Granary and Hill

Watercolor on archival rag paper, 5" x 7"
$125 plus $6 shipping in U.S.
Email don@dailyartwest.com for purchase


Talk about site integration. I loved how this little silo's roof aligned with the hill behind. Of course when it was new and shiny it must have stood out more, but now that the surface has aged and oxidized, it looks like it grew here.

The mural is complete! Now it comes down off the studio wall for a ride to Pendleton, where it will be installed on a high wall in the Convention Center.



Spring Pastures
Oil on board, 8 x 16 feet
NFS
Click image to enlarge


My extremes...from tiny dailies to walls of paint:

Farm in the Swale

Watercolor on archival rag paper, 5" x 7"
$125 plus $6 shipping in U.S.
SOLD

(The buyer backed out, so I am re-listing this nice little watercolor I posted in May, along with the original text:)

Like many of the old farmhouses in this region, this one appears to have grown in parts and pieces over time, with additions built on to the original structure as need arose. The result is a kind of "practical architecture" that has its own charm.


Here's the current state of the mural. It should be complete in another day or two. Click image to enlarge:

Wheat Country

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


These farm buildings appear to have fallen on hard times, but the wheat crop looks good.

Here's the mural progress after the sixth day:



I'm enjoying working on these hills, trying to get a feeling of the roundness and mass of their forms into the painting. Here's a little movie Katherine took of some old character laying in a few of the initial shadows:



The oil paint, thinned with mineral spirits, is in sealable plastic containers placed around the edge of the glass palette. I rarely pre-mix quantities of color, preferring to mix a brushload or two at a time. I think the slight color variations that result create a livelier, more painterly surface.

Katherine continues work in my studio on her large painting. It's fun to watch it grow in richness and complexity.

Western Valley

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

Though these are the Sierra's near Bishop, California, the scenery always reminds me of the Wallowa Mountains, here in northeast Oregon. Click images to enlarge.

Here's the latest progress on the mural:



Now it's starting to get fun, as I move into the hills with their sculptural shapes and rich color. I can reach this height without the scaffold, so it's off with the top story of my double-decker taboret. Things should start rockin' and rollin' tomorrow!

Irrigation Time

Oil on board, 5" x 7"
$125 plus $6 shipping in U.S.
Email don@dailyartwest.com for purchase

The irrigation ditches are bankful now, as everyone tries to keep their fields from drying up in the summer heat. I love watching the summer sky reflected in that limpid water.

Here's a progress photo of the mural after the third day of work:



The cat...er...dog's out of the bag--Winslow is the real artist!

It's proceeding pretty methodically, working from the top down. I got used to working this way because on larger murals it's a huge chore to set and reset scaffolding. You can't easily jump from place to place on the wall, so you try to finish an area before you move everything.

The challenge so far has been to control value and color to keep the distant valley and sky back in space. I have just started indicating the hills in middle distance, which are darker in value and a little more saturated in color. I'm really enjoying working with oils, though it is drying a little faster than I expected due to the heat spell we're experiencing.

Katherine continues to work on her large canvas. Check out the progress shot on her blog. She brings her poodle cross Maggie to the studio, and she and Winslow have become great pals. Here's a little movie showing how the studio has "gone to the dogs:"

Small Barn in Summer

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


We pass by this little barn often on walks with Winslow (our dog.) There must have once been a house here, but all that's left is this barn, a few small outbuildings, and some huge cottonwoods.

Spring at Westfield's

Oil on board, 13" x 26 3/8"

NFS

No daily for today, but here's a recent commissioned painting. Don't these folks have a beautiful setting for their home? Click image for a larger view.

We're having a heat spell. I worked on the mural in the studio today until mid-afternoon, when the cross-ventilation windows and fan failed to do the trick. I was refining what was laid in quickly yesterday, so changes are too subtle to be worth posting a progress shot. More later.

In the Pine Woods

Oil on board, 5" x 7"
$125 plus $6 shipping in U.S.
Email don@dailyartwest.com for purchase


These Black Pines catch the last rays of a summer afternoon in the mountains. Speaking of mountains, we took a drive in the forest the other day and found a lot of nearly ripe huckleberries. We're going back this weekend to pick. I can already taste the huckleberry pie. The berries are at an undisclosed location...don't try to follow us.

