Acrylic Landscape painting

Sedona Morning

4 x 4 acrylics on clay board

by Miki Willa

When I was in Sedona during my mentoring workshop with Michael Chesley Johnson, I was not really happy with any of the paintings or sketches I did there. I still have trouble with plein air painting. I get overwhelmed with all the possibilities, and my brain becomes so over stimulated I forget all the basic rules of painting landscapes. I will keep working on this problem, but will keep painting in the studio in the mean time.

This small painting is my first attempt at a landscape in acrylic. I have long been fascinated by the brush strokes I see in oils and some acrylics. I really have trouble with the smells associated with oils, so I decided to try acrylics. I painted with them straight out of the tube, and am quite pleased with the results. I love the way I can scumble in a sky and clouds with pastels, so I tried the same approach with acrylics. It worked pretty well. I also like the way the colors could be layered and blended with ease. Of course, I used my fingers at times along with my brushes. That made it really fun for me. I am happy with the way this turned out. I wonder if I can create something I like on a bigger canvas. We shall see.

Painting for Different Strokes

Wheat Farm

8 x 18 soft pastels on Kitty Wallis Professional White

by Miki Willa

based on gray scale photo provided by Karin Jurick

I really enjoy watching all the wonderful interpretations of Karin's biweekly photos on Different Strokes From Different Folks blog. Every once in a while, I decided to try my hand. For this one, Karin provided us with a gray scale photo of a Pennsylvania farm and asked us to use our own favorite palattes. This was great for me. I loved the photo, and I knew it would lend itself to my favorite complimentary palatte. This was quite fun to paint. I really like the lost edges in the distance and the cripsness in the nearer buildings. I also had a lot of fun with the size.

Abandoned packing shed

The Packing Shed

12 x 18 soft pastels on Kitty Wallis Professional white

by Miki Willa

This painting has been kicking my butt. I think it is finally finished. The place is a lavender farm northeast of Bellingham, Washington. We were there on a very warm day, enjoying the lavender, the bees, and the beautiful surroundings. At one point, I spotted this old packing shed. Apparently, there used to be fruit grown on the property. The shed was still in relatively good condition as far as looks go, but I don't think I would want to spend much time under it. I love these old structures from a distance.

I started the painting with a gradient orange to yellow underpainting. It really kept the painting warm, which I think made for some of my problems. I finally decided to stay with the orange in the sky and work from there. I used the grayed out greens from my Terry Ludwig pastels for the trees in the background. I then used the warmer greens as I came forward. After fighting with it for days, I decided to kick back and have fun with it. Now, I like it.

I have decided to stay with more realism with my pastels and non-representational with the acrylics and collage. That decision has really eased my mind. I do really enjoy the style I have developed with the pastels, but want to expand my horizons. I think this will work out very well for me. I believe change can be very good, but I am of an age where hanging onto some of the old is very comforting.

Landscape in acrylic

Earth and Sky

6 x 5 acrylic on 300# watercolor paper

by Miki Willa

I had some left over acrylics on my palette after working on some visual journal pages, so I decided to paint a small painting. I tried a painting in acrylics years ago and really hated the result. I was determined never to try it again. Since I started my visual journals, I have found I like acrylics for that purpose. I still put too much paint on the palette and hate to throw it away at the end of the day, so I came up with this idea. It was fun to mash all the paint around with small strokes, creating a sense of some texture. I may get some small canvases to create more abstract pieces with left-over paint as I go. I may learn to enjoy acrylics after all.

In the afternoon, I worked on the pastel painting on the easel. I am happy with the direction it is taking. I do enjoy working with the pastels quite a bit. I would like to do more paintings that are less representational, but I am having trouble making the shift. I will get there, but it will take more time and study. My left brain is screaming for me to get back in line and stop all this nonsense. My right brain is working up to taking the leap. It is an interesting place to be on this journey, and a very funny one for me. A year ago, I would have bet money I would never be in this place in my head. One should never say never.

Painting and more

In the Shadow of the Mountain

9 x 12 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix

by Miki Willa

This scene was painted from a number of different reference photos shot in the shadow of Mt Baker in the late fall and early winter. On my screen, the colors appear a bit darker than they are in real life. I really like the look of the fallow fields with the isolated farm buildings. The tree line in the back is a mixture of evergreens and winter skeletons. This is another painting I will include in my show in July. As the date approaches, I will give more information about the location. For now, I will say it will be in Bremerton, Washington.

