Found poetry 52

It Began Here

My first paintings for DreamWorks and the animated feature The Prince of Egypt were actually quick landscape sketches in Death Valley California. Me and the team hoped on a tour bus and were shuttled out the the desert for several days. I returned to Death Valley to sketch several times there after.

Here's the team and some of those sketches:

Your comments always welcome!!

Somebody left a comment on this morning's post that gave me pause.

Anonymous wrote:  "I have tried many times to comment here but -- well, your settings do not allow me in -- I am giving it one more try."

First off, I am so glad that you managed to leave a comment this time!  Perseverance is a fine virtue and I am honored that you are such a faithful reader that you will try again, and especially honored that your post said you liked my idea, not that you hate my blog.

But second off, I don't understand why you have been having trouble in the past.  My settings are as open as I can get them:

Perhaps it's a problem of how you use the comment interface.  Here's a step-by-step of how that works on a computer.

If you want to leave a comments, scroll down to the bottom of the post and click on the COMMENT text.  Sometimes it reads NO COMMENTS: and sometimes it reads 1 COMMENT: or whatever.

Type in your comment in the box that says "Enter your comment..."

For some lucky (?) people, Google already knows who you are and helpfully (?) has your name right there.  If you want your comment to post with that name, go ahead and hit Publish.

If you don't want to be identified that way, click on the down arrow next to your name and you will find two other choices:

You can be identified as Anonymous, or you can choose another name.  To do that, click on Name/URL:

Type in whatever name you wish in the top box, and leave the URL box blank.  (No, I have never tried to use the URL box and I don't know what would happen if I did.)

Hit Publish and you'll get a success message.

I hope you will keep reading my blog, whoever you are, and that you will be moved occasionally to leave a comment.  I love to hear from you all.

Thinking about daily art 3

Well, you know I'm going to nag you about daily art, because it's that time of year.  Although you can start a daily art project any time -- your birthday, the day after you retire, the fourth of July -- it's easy to do it on the first of the year.  That's when I always start mine, and it makes it so much easier to label and remember my projects.

I have found daily art so rewarding in the almost-two decades I've been doing it that I encourage all my art pals to try it.  The key to a successful project, I have found, it to make the rules fit your life.  For instance, if you like to go backpacking on the Appalachian Trail, don't choose a project that requires a sewing machine every day.  I've written a lot about how to set your rules -- you might want to read about that here and here.

But for those who are still skeptical about whether a daily art project is too daunting, too difficult, too scary, I have an idea for you.  I'm going to do this mini-project in 2019 in addition to my more rigorous daily art (which I'll write about soon), so we can work together!

Like so many art projects, this one required a trip to the store.  I bought 450 tiny ziplock bags, 1.5 x 2 inches, just big enough to put a little something in each day.  And that's the plan: every day I will put a little something into a bag.  I will mark it with the date (haven't decided yet how to do this, but I suspect it will involve my other new toy, purchased last month, a six-digit rubber stamp).

I can see how a project like this could involve more rules.  For instance, I could have to actually make the something (a little drawing? a little fabric doodad? a sculpey clay figure?).  Or I could have to find it on the street (thus forcing myself to take walks) or cut it out of the newspaper (a little photo? a memorable phrase?) or find it among my junk drawers, button boxes and random piles of stuff.  If I had bought the next-larger size of bag, 2 x 3 inches, it would open even more possibilities.

But for now I think I'll have very few rules and see what happens.

I invite you to join me in this adventure!

Merry Christmas!

Since my daily art project this year has been maps, what else should I use in the Christmas ornaments?

Early in the year I made several daily arts with letters cut from maps pasted onto map backgrounds, experimenting with varying degrees of value contrast.  I liked the effect and thought it would work on a smaller scale for ornaments.

I cut up various maps and mounted them on small squares of mat bord, then cut initials from maps of different colors.  My early attempts were too low-contrast, so I mounted the initials on solid color paper, just enough to give a sharp outline.

On the back, I wrote the year with a brush and india ink.

As often happens, I got all the ornaments that needed to be mailed done in time, but lollygagged over those to be delivered in town.  I just finished the ones for Ken and me yesterday afternoon.  I rationalize my procrastination by saying that there is no more peaceful activity on Christmas Eve than to be in the studio, finishing up a task I love.