Here's a photo of today's mural progress, laying in the sky:



It's a great pleasure to work with oils for this project. Many of my murals have been on exterior walls, where acrylic paint is best suited. Soft blends with acrylic are challenging on large scale, because of the rapid drying time. It feels like such a luxury to have the blending capabilities of oil. Notice my patented two-story taboret at the far left. I needed a way to get my palette and tools up higher while working on the scaffold, so I built another level on top of the existing tabletop. It all rolls around on wheels. Works like a charm.

My friend Katherine Treffinger has been painting in my studio the last couple of days, using one of my large painting walls to work on a canvas about 4 by 10 feet. It's fun to watch her method of working--a real process of discovery. Here she lays in calligraphic lines that will no doubt be layered over with more paint:

Rainy Day

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


A few people have asked me if I would document the process of the mural I'm working on in the studio, so I plan to post some progress photos from time to time. Click images to enlarge.

Here's the (very rough) sketch concept for the mural:



The 8' x 16' mural will be installed on a high wall inside the Pendleton, Oregon Convention Center, and will depict the landscape of that region.



The initial plan was to use 3/4" birch plywood. I spent over a week preparing the panels and making an elaborate system of hanging cleats. When I finally got them mounted on the wall it became clear that the cleat system would not eliminate warpage in the panels, so I had to bunch that whole idea (assorted curses!)

I ended up using 1/2" thick medium density fiberboard (MDF,) which laid up beautifully. The surface was primed and then rolled with two coats of highest grade 100% acrylic flat paint. Transparencies of the sketch were projected onto the mural wall, and using light colored paint I laid in the basic lines and rudimentary shadow patterns.

This mural will be painted in oil, so the rest of the day was spent squeezing tube oils into sealable containers and thinning them with mineral spirits to a flowing consistency. Now I'm ready to paint (I think!)

The Shallows

Oil on board, 7" x 5"

$125 plus $6 shipping in U.S.

SOLD


Thank goodness for sharp-eyed readers to keep us bloggers honest.

You may have noticed I changed the title of my last post from "Mustard Field" to "Canola Field." My friends Tim and Jon separately informed me that the yellow fields around here are not mustard but the unfortunately named rapeseed plant, which is used to produce canola oil. I did, however, read that rapeseed was in the mustard family, so at least I was in the ballpark!

Today's painting is of a blue heron out at Ladd Marsh. These exotic looking birds are very wary and usually fly off before I can get anywhere near, but this one kindly posed long enough for me to zoom my camera lens and get a half-decent shot.

Canola Field

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


While searching for subjects for my upcoming mural, I roamed the rolling farmlands near Pendleton, Oregon. Deep green oceans of early summer wheat waved and rippled in the wind. Dust devils spiraled madly across brown fallow fields, whipping fine particles into the air like smoke. Topping a gentle rise, I was shocked to see the horizon suddenly filled by this field of brilliant yellow.

Neighbors

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

One of those crystalline summer evenings we get around here. This house near Cove, Oregon is not far from a piece of property we own. It's a beautiful spot, with views across the broad valley in one direction, and pine-covered mountains looming up behind. We hope to build a home on it before too long. In the meantime we drive over to visit the place and imagine ourselves being neighbors.

Streamside Cows 2

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

Another view of cattle along the Wallowa River, grazing under majestic cottonwoods. This is actually a quiet sidechannel of the main river, which is running high and fast with snowmelt from the mountains.

Streamside Cows

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


Cattle graze in luxuriant, belly-high grass along the Wallowa River.

The Road Home

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


My Crow's Shadow residency at an end, I turned onto the old highway for the drive home. Dark clouds threatened rain over the mountains, but the foreground wheat fields were glowing in a strange and beautiful light.

Above the Valley--Sundown

Oil on board, 5" x 7"
$125 plus $6 shipping in U.S.
Email don@dailyartwest.com for purchase


These are the foothills of the Blue Mountains, just a few miles above Crow's Shadow. I'm getting ready to begin an 8 x 16 foot mural of a view near here.