I have been studiously avoiding my easel for over a week. I just kept putting off painting while I worked on other things. I have been working on creating a visual journal, and am having great fun creating rather abstractly painted backgrounds using acryllics. I am also learning to do collage. In a few weeks, I will be posting some of them on another blog dedicated to this art form. I am also working through The Artist's Way, again. This time, I am taking time to do the tasks, writing my morning pages, and going on my artist date. I have only been at it for a week, and I am already excited to paint again. I have a bud of new insight about myself as an artist which I will nurture further before I share it here. It is a very profound shift in thinking for me and want to make sure it sticks.

For both of these projects, I am working with online groups and having a great time. For the visual journal, I am working with Kelly Kilmer at A Prompt a Day. There is still time to sign up for the May group. Learn more about this at this site. For The Artist's Way Journey, I am working with Laura Lein-Svencner. See her blog here.

An Eagle's Nest

Black River Eagle Nest

18 x 12 soft pastels on Kitty Wallis Professional White

by Miki Willa

I have decided I need more Northwest landscapes for the show in July. A few weeks ago, we went to the Black River Riparian Forest in Renton, Washington. There is a very large heron habitat there. There is also a pair of nesting eagles. An interesting combination. It was too early for the trees to be fully leafed out, so the nests were all very visible. I decided to paint the trees around the eagle nest because of the contrasts in the colors. I used a very limited palette to create the mysterious air about this fairly unknown place of beauty and wonder.

If you want to read more about the area and the heron colony, go here.

Small Landscapes

Beaver Pond in Spring

5 x 7 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix

by Miki Willa

This is the first landscape I have done in a while and it was fun to do. I was able to keep it very loose, which was one of my goals. I used a complementary underpainting. I love the way the orange peeks through the greens. I wasn't sure I could put all the information I wanted to include in this 5 x 7 format, but I found it a useful exercise in really looking for what was important. I am always amazed by the work of plein air painters who work in these small sizes. When it stops raining, I will have to get out and try it.

The Resolve

I seem to have so much difficulty with photo placement in this program. After several attempts, this is the closest I can come to what I was looking for. That being said, I want to talk a bit about how I resolved some of the issues I had with this painting.

I was relatively happy with the sense of depth in the one on the left, which was the unresolved painting, but decided to push it further. I darkened the foreground, especially on the lower right, which I think helped establish the steep incline of the hill. I also lightened the shadows on the small rocks toward the top of the path where they meet the rock pile. I then decided to add some highlights on the rock pile to bring out the shapes and forms. While it looks like I darkened the shadow sides, I actually lightened the shadows making the rock faces look darker. It is all about simultaneous contrast. One last area I resolved was the light value on the ground in front of the rock pile. I realized the area was in light shadow, so darkened it a bit. I am much happier with the painting now, even if the focal area is smack dab in the middle. It works for me.

On a totally different subject, my husband had finally started a blog. He does some amazing work in pastels and photography. Take a look here to see what is going on with Tom.

I also want to suggest you take a look at this painting by Casey Klahn. It is bold, intense, and very exciting.

Another artist I have come to appreciate more and more is Mary Buek. Check out her paintings and collages here.
Finally, you can follow all of Margaret Ryall's posts on art critiques at this site.

Starting a Critique Dialogue

WIP

12 x 9 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix

by Miki Willa

After spending a week in a mentoring workshop, and listening openly to critiques of my paintings, I have been really thinking about the value of critiques, the way to present them, and a way to receive them that doesn't feel personal. Fortunately, other artists and bloggers have also been discussing critiques. Tracy Helgeson received an anonymous comment on her blog that was quite critical of a series she has been working on. It sparked quite a bit of discussion. Some commenters felt that anonymous comments can be difficult and that if you have something to say, you should be willing to put your name behind it. Others felt that so much feedback on artist's blogs is very positive and flowery, so anonymity is the only way to feel comfortable saying anything negative. I agree that most of the people who leave comments are people who have something nice to say, and that is always a good thing to read. On the other hand, I think it might be helpful to growth as an artist to have some helpful critiques along the way.

Another artist who posted about critiques this week is Margaret Ryall at this post. She speaks more to the art of getting and giving a valuable critique. I like what she had to say.

With both these posts in mind, and my own personal experience with critiques, I am starting to formulate what I think would be good things to think about when giving and receiving critiques.

1. Critique does not necessarily mean to be critical or nit-picky. Criticism is not always received well by anyone.

2. It is better to talk about things that would enhance the overall composition than an artist's personal style. Reminding me that my shadows might be a bit to dark or warm is far more easily heard than telling me my style is old fashioned or weak.

