I met a lot of people yesterday while painting on the San Sebastian promenade that circum-navigates the mini mountain on the east side of La Bahia De Concha (Concha Bay). Many of them were French, as France is but a half hour away from San Sebastian.

Ishmael, from Turkey, kept talking to me about “The Fifth DImension” and wanted know how I achieved opening up to that dimension when doing my paintings. Weirdly, I think I kind of knew what he was talking about. It’s nice when people approach your art with something other than “It’s pretty”, which kind of begins and ends the conversation, with a smile and a thumbs up.

Hedvig (pictured above) is from Sweden. We talked for about half an hour on a wide range of subjects, from doing art whie traveling, to the the evils of social media to traveling Mexico and Central America. Yes, Hedvig is traditionally a female name. I did not know this. ( I always associated the name with “The Angry Inch” and the owl on Harry Potter). Delightful human! I was shocked when she said she was twenty: Worldy, present, mature, confident, knows multiple languages. I thought she was from the states at first when hearing her accent.

THE PAINTING: I am not going to show a close up of it, because I am not that happy with it. The composition was not set up for success (like the previous boat painting) and the light was tricky: It was frontal at first (from behind me). Frontal light erases much of the sculptural depth of subjects, making the foreground island and the background mountain seem to merge together.

Below is a picture of the island later in the day. The shadows clearly show the form of the island. Maybe I will revisit the painting with this photo in mind. (If the commitment to one painting per day permits)

CHASING THE LIGHT

Which brings me to my geeky visual artist section of this Blog post. “Chasing the Light” is a term used by Plein air artists , and refers to the phenomenon of begining a painting with a particular lighting direction and quality, and then the light inevitably changing as the painting continues. This can be hugely frustrating, and can potential erase any dynamism and clear commitment in your paintings. Cast and shadows shift, it is sunny, then it is overcast. The world is a whirlwind of ceacelss activity. The plein air painter knows this. People wonder why I want to paint faster…..this is why. Decisions need to be made quickly and confidently in order to have a chance of capturing what is happening.

Sometimes, it works in your advantage…..for instance, you start painting when it is overcast, without a lot of high contrast shapes to work with….then the weather shifts, the sky becomes dynamic, shadows become allies of definition.

SHADOWS as ANCHORS:

I have learned that commiting to shadows early on, can be an antidote to “chasing the light”. Despite the shifts of lighting direction, if you stay commited to the shadows you began with, then there is a much better chance of the painting remaing cohesive.

Today is overcast (so far) so I may not have these allies in today’s painting, but my caucasian skin definitley needs a break from the sun. EIther way, shade will be the main determining factor in choosing todays location.

I leave you with a gallery array of shots from picturesque San Sebastian. Buen Dia!

First Day of oil painting!!! My jam. Oil painting is the probably the least portable of all the painting mediums, so of course that is the one that I decided to use. I remember when I first started with oils…they felt so foreign and weird. Now, I feel at a loss without them. Although, it is just a matter of getting used to something else, but that takes time and I want to focus on making paintings rather than learning a new medium…although I did bring gouache, watercolors and casein paints….I always think I can do more than I actually can.

~ Look at the boat and notice how much the tide lowered ~

As anyone who is around me for any amount of time can attest, I am not an OCD neatnik. Quite the opposite; a wake of messy chaos usually surrounds me. But traveling with oil paints to another part of the world has forced me to be organzied and compact, and weigh the multiple factors involved with this complex endeavor. Like, what to carry it all in….I found a perfect Rucksack to accomodate most of my art supplies, though I still haven’t figured out how to transport freshly wet paintings and palettes…. I have to hold them in my hands, on the way home, and they love to pick up the wind and flop about.

Above note the fancy, yet minimal and somewhat portable “Open Box M” paint box/easel that mounts to a tripod (vintage 1960s, thanks to a load by Eric Perlman who lent me his father’s tripod). The canvas is actually Rives BFK paper treated with PVA, thick acrylic medium and Gesso, using a technique taught to me by Ted Kutscher. The painting is held by a spring-loaded pincers. Note the mineral spirits container hanging on the side, which does not leak when closed. In the box is a makeshift palette (i need to have glass cut to fit, which is my usual palette). The small altoids box is where I put any garbage oil paint. And I really appreciate the side shelf for storing brushes….although they tend to roll off….I will rig some method to fix that. In an odd way plein air painting is a lot like sailing, in that you have to be preparred to make whatever you have with you work once you leave port.

