Only so much "Creative" to go around..

For the past several weeks I have been 100% involved in creating and delivering video productions. Complex, challenging and good results - but once you are into one kind of creative, it is tough to have enough left to jump into painting. Too bad. I heard an artist talk abut that last week when asked if he wanted to get back into acting. He said he couldn't stretch himself that far to be able to do both. He chose painting. I will be off to a super location soon and hope to get the painting jump started again - if the TSA clears my paint supplies. Stay tuned.

Final Canvas - "Tomales Fine Art"

Started on "Tomales Gallery" - here it is 2 hours later.

First Stages and Finished "Queen of the Hill" - a home on the path leading to the sea in Prospect, NS, Canada [from a photo]

Before and After - using lessons learned from Tim Horn Plein-Air Workshop.

California artist TIM HORN Workshop was beyong all expectations - and a game changer for me - for sure..

The Tomales Fine Art Gallery along a quiet crossroad in wine country hosted a 3 day TIM HORN plein-air workshop and the class assembled from all over the country for this chance to work with Tim and try to learn his lessons well. Located in a studio workshop on the gallery grounds, every day started with instructions, including reviewing Tim's paintings and lessons learned from his earliest trys, to his latest world class work. Value, color, composition, and Tim's solid hands-on style left me with a new focus as well as a welcome new skill set. Too late for the France trip next week, but I am "in" for Monhegan Island, ME next summer. Fantastic class. If you have a chance - go, no matter what your skill level.

A few from Chester, Nova Scotia

Chester is a small but historic New England-looking village on the Chester Bay about 90 minutes south of Halifax. Home to the famous Chester Yacht Club, and it was the CYC's race week during our stay. The 3 day family wedding was great, and the sea coast was a picture everywhere you looked with travels from Prospect and Halifax to Lunnenburg and Mahone Bay. I had time for three 90 minute pouchards on-site that are like "personal post cards" to me. I took lots of photos and should get at least 10 paintings done from those. Right now I am working in the home studio now on a large canvas of Chester's most popular everyday eatery, The Kiwi Cafe. A local haunt, and hangout for the cast and crew of TV shows like HAVEN shot in Chester all the time.

Three post card paintings from Chester, Nova Scotia...

"Flowers. Flowers. Flowers" is the name of this shop..

The Baker House..

Malibu Cliffs Morning..

On a sunny Saturday at the beach I decided to tan & paint for 90 minutes. The rocky cliffs looming behind me face the Pacific & are filled with brush and topped with great homes. One is a favorite - I eliminated the rest.

Thinking of joining the "painting a day" movement

An artist tipped me to the "a painting a day" artist movement and I am thinking of trying it. The deal is that you do a small painting every day and post it on your blog for sale. I searched under "a painting a day" and discovered some really great artists. The paintings go for $100 each - sometimes less, sometimes they are placed on e-bay and bring in higher fees too. In my case, if I do it, I would start slow with a painting a week! We'll see.

"Joe's House"... ready for shipment.

Framed and ready for shipment - "Joe's House" [on a July 4 morning]. All that's left now is a note to the client with photos of the painting in progress and a few inside stories, like the seagulls representing this home so close to the sea, or the small beam of light on the neighboring house of light through Joe's big bay windows that say how this great restoration "reflects" on the neighborhood..and more "artsy stuff" that motivated me a bit. Loved doing it. Now on to the next. I hope there is a nice "wall space" in it's future. Home is where your memories begin.

Those seagulls are too big - right?

I'll get to "downsizing" the seagulls this morning. Too bad because I like them very much and they are important as they indicate that this home is so close to the sea. The plein-air gold frame should arrive this week and then it's off for this home to find a home in Newport, RI.

Getting there.....

After some time away from the brush to let it rain and the cold weather to pass, I am back at it adding more details, under-painting for the landscape areas, and then there's the roof line and "morning sun" golden-glow colors to do in the sky, clouds, & on on the sunlit surfaces.

Adding color to underpainting...

Day #2...These are short days of painting - more like hours more than "days". Working on adding underpainting colors this session, now that the basic shapes are in. The suggestion of underpainting was one from Mitch Albala's LANDSCAPE PAINTING book - and I like it. If you are painting plein air you need to be pretty fast, but painting this from a photo supplied by the homeowner I can take my time.

Beginning sketch for RI Home...colors are next.

Style development for RI house painting...

It's called "simplification & massing", a style Artist TIM HORN [painting LEFT] works in so well. It's a style I have enjoyed too, & I plan to do more of it as part of the Tomales Fine Art [www.tomalesfineart.com] series of plein air classes hosted by Tim in this rural, CA wine country location. Tim's art takes basic forms & shapes and simplifies them using great colors. The RI house I am doing at the moment will borrow from this "simplification" style - and can be seen in one of Tim's fine paintings that I have attached here. Look for more on Tim's site on-line. "Simplification & Massing" is part of Mitch Albala's great lesson book on plein-air painting I have really enjoyed titled "Landscape Painting" [go to amazon.com]

Decisions...

I have done some searching on the net for plein air videos of streets and buildings to mentally "loosen up". It's turned warm and inspiring here in southern CA, and my decision is to do an early morning look for this grand old Newport home. An undercoat of burnt sienna with a hint of red should warm it up. Because the shapes are simple, it's the light and shadows that will make the painting interesting to me for sure. Begin tomorrow. Should be fun to get the shapes set, and perhaps the dark and light areas.

Next Project - Great House in Newport, RI!

It's really a swell "century"classic with a great refreshed look thanks to the owner's love and care - and respect for great original bones. This one will be fun, and I will be sure to post photos. I am working on style as well as "time of year" decisions. Should it be winter with snow on the ground on a cold afternoon, or summer in the early AM? It will all depend on my mood when I get to it I guess - after the current video production projects are finished. Most likely winter, which will serve as a great "warm up" for the next painting...a winter canvas of a warf in Newport as well to be done from a photo sent to me by a pal.