A Hungry Watercolorist Enjoys La Conner

“Rainbow Bridge” 11 x 30 Inches

La Conner, Washington is located about 60 Miles north of Seattle on the Swinomish Channel. It is tucked away in the beautiful Skagit Valley famous for its yearly Tulip Festival that runs between April 1-30. (You can find more information about the Tulip Festival at: www.laconner.net )

The town is a great place for a hungry watercolor artist who can generally be found eating fish and chips at the Boardwalk Fish and Chips (conveniently located in the building next to Champagne Cove Gallery, on the North side of town). The said artist is often seen enjoying a hearty bowl of their fine clam chowder or Halibut ‘n Chips as he works diligently drafting elaborate painting ideas in his sketch book. However to the untrained eye it may appear that he is in fact spending his time hassling the wait staff trying to make them laugh while he doodles seagulls on napkins with a Sharpie™, I assure you he is actually working hard (that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!).

At other times one may see this watercolor artist wandering down to the Calico Cupboard (thanks to Jason for telling me about the Calico Cupboard) for one of their remarkable Snicker Doodles or stopping off at the La Conner Brewery for one of their award winning brews. If you find yourself heading to La Conner looking for a relaxing, fun time of enjoying galleries, shops and restaurants you’re heading for the right place.

Oh, and look for the bald eagles hanging out at the tops of trees on your way into town.

The Moon and Deception Pass

"The Moon and Deception Pass" 11 x 30 inches

The original for this piece is now available at Champagne Cove in La Conner, Washington. 360-466-0202

This is the last in my series of Deception Pass and La Conner paintings that I have painted over the winter. (No doubt I'll do other paintings inspired by the area at a later date, but for now I'm working on some other subjects)

A Series on La Conner, Washington

Here are a few of the originals that I recently delivered to Champagne Cove in La Conner, Washington. (I haven't quite figured out the best way to photograph framed work with glass to avoid glare).

Yaquina Head Lighthouse at Low Tide

"Exploring the Vast Sea Life Below an Oregon Lighthouse" 22 x 30 inch Painting in progess. Watercolor and pastel

There are a gazillion little and some rather large creatures that live near Yaquina head (near Newport, Oregon). My favorite time to be there is first thing in the morning, before anyone else is awake, during low tides.

The tide pools there are great - chalk full of all sorts of strange and interesting sea life. Sea lions vie for a good spot in the sun on the rock islands nearby. Inevitably there is always one sea lion pushing another off the rocks into the ocean. Plus there are three or four different types of birds nesting on the rocks and if one is lucky they will see a whale spouting in the distance.

Reflections of La Conner

"La Conner Evening Looking South"
22" x 30"

I've been working on a series of paintings for the La Conner, Deception Pass area. I've enjoyed the fact that there is a lot water at both locations as water is about my favorite thing to paint. . . well, other than seagulls I mean.

An Oldie: A Porsche, a Barn and a Goose

"Just Another Saturday Afternoon Cruising Around the Countryside" 22" x 30"

I painted this picture quite a while back, probably when I was in Junior High. I have no idea where I came up with the composition idea and why I decided to have a goose standing right in the road. I kinda like this picture though and wish I would have finished it, but by the looks of it I must have gotten stuck trying to figure out how to paint the goose's feet or the shadows or something. Either way this is still my favorite painting depicting a German sports car with wild fowl in a rural setting. =)

The Wind, The Sea and My Little Boat

"Sailing Towards Deception Pass" Watercolor

My experience sailing is quite limited at this point in my life. (I’ve mostly been power boating) So limited in fact that the one time I went “sailing” on the Lady Washington (a square rigger) there was so little wind that we merely floated down the Columbia River for a while until we finally powered back to port.

I suppose I was about 13 or 14 the only other time I’ve been “sailing” where my aunt and uncle dropped me off into Puget Sound on an inflatable sailboat and told me to learn how to sail. After determining that my rudder was the better part of useless and I was pure rubbish at tacking I decided to stick my sail (such as it was) into the wind and see how fast I could go. I had a swell time cruising with the wind out into the middle of the Sound for about the first half hour until I started to consider how I was supposed to get back to where my Aunt and Uncle were anchored. As I recall the return “voyage” was a tad harder and I ended up swimming while dragging my sailboat part of the way (meanwhile the sail was still up and catching lots of wind going the wrong direction). After pondering whether or not the current and wind would truly wash me out to sea I was able to make it back (with a little help from a rope that my uncle tossed out to me to drag me the final leg of the trip). Overall it was great fun!

