Memorial Day Travel-Jog.

Memorial Day was an excellent day for a nice jog.  A fellow resident here in the building had long ago recommended continuing south, WAY beyond my normal turn-around point, to "enjoy" the run along the Willamette River Greenway, all the way to the Sellwood Bridge.  I'm not sure just how long a run it is, but I decided an adventure was in order and I'd go as far as the old legs would take me. 

This, for those of you unfamiliar with critters, is a beaver.  He was standing beside an information sign along the Willamette River Greenway.

 Here's the sign the beaver was beside.  Click on the image if you'd like to read about it.

This is the lower part of the sign above.  Again, click on it for a legible view.

Okay, this is the final educational sign.

Flowers along the way.
 I had the camera and snapped some shots of what to me was, "The Undiscovered Country".  I didn't make it all the way to the Sellwood Bridge, but it was a personal best in terms of distance.  Part of the reason I turned around early was the landscape.  I'm a little sorry to admit that all that "peace and quiet" was rather boring.  Few people, no city noises, no ambulances, fire trucks or police car sirens.  Just beautifully natural riverbank, with flowers and trees and the broad expanse of the Willamette.

  In the distance, you can see the condo buildings of the South Waterfront.  I've posted several photos of these glass, steel and concrete towers before.  This gives you an idea of just how far away from the city my old legs carried me.  Those condos are usually where I turn around!  You also get a feeling of the efforts made to return the river bank to it's natural state.  Native plants and wildlife have returned to this area and Oregonians are justifiably proud of their work. 

 This spectacularly-colored iris was found along my way back.

A heritage rose blooming in a small park near the marina.

 One of several large motor yachts tied-up at the Marina today.  Maybe this family brought the kids into town to enjoy the City Fair carnival.  The Newport Seafood Grill is just behind.

You won't see this on "Mega-Yachts of the World", but still...it's a serious water craft.
In the distance, you can see Hawthorne Bridge is in the middle of a lift.  Probably to allow the "Portland Spirit" cruise ship to pass beneath.

Some of the colorful flowers in the small park.  It has a few benches and four small lilly ponds.

A close-up.

 Finally, a shot of one of the "City Fair" amusement rides.  Whew!  It was nearly six miles today and a chair in the studio was calling my name.  I needed a few hours to rest up for the jog home!  Oh.  And I painted, too.

On the run back to civilization, I took a few photos of a small park near the marina.  The marina was packed with some very large and impressive yachts, probably owned by folks here for the Rose Festival activities.  "City Fair", a huge carnival with all the trimmings, is spread out along Waterfront Park for the next two weeks and it runs into the famous Portland market of crafts and everything creative called, "The Saturday Market".  People were everywhere with kids and dogs, strollers and bicycles of every description.  Luckily, I was "forced" to slow my jog to a crawl to avoid running into someone.  Ahh-h-h, back to normal!

"Henry", Mr. Mitsuru Takahashi, Has Passed Away.

I just received an email this morning, informing me that, "Henry", Mr. Mitsuru Takahashi, passed away, May 16, 2012.  He is being buried today, 27 May 2012.

As I wrote to his friend, Henry touched so many lives from the small fruit stand called, "Henry's Place", he will live on in the hearts and memories of the thousands of us fortunate enough to have visited his shop and discovered the kind and gentle soul behind the counter.

I had planned on presenting Henry with his portrait when we arrived in Honolulu next Spring, but now hope his family will accept this tribute and that it will honor his memory for many years to come.
It is also my hope that future generations of Mr. Takahashi's family will be pleased to know how much he was loved and admired and that his radiant smile warmed as many hearts as the brilliant Hawaiian sunshine. 

The first papaya we enjoy from "Henry's Place" as new residents of Honolulu won't be quite as sweet with Henry gone, but if the family continues to operate the stand, the smiles will return and so will the sweetness and joy.  I believe Henry would be pleased. 

Henry Today.

So, the Hawaiian background is gone and was replaced by a light lavender--for about two days.  It just seemed to cold and boring.  For the two days I let it dry, the search was on for ideas to make it better.  The explosive backgrounds seemed inappropriate for Henry, so until I arrived at the studio today, there was no plan.

The results of the day's effort are probably going to receive more work, but here it is.  Have a nice Memorial Day weekend everyone!

New Ideas.

