State Fair Time

The Iowa State Fair is back. It began August 8 and runs through August 18 and includes all of the favorite sights and events people are accustomed to. This year's butter cow is accompanied by a life size butter sculpture of the famous Iowa basketball player, Caitlin Clark. Big crowds are likely. The pandemic was a setback a few years ago but now (despite the continuance of covid) it's a lot like old times. 

This year I painted outdoors at the fair, participating in the plein air painting event, and chose Pioneer Hall and it's cupola as my subject. This is the oldest building on the fairgrounds, dating to the 1880s. It houses "old time" events like the fiddler's contest, a functioning blacksmith, a letterpress, and antique shows. Below is my outdoor oil from that event, made from a slightly different angle. I omitted the skyride cupolas.. 

"Pioneer Hall, Morning," oil on panel, 12x9

 

Fountain

"Private Garden," wc/ink

This ornate fountain, gurgling happily, sets in a beautiful private garden on Sherman Hill, a 19th century enclave of great houses and mansions. The Saturday group has sketched there several times over the past several years, thanks to the welcoming owner.

 

Downtown Sketch

"View of the City," wc/ink on paper

 A partial view of downtown Des Moines, done in the Better Homes Demonstration Garden, a few weeks ago.

Down on the River

This is a watercolor and ink sketch of the opposite bank of the Virginia river where we spent a week not long ago. It's a peaceful, beautiful part of the world where we visit friends once a year. The enormous old trees line the banks.

Sax Study

This close-up of a saxophone--keys, valves and so on--looks remarkably like a charcoal rendering with white chalk accents and highlights. In reality it's a digital drawing, done from a personal reference using a Wacom tablet.

Along the Bluff in Shows

This painting was finished late last winter and posted here in early spring. It's one of the largest oils I've done. It began as studies of the Middle Raccoon River as it flows through the Whiterock Conservancy, a land conservancy an hour or so west of here. 

"Along the Bluff," oil on canvas, 18x36

With the advent of online exhibitions during and after the pandemic, a lot of organizations hold annual shows. This painting has been in two online shows this year. One is the American Artist Professional League Spring Members Online Show. The AAPL is a professional art association dedicated to preserving realism. The other show that includes the above painting is the National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society Associate Member Online Exhibition. Each of these is open only to members.

Light and Shapes

"Winter Light," oil on panel, 8x10

This oil is a study of various bottles and cans on my studio work table. Sometimes, when no subject comes to mind, it's useful to simply choose a subject and start, regardless. That's what happened with this one. Winter light was slanting into the studio that afternoon,turing things yellow-gold.  A small bottle of turpentine, in the middle foreground, looked as if it contained bottled gold.

A Sunny Saturday

A few weeks back the Saturday group sketched in Valley Junction, an old railroad downtown. This building is just across a busy street from a former Rock Island Railroad maintenance depot. The architecture has a flavor of railroads; next door is an old depot. 

"Valley Junction," wc/ink on paper

The day was bright and sunny, as you can see from the high key of the painting. I ran out of time or would have painted the upper left tree as well.

Raccoon Rocks

"Rocks on the Racoon River," casein on panel, 12x16

Although most of my studio output is oil paintings, once in a while another medium will get my attention. This is an example, a casein painting of the Raccoon River. The river passes through Des Moines and provides drinking water for the city. It flows from northwest Iowa and is usually dark with silt. Once in a while it runs nearly clear, as in this image. On the day I studied the river and shot reference photos you could actually see the rocky bottom.

 

Saturday Church

"Church," wc/ink

Last Saturday the sketch group made its usual foray into the city to draw and paint. This church is near the spot where we gather and had lavish beds of daylilies in full flower. I chose to concentrate on the bell tower and the challenging shapes. Natural forms make a nice contrast with human-built ones.
 

The Bench

"The Bench," oil on panel, 11x14

The Iowa Exhibited 2024 show is currently on view at the Heritage Gallery, here in Des Moines. Like many of my landscapes, this began as a small, quick watercolor sketch. The setting is the Better Homes and Gardens Demonstration Garden. It's open two hours a week in summer, and I've gotten into the habit of going there often to reflect, sketch, and refresh my senses. 

This one is on my website, www.garyhoff.com, posted in the Urban Landscapes section.

Plein Air Resurfaces

"Across the Creek," oil on panel, 9x12

As has happened a number of times in the past, an old work came to light this week. This was a plein air work done on the creek bank behind my studio. It was about 9x12 but that's unclear because the actual work has gone missing. If you look closely, you can see my signature initials scratched into the wet paint in the lower right corner, an indication that the work was completely finished outdoors.
 

