Painting
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Experiencing Faith
I’m leading the last of four classes that have church members express their responses to word and worship visually. We have had a pitter, card maker and painted stones. I’ll be suggesting listening for an idea, phrase or image that strikes the participant and then expressing that on a small canvas in acrylic paint. Here… Continue reading
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Moon on 16th Street
Walking home on a March evening, the moon was full. The bright moon, casting blue gray light over a bare tree resonated with me. I’m using Daniel Smith’s moonglow, paines’ gray, and quinacridone gold. After several washes I’ve put in the tree. More steps ahead. Continue reading
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Darkness
So, it is hard to get a really dark value in watercolor. I’ve decided to stop here before I break it with fiddling around. Testing with colored paper, I think a white mat and black frame is best to highlight lights in darkness. Thanks to Bob Witte for the drawing technique, it was for portraits,… Continue reading
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Lights
On a First Friday event in January, I left the River City Gallery and saw this view on 3rd Street. I was struck by the colors of the historic buildings, but more by the moon and star rising over it all. I’m working on a watercolor, using Daniel Smith moonglow for the sky. It’s taking… Continue reading
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Cross Road
I’m working on photo references from January at the Trempeleau National Wildlife Reserve. This is from an observation loop. With a bit of photo magic (scissors) I relocated the deer from a more long distance shot. The colors are blues for sky, trees in the distance and snow shadows, along with golden yellows for the… Continue reading
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Makeshift Studio
It helps to paint or draw daily, and so I set up my box easel in the dining room by a west facing window. I will be working on some pieces from Trempeleau Reserve for the At ists along the Trail show at Elmaro Vineyard. I’m coordinating the artists this year. We have 21 participating… Continue reading
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Portrait Class
I had the opportunity to take a portrait class with Bob Witte this week. Faces are not too difficult if you want to represent a generic human. However, individual faces grow distinct by the smallest of details. If you miss the distance between the eyes, you miss the individual. In this class we used photo… Continue reading
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Convergence
Between the Bluffs is a Plein Air event centered in La Crosse WI. It runs for two weeks each Fall, and on a Saturday there is a quick paint event. This year the quick paint was at the Friendship Gardens in Riverside Park. In this location three rivers converge: the La Crosse, the Black and… Continue reading
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Hawks Delight
ORA, Outdoor Recreation Association, has opened a new property in the West edge of La Crosse, on State Road. This farmland will be developed into a place for trails. Painters with the Between the Bluffs event met here to paint together. It was fun to see what caught the eye of the dozen or so… Continue reading
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Elmaro
There is a Plein Air event at Trempeleau National Wildlife Reserve that includes an invitation to paint at Elmaro Vineyard which is nearby. Here is the poster for 2025 Last year it was raining, but we artists persisted either from the shelter of our cars, or by umbrella or canopy. Watercolor in the rain is… Continue reading
Two Book Reflections 