Laura G. Young

Book Cover Preview

2011-12-06T17:28:00.000-08:00

I'd tell you the plot, but it's a secret! Stay tuned...

For the last few months, I've been hard at work on a book project for children's fiction writer C.J. Berry. Now that the cover artwork's finished and approved, I'm scheduled to continue making chapter illustrations until February. As I'm able, I hope to share more about how I've been managing such a mammoth task, and what I've learned about the process of turning words into concrete imagery.

Turkeys in Rocky Mountain National Park

2011-11-23T21:35:00.000-08:00

A charcoal drawing of a turkey hen I saw a couple of weeks ago.

Did you know that there are native wild turkeys in Rocky Mountain National Park? Not everyone does. Just ten years ago, they were a rare sight, but their numbers have been steadily rebounding. So next time you're up there, keep an eye out. You just might get to see a whole flock, warily looking about as they search for pine nuts.

Small Works Show at Reader's Cove Bookstore

2011-11-16T09:30:00.000-08:00

“Cast Iron Breakfast”
8 x 10 inches (13 x 15 inches framed)

Original oil painting on canvas board

$429

It's hard to believe, but it's already time for AANC's Small Works Show, running 11/17/11 to 1/3/12. After hemming and hawing, I decided to enter some artwork at the last minute -- quite literally, as they were getting ready to call it an evening when I arrived out of breath, paintings in tow. I'd been so busy with a current project that I didn't think I'd be able to get anything to the framers in time, but then decided that I could MAKE some time and framed them, myself.

The upshot is, now there's three of my paintings available for immediate viewing/purchasing (along with impressive work by other area artists) and a portion of the proceeds will go to Reader's Cove, one of the last independent bookstores left in town.

All three pieces have something memorable about them. "Cast Iron Breakfast" is a still life I did as a tribute to all the omlettes that have been made with our extremely heavy skillet; it was also the first oil piece I attempted after my right eye went inexplicably blurry. Depth perception is crucial to painting from life, so I was quite concerned that I'd lost my ability to portray three-dimensional objects. After I painted this scene, it was a relief to find that I hadn't -- it just takes a bit more work.

“Yellow Boat”

5 x 7 inches (8.5 x 10.5 inches framed)

Original oil painting on canvas board

$269

As mentioned in a previous entry, "Yellow Boat" was painted outdoors at nearby Boyd Lake. It's a tiny little thing, and looks quite dapper in its black wooden frame. I think it'd be a great gift for someone who loves the singular art of boating in Colorado, hundreds of miles from the nearest ocean.

“For the Compassionate Collector”

6.5 x 7 inches (8 x 10 inches framed)

Original watercolor and India ink

painting on 140lb. cold press paper

$149

Part of an illustration series I'm working on, this is a butterfly that one can display without the sense of guilt that might be associated with an actual pinned specimen. A life-size watercolor and ink Monarch is sandwiched neatly between glass panes for the show, but can also be matted and placed in a full box frame for permanent exhibition.

So please, if you're anywhere near south Fort Collins on Harmony, feel free to stop by for a coffee at Reader's Cove's cafe', and enjoy perusing both books and art.

***

UPDATE 11/18/11: "Cast-Iron Breakfast" took Best in Show!

***

Unlovable

2011-10-27T14:19:00.000-07:00

While looking up information on how to convert nesting boxes to winter roosting boxes, I was reminded of an unsettling phenomenon that seems to occur amongst certain circles of bird lovers in the U.S., particularly bluebird lovers.

Some of them kill birds on purpose.

Not bluebirds, of course, but common house sparrows. Following human civilization's spread from the Mediterranean to Europe to the entire world, house sparrows, (Passer domesticus) are known to even the most hardened city-dwellers, their chirps echoing in parks and streets as they hop after french fries and other dropped bits of food.

So why kill them? The reasoning goes like this: bluebirds are a declining native species, therefore citizens must put up nesting boxes to encourage them to breed more. Since other birds may use the boxes as well, they must be vigilantly discouraged from doing so; and since house sparrows are non-native and seemingly numerous, they must be eliminated.

This can be done in a variety of ways. Needling or oiling eggs, trapping, and shooting seem to be acceptable methods of culling. Some advocate throwing them roughly to the ground, or else gassing them with car exhaust. “They're rats with wings!” is the general outcry, “Once you see a bluebird mangled to a bloody pulp by an aggressive HOSP *, you'll change your mind.”

Never mind the fact that these urban sparrows are merely taking advantage of an ever-increasing urban environment that people have created, or the fact that most people in the U.S. are non-natives, themselves. No. The blame must be conveniently pinned on the "HOSPs".

All I can say is, we must be very, very careful when picking and choosing which species is “good” and which is “bad.” – and even more careful when deciding which ones to control. We humans might have the gift of intelligent foresight, but even we cannot see all ends. Historically, the passenger pigeon and Carolina parakeet had bustling, thriving populations numbering in the millions; yet within a short period of time they were systematically removed from existence.

Like them or not, house sparrows, starlings, grackles and other undesirable species have a role to fulfill, a particular ecological niche that nothing else can replace. Yes, they are dull and drab. Yes, they can be aggressive. But instead of vilifying them for natural behaviors and actively seeking their demise (occasionally killing non-target species in the process) why not lobby for more open space and wilderness areas? Why not work to educate the public to remove less dead trees, use less pesticides, and keep felines indoors?

In their native England, it was recently reported that house sparrow numbers declined a startling 65% from 1977 to 2000 – so much of a decline, that they have been put on the UK's “red list” for conservation. No one knows why they are disappearing. I suspect that some in the U.S. might secretly rejoice at this news; but perhaps it will serve as wake-up call to those who claim to dislike killing sparrows but do so in the sincere belief that they are helping bluebirds. If we truly care, we must be vigilant for ALL birds' welfare, no matter how dull or common or alien...or unlovable.

(*"HOSP" is their abbreviation for house sparrow. I can only surmise it makes it easier to kill something by giving it an impersonal label.)

Alluvial Fan at RMNP

2011-10-02T10:21:00.000-07:00

Me and my painting setup

Yesterday Chad and I went up to Rocky Mountain National Park to catch the fall colors at the alluvial fan below Lawn Lake. The fan, a sort of slanted waterfall, was formed quite recently in 1982 -- a mere blip, geologically speaking. On July 15th at 5am in the morning the ordinarily placid lake broke through the glacial dam that had held the water back since the last ice age. Millions of gallons crashed down the mountainside all at once, moving car-sized boulders and flooding nearby Estes Park.

Nowadays it's a peaceful picnicking spot; but it's not hard to imagine the powerful forces that were unleashed nearly thirty years ago.

It was bright & sunny when I started...

It was a lovely afternoon for painting, but the always fickle mountain weather soon changed and the aspen lost their warm, sunlit gold. Then, it began to thunder. Seeing as I was working in watercolor, I decided to wrap things up as quickly as I could. All in all, though, a very pleasant day.

Experimentation

2011-09-19T15:30:00.000-07:00

Trying out a wood grain effect.

Now that I've gotten down the master drawing, I've been working on the the next phase of my illustration project: experimentation. This is a brief but vital process where I try out several techniques and approaches, just in case my original idea doesn't give me the look I'm after. VERY important when working with watercolor -- once I've committed my brush to paper, there isn't an "undo" button.

Ivory-Billed Woodpecker Sighting

2011-08-31T09:28:00.000-07:00

Ivory-Bill Through a 200mm Lens

After exhausting my collection of books and photos, it occurred to me that perhaps there WERE some ivory-billed woodpeckers I could draw, right here in Colorado. I wrote the Denver Museum of Nature & Science and asked if they had some ivories in their extensive collection of stuffed specimens, and sure enough, they do. Several, in fact. So I went down for an afternoon of birdwatching.

The Artist and Her Subjects

In the "Rare Birds" hall, not only were there ivory-bills on display, but Carolina parakeets and passenger pigeons, as well. Their expertly placed glass eyes seemed to gaze back at me as I sat down to study them in detail.

The first thing I noticed about the woodpeckers was their size. They were quite large, about the size of a small duck, and had skunk-like streaks of white banding down their backs. Their feet were also larger than I'd imagined, and despite being nearly 100 years old, their broad tail feathers retained a rich black color -- not dull, yet lacking the irridescent sheen of a grackle or magpie's feathers. The male's red crest was presumably a little faded, a deep flamingo red (I had this confirmed by Chad, whose color vision is far better than my own.) while the females' crest was a fashionable black. Of all the things I noted from the session, the beaks were perhaps the most surprising. They really did look like they were carved from the finest ivory: antiqued and delicately translucent, ending in a distinctly blunt, plier-like tip.

