Painting My Way Through Life

Friday, February 14, 2014

February 14, 2014

I can't believe it, but today marks the half way point! That means that for two weeks I have neglected absolutely everything in my life, except for being outside painting every day. And it shows...

It looks like the painting gods have decided that this mid point is a good place to make an improvement on the weather too. Temps are up, and I can't tell you how good that feels, after two weeks of chilling it out there. Sadly, the snow is nearly all gone now. There was more around today than I thought there would be, but with what's forecast for the next two days, and beyond, snow is probably a distant memory for now. Except... last year, we had 12" on May 2.

I spent 3/4's of the day on 61st St, which is only open part way due to the bridge over the St Vrain being too damaged to use. I was there last night too. I've noticed lately that I have become a magnet for conversation. Today on four occasions, visitors stopped to "chat". I meet the most interesting people while painting. Most of them, harmless. Yesterday I met a guy who is a photographer, and who seemed to know the entire history of the area, going back to before white settlement. This morning, met another photographer who has recently returned to Longmont, where he grew up, to re-establish his photography business... Virtual Photo Tours?. This afternoon I had a nice talk with a guy who creates art using antlers from elk and deer that he harvests or finds while hiking. Makes some great pieces, and he knew a million places that he suggested I go paint, or take my bow with when it's the right time. The last nice couple I met, and their dog Rosy, supply retailers, main supplier to Cabela's, with field guides and maps. We had some common connections there, since my publisher of wildlife art has a long connection to Cabela's, and I also had some experience illustrating a field guide for National Geographic years ago, another business who they deal with extensively. Needless to say, this all takes quite a bit of time.... but I enjoy the interaction with interested people.

I was looking for an appropriate Valentine's image today. Best I could do was the second painting. I know, it's just a red fence and barn. That's it, no hearts or other normal Valentines objects out there in the country side.

Thanks for looking in... Enjoy!

2-14-1 "Morning Warms" - oil - 8x10

©Marc R. Hanson 2014

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2-14-2 "Valentine's Day" - oil - 8x10

©Marc R. Hanson 2014

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2-14-3 "Eroded" - oil - 8x10

©Marc R. Hanson 2014

SOLD

2-14-4 "Willow Central" - oil - 8x10

©Marc R. Hanson 2014

SOLD

Thursday, February 13, 2014

February 13, 2014

Living in Minnesota, the joke is that if you can't find something nice to say, you can always talk about the weather. I think that's a trait that I adapted during my 33 years there, and will probably continue to hold onto until the day I'm done. So, I'm not complaining... I'm just offering up some conversation that just happens to include the weather. Outside of a painting not working, or some weirdo or wild animal, the weather is the only other interesting thing about a day of painting that is worth writing about!

Speaking of the weather, on one hand today, it was so warm it was T-Shirt weather! On the other hand, it was so windy that I had to take a long lunch time, stalling act, to try to put off having to stand out in it. The gusts were way over 20 or 30 mph... the steady winds were over 20 mph at one point. I have a lot of outdoor hobbies and there is only one where the wind is a 'favorable' thing to have going on... that's sailing a boat. ANY other outdoor hobby I indulge myself in, wind is the nemesis. Today the wind was KING NEMESIS!

I started the first painting with a light weight shirt on, sun beating down on my gloveless hands, and a big smile on my face. I was just about to consider washing the brushes and scraping the palette on it, when I heard what sounded like a B-747 bearing down on me. It was the wind! The next painting was a ballet, or better yet, a boxing match, between the panel being violently whipped by the wind, and my hopelessly aimed brushes, which were trying to escape my grip for the calm comfort of the Honda.

After a LONG lunch, I headed back out to see if there was anywhere that was sheltered from the wind. I was worrying that time was running out, that I was going to be left with only two paintings today. At the last hour, about 3:30, the winds died down a little bit. Enough to make painting the last two, in about an hour and a half, a possibility. I painted 'Ditch Tails', then turned around and saw an amazing light effect behind me. Compositionally it wasn't great, but it was all about the the light effect, the color of the mountains in shadow, with the land lit up and glowing. That one was painted in about 25 minutes, very fast.

