Inspiring Image: Abstract Reality

“Japanese Lady With Fan”, George Henry (1858-1943)

Here’s a lovely painting that I’ve admired for years. What I most respond to in this piece is the wonderful marriage of abstract and realism. George Henry, a Scottish painter, masterfully designed a beautiful, rich canvas with varied colors and edges. For a relatively small painting, there is much to keep the viewer’s eye engaged, and the entire painting has a lovely decorative quality about it.

Quite magically, we begin to realize the head of a geisha has been placed right in the center of the image. Her head is turned away in a demure fashion that enhances the mystery and intrigue of her character. It is also a clever device to help the artist keep readily identifiable features of her face from taking away from the overall abstract quality.

From Behind The Easel: Dawning

“Dawning”, 24”x18”, oil on canvas

My daughter and I went for a hike around one of our favorite little lakes yesterday. As we enjoyed the cool, crisp morning air, I was delighted to find that my daughter had transformed into a fairy who happily toured me around her wooded home. She pointed out wonderful signs of spring growth and colorful changes to the lakeshore.

We saw a beaver dam and many freshly felled trees awaiting their place in the woven wall. She also spotted the young lily pads, tightly rolled below the surface of the water, about to emerge and unfurl before they blossom. My fairy guide said she can’t wait fly out and sit on the lily pads where she can talk to the frogs. Lucky her!

The Pensive Palette: A Touch Of Spring

“Touch of Spring”, 18”x24”, acrylic on board

As we begin to thaw from the winter chill, we look forward to longer days and the return of our feathered friends from holiday. I like to imagine nature is a great theatrical stage and the critters are the players. Birds are my favorite “actors” and always add a spark of life to a wilderness experience.  Here’s a little touch of spring for your viewing pleasure!

From Behind The Easel: Simile

    

 

“Simile," 21”x15,” acrylic on board

When I decided to paint a river otter, I wanted to capture the spirit of an animal that straddles both aquatic and terrestrial realms. As a mammal, the otter is most closely linked with other small land-based critters. But the otter is probably happiest in the water where it has evolved into a sleek, supple swimmer. I wanted to celebrate both sides of the otter.

The concept of the otter painting came from thinking of the otter’s complementary opposite worlds; land and water. With this is mind I decided to create a composition based on the Chinese yin and yang symbol. You can see the S shape divide between the water and rock, and the dark of the otter opposite the light, reflective water. The otter’s curved body and the bubbling water in the lower left help guide the eye around and back into the painting. I wanted the water itself to emulate the smooth, twisting nature of a swimming otter while the otter itself is at rest. This helps visually link the animal with its environment while maintaining an overall calm, almost zen-like feeling.

From Behind The Easel: Roar

“Roar”, 8”x10”, acrylic on board

Sometimes I just do a painting for fun. This little study was about exploring textures and the hierarchy of mouth sizes for some fantasy creatures. This was done right after university when we didn’t have much. At the time (over twenty years ago), I came close to painting over it because the board it was painted on seemed more valuable to me than the image.  I don’t remember exactly what happened, but I suspect my wife convinced me not to erase it. This was not an isolated case. Someday I’ll talk about the power and importance of an artist destroying their work.

Now when I see this piece it is a warm reminder of that place in time. It’s a fun little painting, but what it represents in my history and evolution is what I really enjoy. Based on the colour palette, I was probably inspired by James Gurney’s Dinotopia which had recently been published. I was also starting to become involved in painting Magic Cards for Wizards of the Coast so fantasy subjects were on my mind.  In the end I’m glad this one made the cut!

From Behind The Easel: Miniature Show

“Early Spring," 9”x12,” acrylic on board 

“Liquid Gold," 12”x9,” acrylic on board

These two images are my own work, and will be included in the Miniature Show at Collector’s Covey Gallery. You can learn about the show here and see my past work for it here.

The Pensive Palette: Poised

“Poised”, 9”x12” acrylic on board

Sometimes, especially on small paintings, I depict my subject matter in a vignette style. This means that I create a fairly simple background without the environment that clearly allows the focus to be on the animal or bird. This doesn’t mean the background is not important. The colors and textures chosen need to compliment the subject and are hopefully interesting unto themselves. This a technique often employed by portrait artists to showcase the sitter. I like giving our furry and feathered friends this same treatment!

I was fortunate to have permission to use Frank Cleland’s wonderful photo of a Cassin’s Finch for my painting “Poised”. His photo lent itself to the vignette style because it was shot with a telephoto lens that blurred the background. I used specific colors to show off the bird, and subtle brushstrokes to help keep the background from feeling flat and lifeless. I also faded the branch into the background to remind the viewer that, while realistically portrayed, it is a painting and not a photo.

From Behind The Easel: Reverence

“Reverence", 24" x 36" oil on canvas

Sunsets on the Pacific Ocean are so magical because you really feel like you’re standing at the end of the world. This painting is from the high cliffs near Elk on the northern California coast. It’s at these moments when I am overwhelmed with the beauty of nature and need to grasp what I can through my painting.

