The Great Pumpkin

Harvest- 15 x 22 Watercolor. $675.00

The weather is turning, the leaves are falling in my ponds, it's coming on to Fall.  I can hear the Peanuts music from The Great Pumpkin playing as I paint.

This still life was a blast to paint!  The creamy white highlights on the Turbin Squash play against the vibrant oranges and golds so traditional of the season.  The real drama is created by the super warm dark holes in the negative space around the produce.  Not truly black, this color is created by combining Perylene Maroon, Ultramarine Blue and a tiny amount of Mineral Violet.  What a lovely concoction!  Red creates depth in a painting and a few "hot holes" can make it seem as though you can reach right in there!  

To see this painting on display, come to the Pacific Rim Art Gallery, 160 E. Broadway, Eugene, Oregon. 

The show "Fall In Love With Oregon"will be featured at the First Friday Art Walk, October 3, from 5:30-8:00. See you there!

Not Enough Neon

Ivory Court Motel- Blue River, Oregon

You would think by now I would be pretty tired of neon.  The truth is- I don't think I will ever get tired of trying to recreate this advertising art form in watercolor.  I was driving down the Mc Kenzie River Highway, minding my own business, when I saw this sign in all it's rusty glory.  I stopped the car and began taking a reckless number of pictures right there on the side of the road.

Back in my studio I changed the sky from a bright blue to this overcast one.  After all, it's Oregon!

The biggest change was that I moved the top of the sign to the right so it's directly over the "M" in "motel".  This allowed me to make all the letters much bigger.  The power lines were made using watercolor pencils and a straight edge, and also a brush and paint for the wider lines.  Note how they fade out as they get to the bottom of the painting and finally retreat out of sight.  This creates an illusion of distance and perspective.