View from the Porch

16x20 Acrylic on canvas, © 2019

Collection of the Artist

We moved to Utah after a 40-year absence. Finding a house had become a problem—the housing market was off. We found a home in Springville, Utah; across the street was a vacant lot and beyond a vacant field and the mountains seemed to surround us. In the valley from time to time was a head of about 20 deer grazing and running to and fro. 

    One morning, after a stormy night, was a beautiful sunrise, and with the wet environment it deepened the saturation of the colors. The ghost clouds were down on the mountains and beauty abounded. As I walked out to check the weather for the day, this is what I saw from the porch, so I took a picture and thought that it would make a good painting. 

    It was a couple of years later and the valley turned into a sprawling middle school and my mind thought of what used to be. So I retrieved the picture that I had taken, cropped it, drew it, and painted—a view from the front porch.

Wardsworth Trail, Hobble Creek Canyon

 

20x16 acrylic on canvas, © 2019

Collection of the Artist

I painted this painting, with permission, from a friend's FaceBook post. I thought that it was a lovely scene and that I could interpret it well. I think that I did that, and I finished the painting and entered it in an exhibit. After two months of the exhibit I went to retrieve the painting and looked at the image with horror. It had straight RED lines in the work. What were they and why did they ruin my painting? 

    Well, when I started the work, I used an "archival" India Ink marker for the "square-up" lines. They really weren't squares but they were used for the same purpose. I believed archival to mean they would be inert. Big mistake, for the "India ink" interacted with the acrylic paint and turned red.

    My intent is to take alcohol and take the acrylic paint down to the gesso and then rebuild the layers of paint—maybe, maybe not—it's been a couple of years and it still has red lines. I don't think paint on top even with gesso would work. It would not be a pleasant task, so right now it is a reminder to use pastel or graphic to square up. I can't bring myself to discard it—I really, really like it.

8-Mile Fishing Trip

21x25.75 acrylic on silk canvas, © 2019

Collection of the Artist

For several years I've been asked to paint a "family history" picture, and they may be seen as you peruse the Blog. This is the last one that was requested by my wife's sister, who passed shortly after its completion. It is a composite of an old photograph and discussions with my brother-in-law (seen behind his father) near the beaver dams along the 8-mile stream. This was a frequent location for the family to go on a fishing outing.

  As I walked the stream looking for a spot that might serve as an appropriate location, I came upon this area where I could imagine a father and son fishing—water, crystal clear and cold as it came out of the mountains above. The small black and white photo of a similar event was not  as clear or as telling as what I would wish, but I believe that the result of the interpretation of, research of place, and attire helped make it a successful painting.

 

Waiting for the Shepherd

16x20 acrylic on panel, © 2019

Private Collection

On a trip to Idaho we were on some back roads when a pastoral scene struck me. It was sheep grazing with their heads down tending to the moment. I thought of the metaphor of us who are working everyday with our heads down doing the best we can at the moment. The title came to me of waiting for the shepherd to come and take His sheep into the sheep fold for the night.

    A friend saw the painting in an exhibit and said that it reminded him of his grandfather who ran some sheep. He wanted an alteration to make it even more meaningful. So I adjusted the composition to incorporate the head of his grandfather. I drew a picture of his grandfather and made a copy of it and lifted the pigment from the paper, painted the back like you would a cartoon cell, and pasted it on the picture and integrated into the composition. I'll look for a picture of that finished piece, so check back, and I'll see if I can post that also.

Sketch of Grandpa © 2020

Private Collection

Since I addressed some of what went on to obtain the completed work, I thought I would share the drawing that I did for the finished work.