Staying off Balance

Stage 2 - painting the background

Working wet on wet (not waiting/allowing the oil paint to dry but blending the edges), I work on my background. You can see a lot of the raw sienna + burnt sienna underwash peaking through especially at the top of the trees. I am not sure if I will leave all of that showing, but at this stage I am not ready to paint over it.

The background has been kept in cool tones. I think this will make the sunlit cat stand out. The very beginning of the near snow has been painted. I may take out the snow just to the right of his neck and let the upper part of his back be against the dark tree background. Another decision I will leave for later.

Breaking THE Rules

Stage 1 (Turpentine value study) Plus a start on the sky.

Probably since the first cave drawing, there have been RULES of painting. (no, paint the sabertooth tiger chasing the antelope, not the other way around!)

Some of our current rules: Never cut a painting in half with the horizon line. Put the main focus in one of the corner intersections of thirds, and under no circumstance, lead the viewer's attention out of the painting.

Well, I want to challenge that last in a painting. In reviewing the photos I have taken of cougars, there were a lot which were exceptional but which didn't speak to me. Maybe because they didn't say anything new. Except one. It just grabbed me. Perhaps because this big male mountain lion was looking at something out of the field of view and rather than being on the right side of the image and looking to the left side, he was on the left looking to the left. His gaze felt intense.

My reference photo had a really dark background of trees behind him with no sky and the snow was high next to his back. What if I made an exit (showed background with sky) weighting the upper right to balance his gaze to the lower left? Then, drop the snow line next to the cat.

The next issue was I wanted to address was cropping. A long horizontal painting will create a peaceful scene ......which can be interupted by the cat whose intensity throws everything off balance.

That is my initial thinking. Break a rule, keep things off balance, and drama will follow.

Wyoming Colors

Wyoming Colors

Original Oil

6" X 9.25"

On my drive through Wyoming in March, I spotted this herd of pronghorn just as the sun was setting. The orange of their coats, the purple/blue of the last snow remnants, and the yellow sky really struck me. Such a wonderful color combination begged to be painted.

Heralds of Spring

Heralds of Spring

Original Oil

5.25" X 9.25"

Continuing with small paintings, this is my second one in the group. I watched these Canada geese in Nebraska on my drive home to Spokane from Tulsa. It was the warmest day of the trip and the sun was a welcome change from the blustery conditions I had just left in Oklahoma.

I said DRAW!

Yes, today I am doing a Quick Draw at the Big Horn Show in Spokane.

For those of you who haven't witnessed this sort of thing, an artist has a set amount of time (in this case a little less than 2 hours) to produce artwork which then goes up for auction, immediately.

Some artists do a drawing and others paint. I'll be painting a 14" X 10.75" oil painting inspired by the herd of elk I saw a number of years ago in a field with Mt. Spokane in the background. I have wanted to paint it ever since. My drawing is already on my gessoed board (and no, that is not cheating), and I will need to cover the entire piece with my oils. And, make it look good. It has been a number of years since I have done one of these, the last in Seattle, but then we only had 45 minutes and a camera on us.

I will be the only one doing a Quick Draw so there will undoubtably be questions for me while I paint. I'm ready!........ I think. I guess that is the fun of a Quick Draw.

As a good sign, I saw the herd of elk 2 days ago about 10 minutes from my house. Late afternoon light. I usually see them only once, maybe twice a year. What a treat.

So, Ready, Set, ..................Paint!

Going Smaller

The Vantage Point

Original Oil

6.5" X 9.25"

I have an upcoming Miniature Fine Art show at the Artistic Designs Gallery in Brownsburg, Indiana. Each piece must not exceed 80 square inches. OK, an 8" X 10" painting. Small, but not unduly so. However, there is an additional requirement that the frame may not exceed 12" X 14".

This required some planning. Each custom frame I hand select to enhance the painting. In order to stay under the 14" maximum length, I had to plan the long direction of the painting at 9.25". That would give me a frame width a little less than 2.5".

I am painting 3 pieces for the show. The Vantage Point is the largest of the three.

Wind Walkers

Wind Walkers

Original Oil

7.75" X 12.5"

The Platte River comes alive each spring with one of North America’s most dramatic bird migrations. Ninety percent of all sand hill cranes (approximately 600,000 birds) stop over on this braided river. From here they will move north to Canada, Alaska, and Siberia.

The Platte is the perfect spot for a stopover. Standing in the shallow braided river at night affords the cranes protection from predators. During the day, the spent corn fields edging the river provide sustenance for the upcoming journey north.

Last week I was there listening to the sand hill cranes. Once you hear them, you will never forget their haunting calls. What a treat.