Springing into Action

This past weekend I was invited to demo at Primary Elements Gallery in Cannon Beach. The town was bustling with visitors to Spring Unveiling, a weekend long event that kicked off Friday evening. I found myself painting, talking, talking and painting to an array of collectors, and fellow artists of all ages. The painting I did was of a place I have painted many times before. But as onlookers could see, the serendipity aspect of using watercolor underpaintings opens up a world of possibilities to respond with my sticks of pastel.

Day Glow, 9 x 12, psstel, ©Marianne Post

Saturday morning I found myself back in front of my easel and painted another quick piece. This time I used a couple of photos to create a composition, Coastal Wildlife.

Coastal Wildlife, 9 x12 pastel, Marianne Post

Spring Unveiling

Coastal Dancers 11x14, pastel © Marianne Post

This weekend in Cannon Beach spring is scheduled to be unveiled.  The 11th annual Spring Unveiling Art Festival will kick off Friday evening. I will be at Primary Elements Gallery in the heart of town beginning at 5pm to do a pastel/watercolor underpainting demo. If you find yourself on the north coast of Oregon be sure to stop in. Members of the Cannon Beach Gallery Group will spotlight new work by chosen artists. Unveilings and receptions take place all weekend long. Check out the complete schedule of events.

From Sketch to the Studio

In keeping with my daily sketch challenge I ventured out (the sun was shining) and found a grove of trees that danced amongst the sunlight and shadows. So I settled in and spent about 30 minutes capturing the play of light and shadow. I haven’t posted a “work in progress” (wip) painting in awhile so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to show how I approach a painting.

This is the 30 minute on location sketch.

Back in my studio I did a drawing on 12 x 16″ mounted Wallis sanded paper. I usually don’t do such a detailed sketch but I just got caught up in the moment and went with the flow. Since I had so much graphite on the surface I sprayed it with Perlafix fixative. I also hoped with the use of the fixative that some of the drawing would survive the next step, the watercolor underpainting.

Watercolor underpainting.

And after about fours hours into the painting with soft pastels this is where I left off. Obviously still lots to resolve but I like the direction this is going.

Sensitivity in Seeing

This week as part of a challenge to draw as much as possible, I have picked up some of  my favorite drawing books and revisited techniques that I seemed to have shelved over time. In Bert Dodson’s Keys to Drawing he starts out with what I remember as being a challenging exercise, but also one of the most fun. Contour drawing was something that I once thought I had sporadic success. One day everything I would attempt to draw without looking at the paper and only the subject would end up being a jumble of lines. And then on another day the end result would astonish me. I am not sure if on those latter occasions I was just in the zone or if my right brain decided to kick into gear.

But then I realized the end result was not the goal. The point of contour drawing is to draw what you see not what you know. We all have preconceived ideas or mental images of what something should look like. Contour drawing forces us to really see what we are looking at. The bottom line is that it doesn’t really matter what the end result looks like, its the process and the development of visual awareness along with hand and eye coordination that are the names of this game.

Following the contours of the subject and at the same speed I draw the line seems to frustrate me. I do remember a very helpful hint that artist, and author Robert Dvorak shared with me. He suggested that one should visualize their pencil/pen tracing over the edge of the subject. Most of time that seems to work. He suggested stopping at some interval to take a look at the paper. This gives you a chance to regroup if necessary. But he also adamantly said that when you look at the paper the pencil must stop. Never draw while looking at the paper, because if you do at that point you are drawing what you think it looks like and not what it does look like. One of Roberts books, Experiential Drawing is a fun creative reference for transcending the “rules” of drawing into a creative enperience.

Contour drawing requires observation and sensitivity to form. We develop the skills to see the whole and details at the same time. Have some fun, start your day with a contour drawing. I even tried some using my non-dominate lefthand.

Does anyone have a favorite drawing book they would like to share with us?

Old Habits Never Die

…perhaps they just get buried under the pressures of everyday life. There was a time not very long ago that I drew or sketched just about every day. I can prove it with the cartons of filled sketchbooks I moved this year fron California to Oregon. And then there is the carton of spanking new sketchbooks that I have collected over time, knowing full well they would certainly be put to good use.

Corvallis Arts Center

The Ballerina

So what happened? The last time I purposely sketched was months ago. And while I have always resisted the whole idea of new year resolutions, this time ’round I have this itchy feeling to sketch the year away. So on January 1st I hit the streets of Corvallis to sketch my new hometown. I headed to the center of town to sketch the Court House, but decided that the charming Arts Center building in Central Park was a fitting subject to start a new sketchbook. On January 2nd The Ballerina in the park caught my eye.

It just so happens that artist, Karen Margulis whom I met this fall while plein air painting in Hope Valley, CA started a daily sketching blog. So I thought I would join in her challenge to draw every day. This year expect to see quite a few “sketch” posts here. Why not join us?

Fish “Tails”, Art and Wine

Over Labor Day weekend Benton County, OR with the participation of rural farms, vineyards and artists came together to host the 2nd Annual “Bounty of Benton County” event. Being newbees to the area, and hitting all the local attractions, this one sounded too good to miss. For a fee which benefitted the education of rural family children we received a passport to over 20 venues of food, wine, and art.

Our first stop was the Alsea Fish Hatchery. Over 2oo,000 rainbow trout are raised here annually to stock the coastal lakes of Oregon. Besides the educational interest we each made a fish print tee shirt courtesy with help from volunteers! After spending about 45 minutes there (remember my husband is a fly fisherman), we moved on to the Alsea Anagama Studio. This is one of two wood fired pottery kilns in Oregon.