Regarding Henry.  His cobalt blue fleece jacket was driving me crazy, specifically, getting the highlights on it to look anything but chalky.  I wrote the Maestro an email explaining my problem and asking for ideas.  

He phoned me last night and shared his thoughts and ideas about the color issue.  More importantly, his critique of the portrait showed me a way forward with it.  The background has changed numerous times as I've tried to replace the real thing with something more interesting, more "Hawaiian".  

It seemed like a great idea at the time, but if you've followed the posts, it was on the brink of becoming a horrible cliche.  As the Maestro pointed out, Henry and his family live there and they don't need to be reminded of what it looks like.  In addition, he expressed his opinion that the saturated colors competed with Henry's smile and nothing in a portrait should do that.

Of course, he's correct and I have long known this to be true.  Somewhere along the way, I began imposing my own love for the location and my own need to see it in the background.  Wrong, wrong, wrong.  

I thanked the Maestro for helping clarify the path forward with this painting.  Today, I'll cover all the superfluous stuff behind Henry with a non-competing background and get the portrait back to the original focus:  Henry.  It's truly a gift to have someone like William Matheny to go to when problems arise.  His gentle manner, talent and experience always combine to provide just what I need, at just the right moment.

Tweaked.

That's all I did on this painting today.  Just a little tweaking.  Not being known for my artistic courage, I keep sneaking up on the highlights.  A few tweaks on the foliage to ratchet up the light.  A few more on the water, along with a few more darks.  It's not good when you begin to fear you'll wreck a painting.  I may have to stop.  Maybe.  

Finger Painting-101

The stream received more attention today, though the palette knife was left in it's scabbard.  The paint was so thick after a couple of knife sessions, I had to let it (sort of) dry before continuing work.  My goal is to create the atmosphere you would normally see around-and-above a rapidly moving stream.  An atmosphere containing lots of water vapor and splashing droplets being illuminated by the shafts of light making their way through the dense forest.  It's a visual poem in my head and I did my best to make it appear on the canvas.

The weapon of choice today was my "pinkie" finger.  No brush in the inventory remotely looked adequate for the task at-hand, no pun intended.  The autumn foliage was brightened up a little, too.  This may be getting near the stopping point as I'd like to avoid detailing it to death.  Hope you had a great day.

Henry and Memory of Tennessee.

It's a bit odd to see Henry wearing a fleece jacket in Honolulu, but it was early February, he's almost ninety and was actually seated in the shade, not near the beach.  I may have to remove his jacket and have some fun putting him in a colorful "Aloha shirt".  Juggling backgrounds and clothes in the middle of a portrait isn't the classic way to do it and now I know why! 

The fresh mountain water was so pure and cold, I couldn't resist!  I actually measured this canvas today and discovered it's 20 x 24-inches, not 24 x 30-inches as initially reported.  
The photo this is based on has different proportions than this canvas, so the last two sessions have been dedicated to adjusting the discrepancy.  Not that you'd notice, but I did and it bugged me.  I feel like the sense of light is better today, too.  This is one of those rare instances in which I'm trying to take a little artistic license to make the painting more interesting than the photo.

Memory of Tennessee.

Something different today.  A couple of weeks ago, while digging through our old photos looking for an Orvieto, Italy cemetery monument image for Jeanette Jobson, I stumbled upon some memories of our time living in East Tennessee.

In particular, a couple of photos taken during a hike in the woods, with a stream cascading down layers of rock.  Long ago, I tried painting the scene, but never liked the effort and discarded it.  The photos went into storage and I had forgotten about them for the last twelve years.  I've had them at the studio for a while now, trying to muster the courage for another attempt.  Today was the day.

The first thing I must say is, if anyone out there likes the painting, all credit goes to Tibor Nagy.  He's another artist who's work I greatly admire and it was his wonderful paintings which inspired me to have another go at it.

The first effort, those many years ago, was killed by my usual bad habits of over-working and being a slave to details.  In fact, the scene was so full of mostly unimportant details, I  remember feeling overwhelmed from the start.  I had no idea of how to simplify all the information in the photo and the experience was not fun.

Today, I took what was an abandoned self-portrait on a 30 x 24-inch canvas, turned it horizontal and began slathering it with a raw umber-loaded palette knife.  I hoped to establish the strong dark shadow pattern which dominated the scene and would act as a perfect foil for the dappled lights and falling water.  Other colors included, ivory black, terre verte, cobalt violet, burnt sienna, yellow ochre and titanium white. 

