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Tag: river

May River and Palmetto Tree

Published August 26, 2020

This small painting of the May River and marshes at high tide captured the scene and the moment pretty well without overdoing it. It was my first time using the great new Holbein gouache paints that I received got as a gift last Christmas (thanks, allison!) They are really wonderful to use compared to the cheap-o stuff i was working with earlier. There is enough pigment to do supple washes and also highly saturated or deep parts. The layering is divine..

May River Marshes. Gouache on Paper, 2020

I really enjoy the act of creating observation work in nature. It helps focus my attention on the beauty and complexity of the world around me. This Palmetto tree is one of the more complex things i’ve attempted to draw recently and I like it.

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Painting: River Through Mountains

Published February 17, 2020
Painting: River Through Mountains
River Through Mountains. 8 x 8 inches, acrylic on wood.

I decided to relieve myself of the impulse to make another tonal, semi-representative work by forcing myself to work with a non-representative palette. I painted this over three sessions and I feel pretty good about it. The one thing i really learned while painting this is how much the music i’m listening to influences my approach to making marks.

I struggled quite a bit at first to get into a flow with this painting. Zion was also painting in the studio next to me and I let him pick the music. It was a great mix, but around halfway through the session some kind of more improvisational jazz type of music started playing and the groove and the energy of the music started influencing my painting. Zion noticed it too and commented on it. I’m going to start to experiment with different music as i continue this painting practice. There is really something here to use.

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Chicago

Published May 2, 2019
Chicago (where the river splits). 7cm x 7cm, gouache on paper.
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Iceland painting

Published March 20, 2019

I’ve been wanting to experiment with painting landscapes for a long time now, and i finally bit the bullet and picked a photo from our anniversary trip to Iceland in 2010 to paint from and present to my lovely bride for an anniversary gift.

Gouache on primed wood. 15×9 inches

Painting with gouache is really different than acrylic in a number of ways. I had a blast making this painting and learned quite a bit along the way. I’m going to start another one of these soon.

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