Frozen in Time

Sitting there, sketching in the echoing stillness of the museum hall, I tried to imagine that my subjects were somehow still alive, making brisk hops about the cypress trees, drilling out beetle grubs for their young. How they'd stretch their 30 inch wingspans in the dappled sunlight. How their calls would reverberate through the humid marsh air. Then a group of out-of-state tourists came by and my reverie ended.

"Oh look! Woodpeckers!"

"Yeah. Pileated. We've got those kind back home."

They then walked out, with nary a glance at the parakeets and pigeons, not even pausing to read the signs that recorded their fate.

Research

2011-08-11T15:05:00.000-07:00

Reference material with sketch.

Now I'm in research mode, trying to get a feel for my subject. In this case, it's an extinct (or very nearly extinct) species, the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker, which makes for a good challenge. I've been pouring over bird books and museum websites, trying to absorb as much information on Ivories as possible. It's too bad that I just can't skip down to the Denver zoo and sketch one of these birds in person. They were (are?) quite large and strangely beautiful, the largest of their kind in North America; it's tragic that their habitat got wiped out in the last century and they couldn't adapt quickly enough to survive. Now all I can do is study their smaller/differently marked cousins (pileated woodpeckers), as well as blurred photos and old Audubon etchings.

Thumbnail Sketches

2011-08-10T16:55:00.000-07:00

I've started a new project this week, and have spent a good part of the day making thumbnail (i.e. small) sketches. At this point in the process, I might think I know what would look good in terms of composition, but it's always good to try as many ideas as possible; that way, I can be sure that I've picked the best one possible. The reason the sketches are so tiny is twofold: first, because it saves time, and second, because sometimes it's easier to simplify and/or detect problems when the work is small. Also, because this is a design for a book cover, thumbnails are good for imagining how it might look on smart phones or e-readers. Since I don't like drawing the same outline over and over, I've made a template out of an index card. It's scaled down to about 1 1/3 x 2 inches. Any larger, and I tend to get hung up on the details.

Emmaline Lake Trail

2011-08-06T13:41:00.001-07:00

Majestic Emmaline Lake

Some photos from last week's overnight backpacking trip to Cirque Meadows and Emmaline Lake. (Click for more description/detail)

Emmaline Lake Trail

Thought & Memory

2011-07-20T17:10:00.000-07:00

Thought & Memory
8.5 x 10 inches
India ink and white pencil on Bristol board

When Chad and I went to the Grand Canyon a couple of years ago, we were met by a pair of intently watchful birds. At first we thought they were crows, owing to their size. But unlike crows, these corvids had feathery tufts on their beaks and didn't "caw" -- choosing instead to make deep croaking sounds as they hopped from tree to tree. What could they be? We'd come across ravens before, but these were slimmer, smaller; almost petite. Turns out they were western ravens, (Corvus corax sinuatus) which inhabit much of the American Southwest, but are especially common in the Grand Canyon or any location where tourist handouts can be found.

I finished the above raven illustration today; it was an experiment that combined both India ink and white pencil. What sort of pen did I use? Why, a crow quill pen, of course. ;)

New Lamps for Old?

2011-07-18T09:51:00.000-07:00

Broken lamp: all that's holding it together is the cord.

After many a year of faithful service, my desk lamp's neck suddenly snapped, rendering it useless. I tried superglue, I tried rubber bands; but the little ball-and-socket joint was (alas!) made of aged plastic and is therefore unrepairable. Not only this, but the little ball-and-socket joint can't be replaced with a spare part. They simply don't make them.

It's this sort of thing that makes me wonder about a culture that's overflowing with cheaply manufactured goods. It seems like a benefit, that I can buy so many things for so little money, but in the end I'll end up repeatedly replacing these items and thus spend MORE cash over time. Even worse, the old broken items that can't be recycled will wind up in a landfill, slowly leaching toxins into the earth below.

The only reasonable solution is to try to find a gently used lamp with a non-plastic neck joint, but if this isn't available I suppose I'll invest in a new, well-made lamp (is there such a thing?) and hope for the best.

Eye Update

2011-07-06T09:40:00.000-07:00

My window to the world

It's been awhile since I've blogged, or been on the internet in general, due to continuing eye troubles. What's causing my right eye to blur is still a mystery, but over the past few weeks the doctors have been able to rule out some of the more serious causes, like MS or brain tumors.

All the same, it's been a bit nerve-wracking.

Artists are visual creatures, and to think that one might lose the ability to see (or worse) can really mess with one's sense of creativity. I had a few days where I was so depressed that I despaired that I might not paint again. However last week's MRI results showed that the optic nerve was still healthy, so this has encouraged me to keep going, despite the fact that half of my view is still out of focus.

I recently came across a letter by Edgar Degas, the famed impressionist. Apparently he had sudden trouble with his right eye in his late 30's, as well. And, as in my case, the cause was a bit of a mystery. In 1878 he wrote to his friend, James Tissot:

"I have just had and still have a spot of weakness and trouble in my eye. It caught me at Chateau by the edge of the water in full sunlight whilst I was doing a watercolor and it made me lose nearly three weeks -- being unable to read or work or go out much, trembling all the time lest I should remain like that."

It's speculated that he may have suffered from some form of retinopathy, but no one knows for sure. But the point is, even though he eventually lost most of the sight in his eye, he kept going. Some of his greatest works were considered to have been created in the years not before, but after his vision loss. I certainly am no Degas, but it is somewhat encouraging to know that another artist struggled with this problem, and overcame it.

My brain, as seen on MRI. Isn't technology amazing?

Bottled

2011-04-13T06:36:00.000-07:00

This week's theme was bottled; I did this still life scene in both watercolor and oils. It's interesting to see how different the same subject can look in different mediums:

Watercolor

Oils

Side Note -- I'll be away from the computer for a few days, as my right eye needs to be rested. I've been having trouble focusing, so I went to the opthomologist yesterday. Turns out my right cornea is mysteriously swollen, so the focal length is distorted, causing everything to look like it's underwater. As a precautionary measure, I'll be taking a few days off from reading/typing/painting to rest it. Hopefully this, along with some prescribed inflammatory steroid drops will bring things back to normal...

Workshop

2011-04-07T16:30:00.000-07:00

Seeing red...but which red? There are so many to choose from.

Today was day one of a two-day workshop AANC is hosting with our judge, Don Sahli. Don is an amazing oil painter and colorist, having studied under Sergei Bongart, whose artistic lineage can be directly traced to Ilya Efimovich Repin (widely regarded as one of the finest master painters of 19th century Russia.)

There was soooo much to learn; color is a rather difficult subject for me, as there are certain hues that I cannot see very well -- especially reds and greens. When I have time, I hope to write a blog entry about how I perceive color, and how my colorblindness both helps and hinders my path as an artist.

Duet

2011-04-05T07:29:00.000-07:00

The house finches in the backyard have been pairing up for the season. It's nice that these drab-colored birds can have such beautiful, heartfelt songs. I attempted to sketch these two several times as they flirted and darted amongst the neighbor's lilacs. Drawing birds from life doesn't allow for much detail, but the immediacy (and challenge) of it is hard to beat.

National Art Show

2011-04-05T06:31:00.000-07:00

Hanging a painting

As many of you know, I've been super busy with the Artists' Association of Northern Colorado's upcoming 20th Annual National Art Exhibition and Sale.

We spent all day yesterday hanging paintings over at the new Midtown Arts Center; it's no small task, and I was impressed by the precision and teamwork of our volunteers.

More photos can be seen on AANC's new Facebook page. Feel free to "like" it!

Toy

2011-03-29T12:46:00.000-07:00

"Ellie"
8 x 10 inches
Oils on canvas board

When I was a little girl, my favorite toy was a handmade stuffed elephant named Ellie. Ellie went on all sorts of adventures. She attended tea parties, went on campouts and overnights, sat in tree-houses, became lost and found on several heart-wrenching occasions, and kept me company in the moving van as my family trekked hundreds of miles across the country to our new home in Colorado. Now, nearly forty years on, she's fairly threadbare and her right eye has come loose, but she hasn't been forgotten. When I came across her while organizing the guest room the other day, I thought it might be fitting that she have her own portrait made. She's a very good sitter -- didn't hardly move at all.