We don't exchange a lot of presents at Christmas time, thus sparing us the "joys" of crowded stores and traffic jams.  Instead I treasure the quiet time of making ornaments every year for a lot of special people.

I wish for every one of my friends, family and internet pals a happy Christmas and a very good year ahead.

Merry Christmas!

Since my daily art project this year has been maps, what else should I use in the Christmas ornaments?

Early in the year I made several daily arts with letters cut from maps pasted onto map backgrounds, experimenting with varying degrees of value contrast.  I liked the effect and thought it would work on a smaller scale for ornaments.

I cut up various maps and mounted them on mat board, then cut initials from maps of different colors, but my early attempts were too low-contrast.  So I mounted the initials on solid color paper, just enough to give a sharp outline. 

On the back, I wrote the year with a brush and India ink.

As often happens, I got all the ornaments that needed to be mailed done in time, but lollygagged over those to be delivered in town.  And I just finished the ones for Ken and me yesterday afternoon.  I rationalize my procrastination by saying that there is no more peaceful activity on Christmas Eve than to finish up a task I love. 

We don't exchange a lot of presents at Christmas time, thus sparing us the "joys" of crowded shopping malls and traffic jams.  Instead I treasure the quiet time of making ornaments every year for a lot of special people. 

I wish for every one of my friends, family and internet pals a happy Christmas and a very good year ahead. 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!

"Demo at San Antonio 2018 3" --- Sold

This is my third demo at San Antonio. It has many colors, feels like a festival. I hope all of you have a wonderful holiday season.

Found poetry 51

"Demo at San Antonio 2018 2" --- Sold

This is my second demo painting on my San Antonio workshop.

Thinking about daily art 2

I gave a gallery talk during my show in which I explained how I came to do daily art and how it has become such an important part of my art practice.  It's not just a fast morning warm-up to get me in the mood for my "real" art, or a sketchbook of preliminary ideas that may or may not get used.  To me, it is just as much "real" art as any quilt or collage or sculpture or hand stitching that might hang in a gallery, even though each day's bit may seem small.

I said in the talk that I love the discipline and structure of these projects, and how they allow me to experiment and explore areas that I am unfamiliar or uncomfortable with. 

Daily art allows me to do things I'm afraid to do, while offering a high probability of success.  Even if I start out doing a mediocre job, the structure forces me to stick with it (I've never abandoned a daily art project in 18 years).  Even if today's rendition is pathetic, I can try it again tomorrow and the next day until I get a little better.  It's low risk, because I know every day is not going to be a masterpiece, so no big deal. And yet, the pathetic days are just as much a part of the "real" art as the occasional masterpieces.

In the six weeks since that talk, I have been amazed and gratified at how many people have told me they have resolved to do daily art themselves, and have already started on their projects.  Others have told me they plan to start at the first of the year.

Apparently this concept has struck a chord.  It's a way for very busy people to commit to making art without requiring huge chunks of time.  It's a way for people to take baby steps toward making their artwork more focused, more serious.  And most important, it's lots of fun!!

There are two weeks left until New Year, and that's plenty of time for you to think about whether a daily art project might be something you would enjoy. Think about your own life and what kind of a project would be doable.  Perhaps you can't commit to making a painting every day (although my fellow PYRO Gallery artist Claudia Hammer has done just that)  but you could probably commit to taking one striking photo every day or making one sketch of your daughter or your dog or your sewing machine.

(Buy a really small sketchbook if you're feeling hesitant!  This one is only 3.5 x 4.75 inches.  As the year wore on and I filled each sketchbook, my confidence grew and I bought the next one a little bit bigger.)

Again, if you're feeling hesitant, commit to the month of January rather than the whole year.  You may find that daily art isn't for you, or this particular project isn't for you, or it needs to be redefined to make it work, but give it a go.  And if you love it and stick with it, I guarantee your artistic life will take a new and gratifying turn.

"Demo at San Antonio 2018 1" --- Sold

I was at San Antonio TX teaching at the Coppini Academy of Fine Arts. This was my first demo.

Thinking about daily art 1

In mid-December I always spend time thinking about daily art, because I have to decide what my project will be for the coming year.  But this year I've been thinking a whole lot more, because I have just spent five weeks with my solo show about daily art on display, and since then I have been putting things away.

