We are the Griffith Team from Windermere Walla Walla…and we love Walla Walla!
Some of the great things, in our opinion, include the opportunity of home ownership for a broad base of home buyers, the education systems, the wine industry and what that has brought to the valley, the dining options, and more.
When I visit with buyers from out of the area I talk about what I love about the area.
Happy New Year!
A group of artists in SE WA proposed daily painting for the first month of the new year. I’m in, I declared. I will paint each day…maybe not a painting a day, but just painting or doing some form of art each day for the month. So far I am on track.
A friend of mine made a New Year resolution to do 54 new things this year…one something new each week. that’s a good one, I think…a goal to keep one thinking and being challenged. I’m in. I don’t have a list of new things to do already made up, but will work on that. Week one…maybe testing a new dining spot. I do have some things I want to do and one is print making without the printing press…more on that later. Maybe I will post my list…part of it perhaps…
I have a couple of pastel paintings in the works as well as a couple of oils. I love the way oils work – and I used to paint always in oil – but it is a challenge after being immersed in pastel dust for so long. A challenge, yes. I have made the commitment to show work at the Western Masters Art Show in March in Great Falls, MT and I want to have both oil and pastel work available. It will happen. Persevere! This will be an interesting event. It is March 14-17 with a live auction and two Quick Finish Draws as well as each artist had a room in which to show your art and work…hotel rooms, stripped of the usual furnishings. It all happens at the Heritage Inn in Great Falls. So if you are in the area…we are in Room 151. ”Forgotten” was the chosen piece for the live auction.
I am excited to take part in the Western Masters Show…(that’s a new thing for March 
by the way!) So, I am incorporating some more western theme into my landscapes…cows, deer, antelope, etc. I just finished a couple of pastels and two oils with cows in art. I think it works. 
I hope you artists take the challenge and try new things; maybe not 54…but try something new and explore new options with products and techniques. It keeps us fresh! Happy painting…
After leaving Moab I can only say I knew I was headed for northern NM…nothing else. I drove south on 191 and down into Cortez, CO before I really decided a route. Made my mind up that I would go to Santa Fe and took the route down through Farmington toward Albuquerque. When I got to the 15, I headed north to Santa Fe. Along the way I traveled through areas I had been through several times before – through Shiprock with a glimpse of the monolith that resembles a huge ship on the desert, past the Native American Health Services Hospital that I worked on an installation of medical equipment and subsequently taught procedures to staff and on to Farmington following the San Juan River. Once getting on the 15 the pinion trees are prevalent and you get the sense you are heading to O’Keeffe country. I found a great rental for the rest of the month in the Pinion Hills of Santa Fe – north of the city in the near vicinity of the Opera House. The casita was hidden in among the trees and brush and near neighbors were blocked from view in the rolling hillside and vegetation. It was a great base from which I painted daily and took trips to Abiquiu, Taos, Tesuque, Hyde State Park, the inner city of Santa Fe and more. Several times I painted down in Santa Fe where there was a place for parking and setting up an easel. I worked on pastel and oil paintings. Sometimes I would get up in the wee hours and look at the surrounding area and shoot some photos and paint a little. That time just before sunrise is sort of magical and I have a favorite snapshot of the new moon overhead with the roof lines and tree branches framing it. I painted plein air every day and loved it. I spent one day not painting, but in Albuquerque in Old Town visiting artists and galleries and waiting for Les to fly in to SkyPort on evening. It was fabulous to see his smiling face at the curb of the luggage level of the airport that evening.
After Les got into town, we did a car trip to Los Alamos and other points near and in Santa Fe before leaving to drive back to the northwest. We decided our route should include Zion Nat’l Park and spent a couple of days in the St. George, UT area exploring it. Not enough time. The Zion Paint the Sketchbook of Thomas Moran was going on and points that he had painted were marked throughout the park with artists set up and painting these points once again.
Some of the most interesting things about the southwest are the colors of the landscape – so many rich tones and colors, the architecture with most interesting passages, stoas, drives, fences and colors. The other thing in fall is the color of the trees and brush. The cottonwoods were absolutely aglow in eye piercing golds and yellows as were the Chamisa growing to all sorts of heights and bloom from grayish white to brilliant yellows. The color was like frosting on a cake…the dress up…I loved it.