3. When giving a critique, try and include the things that work as well as things that might make it better. When receiving a critique, listen to the positives as well as the places where the painting could improve.

4. Don't make your critique personal, giving or receiving. If the artist doesn't follow your advice, please understand that there might be a reason. If it is suggested that a softer line of the far mountain ridge might add more depth to the painting, at least think about it. Use critiques as a learning time.

I am sure there is more I have to say on this topic, but for now, I would like to invite helpful critiques on the above painting before I go any further.

This is a studio work done from a reference photo taken on a very overcast day. It is a rock outcropping in some low hills on the East Slopes of the Sierra Madre mountains. I am pretty sure about the values at this point, but need some help in how to show the mountain slope as partially snow covered with low clouds at the top, eliminating any edges up there at all. The sun, behind the clouds, was coming from my left at the time of the photo, but it was barely discernible and shadows were very minimal. I look forward to any critiques, not criticisms, that you are willing and able to share.

Sedona Day 5

From Jordan Trailhead

9 x 6 soft pastels on Kitty Wallis Professional White

by Miki Willa

I am a little late with this because we are on our way back north and didn't have time before this evening. This painting is very different for me. Michael threw down a challenge to use a limited palette in the field. I decided to try it. We selected a warm and a cool of six different colors - blue, green, red, orange, yellow, purple - plus black and white. Value was not really considered in color choice because we had the black and white. He used hard pastels, but I used softer ones because that is what I had. We drove to the Jordan trail parking lot, where there were several red rock formations to paint, and I set myself up near Michael. This was quite a challenge.

After several attempts to get decent colors that were near local, Michael told me that putting the white down first was a big help when trying to get a lighter value. Then, I made the mistake of putting black down first in the shadow areas. I should have thrown away the black and used the dark cool purple. Once I figured that out, I was much happier. What I ended up with is pretty abstract, but I think I like it. Go figure. If Michael posts his from this day, I will put a link in a future blog.

Today, Tom and I have been driving north from Barstow on Hwy. 395. We have seen some of the most spectacular scenes we have seen in all our driving around the country. There was high desert with Joshua Trees, mountains with heavy snow, ranch land, rivers, small towns, and the colors were incredible. A veritable feast for an artist's eye. We ended the day in Carson City, the capital of Nevada. I am so glad we decided to drive to Sedona and back. This would have been a terrible thing to miss.

Sedona Day 3

Munds Mountain

12 x 18 soft pastels on Kitty Wallis Professional White

by Miki Willa

Today was not a good painting day for me. Once again, I bit off more than I could chew. These rock formations won the battle today. I suppose I could work more on this and resolve all my issues, but I fear it would all turn to mud before my very eyes. What went wrong? Many things.

First of all, I was not really grabbed by anything I saw this morning. It was all majestic and beautiful, but nothing that spoke to me and said, "Paint me!" At one point, I thought about painting a large cactus. Perhaps, I should have stuck with it.

Second, I painted with my sunglasses on without realizing it. Once I took them off, 95% of the way through the painting, I was amazed at what I was seeing. It was too late, however, to really fix anything.

Third, I simply couldn't see the values and color temperatures today. Some days are like that. I really wanted to put oranges and yellows where there was shadow. Then, I had to gray them down. The greens were far to dark and looked cartoonish. I got lost in all the shapes and forms in the rocks. The basic large shapes are correct enough that a person familiar with the area would probably recognize it, but that is about all. I could go on, but I think I have beat myself up enough for one painting. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a better day. We are going to Jerome. That should be fun.

Sedona Day 2

Untitled

9 x 12 soft pastels on Kitty Wallis Professional White

by Miki Willa

I am feeling better today, and I think it shows in this painting. Today, Michael took us to a wonderful place between Doe Mountain and Bear Mountain. Everywhere you looked was something wonderful to paint. There were mesas, grasses, junipers, fluffy clouds, strange plants, and distant mountains. I decided to try one of the red rock formations, just to see if I could do it. Michael makes it look so easy.

We started the day with critiques of yesterday's paintings. That was a very valuable experience. I think it was especially good because I was away from the painting for a day and could look at it with fresh eyes during the critique. After the critique session, Michael did a quick demonstration of how he works through the composition of a small painting. He gets so much out of a few strokes. I tend to make things a bit busy sometimes. That is evident in my painting from today.