Cultivate

2011-03-26T21:38:00.000-07:00

"Big Red"

(After Diane Perry)

10 x 14 inches

Watercolor on 140lb cold press paper

This week's theme was "cultivate" and so I thought it was a rather happy coincidence that I painted this barn today under the gentle tutelage of local watercolorist Diane Perry. All sorts of things get cultivated on a farm, after all. (I'd planned to do some scenes from my garden earlier in the week, but my schedule became so busy that I never got the chance.)

Stir

2011-03-15T16:45:00.000-07:00

8 x 6 inches

Sepia ink and watercolor on 140lb cold press paper

Whatever would we do without coffee spoons? Use our fingers or whittled twigs, I suppose.

I've been in a literary mood of late. If I'd the time, I would've illustrated an Emily Dickinson poem (that short -- potential stir); as it is, a snippet of T.S. Eliot will have to do...

Warning

2011-03-10T08:28:00.000-08:00

The monarch, Danaus plexippus, is perhaps the best-known butterfly in North America. I got to study them up close this past autumn while painting out at Riverbend Ponds natural area. There were literally dozens of these well-traveled beauties fueling up on rabbitbrush bloom before heading south for the winter.

What do monarchs have to do with the concept of "warning"? Apparently their bright orange color and distinctive markings serve as a blinking neon sign to birds and other predators that says, "DON'T EAT ME. I'M HIGHLY POISONOUS!"

This warning is so effective that it was long theorized that the Monarch's look-alike, the Viceroy butterfly (Limenitis archippus) had adopted strikingly similar colors/patterns so they would be mistaken for a deadly Monarch and left alone. However it was recently discovered that the Viceroy is poisonous in its own right, and is now listed in textbooks as an example of Müllerian mimicry; i.e. organisms that happen to look like one another, but are both harmful.

Children's Hospital

2011-03-08T20:55:00.000-08:00

In addition to my artist's association, I also work with a non-profit called "Art For Life", which pairs up community artists with day-treatment students at Children's Hospital in Denver. We work together for several months on a project, which is then displayed in the Frederic C. Hamilton family art gallery.

Sometimes space at the day-treatment center can be at a premium, as you can see by the small table we were given to work on, but we always manage to make the most of it. Today we started with a fun warm-up exercise by making ink blot patterns on folded paper, then practiced painting washes over an ink drawing of a tree. My student hadn't worked with both ink and watercolor before, so she found the whole process rather intriguing.

Wyoming

2011-03-05T23:05:00.000-08:00

Spent the entire day in Cheyenne at the Western Spirit art show, where jeans and cowboy hats are considered perfectly acceptable evening wear.

Swarm

2011-03-03T18:06:00.000-08:00

The current illustration I'm working on will have lots of bees, bumblebees in particular. Unlike their honeybee cousins, bumbles don't swarm as a rule. In fact, they're rather shy, solitary characters. Perhaps this is why a scene filled with lots and lots of them will be fun to create.

After doing several quick sketches with my old crow quill pen, I was reminded once again what happens if I work too vigorously in ink...and had to make a hasty retreat to the laundry room to grab the stain remover.

Snowy Wood

2011-02-28T18:45:00.000-08:00

9.5 x 6.75 inches

Watercolor and gouache on 140lb cold press paper

Today was a snowy, sleepy sort of day, so I painted a scene to reflect this.

How does one apply snow in watercolor? I experimented with several options in this piece, but in the end applied watercolor's more opaque and reliable cousin, gouache, with a toothbrush:

Layers

2011-02-24T15:54:00.000-08:00

5 x 7"
2B pencil, sketchbook paper.

What could best represent the concept of "layers"? Geological formations, winter clothing, cakes... there were so many options, but I settled on an onion that I found in the pantry.

Moongazer

2011-02-18T14:54:00.000-08:00

"Moongazer"

12 x 16 inches

Watercolor on 300 lb cold press paper

Late last summer, while Chad and I were taking an evening walk along south Timberline Road, we heard the most unearthly screeching sounds coming from a stand of cottonwood trees: "Yrrrch! Yrrrch! Yrrrch!" It turned out to be a couple of recently fledged barn owls, calling out plaintively to their parents; the latter of whom silently glided a short space away, hoping to divert the approaching humans' attention. "Yrrrch!" They were amazingly loud. I could now see why earlier generations attached so many superstitions to these creatures, and how unsettling it would've been to accidentally run into them in the dark.

Barn Owls, also known as Ghost Owls or Monkey-Faced Owls, are quite a wide-spread species, being found in the Americas, Europe, and Africa. However they aren't as common as they once were, especially as many of their namesake barns are being demolished or renovated into modern buildings. Fortunately they do well in nesting boxes, and some farmers are even working with conservationists to host rehabilitated owls on their property.

Interestingly, barn owls aren't classified as "true" owls, (Strigidae) but belong to a unique group called Tytonidae. Their leg structure is different, they don't have ear tufts, and they most certainly don't hoot. Individual coloring can widely vary, with some being very deeply colored, almost cocoa brown, while others are nearly pure white. Males and females can look somewhat similar, but overall the females are usually larger and have more markings/coloring on their undersides. They usually mate for life and can raise at least two broods of chicks per season.

It's my hope that, due to a milder winter, we'll soon sight even more of these pale, otherworldly birds near our home, hunting in the deep twilight...

Winter Canyon

2011-02-18T08:34:00.000-08:00

"Winter Canyon"
8 x 10 inches
Oils on canvas board

Went and painted with some fellow artists at an open studio session at AANC's new space in Old Town. Someone brought in some reference photos from a recent excursion to share, and we put them up on a screen using a digital projector. It wasn't quite the same as painting outdoors, but it was nice not having to worry about frostbitten fingers or toes...

Reverse

2011-02-09T16:36:00.000-08:00

8 x 8 inches
India ink and watercolor on 90lb hot press paper

So this week's theme was "Reverse", and I thought, "Why not do an illustrated text in reverse, like Leonardo da Vinci?" Very clever, right? Well, I overlooked something rather important. Leonardo was left-handed, and I, alas, am not. Now I know WHY he wrote backwards: not to keep his information secret, as some have presumed, but simply to keep the ink from smudging. He used a dip pen, you see, not a modern ballpoint. It took several awkward attempts to get the technique down, and the end result wasn't pretty. No wonder Leo gave up on writing his personal notes left-to-right like everyone else. He wasn't being odd; just practical.

I read in a scientific study that only one in 6,000 people can easily read and write in reverse from the lettering system they grew up with, which made me feel somewhat special -- but this still doesn't change the fact that I now have ink all over the place...

In the News Again

2011-02-07T08:56:00.000-08:00

The Artist's Association of Northern Colorado was in the local news again this past week with our Worker's Show; click here to see the photo gallery on GoFoCo: link

Draw A Dinosaur Day

2011-01-30T19:32:00.000-08:00

Today was the 5th Annual "Draw A Dinosaur Day", and thought I'd participate. This is my take on Stegosaurus, which also happens to be the official state dinosaur of Colorado. I used a museum skeleton as a base reference, but of course took a bit of creative license for the rest, as I don't have a time machine.

Dusty

2011-01-24T16:43:00.000-08:00

9.5 x 6.25 inches
Watercolor and Ink on 140lb cold press paper

When I was in Zimbabwe in 1996, I saw nearly all of the five "big game" animals: lions, elephants, cape buffalo, leopards....but no rhinoceroses. It would seem that these creatures were (and are) on a dramatic decline in number, and are therefore exceedingly rare in the wild.

There's at least one Diceros bicornis at the Denver Zoo, of the black/hook-lipped variety, and I'm happy to report he looked well-fed and feisty when we visited a couple of days ago. He frolicked about in his enclosure, seemingly not perturbed by the dust and mind-numbing wind that's so common to our area. Yet I couldn't help but wonder if, during this time of year, he wished he were a woolly rhinoceros...

Watercolor Brushes

2011-01-23T04:42:00.000-08:00

I've quite a few paintbrushes, because I work in three mediums -- watercolor, oils, acrylic -- and each has its own demands. This afternoon I took a snap of my favorite watercolor brushes.

From left to right:

FineTouch 712 Hake, size 2" (goat hair) -- The least expensive of my watercolor brushes, I use this for wetting large areas, and for dry texturing wood grain.

