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Updated 2/21/08
Mountain Paintings
San Jacinto, San Gorgonio Wilderness Areas, Snow, Pines and anything over 5,000 feet!
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Just a little quick study painting today, because I am off and packing for my departure on the drive over to Arizona, and painting is important! However, since I'm headed for Arizona on the morrow, and will have just a boatload of subjects to paint by tomorrow evening and through next week, I cannot begin a lesson painting just yet.
I surely hope that I won't be unable to post from the ranch, that I will be able to send your images along each day. I'll just have to cross that bridge when I get to it!
For today, when I was out packing the car, I looked up into our tall pines and saw the full moon coming through the branches, and yet the sun was glowing on the trunk of the tree. I studied/perceived it while it lasted, and brought the memory of it to this 7 x 5 inch acrylic. Interesting note: this is painted with a bunch of "leftover" paints, not my normal palette, because those are already in the car! I did go out and get the titanium white, though... |
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I know you've been able to to see the progress of this painting, now it is time to enjoy the finished product! You know, I look at it here in its six inch format, and sigh, because one cannot appreciate this painting's presence any more than looking at the paintings of the Old Masters as depicted in a book. There just isn't much comparison, and this is why I so encourage everyone to go to see art on the walls of museums and on pedestals in hallways of venerable establishments. There is just no experience like standing in front of an original Rembrandt, or a Sir Lawerence Alta-Tadema or an Anders Zorn, in total awe of the execution of brushwork, the use of color, or the incredible ease of the color handling.
That said, perhaps we just ought to enjoy the painting and leave it at that. Yes, this painting is already in the hands of the design team for La Quinta. 36 x 48 inch acrylic.
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"California Ridge" Today I took a break from working in the studio to make a new hiking trail on the mountain behind our place. It was about 3 p.m. and entailed the following steps: I took the machete out and sharpened it on the grinder. I led Vincent van Goat out of the pen and put his pack saddle and red pack bags on, loaded with water and my sweatshirt, and off we went. The mare (who thinks Vincent is her foal) went crazy neighing and running back and forth most of the time we were up on the mountain, creating quite a dust storm as she galloped back and forth in the corral. Using the machete, I cut about three-tenths of a mile of new trail through the brush until the sun was gone and it started to turn cold. Trail cutting is both hard work and euphoric, and I do enjoy it. A new hiking area is opened up, I can let the terrain guide the location and direction of the trail, and working in the company of a friendly white goat is very much in touch with nature.
Of course, since I was looking at those rocks up behind the studio, I needed to switch gears when I returned and paint some! So here's today's painting, a 12 x 12 oil, of rocks and possible trail locations, so very characteristic of California hillsides. One ought to paint the things that are close to your heart, and I was very close to the brush and rocks as the trail opened up due to my effort. $250
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Today's painting is a 15 x 30 ACRYLIC (about time I went back to them, ehh?) of a monolith rock in Strawberry Valley, called Lily Rock, in the mountain community of Idyllwild. Idyllwild sits at 6200 feet, is cool when its over 100 down here, and a favorite place to go to enjoy the pines and beautiful sunrises and sunsets. This painting is going to the gallery up there, and will be delivered tomorrow, Saturday, along with three others. Idyllwild is not in the fire zone, but is across the Palm Springs/desert pass from the 62,000 acre blaze in the San Gorgonio wilderness--that's headed to Big Bear. Tomorrow it is supposed to reach a record high of 110 degrees Fahrenheit down here. What a challenge for the firefighters. Blech. However, most of the central and western United States is under heat wave as well, I hear, so I'd best do no complaining! This one will only be for sale through the gallery in Idyllwild.
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"Snowfall" The weather has changed around here, and although not like THIS, the cooler air of the Pacific storms has come in, making blankets nice on an evening's watch of clouds. I grew up in Northern Virginia, and scenes such as this rural area weren't strange to me, so painting one from memory and summer source material isn't too difficult. Back to the oils, and a 12 x 16 painting comes off the brushes at the beginning of a new year of daily paintings!