Greenwood Park

One of the great things about our city is the number of public parks. There are more than seventy, plus golf courses, swimming pools, and more.  Greenwood Park, the first city park (so designated in 1894) features rolling land, a lagoon, mature woodland, and more. The Des Moines Art Center was built in the mid-20th century, along Grand Avenue. Our sketch group meets in one of the parking lots every Saturday, then sets off. Many times we stay in the park. 

"Greenwood Park," wc/ink, 8x10

This is a watercolor from last Saturday of some of the woods south of the Art Center, at the edge of the Rose Garden. This is such a popular spot that every time we go there to draw there's a private photo session in progress--weddings, quinceaneras, birthdays, and so on. 

Daibutsu

One of my favorite old world sculptures is the Great Buddha in Kamakura, Japan. This massive statue is enormous at nearly 45 feet tall, hollow inside, and dates to the mid-13th century. Although I haven't seen the work in person, I've studied it for decades and have a desk top reproduction near this computer. The feeling from it is serenity, peace, quietude, wisdom, and love. 

"The Great Buddha," digital

This image is a digital drawing of the head of the Great Buddha.

Downtown Garden

"Toward Downtown," wc/ink

One of my special places in Des Moines is the Better Homes and Gardens Demonstration Garden downtown, It's only open to the public a couple of hours per week because it's used by the magazine for all sorts of purposes and space is limited. But on Friday it's fun to take a lunch and visit the gardens for their constant beauty and surprises.

Bristlecone

Digital drawing has been one of my side interests. You can see those digitalia on my other blog Daily Digitalia, where I post a digital drawing every other day. Most of those digital postings emulate the type of drawings done by past masters. But I also make full color digital paintings once in a while, to practice the computer programs I have. 

"Bristlecone," digital painting

This is a digital painting of a gnarled, ancient pine tree, executed with Sketchbook, a computer drawing and painting program.

Snack

"Bedtime Snack," oil on panel, 6x8

For a few days I've been reviewing old still life paintings and studies while considering new work. This one came up, but I can't remember where it is--sold, lost, or otherwise.

Like many painters, I sometimes lose track of works from the past. Here's another still life from a long while back, when the genre occupied much of my time. My file says this was one of a series of small studies I did to work on color. Although many think milk is white, it's actually a high-value dull yellow. This sketch probably took no more than ninety minutes, painted alla prima. Alas, current location is unknown.  

Olives and Squeeze

Although still life is still an interest of mine, I haven't done much in the genre for a couple of years. Plein air work has taken most of my time, providing great satisfaction, a deeper connection to the world outside, and a wider range of friends, patrons and artists. But still life continues to beckon. 

"Olives and Squeeze (study)," oil on panel, 8x10

This is a study I did before the outdoors began to occupy so much of my time. This is only a study, done to observe the ways that clear glass, semi-opaque plastic, and light interact. The two dissimilar subjects weren't chosen for any reason besides being handy and filling the bill of my intended study. The blue drop cloth was another handy item.

Saturday Roses

"Rose Garden Turtle," wc/ink on paper, 8x10

Last Saturday a number of the sketch group spent some time in Greenwood Park, the big park that is home to the Des Moines Art Center and also an extensive rose garden, currently in full bloom. The roses are riotous, mostly reds and pinks. The reds range from bright, clear reds to darker, more sanguine blooms. It was fun to sketch the masses of color.

Salt and Pepper Sauce

"Salt and Pepper Sauce," oil on panel, 8x10

A couple of decades ago still life painting was still an exploration for me. For this painting I used a commercial napkin holder, a restaurant grade salt shake and a small bottle of famous hot sauce. The interest for me was to study the shapes, reflections, and shadows. This disappeared into a private collection about twenty years ago. I still like it.

Rooflines

One of the historical areas of Des Moines is Sherman Hill, a rising area of terrain northwest of downtown that was settled in the late 19th century by the well-to-do after Hoyt Sherman (a brother of the famous Civil War general) built his mansion there in 1877. Later on, as Hoyt Sherman Place it became the home of the Des Moines Women's Club, a theatre and an annual art exhibition. 

"Sherman Hill Rooflines," wc/ink on paper

These rooflines are on houses directly behind the theater that occupies the eastern end of the building. It was a lovely, sunny day and I spent considerable time drawing these complicated shapes. Although probably built over a century ago, these houses aren't so ramshackle as they look in this sketch.

A Final Frigid Umbrella

"Union Square, Winter," oil on panel, 12x9, private collection

Like previously posted paintings involving umbrellas, this one is in a private collection. But unlike the others this painting is a winter scene. It's actually Union Square in Manhattan, during a snowstorm. In this one my goal was to give viewers the essence of the scene, suggesting buildings and lights dimly visible through the driving snow. Making the wall more detailed and explicit helps the illusion. Further, it's difficult to say which direction the figure is moving--either ducking into the wind or strolling with the wind behind.

