Fall Colors in Idaho

 

Fall colors are a bit dull in Idaho now. I went to Horseshoe Bend with a few other artists from Plein Air Painters of Idaho and attempted plein air painting again. I still find it very hard and I'm not happy with the results.  The good part was finding out this pond (Mill Pond) gets stocked in the spring and hubby and I can go fishing there.  It is only about a 45 minute drive through the mountains from our home. Elevation around 4000 feet.

This is a beautiful western maple in our yard. It is almost finished shedding its leaves, but the sunlight on the few remaining reminded me of the cadmium yellow tube of oil paint I have in my collection. I don't use that color very often.

This is really a beautiful tree, but I don't enjoy raking up all the leaves. ;)

This is a photo from last year. Most of the leaves I see this year are not that bright. We have had a very hot and dry year here in Idaho (climate change I guess).

At work in my studio

 

I responded to a "free" message on Facebook by artist Mark Davis and picked up a second easel. I have not yet painted on it, but I prepared a surface today. This is a 16 X 20" Speedball Art Board (not a canvas). I think I will enjoy experimenting with it. Photo above shows my messy studio. I am not a naturally neat person, but I do have some organization here. The front of this room is my office, the back is my studio.

This is a work in progress, for the theme "gathering" that I saw on Facebook. I remember this photo of the elk in Jasper.  They were all out there breakfasting and ignoring the tourists.  I am going to make this on the larger canvas above. I think I can be more careful with the drawing on a larger surface. I had difficulty with the elks in front of each other and even missed one small one on the right side.  It was good to do the smaller study first.  8 X 10, oil on canvas board.

And just for fun, a Great Tailed Grackle on an umbrella in Costa Rica.  The umbrella was striped, but I didn't like the way it came out in my painting so I just decided that red with go well with black and covered over the stripes (although you can still see them a bit through the paint.  8 X 10, oil on canvas board.

I did miss traveling during the pandemic, but enjoyed browsing through all my photos for inspiration.  I hope to go back to traveling next spring or summer. I'll be getting a booster shot at the end of this month and encourage others to get their shots too.  I would like everyone to be safe.

More experiments

 

I bought a downloaded video lesson on palette knife painting. I found it difficult and very messy, but I enjoyed the lesson. The lesson was $14.95 and it was definitely worthwhile. This is the 2nd one I have tried from Kevin Hill painting.  He is a good instructor.  I have done some lessons with a palette knife in the past, but those were in acrylic paint. This was oil paint. Very thick paint and it takes a long time to dry. (11 X 14" oil on canvas)

Hikers at Arches National Park, Another experiment, this time on gesso'd board.  I think I prefer to paint on regular artist's canvas. Even though I sanded between coats of gesso, the surface was still strange to me.  This one is also oil paint from one of my photos at Arches National Park in Utah several years ago. (12 X 16" oil on board)

And finally a small (5 X 7) study of sunset from my daughter's photo in Salt Lake City of the sunset over the golf course near her apartment. I think I like this enough to finish it and maybe make a larger version.

Rosh Hashanah

 

The Jewish new year of 5782 begins at sundown on September 6th (first of Tishri on the Jewish calendar). I thought it was time to start designing our annual greeting. That way if I change my mind, I have time to think of a different design and verse.

Cards and other printed items available on my website.

Playing with Gesso Part 2

 

I went to the art store and bought the proper materials for this exercise. I am much happier with the result. Now I have to figure out how to use this technique on my own composition.  The link to the Bob Ross episode is in the previous blog post.

I tinkered with it a little more and I like this version better:

Playing with Gesso

 

I decided to have some fun with painting instead of trying to be serious. I found this instructional video online, Bob Ross, Season 28, Episode 4. I didn't have all the right materials, but I had most of them. I bought some black gesso so I could start the experiment.  If you are familiar with Bob Ross, you know that this is not his usual teaching technique. Anyway, I started with black gesso, paper towels and a foam brush. It looks interesting so far.  I used a leftover piece of canvas from another project rather than wastinng a good canvas.  Fun so far.

Here is part 2. I had to repaint the bottom of the canvas because I did not like my path the first time I tried it.  The gesso has to dry before putting color on it.

I didn't have the right materials or colors for this part so I was a bit disappointed, but I still enjoyed this process.  I did go out and buy what I need so I can try it again.

Snake River

 

Snake River, Murphy, Idaho

It has been too hot to paint outside (100 F for 10 days in a row, approx 38 C) so I painted this inside my air conditioned studio from last year's plein air painting trip to Murphy, Idaho and the Snake River. Acrylic on canvas, 10" X 20". I used last year's painting and my photos as a guide.

I have not been motived to paint much lately. The heat has really affected me. We still have a few more days of this. I don't know how desert people manage. Southern Idaho's environment is considered "high" desert since it is in t he foothills of the rockies. Our elevation is around 2700 feet. Water supply comes from the high mountains and snow melt, but there wasn't as much snow this year and we are in drought conditions. Not sure how long that will last.

Flow State

 I entered an exhibit through the Treasure Valley Artists Alliance and my paintings were selected.

The exhibit is at the Nampa Civic Center in Nampa, Idaho until October 5th. Virtual exhibit is online now too. Flow State

I had fun last week playing with another black canvas. My peonies are really beautiful this year.

Oil on black canvas, 8" X 10"

My peonies

Lake Louise

 

Lake Louise, Oil, 20" X 24". I think this is finished now, but I will wait a few weeks to post it to my website until I am sure and happy with it.  I had a large (for me) canvas that I picked up 2 years ago at a sidewalk sale and kept thinking about what I would paint on it. Finally I took the plunge.  I loved the colors of the lakes in Alberta, Canada, colors from the glacial silt.  We took a trip there several years ago and I enjoy looking at my old photos.

Meanwhile, I submitted three other paintings for a "monochrome" show at the Meridian library and two were selected. They will go up at the end of the month.  One that I posted last time (Monochrome etude #1) although I personally liked #2 better and my older acrylic 8" X 10" painting of Rabbi Y'Shia.

Studies

 

The Treasure Valley Artist Alliance has an exhibit later this month for monochrome paintings so I did two small studies.  This one is a winter creek at a retreat center in Connecticut. I tried using manganese blue for it and wasn't happy with the result. oil painting 8 X 10" on stretched canvas.

I tried Prussian blue for my next study and liked the result better. From a photo of a bird on bushes (probably bamboo) in Ein Hod Israel. oil painting 8 X 10" on stretched canvas.

These are drying now and I don't know if I will submit them or not.  My painting of the Pelicans from Laguna Beach is on exhibit now in Meridian, Idaho.  There is a gallery on the 3rd floor of City Hall there.  Here is a link to the online exhibit.

I also painted (again) the Athabasca River in Alberta from my old photos.

These are all oil paintings today.  This one is 11" X 14" on canvas board.  I was looking down at the river from a high point.  I need to practice more. I didn't quite get that in my painting.

I've enjoyed doing these studies in the past. I even sold one many years ago. Here is a link to that monochome of Edna Creek (Idaho).