The temps today and the wind totally melted the snow, other than in deeply shadowed areas. I cannot wait to get out there tomorrow with all of the wet darks of the mud, and the warm tones of the grasses of last season.

Thanks for checking in... Enjoy!

2-13-1 "Old Farm" - oil - 8x10

©Marc R. Hanson 2014

SOLD

2-13-2 "Wicked Wind" - oil - 8x10

©Marc R. Hanson 2014

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2-13-3 "Ditch Tails" - oil - 8x10

©Marc R. Hanson 2014

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2-13-4 "Hygiene Rd at 59th St" - oil - 8x10

©Marc R. Hanson 2014

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Wednesday, February 12, 2014

February 12, 2014

Almost an amazing day today... but still some cloud cover and as the day went on, some pretty stiff winds. I grabbed the pastels again today, but took out the last piece of Wallis 'Belgian Mist' that I had. It was definitely more workable and to my liking than the LaCarte. Now to find some...

Not much to chat about this evening, except that it sounds like tomorrow is going to be T-shirt weather! That's something to talk about!

Enjoy the paintings... I'm going to eat, crash and get up to make day 13 happen.

Thanks for looking in...

2-12-1 "55th St Rise" - pastel - 8x10

©Marc R. Hanson 2014

SOLD

2-12-2 "Oxford Rd Winds" - pastel - 8x10

©Marc R. Hanson 2014

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2-12-3 "Tree Stand" - pastel - 8x10

©Marc R. Hanson 2014

SOLD

2-12-4 "Prairie Homes" - pastel - 8x10

©Marc R. Hanson 2104

SOLD

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

February 11, 2014

Today is the birthday of the other best thing that ever happened to me. My youngest son was born 28 years ago on this day.

For a change of pace, I grabbed the pastels this morning. We're not having any precipitation now, and it seemed like it would be good to switch things up today. What you should never do, and I did, is try a new art material when you don't have time to monkey around with it if it's not working so well for you... for... Me. It's almost impossible to find my all time favorite paper of choice, Wallis 'Belgian Mist'. The supplies just aren't getting to the distributers that I've tried. It's a shame, it's a wonderful paper, but if it's always going to be so tough to but when you need it, then an alternative is going to be imperative. I've used UArt... it's ok. But I wanted something with a tone. My paper today was LaCarte light grey. Not really a grey, but a warm ocherish colored paper. I used it many years ago, before I had nice soft, buttery pastels like I do now. It didn't work out very well at all, using harder pastels in the past.

I have mixed feelings about it. Some aspects of how it takes pastel are wonderful. It holds plenty of pastel pigment, can be wiped down, and is a nice stiff card stock type paper. I was not happy that I couldn't get the kind if sharp little touches that I can with Wallis, and UArt. It has a great texture, just about the right coarseness. I'll keep plugging away with it, it worked in the end, but took me a lot to try to figure out how to work it. I discovered one thing, I still don't have enough soft, buttery pastels... a trip to the supplier is in order.

Thanks for looking in... Enjoy!

2-11-1 "Nimbus Rd" - pastel - 8x10

©Marc R. Hanson 2014

SOLD

2-11-2 "Swirl" - pastel - 8x10

©Marc R. Hanson 2014

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2-11-3 "Casting Shadows" - pastel - 8x10

©Marc R. Hanson 2014

SOLD

2-11-4 "Willows" - pastel - 8x10

©Marc R. Hanson 2014

SOLD

Monday, February 10, 2014

February 10, 2014

Another winter wonderland today! And finally, some sun began to make itself known. I didn't get a start until almost noon today because I had some errands to run. My painting time was pretty limited, about 5 hours. Today's conditions went from almost NO value difference, to good contrasting values. Since the days are lengthening, there was some really gorgeous light towards the end of the afternoon. Those are the kind of effects that, if you want to try to grab them, you had better paint fast. The last two paintings were painted without haste, not fast in the sense that I was slapping on paint willy nilly. But fast and precise, getting an idea and holding on to it while the scene in front of me changed every few minutes. I'm addicted to that kind of energy, the fast changing landscape.

