A Quick, 5 x 7″ Watercolor Sketch of a Vintage Fishing Lure

5 x 7″ Watercolor Sketch of Bomber

As I come to the close of a satisfying Easter holiday, I reflect on the festive atmosphere I was invited to share with some beautiful friends in north Arlington.  Marvelous friendships were formed, thanks to a remarkable student I was privileged to have in my class back in 1989, my second year of teaching.  How fulfilling to see her again, with her family, her parents, and a large circle of friends and colleagues.

Before returning to school in the morning, I wanted to try and finish this 5 x 7″ sketch I started this morning in the Cave before attending the north Arlington Easter brunch.

I like the watercolor effect of these vintage lures better on a dark background.  Until now, I had always placed them on a white field.  I think in the days ahead (before next weekend’s Art in the Park festival http://www.kennedaleartsfestival.com/) I may try a few more of these smaller watercolor compositions.

Thanks for reading.

I Would Rather Be Fly Fishing

I Would Rather Be Fly Fishing

Again, I admit a blog hiatus.  After last weekend’s three-day art festival, I was exhausted, returning to school at 7:35 the next morning, still ill from the allergy symptoms suffered last week, and totally run-down. I’ve spent most of this week in school and in bed, with little in between.

Two days ago, tornadoes destroyed over 400 homes in my city, coming within 1/4 mile of my house.  Surrounded by destruction, and looking at the faces of many of my students who have lost their homes, I’m devastated at this turn of fortune.  There is no describing the loss that I see all around me now.  There is so much pain.

I think I have finished this watercolor sketch that I began while in my booth at the last festival (Kennedale’s Art in the Park).  While my Art I students are finishing an assignment before sailing into the three-day weekend, I’ve been at my desk fiddling with it.  I changed the color of my shirt in order to make me stick out a little more.  Also I darkened and salted the water more for contrast and drybrushed lightly more weeds about my feet and landing net.  More tree foliage needed to be drybrushed as well.  I think I have done about all I can.  The setting of this sketch is Troublesome Creek, northwest of Denver, and east of the town of Kremmling.  The creek flows into the Colorado River.  Trophy trout cruise those waters, and I have pulled out dozens of them–rainbows, brookies, cutthroats and browns.  I even hit a grandslam the last time I visited there (all four species caught in the same day).

Soon, I hope to pursue a series of watercolors on the fly fishing theme.  I have dozens and dozens of digital photos on file that I have taken over the years during my own excursions to Colorado, north Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas in search of trout.  I am looking over a museum catalog I purchased on Winslow Homer’s fly fishing watercolors.  I attended that show when it came to Fort Worth’s Amon Carter Museum, and saw another major retrospective of his watercolors at the Art Institute of Chicago a few years ago.  I need to  devote more time to studying his techniques.

I miss Colorado so much that I ache.  It has been two summers since I last enjoyed those mountain streams and the thrill of painting the front range.  I wish to God I could get there this summer, but I’ll have to wait and see.

Tomorrow I will visit Malakoff, Texas for the first time and experiment with some plein air painting.  I am thrilled to have been invited to teach a two-day workshop there next Thursday and Friday.  I’m going there tomorrow to “scout” the town so I can know in advance what kind of landmarks my workshop participants can sketch in watercolor.  I really hope to meet some of the participants tomorrow when I get there.

Though I have been under the weather for a considerable time (and doing very little blogging) I have been immersed in the writings of Paul Gauguin (The Writings of a Savage).  I don’t have the itch to go to Tahiti, but I would love to adopt his “savage” lifestyle in the mountains of Colorado, if only I could go there for awhile.  I have no foolish ideas about living off the land and the trout I catch–I would be satisfied with canned goods.  But I would love to study the color and light there, the mountains, rock formations, streams and Aspens.  I really need to find new directions in my work.  I hate it when I feel that I am doing “hack” work, whipping out watercolors for the trade.  I’m only happy when I’m a student of this craft, always learning new things.

Thanks for reading.

 

Final Day of Kennedale’s Art in the Park

Kennedale final day of festival

The Texas sun is brutal today.  I’ll be glad when this show finally closes at 5:00.  I regret that my 7:35 class in the morning will be coming on early and fast.

