Pleinair Painting

If you make your living as an artist, as I do, you've probably seen a major change in the purchasing habits of Americans since the end of 2008. The last three years have been a challenge, to say the least. I've paid the bills OK, but pulled the belt tighter on dog treats, trips to the country and dinners out. And, the salvation army is getting fewer of my clothes, as I'm hanging onto the fashions a bit longer than usual...overlooking a frayed sleeve or balled sweater in favor of a thicker wallet. In the past, I've been 99% commissioned as a painter. All of my work is paid for before I paint it. But, I'm getting fewer calls as our sluggish economy drags on with little recovery. So, the other day I decided that I needed to change my strategy. And I asked myself, "Where are the buyers of art going to buy art these days?" And that's when I decided to find out where the best art fairs in the nation were located. It turns out that Scottsdale, Arizona is a re...

This morning I stretched my social net--and took a chance. I find it's always difficult trying something new, particularly when it's public. I posted a video on Kickstart.com of a project that I'm hoping can be funded with donations from my friends, family and as yet unknown patrons of the arts. The link is: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/116318509/sunland-school-hands-on-mural-project I'd love your feedback on it and any support you can offer. At the moment, we only have $1...so I'm feeling a little dejected. The mural project is for a wonderful school in south Phoenix that is in a Title 1 district. Title 1 is a federal grant program for improving the academic achievement of the disadvantaged. If we get to our goal for funding, the mural will grace the walls of a new art corridor outside the school. These murals make an incredible impression on the kids as you can kind of see on the faces of the students from my past murals. I've done 25 of these in Michig...

The photo this painting is based on was taken during a semi-cloudy day in Bryce Canyon. Any day there is an extraordinary day. The rock colors are particularly difficult to capture. They change moment by moment as the light moves around them. In this painting I used a series of reds from warm to cool to show the subtle light play. The rocks with the most sun on them are the warmest, including the shadows. That is the most difficult concept to understand. The shadows are actually much warmer than normal. I believe this is due to the bounced light from the red rocks themselves. It's not apparent in the photo, as the camera tends to interpret shadow as a cool tone, but since I was there, I remember the colors vividly. Using watercolors to depict reds can be challenging. The color rarely dries with the intensity that you intended, and placing a second coat on the painting often takes away the freshness. I found myself using colors directly out of the tubes for this painting. Colors li...