Winsor & Newton Series 140 Mop, size 7/8" (goat hair) -- A great brush for laying on washes and glazes.

Loew Cornell Arttec Bristle Supreme 500B Bright, size 1 (hog bristle) -- Invaluable scrub brush for lifting fine areas. I actually have two of these at the moment, as they wear down rather quickly.

Robert Simmons Sapphire S85 Series Rounds, sizes 12, 8, and 0. (red Kolinsky sable hair and synthetic filaments) -- The size 12 is my workhorse. I'd say that if I only had to have one brush, this would be the one, as it has the perfect balance of absorbancy and spring -- but is not as expensive as a brush made from pure sable.

American Painter 4050 Script, size 1 (Taklon) -- This is my go-to brush for making long, steady lines. The synthetic fibers keep it from splaying; a common fate for scripts/riggers.

Prang, size 7 ("natural hair"??) -- I've had this brush since about the 5th or 6th grade, as it came with my first watercolor set. Rather worn down, it's still good for making random foliage, and maintains a rather good nostalgia factor.

Testor's Shedproof Economy Flat Round, one size (nylon) -- After a lot of trial and error, I've found that this little number, meant for painting model airplanes and the like, is the only kind of brush that doesn't get ruined after a few uses by latex masking liquid. And best of all, they come in inexpensive packets of 2-3, so in the event that I DO gum things up, I always have a spare.

The Persistence of Memory

2011-01-22T20:45:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I go and paint oils with my friend Christine at her studio. I bring over my plein air easel and supplies, and we work side by side, chatting and listening to music. Today I accidentally left my reference materials at home, and so had to paint from memory. It was a bit difficult at first, as I kept changing my mind as to color and composition. When this happens, I just rag off the paint and start over, but then I have to contend with the fact that the canvas has lost much of its "tooth", and subsequent layers of paint smears and feels all slippery.

Nevertheless, I was satisfied that the painting ended looking somewhat close to what I'd imagined.

Illustration: Chickens

2011-01-21T05:34:00.000-08:00

3.25 x 3.75 inches
Watercolor and India ink

When I was in the seventh grade, I had a pet Leghorn hen named, "Clara". I'd raised her from a chick, so she was quite tame. She was an outdoor chicken (of course), and so had full run of the backyard; no grub or bit of grass went unnoticed by her sharp golden eyes. There was only one problem: she liked to fly. People unfamiliar with chickens might not know it, but these birds can and will take to the air when they get the notion. Oh, they might not get into the stratosphere. Nevertheless they can certainly get some decent lift when they're not overfed/underexercized factory automatons. Some mornings I'd find her roosting in the upper reaches of a lilac bush, or on top of our swing set. She especially liked to take off from our second story deck with wild jungle fowl abandon.

Then one day, I couldn't find Clara. I looked high and low. I made signs. And then the truth came out from a reluctant neighbor: While I was away at school, my chicken had soared like Amelia Earhart over our eight-foot high fence...to where two terriers awaited.

All that was left was a handful of white feathers.

I've not had a pet chicken since that time, but now that Fort Collins has made it legal to own up to three hens within city limits, I might re-consider. I'll just make sure to keep a gentle check on their flying ambitions...

Finishing Touches

2011-01-20T17:17:00.000-08:00

I just finished this illustration, and my eyes are a little crossed, as I didn't take enough tea breaks.

Here I'm laying in some raindrops with a colored pencil, using a ruler to keep the marks straight. Many a time, when I explain to someone what I do, they say something like, "I can't even draw a straight line."

To which I respond: "I can't, either!"

The Zone

2011-01-19T20:08:00.000-08:00

Painted for several hours today, but it didn't feel like it. Time sort of compresses when I'm working on a piece; sometimes I'm unaware of its passing altogether -- until I vaguely realize that the sun has gone down.

Organization

2011-01-18T07:57:00.000-08:00

I use an old bookshelf as my art taboret. It's just to the right of the drawing table. There are lots of labels because I can become very disoriented if I don't know where things are. Without labels, pens get absentmindedly put in with brushes, erasers get lost in paint bins...and the time I spend looking for things takes away from the time I'd like to spend making things.

Illustration: "Deja Vu"

2011-01-13T06:24:00.000-08:00

"Deja Vu"
8 1/2 x 11 inches
Pencil on Canson's drawing paper
(Click for larger view)

Nan traced the glyphs with hesitant fingers. It seemed impossible, yet she somehow sensed that she'd seen them before. But where?

***

I'll admit, this assignment flummoxed me at first. How would one illustrate the concept of "Deja Vu"? I sketched out various ideas over the weekend, but none seemed to fit. Then, when I was about to drift off to sleep a couple of nights ago, this image came to me.

(And yes, for those who are into ancient linguistics, the hieroglyphs are indeed decipherable.)

Oil Painting: Front Range Sunset

2011-01-08T07:00:00.000-08:00

"Front Range Sunset"
6 x 8 inches
Oils on canvas board

The current view from a field in my neighborhood, looking west. When the sun dips behind the mountains, so does the temperature; therefore this was painted in a friend's toasty warm studio.

Illustration: "Resolutions"

2011-01-04T12:13:00.000-08:00

"Resolutions"

5 x 7 inches
Watercolor and India Ink on Canson Cold press illustration board

I recently decided to participate in an online group called "Illustration Friday" as a way to meet other artists and to get more pieces in my portfolio. Every week, a concept is chosen and everyone has until Friday to figure out a creative way to illustrate it. This week's theme was, rather aptly, "Resolutions". I was inspired by the fact that I am certainly NOT a morning person -- yet if I am to get all the things done in 2011 that I want to, I'd better learn to become one.

Looking Back, Looking Forward

2010-12-30T10:27:00.000-08:00

I hope all my friends who have been complaining about the lack of snow are happy, as several inches came down this morning. Not fun to drive in or shovel, but it IS good for when one is at home drinking a hot beverage and reflecting over the past year.

All in all, 2010 has been a great year for me artistically. After about a decade of doubt and harsh self-criticism, I decided to make this the year I really began to get my work “out there.”

It's been an incredible experience.

In the last twelve months, I've volunteered with Art For Life at Children's Hospital, attended two watercolor classes under Diane Perry and one oil workshop under Keith Bond, painted outdoors all summer with friends, entered six local shows, won two ribbons, became secretary of the Artists' Association of Northern Colorado, and sold my first painting.

I'm both excited and humbled by the prospect of continuing this upwards pattern into the next year, and hope to focus on the following:

*Making even more connections with other artists and creative types.

*Improving my skills, particularly in depicting human anatomy, foreshortening, and three point perspective.

*Working in slightly larger formats.

*Becoming more adept at traditional oil glazing techniques.

*Building up my portfolio by joining IllustrationFriday.com

*Learning more about the business side of art.

*Helping the AANC to become an even more outstanding community for local established and emerging artists.

*Continuing to volunteer at Children's Hospital and other places that use creativity for healing.

*Organizing my studio space to be less cluttered and more user-friendly.

There's probably more, but I think this is a good enough list to start things off.

What sort of goals and dreams do YOU have for 2011? Feel free to share....

...

Illustration: Fly Fishing

2010-12-29T10:56:00.000-08:00

Fly Fishing

12 x 14 inches

Pencil on Canson drawing paper

Fae folk can't be too careful when crossing rivers and such....

The Fine Art of Coming Up With a Title

2010-12-03T13:49:00.000-08:00

The Forever Winter
5.25 x 6 inches
watercolor and gouche on 140 lb. cold press paper

Naming a work of art can be just as challenging as the act of creating it. The right title can make or break how it's perceived; just as a man introducing himself as “Buddy” might be regarded quite differently than, say, “Xavier Chesterson III”.

How does an artist go about naming their work? Do they stare at their canvases until something miraculously pops into their head? (Yes.) Do they lift lines from films and works of literature? (Yes.) Do they plead with their long-suffering friends for ideas? (Yes.) Do they secretly pay a professional? (Maybe.)

It's a difficult business. Sometimes, when all else fails, a simple description will do. Think Rodin's The Thinker, Munch's The Scream, Klimt's The Kiss, VanGogh's Starry Night or Sunflowers. Succinct, brief words; the rest is left up to the imagination.

