"Three Whites and a Red" - DOLLAR FEATURED AUCTION - Starts 6 PM PDT

"Three Whites and a Red"    6" x 8"     Oil

"I wonder how many times I have painted that apple. I have a variety of the most realistic artificial fruit I can find in my collection of still life objects. I can throw together a large still life for a class or for my own use in minutes. Looking back at my paintings over 35 years, I see my old, faithful 'friends'."  --- SFG

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NOTE TO ARTISTS: Small, daily paintings are now the rage. Once the standard rite of passage of the beginning artist, these are still a wonderful exercise. Just watch the growth of the daily painters who show their work online and you will confirm their value.

"Late Blaze"

"Late Blaze" - Oil on Canvas on Panel - 6" x 8"

"California's coastal residents are recipients of a light show each evening, especially if the sky has clouds to provide variety and contrast.  One becomes aware of the stages of the sunset when the sky transitions from green to gold to orange to red. This is the gold stage." --- SFG

NOW ON AUCTION -- Starting bid $55

NOTE TO ARTISTS:

Small paintings are more direct and less encumbered with detail, as is this small seascape. Making many starts, especially if you use a brush larger than you would normally choose, focuses the painter's attention on the essentials of composition, values, and color.

"My Imaginary Friend"

"My Imaginary Friend" - Oil - 9" x 12"

"This wisteria trellis is in full bloom and I hoped to have a model to paint. The subject just called for a lady in a sunhat ... or one with a basket... or one sitting in a wicker chair with mint julep waiting nearby. Unfortunately, the plan didn't work out. This figure is imagined." --- SFG

"Variation on a Theme #3"

"Variation on a Theme #3" - Oil - 8" x 6"

"My third painting (see previous posts) was a small 8" x 6" version. I laid the paint on thickly and concentrated on lively, abstract forms." --- SFG

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"Shed at Carter Cabin"

"Shed at Carter Cabin" - Oil - 8" x 10"

"These quick little paintings are such a joy to do. Catching the quality of light and shadow is the goal and the subject matter is the icing on the cake. This small building is located on the only privately owned property within a wilderness area in the United States. The owners graciously invite my family from time to time. It is certainly one of the most beautiful areas in California." --- SFG

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"Backyard Jumble, McCloud, California"

"Backyard Jumble, McCloud, California" - Oil - 24" x 24"

"This rickety shed is set among the litter so typical of the charmingly trashy-chic community of McCloud, California. The small-town atmosphere and spectacular views of Mt. Shasta nullify any need for conformity to standards applied elsewhere. Once a rough-and-ready lumber town, it is now a get-away community for those from the Bay area or southern California. Artists who visit are grateful that it maintains this character for it is infinitely more interesting than planned and rigidly supervised resorts." --- SFG

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"Open Gate"

"Open Gate" - Oil - 8" x 10"

"My plein air paintings are a diary of my life. A few weeks ago, when we were visiting our son and daughter-in-law, the guys wanted to attend an RC model competition. Having experienced two generations of contests, I went down the road and set up my easel in this picturesque rural setting. I did two small paintings while my husband and son enjoyed the event. I enjoyed myself as much as they did!" --- SFG

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"Springtime in the Vineyard"

"Springtime in the Vineyard" - Oil - 11" x 14"

"This vineyard, perched on the hills above Cambria, California, defied the image of a slick winery and had rustic appeal of its own. The old barn harkened back to the days when it was a cattle ranch." --- SFG

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NOTE TO ARTISTS:

Yesterday, I started to write this blog, first showing the work as it was when I stopped work on it in the field. Then I had another shot of the "finished" work. When I had both images on the screen, I realized that the painting was better in the "before" view than in the "after".

Before:

After:

I had lost the simple shadows on the barn and overdone the lines around the barn doors. Today, I reworked it and am happier with the result. Sometimes we loose sight of the big things when we begin to "noodle"!

