Lost Lake Idyll

C1550

“Afternoon on Lost Lake”

(Lost Lake ACEC, Oregon Coast)

Oil Sketch on Centurion Oil Primed Linen Panel

with an additional Priming Coat of Rublev Lead White in Oil

5” x 7”

Click here to make this your Own

Last post I was telling you about discovering the New River ACEC (Area of Critical Environmental Concern), and Muddy Lake in particular.  I thought Muddy Lake could not be improved upon, but I was wrong; Lost Lake ACEC is idyllic in a wilderness, not a pastoral, sort of way.  Being from Minnesota, Lost Lake is really more of a long narrow pond to me, but that gives it a more secluded personal feel.  There are three points along its length where the water’s edge may be accessed, and the third of these is the best.  I spent four days painting here. 

I viewed the different directions from the small area of shore and decided on this view to the north; the Ocean would be to the left several hundred yards away, out of the trees and over some sand dunes.  I set up my painting gear and proceeded to lay down a Venetian Red imprimatura, and then a block-in of the major shapes of the composition with Ultramarine Blue mixed with a touch of Venetian Red.  Over this I applied a colour layer on the simple shapes of the block-in, so that there was now a simply modeled colour composition, with little detail.  The next afternoon I refined and corrected these shapes, and added details, bringing the painting to a satisfactory conclusion.  I use the term detail advisedly since there is no detail compared to many of my Watercolours, and being ware that for many Plein Aire painters, it will be too detailed; it is the direction I am striving for, as you will be aware having read “The Journey” tab.  The rest of the colours used were Cerulean, Cobalt & Ultramarine Blues, Yellow Ochre, Venetian Red, and Cremnitz White, with a very little Cadmium Yellow & Cadmium Yellow Pale for the brighter greens.

The whole time I was working there were about a half a dozen Cedar Waxwings flitting from tree trunk to tree trunk, catching insects, sometimes almost hovering like hummingbirds in their attempts to capture them; I was unaware of this habit since those that I had seen in Oklahoma over the Winter before last, mainly fed on berries, it seemed.  A pair of Kingfishers also did their Kingfisher things, and a noisy Wren scolded me on occasion; the odd Turkey Vulture rode the wind overhead, reminding me that the coastal “breezes” were still there, and why I was here.  Other wildlife including Dragonflies and Damselflies went about their business.  I am always amazed at what appears when you are quietly painting away in the woods; it felt like Eden.

Discovering some Forest Lakes

C1549

“Afternoon on Muddy Lake”

(New River ACEC, Oregon Coast)

Oil Sketch on Ampersand Gesso Panel

with an additional Priming Coat of Rublev Lead White in Oil

5” x 7”

SOLD

After months of preparing to launch this blog, and finally doing so, and sending out an old fashioned mail-shot, by snail-mail, and then testing and tweaking it and Daily Paintworks for a couple more weeks, last week I was able to finally return to painting full time; of course I have to prepare these posts and spend time at the library posting them via their free Wi-Fi, but I’m back to the plan.  Summer weather here on this stretch of Oregon coast is usually in the 60s Fº (65º F is about 18.5º C for you in the rest of the World), but with a chill north wind prevailing and making it feel much colder; and I thought Cornwall was windy! 

Biding my time for and waiting for those days when the wind might lessen, I discovered the New River ACEC (Area of Critical Environmental Concern), series of four parcels of BLM land (Bureau of Land Management), along the New River a few miles south of Bandon.  The wind here, just a few hundred yard from the open beaches, is much reduced and so more manageable.  The New River parallels the coast separated from the Pacific Ocean by a few hundred yards of sand dunes before it empties into the sea.  On the landward side of the New River, lie several forest lakes situated in the various New River ACECs; two of these are Storm Ranch and Lost Lake, and what a discovery!  I’ve spent several days painting at both.  Muddy Lake at the Storm Ranch ACEC is depicted above from the observation blind.  With the Summer weather the lake level is dropping and so the lily pads are sticking up out of the water; perhaps this annual occurrence is why it is called Muddy Lake.  There is a certain amount of birdlife here including a resident Heron and a Great White Egret, both of which tend to work the opposite side of the lake, as they seem to be aware of the occasional viewer at the blind.  There are several other trails through other types of terrain at the Storm Ranch ACEC, but so far I’ve been side-tracked by the Muddy Lake; if the wind on the beaches continues to be a problem I may get to sample them, provided the lake doesn’t intervene.