I chose this scene because I liked the contrast of the red rocks with the blue sky and the clouds. I was worried about not having the right colors for the southwest, but I feel pretty comfortable with the palette I chose for this painting. I am glad I purchased more dark purples because they were perfect for the shadows. I am pretty happy with the rock formations. I think I can achieve a better effect next time by not being so fussy. I just had to feel my way around this time. I am not happy about the lack of depth from the foreground to the rock formations. It is really much further then it looks. I think I was working so hard at getting in the great yellow grasses, I sacrificed the depth of field. Fortunately, we are going back to this place to paint another day. All in all, I am pleased with the direction I am heading. Now, if I can only come up with a non-cheesy title.

(I had to change the location to give a more accurate description of where we were.)

Sedona, Day 1

Low Rock

9 x 12 soft pastels on Kitty Wallis Professional White

by Miki Willa

We finally made it to Sedona! It is very beautiful here with all the junipers, cacti, manzanita, and of course, the red rock formations. We are staying in a wonderful house with Michael Chesley Johnson, Trina, and one other student. Today was our first painting day. Michael led us to a park where we had spectacular views of Cathedral Rock. There was also a wonderful stream with smaller rock formations. As you can see, that is what I chose to paint.

Unfortunately, I came down with a wretched cold during the drive down from Washington. My head is very clogged up and concentrating is pretty tough. I just didn't have it in me to tackle the large rock formations. I was quite happy to work on this red rock slab just across the stream from my vantage point. I am afraid the photograph does not show the slab in its best light. It really is darker than the sand to the right of it. There were some very busy leafless branches just behind the slab, but I took them out. They detracted from the forms and shapes in the rock. It is a very calm scene on a overcast coolish day.

This workshop is very individualized. Each of us are working on our own styles and how to work better within that style. The other two students use a much brighter palliate that I do. I like what they did today very much. I think that the sun will come out later in the week and I will break out the brighter colors as well. The colors I chose today reflected the weather and my physical discomfort. Hopefully, the cold will pass quickly.

Yaquina Head Lighthouse

A light in the dark WIP

12 x 18 soft pastels on Kitty Wallis White

by Miki Willa

I really like lighthouses. When I was doing some reading about Andrew Wyeth, I learned that he, too, liked lighthouses. For him, they seemed to represent guidance and security. They were a refuge, as they were in the past for sailors caught in the dark in a storm. To me, the lighthouse represents loneliness and hope. In the past, the light keepers job was often a lonely one, but an important one that gave hope to otherwise lost souls. I have painted a number of lighthouses, but I think this is the first one I have done that gives vision to my feelings.

This is the Yaquina Head Lighthouse in Newport, Oregon. Construction began on this building in 1871. It proved to be a very difficult task, as the lighthouse is on a high cliff surrounded by large sea rocks. Two small boats were lost during construction, and a larger ship was damaged. The lamp was not lit until 1873. Today, it is a popular tourist attraction. Hardy souls can even climb to the top. If you are planning on taking photos from the top, be aware that you cannot go outside once you are there. This is also a wonderful place if you are interested in whale watching. There are usually representatives from a local whale watching group to help spot. They are a wealth of information about other forms of sea life, whether fish, birds, or mammals.

If you visit this beautiful spot, plan to get there so you are finished in time to have lunch or dinner at Szabo's Steakhouse and Seafood on Hwy 101, just across the light from the road leading from the lighthouse. We stopped there for lunch because it was recommended, and I want to pass on the recommendation. I would describe Szabo's as a tavern with great food. We were there in the dead of winter on a weekday, and there was a steady stream of customers. We had the halibut and chips, which we thoroughly enjoyed.

About the painting: I have noticed that I am using quite a bit more gray than I did in Hawaii. Do you think that living in the Great Northwest has any influence on that? I do, and I am really enjoying it. I was always trying to use grays in the tropical island paradise, but they rarely fit. This painting was done intentionally minimalist. That is the reason it is still a WIP. I am afraid that if I go after finishing it today, I will add way too much detail. I do have some lines to straighten out, and some edges to fix, but I am going to resist unnecessary details.

Tomorrow, I am going to the Seattle Art Museum with my husband and sister. I am looking forward to this treat. I will let you know what wonderful things I see.