Next year the Colorado Plein Air Painters will go to Taos in May…I was invited…man, that is tempting!
Wenaha Gallery in Dayton is hosting my plein air show next week – 20 some paintings of the journeys…if you are in the area, stop in…it’s the Christmas Kickoff for Dayton and Andrea Lyman will show her jewelry at the opening as well – Friday, Nov. 25, 4-7.
In the meantime…happy painting…
Moab…this is such a beautiful place. From the moment I drove down into the Colorado River valley that holds this town I was in awe of the overwhelming beauty. Extreme describes it….cliffs in reds and yellows, intense skies something different to look at all around you . . 
I went to Moab to participate in the Plein Air Moab painting event Oct 7-15. The event includes 3 quick draw sessions, a main competition, a paint out, receptions and more. The Moab Art and Rec Center (MARC) is hosting their 2nd plein air. The team that organized this were incredible. Everything; every event ran like clock work. One day the quick draw was at the Castle Valley Winery where we painted on their property and submitted it to the show and sale. for 3 hours, we painted ,then framed. Two more quick draws on other days happened downtown Moab with same rules and events. The final event was the main competition – a painting of the artist’s choice that they had completed during the time in Moab. Other paintings could be displayed for sale at the MARC as well…but only one entered into the competition. Friday night we entered the MARC to one room filled with the artists’ best work. Many had signs on them “Award Winning Painting”. I looked for mine and it was included in that catagory! That’s the icing on the cake!
During the paint out, several pieces of art sold which wonderful – since that is the ultimate goal! But it is also equally important to develop new friendships and learn new things from fellow artists, judges, etc.
And there is taking some risks in our work, try new techniques and see as much of the area and photograph as much as you can for future reference. I had shied away from driving the LaSal Loop which is a road that takes you south of Moab, then westerly over some mountain passes, down into the Castle Valley and back to Moab via Hwy 128. The first while I was in Moab, the weather was cold and stormy with snow on the mountains, so that detered my thoughts of doing this drive in the mighty Prius. However with warm weather for several days, the snow had all but disappeared so I decided that I would drive at least part way up the pass to get some views of colorful fall leaves and different terrain. I soon found that it the road was really steep and narrow and I wasn’t comfortable trying to turn around on the narrow roads and minimal turn-outs…so I kept driving over the passes, a little timidly on the ascents and descents with switchbacks at a max of 10 mph. It was beautiful and when one was atop each of the passes, the view below was incredible. I admit that when I saw the familiar terrain of the Castle Valley, I breathed a sigh of relief! Once I got down into the valley, I decided I would paint one more work so elected to paint a scene near Onion Creek…a stream that barely runs water when the weather is dry…but is one that carries water that is poisonous leeched with selenium, arsnic and saline. The creek bed has no vegetation and it is strangely quiet with no birds in the immediate area.
Saturday came with the realization that the stay in Moab was coming to an end. Work was to be picked up at the MARC at 6 that evening. In the morning I stopped in to listen to the judged talk about the work selected for awards and decided that I would go somewhere and paint one more session. Sandi who organized the event came up to me and asked what I was doing for the day. I told her and she asked if she could go with. Happily I invited her and we drove up Kane Creek beyond where one leaves the Colorado and heads up another canyon. We painted and visited for about 2 hours. It was the perfect way to end a great 10 day visit to this spot.
Sunday morning I was ready to head out for points south into New Mexico. I stopped at the little cafe that sells great Moab coffee, grabbed a 16 oz cup, bid farefwell to the MARC and headed down 191 to southerly points….
happy painting….
C 
Leaving the Palouse I decided to take the scenic ID byway down 95 to the 55, through Riggings, McCall, New Meadow to Boise. The drive is slow but scenic following the Salmon River with rafters, fly fishermen, drift boats gracing the water. You travel down the White Bird Hill which is an incredible long grade that takes you out of Camas Prairie to the canyons below of the Salmon and near the Snake Rivers. At McCall you follow Payette Lake as you drive through town, again a higher elevations. I stayed in Boise and left fairly early to go to Salt Lake City and visit my friend Sue Martin. Having never taken the time to stop along I 84 to see some of the points of interest, I decided this time I would. I visited the Malad Canyon State Park and walked the trails to edge of the canyon through which the Snake River flows far below. At the vistors center there is a narrow walking bridge that you can walk across near the falls. I managed to get nearly half way across before my dislike of heights beckoned me back to solid ground!