On the other end of the spectrum, there are titles so long that they're almost bizzare. And ocassionally that's the point. Salvador Dali perhaps hold the record: Gala Looking at Dali in a State of Anti-Gravitation in His Work of Art 'Pop-Op-Yes-Yes Pompier' in Which One Can Contemplate the Two Anguishing Characters from Millet’s 'Angelus' in a State of Atavistic Hibernation Standing Out of a Sky Which Can Suddenly Burst into a Gigantic Maltese Cross Right in the Heart of the Perpignan Railway Station Where the Whole Universe Must Begin to Converge.

The museum database must choke on that one.

What's interesting is that, even if an artist doesn't title their work, people will eventually name it for them. Just as “The Artist Formerly Known As Prince” filled the vacuum left by Prince's unprintable symbol, DaVinci's unnamed portrait became widely known as the Mona Lisa. For some reason, we humans demand verbal context for things – even random numbers will do in a pinch, a la' Jackson Pollock's Number 1, Number 5 and No. 32. It's a very, very rare famous work indeed that's just known as, Untitled.

As for myself, I will sometimes not name a painting for several weeks or even months. I might refer to it as, “The (insert subject matter) painting” , but hold off on a formal name until it goes out into the world, much as some cultures name a child with a temporary, “protective” name until they reach adolescence. Other times, the perfect title will spring immediately to mind– but this is far less common. In several instances, I've re-named works repeatedly, usually because I put them online or in shows too quickly after their creation, and didn't get a good feel for what I'd created.

When naming a painting, I usually ask myself the following questions: “Deep down, what am I truly trying to say or depict?” “Does it detract from the work in any way?” “Is it too similar to other titles I've used in the past?” “Is it too boring/pretentious/gimmicky?” and not least importantly, “Is it easy to spell so I can find it later in my filing system?”

Of course not every title is equally memorable or ideal; but then neither is every artwork. But as in most situations, the more you attempt something, the more you increase the odds of getting it right.

Small Is Beautiful: Art Show Tonight at Reader's Cove

2010-11-18T12:34:00.000-08:00

“Reverie”
3.5 x 3.5 inches (9.75 x 9.75 inches in frame)
Watercolor and India ink on 180 lb hot press paper
$119

WHAT: Artist's Association of Northern Colorado's All Media Small Art Works Show & Sale
WHEN: Thursday, Nov. 18th, 6 to 8pm (Tonight!)
WHERE: Reader's Cove Bookstore, 1001 East Harmony Rd., Fort Collins (next to Ace Hardware)

Tonight's my last show opening for the year, so if you've not been able to make it to previous openings, now's your chance. It's a "small works" show, meaning entries are rather petite -- about 8 x 10 inches or smaller (not including the frame). And because teeny-tiny artworks usually take less time or materials, the prices tend to fit people's wallets, as well.

So if you're looking for some unique gift ideas, or just would like to show your support for the local Northern Colorado arts community, feel free to stop by!

Last Night at the Armory Hall: Slide Show

2010-11-12T09:59:00.000-08:00


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Upcoming Art Show: "A Parallel Moment" at the Armory on 11/11

2010-11-04T16:52:00.000-07:00

Next week is a fantastic opportunity to experience both fine art AND fine music right here in Fort Collins: "A Parallel Moment" is a NoCoArtists show featuring Zahatar, an eclectic Celtic string band, as well as the work of several local artists -- including yours truly. It's going to be held November 11th at the newly-restored Armory building at 314 E. Mountain Ave. (In Old Town, right next to the Melting Pot fondue restaurant) from 6:30 to 9:30pm. So if you're free this upcoming Thursday, please consider coming over! We'd love to see you there. Tickets are $12 if pre-purchased online at http://www.nocoartists.com and $15 at the door.

Yeeach! Or, When Miskit Goes Bad

2010-10-30T12:00:00.000-07:00

Moldy Miskit.

Watercolor painting, unlike most other forms of painting, is all about preserving the white of the paper. There is no such thing as "white" watercolor; there are similar, other water-based media, such as gouche (pronounced "gwash") that contain white pigment, but when looking at most "pure" watercolor paintings, any bits of white are simply the underlying layer of paper.

For much of watercolor's history, then, this meant artists had to go to great lengths to avoid painting over areas that were to remain white. Wax resist, scraping with razor blades, and careful brushwork were the accepted norm. One moment of inattention could ruin untold hours of work. Then, in the 1970s several products started showing up on the market that would make masking much easier. Known as "liquid-gum", "liquid frisket" or simply, "miskit", they were a form of latex polymer that could be painted onto paper, then pulled off; much like wax resist, but without the unwanted sticky residue. Initially many traditionalists snubbed these newfangled products, but by the late 1980's miskit had become widely accepted as yet another tool in the watercolor genre.

I myself have found it particularly useful when painting subjects with dark, sweeping washes behind them, or for reserving the pristine whites of eye highlights or individual stars or snowflakes. I've found that like any technique, it can be used too much, and if done incorrectly, miskit can make a painting look a little too flat or cut-out; so I try to only use it if I feel I can't get a particular effect any other way, or if I'm overly concerned that I'll paint over a delicate area.

Seeing as my misket use can be infrequent, then, I usually buy a new bottle of the milky-white substance about once a year or so, even if I haven't finished the old bottle. Usually the stuff just dries up or gets a strange rubbery consistency that makes it difficult to work with. (I've heard you can add a bit of ammonia to make an old bottle go further, but haven't tried it yet.) So imagine my surprise when I recently opened up a bottle of unknown vintage to find.....Yeaach! It had not only gone bad, but somehow begun to resemble a cultured petrie dish. I've encountered curdled milk and moldy bread, but this was the first time I've come across spoiled miskit. Nasty, nasty stuff.

They really need to put "BEST IF USED BY" dates on it.

Watercolor: Official State Butterfly

2010-10-19T16:38:00.000-07:00

"Official State Butterfly" (Hypaurotis Cryslaus, a.k.a. Colorado Hairstreak)
3.5 x 5 inches
Watercolor on Canson's cold press paper

Amazingly enough, I'm still coming across butterflies in the garden. Even big ones, like monarchs. Somehow, they're ignoring the fact that it's mid-October and that they should be migrating to, say, Mexico. How they've kept alive through several sub-zero nights is a bit of a mystery.

On a related note: Did you know that Colorado has an official state insect? I didn't, either, because it was legislated in 1996, long after I'd left fourth grade (the grade that we were required to memorize all the state emblems: state seal, state flag, state flower, state bird, and yes, even state dinosaur.) So it was nice to learn that this beautiful variety of lepidoptera has been serving as our representative to the world.

On Location: Pumpkin Wagon at Osborn Farm

2010-10-07T17:01:00.000-07:00

"Pumpkin Wagon"
8 x 10 inches
Oils on canvasboard
Time: Approx. 1.5 hrs

Even though it's been a bit on the dry side, I really can't complain about the weather this autumn. Big blue skies, crisp air, warm days, cool nights...it's hard to believe that this time last year we had our first substantial snowfall.

This morning, Christine and I went out painting with our Thompson Valley Art League friends at the Osborn Farm in Loveland. It was such an interesting setting, it took us awhile to choose a subject. I thought of doing the barn, but it was still too deep in tree shadows. Ditto for the John Deere tractor. There were a ton of red-winged blackbirds in the cattails around a pond, but I wasn't feeling focused enough to try to capture their frenetic movement. So: when I came across a deceptively simple-looking wagon filled with pumpkins, I decided on that. (Christine took on a more sizable collection of pumpkins in two large wooden crates.)

We'd just gotten in the first brushstrokes when a large group of young children and their parents arrived on the scene. The Osborn Farm, it turns out, is a lot like Lee Martinez Farm in Fort Collins, in that it opens its doors to educate the public on agrarian life. So we soon became surrounded by a sea of curious faces and a barrage of polite questions. "What are you doing?" "What's your name?" "Can I see?" "Oooh, pumpkins!" A couple of times, I had to gently explain to would-be wagon riders that I was painting this particular wagon; would it be okay if it didn't go anywhere for a little while? Eventually they were shuffled away to their tour; afterwards, they all came over again to share what pumpkins and decorative gourds they'd picked from the nearby patch. Just adorable.

Watercolor Sketch: Hawk Feather

2010-10-04T15:21:00.000-07:00

Thought I heard a hawk screaming out in the backyard today, but when I looked out to see who was making all the commotion, it was a blue jay. Jays, it turns out, are amazing mimics. This one was impersonating a predator to scare all the other birds away from the feeder, and it worked. Even the grackles scattered every which way!

