Extinct & Endangered Chalk Festival

Here's my finished mural, thinking this will have to become a large oil painting- I'm really pleased with how it came out.

Endangered Peru in Venice, Florida

Working on a 12x12 mural for a themed Street Art and Chalk Festival: Extinct and Endangered.

I chose Peru and am depicting North Eastern Amazon River basin: a Matses woman (indigenous Peruvian and Brazilian indian), a Jaguar, a Spatuletail Hummingbird, an Uaraki Red Faced Monkey and lastly a Lady Slipper Orchid.

Here are photos from Days 1 & 2.

Plein Satisfaction

Today's outing to Plein air paint with my Los Gatos Art Association group was just what I needed. 

I'd had such a shift and growth in my work from the week painting in the Escalante Canyons Art Festival which was followed a few weeks later by a no good painting attempt back home. Very frustrating but it happens. 

I was even a bit anxious for my outing today... Would I be able to keep all the good changes I've made in my landscape paintings??? 

Yes. I'm happy to say, yes.

I painted a cluster of trees along a walking trail and that's a subject matter I've not tackled before, but I loved the rhythm and light on the trees and I think I captured what attracted me to the scene.

Made it to the North Rim

GRAND CANYON! First time and it's as magnificent as I knew it would be.

Great drive from Escalante to Kanab.

Then the high meadows started with aspen and pine (?) trees. Purty!

Arrived and put up my smaller REI tent then followed a 1.5 mile hike on the rim in the forest and out to some crazy look out points.

Loved the hike, loved the canyon colors and view.... Even the wind was exciting.

Gorp and a a Lagunitas IPA for dinner and watching the sunset... Now ready for bed at 7:30 pm!

Glad I brought a bag of cold clothes, I'm totally layered up!

Demos

After a very stormy night, the day relaxed just enoki ugh for a morning painting demo by Doug Braithwaite. 

Our esthetic, approach and styles are vastly different, but I learned a lot. He almost draws in the beginning of his piece, removing paint with qtips and paper towels similar to Burt Silverman.

Interestingly, he works on MDF board that he primes 10x. He also works pretty wet and uses water color brushes.

He's able then to start with dark washes and block in major shapes and then pull out secondary shapes by lifting out pigment.

Color comes next, again in thin layers with liquid so he's able to retain brush strokes and layer colors.

He built his own pochade system and uses a strange soap he found called. 'Man Size' to goop onto dirty brushes and then just wipe that all clean the next time he paints.

Festival

It's today! Great start with a demo by J Brad Holt. He did a painting of this really cool brick heritage building. 

Voting took place for. 'Artists choice' and 'people's choice' - this we'll find out results tomorrow. This morning the official judges selected award winners, we'll find out more about those tomorrow too.

I've heard different numbers, but it sounds like 130 artists, 90 of which are oil painters. I worked the art booth for a couple hours today, a great way to meet other artists and chat about their art and paint festival experiences.

Last Painting Day

This was it. Last day to paint and also the day to submit your final selection for judging.

I started the day nice and relaxed: made coffee in my AeroPress and also made oatmeal with peanut butter and a banana with the extra water I boiled in my JetBoil.

I hadn't driven down the famous Hole-in-the-Rock Road yet, so I bumped along that dirt and rock road some 13.5 miles (!) until the Devil's Garden. Fantastic spires and fists and orbs of red and yellow sandstone, some 40ft above the desert floor.

After that I knew I needed to find just the right location for my final painting of the festival. I narrowed it down by wanting to paint red striped rocks again... So I knew I needed to head East on Hwy 12 between Kiva Koffeehouse and the a Escalante River. 

I made a uturn when the rocks turned more sand color and less red and was now back heading West. SUCCESS!

In a deep S curve by the River trail was a pull out big enough for my car and my painting set up... And SHADE!!

I had a glorious view if two towers of striped rock and they just inspired me to paint bold and convey their playful spirit. I love these.