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Exhibit at the Foundry


The Foundry Resident Artists are exhibiting at the Foundry Art Centre in Gallery II. The exhibition runs from December 26, 2009 through February 5, 2010. The opening reception is Friday, January 8 from 6-9pm. The artists will hold an Open Studio Night at the same time. We all have a piece in the gallery. Come by and see the show, then come upstairs to view lots of new work in our studios. Hope to see you!
The Foundry Art Centre, 520 North Main Center, St. Charles, MO 63301

Accepted to National Juried Show!

I am pleased to announce that the three paintings shown above: Dreaming, 30x40; Solitude, 40x30; High Plateau,24x48; have all been accepted to the Ann Metzger Memorial National All Media Exhibit at the Saint Louis Artists' Guild. The opening reception is January 24, 2010 from 1-3pm. The exhibit runs January 24 to March 19, 1210. This is a wonderful show, stop by if you can. The Guild is located at Two Oak Knoll Park, St. Louis, MO 314.727.6266.
This Saturday, December 12th, the Foundry Artists are having an OPEN STUDIO night from 6:30 to 8p.m. before the Erin Bode concert starts. This is the email blast we sent out to our email lists. Everyone who comes early will receive a seat reservation card so they can choose their seat, save it, and come upstairs to enjoy the artwork of over 20 artists along with food & wine.
If you haven't been to the FOUNDRY ART CENTRE come by! We are at 520 North Main Center, St. Charles, MO.

Gateway Gallery window


These photos show a display of my Paris paintings in the front window of the Gateway Gallery in Clayton, MO. There are a lot of reflections on the glass but you can see my work on the right side of the window. My Paris paintings are on display until January 3rd.

After more changes

Here is the "after". I changed the foreground to deep shadow, and it still needs some work but I think the overall painting is better now.

changes to new work


I'm posting this as a "before" - the "after" comes next. I changed the foreground drastically after deciding it doesn't work. See next post.

Progress on new work.

This the next big stage for this piece. Here you can see the basic buildup of color, I am using the oil pastel dry at this point. A lot of this color will be covered by the next layer but still show through areas I scumble over.

New Work

I finished this canvas in October. Its 30"x40" and represents a new direction for me. I'm really going for a looser, more painterly style and opening up my palette to more color. Using the alkyd medium in the early layers enables me to use oil pastel more like paint out of a tube. It also sets the colors between layers so that I can scumble over them and not alter the underlaying color. Working on canvas is very different from the rigid panel I'm used to working on. The difference in weight is amazing. I don't think I could handle a cradled panel this large.

Progress on new work

This stage shows my initial color layer over the monochromatic underpainting. I'm working wet at this stage, liquefying the oil pastel with an alkyd medium. More to come!

New Work in progress


I started this painting a few days ago; this is the first stage after prepping the canvas (30"x40"). It's a monochromatic underpainting to establish my composition and in general where my lights and darks will be. More to come!

High Plateau

Wow, its been a while since I last posted. I've been busy painting and have not been on the computer much at all except to check email. This is another new piece on canvas. It is 24" x 48" and is based on a photograph I took while driving across Independence Pass in Colorado. I am using alkyds more and more to get a glazing effect in my work. The alkyd medium is perfect for oil pastel because it sets the pigment and I can go over with another color without changing the color under it. Very cool.

Variation on a color



This is a new small painting ("Red Variation" 12x10) I did last week after hanging my wall at the Gateway Gallery for the show last weekend. I decided one piece wasn't working in the overall wall scheme and I wanted to replace it. I painted this scene (Forest Park) which is the same scene I painted for a demonstration some time ago (Color Play). My goal was to really change it up in terms of the color and I really wanted to use RED. I like how it turned out especially in terms of complimentary color (always a consideration of mine). I am in a red mood lately. Do you ever get in a color mood?

Dreaming

This is a 30x40 piece on canvas. I have to move to canvas to work larger which is a direction I want to go. I just hung this in my living room where it looks fantastic. I am going to hang this at the Gateway for the next show. Tonight is the reception for 'Create Saint Louis' and I am really looking forward to it. The gallery looks great with all the new work.

Small Stream Landscape Series



I am working on new works on paper exploring bright colors applied to landscape. This trio is from my new small stream series. They are matted in bright white with walnut frames and are priced to be very affordable. I have a selection at the Gateway Gallery (Clayton, MO) and at my studio in the Foundry (St. Charles, MO).

Forest Park

This is a trio I just completed. It's from a day I spent walking around Forest Park in St. Louis taking photographs. I have painted a few pieces from that walk. Most of them will be in the September "Paint St. Louis" show at the Gateway Gallery. For this triptych, I decided to channel my inner Monet. It happily reminds me of the giant Monet paintings we saw at the Orangerie Museum in the Tuileries in Paris.


This is a photo of a display outside the library at the Jardin des Tuileries. It was a sunny fall day and I thought it was a really nice display, especially the strategically place flower!

Painting Saint Louis

' Peaceful Stream' is a view from Forest Park in St. Louis. The building is the Chase Park Plaza. This is going to be exhibited at the Gateway Gallery starting August 23rd for our"Paint St. Louis" show which will include extended hours during the Clayton Art Fair, September 11-13.

'Boathouse Reflections'

I finished the boathouse painting. I am very happy with the final piece! At the end, I worked hard on the reflections in the water. It looks vibrant and really takes me back to the park. If you ever get a chance to walk around Washington Park in Denver - do it. Its a great place to walk, roll or ride.

Progress!!