Over the years as I’ve met other artists and the various patrons who have acquired my work, questions arise such as inspiration, materials used and such.  Generally this journal is written with them/you in mind, and is why I end each posting with a mention of the materials used, and sometimes a bit more of how I proceeded on a particular work; it also provides a bit of a record of what pigments were used in any particular work.  I am painting these sketches, studies and small paintings in Oil, on commercial panels, usually made of an archival hardboard, some of which are covered in a linen canvas, and then coated with layer of a white priming; this primer may be of an acrylic gesso or an oil based primer of titanium pigment.  I have also been adding a final layer of a traditional lead in oil primer, as was used by the Old Masters, when I have time o do so; this must be done in advance by several weeks for it to set up properly.  The priming layer is also known as the ground.  Over this white ground at the beginning of the day’s work, I many times will lay down a thin transparent layer of pigment, and this is called the imprimatura; as a landscape artist I tend to use an earth red pigment, such as Burnt Sienna or Venetian Red.  These colours add a warmth to the following paint layers, and if there are spots that are missed by the ensuing brush strokes the warm earth tones showing through just add to the interest of the painting, and being a complementary of the prevailing green of a landscape allow those greens to sing instead of being too overpowering.

And so, Techies, the imprimatura was Burnt Sienna (alkyd), with the pigments used were Yellow Ochre, Venetian Red, Cobalt and Cerulean Blues, & Cremnitz White, and just a little Cadmium Yellow Pale was used for some of the brighter greens.  I worked o this over two successive afternoons.  The first day the colours seemed a bit too slippery beneath the brush, and I’m thinking it was the Alkyd Burnt Sienna imprimatura that I had applied several days earlier and was thoroughly dry.  Alkyd is a synthetic resin that was developed in the 1930s, I believe, and is compatible with Oil Paint, and dries quite rapidly, compared to Oil; I will have to keep this in mind in future to see if this is true.  The second day the first layer, which was really just a block-in at this stage, was just a little tacky and so took the paint quite nicely and I rapidly finished it off.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did painting it … well the second afternoon’s work.

On the Coquille River at Bandon Marsh

C1508

“The Turn of the Tide”

(Coquille River at Bandon Marsh, Oregon Coast)

Oil Sketch on Centurion Oil Primed Linen Panel

4” x 6”

Click here to make this your Own

This is the Coquille River about a mile and a half or so from where it enters the Sea at Bandon, Oregon, and we are looking across at Bandon Marsh, a protected  Nature Reserve, and at the turn of the tide.  As I painted from the driver’s seat of my SUV, it being too drizzly off and on to do otherwise, I watched those big tree trunks out in the river slowly drift upstream to the left, as the tide rose.  Eventually they slowed, became stationary for a time, and gradually began to move back to the right towards the sea, as the river’s current began to take over again; perhaps they might make it to the open sea this time before the next rising tide. 

And yes, there was birdlife to be seen and enjoyed.  Besides the odd seagull, there were various ducks and waterfowl, but I was too busy painting to try and identify them unless I already was familiar with them, such as the heron keeping vigil in front of where I painted.  Although I am not a wildlife artist per se, I am interested in and do enjoy observing them, and so they do get included from time to time, as staffage in my work, much as others include people in their cityscapes.  I am sure there were more to be seen across the river in the marsh. 

I had tried to find a spot further up the river, where the marsh is more extensive, but there were no lay-bys from which to paint from the truck, but here was good enough, as the drifting logs, the birdlife, the bit of mist drifting in and out over the marsh, and the light effects, made for an entertaining painting session.  The real subject of the sketch is the light breaking through and reflecting on the water, with the promise of a better afternoon; it was just a promise.  In Oregon, that patch of blue sky that comes to nothing is called “a sucker hole.”

