Great Things Small Packages 2013

Friday, November the first, a new show is opening at the Terra Nova Gallery in Provo, Utah. It's their annual "Great Things Small Packages" show. The show is free and always has a variety of wonderful small works for sale by local artists. I'm happy to once again have a couple pieces in the show - two of the very first paintings out of my new little 5" x 7" pochade box! The day before the opening, I visited Terra Nova and got a sneak preview of the show as the owners worked to get it ready for the monthly "Gallery Stroll." That's where I got these photos of my two paintings, hung and almost ready for the show's opening on Friday.

"Great Things Small Packages 2013" opens November 1st at 6:00 PM and runs through November and December. Terra Nova Gallery is located at 41 West, 300 North in Provo, Utah. Be sure to check with the gallery for their hours, and to find out about upcoming events! For more information, click on their logo below:

Two New Plein Air Shows Opening

Early Autumn Rain 16" x 20" Oil on Canvas Panel

Two plein air shows are opening tonight (October 4, 2013) in Provo. I have paintings in both of them.

The painting shown above was painted yesterday and is my entry in "Plein Air Provo 2013" at Terra Nova Gallery. The Show opens this evening at 6:00 PM and runs through he 25th of October. Terra Nova is located at 41 West 300 North in Provo, Utah. For more information you can visit their website: http://www.terranovagallery.com/

The Window Box Gallery has two new paintings of mine in their plein air exhibit, which also opens tonight and runs through the month of October. The Window Box Gallery is located at 62 W Center St. in Provo, Utah. You can find more information by visiting their website: http://www.windowboxgallery.com/

Both shows highlight local painters and are sure to be great! The Window Box Gallery and Terra Nova Gallery are located relatively close to each other and are on this evening's "Downtown Provo Gallery Stroll". You can visit both gallery's show openings, and while you're out you can visit other local galleries and enjoy an early autumn evening out on the town!

Gallery Show Tonight, plus Some In-Process Photos of a Painting

9" x 12" Oil on Panel

Tonight the Terra Nova Gallery is opening their 10th anniversary exhibit. The show features several of the gallery's "inaugural" artists who have been with the gallery since it started, and I'm one of them! Two of my recent plein air paintings are in the show, one of which is shown above. I've gotten a sneak peek of the exhibit, and it promises to be a very good show! The show opens tonight for "First Friday Gallery Stroll" and runs through this month (September 2013). The Terra Nova Gallery is located at 41 West and 300 North in Provo, Utah.  For gallery hours and more information visit Terra Nova's website.

It's been a long time since I've shown any step-by-step demonstrations of my plein air painting technique, so I thought I'd show how the painting pictured above was done. It was painted a few weeks ago in west Springville, not far from the lake. My apologies for the quality of some of the in-process photos, which are kind of blurry, but I hope they get the ideas across.

First the painting panel is toned with a mix of ultramarine blue and permanent alizarin crimson, plus a touch of cadmium yellow. Then the image is sketched in with the same color:

The colors that are then blocked in are a starting point, establishing value and color relationships. At this point I usually work from foreground to background, or dark to light:

The painting is then developed from the background to the foreground. Here the clouds and mountains are beginning to be worked up:

The mountains and middle ground are worked some more, and foliage is added to the trees:

The foreground is next, but I'm continually adjusting all parts of the painting as needed:

Final adjustments are made, and the painting is finished:

This was my set up for that day:

Hope you found this useful! As always, the painting looks better in real life so if you can go to the Terra Nova Gallery for the opening tonight - or anytime throughout the month (contact Terra Nova for gallery hours) - you can see it and all of the other wonderful artworks by some of the best painters and sculptors in the state (and maybe some from out of state, too)!

Whoops

11" x 14" Oil on Canvas Panel

The painting that starts off this blog post might look a little familiar. It was done at the same spot I painted at a few weeks ago. Indeed, I've painted here a number of times, and will likely paint there again. The paintings never turn out looking quite the same. You can read about the last time I painted at this spot here.

The main differences between this painting and the previous one are that more space in the composition was given to the mountains and less to the road. Also, the canvas panel is a slightly smaller size.

But there's another reason I painted this scene again...

A couple weeks ago I was headed out to the weekly drawing session. To be prepared I took pastels and oil paints in case I wanted to use one of those mediums instead of the usual charcoal. And I took the painting of the bench trail to show to the others who attend the drawing session. As I struggled to get everything into the car, I set the painting on top of the car so I could focus on loading the equipment.