Getting in to SLC and meeting Sue about 5, we headed up Little Cottonwood Canyon to see some color and scout out some painting sites for the next day. Afater a great dinner we headed back to SLC. The next morning rain and wind prevented a plein air painting expedition, but Sue graciously shared her studio space and we worked on some paintings. Later visited a couple of great galleries and attended the Utah Watercolor Society meeting and watched a demo by Christopher Schenk. There are some really great artists in the area showing quality work and it was a pleasure and treat to be able to see it.
I am anxious to get to Moab and get a view of the area I am going to be painting in for the next 10 days. It is so windy with the storms traveling through the area. Leaving this morning early, I decided to take a longer route to Moab and drove I15 to 50 to I 70 and then to 191… Lots of stops along I 70 to take photos of the majestic sandstone cliffs and canyons. Moab is in a beautiful valley adjacent to Arches National Park near the Colorado River. It is chilly and windy today so did not lend to painting out of doors. I am anticipating later in the week it warms up when the plein air event starts! I did take a short drive into Arches late in the afternoon to see some of its majesty. I hoped to see some Bighorn Sheep, but they must have been seeking shelter from the winds and sprinkles of rain. This area is just a painting waiting to happen…in any direction. Will scout some places for painting tomorrow and maybe get some done as well. I have faith the stormy weather passes through and leaves us in warm fall and sunny weather. So now it is about getting settled in my casita and plan some car trips to seek painting spots….
Last Wednesday I embarked on a journey to painting and drawing in various areas. First stop was the plein air event “Plein Air Palouse” in Moscow, ID. For 3 days 25 painters spent time out and about in the heart of the Palouse painting rural and urban scenes in and around Moscow. This was the 2nd plein air event for Moscow and they are an enthusiastic, warm, welcoming group. Thursday I drove north of Moscow toward Potlatch looking for my landscape representational of the Palouse. Driving down Walker Road, I found it. At the top a hill was an ideal plein air painting spot…a nice place to pull over, some stacked old bales of hay and a view looking north of fields, hills, barns and timber that is characteristic of the Palouse. I pulled over and painted a 12×16 of a view finders cropped field of view of the valley. About 3 hours later, I am satisfied with the result. I snapped several photos of the area for future paintings and headed back to Moscow, happy with the painting expedition! 
Friday morning I decided to paint urban and wanted to paint some historic building. Like many small towns, Moscow has a Carnegie Library with unique architecture and style. And the beautiful thing is, when they decided they needed more space, they didn’t destroy the original building, they added onto it but kept the itegrity of the original building. So this sort of Tuscan style building sits on the corner of Jefferson and 2nd in all is originial glory. I paint it. While I am there painting in the shade and solitude of the Library, the reporter and photographer from the Daily News come by and spend 20-30 minutes visiting and taking photos of me painting. Saturday morning one of the photos and a really good article about the plein air event and me graced the front page and more of the paper. 
Late Friday I drove up to the U of I campus and parked in a parking area currently abandoned, but with a great view of the U of I farm. There are a series of beautiful, well maintained barns and I wanted to paint them in the evening light. I did a 9×12 of the large barn and horses under a coral tinged sky. I was pretty happy with the results, put it in a frame and forgot to photograph it.
Saturday was spent at the Farmer’s Market downtown. I did a bunch of sketching and photos. Great people watching! In the afternoon all the paintings were delivered to City Hall to hang in their gallery complete with reception. It was a great time and lots of discussion ensued regarding the event and how to improve it. The enthusiasm of the group is one thing that needs no improvement. They are gracious hosts and willing to help the artists as they could. Kudos to Kathleen and DJ. The best thing was meeting several new artists and visiting with them about our works.
So this was the first stop on my art quest journey. I leave Moscow Sunday and head south to UT with a couple of stops along the way…More photos of my journey will be posted on Facebook
I am always willing to try a new paper, a different pastel, etc. So with the plan of going on some plein air journeys, I am looking for a simple way to use existing paper, but mounting it on a backing to simplify the authentication and framing process.