Ceramatists, Jay Widmer and Deb Sether hosted an informative video and tour of the studio complete with wine tastings, fresh berries off the properties vines and homemade cookies. Deb explained that the kiln is “fired” up twice a year with about 300 bisque pieces carefully placed for optimal firing. Organic materials are placed on and around the pieces to create interesting impressions in the glazes of the pottery. The biannual event takes place over the course of three days with ceramists continually stoking the fire.

After narrowing our selection of items we wanted to purchase we came home with a fascinating piece. Gleefully we drove on to our next stop: John Boys Mercantile in Alsea. Going back in time, we entered the quiessential old time general store. Shelves were lined with just about every thing you could imagine from hammers to nuts, locally raised lamb and produce, and of course, Oregon wine!

We tasted a pinot and chardonnay from Pheasant Court Winery. As it turns out they are about 1/4 mile from our soon to be new home and studio. Small world strikes again.

The afternoon was starting to get the best of us, as the event ended on Sunday at 5pm. So we scurried into the town of Wren and visited Lumos Winery. “Bounty” passport holders were treated to six tastings, live music, fresh cheeses from local artisan producers. The ambience was enhanced by the incredible views of Kings Valley and lavender growing amongst the vines. We also learned that the winery was once the location of the popular  ”H Bar H Dude Ranch” of the ’40s.

Next stop was Harris Bridge Vineyards. Do you notice there’s a pattern developing here? Treated to tastings of ice wine we meandered amongst the grounds to see the works of artists from Blodgett and Summit Oregon and visit will film makers doing a documentary on Oregon wineries.

By the time we got closer to town and still much more to see and visit the clock struck 5pm and regrettably the event venues were closing. So much to see so little time. We just skimmed the surface of the event, learned a lot, tasted some great wines and found some great artists and artisans along the way.

The Science of Art

Its been a while since I have written a post. Finally after moving to Oregon, settling in, organizing my temporary studio I feel like I am back on track. I won’t bore you with the details of our move nor the squeeze it’s been to fit my 900 sq ft studio space into a 10 x 10 room. You can do the math. “Squeeze” is a pretty generous term when it comes to sorting supplies, paintings, frames and still finding room to paint.

But the move went exceptionally well and we feel like we are becoming Oregonians. One of the reasons we moved to Corvallis was its friendly atmosphere, the art community and the miles of cycling paths for my hubby to explore. And then there is the scenic beauty right out our back door: the Cascades, the Coastal Mountains, and the coast which is within easy driving distance.

A popular event here is da Vinci Days. This community festival is where art and science share the limelight. This past weekend locals and visitors got to see wacky kinetic contraptions race cross country over roads, sand dunes, through mud bogs and across the river. Stages were filled with artistic presentations of scientific facts that even a non-science minded person like myself found interesting and entertaining. Music came from every corner of the event. Dancers and aerialists scaled ribbon-like trapezes defying gravity to the awe of the crowds. Sidewalk artists captured attendees on paper, young chalk artists painted the sidewalks, and engineering students displayed solar powered go mobiles that look more like sleek sculptures than transportation devices.

One of the fascinating exhibits was the demonstration booth of a “Camera Obscura.” Leonardo Da Vinci described this phenomenon in his notebooks. At the festival we entered a darkened room and saw projected on a white surface the events that were happening in real time just outside. Absolutely amazing. According to the exhibitor, the camera obscura took off in two directions. One led to the development of photography, while artists like Vermeer, Canaletto, Guardi used the concept to improve their perspective drawing. We spent a good part of the day trying our hand at geocaching with a gps unit on loan from another exhibitors booth. The good news is we didn’t get lost!

Tools of the Trade

Escrow has closed and what I have called home and my studio for 27 years now belongs to someone else. The move is on. We have two months to vacate and I am not sure whether that is a blessing or a curse. Purging closets and shelves, selling furniture, sorting, organizing, cleaning and packing fill the agenda. And as soon as something gets boxed and labeled, I realize that I will have at least two months if not a year before I will see this stuff again. We are moving into a rental while our new home is under construction.

So I have finally decided that this will be my last post for the next couple of months. My energy has been redirected from my everyday normal life as an artist to a relocation specialist. To all of you who have followed my story up ’til now thanks for coming along for the ride. When the dust settles, and life resumes in the Pacific Northwest I’ll be back. Right now, with packing tape dispenser in hand I’m off to fill more boxes.

Imagine Paris Without a Suitcase

If you could beam me up, I would go anywhere. But the thought of packing and living out of a suitcase is not on my top 10 things I want to do before I die list. Sketchers and artists now have the opportunity to experience far away places in the comfort of their own studios. Check out Laure Ferlita’s virtual travel experiences and sketch your way around the world. A fun idea!

An Artist with a Suitcase

Writer, traveller, creative coach, Cynthia Morris recently started a new blog, Original Impulse, dedicated to life as a creative adventure. Having just come back from what was primarily a business trip, I was reminded by Cynthia’s latest post that to travel as an artist brings its own unique experience to a trip. Having been a designer/illustrator/artist for most of my professional life inspiration is to be found everywhere we go. Being aware of textures, patterns, the play of light, the clothes people wear, the way food is presented on a plate are all fodder for creative expression and inspiration. Take a look at Cynthia’s blog to awaken the creative experience in your next trip.

And for bloggers she has a free download, What to Write, a guide to generating ideas for topics so you are never for a loss of words. Check it out.