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Other Umbrellas Posted:

Red Umbrella 

Pink Umbrella

Dark Umbrella

Saturday Sketch

The warm weather has made Saturday sketching considerably easier. Not long ago another edition of the group spent time in an older, upscale neighborhood drawing and painting. I chose this house, which looks like it was designed in the 1930s. 

Umbrella Number 3

"On the Ferry," oil on panel, 6x8, private collection

This painting is a very small work that was done as a study. My original intent was to make a much larger work but as things go that intent wasn't fulfilled. Still, this little work sold long ago. It's another example of how popular umbrellas have been, in my works at least.
 

Evergreen Sunrise

"Sunrise in Redmond," wc/ink on paper,

When I'm traveling, one of my habits is to take along watercolor materials. I send postcards home from various locales (often with foreign postmarks) that show friends and family what we're up to. And I often keep a pocket sketchbook for notations of what I see. 

This little watercolor was done at dawn in Redmond, Washington. The sun was just below the horizon when I began. As always this started as a small graphite sketch to which I added watercolor, then accentuated with waterproof ink.
 

Another Umbrella

"The Pink Umbrella," oil on panel, 8x10, private collection

Another painting involving an umbrella, also sold long ago. This one is a rainy day seen from above, from a very modified photo reference.

Saturday

When the weather is blustery or snowy the sketch group still goes out to draw but most do it from their cars. Now that the season has finally turned here in Iowa we've been more and more able to work completely outside. Last weekend was a good example--sunny, moderately warm, and not too windy. We went to Grays Lake where the trees are in full leaf and there's a good view of downtown. 

'From Grays Lake," wc/ink on paper

The Red Umbrella

"The Red Umbrella," oil on panel, 6x8, private collection

One of the genres of painting that interests me is figurative works, but not figure studies so much as figures in the streets. For a number of years, figurative pieces like The Red Umbrella often featured umbrellas. Umbrellas are often synonymous with rain or blustery weather, but sometimes a decorated umbrella might shade a hot dog stand or another street vendor. In any event, I've been surprised by how popular umbrellas seem to be. This small work was a study for a larger piece that never reached the easel. It's a nocturne of a narrow street in Rome. Light from a shop window throws the figure and her umbrella into view.

Sketchers Outing

Although we're well into May, last Saturday was still cool and a bit raw with grey skies and a sense that winter was trying to return. The Saturday sketchers went out as usual, though, but I stayed in my car to make a small water color of a venerable performance venue here in Des Moines, Hoyt Sherman Place. It's the former home of a brother of the famous general William T. Sherman (Civil War). This Sherman was a businessman who made a fortune here in Iowa. His mansion and the attached auditorium are now run by the Des Moines Womens Club. It's also home to a big art exhibition every February. 

"Hoyt Sherman Place," wc/ink, about 5x10

Morning, Afternoon, and Evening

"Morning, Afternoon, Evening (triptych)," oil on panel, each 6x8

This is a triptych of a bottle half full of water, painted in early morning, the middle of the day, and toward evening. The differences in the light were what interested me.
 

Novelties

"Novelties," oil on canvas, 20x24, private collection

Once upon a time in Manhattan there was a novelty shop that sold all manner of magic tricks, joke items, holiday tchotchkes and so on. It existed on Broadway for over forty years, just south of 22nd. 

This painting entered a private collection there in New York about a decade ago.
 

Outside at Last

"Outside at Last," oil on panel, 12x16. Private collection.

A group of house plants, moved to a shady deck after all threat of frost was gone. They were probably relieved.

McRae Park

"McRae Park," wc/ink on paper

This watercolor and ink sketch is from a Saturday excursion a couple of months ago on a sunny afternoon not far from my home studio.

Retirees

"Three Retirees," wc/ink on paper, ~5x9

Here's a watercolor of three antique trucks on a dealer's lot, from a few years back. Each of these likely has more than 100,000 miles and years of work behind it.
 

Casein Experiment

"A Walk in the Woods," casein on panel

This painting is an experiment in casein. Casein is a kind of paint made using milk protein (casein) in an oil emulsion. It's an older medium that's made a bit of a comeback in recent decades. In some ways casein is like acrylic paint--rapid drying in particular, durable when dry--and it photographs very well. Back in the early to mid-twentieth century casein was the medium of choice for many. 

This painting is an imaginary landscape done a few years back to practice with the medium. I don't think I've posted this one before.

Favorite Still Life

"Winter Onion," oil on panel, 6x8

This is a favorite old still life from more than a decade past. Sold long ago.
 

