Expressions - Impressions

New Art Painting

2012-02-21T17:11:00.000-08:00

The oil painting "Aspen Grove American Lake" was recently completed. This is a small study of a view along the trail leading up to American Lake from Castle Creek Road just outside of Aspen, Colorado. It's early fall and the colors are just beginning to change. I thought that the vertical lines of the aspen trees would make an interesting contrast to the rough foliage on the ground.

On another note, you may have noticed that the brief descriptions of the paintings which had appeared at the bottom of each gallery page have been removed, I thought that these descriptions could be included in the blog when the paintings are first posted to the site.

Art News

2012-02-18T10:45:00.000-08:00

The oil painting "Hallett Peak from Dream Lake" has been selected by the Salon International 2012 to be included in their upcoming show at the Greenhouse Gallery in San Antonio, Texas which runs from April 14th through May 4th.

Changes to the Art Gallery Descriptions of New Oil Paintings

2012-02-01T12:55:00.000-08:00

I realize that I've been amiss at writing blog posts; mostly for the usual excuses, time and what to write about. I thought that to improve on offering more timely thoughts that I would write about the most recent oil painting when it is posted. Previously a brief description has appeared at the bottom of each gallery page. This event will be discontinued and most likely those remarks that already exist will be included in future blog posts and then be deleted from those pages.

For now I'll review the subject matter, the inspiration and the challenges that needed to be address in completing the impressionist painting. Today's landscape painting is from a view along the Maroon Creek Trail in Aspen, Colorado. You may have noticed that a few of the previous paintings were of subject matter from this area. I used to live there at one time and return often to ski or hike. The current selection of subject matter is from a trip in the fall of 2011. The weather was challenging and surprisingly the sun was rarely out. This view of Maroon Creek was all the more dramatic when the sun broke through the clouds and lit up the valley below. The angle of the sun and the contrasting light created an interesting scene that interleaved the background, mid field areas and the foreground into a mix of light and dark.

There were some challenges to address in deciding how the represent the scene. There is no definitive subject, the subject turns out to be the contrasting values in the vertical shapes underscored by the horizontal motion of the water in the creek. Secondly, the usual separation of light and dark areas rather than being in an evolutionary order appeared dispersed among the landscape. The facets of the landscape were painted wet into wet paint on separate sessions which allowed the brushwork to define the edges that were in sunlight and loose the ones in the shadows.

On a separate note I'm disappointed with the overall color representation on these web pages in some browsers; the vibrancy of the colors has been lost to some degree. In speaking with a tech support person today at the web site host company, it was suggested to try using a different browser when viewing the site. Apparently Firefox works best, let's see how that improves things.

Recent Art Exhibitions

2011-10-17T11:03:00.000-07:00

Here's an update on art shows that some paintings have recently or will soon appear in. "Beach Dogs" a painting of two golden retrievers was shown this past September at the annual 'Artwalk' at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. "Fern Falls" a view of one of Rocky Mountain National Park's waterfalls is presently being exhibited at the Art Center of Estes Park in Estes Park Colorado and runs through late November. The painting featuring a view of American football titled "Saturday Gladiators" will be exhibited in the upcoming show at the National Art Museum of Sport (www.namos.iupui.edu) titled 'College Athletics and Academic Excellence: A Fine Art Exhibition running through March 2012 and following that show will appear at the new National Collegiate Athletic Association headquarters in Indianapolis Indiana until the end of July 2012.

Photographing oil paintings and the site's new look

2011-09-08T13:08:00.000-07:00

For those of you who visit my site on occasion, I'm sure that you've noticed the new look. It all began three months ago when I eventually reached the conclusion that the images on the site were less than optimum and the overall appearance was perhaps too generic. The concern about the quality of the images developed when I noticed that some art web sites had wonderfully detail pictures.

So, I went to our local camera store and inquired about how to improve the results that I was getting, was it the camera, the software or the editing??? As it turned out, as usual it was the operator, me, that needed to go back and read the 'instructions' on how to get the best results from the camera, the editing software and the process in general. I was going to write a bit on photographing oil paintings but "Artist Magazine" has a fine article in this months issue.

Summarizing the evolution of change that I rediscovered: 1). Shoot the subject during the mid morning light when it is neither too blue or orange, somewhat at an modest angle so as not to create harsh shadows. 2). Set the camera up at a comfortable level, square off the target plane of the image so the camera and image are in alignment (check edges for parallax distortion, off axis view). 3). Set the camera for 'raw' images for the most detailed files, check the internal camera settings and adjust the contrast, sharpness and saturation. 4) Check the temperature setting and set for daylight or the approximate Kelvin degree. 5). Use a polarizing filter to eliminate or minimize glare (it's best to shoot oil paintings prior to varnishing them as the varnish creates more glare from raised edges). 6). Shoot a set of bracketed images of each piece.

