Pine Grosbeak painting demo at the Yellowstone Heritage and Research Center

I paint at the Yellowstone Heritage and Research Center weekly. They hold the entire collection of Yellowstone artifacts, cataloged in their archives…from natural science specimens, to Native American treasures to army relics and Thomas Moran oils, watercolors and personal journals, etc. etc. etc. For an artist with a Yellowstone bent, it’s a still life extravaganza!


During my 4 years (and still counting) painting there, I have learned a bunch. Not just the more obvious Yellowstone history and wildlife biology lessons, but even more obscure lessons in color, reflected light, and composition. Still life in general is a good teacher of these concepts because your subjects ‘hold still’ and you can really observe them, for as long as you’d like. But combining still life with Yellowstone history, really keeps me interested.

At our gallery, I’m dedicating a wall to this project. I’m collecting painting after painting. As a collection, it has a life of its own and becomes even more interesting as a whole. I’m really not sure where I’m going with it – but as long as I’m learning I feel I must be headed in a good direction!

My subject for this week was a male Pine Grosbeak collected in 1955 in Yellowstone National Park – Pinicola enucleator. Maybe it’s my Spring Fever, but I’ve been on a bird kick lately. And they have a lot of varieties of ‘birds in a box’ at the Yellowstone Heritage and Research Center. The variety of colors and shapes is appealing to me to paint. In my art, I like to give people a different view – who would have thought that dead birds in a box would be interesting to see as a painting!

My subject - a Pine Grosbeak from 1955 collected in Yellowstone National Park

My 'sketch' on the canvas - I use this stage simply as placement / composition.

Here, I'm starting to block in colors, trying to find an appealing harmony.



Now, I have the painting blocked in and can start adjusting and putting in details.



It's time to 'let it sit' and I'll revisit it later with a 'fresh eye', to make any final adjustments.
(FYI -I took this photos under different lighting conditions, so the colors look like I adjusted them more than I actually did.)



This painting is from the same 'birds in a box' series, done a couple weeks ago at the Yellowstone Heritage and Research Center....a Mountain Bluebird male and female with eggs.
I'll keep you posted, as my birds in a box series grows....



TODAY is National Arts Advocacy Day

A couple weeks ago we spoke with an engineer who LOVED art. He had an interesting perspective. He realized that as an engineer, having creative, innovative ideas and solutions to problems was important. He saw that what was being done in his line of work, could be improved on. But they needed some new ideas. Same old, was no longer cutting it. To hone his creative neurons, he took painting classes. No, he never 'got good'. But that wasn't his intention. He did learn to think outside the box and came up with some innovative solutions for water management problems. He swears by it. Says learning to use his creative side was key. Now, not only does he think more creatively, he has a new and deeper appreciation for art. Which he says has made a profound positive effect on his quality of life. A win-win situation. 

Today, being National Arts Advocacy Day, made me think of him. The future needs the Arts - not just for 'artists', but for everyone. Foster creativity in our children, and we could be amazed where our society will go.

 From the Americans For The Arts -

Today, hundreds of dedicated arts supporters from across the country have come together in Washington, DC for National Arts Advocacy Day, a united effort to tell Capitol Hill how important culture is to our communities, how much arts education means to our children, and how much the arts improve our daily lives.  The 24th annual Arts Advocacy Day is organized by Americans for the Arts.

If you’re not able to join them in Washington, you can still participate in Arts Advocacy Day TODAY by asking your Members of Congress to support the arts. Visit their E-Advocacy Center, and you’ll be able to send a message in less than two minutes directly to your Representative and Senators telling them why the arts are important to you and your community.   

1000 Vermont Avenue NW
6th Floor
Washington DC . 20005
T 202.371.2830
F 202.371.0424


One East 53rd Street . 2nd Floor
New York NY . 10022
T 212.223.2787
F 212.980.4857
info@artsusa.org


http://www.americansforthearts.org/
http://www.artsactionfund.org/

Do it yourself canvas panels

A question I’m often asked - "What do you paint on?" Over the years, I’ve painted on a lot of different supports – gessoed masonite, wood, stretched canvas, watercolor paper, cold press board, etc. But currently, the majority of the time I’m painting with oils, it’s on linen panels. I very, very rarely paint on stretched canvas anymore. I started painting on linen panels years ago for plein air work, but I now paint on the panels for even my large studio pieces. They’re archival, light, easy to manage and you don’t have to worry about poking through the canvas or leaving ‘dent marks’ if they lean against something. Usually, I buy them already made from Wind River Arts -- because of the time factor. But you can make them yourself fairly easily and the smaller ones are certainly the ones to attempt first. You can purchase all the parts you'll need from Source Tek. Since I’m planning to do some smaller paintings soon, and I have all the parts to make my own panels right here, I thought I’d whip some up.... and give you a quick demo on making your own canvas panels while I'm at it.

You'll need:

 - primed linen (I purchase mine from New York Central in large rolls.)