This festival has been slower than others.  It has provided quality, quiet, isolated time for me to kick out a pair of watercolor sketches, posted yesterday.  I have also taken advantage of reading time.  In our A. P. Art History class, we are working through the 19th century.  I have been captivated for years by the work and the  mind of Eugene Delacroix, a Romantic painter from France.  During this festival, I have opened and read for the first time from his Journal, and have been amazed at his observations.

On April 13, 1853, he recorded this:  One always has to spoil a picture a little bit, in order to finish it.  The last touches, which are given to bring about harmony among the parts, take away from the freshness.  In order to appear before the public one has to cut away all the happy negligences which are the passion of the artist.

I have wrestled with that reality my entire artistic life.  I could not begin to count the number of my watercolors that, to me, were better while in progress than when completed and signed.  The vignette look, with all the empty space surrounding the composition, is something I lifted from the Andrew Wyeth drybrush renderings that I admired since I was a dreamy high school student.  Yet, I have to force myself to stop before I get to the perimeter of my compositions.  I still have not mustered the courage to pause, reflect, evaluate over the days, then just sigh, and say: “I’m calling this one finished.”

I’m looking forward to gleaning more from Delacroix.

Thanks for reading.

Troublesome Creek Fly Fishing–2nd Watercolor Attempt

Troublesome Creek Fly Fishing, #2

I am nearing the end of day two of Art in the Park.  The sun just dropped  beneath the horizon, so I can no longer tinker with this watercolor.  But I am more enthused with the way it’s developing than the first that I did earlier today.  I am enjoying the effects of the salt in the water and foliage, and I like how the masquepen worked on the tree limbs and trunks.  I would have liked to have devoted more time to the fly fisherman, but, as I said, it’s darkened now, and I dare not try to watercolor under dim evening light.

I’m exhausted by two consecutive weekend festivals.  I supposed I’ve gotten too old to keep up the pace.  My allergies are a little better, but I’m still not at 100%.  But it feels good to be fiddling with watercolor again, and I do enjoy the festival atmosphere.  Tomorrow we’ll close at 5:00.

Thanks always for reading.

Saturday at Art in the Park, Kennedale, Texas

Troublesome Creek Fly Fishing

Today is Saturday at Kennedale Texas.  I’m participating in Art in the Park.  The weather is absolutely beautiful, but the attendance is quite thin, so I have plenty of time to do watercolor in the booth.  I started and finished this one today, and if the crowds don’t pick up soon, it looks as though I’ll start (and perhaps finish) a second piece.  I worked from a photo that my guide shot of me angling a 24″ Cutthroat Trout at Troublesome Creek in Kremmling, Colorado, northwest of Denver.

The sun is so bright outside that I can barely see this image on my laptop.  If I find out later that it is badly reproduced, I’ll clean it up and re-post it.  I use Photoshop to sharpen my photos, but honestly, I cannot see anything in this bright light today.

Besides watercoloring, I am reading with great delight the Journals of the Romantic painter Eugene Delacroix.  The man’s mind (as well as his paintbrush) excites me to no end.  He has made me feel like such a featherweight in my journal endeavors over the past few decades.  I am determined to find a way to discuss my theories on watercolor with the exactitude that he did with his oils.  For sure, I do not travel the exotic lands that he did, but still I am enough of a road trip warrior that I can surely penetrate these odyssey experiments better with the written word, and with a watercolor block and camera in hand.  I can’t wait for the summer season to come around so I can see about putting some of this to work.

Thanks for reading.  I think I’ll start another fly fishing watercolor sketch.

Thanks for reading.

Blogging Live from Kennedale, Texas–Art in the Park

Art in the Park, Kennedale, Texas

I send you greetings, live (yes, live) from Art in the Park, Kennedale, Texas.  Happily I have wireless access, compliments of the nearby public library.  And they assured the artists that the access would be in place until after closing time every night of the festival.  It’s wonderful, being able for the first time to blog live from my booth.  It was a humid day for set-up, and I soaked two sets of clothes.  But I am cool and dry now, the festival gates have opened, and I’m just waiting for patrons.

