"October Orange"

"October Orange" 9x6 acrylic

These small landscape/foliage experiments are a lot of fun. It's always a challenge to get the colors close to reality without pushing them too far.

Bison Sketches

The past few weeks have been filled with time spent drawing. Bison are such a cool subject for drawing. Their musculature makes for interesting shadow and highlight combinations.

 

Sketchbook Pages

Some days I just don't feel like painting. It is however, a rare day when I don't feel like drawing. Here are just a few pages of pencil studies from the past two days. Keep drawing!!!

"Pocket Water"

"Pocket Water" 17.5x10 acrylic

My love of trout water has always drawn me to places like this. Being able to capture scenes like this with brush and paint is an added bonus spending time here with a fly rod. Only good things come from visiting places like this.

Drawing.... AGAIN!!!!

"There is always time to draw, so stop making excuses and just do it!"

Yesterday's field study

It seems I say that a lot these days. During the course of a 4-day show, I'll bet I get asked a dozen times by young artists what it would take for them to be a better painter. The answer is always straight forward and simple. DRAW!

But there are always excuses. "I don't like to draw." "I don't have time." "I only want to paint." Blah blah blah. 

Drawing is the one skill seemingly forgotten among many up-and-coming artists. With the incorporation of digital photography and powerful (and very useful!) programs like Photoshop, drawing skills seem to be largely ignored. Instead of using photography and Photoshop to complement a solid concept derived from a sound creative process, they are used as a crutch or a shortcut to bypass the necessary skills needed to produce good art. That is a huge and very noticeable mistake.

A quick gesture study from a photo on the internet

Most people look, but do not truly see what's in front of them. Their perception is based on what they think they know about an object, rather than actual observation. The ability to block out this preconceived noise and learning to actually see is the most important part of creating representational art. Nothing can teach a person how to see better than constant and repetitive drawing exercise.

So... my young artist friends... buy a sketchbook. Hell! Buy 4 or 5 cheap ones! And start filling the pages with what you see. It's always interesting to look at the pages of a full and tattered sketchbook and see the progress from the first page to the last. It is at that point you will learn the importance of drawing. It is always a productive and enjoyable way to pass the time.

"Prelude to Autumn"

Inspired by a recent day afield, this small painting came together rather nicely. I may need to explore the possibility of painting this motif in a larger format.

"Prelude to Autumn" 8x6 acrylic