From Behind The Easel: Buster

“Buster”, 9”x12” oil on canvas

This was a fun little painting I did from a trip we took to a farm in New Jersey. Near the end of the day, just before heading to the cars, I decided to poke my head into the stable that seemed unoccupied. To my surprise there was a horse inside with a nameplate over his stall that read “Buster”. I snapped a few reference photos and headed home.

When it came time to do this piece I was reminded of the fabulous light that John Singer Sargent employed in some of his Italian interior paintings. I decided to give Buster some of this Sargent-inspired lighting to brighten his day. 

From Behind The Easel: The Challenge

“The Challenge” (Detail), 24”x18” oil on canvas

Here’s a WIP of two red-winged blackbirds fighting for territory based on the wonderful photos of our dear friend, artist Ann Chaikin.

Please take a look at some of her work - her personal blog, her photography blog, her painting blog, her PBase, her Flickr, and her Facebook display her paintings and photography, and also serve as fountains of inspiration for any art-loving individual.

Inspiring Image: One Of My Dots

"Among The Teasels", Randal Dutra, 36" x 50", Oil on linen

I recently posted a quote by Steve Jobs where he advocated for connecting the dots of your life to help find your unique views.  Sometimes your dots can include the many dots of another person who is influential in your life.  I am fortunate to call artist Randal Dutra both mentor and friend.  Randal embodies the creative spirit and is fluent with any medium he feels will convey his vision.  Aside from his beautiful paintings and bronzes, Randal has amassed a 25 year career in film where he worked primarily in animation.  He is best known for his pioneering work on Jurassic Park and was nominated for an Academy Award for directing the animation on Steven Spielberg's War Of The Worlds.

Over the years, Randal has been generous with words of advice, critique, and inspiration.  I am the lucky recipient of his many years of experience across multiple genre and medium.  As we find our way along our journey, it important to remember that others walk before us and can be incredible resources.  When possible, look to those ahead of you for direction, inspiration, and how one can connect the dots.

See more of Randal's work at www.randaldutra.com

The Pensive Palette: Silhouettes

"Marsh Wren", 22"x14", oil on board

Visual clarity and simplicity are often forgotten by artists who are so excited about their subject matter that they include everything.  Good picture making begins with a solid idea expressed through strong composition.  To help me achieve my compositional goals and maintain a clear visual message, I will often use silhouettes to make sure the main elements read well.  Reducing shapes to basic silhouettes allows me to focus on shapes without the distraction of colour or detail.  I can also make sure the shape I'm working on is interesting and drawn well.

When testing with silhouettes I will usually work quite small (thumbnails under 2") so I'm not tempted to get fussy.  I want to make decisions based on readability and detail only makes this harder.  We all love detail and can easily fall in love with superficial aspects of a subject while forgetting the overall shape of what we're painting.  Another helpful tool is a digital camera or smartphone.  You can take a photo of a sketch or painting in the early stage.  Use a very small, black and white version of this photo to study the overall impact of the shapes and make sure what you want to say is being heard.

The Pensive Palette: Your Eyes

“Beheld”, 9”x12” acrylic on board     

“All art is at once surface and symbol.” (Oscar Wilde)

Art offers itself as both decorative and meaningful. Sometimes the meaning is minimal or self-evident. At its best, art is layered and mysterious. It can be a powerful tool for us to see inside ourselves and learn about the world. Art is a personal endeavor because our interactions are based on what we bring to the process. Our experiences, knowledge, preferences, and hearts help us hear when art is speaking directly to us. It is the difference between “that’s pretty” and “I gotta have that!”. 

Inspiring Image: South African Police Station

 South African Police Station, 12" x 17", oil; 1891 Sir Frank Brangwyn (1867-1956)

I quite like this quiet, understated painting of a South African police station from 1891 by Sir Frank Brangwyn. The field in particular is handled beautifully without being overly detailed.

From Behind the Easel: Descending Shadows

“Descending Shadows”, 24”x18”” oil on board

As some of you may know, our family has recently decided to make some shifts in our perspective and attempt to follow our own path.  What that means is we sold our house, took the kids out of school, and started accepting what the world was offering us.  Our plan is loosely structured and we make our decisions together.  The kids are all homeschooling (or as I like to say “lifeschooling”) and we are finding truly wonderful learning experiences outside of the traditional model.  This is something we have contemplated for many years and have finally had the courage to attempt.  We feel blessed to be in a position to take hold of this opportunity.

Our most recent excursion was moving ourselves eastward for nearly three weeks to house/kitty-sit for dear friends who were away in Europe.  We had the fabulous chance to experience living in the Okanagan valley, affectionately known as Napa North for the many world-class wineries.  The valley is the northern tip of the Sonora Desert and is a richly bio-diverse environment.  We were treated to amazing views of clouds rolling into the valley below while mule deer and bighorn sheep grazed the property.  Needless to say the inspiration for painting was prevalent and I look forward to what will come from our stay there.

