Brush Line

Watercolor on archival rag paper
$125 plus $6 shipping in U.S.
SOLD


The seasonal struggle is on. Soft clouds drift like swirling shrouds over the whitened hilltops. On the mountain's flanks, threatening fingers of snow point downward, as if reminding us that winter can still hold sway. Slow motion flurries ghost across the valley, large flakes melting silently into the wet ground.

Yearling

Acrylic on board, 5" x 7"
$125 plus $6 shipping in U.S.
SOLD


The yearling calves have been separated from the mother cows and penned in the barnlot near the house. They get impatient waiting for Mark (the fellow who leases our pasture) to show up with the hay. Every day when I go out to my truck, they look at me expectantly--even though I've never given them a thing.

Backwoods

Oil on board, 6" x 7.75"
$150 plus $6 shipping in U.S.
Email don@dailyartwest.com for purchase


It's a time of anticipation. In the woods the earth is spongy underfoot. Green mosses and tiny blades of grass work their way up through a damp layer of mouldering leaves from the previous fall. Trees still have the stark look of winter, but one can sense the sap starting to flow. Color is subtle, delicate hints of the rich greens soon to appear.

Early Spring Fields

Oil on board, 6" x 6"
$125 plus $6 shipping in U.S.
Email don@dailyartwest.com for purchase

Standing water in the fields creates some interesting patterns. Snow came down in great big flakes in the afternoon, but most of it melted into the wet ground.

April Workshop

If you're in the region and interested, I'll be teaching a three-day watercolor workshop at the Union County Art and Culture Center in La Grande, Oregon--April 17, 18, 19. We'll go Friday evening for three hours, six hours on Saturday, and another three hour session on Sunday afternoon. I think there's still a few slots open. Call 541-910-0550 or 541-963-5351 for details.

The UCACC is a fledgling organization that is spearheading a drive to convert the beautiful old Carnegie Library building in town into a multi-use arts and educational center--a very worthy cause.

V Canyon

Oil on board, 5" x 7"

$125 plus $6 shipping in U.S.

SOLD


The ground is muddy with recent rains and snowmelt. Without warning, a sunny shirtsleeve day turns windy and brisk, the sky filled with swirling flakes. Winter is gradually giving up her grip on the land, but not without a struggle.

Elkhorn Range

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


Clouds backlit by late afternoon sun over the Elkhorn Mountains.

Other "stuff" is keeping me away from the easel for awhile. I'll be back soon with another post. Meanwhile, here's a few of my favorite quotes:

"I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read, and all the friends I want to see."

~John Burroughs


Whatever appears to leave us
Actually doesn't leave.
Whatever appears to stay with us
Actually does not stay.
Nothing remains
Everything is a mystery
of constant gain and loss.

~Bengali Song


"I am afraid, if my devils leave me, my angels will take flight as well."

~Rainer Maria Rilke


"You want to know my philosophy? One day a peacock. The next day a feather duster."

~ Pat Quinn (the governor of Illinois, on his turn in the spotlight)

The Secret Revealed

Oil on board, 12 1/2" x 5"
$225 plus $8 shipping in U.S.
SOLD


Never let it be said that I've held something up my sleeve.

I've included a detail of the painting to better show the paint surface. Click both images for enlargements.

A Remarkable Lemon

Oil on board, 6" x 6"
$125 plus $6 shipping in U.S.
Email don@dailyartwest.com for purchase


Yes, it's a cheap trick. But it was fun.

Red Onion, Lemon, Cup

Oil on board, 5" x 7"
$125 plus $6 shipping in U.S.
SOLD

I painted this with mittens on...not really--but if I could've I would've.

The fan on the studio's gas furnace stopped working over the weekend (it always happens on the weekend, doesn't it?) and with fresh snow this morning, it's been just a little nippy in my creative quarters lately. I painted this still life, hoping I might feel some heat from the colors. But red onions are kind of on the cool blue side of red, lemons tend to be chilly shades of yellow, and of course the blue tin cup was no help at all. Oranges and red chiles--that's what I should have painted today.

The repairman finally arrived in the afternoon, pushed a little blue reset button, and glorious heat came flowing out the vents.

Dried Pomegranate and Pods

Oil on board, 5" x 7"
$125 plus $6 shipping in U.S.
SOLD


On walks I'm always picking up things that catch my eye and stuffing them in my pocket--stones, twigs, seed pods, bits of rusted metal. There are bags and boxes of "finds" that I dig through now and then, reliving the discovery of these simple but beautiful objects. The ones in this painting came from our time in southern California. I'm not a botanist, perhaps some of you can name what plants these seed pods are from. The long one I believe may be a yucca pod. I love their shapes and subtle colors. The pomegranate came from a tree that took root along one of my favorite trails.

Foothills Biker

Acrylic on board, 8" x 10"
$325 plus $7 shipping in U.S.
Email don@dailyartwest.com for purchase


A larger painting today. Click the image to enlarge.

While standing in the road studying this scene (I was fascinated by that yellow road sign) I was startled by this cyclist who suddenly popped up over the brow of the hill.

River Bend

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


Another painting from my trip to the Pendleton area the other day. It was misty, with a light rain falling off and on. This region is slightly more temperate than our valley, so spring starts showing its colors a little earlier here. I may have even helped it along a bit with this painting.

Pendleton Hills

Oil on board, 8" x 8"

$225 plus $7 shipping in U.S.

