Need a Little Help

In expanding the market for Watercolor Beyond The Obvious (WBTO), I am developing a new website that can be referenced in future ads and pulications.

If you have taken this class, I need a favor . . . .PLEASE.

If you have taken this class, Please email (Click on the little envelope below for my email address) your own brief comments about your experience of the class to me. It doesn't need to be earth shaking. It just needs to be honest so that I can present it to the world. All last names will be withheld, so don't worry about your privacy. If you would permit your full name to be used, please indicate that in your email. These comments will add much to the site, so please don't hesitate.

These testamonials will be posted as they arrive. Click the envelope at the bottom of this post for my email or send it to me directly at mebaileyart@comcast.net.

Thanks very much!

ANNOUNCEMENT !

A Typical Market Day in The Perigord Region of France

Le Petit Rousset . . . a 17th century farm house located near Eymet, France will be our headquarters.


PAINTING WORKSHOP IN FRANCE AUGUST 2 7 THRU SEPTEMBER 7, 2008


Experience the genteel and relaxed life in the Perigord region of France (Near Bordeaux), with Mike Bailey and friends, late this summer when the tourists vacate the area.

There is room for but 12 more people to share in the delights of this magnificent country side. We will be painting and touring almost daily for the entire time through one of France's premier areas which offer gorgeous vistas, medieval castles and villages, wineries, shopping and a cuisine that will arrest most anyones' attention. We welcome non painters, too! Because we are off on small day junkets nearly every day, the non painters find much to entertain themselves while we remain slaves to our pigments and paper. Evenings at the 17th century farmhouse are filled with good wine, laughter, art discussions and plenty of comraderie to post this trip into your eternal memory books.


Here is a link where you will see more details of where we will be and our itinerary. On this same site are photos of the charming and comfortable accomodations. Most meals, save for a few lunches, are provided as well as ground transportation. Leave your concerns at home! We handle all those little details that cloud otherwise perfect vacations.


If you would like to join us, or learn more about the trip, let me know immediately via email (click on small envelope below) as we are accepting deposits now.

Busy Week!

"Bistro Provencal"

watercolor on Arches paper, 15" x 22"

Life does get in the way once in a while . . . . as it should, I suppose.

I have had my head in the clouds for six months with painting . . . a wonderful state to be in, by the way. My real estate business is calling to me, so I must respond . . . . . .the teaching term has begun, which will keep my mind in another place until it is is finished . . . . . .then there is another matter, to which I must pay attention.

My watercolor work has been accepted in the most prestigious watercolor show, if not in the world, the USA. The painting was sent off last week to New York . . . .but this also means I cannot turn away from watercolor . . . .for many reasons, I must answer the call to get into next year's show, also. This means intensive work and study in order to have a selection of pieces from which to choose next November. So, this piece is a limbering up exercise. . . . a new beginning, if you will. I have much work to do between now and November . . . . and am keeping my fingers crossed that I can rise to the occaison then.

If it can be done, I will be pushing oils as well, but may not be posting as often as I would like. Keep watching. There are surprises waiting for you and for me.

PS . . . .Am not sure that this painting is properly color adjusted. Am using a very hi contrast monitor today, so the color may be incorrect. Will check later when I have my usual monitor at my disposal.

PPS . . . there is a glitch in the space formatting today . . .Have had this trouble before, but cannot resolve it. Sorry for the compressed paragraphs.

Delays and Distractions All Day

The painting and the article were developed today while workmen were stepping around me and my easel replacing the heating system for our house. Noisy! And, during this, I was giving an art lesson, too!

"Arboretum Eucalyptus"

oil on linen panel, 8" x 10"

This painting began with five or six lines which were the axes of the major shapes to set up an angular composition. Then, using those axes, I made angular flat shapes to define light and shadow shapes. No details or thoughts about them. Just flat shapes that provided some sort of movement through the composition. . . . .Then slobbered on color making sure to to hit violet and blue in a few spots. Big brush first . . . .accuracy not a concern.

I wish I had taken photos of the phases of this piece . . . .the early parts of the painting made for a killer abstract . . . .I may just get out a big canvas and give that a go again . . . . . . . . . .only not finish the “tree.” Just work the abstraction so that reality is a slight suggestion. This sure is fun !!!

On Painting "Gracefully"

"Point Lobos Environs"

oil on linen panel, 8" x 10"

Someone (Connie in the Comment Section) recently mentioned that my paintings were becoming more "graceful."

