"Skaters", 4x6 watercolor

I had great seats at the National Final Figure Skating Competition that was held in Spokane, WA.
It was a glamorous and exciting show. Young atheletes challenging each other with stellar performances.
This level of skating exhibits the elegance and charm that is perhaps comparable to ballet.
I can imagine doing paintings such as these studies in large oils and scrolls of fine linen.
The skaters use their bodies to interpret music. I distill that visual impression to a gesture of color made of paint.

West Seattle Sunset, 3x3 oil on masonite

Port of Seattle, 3"x3", oil on gessoed masonite, $35

The wonderful thing about plein air painting is being able to complete a painting in a brief time. For a hectic life style on the road it is difficult to keep the eye and hand in the game. Because I am working with such small studies I am able to execute ideas that are inspired by a variety of landscape whether it is a cityscape or a view of mountains.
The lights of the port terminal, cranes unloading sea going ships, the ferry approaching the terminal and steam from various factories make for a pretty intense scene at 4 a.m. in the morning.
I've discovered a fine grain gessoed panel I got at the art supply store when I picked up my new easel. I like the effects I can obtain and the way it accepts fine washes or pallet knife work.

Seattle city scape, 3"x5", oil on gessoed masonite

I got a new plein air easle at Daniel Smiths. My old one that my grandmother gave me when I was 13, even with duck tape and glue, has to be parked. I'll use it in the studio. I got the "Half Plein Air" model which was on sale for $90 with a great canvas tote bag that has backpack straps. It's a great little item and well built. It is made out of hardwood and brass fittings. It is well designed although I don't quite like the way the pallet is the top of the box and can't be omitted as everything will fall out without it. The pallet is hinged in the middle and folds in two smashing any paint piles. I'll probably use something else such as an Altoids tin to hold un-used paint. It is made in China and makes one humble to think of the quality of work for such reasonable prices.
When I'm in Seattle I stay down on the waterfront and sketch at the Pike Street Market or go down to the Public docks which offers many different views. I can paint the cityscape the waterfront or a landscape of the Olympics across Elliot Bay or of Mt. Rainier. Seattle is an exceptionally attractive city and is a fun diversion for a country boy. I get inspired by the contrast of city and country landscapes. Visiting the city is also an opportunity to go to galleries although I can't find many plein air shows. Most of the work is pretty avante guard which is not a critisism as I like such efforts that push the envelope
This little painting was an effort to explore impasto work, painting wet into wet. I'm using these studies for a studio effort in which I will pursue the subject of homelessness and reservation life.
I like painting on the gessoed massonite although my eyesite is getting poor and painting small is a challenge but I look forward to using the techniques on a much larger scale.
Getting a new easel has affirmed my committment to plein air painting on a daily basis. Alla Prima plein air painting fits my life style of much travel and intense schedule.

charcoal, "Native Pride" 12x16

I've always been reluctant to do art work of native americans because most of what is done is without permission and a form of cultural theft, but I feel compelled to do so at this time because my neighbor and friend, Henry a.k.a. Hobo Stensgar thinks it is OK. I've lived on the Rez for 30 years and my children were raised here. That in itself doesn't give me any license but I do understand many of the issues faced by my neighbors and Hobo has helped me understand even better. I have a painting in mind that might reflect both my concern for the homeless I meet in Seattle, many of whom are from reservations and my regard for what Hobo has shared with me both about Native Pride and his relief of still being alive after a life of substance abuse and being homeless in the city. Hobo and I have discussed the painting and he is OK with it and sits for me while I sketch and he tells me stories of snagging salmon, hunting and the legends he knows. He is a natural story teller. It is difficult for him to sit still as a model as he likes to move around to tell his stories sometimes even dancing.

"Native Pride", 12"x!6" charcoal

This is a study of my friend and neighbor dressed in his fancy regalia. Hobo feeds my horses when I am away. We talk quite a bit about the Creator, the problems of the world and our own lives.

Hobo is proud to be Native American and has great hope for the future although not much for the present. His people have been here for generations beyond counting. He hopes we can survive today and that the future doesn't repeat the mistakes of the past.

He snags salmon 100 miles away at Chief Joeseph Dam, a wall where sea run salmon can't get beyond. Hobo lives on the Sanpoil River where, in days gone by, his great aunt would stop on the Sanpoil to catch Salmon on her way with her family from their home in Conconully above Omak, Wa., on their way to hunt buffalo with the Kalispell in Montana He gigles as he says, "Brother Salmon was so big Auntie would ride them like a horse out of the Sanpoil onto the grass." I can believe that. There were King Salmon weighing 70 lbs in a stream 4 feet wide. All gone today. There is a whole ecology of grizzley, wolf and pine marten gone today. Who knows what flowers and special plants no longer exist. There was a whole ecology based around the annual deposit of nutrients from migrating salmon that were so big and plentiful, their dead bodies fertilized the landscape after they spent their life on their progeny.

"Old Lobster Trap" watercolor and ink, 6"x10" sold

nude, watercolor, 2x6"

watercolor, "Polo" 3x4"

My favorite sport...............to watch.

landscape, "Red Osher landscape" 16X20 oil, $350

Every once in a while I take a break from plein air work and see what's in the visual vocabulary which means I extrapolate from the things I've learned painting outdoors and let her fly in the studio. This effort was accompanied by jazz saxaphonist Philonius Munk. Another thing going on here is the use of a 3 value technique. This kind of work is emmensly gratifying. The spontenaity is cathartic. It is working without a safety net. Nine times out of 10 the effort isn't worth saving. This piece is unusual and a pleasure to have on the wall. It exhibits my profound attachment to the environment as my greatest inspiration.