Oystercatchers' rocks at Seal Rock

Completed at home with the aid of Rain's photographs

Painting in progress before finishing it at home. I am not sure the desire of making the oystercatchers more distinct really improved the painting.

Inspirations for painting from the Oregon Coast

Boiler Bay Lincoln City

Favorite weed at Painted Hills

Painted Hill Photos

Painted Hills, Oregon are a lesson in painting

The cracked texture of these dolimite clay hills inspires me to pay close attention to enriching my colors by applying them so they are textured.

Watercolor Magic Workshop results

The Oregon Fish Hatchery Research Center Arts and Crafts workshop at Fall Creek was today. In both the morning and afternoon class there were a number of children with their families. It was nice to see the liveleness of young people's work. It helps us adults too. This piece was done by a nine year old boy.


This workshop is the first time a student copied a small digital image looking at his camera - a picture fresh in his mind just taken on his way to the workshop. I was at a loss to help him because he was almost done before I noticed he was using a camera. My handy empty slide holder would have been too large to apply to his tiny screen. On larger photographs an empty slide holder window moved about the picture often helps to focus on a doable painting. The student's work, I am critical of the method not the student's ability, was a wonderful example of the flaws of low resolution photos. The elements of trees, fog, water were flat within each of their areas.

Using the digital camera as a tool could be more productive. Even copying an image could be a rewarding experience, if he understood that the elements are more individual in color, texture and degree of sharpness than on the camera screen. Interpreting the photo makes it more personal, poetic, and interesting. One way to interpret is to count the number of trees, rocks, clouds. Decide which one or ones you love most. Labor over the ones you love the most. If they are not turning out the way you want, look at the camera image to be refreshed.

Goal number 1 of the workshop is to make a memory of a time you enjoyed painting observing nature with others excited about seeing in new ways. The memory can be framed and hung in your home.

Goal number 2 is to be confident in a technique that will enable more family painting outings in nature. This year I had a group of friends as well as families. Maybe we will get together soon during a costal storm to paint the waves.

Splash Down of Silver Salmon

Fall Creek Fish Hatchery Festival watercolor workshop

This will be my seventh year teaching watercolor the first Saturday of November. One class will be at 10:30 AM and the other after lunch. Other classes will be in silk screen, leather working fish prints and others.
I'll be covering making marks and how our body works to make them the way we want. Also how our life experience in decision making can carry over to making watercolor painting. The goal is to show that the students know more about how to paint than they thought. Last I'll have my new ideas on how to make watercolor sketch books.
For more on past workshops click on blog label below.

Painting memory of Cascade Head this September

Black and white ditital photographic inspiration

Abstraction of lanscape painted in the rain

Saved painting from 11 years ago.

Today the yellow jackets were attracted to me and my paint. Then it started raining very hard so I took my paints inside and cleaned the lids and packed them away under the motor coach. I am ready to go home.

Chinook painting #3

Painting jumping salmon in the rain

Acrylic and alcohol before and after

photos of river water

Watercolor painting at Cascade Head

Praying Mantis Photographs

Acrylic painted paper, collage, and glitter

Early sunrise atmsosphere

Acrylic painting with rags started in high humidity

Inspiration for today's acrylic sunrise painting

Inspiration for sunrise paintings

September 13, I saw a subject I wanted to paint from memory and not from a photograph. But then I had difficulty with the mud flats exposed by the low tide. They appeared rather blue and the blue that I first painted read as flat water.

Golden Light on River Banks painted in Acrylic

Oregon Waterfall, oil on canvas

Approaching Oslo

Oslo Fortress and Museum of the Resistance

August 2, painted from the Eurodam Silk Lounge on the 11th deck.

Hello again.

This is a drawing from a sketchbook I kept on a cruise in Northern Europe.

July Ocean Spray

The curve is an element of design in 2D art

I am looking at old paitings and art to decide what curves connect the viewer with emotion. So I am publishing some old blogs with a fresh interest. Fresh I hope.

It has become increasingly difficult to post on my blog. I miss spell check but I can live without it. But when I cannot see the pictures I amposting in the edit posts screen, I am upset. Has anyone else experienced these changes on Blogger?

Day Three of Riparian Dragons

I am not the first one to think of abstracting dragon forms out of organic life. An example is the symmetry seen in the ebb tide of riparian river outlets to the oceans and seas of the world. The branches in reflection remind me of the art of the ancient Near East and the "animal style". Perhaps I am not too far out on a limb to assume that ancient metal workers were influenced by the repetition of dragon-like forms everywhere in nature. Pictured here on it's side is a 9th - 7th century B. C., pole top ornament from Luristan. p. 63 of H. W. Janson's HISTORY OF ART.
I am enjoying reading MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF CHINA AND JAPAN, Donald A. MacKenzie. The Chinese legends of the dragon are not just home grown but have come via ancient mariners from Babylonia and perhaps elsewhere.

I like shapes that I can make with my hands

My little finger and thumb line up well with two sides of a hexagon.
My thumb and forefinger forms a hook. both hands together make hooks that can be an equalateral triangle.

The hooks I use in art and living

I like in clouds and in my tea cup pairs of hooks with the straight ends together opening at 120 degree angles. The hooks paired inside a hexagon make shapes that please me.