Winter landscape - river shoreline, pastel

Winding down the "winter landscape" series with another river scene (and a plein air)...

Winter Shoreline
12x16 inches - pastel on Strathmore
© 2012, S.Johnson

I had the realization a few days ago that I'm pretty much done with winter now, both the season and probably most of the paintings.  As enjoyable and successful as I think they've been, it's now time for me to move on to something new.

I checked my blog archives, and it was just around this time that I wrapped up my winter painting series last year - for the same reason.

Earlier this week, I also confirmed my suspicions that I'm probably not ever going to be a winter plein air painter:  the PAP4C, of which I am now officially a member, met on Wednesday to paint the Animas around town.  I was actually excited to get outside and try to get some painting done.  Temps in the mid-40's, with no wind.

The paint-outs usually start at 9AM, but it was in the low 20's then, so I waited until 11:00 to head out.  Things were fine at first - I selected a location just north of the library, which is where we met for the critique.   I was less than an hour into the painting when a slight breeze kicked up and some high thin clouds crossed the sun.  I have some thin gloves for painting during colder days, which I've used when the temps were in the mid-50's or so, and they were fine.  However, it didn't take long for the fingers of my right hand to get cold and start going numb; they are the weak link in my ability to be outdoors in low temperatures, particularly if I'm not moving.

At that point, I knew the session was over, as I couldn't concentrate any longer;  it felt like my right brain just turned off.  At the critique session, all whopping 6 of us who showed up were all complaining about the cold.

Anyway, in the spirit of "pictures, or it didn't happen", here's the painting as far as it got, after an hour of painting.  There is a flock of mallards that reside in the area, and if this doesn't end up in the trash, I may play around with adding some in there, just for kicks, because the composition is sort of boring:

Plein air interruptus
12x16 - black construction paper

Winter landscape - side creek, pastel

This afternoon's painting, switching to a portrait format, of a small creek, water reflections and shadows...

Along Lightner Creek
16x12 inches - pastel on Strathmore Artagain
© S.Johnson

Lightner Creek is a small drainage that enters the Animas River right near the Hwy 160 bridge passing through town.   This is near a small footbridge that leads to the local dog park in town, and the photo was shot the day after our winter storm 2 weeks ago.

These small streams that have the meandering edges against the snow - I just love them.   Aside from the interesting abstract shape of the stream itself, I liked the balance provided by the horizontal shadows and the vertical winter trees.

This painting came together so effortlessly it was almost eerie, and it was just plain fun to paint.   I realized that it's actually been a while since I've worked on the Artagain - probably almost 2 months - and it does handle better than both the cardstock and the el-cheapo construction paper (and much better than the Somerset Black Velvet!).

I've been busy-busy framing paintings for a guest artist exhibit I was invited to for the month of February.  I'll post more about that later, but I did this painting specifically to go in a silver plein air frame I have, to be on display downstairs when people walk into the building.  I'm hoping it will entice people to make a trip up the stairs to the gallery to see the rest of the paintings (and photos by the gallery owners)!

Winter landscape - an urban nocturne, pastel

And now for something really different:  a bunch of man-made things, after dark...

Snowfall After Sunset
14x11 inches, pastel on black construction paper
© S.Johnson

So, the other night, as I was working on my last post, I looked out of my window, and saw this.  It was just after sunset, and it was still snowing.  The streetlight was casting the most amazing light on the freshly fallen snow and the still-falling snow was catching the light of the street lamp in an almost dreamy glow.

For whatever reason, I found it amazing, and got out my camera to get some quick reference photos.  I've always liked the house across the street (it's two, actually) with its very cool design and double pointed roofs.

Okay, you can tell I don't paint buildings that often, and I usually find telephone poles and lines to be a bit of a visual blight on the landscape.  But, this was different.

I made a few adjustments to the composition, but the fire hydrant, well, it had to stay.  Not sure why, but it needs to be there.  What you won't see, OTOH, are any hidden initials on the house or little curly wisps of smoke coming from the chimneys, although you can tell the neighbor peeps are probably home.  If you have no idea what I'm talking about, it's probably just as well.

