A Painter's Journal

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Articles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

The feedback loop
2008-01-08 13:53:00
I see a deep sorrow hidden below the surface of these places. Night, and a dark forlorn quality that resists the gay splendor of surfaces. They resist inspection until you pause and just peer into their depths - and then you see the sadness. All around us. Unrelenting. It permeates all that man has made, ...
More About: Spiritual , Feedback , Loop

In the mood
2008-01-08 05:40:00
Each day. A new day. I write about what I am doing, while what I do becomes writing. So many “factors” to consider, but all I know is, I love just getting out and painting a small painting of what is there. In front of me. There is no greater delight to me. I did this little ...
More About: Painting , Spiritual , Mood

Back to basics
2008-01-07 04:22:00
Today I felt the need to get back to the oils, and did these two paintings. Using burnt umber as an underpainting, form the structure freely (which is so nice, just watching values and a little bit of texture). After that working in the oils, some glazing, using some of the medium. So all in ...
More About: Painting , Back , Back To Basics , Basics

An honest look
2008-01-06 16:30:00
I had been eyeing this old junk car and travel camper that sits over near Don’s barn, across the road from our home. One of those “collections” that you see for years until finally one day you just give up and paint the thing. It was cold and windy as heck, had to find a ...
More About: Painting , Honest

Art and the obstruction of reality
2008-01-05 17:50:00
I am beginning to see some connections between man’s self-imposed ideas about himself, and how he views his world, and consequently how his world is portrayed through art. Man has essentially built a construct of life, which provides a surrogate understanding, and his art (his creative efforts) serve to prop up these fabrications. Everything that man creates ...
More About: Reality , Spiritual

More of an obstructed reality
2008-01-05 04:41:00
I drove back downtown today at lunch, found a parking space along Spokane Falls Blvd, and settled on this view into the trees, towards one of the restaurants I think. Why do I like to stare straight into these colliding branches, the maze of chaos that is mesmerizing? Maybe it reminds me of something, something ...
More About: Reality , Painting

Winter thaw
2008-01-04 15:04:00
Well the pineapple express is now blowing through the area, wind and rain and warmer temps sending the snow packing. I did a couple of sketched yesterday, one from in front of Aunties books, looking towards the Parkade. One thing I am starting to understand is that these forms have to be built from larger ...
More About: Winter , Painting

Belief
2008-01-02 15:07:00
I am numb from these last few days. The combination of weather and the storms that seem to rage within, combined to leave me feeling ravaged. I long for a peaceful way to live, to see life, to capture in sincere ways, it amazes me how to this day I still have to battle against ...
More About: Belief

Helpless
2008-01-02 03:44:00
Today started out okay, I did a little sketch looking across the fields on Hays road, the shadows and sun was so beautiful. I intentionally limited myself to burnt umber and cerulean and white. Thinking I was just doing the underpainting, but as I continued I liked the look of the quiet colors. The temps were around 20 so had trouble with the acrylic freezing up while painting, but managed somehow to finish it. After this, took two of the paintings from yesterday, that I should have just left alone, but I am tormented by this need to “correct” sometimes, and so went at it on this little sketch of the low trees. Came back later and worked on it a little more in WS oils. I pray I am finished with it. Later in the day, I did this sketh of John’s place, with some of these old barns, the winter sun low in the sky. Backlit scenes are nice but hard to judge values. Such a strong temptation to move the values towards lighter, when the fact is the backsides of objects are...

Cold and empty
2008-01-01 13:59:00
Today should be interesting trying to paint outside. 17° and I feel drained, empty. The flurry of painting yesterday left me feeling desolate, purposeless. My thoughts continue to try and figure out how to sell, what to do with these things? Ebay, shows, give them away, take donations. I have only a handful that have ...
More About: Cold , Empty

Drifts
2008-01-01 03:02:00
With all of the wind and snow the last few days, couldn’t get out to paint this morning. Eventually the county plowed our road so I hit the road determined to balance out the work from yesterday. Went down to the Lows and walked around for a few minutes, just trying to get back in ...
More About: Painting

New year?s eve
2007-12-31 12:11:00
I think my greatest struggle right now is learning to accept my tendencies towards a simple, serene view of nature. I have no real interest in painting the details of nature - what is there of real strength and mystery for me is revealed through the simplification of her - not through her schematics. We ...
More About: New Year , Year

Looking for clues
2007-12-31 03:33:00
We were really slammed with snow and wind today, so had trouble even getting out to paint. But went back to the Low area and set up for this view looking into the trees. Cold, I only got so far before I had to get into the car with the heater going and painted a ...
More About: Painting , Clues

Undressing nature
2007-12-30 15:16:00
There is almost a sensitizing process that has to occur as one is outside painting. There is so many filters that bedevil us, our training, preconceptions of what a painting is “supposed” to look like. The advice of well-meaning teachers, the barrage of imagery we live our lives exposed to. And all the while, ...
More About: Nature , Dressing