Whenever I begin to feel like I'm getting too myopic, I look for something out there that will break that trend. I prefer to grab the moment, not the afternoon.

I see a lot of critters every day, here are a few shots of some of what is around here. I'm usually shooting with a point and shoot or my iPhone, so the quality isn't great.

The paintings... Thanks for looking in!

2-10-1 "White Land" - oil - 8x10

©Marc R. Hanson 2014

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2-10-2 "Coot Lake" - oil - 8x10

©Marc R. Hanson 2014

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2-10-3 "Finally, Sun!" - oil - 8x10

©Marc R. Hanson 2014

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2-10-4 "Breaking Sky" - oil - 8x10

SOLD

Sunday, February 9, 2014

February 9, 2014

Today's date is a special one. The first, of the two greatest things to happen in my life, happened 30 years ago today... my oldest son was born! I was thinking about that all day long with the weather here today. When he was born, it was also VERY cold, but I was not out painting then! :)

All day today the air was full of a fog that was freezing on everything it touched, but was even more pronounced the closer to the edge of the foothills that I was. It was a day for having to look very hard to see the subtle shifts in color temperature. The spacial division from value shifts was very slight, mostly just big, fog induced non-descript shapes, against the lightest value of the snow. Fun to paint, but nothing like yesterday's color world. But, I love painting this kind of day.

My palette was full, but about all I put a brush in besides white, was ultramarine blue, terra rosa, yellow ochre, some viridian and alizarin, and the greenish umber.

The moisture was chilly however, there were several coffee breaks (toe warming sessions) before it was all over.

Thanks for looking in... Enjoy!

2-9-1 "Freezing Fog #1" - oil - 8x10

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2-9-2 "Freezing Fog #2" - oil - 8x10

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2-9-3 "Freezing Fog #3" - oil - 8x10

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2-9-4 "Freezing Fog #4" - oil - 8x10

SOLD

Saturday, February 8, 2014

February 8, 2014

I'm liking this weather! I started out the day by painting another 'long view', the Smoke Shack. I realized that I was concentrating too much on what I love so much about this area, the patterned, textural quilt of the big landscape. I drive around with my jaw in my lap constantly... this area is such a beautiful layout of rolling hills, dotted with old and new farms, all backdropped by the Front Range. I am an addict.

However, as much as I love it, I also like the smaller, more intimate angles on the landscape. Seems I've been painting a lot of the wide angle views lately. So after the first one of the day, I was looking around (all of these were painted on one road in a stretch of about a mile) and saw that there were paintings everywhere that I hadn't been looking at. With the temps as mild as they were, I just planted myself and painted away. I like when I don't have to do a road trip to find the paintings I want to paint.

For the painters, one thing that is an issue when doing this all day for days in a row, is the toll the bright light takes on the eyes. I've recommended against it, then realized that there are times when wearing sun glasses to paint, like in extreme bright situations near water or on snow, might be the way to go. Using a very neutral colored lens, no pink shades please, I've found that the color and values are pretty accurate. In the end, it's all relative, so if you need to paint with them on, leave them on all the way through of course, but it's not the worst thing a painter could do.

But... I didn't wear them today. I hate wearing them to paint... :)

Not sure what tomorrow has in store, but if it's anything close to what today was like, I'm happy already.

Thanks for looking in... Enjoy. And thank you All for the comments. It's been hard to get to them all with a reply, I hope to eventually gather all of them together and write up a blog post answering as many as I can.