The imprimatura was a mixture of Burnt Sienna & Venetian Red, and the pigments used were Yellow Ochre, Naples Yellow (hue), Burnt Sienna, Venetian Red, Cobalt Blue, a bit of Ultramarine Blue and Ivory Black, and a touch of Gold Ochre; all by W&N, save for the black which was by Bloccx.  I know, I know; you’re wondering why so many colours, for a grey painting?  I had some of the colours still on my palette from the last painting session, and I was also testing various mixtures for the greys; the Gold Ochre was to see if it would brighten up the strip of marsh in the brightening light breaking through the clouds; perhaps it did a bit.

The Coast at Christmas

C1537

“Looking North from Face Rock Overlook”

(Bandon, Oregon Coast)

Oil Sketch on Telati Pintura Oil Primed Linen Panel

6” x 8”

Click here to make this your Own

As I said in a previous post (here), I returned to the Oregon Coast on Christmas Eve, and made my way down to Bandon by the 27^th.  Just before the end of the year I managed to finish this sketch of part of Bandon Beach from the cliffs at the Face Rock overlook (I will deal with Face Rock in a future post).  This gives you a bit of an idea of the coast here at Bandon; islands and sea stacks, reminiscent of Bedruthan Steps, North Cornwall near where I lived for many years.  Bedruthan was wilder in feel since it was miles from any town, and it was more personal in a way since most of the sea stacks were closer in to the shore, but there are corners of Bandon Beach where this is true also.  An aside here … Bedruthan Steps was named for a giant who in fleeing from the Devil ran across the sea stacks to his escape; the Devil seems to have certain real estate connected with him in Cornwall as well as numerous acreages here in Oregon, although Oregon seems to have the edge for some reason (see here). 

The island just to the left of center, against which the wave is crashing, is called Elephant Rock (or maybe it’s Island).  There is just a hint of why this is so called in my sketch, and there seems to be a frieze of elephants within the island seen from various vantage points; once seen … not forgotten.  Table Rock (here) is the one on the far right in the distance; at the time of this writing it is covered in nesting Cormorants, along with many of the others, which I just noticed the other day.

For you sharp-eyed observers … yes, that is gorse on the sloping cliff in the foreground.  It was brought over in the 19^th c. from Ireland by a homesick Bandon resident; it has also been responsible for the burning down of Bandon on at least one occasion in the town’s history.  Having lived in Cornwall, and visited Scotland several times, I have a soft spot for the gorse, although it is not highly regarded by many hereabouts; but in the Springtime when it is in full bloom it is magnificent, and with no sheep and goats keeping it in down this Gorse is some of the finest I’ve ever seen.  Tell me, for those of whom it is familiar … does it smell like peaches or coconut to you?

And not forgetting the tech-heads, the imprimatura is Venetian Red, and the pigments used were the triad of Yellow Ochre, Venetian Red and Cobalt Blue plus Titanium White (all W&N); a restricted palette, but a useful one I’m finding. 

Still Painting at Seal Rock(s)

C1534

“Receding Tide at Seal Rock”

(Oregon Coast)

Oil Sketch on Telati Pintura Linen Panel

5” x 7”

Click here to make this your Own

A week later I was still painting at Seal Rock, weathering a storm on the 1^st of December, when I got another two small sketches completed from the driver’s seat of my SUV.  On this last sketch I again chose a view similar to the previous post, but it’s earlier in the day and the tide is receding, allowing for reflections on the expanse of wet sand; always interesting to paint.  There was an obliging flock of gulls pottering about on the wet sand doing gull things, and just generally reflecting … philosophical reflections, no doubt (sorry) … so I just dabbed them in with my brush.  I enjoyed the previous 5 weeks painting on the coast, especially since I only was going to spend a few days painting down there, after the exhibition opening in Bandon. 

There was no imprimatura this time, and I went straight into drawing with a brush on the white linen panel with the usual suspects: Yellow Ochre, Venetian Red, Cobalt Blue, and Titanium White, all from W&N.

