December 4 between 11 am and 4 pm the town of Markleeville will come alive with all the lights and decorations of Christmas. Lots of fun activities for the whole family. There will be handcrafted gift items, jewelry, pottery, wreaths, pillows, coloring books, and much more, available all over town, in businesses, or maybe on a porch or two. There will be carolers gathering around the Christmas Tree at the Court House at 1 pm for a performance then they will stroll around town. Santa and Mrs. Santa will be in the Wolf Creek Restaurant by the fireplace at 11 am waiting to hear all the kids wishes for Christmas. The Wolf Creek Restaurant will have discounted food choices that day. The General Store has tree cutting permits for $10. There will be cobbler prepared by Little Antelope Pack Station in front of Intero Real Estate. The Markleeville Art Gallery will have a new glass ornaments, wool hats, soaps, jewelry as well as a 10% off all the fine art in the gallery for December 4th only. There will be lots of cookies, cocoa and cider available and you might find chestnuts roasting over an open fire. The museum will be open and free for the day. If there is enough snow there will be a snowshoe tour and you can make a snowman in the park. At 2 pm the Library will have story time, cookie decorating and Santa promises to come visit. At the Post Office, Margaret will be stamping your Christmas Cards. The Alpine County Chamber will have free maps of the town and other items for sale and free coffee. The gas station will have bird feeders and yule logs to decorate. You might even see an artist painting our beautiful town. Come enjoy the day with us. Visit www.markleevilleartgallery.com for updated information.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Dawn over Sierra Canyon (Study)
Dawn over Sierra Canyon (Study)
Carson Valley, Nevada
6"x 8", oil on linen
November 26, 2011
The sun has swept to the south, the nights are colder and were 2/3 the way through Fall. I'm working on developing ideas for larger paintings. This painting is a layout of an earlier study combined with dawn colors as observed from by back door.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Post Office
Post Office, Stewart Indian School
Carson City, Nevada
6"x 8", oil on linen
November 23, 2011
Late afternoon shadows from an old Cottonwood Tree fall across the front of the boarded-up Post Office at the Stewart Indian School. This building was build in 1925...well built I might add, the stone work and mortar are still very tight. I think it could last another 100 years. The old flag pole has been repainted several times, and probably hasn't seen a flag raised on it for 20 years or more.
I used a different approach to applying under-painting to this panel. I applied the under-painting as an opposite color of the overall scene, which in this case was variations of yellow ochre. The opposite color being a violet grey, gave the painting a subdued look, together with the limited palette added to the moody effect.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
River Bottoms
River Bottoms, Carson River
Eagle Valley, Nevada
8"x 10" oil on linen panel
Cottonwoods grow thick along the river, creating a park-like setting. A mixture of trees, grass and sagebrush.
Last Friday we had strong winds and cold overnight temperatures which stripped most of the leaves from the trees, and gathered blankets of orange and yellow leaves to cover the grassy flood plane along the river banks.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
The Corner of Pike St. & Main St. (Study)
The Corner of Pike St. & Main St. (Study)
Dayton, Nevada
9"x 12" oil on linen panel
November 17, 2011
Dayton, Nevada is a small town east of Carson City. It was a stop over for wagons heading to the California gold rush in the 1800's. Then gold was discovered in the local creek bed, which led to more gold being discovered a few miles northwest of here near the town of Silver City. The town has a lot of history.
There's an old restaurant/bar/playhouse just north of here that was used by Teddy Roosevelt to give a speech from the balcony. In the 1960, The Misfits starring Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe was filmed here.
I first came to this town in 1975, when my Grandmother Louise Goddard decided to bring surplus stationary supplies to the flea market on Sundays. At the time, the country side was nearly desolate. Very few houses were built east of here. No schools or stores except for a hamburger stand on the corner of Main and Hwy 395. Today the old section of Dayton remains in a state of suspended animation. The feel of the 1970's is still here, with the addition of good food can be found in the local businesses.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Making Plein Air Canvas Panels
This was a big deal for me because I've bought plenty of panels at the local craft store and online. So based on my discussion with Charles Muench and the instructions in Kevin MacPherson's book "Fill Your Oil Paintings with Light & Color" I started assembling the needed supplies.
After cutting the panels, I laid them out on the linen and arranged them for the most economical fit. Kevin MacPherson recommends adding a 1/2" border to each canvas panel to aid in gluing and allowing for shrinkage. In this photo I'm tracing the board onto the backside of the canvas.
Overall construction costs came to $120. If I purchased the same panels online I would have spent $215 plus shipping costs.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Sierra Canyon
Sierra Canyon
Carson Valley, Nevada
7.5"x 9", oil on linen panel
November 10, 2011
Located along the Eastern Sierra Mountain Range, in Carson Valley, Nevada is the town of Genoa and many cattle ranches. This scene is along Genoa Lane, looking west to Sierra Canyon and one of the local ranches.
This painting is a study for a larger painting that I'm working on and it reminds me of something John Carlson said about painting mountains, that one needs to feel the weight of the mountain to capture it's essence.
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