(Take Note: for
those of you who have signed up to be notified by email of new postings to this
blog, you have been receiving not just a notification, but an actual copy of
the new blog posting as the email. As
this does not show the images of the paintings in the best possible light, you
should click on the title of the latest blog posting at the top of the post,
and not the title of the painting itself; this will open up the actual blog
itself, and you may then enjoy the paintings at their best.)
C1611
"On Haynes Inlet"
(Coos Bay, Oregon
Coast)
Oil Sketch on Centurian Oil Primed Linen Panel
4"
x 6
It has taken me
awhile to get back into the swing of things, as far as posting to my blog is
concerned, and it will be a slow, but I hope fairly steady renaissance … as it
were. The Annual Coos Art Museum Maritime
Show opened on the ninth of July, and I was in attendance for both the Artists’
Preview and the Private View the next evening.
I left town at 22:00 on the 3rd, and travelled down to one of
my secret clearings in the forested Coast Range near Heceta Head, spending the
night and leisurely proceeding on towards Coos Bay the next day. I went up into the Coast Range NE of Coos Bay
watched the 4th of July fireworks from 15 miles away, or at least those
that shot high enough to be seen above the intervening hills … binoculars were de
rigueur. Always nice to see them from a
distance, avoiding crowds and the noise; my own private display. Found the forest road I camped on last year,
and on which I painted the work seen here, which
is now in the Earthworks Gallery, in Yachats, Oregon. The next day I toddled on down to the Museum
and delivered my two small works for the coming show, topped off my supplies,
petrol, etc. and did a bit of recon on the way back to my chosen Forest Road
campsite. After a leisurely supper, and
a bit of star gazing, it was off to bed; sooooo nice to be back in the Wild.
Up bright and
early the next morning, I fully intended to get the above painting done for
Saturday’s Auction in support of the Museum, but the beauty of the Wild
intervened and I spent most of the day just watching unfold around me and …
enfold me. After the months spent in a
windowless studio completing the commission, mentioned recently, I needed to
just drink in silence. As I arose that
first morning the valleys, below the ridge on which I was camped, were filled
with mist … I was above a sea of fog … a view I have wanted to see for
ages. Between recon photos and
observations, I breakfasted, and by the time I finished my morning coffee most
of the mists had cleared from the valleys, only hanging on for awhile in those
closer to the coast. And then it was
watching the birdlife, the occasional rabbit, the resident chipmunks, and Bambi
and his/her Mom grazed down the road, much as a previous generation had last
year.
Late in the day I finally dug out the paint box, studied
the pencil drawing I had done the previous afternoon on my way back from
delivery, laid down an imprimatura on the canvas panel and applied the brush drawing. I let this dry overnight and the next day set
to it again, but with no real hurry, as my “Nature-watch” continued. On the third day, I touched up a couple of
places, and inserted the heron, and threw it into its frame, ready for the
auction, completely forgetting to photograph it before doing so; thus the
framed photos above. Three days of
beautiful clear skies, warm but not hot temperatures … the way I like it. Ahhhhh!
Nice!
Oh yeah … and by the way … the above Oil of Haynes Inlet did sell at the auction.
Oh yeah … and by the way … the above Oil of Haynes Inlet did sell at the auction.