SOLD

I drove over to Pendleton, Oregon the other day. Pendleton is sited in wide open, rolling wheat farm country, about 50 miles from the valley where I live. You go over the Blue Mountains to get there, a scenic drive through evergreen forests. It can be a nail-biter in winter, though, when you might encounter blinding blizzards or fog so thick you can't see past the hood of the car.

But this day the drive was effortless, and dropping down the grade below Deadman Pass I was reminded how much I love these broad, brush-covered hills that cascade down the western flanks of the Blues. I can sit for hours and watch the light and shadow play across them.

This is a little larger than my usual dailies. I just didn't feel I could fit this expansive subject into a 6 x 6.

Banana and Shells

Oil on board, 4 1/2" x 8"
$125 plus $6 shipping in U.S.
Email don@dailyartwest.com for purchase


These bananas need to be painted before they get too ripe, because I plan to eat them, too. I've never been accused of being a starving artist.

This is an Odd Couple too, I guess. Or would it be an Odd Trio?

Banana and Rope 2

Oil on board, 6" x 6"
NFS


Here's another Odd Couple, a variant on one posted last summer. This is a commissioned piece, not for sale.

On the Can

Oil on board, 7" x 5"
$125 plus $6 shipping in U.S.
SOLD


I admit it, I painted this so I could give it that title. But I've got to give credit where it's due--inspiration came from my email friend, Karen. She made a pun about my "Apple and Paint Can" post, saying it was "An apple doing the can-can." I countered with "Better than an apple on the can." And she wrote back "LOL-Even that could be material for your 'odd couples.'" As you can see, I always keep my correspondence on the highest intellectual level.

I did enjoy painting this, though. That's a can of my mural paint, a pourable acrylic called Novacolor, which I buy in quantities from quarts on up to 5 gallon buckets. And I would definitely say this painting belongs to my Odd Couple series.

Serape, by Katherine Treffinger
Oil on canvas, 14" x 11"
Copyright 2009 Katherine Treffinger


Speaking of the abstract, I want to call your attention to Katherine Treffinger's work, showcased on her brand new blog: http://katherinetreffinger.blogspot.com/. Her work ranges from beautiful, vibrant abstraction to expressionistic figures and animals.

Katherine lives in the small town of Cove, Oregon, just up the road from me--literally, we live on the same road--seven miles apart.

D'Anjou

Oil on board, 6" x 6"
$125 plus $6 shipping in U.S.
Email don@dailyartwest.com for purchase


Even in these realist paintings, I always search for the abstract. I believe good representational work gains its power from abstraction. The underlying vocabulary of design, color, light-dark values, spatial relationships and character of the paint is critical to the painting's visual coherence and impact. These elements are not just coldly formal concerns--they also carry emotional weight. In fact, they are probably more important to conveying feeling than whatever the subject might be.

Non-artists often think the significance of a representational painting resides only in what is depicted, so subject becomes all-important. This allows them to sometimes make blanket pronouncements that make no real sense, such as: "I don't like paintings of pears." Here's a way to think about it in musical terms: if the words to a song can be thought of as its representational aspect, then the melody is the underlying abstract language. How many songs can you think of that convey everything there is to know just in the words alone?

Of course the point I'm driving at is that one needs to look deeper than subject alone to find significance in a work of art. And you shouldn't try to separate the realist from the abstract--they are really two sides of the same coin. In fact, I think they're both on the same side.

Long Lemon

Oil on board, 4 1/4" x 10 1/8"
$140 plus $6 shipping in U.S.
SOLD


Not an odd couple, but it is an odd size today (see yesterday's post.) There's something I like about the single lemon placed in this unusually long format. I tried to create a feeling of air in the shadows. Click the image for a larger view.

Apple and Paint Can

Oil on board, 6" x 6"
$125 plus $6 shipping in U.S.
SOLD
One of the things I love about daily painting is that each day really is brand new. Larger or more complex paintings may take days or weeks of sustained effort, but a daily is a daily. Rarely is the day's painting pre-planned. There's an almost whimsical feeling of freedom. "Lets see..." I say to myself, feeling like a kid in a candy store, "what shall I paint today?" A painting may lead to a series of related pieces, or it may not--it all depends on what I feel like doing at the moment.

This painting reminds me of my "Odd Couples" series. Those of you who have been following my blog for awhile may recall the group of still lifes some months back, where I painted objects that don't normally go together-- like hammers and peonies, or blow dryers and padlocks. I had a great time with that series, and have thought it would be fun to return to the idea.

Maybe this is the beginning of "Odd Couples...Part Two." Or maybe not. Tomorrow's a brand new day.

Two Sweet Onions

Oil on board, 5" x 7"
$125 plus $6 shipping in U.S.
SOLD

Quartet

Oil on board, 5" x 7"
$125 plus $6 shipping in U.S.
SOLD


A funny thing happens when you spend lots of "alone time" staring at inanimate objects--these things start taking on human characteristics in your mind. It suddenly occurs to you why it is called "still life." Apples and cups assume personalities; you imagine little scenarios--plot lines for your cast of characters. This is the point where it is probably a good idea to call an actual human friend and meet for coffee.

At some point in arranging the objects for this painting (I think it was when I plopped the pear in the cup) this began happening to me, and these things started "talking." Or more accurately, singing. I think maybe it's the jaunty angles of the stems that made me think of the cocked heads of people harmonizing in song.

Anyway...are you free for coffee?