"Nursery Near Hubbard"

"Nursery Near Hubbard" - Oil - 8" x 10"

"The area south of Portland, Oregon, is where much of the landscaping plants for the west coast are raised. The beautiful patterns such nurseries make as they drape the hillsides and fine landscape painting material. This one is in view of Lenhart Air Park." -- SFG

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"Near the Shed"

"Near the Shed" - Oil - 8" x 10"

"While visiting our son and daughter-in-law, I painted the farms within walking distance. This one, across the road, had sheds, a small vineyard, and roses at the end of the driveway. The light was just right to enjoy the blooms." --- SFG

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NOTE TO ARTISTS:

These small paintings that I've been posting lately are not masterpieces, but are part of the ongoing discipline of painting. Many are done while traveling with family or friends.

An artist must maintain his skills. Bill Reese, a wonderful teacher, said (often), "If you paint every day, you get better. If you paint every-other-day, you stay the same. And if you paint every third day, you get worse."

"Our Trees, Autumn"

"Our Trees, Autumn" -- 20" x 16" -- Oil

"Color, composition, and lush paint were my focus as I painted." --- SFG

WORK IN PROGRESS:



I based the painting on this photo taken in New Hampshire several years ago and Sergei Bongart's painting titled "Fall in Idaho, Kievtshina". Those of you who have his book may recognize it.




As I drew on the canvas with thinned paint, I was careful with the placement of the large tree since it dominates the painting. It would have been easy, but a big mistake, to place it in the middle. I needed something to come forward so I used the fence shadows, the curve of the driveway, and the mass at the lower right.

I shaped the dark masses, joining those I could and varying the greens from near-blues to reddish. I usually try to keep the color on the warm side in foliage since light filtering through a forest has many warm tones.

Here, I've added the hill in the background. Notice how important the abstract shapes are. They balance the painting and move the viewer's eye around. I did this very assertively. PAINT FEARLESSLY!

Always go for the big shapes. That large tree is not just a bunch of leaves that add up to a tree.

Now the canvas is covered with big shapes and clear value changes. From here to completion, I won't be painting a place. I'll be making a painting.

My palette at this point shows how I compare my colors as I mix them, keeping the lights together and the darks together, the warms together and the cools together. I didn't even think about it as I was mixing. It has become habit after all these years.

As I start to add details and accents, I decided that the repetitious fence shadows trapped the eye too much.

That's better in the foreground. I also decided to break the roofline of the shed by placing a tree in front of it. In the final version, shown at the top of this post, you'll see a few changes I made after I had signed it. I reshaped the top of the largest tree and broke the small but strong horizontal of the weeds in front of the shed. It attracted too much attention.

Making Your Art Collection Your Own

I hope all of you have the opportunity to visit the Prix de West Show at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. If not, go to http://www.nationalcowboymuseum.org/events/pdw/2009catalog/available.aspx The stop was part of my multi-city trip and was well worth it.

An added bonus was the McCloy Collection. (Go to http://www.nationalcowboymuseum.org/events/event.aspx?ID=189) This is a private art collection of Bob and Curtice McCloy of Oklahoma. It features the works of such notable artists as Bob Kuhn, Ken Carlson, Tucker Smith, William Acheff and more. The show, “Patrons Without Peer”, coincides with the release of a book by the same title in which Tom Davis documents the substantial collection.

What struck me while enjoying the virtuosity of these masters, was that the work shown told me as much about the collectors as the artists, perhaps more. Their vision and ability to foresee the artistic value of these works was surely based on their own preferences, but excellence was the underlying determinant. To have linked top-ranking painters into one group ties them together as long as the collection is united. What a boon for artist and collector alike. The whole becomes greater than the sum of the parts and is the creation of the collector.

Anyone who collects art has the opportunity to create a strong collection. The McCloys bought, traded, and sold works over the years, refining their stable of artists and pieces and, ultimately, produced a very noteworthy representation of themselves and of art itself.

Now, seize the day! Work on your collection with all the joy and promise that an artist feels as he steps before the easel.

"Autumn at the Creek"

"Autumn at the Creek" - Oil - 9" x 12" - $350

"I love to paint water. The chance to paint reflections, transparent water and what's below the surface, and whites in waterfalls and turbulence is always a challenge and such fun. This stream had a small waterfall in the foreground and I painted it quickly with broad strokes. The trees and shrubs surrounding it gave definition to the scene"." --- SFG

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