One of my top few observations from being a painter is the importance of abstraction. Although I’m primarily a representational painter, a painting ultimately succeeds or fails based on abstract qualities, especially design.

I painted this study in a loose abstract manner, without my eye glasses. This helps me accurately record color and value, as our mind has a way of convincing me of things that aren’t always true (eg, that grass is green, the sky is blue). Towards the end of the painting, I pull it back in to a representational state bty adding a details/lines that “pull it together”. I didn’t do that here. I paused at this point, and thought, why not, it works as it is now: a pleasing combination of color and shapes.

Hmmm….I may fast becoming an abstract painter. Oh well, it’s what’s selling

Beach Canyon Abstract - Oil on Linen - 8×10

Yesterday was…conflicting. On the one hand, it was an extraordinarily beautiful day–one with the level of clarity you see after a couple of days of rain–and on the other, a very sad one.

I painted the view below of the Golden Gate Bridge from El Camino Del Mar, just past the Palace of Fine Arts. When I was done, I was approached by a stranger, Tod, who’d told me he’d lost his brother two days before in a car accident, 20 yards down from where I was sitting. Thirty minutes before I’d taken a break and walked down to see the flowers left at the tree where his brother’s car had struck, an old Monterey Cypress. Since we’d had our first big rain the day of the accident, and it’s a sharp turn on a steep hill, I can image the slick roads that day must have combined to create this tragedy.

This isn’t the first time a painting has had a special connection with someone. As artists, it’s something we seek, but of course can never plan for. A place remembered or one you’d like to visit is the norm. You’ll never know when that connection will be made. I’m grateful I was there at the moment Tod came back to visit that tree, and hope this painting brings him comfort, some day.

“Brothers” - Oil on Linen - 12×9

I painted a couple of quick studies Saturday while selling my week’s work in Jackson Park.  The crowd was small, but appreciative. I did end up selling two paintings, so not bad.  Unfortunately, I really misjudged how much display space I would have, so ended up under-painting for the event.

Jackson Park Doorway Study, Oil on Linen, 8×6″ 

I hate to be negative (here it comes), but I think I’m getting burned out by these plein air shows.  In the beginning, they were a terrific way to get my name out there, meet other artists, and get basic experience selling, but lately, they seem like a chore.  I also feel I keep painting for show after show, constrained by the location I have to paint, which limits my creative choices. I want to work on a series of paintings of Buena Vista Park, or other ideas which I define and control.  So, I think I’m going to either stop doing these next year, or scale back considerably.

Is this a “step up”?  I’m not sure.  I hope the results show it is   Cheers!

I packed my paint-stained chapeau yesterday in Rigby, Idaho for my green accountant’s visor here in New York to fit the part for my speaking engagement. This instant switch from artist to marketer/banker will provide a nice rest before the pressures of Telluride Plein Air kick in Thursday. What, banking, no pressure? Sure, but different.

I had some great discussions today with the “rock stars” of Web 2.0 + Finance. While Jason Knight (co-founder of Wesabe) looks more like “The Rock” than rock star Keith Richards and Colin Henderson of The Bankwatch, Michael Stipe, we got plenty of Satisfaction dreaming about the future. The web is exciting, once again! Hell, if Web 2.0 implodes like 1.0, I can always fill my days with canvas coloring until Web 3.0…or Web 2.1, or whatever.

Realizing I wasn’t far from the Art Student’s League of New York, I decided to work off dinner’s proliferoles and see one of the most historically important institutions in American Art. The halls where Robert Henri taught and wrote “The Art Spirit” (the greatest book about art ever written) were empty and closed, but hopefully tomorrow I can sneak out of work and browse the classrooms.

Leaving inspired, on my walk back to my hotel, a man asked for a quarter for a slice of pizza, and for half a second I thought that New York City wasn’t nearly as expensive as I remembered. Inspiration can cloud reality, if only for a few blocks in The Big Apple.

‘night.

P.S.

I have never used my blog to rant against someone, but today’s the day. I’m that angry.

I just had the worst customer service experience in my life. I booked the Casa Sant’Andrea Hotel in Venice, Italy with Orbitz, using a $50 off coupon code. Everything went fine until I received the confirmation email, which said the hotel was in Rome! I immediately canceled the reservation online. When I went back to the site to find the correct hotel in Venice, it gave me the same hotel, and the map showed Venice, not Rome as well. Turns out the hotel I booked was in Venice, even though the confirmation email from Orbitz said “Roma”.

