Continuing Education for a painter....

I was just in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and Victor, Idaho for 5 days. Although I stayed at the base of the Tetons, I didn't see the top of them once - it was that snowy. A storm blew in and closed all the roads out of the valley. The driving was brutal, to say the least. BUT, it was absolutely wonderful! I had the opportunity to take a workshop with an amazing landscape painter, Scott Christensen - 2 of us, along with his studio assistant, watched him block in several huge canvases for some new work he's beginning. We talked about his recent trip to the Zorn and Russian Museums, perused his vast art library, listened to his ideas on painting, he gave pointers and answered questions. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with him and being in his studio and gallery each day. He was a wonderful teacher. If you're not familiar with his work, you should be... http://www.christensenstudio.com/. I took my life in my hands and drove to the National Museum of Wildlife Art before I left. It was worth it - other than the staff, I literally had the place to myself. What a treat to be alone in the Rungius room for an entire hour! I even managed to get out and plein air paint in the snow storm while I was there. Could it get any better?? Now, with all my new motivation and ideas percolating, I can't wait to get behind the easel.....

Lighting installation...

We were out yesterday installing a new chandelier we just created. I thought it may be interesting to see a couple 'behind the scenes' photos, not just 'portfolio shots'...

Bobcat gestures

Since the bobcat in our back yard has been so cooperative, John has had a chance to do some 'plein air sculpting' from the studio windows! -- quick gestural studies in clay.

wildlife out the windows....

Living at the edge of Yellowstone National Park makes for AMAZING wildlife sightings out our windows. I took the photos from inside! John did a couple gestural sculptures while we were watching - I'll save that for another post soon....

COLOR Class starts tomorrow

my plein air painting of a church in Gardiner this weekend 12" x 9"

It was a snowy weekend - perfect to get me thinking about color. I know, to most snow is white. But to an artist it's anything BUT white. Since the painting class I'm teaching starting Monday is emphasizing COLOR in this session, it was a great opportunity to get focused on color. I went right out and looked for a plein air spot that was calling my name. The snow gave this church in Gardiner a subtle quietness that I wanted to capture on canvas. A good challenge for color mixing! Now, I've pulled out some color theory books and set up a couple still lifes for the class tomorrow. I'm looking forward to a session on COLOR. For me, color may just be the reason why I paint. I like Richard Schmid's quote.....Color is to seeing, what flavor is to eating.

Snow, wildlife & plein air painting

Snow has landed in Gardiner - with it seems to come wildlife. This morning there was a herd of pronghorn across the river in Yellowstone National Park and a herd of mule deer at the school football field. This afternoon I took these photos from the gallery of a herd of elk across the river in Yellowstone, 'thinking' about making a river crossing. The fresh snow sure makes for a beautiful landscape, so of course I got in some plein air painting too!

We're going SOLAR

Solar thermal panels are being installed as we speak! We have a wonderful south facing view of Yellowstone National Park - so we get LOTS of sun. Going solar seemed like an obvious thing to do. I'll be posting some photos of the progress...