Zion National Park, on the way up to Angel's Landing

Zion National Park, Lower Emerald Pool

Workshop at Fall Creek Fish Hatchery and Research Center

This will be the fourth year that I have taught watercolor at Fall Creek Fish Hatchery and Research Center. It is free but pre regestration is necessary. It is the first Saturday, November 6. To secure a place call Joseph O'neil at 1-541-487-5512. Below is a student's work from last year.

In the afternoon it was dark and rainy outdoors. I tried to find an activity that did not involve going outside to paint.


Here is one result " Fort Hood" rendered by a gentleman who took up my idea of expressing your emotions and the perception of all your senses. Looking through my collection of photographs he selected one as a starting point. It was a sunset over water with grass in the foreground. For his "Fort Hood Flag at Half Mast" he preferred to paint on pure white paper slightly sullied by the folded grid for a book. The paper had been folded into 16 square pages but not cut. I don't know if the gentleman was aware of the symbolic significance of his heart felt memorial painting. I see this as an expressive work.
As a teacher I don't feel I had much success in convincing my students that they really have so much art inside them.
For the most part I had some very appreciative students learning some basic possibilities for carrying watercolors outdoors. I heard some wonderful questions on techniques. In hind sight I have additional things I want to share at the Fall Creek Fish and Art Festival, 2010.






I received this question. What specifically can I do to improve my style in watercolor?

This was a great question and the class was almost over. I had spent so much time talking about how to be prepared for sun, and rain and hunger and thirst. I showed how to manage drying your work without a hairdryer. I fear especially for the beginning students, there is a need to know much more about getting the paint from the palette to the paper. What different possibilities does a round pointed brush have in contrast to a flat one? Where do you begin first with the forms or the spaces around?
The beginning point doesn't matter. Then proceed on the path of least resistance making what you do as simple as possible. To improve your sense of color and how you form and place your images there is nothing better than trial. Select what you like best. Keep painting and drawing into your paintings. I really like to tint the paper before I paint and then just a few lines on location makes for painting that tends to be tied together.
I wish all my students more exciting, memorable painting experiences.

Painting from Accordion Folded Photo, Watercolor Study

There are many ways to use accordion folded watercolor paper books. They make great greeting cards. They store well in a shoe box along with photos for keeping memories. Here I will talk about how in the studio they stand up like a card next to my paints and pallet as an inspiration. I walked to a North Albany field a half of a mile from my house. I was traveling light with a camera and paper and field painting supplies. The stubble grass and distant shapes were similar to the free images Martha Marshal shared on her blog, Artist's Journal. She offered images as a starting point for others to use as inspiration. With just my camera and my Koi Watercolors Pocket Field Sketch Box I worked around Martha's photos pasted to my accordion folded watercolor paper. The object was to compare the photos to what I was seeing. Then I worked at matching the colors and textures and linear qualities employing the Koi set of colors and a brush containing a reservoir of water. Later I added photos taken on location to the collage. Finally I painted lines around the parts of the study that appealed to me. I wanted to find emotional content for a painting in progress of dream clouds. I will in a few days publish the dream cloud painting.My experience with going lightly in the field and more will be the content of my hands on workshop. All supplies are furnished free. The watercolor workshop at the Fall Creek Festival is just a week away. There is still time to register leaving your choice of work shops and vegetarian preference for lunch at 541-487-5512 or e-mail oregonhatchery.researchcenter@state.or.us

November 7, 10:00 AM to 4 PM. This year the family friendly workshops also has special children's activities in addition to workshops in leather working, fish printing, card making, wire wrap Jewelry, and basket Making in addition to my watercolor exploration.

Accordion Folded Watercolor Journals about Hiking or Boating

Update of a post from November 1, 2007 also true for this years work shop, November 7, I will be teaching two workshops starting at 10:30 AM lasting an hour and a half each at the Oregon Hatchery Research Center. I will be presenting safety musts for artists and the environment. Participants will gain skills for painting memories while journeying through the wilderness either on foot or on a boat.

