Morning at Deadhorse Point

Morning at Deadhorse Point
Painting No. 10-J-12
6"x 8", oil on canvas panel

This was the second to last painting I did while in Moab, Utah for the Plein Air Moab 2012 event. Deadhorse Point is wildy beautiful, I heard some tourists commenting that they thought it was better than the Grand Canyon. I might agree, with panoramic views and shear vertical cliffs it's an eyeful for sure.
The interesting thing about painting here is that you cant go wrong with whatever you decide to paint. In fact, the only draw back is when an artist might try to capture the entire panoramic scene in one painting, it's just not practical. I painted this scene while thin clouds played games with the background shadows. It happened to be a "happy accident" that the monolith and canyon rim were in the sunlight and the background was in the shadows. It made for a highlighted main subject....almost always a good idea.  

Making Large Stretched Canvas

 

 

 

Making Large Stretched Canvas

Ok, Ok, it's easy to go to the craft store and buy stretched canvas. I do it every now and then myself. But it's much cooler and artistic to build your own stretched canvas panels. I started building my own last year. It doesn't take much for tools: a rubber mallet, canvas pliers, carpenter glue, tape measure, heavy-duty stapler.
I bought the stretcher bars in the photos from French Canvas, www.frenchcanvas.com real nice, well built bars as seen along the back wall. Buy a large quantity and you get a reduced price an it saves on shipping cost. The gesso primed canvas I buy locally.

Assemble the size stretcher bars you are desiring, the photos show 30" x 40". Apply a little glue at the corner joints.

Use the rubber mallet to tap the corners into place.
Use the tape measure to measure the diagonal distances, get them even.
Let sit overnight.
Next day cut an over sized piece of canvas and staple it to the middle outside of the longest stretcher bar. (now here's the tricky part). Next, using the canvas pliers; pull the canvas tight across from the first staple and insert a staple at the center of the canvas(one staple) then flip the canvas and staple the opposite side with 2 staples. The idea is to apply pressure side to side as you staple the canvas tight. Keep pulling the canvas tight as you work all four sides until the last 8 staples are at the 4 corners.  Fold the extra canvas at the corner and staple for a clean finish, trim extra canvas away.
After assembling 5-6 canvases; you'll be a pro.

jmckew2011's photostream

jmckew2011's photostream on Flickr.

Night Battle

Night Battle
(Monitor & Merrimack)
Painting No. 4-J-12
8"x10" oil on canvas panel

Between Arches N.P. and Canyonlands N.P. is a stretch of highway that contains some remarkable formations. After exploring the backcountry canyons and drainages during the daytime, I decided to paint a "nocturne" a night painting of these 2 formations know as the Monitor and Merrimack. Named for the famed Civil War ships that fought against each other; these rocky crags stand in eternal battle readiness. The night was really dark, no moon. I stood for long periods of time in the cool evening breeze listening to the coyotes as my eyes adjusted to seeing by star light. Then I would turn on my head lamp, paint for a few minutes and go back to the still darkness. Kind of spooky being in this vast lonely country, full of mysterious canyons, caves, grottos and petroglyphs. I find myself constantly picturing the landscape (some 500-700 years ago) with no roads, little water and Native Americans drawing images of animals, mountains and people on the canyon walls. It really plays on your mind after awhile.
Notice the Dig Dipper in the upper left corner which is the location as I observed it that night.


Time Travelers

Time Travelers
Painting No. 2-J-12
12" x 12"
oil on canvas board

This is an afternoon plein air painting of the Double Arches in Arches National Park outside of Moab, Utah.
I love this location, so extreme in rock formation and sculpture. The whole region is full of ancient history, from the rock formations to the petroglyphs; it's like stepping through time, so I decided on the title "Time Travelers" and I included some small figures to give an idea of scale to the painting.

Fall Paint-out 2012

Fall Paint-Out 2012

Hope Valley, California
October 20, 2012

Yesterday I had the privilege of painting with a group of plein air painters in the wonderful aspen groves of Hope Valley, California.

We started out at 9:00 am with coffee and muffins then drove to Red Lake where we painted along a dirt  road (upper photo).

During lunch, David Russo generously agreed to critique our paintings. We had a total of 11 painters working in oils, watercolors and pastels.
In the afternoon we changed location to Sorenson's Resort on Hwy 88. Lots to photographers stopping to photograph the changing colors and capture the painters in action. The lower image is my contribution to the afternoons efforts.

Many thanks to the Tahoe Art League for spreading the word about this event. Looking forward to new opportunities in the future.

Morning Glory

Morning Glory
Painting No. 1-J-12
8"x10"
oil on canvas

I just returned from 8 days of painting in Moab, Utah. The scenery was fantastic. I think I strained my neck from looking at the extreme vertical cliffs that were always present.

I was in a group of 100+ painters attending the Plein Air Moab 2012 event. It was a great week of being in a magical land and being alongside some of the best painters in the country.