Thursday, April 30, 2009

A tale of two shows.

A tale of two shows. Yesterday I visited the Colorado Watercolor Society's statewide exhibition and the Colorado Open . Both are excellent ,however ,they express very different views on art. The Open is true museum show with content and original thought leading the way. It is edgy and thought provoking . The artists are making statements,and this is good. Art should seek to be a visual communication. The CWS is more comfortable.Design,color,and technique lead the way. I could live with most the works in this exhibition. The key word is Quality, and both have this in abundance. I invite commentary on the value of each school of thought.
Tom

Monday, April 27, 2009

Front Range Red

" Front Range Red" is an abstraction inspired by the free standing red rock
formations that run north to south along the front range of the Colorado Rockies. They are known by names like : Garden of the Gods, Perry Park, Red Rocks Amphitheater, Red Rocks Park, Red Canyon, and Roxborough Park. When the Rocky Mountains up -lifted the sandstone of an ancient coast line was broken and flipped on its side,erosion did the rest.
You can view the steps in the three images. Watercolor impasto on wet paper, red ochre gesso overlays with lifts and scrapes,and a finish with white gesso and watercolor mixed.
" Sukey "from Washington State e-mailed and said she was painting
tulips blooming in the rain and wondered how I liked spring with a
parka. Guess what it's snowing again and tomorrow is humming bird
day. I think they'll stay in the valley.
Tom






Saturday, April 18, 2009

I promised some images of abstract watercolors,but nature has a way of upstaging us . This is how my deck looked this afternoon . Would you believe it is April 18. This is the what happens when you live at altitude { 7,800 '}, nine days until the humming birds arrive. Every year they show up on April 28. I hope these weekend snow storms are finished by then. However, I have seen them as late as Memorial Day.
Back to abstract watercolors. I start with a method I call watercolor impasto. First I spray a sheet of Fabriano Artistco rough with water . Next I'll drag a loaded palette knife across the paper. By loaded, have 3 or 4 colors straight from the tubes on the blade, and I spread them like butter on toast. The water will do the rest. After this drys I cover what don't like with a mix gesso and watercolor. Also, I'll scrape back some of the gesso to reveal underlying colors. With an eye on the elements and principals of design I'll continue in this way until I am happy with the results. So goes the arts endeavours for the last few days. My college students get a shot this next.Images are coming .
Tom

Wednesday, April 15, 2009











Been a busy week finishing up taxes -- April 15th has come. Now it's time to focus on art again (instead of the art business). Wanted to share some photos from the Kanuga Art Workshop and some of my new friends in the arts. Photos include Tom Fong and Donna Zagota; Robbie Laird addressing the group; myself, Kathy Salminen, and Miles Batt; Don Getz, John Salminen, Judy Morris, Mike Bailey and Tom Fong standing next to Lynn McLean.
I'm currently working on some abstract paintings in preparation for the Watermedia class that I teach at Pikes Peak Community College. We'll be combining transparent watercolor with acrylics. Photos to come.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009


Hi friends and watercolor followers. "The buck Stops Here" has been completed. This 22"x 30" was started as a workshop demo on creating weathered wood. Most of the wood was completed in the demo. 1st masking fluid was applied over the buck skulls. 2Nd waterproof ink was added to the shadows and the sky.3rd the side of the cabin was wet and thick ultramarine blue,copper kettle,and cobalt Violette were drug down over the wood siding using a scrape of mat board. 4Th the shadows were defined with transparent glazes of blue ,green,and sienna. Next a wash cerulean was glazed over the sky and allowed to run down. The foreground was darkened to push the lights and lead the eye into the painting. final details were added . This is based on real place ,along some Colorado back road,one more stop in the artistic journey. Tom