We do get hawks in the yard from time to time, however, as evidenced by the above feather I found. I'm not an expert, but I'm guessing that it's a secondary (wing) feather, possibly from a red tailed hawk.

I've been neglecting my watercolors lately in favor of oils, so I thought it'd be good practice to make a quick sketch on a scrap of paper, using a mix of Payne's Gray and Burnt Sienna. I was going to draw in pencil first, but decided to skip this step. I've been doing this more and more lately; perhaps it means I'm finally becoming more confident with a brush?

On Location: Poudre River at Riverbend Ponds

2010-09-22T20:20:00.000-07:00

8 x 10 inches
Oils on canvasboard
Time: Approx 1.5 hrs.

The morning started out soft and gray, but just as I set my easel up, the sun broke through and lit up the fields just beyond the river. It was one of those moments that makes one glad to be painting outdoors instead of the studio.

Plein Air Workshop with Keith Bond

2010-09-22T07:46:00.000-07:00


Searching for the right scene to paint.

In times past, a novice painter would be apprenticed to a master who would, over the years, pass on the hard-earned knowledge gathered over a lifetime. In modern times, this is a rare practice, but recently I caught a glimpse of how adventageous such a relationship must've been.

I took a five day workshop with Keith Bond, a professional oils landscape painter from Utah; it was both daunting and exciting. Daunting, because his skill level is much more advanced than my own, and exciting, because I was able to get solid, experienced answers to so many of my questions.

After the first day, which consisted of introductions, a lecture, and an intense session of four or more 20 minute paintings, the basic outline of the course would go as follows: We'd meet around 8:30 in the morning at his studio, then drive off to a nearby location (Poudre Canyon, Lory State Park, etc.) He would give a demonstration, then we would paint a scene ourselves. We'd then group together to have a picnic lunch, then paint two or more paintings, with Keith coming by to help us tackle whatever difficulties we might be having. By around 5pm or so, we'd call it a day.

It was a wonderful time; I took lots of notes and got to mingle with several artists I hadn't met before -- but something tells me it will be awhile before the vast store of information I tried to absorb in less than a week will sink in.

Catching Up: Photos from This Month

2010-08-30T17:58:00.000-07:00

Boyd Lake. I really wanted to emphasize the yellow boat, so I left the others out.

Moraine park in Rocky Mtn. Ntl. Park. Christine's easel got knocked over by the wind.

Another windy day in the mountains. This time MY easel blew over. Sigh.

The salvaged painting. Thankfully it landed "jelly side up".

Painting along Highway 7 above Estes Park

Sketch: Finches

2010-07-29T10:18:00.000-07:00

While resting up from last weekend's excitement, I've been sketching birds at the feeder with my still-functional right hand. It's a wildly unpredictable process; 9 out of 10 times, the bird moves or flies away before I even get a few marks down on paper. So I end up erasing a lot of preliminary ovals and circles -- the shapes that undergird most avian armatures -- before actually getting a likeness down. Most of these little studies were scribbled in under 10 seconds, but they are invaluable as gesture drawing practice and as observations.

(These were all on one page of my large 11 x 14 inch sketchbook; but ended up being two pages due to being digitized via a 8.5 x 11 scanner. Didn't feel like fiddling with the camera today.)

Art Safety Tip of the Day

2010-07-26T09:07:00.000-07:00

Art safety tip of the day: Make sure to hold a staple gun correctly.

I accidentally stapled my thumb Friday while helping a friend stretch a canvas; I must've not been paying attention when it was handed to me, and pressed it facing the wrong direction. It was not a pleasant experience.

On Location: Big Thompson River

2010-07-22T19:50:00.000-07:00

8 x 10 inches
Oils on canvas board
9am to 10:45am

Did another outdoor study today, this time out along the Big Thompson river, in the park just beyond the Narrows. Painting moving water is hard; I had to look away from time to time because staring intently at the churning froth made me dizzy.

On Location: Fossil Creek Reservoir

2010-07-21T16:00:00.000-07:00


Watercolor sketch, 8 x 10" on block paper, looking eastward around 10:30am.

Went out to Fossil Creek Reservoir this morning; this is a designated "regional open space" area just a couple of miles from our house, on Carpenter Rd/CR32 between Timberline Rd and the Windsor I-25 junction. Even though it's been open to the public for a number of years, I find it incredible that there aren't more visitors. Maybe it has something to do with the "no bicycles/dogs/horses" rule, or that it's still a little far out of town. There are bathroom facilities and several covered picnic areas, as well as a small outdoor classroom. Chad and I have come here several years running for the Northern Colorado birding fair that's held in the fall. (Apparently it's a migratory waystation -- some 160+ species of birds have been reported.)

The weather was a strange combination of fog and bright sun. That said, there was a steady breeze so at least it didn't get too hot until I was finishing up the second painting. An improvement over the last time, when a hailstorm made for a hasty retreat...

Watercolor sketch, also 8 x 10, facing west. Note the fog lifting off the mountains.

An 8 x 10 oil painting started late afternoon the 4th, but not finished due to bad weather.

Fort Collins Artists In the News

2010-07-12T17:43:00.000-07:00

Several friends in Loveland were kind enough to clip out the newspaper article that Christine and I were in this weekend; it apparently was on the first page of the Front Range (local) section. Looks like we fit the "human interest" angle fairly well. *grin*

On Location: Long's Peak

2010-07-11T16:05:00.000-07:00

"Long's Early Light"
8 x 10 inches
Watercolor on 140lb cold press block paper
Time: 7:30 to 9:00AM

Painted Long's Peak again this morning, this time in watercolors; the soft pastel light on this otherwise stolidly gray slab of rock was a delight to behold.

On Location*: McCreery House

2010-07-09T14:26:00.001-07:00

8x10 inches
Oils on canvasboard
Time: 9AM to 11:30AM

Yesterday I went with Christine to downtown Loveland to look for something new to paint. It was overcast and somewhat dreary (not the best for lighting/colors, but we were up for a challenge.) After 20 minutes or so, we found ourselves wandering up Washington Street, when lo and behold! We found our subject.

A fabulous example of Victorian architecture, the McCreery House was built in the 1890s for William H. McCreery, a prominent Loveland pastor and school superintendent. It's notable for its unusual octagonal shape and mansard (sloped) roofing, and retains many original interior details, such as a hexagonal tile floor pattered with McCreery's monogram. There's also a lush garden with roses, irises and trees with carved, whimsical expressions attached to them.

While we were painting, owner Linda Stotz came over. Needless to say, she was surprised to find a couple of artists painting her house! After we were finished, she graciously gave us an impromptu tour. After maintaining the home as a private residence for many years, it's now open to the pubic as a bed & breakfast, as well as an event center. Link to the website: http://www.mccreeryhouse.com/. I could just imagine how lovely it would be to hold a wedding reception there, with the antique (but recently tuned) parlour piano playing as people chat on the wrap-around porch leading to the garden.

We were also visited by Jenny Sparks, photo editor for the Loveland Herald-Reporter. She took some pictures of us painting, and we had an enjoyable time talking about cameras and art. I haven't seen any photos of us on the online edition, but our friends at the Lincoln Gallery said they'd try to catch a copy for us if anything made it to print. Wouldn't that be nice?

* I've decided to title my outside paintings as "on location", since this is a little more clear to those who don't know the artistic French term, "plein air".

Plein Air Study: 7th Street, Berthoud

2010-07-01T15:46:00.000-07:00

8 x 10 inches
Oils on canvas board
Time: 7:50am to 9:50am

Went out with the Thompson Valley Art League crew again; this time we got together at Fickel Park in Berthoud. A splendid morning spent with splendid company.

Sketch: Avery House

2010-07-01T08:21:00.000-07:00

11 x 14 inches
3B pencil on sketchbook paper

The Avery House on Mountain Avenue is perhaps the most famous residence in Fort Collins. Built from local sandstone for the Avery family in the 1870s, this quaint Victorian home is now an obligatory destination for tourists and gradeschoolers alike.

I thought it'd be interesting to draw a lesser-known view, since the front is now a bit obscured by trees. However as evidenced by the scribbley strokes, this was done rather hurriedly as I was attacked by biting ants.