With the plein air events, one has to be able to have an authentication stamp on the back of the paper you are painting on to insure that the painting was done at the event and not something an artist brings completed , with them. So I also want to have the paper mounted on a heavy backing that doesn’t require additional foam core covering the paper and the required stamp. In the past for small events I have marked where the stamp is on the backing board and then cut a window out of the back board so as to prove the painting had a stamp. It’s another step and I am looking for something even more simple. So, I have tried a fie different things. I bought some of the Art Spectrum primer and painted it on a variety of papers. I also used an archival spray adhesive and mounted Wallis on mat board and foam core. I painted mat board with the primer, even directly on foam core, painted it on Arches Cover and canvas paper. I used the “elephant” colour and an off white one. I brushed it on with a bristle brush and a foam brush. What I found…
The Wallis mounted on the foam core seems to work very well. It is a white surface that I then primed with a pastel and alcohol wash. I did not like the primed Arches cover paper. The primed foam core worked fine and depending whether it was brushed or had the primer applied with a foam brush depended on what the texture was like and how it affected the painting. The primer applied on a mat board was great. The primer on the canvas paper was fun to work with and has a bit of a look like an oil painting because of the underlying canvas pattern.
I did not mix any primer from scratch; only used the Art Spectrum primer
which is one of the surfaces that I prefer for pastels. So I think what it all means is that there are numerous products and combinations of products that can give you a hard surface to paint on when working plein air Below are some examples of how the homemade hard surfaces look. I might add that the sizes of paper I put together were no larger than 12×16 inches.
The last post talked about the trip to Whidbey Island, WA for the Northwest Pastel Society annual Paint Out and included some of the photos I shot of the island. But the main reason for going was to actually paint out on location of choice!
I like to be surrounded by all my props usually. That way you are never without a color or particular paper, etc. In other words, there isn’t much excuse to not get a painting done. Well, then when plein air comes into play…it requires you hauling your supplies and equipment out in country, set up and paint. Whoa! I can’t possibly take all my “stuff. ‘ So I condense things, take my full size French easel, another bag of necessaries, like the extra pastels the art box won’t hold, paper, gloves, apron, board, etc. And a chair. Ok, with this load I am not going to venture too far from base. The easel is a torture…there is always something coming undone and flopping and dragging. So in this instance, if you are really lucky, maybe you can drive to the spot you want to paint and on Whidbey, you can do that at many sites. One site we painted was in a state park and there was a picnic table. Heaven! The light was great and I painted a trail leading into the forest 
Another day we found this beautifully landscaped rhodie garden which had many more varieties plants than just rhodies. All fairly easy spots to get to. So then I decided if I am going to paint plein air then I best quip myself with a manageable pack. So that is what I have done. I scrapped the French easel for a compact Daniel Smith 5# one that holds your pastel box when set up. It carries easily and then with one bag and fold up chair (optional, depending on where and how long I am going) I can at least get out of the parking lot!
So plein air takes some extra effort, but there is nothing like getting out there and painting without the aid of a photo. You need to take into consideration the ever-changing light, the elements, narrowing your field of view into something manageable and have the props you need with you. A well done plein air piece just stands out from the crowd!
Happy painting…
5 days of nothing but painting, photographing, enjoying fellow artists on one of the prettiest islands in the northwest. Whidbey is an island you can reach via ferry from Mukilteo (near Everett and Edmonds, WA) on the south end or via Hwy 20 from the mainland through Anacortes and over the Deception Pass Bridge.
The event was the annual Northwest Pastel Society Paint Out organized by a couple of NPS members who took on a big project of finding suggested painting spots, dining, demonstrations by artists and lodging at Fort Casey. Jan Wall and Karen Schroeder made the event what it was and by all testaments by attendees it was a success.
I coercer-ed my friend and fellow artist Lauri Borer into going and we had a great time exploring, painting, photographing and laughing.
It is a challenge to get out and do plein air work….the light changes quickly, there are bugs and nettles, there is wind and not all desired painting points are a “drive to.” One morning we headed out and after not finding something that we wanted to paint at the suggested spot, came upon this hidden rhodie farm and 10 acres of gardens hidden away. We hiked around the property which was beautiful and each settled on a spot to paint. Later a few other artists found this spot as well.