Backpacking and white water rafting in the wilderness was the nursery so to speak for my accordion journals. I wanted to keep my backpack less than 30 pounds. So I brought black lead just a stump of lead and no wood covering. The paper was simply an index card. On rivers at first I used index cards but later found I could just fold cotton rag watercolor paper and keep it in a zip lock bag. In recent years I have experimented with different folds. The equal sized pages folded as a box is suitable for wrap around views. Mostly the folded paper is for my own memory.

Full Sheets of watercolor paper 22" x 30" can be cut many ways to being 5" tall and then folded.

Sometimes the paintings are nice enough to give as a card. The box is a favorite of mine for gift cards. Sometimes I want to look at the paintings over a long period of time and I have put them under glass and framed them.





I use the accordion journals in numerous ways. They stand up rightwhile being used as reference for larger paintings. They are memories of places made stronger by focusing maybe on the criters or the color or the linear energy. In the workshop participants will think about the short comings of photographas and select what short hand notes they will place on their accordion journal. There is no reason to duplicate photogrphically nature while standing on at rail or moving along in a boat.

The accordion folded journals are easily and conveniently stored in a shoe box. They store neatly as compared to my sketch books of various sizes and thicknesses.

Extreem pein air painting on Iron Mt.

Watercolor 140 pound paper or heavier cut into 7" x 30" papers that are folded are manageable held in my nondominent hand along with a small Winsor Newton travel palette with a detachable small water cup. When a color is drying, I can just open the book more and let it flap in the breeze while painting a new one. I don't need a paint rag because the brush and container wet with color can be used to paint the negative areas around the flowers. The bright colors can be introduced after all the paint and water has dried. The new water is clear ready for the brighter colors. Photo by Rain

Warning : although I had some mosquito repellent little flies landed on my left wrist and I couldn't easily swat them. During the night the bites made my wrist and some of the fingers swell. Benedryl is helping. Possibly repellent needs to be new not over 10 years old.

Iron Mt.walking and painting

Rain was lucky the mosquitoes and flyes didn't bother her. And Farm Boss attracted butterflies No matter what the inconvenience the trip was thrilling to see all of nature so beautiful as it is this time of year in the Western Cascades.

In my left hand is my accordion folded watercolor paper and a Winsor Newton travel palette.

This is the first time I have used a walking stick and held my paints at the same time. The stick was helpful to push on when getting up from a rock all the while holding my palette and paper.

White Water Splash

A painting from a watercolor accordion book painted on a wilderness rafting trip on the Lower Salmon River in the Idaho, Washington Oregon corner, 4 3/4"x 7", "White Water Splash" is not for sale.

This little painting is one page of the book and nice to look at in this 95 degree weather even though I painted in around 1997.

Women Following Their Passion

She Goes Painting in a Red Rain Coat, 1990, Gouache, 19" x 25", $150

Bouquet for Baby Buggie Blues, Stavanger, Norway, March 1994, 10" x 14", $90

Fisher woman in Pink, 10" x 14", $90

Here are some of the results from painting with rejuvenated watercolors and gouache kept in small jars. It is time not only to start new work but also look at older pieces that might be enhanced by a touch of juicy paint. Reviewing my work, I found three that I could put up for sale.

I still will post the mineral painted plate but I couldn't go to class yesterday because the car battery was dead and it took to long to fix.

Beagle Channel from the aft deck on the Infinity Cruise Ship

Watercolors from my Aquabee Supper Deluxe sketch book. January 11, 2009.

Workshop Lecture: Outfitting for Extreem Plein Air

Ten Essentials For Extreme Plein Air Painting

1) Drinking water

2) Protection from elements,

Sun block

Extra clothing, rain gear, wool stocking cap, wool gloves

Hat with brim

Sun glasses

3) Compact paints, pencils, pens with protective zip lock bag

4) Paper or canvas in zip lock bag

5)Waste water or solvent container

6)Safty articles

Whistle, walking stick if hiking, life jacket if boating

matches with fire starter, map, first aid

7)knife, pencil sharpener

8) Rags, kleenex

9)Extra Food

10)Light weight pack or fishing vest with a special pocket to keep car keys

fully equiped 10 pounds maximum

Tomorrow I will demonstrate my gear for painting on boats or hiking at the first Salmon Festival at the Oregon Hatchery Research Center at Fall Creek. Click on the photo for a larger view of the extreem plein air essentials.