feet above the ground. If you look close, before long that spring haze becomes honeysuckle undergrowth, a harbinger of even more leaves. Before long, redbuds will light up the woods.
I did this sketch of "my" creek from my studio window. Druid Hill Creek flows north from here into Grays Lake. I use this little sketchbook as a visual journal to record the days and seasons as they change. This little book dates back into 2024 and is a useful record.
Tuesday, April 01, 2025
Saturday
"The Underpass," wc/ink on paper |
Last Saturday the sketch group actually worked outdoors without caps, gloves and mufflers. I sat outside on the eastern edge of Waterworks Park and did an 8x10 watercolor of the bike/pedestrian underpass that connects the park with Grays Lake, passing under a major thoroughfare.
Friday, March 28, 2025
Evergreen Study
Tuesday, March 25, 2025
Ray Drive
A highly esteemed former Governor of our state passed on a while back. Unlike politicians today, Robert Ray, a Republican, was a consummate gentleman and a compassionate governor. During the days after the conflict in Southeast Asia, he championed welcoming refugees to our state. A street along the Des Moines River is named for Governor Ray.
A part of our sketch group went to Robert Ray Drive last Saturday, scattering along the street. My effort shows downtown Des Moines from the east side. Watercolor and ink in a small sketchbook,Friday, March 21, 2025
Shadowed Figure
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"Hey Mister," oil on panel, private collection |
Some years ago I did art festivals around the midwest, particularly
in Iowa. A number ot times, as the show was closing, someone stopped
into my booth to make a last-minute purchase. This painting was one of
those. The collector told me he'd had his eye on this particular work
during the whole show and had decided he really wanted it. I was
delighted, and so was he.
A few years ago, he and his wife
stopped into my booth during a local festival. She said this is her
favorite painting, so much so she actually carries a photo of it in her
purse.
Tuesday, March 18, 2025
Mt. Rainier
Friday, March 14, 2025
On the Ferry
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"On the Ferry," oil on panel, 8x5, private collection |
Tuesday, March 11, 2025
Two Years Ago
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"On the Bank," wc/ink on paper, about 8x10 |
Overall, seems to me, the days are warmer than they were a few years back. But only a bit, not enough to alter the look of the March landscape. Two years ago the land was still a study in dull color. The overall look was warmer--brighter trees, grasses and so on--and so the look is today. No obvious greens yet, but some beautiful ochres.
Friday, March 07, 2025
Early Spring
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"The Other Bank," oil on panel |
Tuesday, March 04, 2025
Faint Hints of Spring
This time of year, as the light shifts and temperatures warm, little hints of the coming season of renewal and growth become noticeable. You see faint reds on bare branches that suggest swelling flower buds, or here and there a sprig of green peeps over old, yellowed grasses. The air even looks a bit different, even if snow still clings in the darkest shadows.
Our sketch group was out again last Saturday. I went to the bank of the Raccoon River in Waterworks Park. The river is flowing low and slow, sand bars and banks mostly shades of grey. The water is dark in the shade, where banks are dotted with ravelings of snow. It was a bit chilly to sketch outdoors, so I sat in my car and sketched a bend of the river.
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"Last Snow, Raccoon River," wc/ink on paper |
Friday, February 28, 2025
Salmagundi Spring Auction
Juat got word that this new oil will be part of the Salmagundi Club Members Auctions this spring. The club. The works for sale will be on view at the club (47 5th Ave, NYC) March 18-April 4, with auctions in person and online March 27 and April 3.
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"Wading," oil on panel, 9x12 |
Before bidding you'll be able to review the whole show and place bids online at salmagundi.org.
https://salmagundi.org/2025-scny-spring-auctions/