Earlier this week I was contacted by Drawing Dreams, a Berkeley, California-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that helps provide art supplies to children’s hospitals. Their goal is to provide art supplies to hospitalized children, children’s hospitals’ Artist-in-Residence and Child Life programs, and other organizations where the need arises. You can visit our website at: www.drawingdreams.org
I was asked if I would cosider donating copies of two image files for their Artists Helping Children on-line gallery, which I have done. One image will be considered for a note card given to donors in appreciation of donations.
If you are interested in donating to Drawing Dreams you can visit their website at: www.drawingdreams.org
I have had two of my paintings accepted for the Guildess “Flow” April Gallery Night juried exhibition. The exhibition can be viewed at “Live Artists Studio”, 228 S. 1st St #302, Milwaukee WI. from April 16th to May 3rd. Stop down to see all the great art during April Gallery Night. Hope to see you there. Thank you.
I am pleased to announce that 5 of my pastels have been chosen for the “11th Annual Realism Online International Art Exhibition”. 5 of my pieces have been chosen from the approximately 175 entries. The show debuted worldwide February 1, 2010 at www.upstreampeoplegallery.com. Please visit the site to see my art. The exhibition will remain online for a full year. I appreciate your support. Thank you.
I am excited to inform you that one of my pastels, “Woodenshoe Canyon”, has been accepted for display in this years Kohler Arts Center Eight Counties exhibition which celebrates Wisconsin regional artists. It will be held in the Arts Center’s Collections & Community Galleries from January 25 through March 21, 2010. Artists will include painters, photographers, woodworkers, textile artists, sculptors, ceramists, printmakers, installation artists, glass artists, metalsmiths, and other art forms.
I am sure the exhibit will offer much of interest, so if you have time check it out.
I have just added a new pastel to my site titled, “Hurricane Wash”. Below are six photos of the work in progress. If you refer to my blog from August 22nd, the same work process is used for this new pastel.
I just completed a new pastel inspired by past trips to Southern Utah. The painting captures the beauty of the Hurricane Wash area. Hurricane Wash is located in the Grand Staircase National Monument of southern Utah. This is an area that contains numerous picturesque canyons. Take a look at a map of Utah and find Bryce Canyon National Park, Look east to locate the town of Escalante. Just east of Escalante is a dirt road heading southeast called the “hole-in-the-rock-road”. Hurricane Wash trailhead is 35 miles down that road. The trail goes 13 miles down the wash to the Escalante River which runs into the Colorado River. A mile down the trail, which starts out as a sandy dry wash, you are led into a canyon whose walls gradually increase in height. After only a few more miles, the dry wash turns into a stream. Downstream you’ll find the Jacob Hamblin Arch, along with waterfalls and pools.
The end of the 57 mile hole-in-the-rock-road takes you to a historical site. In 1880 a party of 250 mormons and 80 wagons were given the task of starting a settlement in Bluff Utah (SE Utah). They gathered in Escalante and made their way 57 miles over very rough country to the Colorado River. Here they were forced to build a road down the sides of the canyon in order to cross the river and continue on to the Bluff area. The trip took 6 months.
Check out “Hurricane Wash” in my pastel gallery.
Hole In The Rock
Over the past week I’ve finished two Pen & Ink pieces which have been added to the Pen & Ink gallery. They are titled “Papillon” and “Tecumseh”. Below are four photos of “Tecumseh” from beginning to completion.
I work out the composition on tracing paper and then transfer it to either Strathmore or Aquabee Bristol Board using a sheet of Sally’s Graphite paper. For a dog or human portrait I start by working on the eyes, nose and mouth since this is where their personality comes out. I use five different point sized “Copic” technical pens (08, 03, 01, 005, and 003) and some white gouache. I try not to use the gouache a lot but it does come in handy. Finishing off the face I move to the hair, ears and neck. Then on to the earrings, necklaces, etc. followed by the clothes. I am constantly adjusting the lights and darks until I am comfortable with their appearance. Check out the two finished pieces in my gallery.
I have just finished a pastel which has been added to the pastel gallery called “Ruins Canyon”. Following is a series of six photos of the picture from beginning to completion.
I work out the composition on tracing paper and then transfer it to Soft Umber Art Spectrum Colourfix Pastel Paper. The soft Umber gives me a good mid-tone to start with. For landscapes I usually put in the sky and then work from upper left to lower right starting with harder pastels (Faber-Castells and Nupastels) and working in the softer pastels (Rembrandt, Alphacolor, Art Spectrum and Sennelier). If there is detail in areas I will use Carbothello pastel pencils but I don’t use pencils a lot. Once I have worked down to the lower right I will go back and balance out the entire picture tweeking the darks and lights and colors until they look right. At this stage I like to set it aside and come back to see what areas need further work. Check out the finished piece in the gallery.
As promised…the completed painting “Anasazi Tourists” and the rest of our honeymoon adventure!
Anasazi Tourists
We were married at Sipapu Natural Bridge on October 1, 2007 at 9 a.m. Our plan was to honeymoon in Owl canyon, so we headed back to the car and were off to Owl Canyon (18 miles away). Once we arrived, we packed our backpacks and started hiking down just as several clouds started rolling in. This canyon is quite steep so our descent was slow. By 2 p.m. there was a steady rain which made the scramble down the final boulder slide quite challenging. The rain had caused many streams to form and made for some slippery crossings. We worked our way down to a pouroff by 5 p.m., set up camp and had a wet supper. We were drained from the long events of the day and turned in early. (Real romantic, huh?) At about 1:00 a.m. we were awakened by a BIG thunderstorm that seemed to be right over our site. It rained so hard that it even came through our rain fly. Although I’ve never experienced a flash flood before, that was exactly what I was thinking when I thought I heard a freight train coming from the top of the canyon. I told my new bride to get dressed…we had to head for higher ground! The pouroff we were camped near had suddenly turned into Niagara Falls! We hustled out of our tent and headed for a ledge to huddle under, hoping our tent would be there when we returned. About 2 hours later the rain lessened and we returned to our site. The water level had risen quite a bit and came very close to our tent but we were relieved to see it was still there. When the storm subsided we climbed back into our tent for a few more hours sleep.
The next morning dawned sunny and warm, Niagara Falls was back to its normal trickle and life was good! Needless to say, we will never forget our honeymoon night.
From upper left: Small Anasazi ruin; upper Owl Canyon; Pouroff site
I currently am exhibiting three pastels in the “Off The Map” exhibit at Artworks Kenosha Gallery in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The exhibit ends July 31st. Stop by and check ‘em out.
I am currently working on a watercolor of Sipapu Natural Bridge, Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah. Finished size will be 12”W x 17”H. I have attached a photo of Sipapu Natural Bridge on the right, along with a photo of the work in progress on the left. There will be two Anasazi Indians in the picture to give it some sense of scale. The Anasazi lived here from about AD 750 to 1300. Their cliff dwellings and grain storage structures can be seen throughout this area. I may call the painting “Anasazi Tourists”.
Sipapu Natural Bridge
This is a special place for me, perhaps my all-time favorite area. There are many different canyons to explore and the place hasn’t really changed that much since I first came through here in 1974. Other than the main road now being paved it still retains its wildness.
Sipapu is special to me for another reason also. In October of 2007 my wife and I were married underneath Sipapu Bridge with two park rangers as our witnesses. For our honeymoon we then backpacked into Owl Canyon where Mother Nature had a surprise for us. Check back in next week, I should have this painting done and I can tell you the rest of our wedding adventure!
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