Recent acrylic paintings

Happy Friday!  This is a short blog post about my recent adventures with the Golden 'Open Acrylic' paints.  I've painted with acrylics since before art school, but in art school we used them often for assignments and for our own paintings.  I think the brands I used were Hyplar (a Grumbacher product) and Liquitex.  Then as I entered my career and was painting paintings of birds, acrylics were a very common medium that many wildlife artists used, and use still.  I tried, using watery glazes and acrylic primed hardboard.  I will admit that they were nice to use for rendering details of feathers and vegetation in a bird painting, and several of my bird paintings in acrylic were published by my publisher, Wild Wings, Inc in Lake City, MN.

But I was never very happy using them... they seemed like the medium that you could paint forever and  ever with and never finish... because you could instantly and constantly change the paintings... forever! Yet I've always felt that they just might be the 'ideal' medium for a painter.  Just think, no solvents other than water, you can paint on nearly anything that the acrylics will bind to, so no need for fancy or toxic primers.  Brushes could be washed out with soap and water, and you better be sure to wash them out or they're toast!  Imagine walking into the field to paint, and you can drink the same thing that you wash your brushes out with, and that you thin your paint with!  

As my painting life evolved into one of spending more time outside in the field painting, than in the studio painting, about once a year I would haul out the acrylics to give them a shot in the field.  I could usually get one decent painting, then one that was beginning to give me fits, followed by one more that usually became a Frisbee!  That would be it, the acrylics would be put away, until my Cub Scouts would need to paint something, or the boys would need them for a school project.  Then the following spring, I'd dig them up again and go through the ritual once more.

The two biggest enemies of artists using acrylics, at least this artist, has been the Value shift that happens when they dry... frustrating as heck.  And that they set so fast that you have a hard time adjusting edges and subtle transitions with them.

This was my routine for years.  Then about 7 years ago or so, an Australian company, Chroma, introduced Atelier 'Interactive Acrylic' paint.  It had a longer open working time than traditional acrylics, there were various additives that would extend that time, shorten that time, or just close it off altogether.  Being into about 27 years of being interested in these quirky paints called acrylics, I purchased a palette of the Atelier Interactive acrylics.  My results were a little better than in previous attempts at it in the field, but these still dried to quickly for me to seriously pursue them.  In addition to that, there were so many 'sprays' and mediums to add to control them, that I lost interest.  They're still sitting in my studio in a box.

Then a few years ago, not sure how many, but probably about 5 or 6, Golden the acrylic paint manufacturer, introduced their version of this class of acrylic.  Their line is called 'Open Acrylics'.  I have a penchant for self inflicted, art supply frustration, so I bought  a palette of these paints to try.  For some reason, they've sat... probably out of my own fear of failure with them after such a long history of 'wanting' them to work for me.  Until about a month ago...

I decided that I wanted to do something a little different one day when heading out to paint.  It was a really chilly and windy morning, so I decided it would be a 'paint from the car' day.  Usually, I would use oils, or gouache, when car painting.  But this day I wanted to use something that I could paint on a canvas board that I clamped to the steering wheel.  Light bulb???  Why not take the acrylics along and give them a shot?  

To my pleasant surprise, I found that I could work the Golden Open Acrylics as long as I needed to to get the painting done, and the color and value shift didn't happen... Wow!  This was interesting... I sensed a new journey in the making that day.  Since then, I've been painting with them in the field and in the studio, on primed hardboard, paper, and primed cotton canvas board.  I'm finding that this medium is allowing me to think about what my concept is more than what the paint is doing... or what to do with the paint.  It seems to be a medium that I fit, finally, one that fits me.  The extra time to paint is the key, yet it is dry enough within minutes to lay a glaze over.  Then it can be spritzed with a solution of water and Goldens' Open Thinner, and it re-wets and is blendable and can still be worked into.  This stuff is really cool.

There are so many things that I've discovered about painting with this paint, that I will need to write a separate post about them in the near future.  I haven't painted any large paintings with it yet.  That's something I plan to do soon.  

A note of caution that I've learned recently... DO NOT think that because these are water based paints, that they are SAFER than other paint... NOT TRUE!  I was surprised to learn that in fact, Pastels (#1 on the hazards list), Acrylics, Gouache, Watercolor, all water based paints, are MORE hazardous than OIL PAINTS... given sloppy painting/studio habits.  Remember that it's not the vehicle that the pigment is dispersed or held in suspension in, it's the PIGMENT that is the danger.  Water allows the pigment to be more readily absorbed into your bloodstream than pigment ground into suspension in an oil base... ie Oil paints.  The solvent in oil painting is a hazard of course.  So my idea is to use safe studio and painting practices (no eating or drinking while painting, good ventilation, and wear gloves) and realize that aside from ingesting the paint, the acrylics are a safer paint to use because there is no solvent, all things being equal.