In addition to working on the boathouse, I worked up a storm on 'Ed's view' this week. I worked on mid-range values and refining the foreground shadow a little more. The view that recedes into the distance is looking good. I will do a little more refining and then the flag will be added to the green. At that point it will be ready for my client to view in person.

Boathouse Painting Progress

I worked on the boathouse again after taking some time away from it. I worked on smoothing out the water as well as adding mid-range values and highlights in the trees. I think its really coming together. I just love this old park!

More progress on Ed's View


This is essentially the third stage of this painting. I'm still working on the entire surface (except the sky for now) adding layers, defining trees and working on different tones of green to establish depth. I worked on establishing the foreground darks; using greys on the path shadow and dark greens on the grass shadow. There is still a lot to do but it starting to shape up. Future pictures will show more subtle changes.

Progress on Ed's Painting


I have worked on the overall painting at this stage, covering over the underpainting and filling the canvas with pigment. I worked extensively on the sky, loading it with pigment. Also worked a little more on the foreground branch. There is lots more to do. The changes at this stage will be more noticable. As I move foreward, the changes will be more subtle. Its so nice to have a floor easel I can move up and down depending on which area I am working on. The Foundry was busy on Thursday; a lot of people came walked into the studio, looking at the painting and talking to me about it. One guy even guessed it was the golf course at Lake St. Louis.

My homage to O'Keeffe

My homage to 'Birch Trees at Dawn on Lake George' by Georgia O'Keeffe is a painting of aspen, my favorite tree.
I have painted aspen many many times. This painting shows aspen trees along a road on Ohio Pass in Colorado. I was driving through a dense forest of aspen, shaded and very quiet. Through these close up trunks you can see the sun shining on fall foliage. I painted the trunks as the focus, growing out of the composition.

My favorite tree; my homage to Georgia O'Keeffe.

Homage to the Masters



The Gateway Gallery partners are painting an homage to the old masters for our July 10 reception. One of the images we were given as inspiration is 'Birch Trees at Dawn on Lake George' 1926 by Georgia O'Keeffe. (All of our references are in the Saint Louis Art Museum collection.)

O'Keeffe painted the birch tree at Lake George many times. Ms. O'Keeffe lived in New York City and Lake George from 1918 - 1928. (She painted in Colorado in 1917 and first saw New Mexico that year.) The one in the SLAM collection is a summer image (shown here) and the other one I have seen reproduced is from autumn (White Birch, 1925). Her quote (my edit) about White Birch "A little way from the dock there was a big old birch tree with many trunks. I have painted its foliage green and have painted it yellow many times...The trunks were whitest in the early sunrise... The foliage a golden yellow with a few leaves standing out sharply here and there."

copyright 'Georgia O'Keeffe' 1976 the Viking Press







New Work in Progress




This is the first stage of a new painting I am doing for Ed K. It is the view from his home. He lives on a golf course and can watch all the golfers miss the green, miss their putts etc. Sometimes they hit his house.


This is the underpainting, which is very washy and loose. Its big too (36x48) and hard to shoot without glare. I will post my progress along the way.

More work on the boathouse

At this point, I'm adding more layers and definition to the trees on the right side, adding overall refinement to the reflections in the water and working on the trees where they meet the sky - adding more 'sky holes'. I also refined the shadows on the boathouse a bit. Did you notice the new item in the scene?

Boathouse Painting work in progress


At this point I'm working on refining the water reflections-the water has to look like its reflecting what is 'on shore'. This really takes me back to Washington Park. I think I walked my dog there hundreds of times. She would start whining with excitement as soon as we were in sight of the park.

Progress on the Boathouse painting


This is the next stage of the boathouse painting. I am focusing layering colors on the trees, working on shadows and defining the them against the sky. I've added more layers in the water reflections, really trying to cover over the underpainting.

Work in progress


This shows the next stage of the boathouse painting. I've worked on the sky quite a bit and have started layering darks into the trees, the building and the reflection of the building. I also added some preliminary lights into the water.

Work in progress


This is the underpainting of a new piece I just started. I'm going to shoot it in stages of completion and post my progress. This image is the boathouse reflected in the lake at Washington Park in Denver, Colorado.

Augusta plein air


This is a plein air piece I created during the Augusta Plien Air Art Event, which was a wonderful experience. The people who organize it are amazing and the locals are welcoming. But with the economy, the sales were low compared to last year. I am already looking forward to next year. Could the economy please give us artists a break?!

More New Work


One of my recent paintings in my new Paris series. I'm using a lighter palette for this series. It is taking me back to my vacation in the city of light. Paris is truly magical.

April Already


This painting is of the Petite Palais in Paris. I photographed the building late afternoon after attending an exhibit inside the Grand Palais across the street. My brother-in-law identified the building for me by looking it up in Wikipedia and Google earth. I loved the photo and really wanted to find exactly what I painted!

Strolling in Paris



I loved the photo I shot in Paris that became the inspiration for this painting. The only bummer is I didn't write down which building it is so I can't identify it.

A work in progress for my Paris series


This painting is sitting on my easel at my studio. This is an early stage of a work in progress. Sometimes it helps to stand back, look at it and decide what it needs.

Me in my studio


I am sitting at my table in my studio at the Foundry. I am working at a table easel right now but I have a floor easel on order so I can work on larger pieces. Its going to be great if it ever arrives...I actually have most of it but a major part didn't work right so I am waiting for a part. Waiting for parts. Sounds like a Vonnegut novel. Which one? I know I read it.

Studio photos


This is my studio at the Foundry Art Centre in St. Charles, MO, where I am a resident artist.

My medium is oil pastel. I'll be talking about my work and process in future postings.