I was taken aback by that comment because it says so much without saying anything. I had to think about it and wondered what she meant, exactly. It seems it was a supreme compliment because it suggested growth of an unnamable sort. But let me see if I can connect my painting process thoughts with what she meant . . . .

This painting may or may not reach that quality, but there are aspects that point to what I think she means. For example, the gesture is used instead of the description. The green bushes in the foreground are but mere brush marks instead of well defined “bushes” . . . . . . . .those marks suggest without calling attention. The foreground field is more of a shape of a variety of similar valued tones . . . .there is a sense of something growing there without saying it directly. (at least I hoped for that!) And the rocks at the edge of the water at the ‘island’ really are not painted

r-o-c-k-s. They are just somewhat less than haphazard brush strokes that imply the presence of rocks. Is that what she meant? Is she saying I am getting closer, but not there yet? Or, is that my own thinking?

I find myself bridling my impulses . . . .holding back from making illustrations of some “thing” . . . . . .I want to leave something to the imagination and not be explicit. What I seek is to offer the viewer an opportunity to have a visual conversation with the painting. Conversation? The viewer will look at the painting which offers a hint of something, the viewer asks, the painting answers . . . . and so on. It is that quality that I seek . . .for the painting to be engaging to the viewer. And to do it by implication not replication.

Do you suppose that is what she meant by ‘graceful?’

New Tricks

"Surf Roost"

oil on canvas panel, 8" x 10"

I had to summon up my watercolor experience to make this painting have a little life . . . .that is the spray and droplets hanging in the air after the wallop of a wave against the base of the rock. Splattering paint . . .even though a simple trick was a necessary technique to bring this piece to a finish. The dark-light contrast of the spray holds the eye into the region I wanted the viewer to concentrate on. While there are birds roosting on the far rock, they are NOT the subject. The sheer drop and color of the rock and how it sits in the water is the subject of this painting. If I had wanted to make the painting about the birds, they would have occupied way more space . . . . .that is they would have been much larger and in a different spot on the canvas. This one was fun! (Aren't they all??)

Slow Feed

"Near The Edge"

oil on linen panel, 6" x 8"

It is like being fed ever so slowly when one reflects about how much one actually learns in one painting session. It seems, most of the time, that the learning is imperceptible. It isn't until one looks back over a large number of paintings that the growth from those tiny little lessons becomes obvious.

Often, it isn't until one is pressed to deliver quickly that one sees suddenly that he or she can indeed come up with the goods. That vision of possibility is often shrouded and hidden in the morass of digging through details. When time stipulates a hasty sketch only . . .or an impression . . . it is amazing how simple shapes and smudges of color just seem to speak up . . .and not only about the subject, but what's now in the hand of the person who painted it. Growth seems obvious to me when I can see a painter snap off two or three quick, seemingly simple 'studies' from which a larger work can be painted later. Those skills only come from lots of practice.

It is indeed a slow feed. But if one just puts their head down and concentrates on making practice daily, amazing things show up.

Divided Attentions

"Ice on the Beach"

oil on canvas panel, 8" x 10"

Yesterday, Gallerie Amsterdam in Carmel, CA took four more paintings off my hands . . . .all were of this subject, the iceplant growing on the beach.

I love this subject because of the colors in it at this time of year. It is an amzing collage of color color color! But when you mix red and green, unless you are careful, grays and 'mud' result. So, this subject is a challenge. While in that neighborhood, yesterday, I looked again and again at the colors . . . .from near black to screaming red to deep violet to orange and absolute neutral gray at some of the edges. I dreamt about it! So, painting it today was a forgone conclusion.

Am feeling a bit distracted at this time because it is time to go to work . . . yes, job type work . . . . . . . .there is much to be done and my head is divided. Am going to need to think this all through carefully so I don't have to give up painting. Both are important. Be assured, I will make it work.

Color Schemes

"Silvi's Little Patch"
oil on linen, 8" x 12"


The time has finally come to begin playing around with some design alternatives. This time, I chose to set up a color scheme completely unlike that which was on my photo. (I don't like working from photos, but this was a scene in the Perigord Region in France last Summer which has haunted me). So . . . .we were talking about color . . .My photo is all brilliant green. And green doesn't sell . . .or so they say . . . . . . .


I chose to set up a yellow dominance and work with an analogous color scheme, rather than be enslaved to what was before me. Mind you, there is a good deal of creativity that comes into play to do this. For example, where do we put the less intense colors and where put the most intense? It is a choice, but when it is done, the entire design must reflect and support that choice. This time, there was a lot of niggling happening before the piece was completed. Translation: overworked. but Hey!, ya gotta step out of the rut now and then, right?