So below are some of my recent acrylic efforts.  And since this blog post ended up anything but short... I'll say adios for now.   Soon I'll write up my thoughts about the materials and methods when painting with these paints.  

Thank you,

Marc

A Golden Day - acrylic on canvas board - 8x10

Cottonwood Morning - acrylic on canvas board - 5x7

Morning Drive - acrylic on canvas board - 9x12

New Snow - acrylic on board - 8x10

Cloud Color - acrylic on board - 8x8

Cloud Cover - acrylic on board - 8x8

An unusual step...

Happy February!

By what is happening outside my front door, it's very hard to believe that it is anything other than some lovely day in one of the idyllic spring months.  We've had some snow, and I've been able to get out and paint it without having to add much additional clothing, other than a pair of long underwear and lightweight gloves, to what I would normally wear to paint in the spring.  Our temps have been holding pretty steady in the mid 50's to low 60's during the daytime, i.e. painting hours.

I've been painting up a storm, which has led me to take a step that I had to think long and hard about taking.  I've opened up an internet sales shop for my small field studies and other small paintings that are just piling up in my studio, garage and storage room.  This decision wasn't made without a lot of  thought, and some concern.  My main concern was, how I could do this without creating problems with the galleries that I work with?  Another was, would this kind of thing cheapen how the art is viewed?  And lastly, would they sell?

I have answered all three of those concerns.  I wrote a letter that went to all of the galleries that I regularly send art work to, explaining what I wanted to do and why.  Three of the five that I sent the letter to replied back almost immediately that they completely understood and gave me the encouragement to "go for it"!  They understand that they can't do and be everything that one artist needs to do and be to survive, and make a living at this Art thing we do.  I'm fortunate to be with some galleries that are owned and operated by wonderful people, who do their absolute best for all of their artists.  I'm grateful to them for their support.

As for the cheapening of the art because of where it's being sold... I may be over the middle stage of life... but I'm young enough to understand that the internet can be a vital, a powerful, sales agent for Art.  And I'm not arrogant enough to think that any place that can sell my art, isn't a good place for it.  There are a few examples of artists who've made very large careers based on internet sales ideas... Duane Keiser, Carol Marine, and a personal favorite, and artist who I met on Facebook... Harry Stooshinoff.  All of these artists continue to create very personal, inspiring and original art, while also holding a very large presence selling their art on line.  I would venture to say that many of us probably first learned about them because of that presence.

Lastly, would they sell?  Yes... I'm happy to say that I have had some success in that area already.  I've run a few pretty large projects myself, such as my APRIL PAINTING MARATHON in 2009, my SEPTEMBER NOCTURNES in 2010, and last year I did a brief project that I called MARCH MADNESS.  Those projects helped to build a large base of collectors, and artists, who followed and in some cases, purchased the paintings that I painted.  

Many artists have large studios which they occasionally open up and have a "studio sale" in.  I would do that, if I had that kind of a space, and some day hope to.  But for now, this is going to be my 'studio sale' event.  An on going one that I will stock as small studies become available.  In some cases these are studies for larger paintings, or simply plein air studies that were painted as information gathering studies to learn from.  Some of the paintings have been in galleries already, and then sent back to me.  In either case, they are not paintings that I will continue to send to the galleries.  I'm concentrating on sending larger, more complex paintings to galleries now, not the small studies.

The name of my Etsy page is... MarcHansonArt... My gallery on Etsy is called 'Small Impressions'!

Here are some of the pieces that I just recently posted on the Etsy site... to see more information about them, please click on the MarcHansonArt link above.

Thank you,
Marc
Longmont, CO

January Reflections

Winding

Cold Front

Groaning Ice

On Golden Ponds

Ogallala Rd Crossing

On The Plains

Sawhill Ending

Sawhill Farm

New Snow

West Of Longmont

Willow At Pond's Edge

  

Oil Painters of America Blog Post!

I'm sharing a link to the Oil Painters of America's blog today.  I would like to thank my good friend and great artist, John Potoschnick, who writes a wonderful blog in which he shares the art lives of other artists, through his very well thought out, and interesting to answer, questions.  Click his name/link to visit his website.  There is a link to his blog on the menu bar of the site.