 - gator board (purchased and cut to size from Source Tek)

 - Miracle Muck - archival glue (purchased from Source Tek)

 - Brush (I like to use an old watercolor wash brush, or something similar.)

 - Brayer (purchased from Dick Blick)

Before starting, I cut my linen to about 1/8" larger than my gator board, just to give me a little room for error.

Now that you have all your pieces, we're ready to go.....

First I put my gator board down and start to spread the 'Miracle Muck' onto it. (Feels like thick Elmer's Glue.)

Be sure to get the 'glue' all the way to the edges.

Then I use the brayer (ink roller) to press the linen onto the gator board. Press firmly. You don't want any air bubbles.

Finally, I put all those big hard cover art books to good use. I stack them on top of it all and leave it overnight to dry.

Our Backyard Zoo... Barrow's Goldeneye

Barrow's Goldeneye - male

Barrow's Goldeneye - female

Not really a 'backyard zoo', but many days it seems like that! Our back windows look out on the Yellowstone River and Yellowstone National Park.... Always something out there to photograph. I took these photos today of a Barrow's Goldeneye pair swimming in the river below our gallery. They're diving ducks - interesting to watch as they 'dive' for their food (usually aquatic insects) then pop up down stream a ways to do it again. Very soon, around mid April, we can expect to see their courting rituals begin, usually on small lakes around here. The males will puff out their heads as much as possible, then swim toward the females in a bowing position.

I'll keep you posted on the birds and animals that pass through our 'zoo'. The birds can be particularly interesting in the Spring as we get 'new arrivals'. And I'll add a tidbit of info about the amazing, and varied, wildlife of Yellowstone.

Welcome to our 'New and Improved' Blog!....

No, it's no coincidence that this is April 1st. April Fool's Day. I thought it would be a good 'tongue in cheek' way to  launch our new blog. I wanted to share more from 'behind the scenes' around here - and at times it can look like a good Saturday Night Live skit with all we're trying to fit in! Keeping my sense of humor is key.

You'll see a new look along with a new title...Leap Of Faith. Inspired by John's dream of our 'jump off the cliff'. I went first of course and pulled him along with me - what does THAT tell you? He woke up before we landed, so we're not sure on the ending. Our life in a nutshell.

Yes, we live a very unconventional, and many would say 'risky' life. For the last 16 years we've been professional artists. For the last 11 years, we've had no 'outside paycheck' at all. None. We've survived (and believe me survived is a good word for it!) solely by getting paid for things we make with our own 2 hands. Then, we need wonderful collectors and clients, (who we appreciate dearly!) - who are willing to spend their hard earned money on our creations. Amazing. How fortunate we are.... It's a wonderful and rewarding way of life - but the challenges can be many!

So I'm launching this new blog with not only intentions to give you a good laugh, but you'll also be the first to see:
 - some 'paintings of the day'
 - video clip painting demos, maybe LOTS of video clips (that will be a fun way to post, I'm thinking!)
 - sculpting demonstrations
 - discussions on art... where is was, where it's going, Yellowstone artists of the past, etc.
 - learn about the foundry process...'lost wax method'
 - come along with me on my plein air painting adventures in Yellowstone
 - wildlife right out the gallery windows and beyond
 - preview our new lighting designs
 - add in some 'kid stuff'
 - and hopefully inspire you along the way with some quotes and random thoughts.

And how could we NOT bring you along on our building adventures... we have a studio to expand, a house to finish and a vacation rental to update - since we do it all ourselves, there's LOADS of ammunition for Saturday Night Live meets Bob The Builder skits in that! Oh, and that's all what's going on here in just the next few months - not years.

I'm going to post at least a few times a week, to keep it interesting. I'd like it to be interactive with you - I LOVE feedback. Comments would be great - good, bad or anything in between. After all, we're artists - we can take criticism well! Any ideas or specifics on the direction you'd like me to take with this would be GREATLY appreciated. I'd like it to be entertaining, interesting and educational for you. So let me know what you want to find out about the 'life and times' of 2 self-employed artists, living, working and raising a family at the edge of Yellowstone National Park.

Hope to hear from you soon....Shirl

PS - I've set it so you can easily follow along by adding your e-mail address to the 'Follow By E-Mail' / Submit slot to the right up by our gallery photo near the top of the page. This way you won't miss any of the action around here!

Clyde Aspevig painting demonstration

A friend, who happens to be a WONDERFUL landscape painter, will be doing a demonstration Saturday March 26th in Billings, Montana on the MSU campus in the Liberal Arts Building. It starts at 1:30pm. I've been to other demonstrations he has given - believe me, if there's anyway you can make it, be there. He's good. If you can't make it to the demonstration, be sure to make it to the Show "Montana Masters" at the Western Heritage Center in Billings. wwww.clydeaspevig.com

A new bronze....

Leap Of Faith - bronze

by John Stacy