Actually, I have a vision for the sort of paintings I want to create . . . .with emphasis on 'create' . . . . .and most of my work up to now has been to build practice with technique and medium. As I get more comfy with it, I will play around with some different design alternatives.


Back to the color thing . . . . . .I should possibly have chosen red or orange or, even blue! Yellow has the least options when it comes to value and can become pretty yucky fast if you aren't somewhat familiar with the color wheel. I have to admit I struggled with this one. I spent all day (almost) with it yesterday and about an hour tweaking it this morning. . . . which tells me I have much more work to do. So, I'll dig in again and again. Color schemes are a great way to do something unusual and captivating versus 'just another picture.' Expect to see more from time to time.

Perspective and Temperature

"The Duchess' Picnic Spot"

oil on canvas panel, 8" x 10"

Today, I was pressed for time. So I chose this subject. I had to spend a few minutes sketching it in my sketchbook . . .there were some interesting perspective wrinkles with the way the surface of the vineyards had slight undulations and the rows of vines flowed in differing directions to make such and interesting and captivating pattern. I realized, as I sketched, that it wasn't just rows of vines I was seeing. I was seeing shadows gradually disappear as I read from left to right . . . .Oh! I was amazed that I hadn't observed that little subtlety before this! They disappear because, eventually as one progresses from left to right, one is looking at the side of the vines that blocks the line of sight to their cast shadows.

And speaking of perspective, temperature played a big role in this piece. As each 'patch' was painted toward the background, the colors needed to become cooler. I was also trying hard to make the vines appear as though Autumn was near, thus turning the greens toward ochres, yellows, reds etc. But pushing back into the deeper perspective, the colors had to run cool . A nice exercise in color work. . . . . .now that I see this published, there is a small needed fix that I must tend to right now, before it dries. But that doesn't matter here . . .it is the area near the tip of the cypress trees . . .a small whitish line that needs to dissappear. Strange that I didn't see it before.

The Search for Subject

"Big Mouth"

oil on canvas panel, 8" x 10"

After the mess made in "Your Table is Ready" . . . .and the disappointment . . . .I decided I needed to be more cautious in choosing what to paint. . . .at least when working small. In a small 'study' sized canvas, there are a lot of things that lose importancee when the shapes get really small. Subtleties count much less . . . . .at least, that is my opinion. So, I search for distinctly large shapes and a clear separation between light and shadow.

It took a while this morning, listening to the rain, wondering if I would come up with something that I could practice the subtleties inside each of the families of light and shadow. No names for things in there, just value and temperature "spots" . . . .actually shapes. Then, when it is nearing completion, I look at edges and little quiet changes of color. For example, I needed to suggest a teensy bit of violet in the water to put warm into the cool and create some sense of a changing plane . . . .like in a wave . . . .or a shift in light. As soon as it hit the canvas, the painting came to life!

As for other subtleties, I think they matter more when painting larger. But that opinion needs to be proven, I suppose. Eh?

Until Next time . . . .

In the Dark!

Hi Everyone! We have just emerged from a long power outage due to the gale force storms that blew through California in the last few days. My studio went dark and cold . . .unable to even see the paint! Now, I can resume . . .sorry for the hiatus.

Making it Difficult

"Your Table is Ready"

oil on canvas panel, 8" x 10"

Sometimes, I need a thorough head examination!

This daily practice piece should have been spun out the door before I began it. Why? Let's just say that something this complex should not be in rhw queue for a daily trial. Just look! All sorts of angles, perspective changes, vague and subtle value changes (thru the windows), repeating patterns, textures and a ton of other things to entertain and dazzle any painter for more than a day. But I did it anyway. That's why I should have my head examined!

Simplification is so necessary in painting, yet it is as though I go to sleep sometimes. Sometimes I just ignore the obvious and make it difficult. Go figger!

Confidential Project

"L.G. Hotel"

oil on linen panel, 10" x 8"

On December 10 I posted that I had been painting a confidential Christmas project. Now the cat can come from the bag. This was a painting for my daughter and her husband . . . the site of their wedding. It was a gift to them and I didn't want to spill the beans until it was in their possession.

It now has an honored spot in their dining room where it is seen daily.

This was an interesting challenge. I had photographed the 'campus' there and found that the sun had nearly set. So, there was no shadow and light differences. I had to create it. Additionally, to bring some interest, I had to move some objects and add a few pieces of foliage to lead the eye. It took more than two days to get this one right . . . . .(if it is ever right!) ;-) . . . . . . . .there is always room to do better, isn't there!