En Plein Air

This last Sunday, I joined the nice folks from the Missouri Plein Air Painters' Association as they painted at the Johnson-Shields Recreation Area along the Mississippi River. I chose to look across the river and paint the bluffs along the other side that make up the west side of Alton, IL (see above). This was my second time actually using my pastels outdoors. Usually, if I draw outside, I will make a value study with pencil which will then be turned in to a painting in the studio. However, as with any painting, one of the challenges is to decide what message you want to convey - what is the painting's story? In this instance, there are actually quite a number of homes along the top right of the bluff, the Great River Road runs along the base (and is often flooded when the river rises more than 3 or four feet!), and there is a whole lot of industry to either side of the section I painted. I ended up deciding that it was the bluff itself that drew me to paint that particular location, and so everything else had to be simplified. A huge smoke stack, a conveyor belt with a big pile of gravel, and telephone poles were taken out from the left, and just to the right is a huge section of grain elevators and a gaudily painted riverboat casino.

But that day it was the cliff. When I arrived at about 10:00 am, the protruding parts of the bluff were in sunlight, and the rest in shade. However, by the time I set up, decided what to attack, and found my vine charcoal, I could see that the rest of the bluff face was slowly entering the sunshine. Therefore, instead of starting with the sky as I usually do, I set about quickly putting in the lights and darks of the bluff before the light changed too much. The houses went in last. I saved them because I wasn't sure I wanted to add them, since I don't usually put manmade structures in my landscapes. However, the bluff was just a bluff without them, and I think they make a pretty good addition - a spot of color if nothing else - and it gives the viewer more details about this particular bluff. Without the homes, it could be any bluff. By the time I left at noon, the painting was as you see it. I'd give it about a B-.

While the result may not be my favorite, the experience was fantastic. As my schedule allows, I plan to join these guys every Sunday, although it will probably, in reality, only be about once each month. I'll keep y'all posted!

Keep stretching those boundaries!

PastelGuy

Goals for an Art Blog

Welcome to my blog! As a newbie blogger, I have several reasons for starting a blog:

1. To increase awareness of my art.
2. To allow people (artists, collectors, anyone) to learn more about me and therefore about my art.
3. To provide a place for me to journal. More on this below.

In the interest of actually making a profit at art, I have heard/read that creating a blog is an excellent way to connect with people, not only potential collectors, but also fellow artists that may be able to provide constructive criticism to my work and to my writing and ideas.

I originally hail from Montana. College years were spent at Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa securing a BA in Biology, and finding the love of my life (I've now been with her longer than I was without her!). For a career, I've pursued interior design (glorified furniture sales person!), nursery worker, graduate student, dental technician, and currently, 7th grade science and language arts teacher.

Art started in high school with watercolors, with which I obtained some college scholarships (didn't use them, however). Oil painting courses, a one-man show, and my first art award happened in college. Then, about twelve years later, I took a class in stained glass. That led to the craft fair circuit, which I found rewarding for a few years. However, when people tried and barter down an original picture frame priced at $35 that took hours to make because they could go to a box store and buy equivalents for less, I knew that stained glass was not going to be very lucrative.

What I discovered was that the jewelry I made during the stained glass phase was extremely popular, could be massed produced, and sold at a good profit. However, I needed to be able to broaden my offerings, so that led to the new tangent of beaded jewelry, under the company name of Studio 206. This venture was much more lucrative (still is!), and I have slowly moved into the realm of silversmithed and custom jewelry.

On track to define a couple lines that could be mass marketed online, I opted to take a course in pastel paintings at Arrowmont in Gatlinburg, TN from noted pastelist Susan Ogilvie. That brought the jewelry thing to a screeching halt as I realized that I really loved working in two dimensions, and the challenges that it brought. Pastels especially provide a more sensory experience in the art; you actually can rub your fingers raw blending colors. They seem so under admired in the art world, yet they seem like the pure essence of 2D work with their pure pigmented colors and techniques that draw heavily from drawing (no pun intended!). More on this in a future blog!

As a result of the workshop, my New Year's Resolutions shifted to include submission of my work to two venues: a juried art show, and a juried art exhibition. I juried my work to two of each, and was accepted to one of each. The gallery presentation is in Tacoma Washington at the American Art Company, hosted by the Northwest Pastel Society. It runs through August 16th, 2008. The art show is here in southern Illinois August 22 - 24th, called The Midwest Salute to the Arts.

My family and I were actually able to see my painting in situ at the Tacoma Gallery, and were pleased to walk in and find that my painting had won an award! Another first, and definitely a proud moment in my life.

Next weekend is the big show here in Fairview, and I think I'm about ready. I have 19 paintings framed and ready to go, not counting the two that are required for the donation to the children's art section. I have set my new display system up in my garage, so that I can fuss with the placement of the pictures and with the lighting. I have also obtained a machine to start taking credit cards - until now, I have only accepted checks and cash. It's all quite overwhelming - fortunately, I have started displays from scratch for my jewelry and for my stained glass, so I'm not a total novice!

The third reason I started this blog was to give myself a place to journal. In my language arts classes, I keep nagging the kids to keep a journal, because it's a great way to put down your feelings, and in so doing, really exploring those feelings and ideas. This summer, all four of us in my family kept a journal of our vacations. I really enjoyed it, actually, and need to find the time to sit down and put the finishing touches on it. Natually, mine had sketches in it, as well as little momentos that I collected along the way. My wife's (she the type A organizational guru) journal was a list of places we went and the money we spent. She calculated gas mileage while I analyzed the colors and shadows of a thunderstorm.

There's a little about my and my motivations for blogging. I hope to philosophize more on art, pastels, pastel techniques, etc. in later blogs. For now, peace, and enjoy the last half of August!