Okay, time to rebook and let Customer Service know what happened. I deserve my coupon back, right? I canceled because of a mistake on their end, an at best misleading email that said the hotel was in Rome. I called their toll free number. Long story short, in 30 frustrating minutes I was transfered 4 times, each time someone telling me something different. Back and forth between Customer Service, who was supposed to re-instate the one-time use coupon code because of the error, then back to Booking who said the code wasn’t valid. Yikes! To make things worst, the customer service reps where clearly out of India, so there were plenty of language problems during this fiasco.

It goes without saying I’ll never book with Orbitz again. When I told a few other world travelers about my experience, they nodded as they too had terrible service with Orbitz. Unfortunately, this hotel only books through Orbitz so I had to bite the bullet and rebook. Let’s hope when I get to Venice the hotel will be there and I’ll have a reservation.

Check out this link to learn more, from someone who is collecting horror stories like mine and organizing a boycott. Okay, that off my chest, time to think about art.

When I travel without my paint, I get figidity. What to do?

I just got back from 4 days in Lincoln, Nebraska for my nephew’s high school graduation. It was a great trip. In between events, I’d go for walks (wherever I was), sit down and sketch a bit. They say you should always carry a sketchbook, but I usually forget. Remembering that the purpose of ad-hoc sketching is to better your skills, does it matter what you sketch on, or what you sketch? Hey I may not be the “Master of Blight” (William Wray), but I can learn from sketching anything, including a trash can.

BTW, Katherine Tyrrell’s blog, “Travels with a Sketchbook” provides some great examples and discusses technique.
Here are a couple of quick sketches of downtown Lincoln.

And here’s Mike and I with our nephew Nick Cruickshank. Congrats, Nick!

I’ve been “tagged” by fellow artist Katerine Tyrrell with “Seven Things”, a sort of blogosphere chain letter. Here are 7 things you probably don’t know about me, and some fellow bloggers I’ve tagged:

1. I met my partner, Mike, on a blind date! Our good friends Ellen and Neil set us up. They both know us well, and hey, I guess you could say it worked out since we’ve been together for 18 years.
2. I have a short attention span, for some things at least. This shows up in my career history. I’ve been a musician, software engineer, high-tech manager, marketing guy, and artist. I’m not afraid to take risks now and then and shake things up. Jumping into something new things usually doesn’t scare me.
3. I’m a collector–not art, neccessarily (although there is that), but lots of things, like making lists, collecting data, and making connections between seemingly disparate things. One of my favorite things to do is to analyze a problem with lots of variables and find interesting connections to solve it. I’ve applied this to both complex software engineering problems, as well as marketing challenges. I like to “connect the dots“.
4. Music is important to me. It was my first artistic, creative adventure, starting at age 7 when my grandmother sent me a guitar from the Sears catalog one Christmas. She visited the following summer, and expected me to play! I did: Green Sleeves (interistingly, attributed to King Henry VIII). I’m listening to Death Cab for Cutie right now. Ahh…
5. What book’s on my nightstand? Usually a murder mystery. Love them. I guess it goes back to “connecting the dots”. I like to analyze.
6. I have a very famous person’s phone number (home and cell), but at risk of loosing this relationship, not going to give you the name! Turns out, this person is a painter herself (that narrows it down!) and she likes my work. I’ve helped her connect with other artists and we’ve had opportunities to just chat about art. She’s an actress. Enough hints
7. My favorite “sin” is sweets. I don’t think I’ve met a piece of chocolate that I didn’t love. One of my favorite places to indulge is Fleur de Cocoa, in Los Gatos, CA. They make European style hot chocalate–which, I believe, is probably just real chocolate melted with some milk or cream. None of that powdered crap. My God. Drinking it takes me back to the Las Ramblus in Barcelona, where I first tasted REAL hot chocolate.