And, for giggles and grins, here's the reference photo I used.  Not to showcase how much my house is off from the photo, or how I botched the perspective of the road, but to show that yes, even a really horrible photo (I call these "crapshots") can be used for a painting, so don't be quick to toss out the blurry ones if they otherwise contain information you can use:

Winter landscape - aspen tree shadows, pastel - SOLD

Departing from the grass and river theme for this piece to bring you a painting featuring my favorite tree...

Aspen Shadows - SOLD
12x12 - pastel on black cardstock
© S.Johnson

Shot from the passenger window during our snowshoeing trip to Haviland Lake on Thursday, I knew instantly had I had paint it:  awesomely cool shadows and it also leans towards abstraction.

I think this might be fun to try in oils, if I can manage to pry the pastels from my hands long enough, that is.

Anyway, it was a fun challenge.

Winter landscape - river boulders, pastel

A pile of rocks, dead grasses, shadows, and some ice...

Boulders and Shadows
12x12 - pastel on black cardstock
© S.Johnson

Taken a few days before we had our recent snow, this is a small inlet off the main river that, facing north, managed to hang on to a surprising amount of snow.

That serpentine shadow running across the ice and disappearing into the shadowed area?  Wayne didn't much care for it, but it is from an unseen tree, and it fascinated me, so I kept it.  This was a good painting to work with lost and found edges - something I find myself enjoying when I look at paintings.

And, there's black in this painting.  Many artists/instructors will say that one should avoid values 8-10 (with 0 = pure white and 10= pure black), but as with all things, there are exceptions.  Shadows within shadowed areas are black.  Judicious use of black also helps define the relative values of the rocks and gives them proper depth.

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Here are a few photos from some of my recent "duck hunts" down by the river.  I always say that if you're having a crummy day, just go watch some ducks.  You'll feel better.

Mallard pair
He has just finished a "yoga stretch" with his right foot.  How on earth they can handle standing and sleeping in water that is just a few degrees above freezing is beyond me, but they clearly enjoy cold winters.

Common Goldeneyes taking flight
These are very striking birds, but extremely wary; any approach towards the edge of the river and they take off

Balancing act
Okay, not a duck, but this Canada goose and its mate were both one-legging it on some exposed rocks close to shore

Squadron of Common Goldeneye - two males and several ladies
Taken from well above the river, this is the best in-water photo I could get of them.

Winter landscape - snow-lined creek - pastel

Returning to the high country winter-themed paintings...

Winter's Reflections
12x12 inches - pastel on black cardstock
© 2012, S.Johnson

Today's painting is based on a photo taken on my Xmas day snowshoeing trip.  The loop trail I was on crosses this small wooden footbridge and creek that drains from Haviland Lake.  I saw this small section off the trail a bit, with its reflections and other fun details, and plowed through 18" of powdery snow to procure the photo.

I was really drawn to the abstract shape the creek forms.  A few grasses here and there, some trees and the smooth, undulating lines of the snow covering the land - all very cool.  I also like the exposed rocks at the edge of the creek with their little "snow biscuits", as I call them.  I had to adjust them so they didn't look like Sno Balls© , which is not a good look for any self-respecting winter landscape.

Aside from the fact that some of the "white" pastels (which I think are Senns...very soft) had issues adhering to the paper, this painting came together quickly.   Those are fun times in the studio.

Speaking of snowshoeing - here are a few photos taken from our Dec 30 trip to Spud Lake.  Fellow pastelist and PAP4C member Jan and her husband are avid snowshoers and she told me about this trail which is sort of hidden:

Along the trail

Winter grass still life

Aspen leaf with snowmelt drops

Aspen hillside

Pano shot of Spud Lake and the West Needles

Winter landscape - Starting the new year off

First off, a Happy New Year to everyone!  I am a little slow out of the blocks, painting-wise, for 2012, but hopefully, this painting will break my low output for the past month.

