Wednesday, 8/1/05

Today painting went OK. The setting is so important to success. A good setting paints itself.

I got up around 4:30 a.m. and beat the sunrise over Cache Creek pass. I wanted to capture the long valley that leads down to the Colville Indian Agency. I also hoped to find the herd of Paint horses that graze in this range as I have a studio painting of them planned. The stud horse of this bunch is a very loud brown and white paint. He has 8 or 9 mares and an assortment of the previous years foals from last year to about two years old.

This view looks out over the Columbia Basin to the Cascades that are faint blue silhouetes in the distants. You can see snow on them at times although this year there wasn't any.

This is the area of the Moses Band of the Colvilles and Chief Joeseph of the Nez Perce spent his last days here. He is buried in Nespellem. The Colvilles are basically a number of families, some that lived here and others that were located here.

The "Agency" is the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Tribal Government Headquarters. It is basically the reservation "capital" and heart of the Tribal Government.

I worked about 2 hours on a 9 x 12 painting. I forgot my paint thinner which was a good thing as I have been studying a DVD by Scott Burdick who layers thick impasto paint, wet into wet. It takes a lot of paint to cover even a little canvas. I find half my problem is just that I am so cheap I have difficulty squirting extra paint out of the tube to get the job done. The challenge is not to mix the paint on the canvas as that leads to muddy colors. It takes more drawing skill and value selection but lends itself well to softening edges and the effect of atmosphere in landscapes. One of the things I hope to achieve is better, more dynamic brushwork that results in a rich surface. I like paintings that are both highly skilled representational work with bold brushwork that allow colors to exist independently of the image yet combined, come together as a whole to be the image itself.

All that said, I have to paint, paint, paint.................

News from Sanpoil Studios, "The Artist on the Road"

News from "Sanpoil Studios"

Painting out of doors is more than just painting. Being in a wonderful place such as Glacier Park, Mt is what it is all about. Not only do I take a piece of the landscape with me but I am there in the moment.
Here I am at a turnout of "Going to the Sun Road" that is carved out of the cliff face of the Rockies. Many artists have sat in this very location, Charlie Russel, Joe Abresscia to name a couple. It isn't hard for even a hack like me to paint something that has a little merit when you set up your easle in a place like this.
My feet are hanging over a 1000' drop into the valley below. Many, many visitors stop to take in the view and look over my shoulder. It takes a little courage to perform like this but I like it. People watching kind of makes me ramp up the effort and do a good job. I could have sold every painting I did if only for a couple dollars. 2 million visitors make the pilgrimage which says that it's good subject matter.
There are many galleries in the area. Bigfork in particular is a growing artist community. I couldn't believe the growth in the area. It has been discovered by the rich and famous with rumor of movie stars and industrialists building 38,000 sg foot homes.
One of our friends Steve and Sandy Nogal have opened a fine restaurant, "McGarry's" that is doing fine in Whitefish, Mt. If you ever have a chance you've got to try Steve's apple pie. It's awesome, especially with a little vanilla ice cream on the side. His baby back ribs are great and a wine list that is as good as any you will find.