Meanwhile back on the Coast

C1529

“November Afternoon at Seal Rock”

(Oregon Coast)

Oil Sketch on Ampersand Gesso Panel

5” x 7”

Click here to make this your Own

Meanwhile back on the coast, the weather was good and there were seascapes waiting to be painted, so after my couple of days up in the mountains, I worked my way down to Seal Rock a few miles south of Newport.  At Seal Rock, of all the rocks here at the State Park, there is no one rock that is called Seal Rock.  One might think that this large one might be it, but no … none are.  Being bemused by this I sometimes call them in the plural and some of the captions of my several paintings of this area are entitled thus, depending on how I’m feeling at the time; contrary or otherwise.  I managed two paintings on his day, the morning one being in one of my Galleries at present.  This was Thanksgiving Day, and then still managed a dinner of smoked salmon & vegetables on a bed of cous cous cooking it after dark; a bit different from my Thanksgiving Day ham sandwich of the year before up at Blizzard Gap on Hwy 140 at 6200’, on my way to Winnemucca, Nevada, and points east.  I found a forest clearing six miles up in the mountains from Seal Rock and made it my campsite for 8 nights, coming down to paint every day.  I managed seven Oil sketches during the days spent here including two during the 1^st of December storm which swept in; most are in galleries, but there will be another on my next post.  

The morning haze cleared and as the tide receded, and the shadows began to lengthen I worked up this 2^nd sketch.  Over an imprimatura of Venetian Red, the pigments used were the triad of Yellow Ochre, Venetian Red and Cobalt Blue plus Titanium White (all W&N).  I’m quite pleasantly surprised to get the sea-greens as well as the green of the grass on the top of the big rock from just the mixture of Cobalt Blue & Yellow Ochre; I shouldn’t be since I got a range of mixed greens when mixing in Watercolour, but I’ve not done as much with Oil as I have with Watercolour over the years.

Morning Clouds

C1527

“Sky Study … Moon Setting just before the Sun Rises”

(Oregon Coast Range)

Oil Sketch on Ampersand Gesso Panel

5” x 7”

Click here to make this your Own

Last November after leaving Bandon, Oregon where I’d been painting for a couple of weeks I drifted north and found a clearing in the National Forest up in the Coast Range, and a few miles inland from Cape Perpetua; here I spent a couple of days.  One morning I saw this wonderful pink cloudscape and put it down while it was fresh in my mind.  It’s always worth turning to the sky opposite from where the Sun I rising or setting; you may just see the Moon doing the opposite of the Sun, as well as catching some colour schemes not seen in any other way.  I have seen similar morning clouds before, both before and shortly after the sun rises, and these wonderful soft clouds fill the sky and seem to promise, and usually does, a fine day; this day was no exception.  This work is a Study and as such I could have left the forested mountains out, but I added them so that there would be an anchor to show where the clouds were in relation to the ground and to remind me that this was in the Oregon Coast Range and a few miles from the Sea; I didn’t actually have a view, but only glimpses of the mountains and the Sea through the grove of Red Alders. 

After I completed the study I explored the area, driving a few miles further inland down into the valleys searching for a couple of covered bridges; I found one, but there was nowhere to set up to paint it, nor to really take good photos, although I did take some average, informational ones.  The valleys were frosty and cold with frost building up thickly on the north facing slopes, while up at 2000 feet where I camped remained much warmer, even at night; camp at altitude, boys, and stay warm! 

I’ve always been good at painting my skies in Watercolour, but since I never liked working outdoors in that medium I never did a series of cloud studies, as Constable did throughout his life; with these small Oils I expect there to be more to come.  I reckon Constable would have taken photos for reference material as well as his small sky studies … yes, he would have … don’t argue!

Over the imprimatura of Venetian Red I used the following pigments, Cobalt Blue, Cadmium Red, Yellow Ochre & Titanium White (all by Winsor & Newton), as well as Caput Mortuum (by Schmincke), a lovely purply Earth Red.