WHISTLER PEAK

Another study done in my sketchbook, this time looking South from Whistler peak. I love the feeling one gets when looking at the distant landscape. And viewing other mountains from where I stood looking across what seems like eons of space and time was truly exhilarating. It really didn't matter which direction you looked. Fortunately the weather was only slightly cool with a bit of overcast so we were lucky in that regard. This set the scene for some interesting skies along with cloud shadows and the occasional bursts of sunlight breaking through. Whistler was certainly one of the highlights of my trip and I'm eager to start working back in the studio creating some oil paintings from what I have seen and experienced.

WHISTLER

About a two hour drive north of Vancouver is the village of Whistler. Initially only a winter resort, the village now has about 10,000 residents which swell by many thousand more during the peak season. We visited Whistler last week and I was treated to many spectacular vistas surrounding the village and also on the drive up. After exploring a bit and watching some of the many mountain bikers, we took first a gondola ride up Whistler mountain (which goes about three quarters of the way) then an open ski lift to the top. I can't begin to describe how beautiful everything was. From the peak the view is simply incredible! There were many distant mountains to focus on, most of them capped with various amounts of snow. The sketchbook study above is from the end of the gondola ride looking North. While I only have studies to show at the moment, I'm sure that there will be many oils to come.

CLEARING SKIES - BOMBAYHOOK

I'm away in Canada at the moment staying on the Fraser River about 45 min south of Vancouver. This is my third visit to the area and I have come back once again to explore and to paint the landscape. The surrounding mountains make the area particularly beautiful and this time more than ever, I am hoping that some exciting paintings will come out of my visit. I have managed a number of drawings and watercolor studies so far plus some photos of evening skies although for the most part, it has been hot and sunny. Away from the mountains and forests, the lowlands are interesting too and being mostly flat, one is able to get a better understanding of the landscape. 'Clearing Skies' above was painted on the Eastern shore of Maryland back in the US but in some respects is similar to what I have seen here. There are plenty of lakes with the occasionally boggy area much like what we have back East although most of that is tidal.
Birds have been good here too and I have seen a number of 'lifers'. Plenty of Eagles and Osprey patrol the river and on my early morning walks through the forest, I am treated to the etherial fluting song of the Hermit Thrush - surely the most beautiful song of any North American passerine. Now I'm anxious to return to my studio and get busy painting some of the things I have seen here and recording my ideas and impressions. Some of them are sure to look like the painting above. Clearing Skies is in oil and measures 9" X 12".

SUMMER CLOUDS - STUDY

While I am still hard at work on a few larger works which aren't finished yet, I did manage to complete this small study. This one is more about the clouds than anything else - I like the effect of the sun bursting through the bottom of the cloud formation and it's reflection on the water. Since the clouds were so heavily back-lit, I struggled to get the tones of the clouds correct but this is why I do so many smaller studies like this. It really doesn't matter how many times they are repainted or if they become finished paintings or not. In many ways, each one is more of an experiment than anything else and my studio is littered with them! Some are mere scraps of canvas tacked to a board, others are done on gessoed paper but all are important to me in one way or another. This oil is 8" X 10".

PATH THROUGHT THE WOODS

This small study was recently completed and is of a pathway through the woods that I usually follow on my way home from the reserve. The snow was relatively thick on the ground at that time reflecting some of the evening glow of the setting sun behind me and hence is lighter than the sky. I especially liked the contrast between the darker foliage and lighter ground/sky areas along with the abstract quality of the scene. A few stars added some interest to the darkened sky.
I haven't done many night scenes but finishing this one has opened up a new direction for me to explore. I was pleased with the outcome although I struggled to get a good photo of the finished painting and it still isn't right. For one thing, the stars are a little brighter and there are also more subtle details in the darker areas. It seem that a lot of these finer details in my work are being missed when I photograph my work and is a problem that I have been aware of for some time. I am experimenting with various lighting methods and hopefully I'll soon have it figured out.
While continuing with this series of small studies, I am becoming more aware of how many different ways there are to paint a picture - one of the reasons that I am continuing with them. Within these studies though, I'm not only looking for ways to tackle a certain idea but also working in the hope of getting something that perhaps wasn't there in the first place. This of course, is more related to my feelings about art and design rather than to the scene itself. Wyeth got around this problem by making many studies both in pencil and watercolor of his intended subjects but for me, I have to be careful as too much of this and I can lose interest. It becomes instead a feeling of having already created the painting (in a study form) then I want to go onto the next one without having done the larger painting. Path through the woods is 7 1/4" X 5 1/4".

SHEEP CANYON STUDY

I have not posted here for some time and this is due to two things: One, I have been working on a few larger paintings which are taking their sweet time! And two, I have had somewhat of a painters' block. Unfortunately this does happen from time to time and I have found the only way to work through it is to try and keep positive, and work on smaller studies. These times are not about if I can paint or not, I think it is more along the lines of re-arranging my inner self. Since all my painting comes from my feelings and thoughts about the natural world, this inner feeling is central to all that I do and create. Consequently when out of balance, painting is the first to suffer. On a positive note, this usually happens when I am about to take a step forward with my work so I'm hoping for a happy outcome!
The smaller study above was inspired by a program I saw on TV and reminded me of the view I saw when looking out of Sheep Canyon while I was out west. As posted earlier, this trip made a deep and lasting impression on me. I'm still planning new paintings from the desert and hope to make it out to the Grand Canyon later this year. I can imagine the effect that place will have on me! Sheep Canyon is an oil and the size is 5" x 7".

FAR-EASTERN MYSTERY

This more recently completed portrait had (like so many other paintings) been started some time ago. I'm hoping to do more along this particular line but with me, you can never tell! While I have spent most of my recent studio time working on landscapes, there is so much more that I want to do - if only I had the time! Since this was the first attempt at a more formal portrait, I kept the lighting and composition simple. I was quite pleased with the outcome of this one though, but I still have a few areas that I'll work on when I get the chance. In this portrait I tried to capture her inherent beauty and proud heritage. I especially enjoyed working on the traditional Chinese dress. Made from silk, this was fun to paint with the silvery sheen highlights and the sudden deeper tones. I think I caught the model in a pensive mood too and I worked hard at trying to capture the correct skin tones. There certainly seems far more for me to explore within this subject matter and I have plenty of ideas too, and dare I say it - perhaps a self portrait!!!! I'll post more when (and if) I get some of them finished. This oil is 20" X 16".