I'm not generally prone to making resolutions for the new year, as that sounds a bit too formative and absolute.  So, I tend to think more of goals I'd like to try and achieve throughout the year, based on the direction(s) I'd like to see my art go, and areas that I feel could stand improvement (well, that would be everything, actually).  I have some ideas orbiting around in my head, and one of my goals is to actually make those a reality instead of a mere idea.  We'll see.

In the meantime, here is today's painting.   Another one of those "ordinary" scenes, with snow, blue shadows and yep - dead grasses.  Bonus:  getting to paint ice on the stream.

Shoreline Shadows
12x12 - pastel on black cardstock
© 2012, S.Johnson

I have more of these winter river scenes planned from photos taken last week, and they are dying to get out of my head and onto some paper.

However, due to the amazing weather we've been having lately, a trip is planned tomorrow...and I am hoping a plein air painting will be forthcoming.

Winter landscape - A still life, of sorts

Intersection
11x14 inches
pastel on acid-free construction paper

I'm not sure precisely all the reasons I'm drawn to such ordinary scenes like this one, but I am.  This is also the type of thing that I would love to have painted on location, but given that this was in about 15" of snow and at least 1/2 mile down the road to Haviland Lake, which was closed to vehicle traffic, that wasn't happening.  Perhaps one of these days, I'll snowshoe in to paint on location, but not for this.

The reference photo for this was taken on Christmas day, while I was out snowshoeing.  It was a bright, sunny day with no wind.  Just perfect.  The low angle of the sun at this time of the year and mid-afternoon light of winter produces the most amazing shadows.

Here are a few other photos from the day, which was a loop including roads and a trail:

Beautiful crystals of ice form on a small creek along the trail

Creek reflections

Cattails along the edge of Haviland Lake

Sweeping tree shadows across the frozen lake

This Red Squirrel [Tamiasciurus hudsonicus] was extremely put out by my presence.    He is giving me the stink eye from high up in a Ponderosa pine 25 feet away - hilarious!

Winter landscape - An urban landscape, deconstructed

December Morning 
12x12 inches - pastel on acid-free construction paper
© 2011, S.Johnson

Something quite different for me - a landscape with not one, but multiple elements of human presence...including some humans!

Based on a photo taken the same day and not far from the same location as the painting from the last post, this one of three gals walking along the Animas River Trail (ART).  Even as I took this quick snapshot, I knew immediately that: 1) I had to paint it; 2) it would crop perfectly to a square format.

When analyzing the photo for any compositional changes I wanted to make, I actually decided I liked just about everything (save for an off-leash dog...definitely out!), and that they were all important to the design and meaning of the painting.  It got me thinking about the importance of not blindly following a photographic reference, and asking oneself:  "is adding or keeping this element really necessary, and does it improve the painting?"

- the trail:  this multi-use paved urban trail is one of the many things that makes Durango special.  It is the source of great enjoyment and recreational value for its residents.  The path itself is the lead-in to the painting, and the non-linear curves keep the viewer from racing through.

- the figures:  the focal point.  They also symbolize the importance and popularity of this trail to its residents by their presence.  Odd number = better compositionally.   I was mindful to keep the intervals between them varied.  They were also by far the most challenging thing to paint!

- the lamppost:  adjacent to the figures, it balances them, and adds another vertical element to the painting.  Its presence symbolizes safety and comfort.

- the evergreen trees:  breaks up the purple-red-grays of the winter trees surrounding it, and helps to keep the viewer from leaving the painting by stopping the pathway, and hopefully, helps guide the viewer's eyes up to the...

- snow-covered rooftops of the neighborhood houses:  add a broken horizontal element to the painting and tie in with the snow on the sides of the path.

- the chamisa:  even with its faded flowers, this shrub is attractive.  It helps break up the rust-colored grasses and it sweeps in towards the painting.

Try covering up each of the elements with your thumb and see if you think the painting would work as well without it/them.  I don't personally feel it does, but others might feel differently.  Either way, I think it's a useful thing to apply to your own reference photos, and even during the painting process.   I actually do the same thing when I'm painting on location.