Probably around 50 people stopped and commented…almost none in english, but we understood one another anyway.

I did not take pictures of them. Sorry Karen, but honest, they were there!

An older couple (maybe ten years older than me) seemed fascinated, and kept talking to me as if I understood. Oddly, I sorta did. Her husband took some pictures of me, and he tried to take a picture of his wife, who started walking away when he did. I have several of her walking away….which I will not post. I gave them my business card with website, and they said they don’t do computers or the internet. I suppose that affords them the time to actually socialize with random people like me.

Here is the final painting. I am happy with it. It is more about composition and color and value and sense of light, than it is about boats, at least, that is how I approach it.

Nothing strengthens my faith in humanity more than travel. Maybe I'm just lucky, but everyone, from my awesome first host in Madrid, Antonio, to cab drivers, baristas, train conductors and random strangers, to my next host, Pablo, in San Sebastian, have been very gracious and filled with life and humor. Spain, a 15th century imperial power that conquered the world, has ossified into a genteel culture that knows how to be human.

The view from Pablo's balcony in San Sebastian (Donostia)

Views from the 7 hour train ride.

Now I'm off to paint…good or bad, I'll show you the results.

I have not been to Europe for 36 years, and at the first stop I am not dissapointed. Madrid is amazing! Being in the presence of the incredible architecture, broad avenues, narrow streets and vibrant people is a huge breath of fresh air, and distinctly not American. This city wasn’t designed around the car, thus people walk everywhere. And why not, there is gorgeousness everywhere. A city to be proud of. I thought I was only going to be here two days, but I am extending it to three, ‘cause there’s too much to see.

The Painting below is my first of this trip and was hard won. It is done in Gouache, which is like water color paint, but thicker. I have not used guoache like, maybe ever, so I felt pretty clutzy the whole way through. This is a corner of the Playa de Santa Ana. My AirBnB host, Antonio, mentioned that it reminded him of an Edward Hopper painting, and I agree. Tomorrow, hopefully I can get some oil painting going. That is much more my comfort zone.

The Process

It’s hard not to look up when you are in Madrid.

First drawing of the trip. In lieu of scrolling on the cell phone while at the Seattle airport. Next post…Madrid, the Prado and Sorollo museums.

Week 2

I braved the elements and went outside for a view of the whole building and the surrounding landscape. Painting outside is not just an outdoor activity, but almost a sport. It requires strategy, stamina, the right equipment and the ability to work with what nature throws at you. It is an exhilerating experinece that I highly recommend. Here the video that goes through my process, and below is the final result. Enjoy!

Slated for demolition…this former catholic seminary now enjoys a second life as a destination hotel, and as the subject for this painting “The New Day”. It now hangs in the Grand Hallway.

Week 3

Painting in the dining room of Cedar + Elm was an interesting experience. . People came and went. Staff bustled about. I painted in the corner next to the grand piano.

The Process

This is the 2nd day at The Lodge at St. Edward Park, where I continue painting a three-foot by four-foot canvas, that was drawn out the day before. Today's job is color and values. I come close to completing the painting. A few more hours and it will be done, and be hanging in the very hallway in which it was painted next week.

Kamela Daniels, Art Program Director for The Lodge at St. Edward State Park, invited me to do a 3 week residency there. Here is Day 1 - A Drawing. Beginning of a large painting, and good food!

Yesterday I decided to do three plein air oil paintings in one day. On this video I take you through the process. Notice the background music (happy birds)

In preparation for my Residency/Workshop I did simple composition studies of the barns around the property. The emphasis is on a simple shape statement. Any detail is the icing on the cake of clear structure of shapes and darks and lights.

I have drawn/painted this barns a bunch of times. It is the giant madrona tree looming over it that keeps me fascinated.