Summer Time Studio Work

A New Beginning

Under painting the background.

It's been more than a month since I stood in front of my easel.  That is a very long time for me.  Travel and the move to my Northern California studio kept me busy and away from my work. Today I am back at it.  What looks like the beginning of one of my Tahoe Rock inspired paintings is actually an experiment.  Keeping the work small (12x12) will allow me me try what is nagging at my creative spirit, asking to come out, without devoting too many hours.  

Painting in the boulders.

I will post photos of how this progresses and let you know what I think.  And maybe, just maybe, this experiment will move from a small canvas to larger.  

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Drawing Challenge. Day 23.

Rocks and More Rocks.

Rocks, Stones, Boulders, Pebbles....all are fascinating to me.  They represent power and permanence.  The geology of rocks varies depending on whether they are igneous, metamorphic or sedementary.  We are surrounded by rocks. 

I wear rocks.

I collect rocks.

I paint rocks.

Therefore it is no surprise that today's drawing is a rock cairn.  Those colorful leaves picked up off the ground yesterday are still on my work table so they worked their way into the drawing.  Still cannot get away from Fall color.

Day 23 Drawing

Graphite and Watercolor Pencil

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Commission

And So It Begins

 In all actuality this commission began a couple months ago with kayak trips out to one of my favorite spots on Lake Tahoe to sketch a variety of locations to present to the customer.  They selected a composition inspired by a huge balanced boulder in a small cove off Crystal Bay Point.   

After additional presentation of the palette the actual painting begins. 

This is how it happens:

The big (48" x 48") canvas is coated with white gesso.  

The first pigments go into the palette.

 I typically paint from top to bottom and left to right, and that being the case, after the composition was sketched onto the canvas the sky was painted onto the canvas.

As of this morning this is how the canvas looks. One of the boulders has begun to come to life.  There are hours and hours to spend in front of this canvas, so check back to watch the progress.

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Lake Tahoe Paintings

 Three Weeks of Mild Weather.

That's it for Northern California and the Lake Tahoe area. Mild.  That is not what we are all seeing for the remainder of the country.  Brrrr...it looks cold out there.  But here, at Tahoe it has been unusually clear and warm.  This is not a situation that is good for the lake level or the local businesses, but one that must be accepted since there is nothing any of us can do about it, but live with it and enjoy it.

Lots of people are out on bikes, hiking, and using the water.  It's pretty amazing to see paddle boarders skimming across the lake in January.  I choose my kayak because I can load it up with my sketch book, camera and other art related items. Posted here are a a couple little paintings created using the inspiration from these kayak trips.  Yes, back to my passion, painting.  And back to painting Lake Tahoe Boulders from the water instead of winter inspired work, but that's how it is when the weather is mild day after day.  

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How Long Does It Take To Paint A Painting?

Yes, I have talked about this before...

Kayaking Into The Rocks

48x30

2000.00

However I have run into an interesting situation, one that has helped me understand something you might see in a museum or art gallery.  And what has just happened in my studio may help you understand this as well.

So, how long does it take to paint a painting?  Artists are asked this over and over again.   I truly believe it has taken a life time of doing what ever one has done before to get to the point of creating what ever it is that was just created.  That explanation is not always readily accepted though it is true.  But what about those paintings that sit in the studio, unfinished.  Or what about the painting that was completed and then worked on again some time later.

This is exactly what just happened to me.  I completed a painting several years ago, about ten years ago.  It has been exhibited and just recently returned to my studio.  During those ten years, between the completion of the painting and its return, my work has changed, evolved, moved in new directions.  I see the world and my inspiration differently.  I portray my inspiration a bit differently than I did ten years ago.  So when this painting came back into my studio I felt compelled to work on it again knowing I could ruin it and knowing I could improve it.  I had never done this before because I think that once something is done, it is done, leave it alone.    Oh boy.....brush in hand, I tackled the work, changing what had been there, working to improve the painting.

So what is it we see in museums and galleries that I refer to at the beginning of this post?  It is information given about the artist and the work.  The date a work was created is typically on the descriptive tag next to a painting, and sometimes that date spans several years.  I have always wondered about this.  Why so many years?  Well, now I have one answer to this question and now this particular painting will have the date listed as 2003-2013.  And I guess if I am asked how long it took to create this painting my answer may be: ten years.

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Inspiration.

My Favorite Inspiration

Actually I just wanted some exercise, I wasn't looking for inspiration, so I lowered my Alden Quest rowing shell from the davit on the pier into the crystal clear water of Lake Tahoe.  There is a process, a ceremony, to get the boat into the water, the oars in place, gloves on and myself into the boat.  Once settled, the oars skim over the glassy smooth water, as I propel the shell and my body, in a fluid, rhythmic cadence away from the shore, out towards my favorite rock formations.  This is almost meditative, it is so quiet and peaceful.  The rhythm is like a chant.   And certainly  this activity is inspirational for my painting because my mind can wander and the things I see, Oh My!

I think I see the rocks and water differently each time I am out there.  And certainly the conditions vary each time I am out there making the visuals unique.

But from these photos you can see why I am driven to paint my vision of these rocks and water.  The rocks are massive and powerful.  The colors are intensely clear and clean.  I wish you could feel the air.

Whether it is looking at the sky, the boulders, the surface of the water or down through the depths, it all become fascinating.  Captivating.  

I am smiling, at peace and energized at the same time.  I see the next painting and the one after that, and the one to follow.  All of a sudden I want to be in front of my easel, holding my palette, applying pigment to the canvas.  

Reversing the process, I glide back to the pier, go through the ceremony of replacing the boat in the davit, putting the oars away, taking a last look at the beauty of the lake and get myself inside to my sketch book.  The morning row didn't start out as a way to gather inspiration, but it certainly became that.

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