My goal and challenge with this painting was to make it look as though there is not much detail...but, yet, it required being detailed in some areas.  Does that make any sense?  Little dashes of color here and there to suggest shapes and planes.  Thin dark lines to suggest underlying tree structure.

I don't analyze my all of my paintings or references so carefully, but I thought sharing my thoughts behind this one might be of some interest to other artists; it's also the sort of thing I really enjoy reading on other art blogs.

Winter landscape - A new studio piece...finally!

First Season's Snow
14x18 inches - pastel on Somerset Black Velvet paper with Golden pumice ground
© 2011, S.Johnson

After what seems like an eternity, I'm back.  I've actually not been gone per se - just out of touch with much of everything, for lack of a better explanation.  Actually, my attentions and creative energy have just been diverted to things not art, and probably of no interest to most readers.  So, I didn't bother to share them here.

This piece was done from a photo taken 11 days ago and actually started on the same day.  It's not even that I struggled with it, because I didn't; I actually had it almost half finished after the first session, and had fully expected to finish it the next day...but, that just didn't happen.

December is always a weird month for me, and my least favorite.  While most people are enjoying the build-up to the holidays and such, I have an overwhelming desire to head off to a remote backcountry cabin, armed with nothing but art supplies, food and books, and emerge again on Jan 2.  Then, life finally returns to normal and the days are getting longer.

But, the upside of Dec is that it usually provides the first decent snow of the season, both in town and up in the mountains, which begins snowshoeing season.

For me, a day out snowshoeing is the antidote to the noisy, frenetic and spend-spend-spend mentality of the Dec holiday season, which bothers my sensibilities on various levels.  The absolute stillness of the land covered in snow calms the mind and allows one to truly live in the moment.

The landscape takes on a Zen-like quality of simplicity...

 Things ordinary become extraordinary...

Water, transformed, for a moment in time...

Sometimes, the snow offers a most curious transformation...

And views otherwise never seen are seen...

Two "speed paintings"

Lone Tree

9x12 - pastel on Strathmore Artagain paper

February Thaw

9x12 - pastel on Strathmore Artagain

I had planned on these happening yesterday, but those plans went awry when I had the lid of a metal dumpster fall from full height onto my right hand, smashing it .  After about 10 minutes of excruciating pain, immediate swelling and panicked thoughts of "will I ever be able to paint again?", heading to the urgent care center seemed like a prudent thing to do.  Fortunately, x-rays showed nothing was broken, but I left in a splint that killed any idea of painting.  And, it drove me nuts.

Feeling anxious and stir-crazy this morning, I took the splint off so I could at least type.  And despite the fact my 3rd and 4th fingers look like green and purple sausages, I discovered that I could hold pastels!  I cannot explain what a relief this was.

Anyway, these paintings are a sort of spin-off from the "Ten Minute Challenge", and are also part of the "Impressions of Winter" series.  They are based on photos we took on Wed around Florida (pronounced "floor-EE-ta") Mesa, an area of ranches and farms south of Durango.   The concept was the same:  paint quickly, focusing on masses and abstract shapes rather than details.  For these 9x12", I set the timer for 30 min. each, which is 1/3 of the time it took for the total time in the pear composite painting.   I sort of count them as good warm-ups for plein air work later this year.

They aren't going to win any awards, but believe me, I am pleased anyway!  That I could even paint a day after a pretty major crushing injury to my dominant hand, and that I finished them both within the 30 minute limit = success.  

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Wednesday's beautiful sunset, taken 3 minutes apart:

3-part pano 

2-part pano 

An Imperial Day

An Imperial Day

8x10 - pastel on sanded paper

Another pastel break...this time to take part in the Daily Paintworks Challenge, hosted by Carol Marine.  This is the debut challenge, and sure to be hugely popular (there are close to 80 entries now!).   I have a thing for old vintage cars, both impeccably maintained beauties like this as well as those that have seen better days.  When I was in Bisbee last winter, I was lucky to have my camera along when I saw this beautiful '57 Chevy parked on a vacant street.  