This process should with some trial and error get some good results. I found that I needed to edit the images in the 'raw' file state to accurately reproduce the color. Afterwards when I transferred the images into sub folders and converted them into jpegs that the converted images needed to be edited again. It's here where one needs to pay attention to editing. In raw files the editing doesn't deteriorate the image, in jpeg files the more editing that is done, the more digital information is lost. So start out with a quality image and once transferred into the jpeg format keep editing to a minimum.

Enriched with this new knowledge I realized that I needed to rephotograph my entire inventory of oil paintings and of course edit the raw and jpeg images for future use. Upon recently completing that task, it was time to upgrade the 'look' of the web site to showcase the work. Previously I was disappointed that the brushwork and surface texture of the paint wasn't discernible. I think that it has gotten better but there is still room for improvement; so the grand experiment continues. I have a feeling the the next level lies in using a camera with a larger pixel saturation.

I hope that you enjoy the new images; any further insight or suggestions are welcomed.

Art Marketing Announcement

2011-07-05T10:29:00.000-07:00

The piece titled "Last Train to South Park" has been accepted into the Salmagundi Annual Exhibition for Non-Members. The show will be held in the Main Gallery and run from August 8th through the 19th. If you happen to be in New York then, check out the show. The Salmagundi Club is located at 47 Fifth Avenue, NY, NY.

Selecting Subjects for Paintings

2011-06-24T21:07:00.000-07:00

A visitor to the web site commented on the diversity of subject matter that they saw in the collected works. The quick answer is that there are a number of subject types that I find interesting. So, what does a scene or situation have that is interesting or even more so, compelling? Light, it's always about the light; shapes, colors, contrast, perspective, character, beauty and energy. These are the elements that I look for as a basis in considering a subject from which an expressive attempt is made to render an interesting oil painting. This is easier said than done but a sound basis for a start.

Having grown up in rural New England and developed an interest in travel I've come to the realization that there's a vast wealth of subject material out there. There is an immense amount of subjects and stories yet to be discovered; places that remain undeveloped, people with character, sporting events, wildlife and human relationships with the expanding world. Getting out there is the important part and every two or three months I try to travel somewhere to explore the possibilities. So you can expect a continually evolving range of paintings. Coming up are some scenes from a trip to Yosemite, the waterfalls were spectacular this year.

Why Painting

2011-05-20T20:12:00.000-07:00

I was asked, "Why do I paint"? Interesting I thought, I've never been asked that before. The person posing the question wasn't an artist nor particularly familiar with the creative process that an artist might involve themselves with. I was momentarily stumped and thought 'what might be the best response"? The inquirer was probably beginning to think that I wasn't able to explain myself. Actually two answers came to mind and I entered a state of frozen thought suspension. The first which was the short and obvious one which was that painting was enjoyable, mentally stimulating and satisfying on a personal level. The second more in depth answer was that the act and process of painting was a way of fulfilling my creative nature, intellectually challenging and enabled one to tell a story. I'm sure that creative types understand that on a primordial level, others, well maybe not. Painting satisfies a curiosity of bringing something to life that didn't exist before. The process requires the engagement and evolution of thought and intent. Hopefully if things go well the end result is a pictorial representation of a place, object, event or figurative arrangement that tells a story. Passionately composed and effectively executed a piece can have a dramatic affect on the viewer. A work can be a statement of what is, a meditative reflection or a motivating force of change. In as much as all of this is very subjective, the connectivity and longevity of a composition culturally speaking can be a personal illusion or empowering icon. So, there you have it. This is what inspires me about painting. I'm in awe of past and living masters who are able to display mastery of their craft. There is something to be learned from all. How did someone handle the physical elements of the piece, how was an object or person represented, how is light represented, how did they place a perfect brush stroke where it lies and how does the whole composition relate to itself and compare to other existing work? It's all part of the story waiting to be deciphered. Therein lies the fun and the challenge.

Invitation for thoughts, comments and questions

2011-05-07T11:52:00.000-07:00

A belated welcome to all of you who have visited these gallery pages. I've come to realize that while these paintings express my thoughts and perspectives that many of you would like to add your own impressions as well. This inaugural blog launch is an invitation for you to be able to share your thoughts, comments and questions. I encourage your participation and will try to be forthright in responding.