Photos From the Vortex

I'm Baaaccckkk

From 10 days painting in Glen Arbor! Overall it was a really good trip. The weather was definitely on the cold side though....one of the days I was out the temperature never got over 44 degrees, coupled with 20mph+ winds. The saving grace that day was that the sun was absolutely brilliant and tucked up into the dunes it felt like it might have been 46 degrees, really. Good thing I brought the swix XC ski gloves which are now residing in my paint kit. Over the course of the week, I managed 17 paintings, 13 which were done on site.

One of the highlights of this particular trip was that on one of the days, I painted with a group of other artists; Melanie Parke, Richard Kooyman, Margaret Tvedten and Beth Bricker. ( See links) I never get to paint with anyone else, so it was really fun to just be in the company of all this great talent for the day. We hiked up to the top of Sleeping Bear Point, which Richard swears is the Vortex of all creativity! I think I'd have to agree with him. The first painting here is from that morning. The hike was probably a mile and a quarter...up, carrying all our gear. Style points go to Margaret who carried a card table up to the top as she was doing a very long watercolor. Melanie worked in gouche, Beth in pastel, Richard and I both worked in oils. We spent the morning into early afternoon there, heading into Art's Tavern for Burgers and deep fried Tator tots. (o.k. don't knock the Tator tots until you've had them deep fried.) After lunch, we headed up to Bohemian Road for the afternoon session.



Craig and Bodhi joined me almost a week into the trip.Let's say three is a crowd when you're out painting and 2 of that crowd is not painting! Craig had the BRILLIANT idea that he and Bodhi would join me for a morning session. On paper it looked good, really. Bodhi and Craig would sit on the beach, play fetch, etc. while I painted. Right. Lets see....we got there, I started to set up while Craig walked the Beaster to the beach. But no, in true dog fashion the Beaster likes all of us to be together in a pack, so he spent most of his time running between me and Craig, stopping for an occasional swim, then coming up and shaking all over me and my gear. In summary, that morning's painting is not one I'll be showing anytime soon.

Manitou Music Festival Poster

The Manitou Music Festival is at the printer! I talked to Peg at GAAA and she said that they will be delivered by the end of the month. Am very excited to see the printed piece. The original painting is of the Kelderhouse farm in Port Oneida, between Glen Arbor and Leland just off of M-22. The painting was completed during my AIR and donated to the Art Association as a token of appreciation.

The Kelderhouse farm is located in the Port Oneida Historic District in Sleeping Bear National Park. One of my earliest memories as a kid is spending time at Sleeping Bear with my family. We did all the typical family things; the dune ride (o.k, now that dates me!), the dune climb, and beach time at Glen Haven. As a kid I was fascinated with all the farmsteads that were seemingly abandoned. At the time, I didn't realize that they were part of a large scale preservation project. Even today, I still find all of those farms hauntingly beautiful. The title of the painting "In Between", signifies the emotional space those farms still occupy.

Shoreline Study

North Bar-September

No Escape

I've been painting alot lately. In the last month I think I've completed something like 25 paintings. Varying sizes, varying degrees of success IMO. I've come to one conclusion through it. There is simply no escaping who you are artistically. In my 15+ years as a professional illustrator/artist I've looked at alot of art. In fact recently I decided to stop looking at everyone elses art so I could get a clearer vision of what it was that I had to offer. Its so easy to get caught up in the idea of what the completed painting "should be", rather than what is. I think that for me one of the major distinctions between creating fine art and illustration is freedom. The freedom to choose not only subject matter and content, but the freedom to rest (or not, as is the case sometimes)with the result. In work for hire, the client almost always dictates the subject, the style and to some degree the final art.

Nature Boy Goes Happy.

I swear he is the happiest dog ever, especially when the day includes a trip to water. Any water. Big lake, little lake, muddy pond, swimming pool, yes even semi frozen water. The whining in the car started once we got to Spring Lake. By the time we got out of the car at Grand Haven, we were being dragged down the boardwalk full tilt towards the lake. When 4 paws and 80 pounds is determined there is not much that stops him, except the promise of a T-R-E-A-T.

Flower to the People

Have been working on a new series of paintings. Small floral studies. Motivated in part I think, by not being able to get outside and paint. So just to juice things up, decided to do some observational studies. Small, quick, not too fussy. I have probably 15 of these completed.

Snow be Gone for Good

Happy Spring, almost. Since tomorrow is the official changeover of the seasons! Am feeling like a broken record here but I am really ready for some warmer temperatures. At least warm enough to get outdoors and paint. I need another 10 degrees or so on top of the mid 30's we've been currently having. The two images I am posting today are what I call "do-overs". Both of these canvases had prior lives that I wasn't real fond of - so I painted directly over them. It was kind of fun to let some of the underpainting influence the new paintings. Both images are of Reed's Lake and done from digital reference, because it was too cold out.

Am working on a new series of paintings right now, that I hope to post if they ever dry!

Red Barns

There is something about barns in the landscape that has always fascinated me. Perhaps its the sense of connection, of being grounded to nature that the barn represents for me. Interestingly enough, the barn becomes part of the landscape, rather than an intrusion. (think McMansion planted squarely in a field and I think you'll know what I mean)

On another note; Bring on the spring! Am sick of painting indoors. Craig and I headed down to Saugatuck last weekend and spent a beautiful afternoon hiking through the State Park. Even though the sun was absolutely brilliant, it was about 24 degrees and with the wind off the lake, the wind chill was brutal! We spent about an hour and a half on the beach and hiking, but it took me about two days to warm up. Seriously.