It's the beautiful shine, chrome and extra details like that fancy taillight that make these cars so special.  This was a good challenge in many ways - I've never drawn or painted a car before, and I found it an absolute delight - even doing some of that insane detail which I usually try to avoid.  I'll definitely do more...

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Some photos from our Little Molas snowshoeing trip yesterday:

 A herd of elk, appearing to be mostly calves, cows and maybe yearling bulls, grazes along a field near the Animas river just north of Durango.  The only time you'll ever see elk in daylight or near town is in winter as they come down in search of food.

As luck would have it, they were close to the highway and I had the telephoto lens on the camera, so they can be seen pretty clearly!

Grenadier Range panorama

Hwy 550 is seen, and the four visible peaks are White Dome, Peak 2, Peak 3 and Arrow Peak

This is a 5-part pano with vertical orientation of images.

Extreme iridescence of cloud.

The colors here resemble nacreous, or "mother-of-pearl" clouds.  However, according to my reference, nacreous clouds are only seen during twilight hours.  It was very windy and the sky was filled with lenticular clouds - of which nacreous are a type.  What makes nacreous different than other clouds is that they are found in the stratosphere - about 2x as high as even cirrus.

Snowdon Peak panorama

View is to the south.  This is a 4-part pano with horizontal orientation of images.  DoubleTake panoramic software program used for both

Shadow Crossing - winter landscape

original oil landscape painting - snow - winter landscape - 9x12

Next in the Impressions of Winter series is this painting, which is based on a series of photos taken last year when I was on my way up to Flagstaff to visit friends during my AZ winter stay.    In a recent post, I included a link to the pastel "Winter Stream" I did last year, also based on the same area.

This is what I'd describe as an "intimate" landscape, one that focuses on a discreet element of the land.  I was drawn to the organic shape of this small section of open stream, its reflections, and the colors, curves and shapes cast from an unseen ponderosa pine across the untouched banks of snow.  A nearby tree line marks the end of this mountain meadow that this stream traverses.  

Shadow Crossing 

9x12 - oil on board

I had it mostly finished last night, save for the top section of trees, which I finished this morning.  This was another one of those paintings where I wasn't sure it was going to work, but after pushing the paint around and continued finessing of various areas, it came together, and I can honestly say I'm quite pleased with it, especially since it's the first time I've done water reflections in oils.  

On a completely unrelated note, I wanted to take a minute and give a huge THANK YOU to those of you (and you know who you are ;) ) who have been so kind to link my blog on yours.  Seriously, it means a lot to me.  I wouldn't have known about half the wonderful art blogs I follow had it not been for links other bloggers have, which is one reason I enjoy having links to your work and others on my blog.  Thanks again - you all are the best!

Final Light [of the decade]

The latest, and maybe the last, of the Impressions of Winter paintings based on northern New Mexico references.  I may revisit them at some point, but now I'm going to move on to some different locales for winter paintings.

This painting depicts the late afternoon sun shortly before it dips below the horizon, but also as it is partially obscured by a distal winter cloud.  The trick, or challenge, was to try and capture that in the painting without it appearing contrived.  The cloud's edges act like an aperture of sorts, causing some of the sun's rays to form a radiating pattern of light.  It's an effect I quite like in photos when it is expertly done, and I've seen many painters pull it off as well.

So, I thought I'd give it a shot.  This is also the first time I've done anything approaching a sunset in oils.  This really didn't photograph as well as I'd hoped - it looks better in person.  As I look at it now, the small dark scattered clouds in the upper left are bugging me...enough that I'll probably re-do that area when the painting is dry.

It's titled as such, with the portion in brackets, because this was indeed the last sunset of the first decade of the new millennium:  Dec 31, 2010 - 6:20:13 PM, according to the EXIF data on the reference photo.