The rhodies were not blooming this time of year, but the other plants were providing the show.
We visited the sites at the state parks and the reserves of Ebey’s Landing, the farms, the light house at Fort Casey, the towns of Coupeville, Langley and Oak Harbor.
Deception Pass points of interest were there to be painted – and we trekked out there early one morning only to be met with chilly winds so we elected to drive to Anacortes and down to Mount Vernon and introduce Laurie to Dakota Art Pastels Store. After lugging around a full size French easel, I took the opportunity to buy a new easel for plein air work and that would lighten the load of packing by some 10 pounds, at least. Unfortunately, we did not stop back at Deception Pass because later we learned the weather moderated and painting was good. Lesson learned…maybe not go racing out the door too early in the morning – OR – wait a bit at the destination – the weather might change!
One other morning we woke to fog coming in from the west and it gently settled into one of the valleys near the Keystone Ferry…but not for long! 
It was great to spend time to get to know some fellow artists better and to watch their demos and learn how some make their own pastels, about an intense workshop for artists in NM, how they do an abstract composition and more.
It was a best of times with tons of photos and memories. Do a paint out sometime if the opportunity comes your way…tips…pack light, make sure you have bug spray, sun screen, attire for cool and hot conditions, condensed supplies, camera, water and a good buddy to share with! happy painting…
Another trip to Montana in mid July to just do some photography and paint “en plein air”…
My son and family came to WA for a wedding the first part of July and Chris’s schedule required him to return to MT afterhis week of vacation while his family stayed another. So he and I loaded his car with pastels, paper, hats, insect repellent, etc. – all things to occupy me in my quest to paint MT. We spent the first 3 days in Billings – where I used to live – visiting with friends in the evenings, but spending the days scouting the area for places to set up an easel and paint and take reference photos for future use. It was hot and dry til late afternoon when the thunder clouds rolled in, which meant you had best be under cover with the pastels all tucked away.
So I got a few paintings done. Southern Montana had more than it’s share of rain this spring and a lot of snow melt which caused some major flooding through several areas. One such spot showed the water still standing in some fields…the object of this painting…
I have been using some of the Pastelmat paper for paintings and liking how it takes the pigment and the colors of the paper. I chose a neutral color and sketched in the basic layout with a piece of charcoal. Beginning with some basic sky, I get that color on the paper, then working down to the distant landscape. There is some hint of rain showers in the distance, so I want to convey that in the painting. Less is more when painting such an impression…you don’t want a huge amount of pigment to fill the tooth of the paper. A note about this paper…it is quite “velvety” in feel, and it will hold a good amount of pigment, workable fix for texture…but you don’t want to use a heavy hand and fill the tooth up immediately! Once the distant landscape and sky details are completed I continue my painting, adding the tree line and while I am painting the background trees, I add some of that color into the lower part of the painting for reflections that will be established in the water.
And with water and reflections…again, keeping a minimal amount of pigment on paper adds to the “look” of the water. A gentle stroke with the side of a soft pastel stick gives the water a nice, soft look with some of the background peeking through the water’s surface.
The pastels…I used a mixture of Unison, Sennelier, Terry Ludwig and some Diane Townsend. Great darks in the Ludwigs…good texture with the Townsends…often for the shimmery last stroke for some special detail, Sennelier 463 and 179 for my base for trees to create depth…
As a note about this paper…I bought a pad of the paper for traveling and doing plein air painting in the field…1) because of the ease of transport and the size; 2) because it is inter-leafed with a protective sheet of Glassine or some other type of paper that aids in storage during travel. One thing I have found is this paper says it is 9×12 inches; it is a little shy of that…so that can cause a problem if one is trying to put that painting directly into a plein air frame without matting…I use a lot of the stock Plein Air frames sold by Jerry’s Artarama and have not had a problem with other pre-cut paper…so something to keep in mind when you go to frame the work when using this particular paper. I do love the feel of it, however and it does come in other larger sizes, which I love.
So enjoy some painting time out in the field…and try some of the great papers available now…I love the Pastelmat!
Happy painting…
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