Hillsboro Plein Air Paintout - downtown

While I was painting in downtown Hillsboro on the second day of the paintout a reporter for a local paper stopped by to take some pictures and ask some questions. I didn't think much about but a couple of different people who take that newspaper brought me copies of the next issue of the paper, showing me painting. Then today some pictures of the various artists were published on Flickr here.



The Flower Seller
oil on board
8" x 10"

We were in central Oregon last weekend; the following sketches were done in my little Moleskine book which is slightly smaller than 4x6 inches:

A view across the river from Greg's Grill where we lunched.

This view of the Deschutes River was done on the riverband at Lava Island Falls. The reddish brown is a large lava flow from ancient times. The forested land in the region is mostly lodgepole pine.

My husband and I enjoy visiting the High Desert Museum south of Bend. The best part of the living museum is the grounds surrounding the buildings with trails, forests, and a rather new replica of a pioneer farm, complete with a hand pump, a wash tub with scrub board, a garden and a corral made of 'found' timber. All the little kids were enjoying playing house: pumping water, watering the garden, washing clothes in the washtub and then hanging on the line to dry. I remember when that was a chore rather than an interesting activity to do in an interpretive museum.

The view from our balcony at Sunriver was looking out over the golf course which is dotted with small stands of pine trees, with some of the Cascade mountain range in the distance.

This view is looking across Sun River toward Mt. Bachelor in the near distance.

The Flower Seller, plein air oil painting

 

 

 

The Flower Seller

 

 

I've survived my second two-day paint-out, though it took a few naps after the day. Saturday's location was downtown Hillsboro. I walked around the area for quite awhile, taking lots of photos and assessing the area near the courthouse and the farmers market and finally decided to combine elements from two Vietnamese flower seller booths. The day was gray and rainy so I chose a spot under cover of a building overhang and set up my easel. The first step was to make some compositon/value sketches. Once that was done I sketched in the basic design using a brush and thinned blue paint, laid out my colors and started painting.

The painters and interested public were invited to the Walters Cultural Center for a mid-afternoon party on the lawn with live music, food, and wine tasting while the juror decided on awards. No, I didn't take home a ribbon this year, but I did win a large drying box and some panels from RayMar so I was a happy camper. Having this 12 x 16 panel box will enable me to work on larger oils in the field by giving me a safe way to carry the work home.  My work will be shown along with others during August at the Center.

I didn't photograph the painting I did Friday but as soon as I can do so I'll post it for you to see.

I'm happy with both paintings, and even more with myself because I gathered the courage to step up to the challenge of painting in a rather new-to-me medium in public alongside lots of people who do this on a regular basis. Everyone was kind and I hope to paint with a plein air group again.

Hillsboro Plein Air Paintout in Jackson Bottom

Today was the first of two days of the annual plein air paintout in Hillsboro and I decided to pack up my oils and participate. After checking in and having the back of my boards stamped I drove to the refuge and set up with a wide open skies viewpoint and commenced to paint what I saw. I like the work I did but it isn't a winner, just practice with a deadline, thank you, Randall. 

My daughter arrived with her three youngest and Sarah, who's nearly 11, wanted to try her hand at painting with oil. she took to it like a duck to water and finished a very sweet little painting that's mostly sky. One concept she picked all up by herself is that she can look at what's in front of her and paint that rather than what's in her head.

I'll be painting again tomorrow in downtown Hillsboro, first at the 'Fast Draw" at the Walters Art Center, and then I'll set up downtown and tackle an urban scene. Painting commences at 9 am, and Fast Draw is at 10. We turn in our work for jurying at 2:30 at the Walters Center.   The Farmers Market is Saturday so the town will be hopping with activity, what with all the artists and farmers around. Maybe I'll see some of you there.

Three Calla Lilies - oil painting

Three Calla Lilies
Oil on canvas
15" x 30"

By working on primed, unstretched canvas I can experiment with composition and materials without filling all my storage space with canvas on stretcher frames, though the walls will fill up pretty fast if I keep up my present pace.

Splashing oil onto canvas

Field of Canola
8x8
oil on canvas

I've decided to concentrate on working with oils for the next couple of months. I've put away the acrylics, most of the journals, the watercolors, the sewing, the Little Jo collages, the daily collages. I'm in the process of decluttering my studio so there's room to breathe and to think in a new way.

I have a bunch of gessoedstretched and unstretched canvas and a drawer full of oil paint and mediums. The plan is to paint large and with abandon, putting my heart, my emotions into the work and see what comes out. I'll try not to critique my own work, not yet. I'll just paint one thing after another, working on several things at a time, but working in series, on landscape and maybe some abstracted flowers.

As you see, above, my work is more than a bit constricted. I remember how I felt about seeing that huge field of canola flowers, brilliant yellow stretching to the sky. But when I put brush to canvas my feelings won't come out, not yet... but I'll get there as I put miles on my brush. Big brushes. Big canvas. Splashing on the color. I can't lose.

Even that field of canola with the same composition would be pretty impressive if it was 6 times as large.

Right now I'm experimenting with the materials. I've worked in oil before, under direction in a workshop situation, but now I want to spend the time to see what develops.

Travel Oregon... a handmade sewn journal

Inside front cover with pocket.

 My college roommate/sorority sister paid us a long-overdue visit in June and we did the usual tourist things: streetcar and light rail in downtown Portland, the Mt. Hood Loop drive back through the Columbia River Gorge, lunch on the water, shopping for fleece, plus we spent a week at the beach where we enjoyed long walks along the waters edge.

One of the beach days was the Cannon Beach Plein Air Paintout so of course we spent the bulk of the day watching artists at work, even though conditions weren't optimal. It's hard to paint when a cold wind is blowing sand in your face and interested people want to engage the artist in converstation... but they managed to make some very nice art which was on display the next day. No, I didn't participate; I just watched.

My friend Debby is a basketmaker and since she gave me one of her incredible baskets last fall I wanted to do something for her, to remind her of this precious time in Oregon. So I made her a journal using the structure I learned from Patty Van Dorin, called Wall Calendar Journal.  Here are some pictures of the pages before she started work in the book.  Unfortunately, I neglected to scan the front and back cover of the journal.

Debby is the girl on the right; my photo is below.
This is from the Okla. State Univ. 1959 yearbook.

The rest of the pages from Debby's journal, Travel Oregon, can be viewed in my Flickr album here.

I've missed you

Brandy, in my back yard

Friends have been calling to check on me, stopping me at the market, sending emails because they are concerned since I haven't posted in 4 weeks. Four Weeks! I'm sorry that I've neglected posting... I have excuses.

Reflection

I'm quite well, just very busy with summertime stuff.  I'll be back to blogging soon, probably next week. Thank you so much for asking.