It’s time for me tag some of my favorite bloggers (I realize some have been tagged, but want to recognize them), in no particular order:

• Bart Westgeest, “I Landscape” (Denmark). Bart is an incredibly creative, skillful artist who happens to also be a great blogger. His directness, honesty, curiosity and sensitivity makes him a regular read of mine
• René Beeldendkunstenaar, “René Plein Air” (The Netherlands). Another talented artist who posts really wonderful work regularly.
• Katherine Tyrrell, “Making a Mark” (United Kingdom). I think Katherine was probably my first “blogger-friend”. We discovered each other’s blogs in the early days, and have kept in touch. She’s great at transfering her ongoing search for artistic expression through knowledge, always finding the best resources, websites, exhibitions, etc. A great journey to follow.
• Cooper Dragonette, “Tomato Can Brushes” (Maine, USA). Cooper is the most recent addition to my blogroll. His artist journey is honest and the work always fascinating.
• Frank A. Edwards, “Painting for Life” (Ontario, Canada). Frank is a great painter: fresh color, free brush work, always interesting compositions. He’s generous with his knowledge.
• Michael Chesley Johnson, “A Plein Air Painter’s Blog” (Campbello Island, New Brunswick, Canada). As an artist/teacher, Michael’s posts are always enlightening. He did a wonderful series of posts chronicling a workshop with Ray Roberts, as well as his participation in plein air painting events across the country.
• William Wray, “California Painter William Wray” (Sierra Madre, California). William’s posts are terrifically entertaining and his work is original and beautiful, even if his subjects are often the blight of the Los Angeles area. He finds both beauty and humor everywhere.
• Peter Yesis, “Daily Painting Practice” (Omaha, Nebraska). Peter is terrific at explaining his process, with step by step examples. His work is terrific.
• Linda Blondheim, “Landscapes of the South” (Florida, US). Also a teacher, Linda ends every post with a useful “Painters Tip”. I don’t know how she comes up with so many, years of experience, I guess.

Off topic, yes, but fun!  Had a great time Easter Sunday, just getting around to posting some pics.  No paintings today.  Enjoy!

Boy Intrigued…by Leopard Easter Bunny.

Gracie Chases Bubbles in Bubbles.

On my last visit home, my mother presented me with a scrap book of items she kept of mine while growing up, including photos, old artwork and perhaps most telling–report cards! I remember school a bit, but reading these teacher/parent notes about ‘young Edward’ brought me back to that time.

I remember being bored in school and my teacher’s notes from kinderkarten onward confirm that. I guess I didn’t get serious about school until college, when I had more of a “choice” about what to study. The exception to the rigors of public school was the eary music education I got. This was a luxury, as from 13 on my mother raised 4 children alone. There were definite hardships, and so getting music lessons meant a lot.

I played multiple instruments, but excelled on the Trombone, playing jazz, classical, you name it. My private teacher–Mr. VanFleet–was (is? I don’t know, we’ve lost touch) an incredible teacher. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind me calling him a “hard ass”. A Marine drill-instructor to the core (have no idea if he served, but he’d be a natural), he SCARED you into practicing. If you showed up to your private lesson not having learned your assignment–forget it. Run.

One of his techqniques for teaching musing–shared by many, this is in no way unque–was “sight reading“, or playing a piece of music for the first time, “on sight” with no preparation. It was a great way to train the musician to react quickly AND think ahead, or I should say, read ahead. You’re playing a passage and always looking a few bars ahead to figure out, “where’s this going?”. He’ll hand you a piece that could be just as easily a sonota as jazz. You’re not expected to play perfectly since the point is the process, not the result.

So what’s this got to do with art and learning? Applying musical “site reading” to art (I call it “Sight Painting”) is a great learning tool. Here’s how it works: I fill my camera with random images from my huge digital library. In my studio, I attatch the camera to a TV to project the images. I then pick a random number and scroll through the camera’s images until I hit it. I set a timer, usually 15 minutes. Then I paint the image quickly. Sometimes I see great results, often not, but the painting’s not the point–the process is. You learn not to get fussy with your brush (I always use a brush larger than I think I need for these exercises, and use one brush throughout). You learn to mix color quickly and create new threads of color from old colors on your palette (which great harmonizes the painting). You think big shapes and work smaller–if you have time! Lastly, you often get an image with incredible life and passion.

Try it! If you do, send me URLs to your studies and I’ll post here. The two paintings in this post where done this way, although the sunset was plein air.

Another music to art learning analogy I’ll cover soon is playing musical scales. Just as there are keys in music, there are color keys that you can use to learn color harmony.