Eleven Years..

Excerpt from Jeff Bezos Letter to the Shareholders 2018

A woman wanted to learn how to do handstands, so she hired a coach to teach her how to do this acrobatic move. Her coach said, “Most people believe that if they work hard, they should be able to master a handstand in about two weeks. The reality is that it takes about six months of daily practice. If you think you should be able to do it in two weeks, you’re just going to end up quitting.”

Bezos went on to say, ”Unrealistic beliefs on scope – often hidden and undiscussed – kill high standards. To achieve high standards yourself….you need to form and proactively communicate realistic beliefs about how hard something is going to be – something this coach understood well.”

I have painted for almost eleven years now, yet when I painted this buoy recently, I was totally ‘geeked out’. How long did it take me to paint that buoy? Eleven years! Blow it up and check it out. It took six colors to make the buoy and its reflection. I had no idea of that, eleven years ago.

Enjoy,
Rick

Still Learning...

Who would have thought that at the age of 71, I would be trying my hand at something new. One of my sons has suggested to me that ‘this is the year to be BOLD’. So, I am going to listen to that advice.

I am becoming more and more comfortable with the new medium I am using, which is Gouache. Where oil paints can take up to a week to dry, gouache will dry in just minutes. The good news is that you can go back over it as many times as you wish, almost immediately, until you are satisfied with the result. With oils, I may have to wait a week or more before I can go back in, and fix something I don’t like.

The pieces below are 5”x5” and 5”x7”. For now, they are studies of larger paintings which I completed some time in the past few years. At the moment, these are not for sale but I dropped them into a frame just to see what they might look like.

Hope they brighten your day!

en plein air

The term ‘en plein air’ is French and it means in the outdoors. (The word plein is pronounced like the word ‘then’ but with a PL not a TH) In the early 1800’s oil paints were made from ground up pigments and thus all artists were fully committed to being in the studio. In 1841 John Rand, an American artist invented the paint tube and thus removed the shackles of painting only inside.

In the mid-1800’s artists like Monet and Renoir began painting outdoors and they also embraced the impressionistic style. These paintings were met with great criticism, because you could actually see the brush strokes, something never done before. In time however, the public embraced this style and today it has a huge following both for the artists and the buyers.

Mark Lague, a Canadian artist whom I have taken instruction from said……"the powerfulness is not in what you see, it is in how you portray it". I love that concept. So below you will see a photo of the beehives in a field sitting just before the woods, and then you will see my interpretation of that scene. Here’s hoping that my painting captured that scene with some imagination folded in.

Poetry or Journalism

My painting journey has been just over 10 years now, yet I recall the words of wisdom from another artist who saw me struggling in my second year of trying to become an artist. She said to me, “Rick, do you want journalism or poetry?”.

You see, I was struggling because I was trying to replicate what I saw in front of me, be it a still life in the studio or a field with trees and a stream in plein air mode. Just those few words made an incredible difference in how I approached a subject to be painted. I now look at a scene and will literally say to myself, ‘what can I do with that?’

There little 6x6 canvases are from my imagination. No sketches. No photos. Just what existed between my ears at that time. I love the simple shapes of rowboats, the ability to show light and shadow, and the ability to render water as you see it here. You have never seen water like that before but you immediately know that its water……or rather poetry!

Enjoy

Rick

The Passage of Time

Isn’t it amazing what can happen with the passage of time? I’m not talking about getting older but getting wiser. Time can afford us the ability to see things from a different perspective than we had, perhaps only days or weeks earlier.

Such is the case with my artwork. In this instance, the Iconic Boathouse actually made its way into Main Street Gallery in Leland. I am in and out of the gallery two or three times a week, and I finally said to myself that the image of the boathouse above water, and its reflection in the water were too similar.

So, I convinced Cece Chatfield, who runs the gallery to let me have it back for 24 hours. Basically, I wanted to put the reflection ‘under water’. I used Kings Blue and medium to thin it down, and then grabbed a window squeegee and went to work. Please let me know if its an improvement in your opinion.

Enjoy!

Rick

What is your Oxygen?

So for me, this is an easy answer but it still makes me smile when I think about it. Family and Faith are the first two things that give my life purpose, but those are constantly imbedded into who I am. It is the ability to create art that is my Oxygen.

I feel fortunate to have received this blessing, but I have also worked hard to make myself the best artist I am capable of, at any given moment in time. This October I am taking another on-line course from Mark Lague, a Canadian artist who I admire greatly.

Sometimes its difficult to get into the studio when the ‘creative brain-drain’ is occurring, but when I push through it and begin to get the paint on the canvas (and my hands and my shirt) then the Oxygen returns and I am in my zone.

The painting below is of the iconic boathouse in Leland, Michigan. Frame 1 is what I saw. Frame 2 is the layout with the sky-holes laid in using Fastmat white, so that they would be dry the following morning. Frame 3 is the finished 36”x36” painting. Enjoy!

HUMBLED

In 2017 the Crooked Tree Arts Center (CTAC) hosted their first five-day plein air event in Traverse City and surrounding areas. They first invited 30 well known and well respected artists from around the country. They then invited their members to submit paintings for 10 spots to fill out the roster of 40 artists. I submitted my work and was chosen as one of the lucky participants. I found that quite humbling.