LINK TO THE ARTICLE ON 'THE OIL PAINTERS OF AMERICA' BLOG.

 'December Ducks' a 9x12 plein air gouache painting.

January 2, 2013

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

'Reservoirs' - oil - 30x40 ©2012 Marc R. Hanson

'A view of the Colorado plains, looking south towards Longmont, CO from Yellowstone Rd, a few miles north of Longmont.  Unfamiliar, but interesting to me, is the abundance of reservoirs, in this part of the west, that dot the landscape.  The number of ducks and geese that I watched floating around the sky this fall, while out painting, was impressive to say the least.  These reservoirs play a huge role in supporting the large numbers of birds living and passing through this area.  The topography of this area is one of an undulating pattern of ranch lands and wild lands, and of course the ever increasing 'suburbia lands' developments.  As I drive around, I am at once high and overlooking the lay of the land, and then soon back into a low lying riparian habitat.  This view is from on one of those plateaus, looking across the mix of landscape that I find so interesting.  All I have to do to change everything, is look to the right and into the face of the Rocky Mountains, and all that has to offer me as a painter!'

I woke up on the morning of the first day of 2013 as a resident of a new state, for the first time in over 33 years!  As soon as the coffee took hold, I spent some time reflecting on what the recent past has meant to me, and on my excitement about what the future holds.  A typical New Years' day activity for many of us, I'm sure.

I'm grateful for all of my past, for my present, and for the future to come.  I'm living in a place of incredible beauty, only a portion of which I've even laid eyes on, and am healthy and eager to dig in and make 2013 even more interesting and rewarding than 2012 was.  

Best wishes to you all for a new year blessed with good health, happiness, peace, love and Art!  

Let's make 2013 A Year of Art!

Marc

Longmont, CO

Seasons' Greetings!

The weather here is still balmy, perfectly nice for being outside painting.  Instead, I've been in my studio, painting some of the rare 'inclement' weather that brushes past us once in a while.  And thoroughly enjoying doing that.  

I want to extend my best wishes to all of you for a very Merry Christmas and a New Year full of love, health, happiness and Art!  

Merry Christmas!

Marc

Two recent pastels painted in the studio of the surrounding area near me...

 'North Of Yellowstone Rd' 

Pastel - 10x16 ©2012 Marc R. Hanson

'Horse Ranch' 

Pastel - 9x12 ©2012 Marc R. Hanson

Painting Around My New Home...

I'll be honest, it took me awhile to quit wiping off paintings, and to feel comfortable with my new surroundings here in CO.  I try not to accept anything less than what I feel very good about in my painting.  I've thought a lot about it, there were many factors to acknowledge, that had me scratching my head at my painting for a while.  They're all interesting to me.  This post is my idea about what I've been going through since moving here.

There is one thing about painting, above all others, that keeps my interest alive and energized.  Including all of the good and bad, that comes with being an artist.  It can be, in part, the following 'things'.  But they're not the major underlying motivation for me.  It is not the particular subject that I'm painting, it's not the physical act of applying paint or pastel, it is not only color, it is not only design, it is definitely not money or the benefits that other 'jobs' hold.

The one thing that keeps me painting is the intimate insight that you develop when you work long enough with your subject.  It's such an immensely satisfying, internal reward, and it is why I paint, above and beyond any other reason.  When you have that, everything that you do in a painting, is guided by it.  That is the quality that I hope to bring to my art.  

In painting the landscape, in my opinion, you Must become intimately familiar with the mood of the land, the smells, sounds, climate affects, the weather patterns, the way the sky above changes the look of the dirt, trees, rocks, and water.  You must sense what the land is about every single time you head out to paint. 

That doesn't mean that you can't be out there painting if you're not in tune with what I'm discussing here.  Yes, you can make images all day long, and I do this a lot.  But to give those images more than just a rendered surface, you need more than a good hand and a good brush.  

Everything that I put into a landscape painting, that I am proud of, has an underlying force that comes from how well I understand the raw essence of what it is I'm painting.  It's the kind of intimate knowledge that gives the weapons, clothing, art and accoutrements of the First People, the native Americans, such an amazing life force and connection to a wilder land than exists today.  They lived it, breathed it, ate and died on it.  That's the kind of understanding that I'm talking about.  It is Spiritual. 

I used to paint birds in a natural history style.  In that case the accuracy of the biology of the animal or bird, and their environment, was critical to the viewers of those paintings, and to me in painting them.  I'm not talking about that in this case, I'm talking about a much deeper and yet bigger picture than that.  