Today, the term, "reckless abandon" might apply.  In just over an hour-and-a-half, I stopped.  Thanks, Tibor!  Though my painting lacks his spectacular look, for me it was a triumph.  It may receive some additional attention once the very thick paint drys, but not much.  When I stood back to view it, I felt there was plenty of opportunity for others to engage their imaginations, something most of my paintings lack.

And on top of having a good day at the easel, it was a beautiful, warm day here!  Can life be any sweeter?  You know my answer to that, so I won't bother writing it down.  I hope that, wherever you live, your day was a good one, as well.

Henry Today.

After working on Harry's portrait for most of the morning here at home, it was time for a long run (by my standards) to the studio to do some work on Henry's portrait.  Oh.  And being Friday, of course there was the Old Guys Gab Fest, too.

You may have noticed the stencil lettering is gone...for now.  I had second thoughts about having it on a portrait and thought perhaps the ocean and a bit of Waikiki Beach might be a nice touch.  Who knows what tomorrow will bring.  My goal is to make Henry look like Henry and make it look like a sunny day in Hawaii.  Might have a way to go on it, but that's okay.

Getting There.

YES!  Here is Harry Kent today.  The photos were taken at the same time, using two different cameras:  A Canon and an Olympus.  Hope you had a spectacular day and have a great weekend.

This was taken with the Olympus camera.

The Canon was used here.

Never Stop!

The work continues.  The photo I've been working from, actually, a print-out of a photo, had the shadows quite dark.  For some reason, I use the photo software to accentuate shadows to help definition.  That's all well-and-good, but having developed the terrible habit of painting what I see, without compensating for those rather excessively dark shadows isn't so good.  I'm going to keep at, until there is light in those shadows!

For the past few sessions, I've been working to bring up the key in this work.  You all know what a challenge that can be and it confirms the Maestro's early lesson:  "Just paint another one on a new canvas."  Bad habits die hard.  Anyway, here's what Harry looks like today.

Can You Ever See Too Much of Harry? I Don't Think So!

I told fellow Blogger, Rhonda Carpenter I'd follow her orders and leave the previously posted version of Harry alone.  I lied.  Despite her lavish praise, I just wasn't happy with it and since I didn't have a blank canvas available at home, I was forced to...no...compelled to...no...driven!...(yeah, that's it!) I was DRIVEN to re-work the available version.  So, it's not my fault...right? 

Rhonda--please forgive me, I couldn't help myself.  And we both know this one will suffer the same fate.  As I look at it while typing this, flaws, mistakes, omissions and out-and-out goof-ups are evident.  It is my curse and my joy to continue to battle with the two demons who haunt me--Rework and his buddy, Overwork.  To vanquish these two evil spirits will take a Herculean resolve, perhaps more than I can muster.  So far, my track record in this struggle is Me--zero   Rework and Overwork--12,987.  The odds against me are staggering, but I shall proceed undaunted and without fear. 

It is my fondest hope that you can find understanding in your heart and support me in this fight.  Never mind the failures, the personal weakness exhibited at every turn, the empty promises.  I'm in this for the duration.  I shall not give up.  I'll never surrender.  Have a nice day tomorrow everybody!

Some Good News.

Actually, it was wonderful news for the Cascades AIDS Project.  A couple of months ago, I donated a painting to this most worthy cause and like last year, hoped it would make the auction and sell for a nice amount of money. 

The painting was juried-in for the silent auction, part of the "Grand Event" held last Saturday evening.  Like Celeste Bergin mentioned in her blog, I, too, did not attend the event.  It was indeed a Grand Event, too, raising over $570,000 for this important organization.

My painting, called, "Vintage", did very well.  Much to my surprise, it sold for $1, 373.00!  It was only priced at $850.00, so either collectors are aware of my age and questionable future output, or more than a couple of folks liked it enough to drive the price up.  Whatever the reason or motivation, I couldn't be more pleased.

Last year, my donation was priced at $1, 200.00, but sold for only $900.00.  I certainly hope this year is significant and the beginning of a trend!  I will definitely contribute another work for 2013, if the world hasn't ended by then!  Have a nice Sunday everybody!  

A New Harry Kent

This is about as loose as I've ever gone and perhaps Harry Kent is the only person alive today who may appreciate the attempt.  This has been in work for quite a few months, but there was no satisfaction with the same old static, unimaginative paint application.