In 2018 I followed the same procedure and was again chosen from over 100 applicant members of the CTAC. I found that very humbling. In 2019 they invited me to participate in the event as one of the 30 recognized artists. I found that incredibly humbling.

This year CTAC called me to ask if I would serve as a Juror for one of their events. I was bowled over by their request, and yes, it was amazingly humbling. The event had one twist to it…..one side of the artists canvas had to be 8”. It could be 8”x24” or in the case of one of the pieces I awarded, it could be 8”x2”. The show was titled Small Wonders. The work was magnificent but to my amazement it did not take much time to select the winners. The painting below is the work of Mark Mehaffey and it was awarded First Place.

Humility is a wonderful trait; hold on to it if you can!

Who Knew?

In my entire journey as an artist, I have steadfastly stood by one medium for my paintings….oils. I love applying paint in an impasto technique (very thick) so that the brushstrokes are a part of the painting. I also love the ability to see my mistakes and to go back into a piece a day or two later, and correct them. So, I do not see myself trying pastels or watercolor any time soon.

However, the opportunity presented itself recently to sculpt; in ice! The Old Art Building in Leland offers many community based opportunities to become involved in some way, shape or form throughout the year. In February, they host an ice sculpting event. My good friend, Greg Kuntz, far exceeds the ‘handyman’ level skillset so it seemed like an artist and a carpenter would make a good team.

Fishtown, an integral part of the town of Leland, is home to two iconic fishing tugs; the Janice Sue and the JOY. We opted to depict the JOY for our ice sculpture. The chain saw came out first and then the chisels. The day arrived with blue skies and no wind, so we charged ahead, undaunted by our lack of knowledge.

After four hours, we actually had something that resembled the tug in all of her glory. The best part was that we had a blast doing it!

Cheers,
Rick

Decisions. Decisions.

Many years ago, long before I took up painting, I raced the #40, 1985 Porsche 911 shown here. This is in a turn at Road Atlanta, with half of the field in front of me and the other half trying to get past me. What I liked about racing was that you had immediate decisions that needed to be made on the race track in real time. Did you know that on a road course like this, more passing is done under braking than under acceleration? So, to make that pass happen, it might take you 3 or 4 laps to set it up before you can execute it properly.

The same can be said for developing a painting. When I tell people that I’m an artist, one of the most frequent responses is, “I’ll bet that’s relaxing”. It’s not!

Think about one of those days, where your brain was working overtime. Or recall the end of the day after taking the bar exam or some other professional level test; you came home and were drained physically and mentally. Putting a painting together can be a lot like that.

In the barn scene below, I was not at all pleased with the grayed-down red barn. It was too lifeless. So I thought, ok, I’ll make it a white barn and hit the right side with a bright setting sun yellow-white. Then I turned the corner and cast the large side of the barn in shadow. Still just ho-hum. Nothing special. Then I saw the opportunity I was looking for; that small slot between the two roofs facing the sun allowed me to let that bright shaft of light to sneak between them. Now I had something that I thought was memorable! Decisions, decisions…..

Enjoy!

Rick

Commissions

In January 2022, I received a phone call from Nora Wiley, a former partner of mine at Architects Plus; now Luminaut. Nora, Executive VP at Luminaut, and Beth Schindler, Senior Interior Designer, were working on a significant remodeling project for Glacier Hills Senior Living in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

The residents of Glacier Hills appreciate original works of art in their facility, and the administration is willing to back that up for them. So, Nora and Beth engaged me to paint two 36” x 48” paintings for the new lobby.

Their parameters were what an artist likes to hear. The client loves your style, loves your color pallet, and loves many of your scenes. They want water and a sense of space. WOW! I can do that.

Within two months, these paintings were hung to the delight of everyone involved. If you have an idea that might make for a terrific painting, reach out to me and we can talk more about that opportunity.

Cheers!

Rick

What is a Colorist?

It is generally agreed upon that there are five components which make up a great painting. In descending order of importance, they are

1. Composition 2. Values 3. Color 4. Edges 5. Details.

My previous newsletters have explored Composition and Values; you need to get both of those correctly established to have a good start at a great painting. However, I have found that Color is what then separates many artists from one another.

Google mentions Bonard, Gauguin and Picasso as being colorists, because “they produced images that created mood, drama and intensity by optimizing the effect colors had on each other”. I love color and I love exploring ways to optimize it in my paintings. Monet said “Color is my day-long obsession, joy and torment”. I agree with the dude!

Without exception the one comment I hear more than any other is “I love your use of color”. It’s my hope that you enjoy the colors in my paintings as well.

Happy New Year!

Rick

Playing with Scale

Over the past nine years, I have produced between 100 - 120 paintings annually. Out of that large number, there are only 4 pieces that I will not part with because they bring me enjoyment. One of them is a little 4" x 6" piece titled Harbor Lights. It hangs in our home where I see it frequently.

I thought to myself, why not produce a much larger version of this same painting, where the scale takes on a whole new meaning?

