Friday, January 9, 2009



Light of Winter

Acrylic on board, 6" x 6"
$125 plus $6 shipping in U.S.
SOLD


Brush thickets along an old river channel in the valley glow in the winter sun. Another painting done with Golden Open acrylic. I also have a larger painting in process. Think I'm beginning to like this paint.

AND...

At the end of a hard day's work (well, kinda hard,) driving home from the studio:

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks Don!
Looking at this new one I have developed a theory that artists in England get much less good sunlight to produce something like this on a daily basis - amazing pink light here.

Art By Erika said...

Interesting composition on this Don, very effective. My first thoughts on the last 2 paintings is that they remind me of California colors. What is that blue that's so inviting? I know, I should know;I'm bad at determining color names. OMG another set of paints for me to try out! Ok when I do get them and use them, I will report. Do you ever spray (water to get soft edges) or you just like to handle the medium like oils?

That was a nice drive home! Did you decide it was more productive for you to not paint from home at one point? It was a good distance, not too far and not too close.

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous--love the light/shadow play.

artistbarb said...

Don...loved the ride home. ThanksBarb

marc roder said...

Hey, I'm going to give those paints a try now. Golden should be paying you as a spokesman.

Do you have any nifty techniques for working back into dried oil paintings? I'm finding I want to rework my paintings frequently but after the paint film is dry it's tough to get proper adhesion. Either I have to sand the hell out of the surface to prep it for new oil paint or just slather it with an oil primer and lose the underpainting. I guess the ideal would be a clear primer?

Anonymous said...

Love the blue shadows on the snow. I remember those from earlier years. I also liked the dark color tonalities, shapes and shadows on your ride home.
Anne Thrower

martha miller said...

tell it like it is!

i'm starting a documentary film making class on the 20th at MECA! doesn't that sound like fun? we could do these little clips from the lonely artist's day...

Don Gray said...

Hi Olha--thanks. Oregon is known for lots of clouds and rain, but we live in the northeast part of the state and get much more sun. Sunny winter days are gorgeous here.

Don Gray said...

Thanks, Erika. Do you suppose the blue shadows of snow are my subconscious stand-in for the blue waters of the Pacific? :) Those blues are mixtures of white, ultramarine, pthalo and quinacridone magenta.

I sometimes use acrylic just like watercolor, but in these recent paintings more opaquely. The Open allows wet-in-wet blends like oils.

I have a wonderful studio that is the whole top floor of a large old brick building downtown. Main room is large, great light and 14' ceilings. It's a studio worth driving to, and I enjoy the separation between home and "work."

Don Gray said...

Rebecca--thank you!

Don Gray said...

Thanks Barb.

Don Gray said...

Hi Marc. Yeah, Golden should be paying me!!

Wow, I don't think I've ever experienced that kind of problem with adhesion over dry oils. I might suggest you try brushing a thin coat of Liquin (Winsor Newton alkyd resin medium) over the dry painting. It should be dry enough to paint over without lifting after an hour or two. It's pretty sticky stuff--might act like the clear primer you mention.

Seems like maybe the Golden Open might suit the layered kind of work you're doing.

Don Gray said...

Hi Anne--glad those resonated with you.

Don Gray said...

That's right, Martha, tell it like it is! :>}

Class sounds great, sign me up! Lord knows I could use the training. Might be a bit of a long commute though--Oregon to Maine--dang!

Liza Hirst said...

Love your winter scenes, Don!
You capture the light and mood perfectly!

Don Gray said...

Hi Liza--thanks very much! I really enjoy your paintings.

Art By Erika said...

Thanks for the blue recipe. Yes, I did think that the blue ground was like the ocean :)

So let me ask you Don, why use acrylics when you paint beautiful oils? Maybe answer the question for both of us lol Is it just for drying time?

Lucky you with that studio!

Don Gray said...

What can I say, Erika, I like to try new things. In a recent post I mentioned my love/hate relationship with different mediums. I love the look of oil but am sometimes frustrated with its "gooshiness" and slow drying. Straight acrylic can sometimes create the exact opposite kind of issues. Maybe the Open will be "just right."

Simon Jones said...

Hi Don, thanks for the mention above, and by the way really love your work too, and I am not just saying that. Love the poetry, and in this work the different categories of landscape, will be following your blog.