Having admired the "explosive" style of Jeffrey R. Watts for several years, I broke out the palette knife and big gobs of paint and threw caution to the wind.  It was a struggle to just let go and not become overly concerned about exactitude.  It may, or may not survive, but it did provide valuable  experience in a radically different way of painting.  For a long time--years, in fact--awareness of my many deficiencies wasn't enough to cause me to take any significant steps to correct them.  Each time I stood before a new canvas, the old ways and accompanying bad habits took over, and like putting on your favorite slippers, it was comfortable.  Nothing could possibly be worse in this business!

I know most of you are steadfast in your efforts to grow, trying new materials and new ways of using the tools of the trade.  I've always admired what I see on your blogs and need to emulate your never-ending search for improvement, excitement and growth.  Keep up your great work and sharing your wonderful new ideas for everything to do with making art.  Obviously, I need the help!  Have a great day.  Almost forgot....my apologies to Mr. Watts.

Henry, Sunday, 29 April 2012

After letting Henry dry yesterday, I took another crack at it today.  Working with cadmium yellow, in this case, for yellow hibiscus blossoms (Hawaii's state flower) drying takes forever, but the painting was workable today.

I've got to take care of the background and let it dry completely before replacing his wispy hair on top as I will let it partially cover the name of his shop.  Some additional questions and possibilities are still under consideration, but I plan on adding a bit of sky in, and or, around the letters and though I don't think it will work, a tiny slice of the ocean might be nice.  Much more paint will probably be used in the attempt to get it right.

I had a nice jog today, but no camera.  My run took me over to NW 21st. Street to "Trader Joe's" to pick up three of their "pound plus" chocolate bars.  If you've never tried one of the varieties, I strongly recommend doing so.  Great price for fabulous Belgian chocolate.  The weight of each bar is 500-grams or a "pound plus" at 17.6 ounces and sells for just $4.99.  If there is any drawback to these massive chocolate bars, it would be the amount of effort required to break them into bite-size pieces.  A hammer works well as long as you put the bar inside a plastic bag.  The wrapper tends to rip open after the repeated blows and the plastic bag ensures you don't lose a single morsel.  It's also possible to break them up by hand, but don't try this if you're afflicted with arthritis.  I guess it's a small price to pay for such wonderful chocolate and since doing so gives you some exercise, there's no guilt indulging.

So, that's my shopping tip for the day.  Have a good week everybody!    

Henry And An Old Self-Portrait.

It was all studio today, well, almost.  I spent a fair amount of the day at home, working on an old self-portrait, the paint so thick, the impasto so heavy, it's making the building lean.  If you've followed this blog for very long you may remember it.

I made it to the studio by about 3 PM and worked exclusively on Henry's portrait.  Here's a News Flash:  Working with stencils can drive one crazy.  I sort of planned out how "Henry's Place" was supposed to look at the top of the canvas.  But, here's the thing;  Canvas is flexible.  It's also rather coarse.  And did I mention that the corners are almost never true?  Worst of all, you either need a bit of measuring and math or a good eye to have any chance of getting it right.  Being a painter who likes living on the edge, I used a bit of all three methods.  As you probably expect, it's far from perfect, but hey, isn't that the "charm" of alla prima?  I'll tweak it and try to get it right another day.  I also experimented with bolder colors for the background, kind of going for the palm frond look.  Stay tuned as it will, no doubt, continue to morph.  Hope you all had a good day.

Another Great Day, Another Travel-Jog.

Since it was another great day, there was no way I was going to spend too much of it indoors.  I did eventually make it to the studio, but only after a travel-jog through our old neighborhood and a supply stop at the Dick Blick superstore in the Pearl District.

Here's Henry today.  I picked up some letter stencils at the art supply store today and plan on adding, "Henry's Place" to the top of the canvas.  When the lettering is finished and dry, I'll put in Henry's tousled hair to partially cover some of the letters.  I also decided that the colors of Hawaii must be in the background.  It seemed like a "no-brainer".  How could I allow grays and neutrals to ruin this happy painting?  I mixed my best version of "papaya" for the first couple of letters, then threw on some happy yellows, pinks to cover the ugly background and the back of his chair, too.  So much for the Zorn palette!  Maybe I'm channeling Paul Gauguin already!