Thus, Harbor Lights #2 was developed. It is a 30” x 30” piece and the scale of this tiny town at the water's edge is emphasized. The surrounding hillsides appear huge as does the twilight sky. All of this was done to show how small this little village and its evening lights reflecting on the water, really appear.

A gallery owner told me that a painting needs to make sense viewed from 13’ away as well as 3’ away. This painting meets those criteria.

Enjoy!

Rick

Try, try, try again.

How many time did we hear our parents tell us “if at first you don’t succeed, try again”. Actually by now most of us have probably used this same phrase, or at least the concept, on our own children.

Well last year I treated myself to an expensive set of paints, which were all ‘grayed down’ in the tube. This means that the blue is a blue-gray color, the green a green-gray color and so on. I thought I would love the idea of using these paints.

In the first version you see above, I used those paints exclusively. Although it could be argued that it’s not a bad painting, it’s just not representative of my work and style. So after it dried, I went back and ‘made it mine’.

Hope you like the revised, blue sky version better. I know I do.

Cheers!

-Rick

Morning Clouds

Quick, what color are clouds?

Everyone answered white, am I right. I said the same thing just a couple of years ago. But then you listen to these incredible artists, and you see things in a new light, no pun intended. Clouds have warm gray, blue-gray, yellow, orange, purple, pink and more! Isn’t that incredible. So the next time you’re looking out your windshield, look closer than you ever have before, and you’ll start to see colors you’ve never paid any attention to before. It’s quite amazing!

Morning Clouds. available here : https://bit.ly/3mumQ4z

Cheers,
R

Sunset Clouds, before and after.

Sunset Clouds has gone through 4 revisions, and I am finally happy with the outcome. I struggled with how to show the late day light on the water. This last iteration lends itself to the phrase ‘a quiet painting’. Of course, I included the seagulls to move your eye around the piece and to add a sense of life. Enjoy!

available here https://bit.ly/3gXUkW0

Before and After

Knowledge is a beautiful thing!

I reorganized my 3” three ring binder this past weekend, and it’s now down to 2”! It is comprised of workshop handouts which I’ve attended for the past several years, as well as my own notes from those events. Then I dove back into what they had to say. My take-away for today is to learn to be bolder and to be willing to make mistakes. So I grabbed this nice (but maybe lackluster?) painting and added the cows, strengthened the shadows on the buildings and added the purple which is in the field, into the cloud formations.

All in all, a better result. Enjoy!

Spinnaker Pole

So from the age of 35 to 55 I raced sports cars, on tracks all around the Midwest. The last 15 years of that time period, I instructed people how to get the most out of their sports cars on a race track and they walked away feeling like a real race car driver. One of the interesting things about being an instructor, was that you were giving your student the best advice for each corner of the given racetrack. In doing so, sometimes I would say to myself, ‘so why don’t you follow the advice you’re giving your student!’. The next time I went out, I followed my own advice and guess what, I usually improved my times.

Earlier this year I was asked by the Oil Painters of America to write an article for their monthly blog. My topic was about adding motion to your painting, and by doing so you elevated the emotional response from the viewer. Well, that large area of sky to the left of the sailboat was quiet; perhaps too quiet. I had added alizarin (dark red) to the blue to give the sky some vibration, but it still wasn’t enough. Then the lightbulb went off and I added the three seagulls. They provide motion and perhaps more importantly they also keep the viewer’s eye from wandering off the canvas. Clearly the boat itself provides motion, but I think this little touch compliments what is happening to the right side of the canvas. I hope you agree. Cheers!

Spinnaker Pole

20" x 20"

available here https://bit.ly/3pMnY2t

Another Day

So I premixed the 5 puddles below for the fields in the background of Another Day. After each painting is completed, I scrape the unused colors together and mix them into a beautiful gray.

I used that gray pile and tinted it to get the 5 puddles below which are all now tied together by the ‘mother color’. I think it holds together nicely because of this. Enjoy!

Available here https://bit.ly/3ljSaie

Drying Time

You’ve heard me say this before, but one of the things I especially like about the sport of painting is that you never stop learning. One of my personal struggles has been in regards to correctly rendering shadows in my pieces. I think that shadows ‘anchor’ a painting, or at the very least they anchor the object which is casting a shadow.

In the initial version of Drying Time, my shadows were too dark and, quite frankly, lifeless. So I went back into the painting and lightened them and added a bit of blue to the mix, which added that lighter feeling than was originally painted. I think the shadows make this painting what it is, and I feel much better about the revisions.

Enjoy!

Orange Buoy

So I grabbed this one off the shelf and decided to see what I could do to improve it.

To begin, I minimized the left side of the rowboat, which kept it from ‘tilting over’ in the original version. The sky and the water were not only the same value (dark/light) but they were also basically the same color. So I added some warmth in terms of yellows and oranges. I then let that orange reflect into the water, which helped to break up that large mass. Lastly I added some detail in the foreground water, with dabs of violet and blue-green.

Amazing what effect that has on the overall piece. Enjoy!

Orange Buoy

16" x 16"

http://bit.ly/2IR0mpq