Dreaming of Books
2007-12-30 14:30:00
I dreamed that I as at a small town library, they had tables in front, on the sidewalks of old books they were selling for $1.00. I began looking through and started to find books on impressionists. Went inside and asked if there were more and they had more… found A book of (sketches?) by Mary ...
More About: Dreams , Books , Dreaming

And never remembering, and never looking forward
2007-12-30 03:24:00
Okay, where are we at? I skipped a day there of painting, and its hard to remember exactly what I did unless I log it in daily. I’ll just place them all and comment to what I can recall… Day before yesterday… painted a sketch looking between the trees of the Lows, I am obsessed ...
More About: Painting , Remembering , Forward

Still life
2007-12-27 16:20:00
I painted this little vase of dying flowers last night, actually enjoyed it. Anything that doesn’t move too much is fun to paint. Simply looking at the seen spaces before you, responding to what they suggest themselves as, is pleasurable. Landscape should work the same way. I hope to take the two paintings I “started” yesterday ...
More About: Life , Still Life

Responding
2007-12-27 03:46:00
Worked on 2 panels down at the lows today. Cold, maybe 27, perhaps that accounted for why I didn’t want to spend much time on them. My first sessions were fun, I was simply responding to the most basic forms of the scene and let the paintings remain loose and unfettered by the effort to ...

Random thoughts
2007-12-26 17:52:00
Waking early, not much to do but plan the next attempts and figure out what I shall try next. I am intrigued with being able to paint in this “responsive” way to landscape, however I am also aware that I can create more work for myself than is needed this way. Painting outside you don’t ...
More About: Random Thoughts , Random , Thoughts

Rock ledges, uncertain spaces
2007-12-26 03:39:00
Christmas day, with the kids content with their booty, ventured back down Hays road for some painting fun. I decided to try a study of the rocky ledge area just this side of the HC bridge. I really worked in it, following unknown voices and hints and the suggestion… but where does one end off ...
More About: Painting , Rock , Spaces , Cert

Christmas Eve, Hays Road
2007-12-25 15:38:00
I had to put in a half day at work and Joy came into town with me to do some last minute shopping. Got back home about 3:30 and there is still enough light to do a painting. This is a view looking west just past John’s place, with the sun going down. The light ...
More About: Christmas , Painting , Road , Christmas Eve

Learning the hard way
2007-12-24 12:13:00
There is little to be gained by the effort to become a camera. We are more than optics and physics. The heart guides us in ways that can never be seen by a lense, or even our eyes. What stirs us inside, deep inside, owes its sourcing from streams which we shall never understand. Yet ...
More About: Hard , Learning

The hard reality of edges
2007-12-24 03:31:00
I started this painting yesterday, a stand of trees near the lows. Cold as usual, there was still a little snow on the ground in places. I worked on it for several hours, took it about as far as I dared, went home as the snow began to fall. So there it sits on the ...
More About: Reality , Painting , Hard

Creating wonder
2007-12-21 14:52:00
Yesterday, drove around downtown, found a parking space on Sprague, and settled on this view looking west. Took me a while to decide on the view, it seems no matter where I look I see something worth capturing. I was half tempted to do a painting of the art gallery that was across the street ...
More About: Painting , Creating

Buildings and a Pickup
2007-12-20 05:18:00
Headed out at lunch and decided to try my luck with finding a parking spot downtown from which to paint. After circling a few city blocks finally found a spot and parked, and with the rain finally stopped figured I could set up behind the car. I really don’t care any more about finding a ...
More About: Painting , Buildings , Pickup

Perfectly dull
2007-12-19 05:50:00
Raining today. I drove back to Dance street to see what I could find and parked across in the “pay” parking lot - did this little study from inside the car. A real pain in the rear to paint in a vehicle but I am determined to paint one way or the other.  A city ...
More About: Painting

A thousand empty choices
2007-12-18 15:20:00
I want to capture the deep sadness around me… all is not as pristine and perfect as you think. There are deep chasms of sorrow and despair just beneath the surface. A dark and oily thick river of inky loneliness that is flowing under us.There is love there. Only in our sad eyes do we ...
More About: Thousand , Choices , Empty

Spokane Arena
2007-12-18 04:42:00
Did this little study at lunch today. Cold rain set in while I was painting, my colors began to run together on the palette, didn’t seem to matter. Keep painting, let them run, just put it down as you feel it, as it comes to you. Wanted to do another painting after this one - ...
More About: Painting , Spokane , Arena , Kane

Labor of love
2007-12-17 03:54:00
This has been an interesting day. Set out early this morning hoping to capture a larger panel (20×16) of the Lows, only to battle with the 18 degree temps. Acrylic turning to mud, could accomplish nothing. So, went back home, and determined to figure out how to paint from inside a car. I finally just ...
More About: Love , Painting , Labor

Enough here for a lifetime
2007-12-16 15:49:00
Did another study of the low trees yesterday, much the same view as the 20×16 of the day before. I keep looking, hoping to find something hidden. Sometimes I think these trees are the school, an anchoring point from which I can then go out and explore other subjects, but I always come back here ...
More About: Painting , Lifetime