I lived in Minnesota for 33 years, fished, hunted, xc skied, hiked, and painted it on a near daily basis.  I became very familiar with what the land there was telling me.  Not to be mystical, although this is a bit of a mystical sensibility, I felt the land, much as a farmer does, because I had so much experience being out in and on it.  

As a painter, that sensibility came into my work, via my own internal editing, desires and artistic choices.  I painted many, many 'rendered' images, not pieces of art, along the way.  Learning has a much higher volume of failures than successes in any field.  I look at those failures as teaching tools.  "Why didn't I catch the mood of that day?"... "Why did I get caught up in the type of tree instead of what those trees mean to the shape of the land that they're growing on?"... "Why is this painting so boring to me?  It's well rendered, it looks like the scene.  What is missing in it that doesn't allow the spirit of the place, the sense of place, to come through?  What was I saying as an artist about the landscape that is unique to my own vision?"  These are the questions that come to my mind when I leave a painting location and am not thrilled about what I just painted.  It's not usually that I didn't get the color, that I didn't draw it well enough, that I didn't choose a good design.  I usually can accomplish those things.

What is missing when I don't enjoy my efforts, is that I return with a mere rendering, not an understanding of the life of the landscape that I just painted.  That happens for two reasons... 1- I don't know the place...or... 2- I didn't dig deep enough into why I want to be there, at that time, painting that place.  The latter can't be understood until the former is in place.  

That brings me back to the point of this post, I hope.  When I moved to Colorado I was excited to jump into painting immediately, faster than I was ready to.  Not only did I have some emotional things to overcome, normal in a relocation move when you've been in once place for so long, the logistical things that had to be done... like driver's license, unpacking, creating a workplace in a new place, finding out how to get around town, feeling like you're in a new country, and so on... I also needed some time to wander around the country side to understand a few things about this new land I was now planted in and on.  I did a lot of that, wandered, photographed, attempted to paint it, and wondered if I would ever learn this place as well as I knew where I lived in Minnesota, well enough to paint it as I wanted to?  

I have been blessed since moving here with great things happening in my career... an article in the November issue of Southwest Art Magazine, and the cover of the same issue... I've been invited to show as a featured artist at Gallery 1261 in Denver, and have also been invited to show as a guest at Saks Gallery in Denver, and at Mary Williams Fine Arts in Boulder.  I'm grateful for these and other opportunities that have arisen since my move.  Not to mention all of the artist friends that have been so gracious and welcoming to me here.  

If you're an artist, you know that despite every other good thing that happens in your life, if your painting isn't going right, if you're not in touch with that Artist within you, it can be overwhelmingly concerning. 

Not to draw this out too much longer, but I am happy to say that I am 'finally' beginning to be more in touch with where I am.  When I first started painting around Longmont and Boulder, I would stand and stare, mouth agape, at the mountains.  They're so powerful, so beautiful, that they put me in a painterly trance.  I've painted a few of them, wiped out a bunch, and am now settling down into seeing things closer to my feet where the understanding begins.  I found a couple of dirt roads that are rich with texture, color, shape and design possibilities.  Any success I'm gaining, has been because I've limited myself to gaining an intimate understanding of those two areas first, before I try to tackle chunks of the larger landscape, just yet.  It's working, I feel good about what I'm painting now.  

In fact, I've been hauling out large canvases, up to 24x30, and feeling pretty comfortable that I'm beginning to gain a sense of 'my' place in this landscape.  As time goes along, as more paint is pushed, more in depth observation and questioning is pushed through my art brain, I am now confident that I will find out how this land breathes in time.  Now the fun begins... 

These are all field paintings that were painted in October and November.  The first one, "Longmont Resident" was the first painting that I painted here as a new resident of Colorado, back in late September.  

Thanks for reading... 

Longmont Resident - oil - 9x12

October Flow - oil - 10x8

Indian Summer Day - oil - 11x14

Entanglement - oil - 11x14

November Willow Gold - oil - 9x12

61st Street - oil - 6x6

Fast Lane - oil - 6x10

Ringbills - oil - 14x18

Pasture Cows - oil - 6x12

Snaking Along - oil - 9x12

Softly Opening Day - oil - 18x24

Spread - oil 0 12x16

Where oh where did my blog go???

Well, I know... it's been accosted by facebook!  It's interesting to me how through recent time there have been several major communicating/social networking arenas that have absorbed my time, yet have been arteries through which I have connected with other artists, collectors, galleries, and a multitude of art resources.