Here is a painting I did based on previous trips to the area.  You can see the beautiful rock outcrop as a backdrop to the understated beauty of the sagebrush, all backlit by the beautiful Okanagan light.  You can see another painting I did from the area in my post from May 17, 2014.

Inspiring Image: A Wild Life

“Resting Cat”, 22”x42”, acrylic on board, Bob Kuhn (1920-2007)

Bob Kuhn was a master of modern wildlife painting and a true original.  He began his career in art as an illustrator for magazine covers and calendars.  His early work feels a bit stiff in its execution, which was likely required by the graphic nature of the commercial world he worked within.  Once he moved into fine art painting full-time, his work began to take on a more organic quality with special attention paid to paint application and texture.  With his keen eye developed from years of drawing from life, Kuhn’s subjects are expertly rendered and often in wholly unique poses.

Kuhn is known for his deceivingly simple compositions with their signature horizontal formats and flat fields of color.  These large areas of color are often beautifully designed shapes with complex textures achieved by many layers paint applied with brush, palette knife, and finger.  Kuhn’s work is all the more impressive because he worked with acrylics, a medium that can be tricky to use in a painterly fashion.  His main subject matter was North American big game, although he beautifully captured African and Asian species as well.

From Behind the Easel: Colour Me Glad

“Autumn’s Embrace”, 24”x18”” acrylic on canvas

Autumn is here and my heart leaps.  The shortened days and crisper temperatures remind us that the year is quickly sliding into the darker half.  We collect our bounty as we brace against the barren time ahead.  Our thoughts turn inward while personal journeys of recollection take hold.  But before we shutter ourselves away for the winter, we are treated to nature’s triumph of color.  The artist in autumn is offered the most freedom to explore a vivid palette while remaining true to the source.

My painting “Autumn’s Embrace” features a pair of cedar waxwings against the turning leaves of an aspen.  I love to walk among stands of aspen as they filter the light and gently quake in the breeze.  Their turning leaves have almost a pointillist quality and I decided to frame the tree in my painting quite closely so it has a slightly abstract feel to it.

From Behind the Easel: Music To My Eyes

"Interlude", 16"x28", acrylic on board

Aside from nature, music is my biggest inspiration.  I am pretty sure I was a bass player in a previous life, and often dream of life as a musician.  In some ways, music is more important to me than art for the simple fact that music is always on in our home.  Even when art has to take a back seat to daily life, music is a constant.  Music lifts my spirit and helps me reach inside for creative energy. 

Although I can only imagine what it must feel like to create musical magic, I can use music and musical ideas for my own purposes.  My painting “Interlude” features a cougar drinking at a pool under moonlight.  An interlude in music is a short piece inserted between the longer parts of a composition.  It is a small rest from the larger themes and allows us to reflect upon what we are experiencing.  I have shown the cougar taking a short break from his nighttime activities.  We, in turn, are allowed to pause for a moment as we enjoy this intimate scene.

The Pensive Palette: You Light Up My Life

“Water Dance”, 12”x16”, oil on board

Most realist painting includes an element of what we see.  The majority of people think we see stuff.  The reality is we see light reflecting off of stuff.  How we see the stuff depends on the quality, intensity, and color of the light source that allows us to see the object.  As a painter, it is important to remember we are capturing the effects of light on objects.  Developing a keen eye and ability to really see light is paramount.  We need to be able to distinguish subtle changes and shifts in light quality.  The more we understand the world around us, the more we can dissect and reconstruct it in our art.

My painting “Water Dance” is all about the gorgeous, fleeting time of day before sunset known as the magic hour.  The sun’s light is nearing the horizon and traveling at a more severe angle, needing to pass through more air molecules.  Short blue and violet light waves are scattered by the atmosphere and longer orange-red light waves pass through unaffected.  This produces the warm glow we see on objects near sunset.  

The observant artist can study all the light around them and make use of quality, direction, and color of light to convey time of day as well as mood and emotion.

Inspiring Image: Duck Dynasty

“Goldeneye”, 7”x10” acrylic on board (2013), Robert Steiner

  

When I began my professional art career I worked within the confines of the established world of wildlife art.  I love portraying the beauty of the natural world and the amazing creatures that inhabit it.  My introduction into this genre came from exposure to duck stamp art that was popular where I grew up.  Paintings were chosen each year to be turned into stamps purchased by duck hunters as proof of registration.  The proceeds in turn helped purchase and protect wetland habitat.  I am proud that a number of my paintings have been used for land conservation over the years.

My biggest inspiration in the duck stamp world is Robert Steiner.  I first met Bob at an art show in Michigan and he was very encouraging to the dreams of a then 13 year-old aspiring artist.  We met again years later at another art show as fellow exhibitors and have remained friends since.  Over the years he has continued to push the boundaries of realist painting and redefine duck stamp art.  He is the most decorated artist in stamp art history with 82 winning designs including two federal wins.  To see more of Bob’s work please visit www.steinerprints.com.