Postcards Home

When travelling I carry along a pad of postcard-size watercolor cards. The surface is a standard, moderately rough cold press. While travelling I make small watercolor paintings, stamp them with the postage of whatever place we're visiting, and mail them to friends. It keeps me working and family and friends love to get something of that sort. 

"Kasbah, Tangier," watercolor postcard

 

"A View of Avignon," watercolor postcard

"Street in Eze, France" watercolor postcard

Saturday Sketch

The weather continues to warm and moderate. Last Saturday the sketch group went to a small local lake, where flowering trees were beginning to show color. The day was warm enough to sketch outside, the first time of the season. Flowering trees have fat buds and the grass is greening more every day. I sketched this in pencil, added watercolor and then ink.

Last Year

"Raccoon River," wc/ink on paper

The winter just fading was unseasonably warm--possibly the warmest in history. Even so, the look of the countryside hasn't changed much. My sketchbooks are a kind of visual journal, and most of the sketches are watercolor. This particular work was done just over a year ago. Like now, the grasses are a series ochres, the trees loom grey against the grey-blue and distant clouds.

Abstract Selfie

"Self Portrait," oil on panel 14x11

This self portrait was an attempt to make an abstract image. It owes a certain amount to Cubism, but unlike the works by Picasso, Gris and others this one is considerably more colorful.
 

Domes

Last Saturday the sketch group decided to take a look at the Iowa state capitol grounds for subject matter. Owing to unusual circumstances--gridlock near the capitol--my time sketching was limited. It was a beautifully sunny day but the wind was brisk and cold. Even so, the best vantage point for sketching this view of the Iowa Capitol was on foot and out of my car. So I spent about 45 minutes drawing and painting this limited view. 

This was one of those times when nature works against you. The wind was so strong it kept blowing my watercolor box closed. My sketchbook would only be still if I held it in one hand, which was fairly limiting, too. Nonetheless, there was enough time to draw and paint the golden dome and one of the smaller subsidiaries.

"Capitol Domes," wc/ink ~3x5

Silver Study

Here's a digital painting I recently retouched. The original work was done four or five years ago intended as a study of digital art programs. I used Sketchbook (a digital art program) and tried out a number of different tools it contains. The program can emulate actual paint pretty well, in my opinion, but will never take the place of real world paint. 

The Yellow Umbrella

"The Yellow Umbrella," oil on panel, 11x14, private collection

T

"The Yellow Umbrella" is a studio work exploring very limited use of color in a near-monotone painting. The street view is toward the New York Stock Exchange building. A vending cart stands in shadow but a ray of light from somewhere illuminates the yellow of one of its umbrellas. This was sold many years ago.

Winter Watercolor

"January, Druid Hill Creek," wc/ink postcard

As anyone who reads these postings knows, most of my watercolors are small, relatively loose, and washy. A lot are enhanced with ink. And sometimes work that I'd forgotten surfaces after being misplaced. 

This little watercolor was done from my studio window using a very limited palette--ochre and umber with touches here and there of cobalt blue. This painting is more realistic than many of my creek studies because more of the trees are included, even the very near huge cottonwood that I usually edit out of the picture.
 

Along the Bluff

Spring is coming very soon now, especially with the warming temperatures of climate change. Bigger studio works, based on references and experiences last fall, have come into being. This one is the largest of all at 18x36. It's the completion of a study started last October of changing foliage, land formations and the Middle Raccoon River. 

A few months back I posted the study of the same area, although that work is considerably smaller. This one shows the trees and undergrowth just as the autumn season was starting to produce bright, saturated color. The painting posted previously is about the left half of the scene you see below. This one will be available via my website in the next few days.

"Along the Bluff," oil on canvas

Winter Casein

"Winter on the Creek," casein on panel, 6x8

Although I'm primarily an oil painter, I've done work in quite a few different media--digital, watercolor, pen an ink, and casein. Casein is actually a casein-oil emulsion paint that's available in tubes, like oils. It has a nice creamy consistency, dries like lightning and becomes waterproof afterward. For some illustrators it was an important tool before the advent of acrylic paint in the 1960s. 

This particular painting is yet another of my views of Druid Hill Creek, looking north. I changed the point of view slightly, but this was finished in late winter when the skies had cleared after a light snow.
 

The Seasons Change

 

These two watercolor sketches, done this time of year a while back, show how the advancing season used to look. There was snow but despite the cold weather the colors of the trees and undergrowth along the lake seemed to absorb sunlight, their colors becoming warmer, more golden. This year the snow fled weeks ago and the temperature today, March 1, is in the middle 50s F.   (Click to enlarge each image.)