One thing I had to keep in mind was the control and losing of edges. One wants to paint every detail, and yet good, emotional paintings come from losing about 80% of the edges in between colors and shapes. The calligraphic lines fill in the details, and one must be mindful of where to place them to make an effective composition, as every painting challenges us to forget the details and carve the direction for the viewer to go. I know you came into this painting on the lower right, because the brighter blue shadow is there. And the line of the railings on the bridge and the road take you right to the house, conveniently shown in a complementary color to the blues and purples of the snowfall. A far cry from the greens, purples and yellows of the summer source! Now what would your back yard look like in mid winter? $350
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"Going Fishing" I feel as if the misty feel and the coolness of the weather are in place. The focal point is complete, the two figures, a lady and a man, are loading their gear in the boat for a morning of fishing. This was completely from my head, without any photo reference, so please be kind! I'm off tomorrow to ride and relax, although not going to the desert as planned due to the traffic and so much to do around this house. And my hubby has built some wonderful shelves for frames and canvases, and I need to fill them! $300
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"Morning Light on Lily Rock" Oil, 16 x 20 inches. On location once again in Idyllwild, I set up my easel below the balcony of the Fort, and looking up North Circle Drive, painted this view at about 11 am. this painting won Best in Show by juror David Musser, and was sold immediately. |
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"Idyllwild Cafe" This landmark cafe on the main road into Idyllwild has fascinated me for years. I just love the red contrasting against the green of the pines, so on the day of the plein air event, I took my easel and set it up near the school and painted this canvas. 12 x 16 oil, available from the Two Babes Gallery in Idyllwild. |
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"Beginning with a Dawn" What better way to greet the new year than to paint the rising of the sun as it comes up behind the bluffs in wha is called "the Badlands" of Riverside County? I just love theses really steep hills, with the fields off in the distance. It felt so right to imagine the sujnrise playing on the counds off in the distance, and to think what the new year holds. Optomistically, I think the new year will bring exciting new challenges, a ton of fun, and many new friends. First painting of 2007 - Original oi, 12 x 12 inches. $200
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"Pathways" A large version of a lovely mountain trail through pines, this oil painting is 10" wide by 20" high! As we go through life, we all fact paths of both beauty and trials. I painted many pathway paintings during the time my dad was dying, and I was questioning my own pathway choices. This is a joyous pathway! Available for $300 from Elin. |
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"Early Snow" In the tradition of the Robert Wood landscapes, Elin paints this large 24 x 36 inch canvas full of the color and brushwork for which she is known. US $1800 from the artist. |
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"Who's Next?" In Idyllwild, with the characteristic Lily Rock in the background, this horse and carriage drives the tourists around and returns to park--right in front of where Elin set up! Original oil on canvas, 16 x 20 inches. Available only from the Two Babes in the Woods Gallery in Idyllwild. Won Second in the public's Popular Vote. |
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"Idyllwild Pines" After doing the two still life paintings, Elin looked around to the vista from the deck at the Two Babes in the Woods gallery, and saw these two pines across the road near a field. Not all the pines are dead, and these beautiful specimens will live forever in Elin's 10 x 8 painting, available from the Two Babes Gallery in Idyllwild. Idyllwild Pines |
 "Lily Rock from Humber" Painting on location in Idyllwild, Elin set up her easel at Humber Park, which is the trailhead for the Devil's Slide and the connection to the Pacific Crest Trail. This monolithic rock is a favorite for climbers and overlooks the town of Idyllwild. Original Oil on Canvas, 20 x 24, US $ 400 from the artist.
 Along the Marion Mountain Road, Idyllwild After painting the Idyllwild State Park with Roger Whitlock, we drove up to the campgrounds at Dark Canyon and Marion Mountain. While Roger captured the rocks and pines a bit further down the road, I chose to actually paint the road traveled by many folks heading to the campgrounds and trailheads of this part of the San Jacinto Wilderness. Original oil on canvas, 9 x 12 inches US $ 185 Email to purchase from the artist
 Two Pines Intertwined On location with a group of painters, Elin looked up the driveway and was struck by the beauty of these pine trees, growing apart and then growing together, much like many relationships. She quickly set up and painted this 16 x 12 image, knowing it would be a good one. Original oil on canvas US $ 225 Email to purchase from the artist
 "On the Hill below the Tram" Elin traveled to the Palm Springs Tramway as part of the La Quinta Plein Air Desert Event, and painted this 18 x 24 oil while the sun was setting in the west. The painting was done before the light was gone, and you can almost feel the cold air. This painting was published in the Idyllwild Community Calendar for January! Original Oil on Canvas, 18 x 24 inches US $ 575 Purchase from the artist
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"Lily Rock from Humber"