The art scene is heating up.  I have fifteen framed watercolors hanging in DeSoto City Hall as of yesterday.  They will remain on view through the month of April.  I have another exhibition coming up at Arlington Museum of Art, with the artists reception on April 20.  Today begins a three-day festival (I”m still tired from the three-day festival last weekend).  We will close tonight, and it is my earnest intention to get a full night’s rest.  I’m still puny from the allergy sickness that has dragged me down all last week.  Perhaps tomorrow I’ll have enough in me to begin a watercolor on site.  It’s been a week.

Thanks for reading.

The Next Art Festival

Tripp Watercoloring at Festival

At the time of this writing, I am still very sick and debilitated by allergies.  But I have little room to stop (though I have slept a total of 20 hours during the last two sleep cycles).  I still need sleep.

Tomorrow (Thursday) I will be taking fifteen framed watercolors to DeSoto City Hall for an exhibition to last through the month of April.  Day-after-tomorrow, I load in for the Art in the Park Festival at Kennedale, Texas which will last three days.  Right now, I groan at the fact of raising my 10 x 10′ tent!  “But maybe in 48 hours I’ll be up to the task.

I will lead a two-day plein air watercolor workshop in Malakoff, Texas on April 12-13.  The watercolor society there seems to be a very active, aggressive bunch, and I cannot wait to meet them.

On April 20, I will be at the Artist’s Reception for the 5 x 5 Exhibit at the Arlington Museum of Art.  This will be my first time featured in an art museum show.

On April 21, my band has a gig at J. Gilligan’s in Arlington for a benefit.  So, we have to schedule some rehearsals to be ready for that as well.

My dance card is really filling up!  I have such a desire to return to the studio to pursue watercolor, but I am so sick right now, that all I want to do is crawl into bed.  And yet, at the time of this writing, I’m not even halfway through the school day.  Bummer.

 

Finished Advertising Image for Art in the Park

Art in the Park, Kennedale, Texas

Sorry I’ve been away from the blog so long.  I have experienced a myriad of computer-technology problems and now am working on different equipment.  I cannot understand why this posted image looks so grainy.  Granted I took the photo outdoors when evening was darkening, but I have done that before with no issues.

I just finished an image to advertise the 3rd annual Art in the Park at Kennedale, Texas.  The two day event will be March 31-April 1.

Thanks for reading.

 

Quick Watercolor Sketch of the Durango Silverton RxR

Durango Silverton RxR Skirting the Gorge

Every time I think I have finished this small watercolor sketch, I find something else to do to it.  I began the work while sitting in my booth at Art in the Park last spring in Kennedale, Texas.  My reference photo is a small 3 x 5″ photo I took with a throw-away digital camera purchased years ago before I bought my own Nikon.  I had the privilege of sitting near the back of this train, and was able to photograph the front portion of it as it wended its way around the mountains between Durango and Silverton, Colorado.  I still haven’t managed to capture the steam billowing out of the engine, and feel that I’m going to have to do some scrubbing with a towel or maybe even some sanding with light-gauge sand paper and begin again.  I really want to show the steam.  I’m also not satisfied with the misty trails in the distant valley to the right.  I feel that it looks as though I just quit on the foliage.  I believe the cliff face in front also needs additional work on the deep shadows, and there are some details with the yellow passenger cars that I forgot to finish out.  Anyway–plenty more “playing around” left to do on this way.  All the same, I wanted to post it on the blog, so here it is.  Hopefully I’ll show it again when I get it where I want.  It’s a small piece by the way, about 12 x 16″.

Thanks for reading.

First Day of a Three-Day Art Festival

Art in the Park, Kennedale, Texa

Today was the first of a 3-day art festival in Kennedale, Texas–Art in the Park.  The crowds picked up (as did the sales) after the evening cooled things down (hot-hot-HOT this afternoon during set-up!).  This is my first festival of 2011, and I’m fortunately off to a good start.  I believe the most satisfying part of the evening (even more than the sales) was that four of my high school students came to see me, and yes, I offered extra credit for anyone coming by and signing my guest book, but all of them without exception stayed around to chat for long stretches afterward.  That meant a great deal to me.  I’m also grateful for a loving wife who worked herself to the bone with the load-in and set-up involved–and developed a monster headache in the hot sun.  She did a superb job with the track lighting and interior decorating–she always does.

Off to bed now.  Tomorrow is a 12-hour festival stretch 10:00-10:00.  At least I can go to bed happy and fulfilled tonight.

Thanks for reading.