Cottonwood: First Light

2010-06-29T13:15:00.001-07:00

8 x 10 inches
Oils on canvasboard
Time: 6am to 7:30am

I decided to go out and paint the cottonwood again; this time with a slightly different composition. I really want to be able to capture how it looks when the first rays of the sun spread over the horizon; the leaves gleam and shimmer like fireflies.

Starting about 30 minutes earlier than the previous painting, this was quite the challenge! Apparently, the closer one paints to sunrise or sunset, the more quickly one has to deal with radical changes in the light. By the time I got most of the canvas covered with paint, the dark green bands of shadow in the field had all but vanished. I thought to add a missing dramatic shadow in the foreground from memory, but decided not to. Sometimes, you just have to let it go.

Warbler on the Watch

2010-06-22T17:25:00.001-07:00

8 x 10 inches
Watercolor on Arches 140lb cold press block

When I was scouting locations for possible landscapes to paint the other day, I came across a yellow-rumped warbler. He was in his finest spring plumage, darting in and out amongst the cottonwood trees. After awhile, he settled on a branch just long enough for me to take some fuzzy reference photos (oh, for a telephoto lens!) and then he was off again, most likely guarding his territory from other male warblers.

Plein Air Study: Long's Peak

2010-06-18T12:03:00.001-07:00

8 x 10 inches
Oils on canvas board
Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

After breakfast today, I walked with my painting gear over to where a nearby street dead ends onto an open field. It's such a beautiful view, despite the ever-increasing housing developments and haze.

Long's Peak is an iconic Colorado mountain, named after Stephen H. Long, who explored it in the 1820s. It's a mere 14,259 ft feet, but one has to be in fairly good shape to climb it; if not, I've heard it's sheer misery afterwards. I've hiked around the impressive rock-strewn base, but have never made it to the top. Chad has, and he's always after me to do it with him some day. I'd like to, but the thunderstorms get very intense. Over the years, at least four people have died from from lightning strikes near the summit. Yikes!

As I painted, meadowlarks and prairie dogs were up and about, as well as a few neighbors walking their dogs. Everything went really well during this session -- except that I forgot my water bottle back at the house. I'm thinking of making a "pre-flight" painting checklist, since this sort of thing seems to happen a lot.

Watercolor sketch: Highway 7

2010-06-17T19:51:00.000-07:00

1 x 3 inches
Watercolor on cold press paper.

Sometimes, when I'm working on a larger painting and waiting for a layer to dry, I like to "sketch" out ideas on scraps of paper. This little piece depicts a memory of a view just off the road on Hwy 7, a couple miles south of Estes Park.

Sketch: Grackles

2010-06-16T19:10:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I practiced my hand at gesture drawing while watching grackles at the feeder. They are both the most comical and obnoxious birds! Smart, too. They're one of only 25 documented avian species that use tools; i.e. sticks and rocks. Ours take turns dunking peanuts in the bird bath over and over, presumably to soften them up for digestion. Another interesting behavior is that when it's hot, they keep their beaks open, appearing to pant like dogs. (In ornithological speak, this is commonly referred to as "gullar fluttering.") Must be difficult to be a black feathered bird in the summer...

Plein Air Study: Sheldon Lake

2010-06-04T07:20:00.000-07:00

Sheldon Lake, with "Duck Island" in the foreground.

5 x 7 inches
Watercolor on 140lb cold press paper*
Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Today I went with my friend to paint at Sheldon Lake -- better known as City Park Lake. This familiar body of water was originally dug up to make an artificial pool for John Sheldon's sheep ranch in the 1870s. The resulting pile of dirt to the east now forms Knobb Hill (a.k.a. Fire Cracker Hill).

As kids, my brother and sister and I would take bags of stale bread to City Park to feed the ducks and geese, which were so numerous that the grass had been nibbled down to a fine stubble. Now feeding the birds is forbidden, and the city landscaped the edges of the water with native reeds and grasses. It certainly looks nicer, and is probably much more sustainable, but some part of me really misses the honking, quacking cacophany that once characterized the place.

*Why I painted this scene in watercolor instead of oils: My traveling easel setup is in the shop for a repair.

Plein Air Study: Cache la Poudre River

2010-05-25T18:28:00.000-07:00

8 x 10 inches
Oils on gessoed board
Time: approx. 1 hour 30 minutes

Another plein air study, painted this afternoon on a footbridge over the Cache la Poudre river.

As you can see, the water's running pretty high...

Plein Air Study: Colorado Barn

2010-05-25T17:04:00.000-07:00

6 x 8 inches
Oil on hardboard panel
Time: Just under 2 hours

This is an old red barn on Hwy 287, just down the road from my house; you can just make out Long's Peak in the distance.

It was a perfect day to paint outdoors today; a bug got stuck in the painting only once, and the wind wasn't as bad as I'd anticipated. Best of all, my friend Christine joined me, so I wouldn't look like the only person crazy enough to be painting in the middle of a field off the highway.

(Future note to self: wear sunscreen. High altitude sun can be intense!)

Plein Air Study: On Gadwall Pond

2010-05-20T21:10:00.000-07:00

8 x 10 inches
Oil on canvasboard
Time: 1.5 hours

After getting up the nerve, I finally painted my first plein air landscape in oils today. (En plein air is simply the French way of saying "painted outdoors". ) This peaceful little pond is in Kingfisher Point natural area in Fort Collins. Aside from a lone fisherman and some very noisy Canada geese, I had the place to myself. Sheer bliss...

Painting: "Mountain Mist"

2010-05-11T23:51:00.000-07:00

9 x 12 inches
Watercolor on 90 lb cold press paper

Inspired by the gray, misty day we had today; now the weather is turning to snow. Ah, springtime in Colorado....

Sketch: The Gardens At Spring Creek

2010-05-05T16:00:00.000-07:00

A quick drawing of our community's botanical garden, a.k.a. The Gardens At Spring Creek. It's only been around for about six years, but it's been getting bigger and better. Note the oversized watering can in front of the greenhouse.

Sketchbook: Unknown flowers in Old Town Square

2010-04-29T10:17:00.000-07:00

Unknown flowers blooming in the planter near the visitor center in Old Town Square. Light creamy yellow with red streaking underneath. I'm guessing they're some sort of dwarf tulip; whatever they are, they're very pretty!

ADDENDUM: I looked them up, and it turns out they're what's known as a "species" or "wild" tulip, originating in the Turkish highlands. Apparently this is what all tulips originally looked like centuries ago, before people bred them for specific characteristics.

Garden Sketch: Strawberries Growing In... Straw

2010-04-21T16:03:00.000-07:00

Is this why strawberries are called what they're called, I wonder?

Finished!

2010-04-15T09:26:00.001-07:00

Current Artist Cam: Tidying up the studio. Making art is messy!

So the acrylic project is finally done; now I'm gonna be busy getting things back into order before the weekend.

Wind, Rain, and Grackles

2010-04-06T17:36:00.000-07:00

Current Artist Cam: moving the canvas sideways for a better painting angle.

It rained pretty hard last night, which was bad because it kept me up, but good because all that moisture will hopefully germinate the grass seed I put down to help repair the damage done to the back yard. Because much of it was under snowdrifts since, oh, October, the grass there had rotted and had become a tunneling wonderland for voles:

After the snow melted. Ick.

The wet weather also appears to have brought the grackles back. I spotted just one yesterday, but he proved to be a scout for the rest of the grackle party that arrived this afternoon, squawking and tap-dancing on the roof. Unlike some people who feed birds, I don't dread their coming, as I feel that they're just as interesting and beautiful as any of the other birds that visit our yard. That said, I do try to make sure that there are some safflower seeds available for the other birds, as the grackles can and WILL gobble down just about anything else.

A Greedy Grackle

Progress...

2010-04-05T20:09:00.000-07:00

Current Artist Cam

...can be slow at times. But I'm getting there. You can't see it, but the entire swan in this picture is now covered with interference mica paints that makes its feathers shimmer different colors when the light hits it in certain directions. (Yes, someone wants a techno-color bird. Heh.)

In the Garden: Greening Up

2010-03-29T20:34:00.001-07:00

Brussels Sprouts!

Today I took advantage of the warmer weather and worked in the veggie garden. We probably still have about a month and a half before our last freeze, so I restrained myself to only planting out a few Brussels sprouts ("Jade E Cross" hybrids) and ornamental kales. They're under row cover hoops in a southern exposure on a raised bed, so they hopefully will be able to tough it out if we get a couple of more snow sessions.