2006 Christmas Card

Wow, December sure was a busy month! I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Years!

This is the watercolor I did for a Christmas Card (and had way too much fun doing). Special Thanks to Jason a photographer and all around classy guy from Seattle who let me use his pug Lucy to model for me in this painting.

You can see Jason's photo's on his Flickr account Here.

Deception Pass

I got a chance to go through Deception Pass in a boat last time I was up there just in time to see an amazing sunset. This is one of the paintings I did from that trip.

Old Art Class Work Vol. 1

I was going through old artwork today and found this old art class project from a while back. The teacher had just introduced a new medium to us: Gouache (which is basically opaque watercolor) and the assignment was to “paint something with gouache to get familiar with it.” The other students very diligently painted things like apples or their Starbucks cup that was sitting near by. I, on the other hand, apparently felt the need to paint something in the style of Film Noir, a scene from a drab apartment building where something very mysterious and sinister had just taken place. From the long shadow of the form coming through the doorway we can tell that the phantom villain will finally reveal himself as he walks through the door in this dark place we call . . . Chinatown. . . . . or so I was thinking as I happily painted away next to my classmate who was slurping her mocha and painting an apple.

Chinatown, by the way, is a classic Film Noir movie staring Jack Nicholson. I would highly recommend it.

Discussing the Meaning of Life on a Cannon Beach Roof Top

Seagulls gather on Cannon Beach roof tops to gossip about Oregon Coast politics and whether the recent storm caused the “10 year flood” or the “100 year flood”.

I painted this picture while giving painting demonstrations at Haystack Gallery during the Stormy Weather Arts Festival. It’s always enjoyable painting a “fun” picture in front of people because they then feel at liberty to offer ideas for what to put in a picture. If you’re painting a “serious” picture, people don’t tend to offer suggestions.

My thanks to the person that suggested adding Haystack Rock, the trademark giant monolith protruding out of the beach indicating that this picture is in fact of Cannon Beach. Also thanks to the youngster that pointed out where I should add a chimney that subsequently became a great item for a seagull to sit on. My apologies to the gentleman that suggested I add someone doing the “Saturday Night Fever” dance in the window of one of the houses. I couldn’t quite pull off a John Travolta impersonator through one of the little windows on this piece in such a way that one understood what kind of dance he was doing. Maybe next time. I do appreciate the gentleman’s willingness to pose the dance move for me, even though he only held the pose for 10 seconds. Next time someone suggests such a thing I’ll insist that I need them to hold the ridiculous dance pose for me for at least a half hour in the middle of the gallery in order for me to complete my piece of art. ;)

Stormy Weather in Oregon

This last weekend was the Stormy Weather Arts Festival in Cannon Beach, Oregon. Thanks to those of you that stopped by Haystack Gallery to say hi during the event.

True to the festival's name, it proved to be quite a stormy weekend complete with our signature Oregon "sideways falling" rain. The turbulent Pacific was quite entertaining to watch and no doubt would have been even more entertaining to watch through a window while one was eating clam chowder. There were lots of artists and festival-goers in town and overall it was a great weekend! =)

Pictured: Me participating in the Quick Draw event Friday night to kick off the festival.

Dogs and the Beach

Speaking of dogs chasing off seagulls. . .

"Chasing Away the Seagulls" 8" x 10" watercolor

Tyee Lodge from Agate Beach

This is a commissioned painting I just finished of Tyee Lodge Bed and Breakfast in Newport, Oregon. The bed and breakfast is right above Agate Beach, a popular Oregon surfing destination and even more popular dog walking beach. I've botched more attempted photos of seagulls on this beach than any other from happy dogs chasing the seagulls off before I could snap my picture. And of course these dogs always have great, ridiculously happy doggy grins on their face after chasing off a flock of seagulls. Between getting to watch the surfers, the dogs and birds interact and the often amazing sunsets complete with historic Yaquina Head Lighthouse perched to the north, this is a very enjoyable beach in Newport, Oregon.