As one has become more populated and easy to use, the previous ones have fallen by the wayside.  In my own life, since I first had a functioning computer, one that would actually connect to the internet, there have been three of these outlets for being in contact with other artists.

First there was Wet Canvas, an online artists' community, where I met many, many artists who have become lifelong friends.  I can't tell you how many hours I spent online on Wet Canvas talking with artists from all over the world about life, art and everything involving both, in between.  I think I started in about 1998 or so, continued as a contributer until about 2005 or there about.

At that time, Blogging increased in popularity, and ease of use, as a method to have commune with others about your art or art in general.  I blogged here pretty heavily for most of the last 6 years, and it proved to be a wonderful platform for presenting not only my own art, but for discussions about topics in the art world, that many of us are interested in.

Then came Facebook!  Since joining Facebook, my blogging has suffered in an increasing lapse between posts.  FB is simply so easy to use, and the artist community there is HUGE, that I think it became more attractive as an outlet for those of us who work alone in a studio, and enjoy the 'office chit chat' that FB seems to provide.  You can build a HUGE audience for your work on FB, thousands... until they cut you off!  I am thankful for the followers of my blog, and apologetic for neglecting it, until now.  There are many, many reasons for this, that those who study social phenomenon are going to be much better at laying out, so I'm not going any deeper into it than that.

However, I have decided that the blog is a better place to present my work, and to discuss the things that are important to me as an artist.  So, with that, I am planning to renew my efforts to get this thing back up and active.

As I last posted, I moved to Colorado in September.  I did make it, the truck made it, and the cats had a great trip.  Sarge found a spot underneath the bench seat, where the kitty litter pail was, Frida found a spot on the bench seat, glued to my thigh for the entire ride out here.

We only had one narrow brush with getting that truck and trailer into a tight spot, and nearly running out of gas, all at the same time.  I was into CO about 75 miles, and had been timing my gas stops at about 1/4 tank left.  As soon as I was there, I took the next opportunity to fill up.  That went really well, until I hit eastern CO.  For some reason, the gas stations seem to evaporate.  I hit the 1/4 tank mark, started looking... and looking... and looking.  At close to the 'low fuel' warning light and buzzer, I saw a gas station off of the interstate, with diesel.   Happy now, I pulled off and made the turn onto a narrow 2 lane road to enter the gas station.  To my grief, it was closed, and the entrance was barb wired!  I was now heading east on a skinny frontage road... and the sign said... NO OUTLET!  Words did not escape me... Looking quickly for somewhere to turn around the 22' truck plus the 12' of trailer, I didn't see any where to do that, but I did see the dead end a short distance ahead.

The road was built up on a berm, so I couldn't go into the ditch to turn around.  At this point, the 'low fuel' warning light and buzzer goes off... I'm in the red zone and beginning to worry.  I attempted to do a 'back up, three point turn' with all of that length, but realized I was lucky not to get stuck trying that.

Without any other ideas, I drove to the end of the road a few hundred yards ahead... thinking maybe there would be a way to solve the problem.  At the end of the road, there was one dirt road that led up to a trailer house and a bunch of garbage (kind of a crack house looking place), about 75 yards ahead, and into a pasture.  I was looking at that, then realized that there were no fences along the road!!!???

Light bulb....

I tightened up the seat belt, told the kitties to hang on tight, and put that diesel to work.  Drove it right up that dirt road about 40 yds, just enough to clear the trailer, hung a tight left into the pasture (which I took a serious look at, it looked solid and destructive object free), and did a Penske U-eee... through the pasture and around back onto the 2 lane road, heading west again.  I'm sighing a big sigh of relief now, because if I run out of fuel, at least after a return walk with a fuel can, the Penske would be pointed towards my destination, a very good thing.  To cut this short, the very next exit, less than 2 miles ahead, had diesel and wide roads.  I made it, and with great relief drove on into Longmont, CO without having to stop again.

Mt Meeker and Long's Peak from Golden Ponds in Longmont

I love it here... this is the place that I though it was going to be, when I made the choice to relocate.  In the 3 months that I've been here now, I have become extremely comfortable in my new apartment, in my new state, with my new friends and community.  In a future post, I will talk about how I've tried to adjust as an artist here, that has taken some time.  But as adjusting to a new place to live goes, that has been a breeze.

Every day brings about new beauty in the landscape.  It never ceases to amaze and challenge me as an artist.  Be back soon...