Strawberries coming to life

Meanwhile the strawberries are waking up from their winter nap; they're called"Fort Laramie", which belies their Wyoming origins. Very bulletproof in the cold. To round out my odds of getting berries this year, I'll also be planting out some rootstock of a newer variety called, "Eversweet", which I'm told can tolerate very hot weather.

Tulips out front

The tulip bulbs I planted last fall (Darwin hybrid, "Daydream") are really shooting up this week, and the "Paprika" roses are leafing out, as well. The Mordan's "Sunrise" roses, on the other hand, are still brown and dormant. At least, I hope they're dormant...

"Denver" Mint

Lastly, I found that the various mints that I buried under several inches of mulch, pots and all, are coming to life. If I remember correctly, there are apple mint, pineapple mint, "Walker's Low" catmint, and the above unknown mint I grew from clippings I got near the zoo, which I've decided to call, "Denver Mint".

Getting Things Done

2010-03-28T19:01:00.000-07:00

Current Artist Cam: Yes, this probably isn't good for my back.

Got a lot more painting done today, which is good because I was feeling a bit of a slump due to the lingering winter weather. But today the sun was out, and I managed to tend to my tulips, spend quality time with Chad, AND finish the swan in the above photo. Well, mostly finish. There's always a little more tweaking that can be done, but I'm going to save it for tomorrow, when my mind isn't so ~~obsessed with~~ intently focused on feathers.

Announcing....Artist Cam!

2010-03-25T17:08:00.000-07:00

Current Artist Cam: Working with acrylics on the studio floor

I've always been fascinated with watching other artists work. There's always something to be learned from their creative decision-making process: do they do a tonal underpainting or dead coloring? How many glazes do they use? Are they bold and decisive, or do they endlessly fiddle?

To answer some of these questions in regards to my own methodology, I'll be experimenting with posting photos of current works in progress. Stay tuned...

Spring in Colorado

2010-03-24T08:05:00.001-07:00

Before

After

For some people, spring is a generally a season of gradual green; a time of gentle rains, daffodils and dogwood blooms.

Coloradoans, on the other hand, enjoy a slightly more dramatic experience. For example: just 46 hours ago it was 67 degrees Fahrenheit (20C); warm enough to put on flip-flops and have the windows open. Now it's 27F/-3C. The windows are iced over. Out come the snow boots.

It's the time of year where we have conversations like this:

CHAD: Augh! Why is the car's air conditioning on? It's freezing!
ME: I forgot to switch it off yesterday.
CHAD: Ah, yesterday. Okay.

ME: (urgently) Don't forget your coat and hat.
CHAD: Already got 'em.
ME: What about the ice scraper?
CHAD: Yup!
(The sun is shining, birds are chirping, and there's not a cloud in the sky.)

So even though we got over a foot of snow last night, I'm already planning to work in the garden tomorrow. It's spring, after all, and by then it will have all melted away.

Chinook Wind

2010-03-20T18:52:00.000-07:00

9 x 12 inches
Watercolor on 140lb press block

So the five inches of snow that we got yesterday mostly melted this afternoon while I was taking a nap. It was a little disorienting, to awake to such a dramatic shift in the landscape in such a brief span of time! The fields around our home are now a patchwork of snow and mud; it occurred to me that I should paint this local tree as it seems so much more interesting in late winter, stark against the windy sky.

"Clarity"

2010-03-18T13:09:00.000-07:00

9 x 12 inches
Watercolor on Arches 140lb. paper

This past weekend I was inspired by some trout lazing around in a clear pond while hiking Fern Lake trail in Rocky Mountain National Park. I'd been experimenting with various pigments and splatter techniques to depict rocks, and thought, Wouldn't it be nice to add a trout to this? So "plop!" one splashed in.

Old Town Fountain

2010-03-18T13:02:00.001-07:00

The weather was so nice out yesterday that it's hard to believe that we're under a winter storm warning for the weekend. I took advantage of the 60F degree weather and sketched the fountain in Old Town square.

I've always felt a bit of a connection to this piece, in that it came into being not long after my family moved to Fort Collins 26 years ago. Old Town square had just been constructed, a dusty, bricked off section of Linden Street suddenly and irrevocably blocked off to cars. I remember thinking how strange it was that the newly minted manholes had "1984" emblazoned on them, and how they reminded me of the the strange, grown-up novel by Orwell I'd taken upon myself to read that year.

I can't recall when the geese were added, but it must've been a while later because I recall not liking them at first. Somehow I felt as if Someone In The Know should've let me know that they were going to change "my" fountain; a strangely balanced gaggle of metallic geese just seemed to take away from its geologic simplicity. (I had a similar feeling when they added another sculpture to the fountain at the Foothills Fashion Mall -- to my young mind, fountains were art enough, it would seem.) I eventually grew used to the addition, however, and now can't imagine the fountain without it.

A few years later, "The Spirit of Fort Collins", as its plaque titles it, was upstaged from its central prominence by, well, a stage. I have yet to feel a deep fondness for the permanent, view-blocking roof over Old Town stage, but who knows? Perhaps I will in another decade or so. I'm fairly certain it's already appreciated by local musicians, whose epic battles with summer hail and wind gusts became an unintended part of the entertainment.

Reservoir Tree

2010-03-12T12:48:00.000-08:00

9 x 12 inches
Acrylic on canvasboard

I went up to Horsetooth reservoir the other day, and came across this spectacular tree. It stands resolutely on the western side of a foothill, half-alive, half dead, braced against the onslaught of late winter wind.

Almost, But Not Quite

2010-02-27T19:31:00.001-08:00

9" x 12"
House Finch
Graphite pencil on sketchbook paper

This afternoon I succumbed (yet again!) to elaborating on what was supposed to be a simple sketch. For my friends who don't do much art, there's a marked difference between a sketch and a drawing. A sketch is a quick, loosely done preliminary rendering, usually without much shading or detail, whereas a drawing is a very finished piece which can almost be described as painting with a pencil.

My problem is, I sometimes end up turning a sketch into a drawing before I realize I'm doing it, and so I end up with a piece that's not rough enough to be a sketch, but not quite detailed or accurate enough to be a proper drawing.

Ah, well. Maybe I'll just start calling these pieces, "dretches" or "skrawings".

Of Bronchitis and Bird Counts

2010-02-14T21:54:00.000-08:00

So today was the final day of the "Great Backyard Bird Count", where ordinary people can help scientists keep tabs on the various bird populations across America by reporting in what species they see in their neighborhood. The birds at my feeder decided they didn't want to take part in the census today, kept away by either the windy weather or a predator. I did manage to get in a couple of Canada geese, along with a handful of starlings just outside the Chili House restaurant. Oh, and another Eurasian collared dove managed to show up in the yard, getting into a bit of a scuffle with our resident E.C. dove.

Chad's still down with some sort of bronchial infection, poor thing. Even chocolate hasn't perked him up. While he took it easy in bed, I continued to sketch sandhill cranes for a project I'm working on.

Speaking of cranes, here's an odd question: do whooping cranes ever get whooping cough?

Western Hats

2010-02-12T17:34:00.001-08:00

This is the still life that we finished this week; it used quite a variety of techniques: wet on wet, wet on dry, drybrushing, glazing, negative painting, and lifting. The best part was making the little dapples of sunlight. My new scrub brush made it so much fun it was tempting to make too many of them!

Hanging in There

2010-02-11T17:24:00.000-08:00

Both Chad and I have been a little run down this week; me with headaches and muscle aches, and he with a weird bronchial congestion that makes him sound like Barry White in the morning.

Dwindling Numbers

2010-02-08T12:48:00.000-08:00

The flock of doves that attends our feeder station has become significantly smaller over the winter. Just today I noticed that we're down to just one Eurasian collared dove. He sat looking at his reflection in the glass door for quite some time. I'm probably anthropomorphizing, but he seemed distinctly lonely. Did he lose his mate to the Cooper's hawk last week? Or did she just leave him for a warmer climate? The remaining mourning doves are more subdued than usual, as well. They spend much of their day huddling on the fence or the ground, blinking in the cold gray light. Over the summer we had about 14, but now there are about six or seven. It'll be interesting to see what the outcome of this years' official "backyard bird count" will be.

Addendum: Several hours later, I looked out and there were 27 mourning doves(!) Maybe they'd heard I'd written about them...