Today, you'll be having a look at a few of the many fine business in what's called, "The Alphabet District" of Northwest Portland.  It's called that because the City Fathers had the brilliant idea to name each east/west running street in alphabetical order.  After Burnside, which bisects the city, we have Couch, Davis, Everett, Flanders, Glisan and so on.  It's a great system which makes it pretty easy to navigate around this part of the city.  On a previous jaunt, I focused on NW 21st Street and the shops and restaurants there, including the now famous barbershop I go to.  Today, we'll see NW 23rd Street, also known as, "Trendy-Third".  It's about fifteen blocks of shops and restaurants for trend-setters, wannabes, young folks looking to be "cool", mature folks looking for nice stuff and local residents who live in the neighborhood.  The entire area is a warren of century old apartment buildings, Victorian homes and lots of housing in-between.  When all is said and done, it's a neighborhood and that's what makes it so appealing to those who visit, as well as, those who call it home.  So...here we go. 

The Commodore Bar and Grill is on the way and I couldn't resist this sign.  Lots of local pubs cater to the young crowd and this will draw them in.

I ran by this fine steak house, considered by many to be Portland's best.  It's on W. Burnside, sort of between NW 21st and NW 23rd.  They have a great "Happy Hour" and, of course, great steaks.

Elephant's Deli is just across from Ringside on NW 22nd.  We love this place for the great food, including fresh-baked breads, wood-fired pizzas and all the cheeses and wines.  We'd hit this place early mornings when we were having dinner guests and pick up the still warm-from-the-oven breads.

 This gentleman, I believe his name was Jim or Joe Schmidt, was out front of his apartment building, thoroughly enjoying the sunshine and entertaining passers-by.  I had a nice chat with him before heading on to NW 23rd.

This rhododendron is about my favorite one in the whole neighborhood.  It's so full of electric color, it's impossible to ignore.

I'm looking across NW 23rd now, at a most beautiful neighborhood flowering cherry tree showing off.

This is a local company and where Michele usually gets my Christmas and birthday gifts!  Lucky me!

Got fortune?  Twenty-third also features many unique establishments which help keep Portland weird.

This fine steed stands in full regalia outside a cigar/magazine store and a lady's wear shop.  It always seems to be wearing something different, but I don't know who dresses it.  It must be an urban legend.

This place is fun to visit, but tough to get out of without denting your credit card.  I do believe Turks are some of the world's best business people.  Great stuff in here, for sure.

A kinder, gentler shop on NW 23rd.  Beautiful goods from exotic locations.

Yuki was our favorite Japanese restaurant when we lived over here.  Great food and it reminded us of our experiences in Japan.

Hey!  You can see the photographer!  This is a new resident of the 23rd neighborhood since last I was here.  I snapped some photos of the plastic examples of their fare on exhibit in their window.

Tempting, yes?!

Another new addition to the many fine restaurants along NW 23rd.

And still another new dining establishment.  I really liked the cherry tree reflected in their window.  NW 23rd, being a former residential street, is lined with flowering trees and shrubs.  Even if you don't care to spend a dime, the walk is well worth the time.

Lela's Bistro is new to me, too.  Great food, no doubt.

This concludes our tour of NW 23rd Street.  It only begins to showcase the many business lining this neighborly avenue.  The Portland Streetcar brings folks here from all the way down on the South Waterfront, about five miles away, maybe a bit more.  It's one of Portland's most enjoyable places to visit.
So, now we're working our way east, toward the Pearl District and the Dick Blick Art Supply store.  On the way, I stopped by the Sultan Cafe, owned and operated by an old friend.  When I had a studio in the Active Space building on Raleigh and 18th, I first met Mike, who had just opened a small cafe in a part of the same complex.  He is Palestinian via New York, with a lovely wife and, if memory serves, two children.  His business has thrived since last I saw him and it was fun to stop by to say hello.  Unfortunately, he wasn't there, but his two staffers allowed me to leave him a note.  I hope he has a chance to see this post.  Because of him, I actually purchased a book on the Arabic language so we could converse in his native language.  He humored my pathetic attempts, but I believe he appreciated my efforts.

The Sultan Cafe, Bar and Grill.

My legs are worn out and the weather tomorrow is supposed to be a little cooler, so no travel-jog.  It will be a day in the studio for a change.  Frankly, I could use the rest!  Have a great day tomorrow.