Tyee Lodge Bed and Breakfast, Newport, Oregon

Who is she and what is her story? She drives a cherry-red ’57 Chevy that matches her dress and she stays at the Tyee Lodge Bed and Breakfast on the beautiful Oregon Coast, but why is she alone? As she looks longingly across Agate Beach towards Yaquina Head one wonders if maybe her true love is overseas fighting a war in a far off land? Could she have been recently engaged and is driving the Pacific Coast highway to visit her friend Mandy in Astoria to tell her the news in person? Or is her husband merely up in their room making them each a cup of coffee to enjoy as they set out for a morning walk on the beach?

More importantly, however, who is the neighbor with the green Volkswagen van and is that truly a ’78? Does he have the Westfalia camping kit option complete with a stove and fridge? Has he invested in a high quality stereo that produces truer sound than the original speakers that beautifully covers the noisy VW engine sound?

Top: Detail of "A Yet Unnamed Painting of Tyee Lodge Bed and Breakfast" 22" x 30" Watercolor

Below: "A Yet Unnamed Painting of Tyee Lodge Bed and Breakfast"

Seagulls

"Seagulls in Repose" 7" x 10 3/4" Watercolor

Seagulls are characters. Living near a major river and not far from the ocean, seagulls are commonly seen creatures in my world. Despite the fact that they eat trash, they give every impression of being very intelligent and always appear to be “up to something.”

In this scene we find our feisty, feathered friends hanging out in what appears to be an urban setting not too far from the coast. Here they act as though every bit of human handiwork was contrived solely for their benefit. It is anyone’s guess in what employment of mischief and mayhem these seagulls plan for the remainder of this otherwise peaceful late afternoon.

Basset hounds in fine art

"Wally"

Flowers and sunlight

"Roses Along Amelia's Fence " 11" x 30" Watercolor. (Which is also titled "Hey Look I Painted Flowers!")

Its been a long time since I painted flowers. I've painted a few pictures with flowers in them, but haven't just painted flowers for a long time. My guess is the last time I painted or drew such a subject was in high school when no doubt the motivation was to win the heart of a fair young female that I fancied. At any rate I was yet again experimenting for the Quick Draw™ and decided to give roses a shot.

Yesterday's Quick Draw

"Volkswagon Impressionism in Deep Red" 22" x 22" Watercolor on paper.

Produced with the influence of French Impressionism as applied to Volkswagon busses, the distinct toaster-shape of the volkswagons are hinted at by areas of pure color freely mixing together on wet paper accompanied by strong brush strokes allowing your eyes to render the impression of Volkswagons.

Ok, ok, so maybe I just made that last part up and was merely having fun painting one of my favorite subjects with a 2 inch brush while doing a one hour painting practice for the upcoming "quick draw " event I'm taking part in. Either way, I'm still going to consider that "high Art". =)

Paintings in Progress

This is a watercolor that I'm currently working on. I started it on location in La Conner, Washington and am hoping to finish it shortly.
















It's amazing how very little one can paint in an hour. I'm getting ready for the "Quick Draw" at Cannon Beach next month during the Stormy Weather Arts Festival™. At the Quick Draw we artists have one hour to produce a finished piece of art (in front of a couple hundred people).

The picture above is today's experiment with what exactly I can paint in one hour. Naturally I had planned to paint in more trees, a pathway, a small cottage in the background, a kid and his dog walking down the path and a staircase going down to the ocean below, but I ran out of time after partially painting a couple trees.

It would, of course, save time during the quick draw if I were to sketch a subject on my paper ahead of time, but there's no challenge in that! It's fun to go to the Quick Draw™ to watch artists pull out the biggest piece of blank paper or canvas they can find and produce a masterpiece in an hour, all the while making it look easy. Luckily for me I've already got the "make it look easy" part down. You just have to swing the brush around like you mean it and try not to say the words "whoops" or "shoot!" very often and people will say "Wow, he's making it look easy". So now all I have to learn is how to paint a masterpiece on the biggest piece of blank paper I can find in an hour in front of a couple hundred people by next month. Easy!

The Stormy Weather Arts Festival is in Cannon Beach, Oregon November 3, 4 &5. (The Quick Draw is the 3rd and you have to get tickets ahead of time) For more information go here.