Do you see where this is going?

Have you ever put a drink or sunglasses on top of your car as you dealt with other distractions before driving away, and forgot about what you had left on the roof? Well...

I. Forgot. About. The Painting!

It was rush hour and traffic was snarled. It took some time to find a place to turn around and go back for the painting. When I reached it, this is what I found:

None of these tire tracks are mine. I checked.

There was nothing left to do but turn the painting over and identify the victim. With a hefty sense of denial, I thought that maybe, just maybe, the front of the painting wasn't damaged too much. That is - until I turned it over and saw the carnage. Here's a sample. The whole picture would be much too gruesome:

Road grit and grime were heavily embedded in the entire face of the painting. The paint layer was pocked and gouged. There would be no fixing it. Two cars went around me and a third waited as I picked up my rectangular roadkill. Then I continued on to the drawing session where neither the painting nor my misfortune were shared with anybody. Two days later, I went back up onto the bench trail and made the painting shown at the top of this post to replace the one I lost. Unfortunately, I didn't have another 12" x 16" panel at the time so I used an 11" x 14" panel instead. A few days later I confided my sad tale of woe to the owner of Terra Nova Gallery, who, alarmed - and amused - suggested I make a blog post out of it. So there you have it.

Maybe the Museum of Modern Art would be interested in the tire tracks, if I give it an obscure and obfuscated enough title...

New Show Opening This Friday

Here's an email flyer about a new show opening at the Terra Nova Gallery this Friday, May 3rd (and a few other goings on). Eight of my plein air landscape paintings will be in the show. Opening night hours are 6 - 9 PM. Call the gallery or check their website for hours for the rest of the month. The gallery is at  41 West 300 North in Provo, Utah. Their phone number is 801-374-0016. Here is their website. Come visit and enjoy the artwork!

Terra Nova Gallery Art Happenings In & Around The Valley Dear James, New and fun events listed for you to enjoy, a new exhibit at Terra Nova Gallery, First Friday Art Stroll and more. We hope you will enjoy this email. Please feel free to share this email with your friends. If you have an event you would like featured in our mailing please send us an email (with an image) to: mail@TerraNovaGallery.com with all your information. If you enjoy this email please share it with your friends. They too can sign up for FREE emails. Just visit www.TerraNovaGallery.com and use the "Join our Email" link. Our Own Backyard:Landscapes of Utah Come & see some beautiful landscapes from our own backyard. This exhibit runs May 3-31 at Terra Nova Gallery. Learn More... Downtown Provo  First Friday Art Stroll Galleries in downtown Provo are open late every first Friday night for the Downtown Provo Gallery Stroll. The event is free to the public and often includes refreshments and live music. Of course you'll want to start at Terra Nova Gallery, and continue to other downtown venues. Learn More... Linda G.Paulsen Featured Artist at Window Box Gallery Linda has an exhibit at the Window Box Gallery the month of May. Creative Collaborative May 14th Emilie & Branden Campbell - Photographer & Neon Trees Bassist. Learn More... Pressure Paper &Ink: Fine Art Printmaking @UVU  UVU Library 5th Floor Gallery April 17th to May 17th Artists Reception April 19th, 6-7pm iExhibit 2013 Call for Entries  iExhibit 2013 is an open juried exhibit of artwork created/captured/modified using an iPhone, iPod Touch or an iPad. Learn More... 89th Annual Spring Salon A long-standing tradition, the Museum's Spring Salon was begun in 1922 and continues to be the foremost showcase of Utah art in the state. April 20 - July 7, 2013  Learn More... Shaping America: Selected Works from the Permanent Collection of American Art March 22, 2013 - March 2018  The exhibition examines American identity, emphasizing the multicultural perspective intrinsic to the American experience.  Learn More... 39th Annual Summer Snow Master Class Workshops OK, so it's a bit "outside" the valley but what a wonderful opportunity to learn from some GREAT artists. Check out the program at Snow College.  Learn More... Kelmscott Press The Kelmscott Press provides Utah artists low-cost access to professional collaborative printmaking facilities for the production of original etching and relief print editions, at every skill level, and under environmentally safe conditions.  Learn More... Terra Nova Gallery Do you enjoy this email? Please let us know & share with a friend.