Final Light

9x12 - oil on board

Winter's Light on the Mesa

Next in the Impressions of Winter series is this painting, depicting more juxtaposition of light and shadow on the land via the nearby hill and distal mesa.

Winter's Light upon the Mesa

9x12 - oil on board

Plenty of challenges in this painting, including trying to suggest groups of pinyon/juniper on the distal sun-covered slopes.  Not easy, especially working wet-in-wet.  And using very slight value shifts to give convincing depth to the foreground.  I'm not sure if it reads well to viewers, actually, or is just plain bizarre.  It was still enjoyable to paint, despite the frustrations of those distal greens...

Encroaching Shadows

Back to oils for a bit.  This piece was started before the pastels, but I decided to split it into two sessions, which turned out to be a Good Idea - I was able to fix several things that were bothering me in the first session.

More sandstone, shadows and snow.  And those glorious clouds!  In my computer room/office, the view faces east, and there is a large rocky hillside slope about 200 meters away.  It is currently covered with snow, and in the late afternoon, I watch as the shadows lengthen behind the pinyon and juniper and the full shadows gradually creep up, replacing the pale pinks, yellows and lavenders with cooler, darker blues.  This is of course what caught my eye and prompted this photo along the drive.

Encroaching Shadows

9x12 - oil on board

For this piece (and the next one coming up), I decided to pull out another of my seldom-used colors from my equine art days:  Indian yellow.  It is a very dark, intense transparent pigment that tints with white to a brilliant earthy yellow - just perfect for the yellows of these sunlit sandstone cliffs.  It's probably a more practical color for southwestern landscapes than the cadmium yellow light I had used in the past as my primary yellow.  It's also in the clouds and the juniper scrub.  Indian red, yellow ochre, purple lake, pthalo and ultramarine blue round out the palette here, along with white.   The biggest challenge here was to try and define the changing planes of the slope via subtle color shifts and brush strokes.  The shrubs help as well.

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And, here are some photos from this morning's sunrise  moonset, taken just after I got out of bed.  Another 10 minutes, and I'd have missed it.  Isn't she a beauty?

Approaching the horizon

70mm - shot with 18-70mm f/4.5 Nikkor zoom lens

Full moon morning glow

200mm - shot with 55-200mm f/5.6 Nikkor tele zoom

Full moon going...

...almost gone

Roadside Decor - pastel - SOLD

Finished just under the wire with this painting, in terms of being able to get a photo of it for today's blog post [I take all my photos outside under shaded natural light - I hate using tripods and indoor lighting if I can help it].

It took me the longest time to come up with a title for this piece, and I changed it again as I was writing this part of the post.  And yes, it's another highway scene; I can't seem to stop painting them.

Roadside Decor

sold

12x16

pastel on Strathmore 500-series paper

The contrast of snow against this road-cut section of sedimentary rock slope caught my eye.   The snow forms delicate patterns down the face of the uplifted rock, helping to define the curves and grooves within the eroded facade of pink and red sandstone, decorating it.  I really like the juniper along the distal edge of the flat land plane, so I kept some there, as well as a few tenacious individuals residing on the slope itself.  Meanwhile, the sun awaits  the traveler just up the road and around the bend.   There is a quiet drama in this scene.  

Unlike the last painting, also on Strathmore paper, this time I decided to use blending.  The paper was a mid-value brown, and I didn't feel visible paper would enhance this painting.   In one of Johannes' live painting demos with pastel, he recommended the use of a styrofoam packing peanut to blend the pastel with.  I decided to try it, and it was great, giving me more control over blended edges than my fingers could.  Working in this paper definitely requires some finesse, as it doesn't accept nearly as many layers as sanded grounds do, and I see areas that could use some finessing of the snow lines.   I'm probably a sucker for punishment to keep using it, but it does keep me on my toes as mistakes aren't easily forgiven.

And, here are a few photos from this afternoon's sky, taken when I was photographing the painting.  Temperatures were warmer, and snow clouds were blowing through the mountain areas earlier in the day.  It was a good day for cloudspotting .