I spent several hours taking down the collages that had been pinned to boards on the wall,  putting them back into the file boxes and getting everything back into its proper order.

I had invited viewers to look at my four years of collage, and from the state of the cards, they took me at my word. It required much sorting and of course pausing now and then to reread the cards.

Although the task was tedious and time-consuming, it was also meditative and deeply satisfying.  In many cases, as I looked at an old collage I remembered exactly where I was that day, where I got the pictures, why I chose to combine them into that particular image.

While the show was up, one of the visitors said to me "This looks like a journal of your whole life!"  And he was right.  Looking back at the daily art, of whatever mode and medium, I can track vacations, art projects, walks, weather, orchestra and opera performances, museum visits, weddings and funerals and new babies, birthdays and anniversaries.

That's not why I do daily art, but it's a great side benefit.  Between the daily art and the home and work calendars I have religiously saved ever since we got married, I can reconstruct a lot of my life in detail.  If I require Senate confirmation for some future big government job, I will make Brett Kavanaugh look memory-impaired.

Found poetry 50

Painting Columns for The Prince of Egypt, 1996

Some images from The Prince of Egypt this week focusing on painted columns.

The Backgrounds were painted in sections so they cold be reused in other scenes. The columns were difficult to paint and they seemed never ending; if we'd had photoshop back then they would have taken a fraction of the time. But I am glad to have learned the discipline with acrylics, I liked the all or none nature of the medium. You had to nail it on the first pass (though you could touch up with some glazing). Each column was masked off with tape and painted wet on wet with no air brushing.


Final frame from the film.


Painted background columns.




Color key painting:


A few more scenes from the movie that use these columns:

"Lake Travis - Demo in Austin 3"

Click Here for Purchase Info

This is my 3rd demo on my Austin plein air painting workshop. We went Oasis (a wonderful restaurant by Lake Travis). I painted this one on the balcony facing the big lake. It was a very cold day. The wind was strong and raining too. We had to go inside to get warm and then come out painting, back and forth quite a few times. Oasis was very kind to us, and allow all of us painting inside the restaurant in the afternoon.

This painting is available.

Portrait Drawing Book!

Available for Christmas delivery on Amazon! https://amzn.to/2EsphQf

Workshop reminder: Florence Texas, Feb 2019

Hello my friends, In February 22 - 24, I will teach a still life workshop in Florence Texas. If you are interested in my approaches to still life painting please check http://www.paintedviewsranch.com to get detailed information and sign up. See you at beautiful Texas hill country.

Volente Beach

I did a plein air painting workshop in Austin before Thanksgiving. It was a cold day. Thank God it did rain that day. I want to thank Linda Carter for allowing us to use her property for the class. There was an old sailboat in the marina. It is kind of interesting.

Fabric collage -- out in public

In 2015 I did a collaborative art project with my dear friend Uta Lenk, who lives in Germany.  We each prepared six sets of fabric stuff -- one envelope to me, an identical envelope to her.  The envelopes contained three or four bits and pieces of fabric, lace, cord, maybe a button or bead, and miscellaneous things we found in our respective studios.  We exchanged the envelopes and then each month we made a fabric collage that had to use everything in the envelope plus whatever else we might want to add.  For coherence, I chose to stitch all my collages onto a neutral linen background, which in turn was stitches to the deep gray mat board.

We had fun doing the project, but on my part I would say that only four or five of the twelve rose to the level of art.  As with so many experiments in a new method or procedure, it takes a while to find your way.  But three of them seemed good enough to put in frames for the new show at PYRO Gallery.

Gold Star

Only one hitch -- Uta and I had made our collages to fit onto 8x12" mat board, and I couldn't find frames in that size.  So I got 9x12 frames and eked out the width with strips of colored paper. 

Pig Newton

If I were starting from scratch I'd prefer the mat board the same size as the frame, but the stripes do add a jaunty air, especially when all three collages are hung together.

By the way, I don't like to put fabric under glass, so I put the collages into the frames naked.  I know there are some drawbacks to this approach in that the work can get dusty, but I didn't want to pop for expensive shadowbox frames that would keep the glass forward off the 3-D collages.  I hope it works out well.

Slick Dude

If you'd like to see all our collages from that project, click here.