Finally finished this ambitious large painting. Studio time has been scarce this summer as I have been busy with other things like camping, road trips, hiking and somebody has to ride that motorcycle. Once the landscape was complete I decided I wanted to add some life to the painting. First I painted a snowshoe rabbit down in the right hand corner peering out of the shadows waiting to make a run for it, but i didn’t like the outcome so I painted it back out. The rabbit was rendered just fine but it just didn’t work with the composition. Then I painted the tracks in the snow in the right hand corner, and followed that with a carefully painted owl in the deep shadows of the right hand tree. After careful study I didn’t like the owl in the shadow so I painted it out, love that artistic license. I settled on painting a Grey Owl on a branch in the upper left of the painting, looking down on a possible lunch. You may need to zoom in to get a look at him as he blends in quite well with the surroundings. Paintings are a series of decisions, some good, some not and sometimes I have to thrash around trying different things not knowing what will work, until it does…
This painting will be hanging in my studio for the near future and will be on display at Chuckanut Bay Gallery in November. If you want to visit PatternArt Studio & Gallery at 1000 Harris Ave. in downtown Fairhaven, call or text at 360-820-8025 and I’ll meet you there.
The above three paintings have been juried in to the Puget Sound Group of Artists exhibition at Matzke Gallery on Camano Island opening October 19. https://www.psgnwa.org/ https://www.matzkefineart.com/ . Madrona Waves and Devil’s Club are both 30″ x 48″ Acrylic on Canvas, Beach Bones is a somewhat smaller watercolor.
While I haven’t spent as much time in the studio this summer, I have been keeping up a small sketch book. My lovely wife Nancy made this little watercolor sketchbook for me as a christmas gift a few years ago, one of her many talents. The above are exerpts from the aforementioned book. Drawing and painting are like any other discipline, they require regular engagement.
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