Painting with more freedom, Boiler Bay, Oregon

Boiler Bay, Oregon

9 x 12 soft pastels on sanded paper

by Miki Willa

We stopped at a pull-out along Hwy 101 on the Oregon Coast about a mile north of Depoe Bay. We had been told about a place where the ocean met the rocks in a wild and wonderful dance. We didn't know there would be waterfalls, so that was a wonderful surprise. Boiler Bay does have an official state maintained park just south of this viewing point, but I think we would have missed this scene completely. In 1910, a ship grounded here and at low tide, you can see the ships boiler. This is also a great place to see several of the shore bird species that populate the Oregon Coast.

I decided I wanted to create an impression of the rugged wildness of this place. To do that, I had to let go of certain control issues I have with my paintings. I wanted my strokes to be a mixture of smooth and broken. I wanted to define the rocks and waterfall, but just lay in impressions of foliage and dirt. I wanted to make the water appear to be moving. I have not achieved that before, but I think it works this time. The waterfall appears out of the foliage from where we stood. We couldn't see a source, so I decided to keep it that way. The colors and values are representative of my impressions at that time.

I have been noticing that I am painting less sky since I have moved here. In most of my paintings from Hawaii, sky played a big part. It was always an important element. Now, I am finding inspiration from more grounded elements. That being said, the next painting will be of a lighthouse with lots of sky, and no water.

Painting with grays, Cape Foulweather

Morning Mist

9 x 9 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix

by Miki Willa

When we were staying on the Oregon Coast last week, we had all sorts of weather conditions to inspire us. The first morning, it was very foggy. I stepped out onto the deck, and this is what I saw. It was so eerie, yet beautiful. My husband did a painting of the coastline in the fog in Acadia National Park in Maine, but I had not tried working with so many grays before. It was an interesting challenge.

Pastel artists can create grays by blending, or they can purchase pastels in gray tones. I have a wonderful Great American Art Work set of three values each of grayed red, purple, green, blue, and gray. I used them quite a bit for this painting. I also used some Unisons and Terry Ludwigs to blend some of the other grays. I think I got the feel of the unifying fog that permeated this

vista.

In planning the composition for this piece, I realized that I could have a more powerful piece if I used a square format. I have not used this format before, but have seen some paintings recently that I really liked. I think I will look for other subjects that lend themselves to this square format.

When we were in Oregon, we stayed at the Inn at Otter Crest, on the south slope of Cape Foulweather. In 1778, during one of his famous voyages of discovery, James Cook came upon this cape as his first sighting of shoreline on the Pacific Coast of North America. He was within sight of land when a sudden and very turbulent storm overtook him. His trip nearly ended there, thus he named the place Foulweather. From this area, you can see miles of ocean, sea stacks, natural arches, and harbor seals in large numbers playing in the surf. This part of the Oregon Coast is quite beautiful.

Lower Falls - finished at last

Lower Falls

20 x 27 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix

by Miki Willa

I think this is finally finished. It was quite difficult for me to resolve the left side of the painting. Partially, it was because the area was not as geographically interesting as the right side. The other part was a color and value problem. I had originally used pale green for the distant river valley above and behind the falls. As soon as I realized this was not working, I rubbed it out and used purples. This gave me a much clearer vision of what I needed to do to the left side. I may have more to do on this one, but it will have to wait until I haven't been staring at it for a couple of weeks.

I have a few smaller paintings to do in the next couple of weeks, so I will be back in my size comfort zone. It is good to push yourself to grow your skills, but it is also fun to get comfortable once in a while.

Now that I have discovered somewhat of a routine to my weeks, I am going to take a look at where I want to be in 2009. Over the next few days, I will we working on some goal setting and a business plan. I will post some of this as it formulates.

Lower Falls WIP 3

Stage 1
Stage 2

Stage 3

I had a request to put all the stages of this WIP on the same page for comparison purposes. I hope this helps.

For this stage (3), I worked more on the farthest ridge on the right of the painting, the left ridges, and some on the far distance. As I work, I am constantly adjusting for value and temperature. One of the things I want to do next is darken the foreground of the hillside on the left. I will add some purples to indicate that this side is more in the shadow than the right side. The purple will also help the golden foliage pop more and send it further forward. I have all the elements I want to use from the original reference photo, so now it is all about the painting and what will make it work.

Lower Falls WIP 2

Lower Falls WIP 2

by Miki Willa

In this second phase, I reworked the ridges on the right side. I wasn't happy about the values yesterday. The closest ridge is filled with golds, iron oxides, and sharp angles. I wanted to portray that. The second ridge is very dark, with a few tall pines. The third ridge was much lighter with more trees. I think I finally have what I want here. I may punch up the areas that were hit by the sun closer to the finishing stages. I also worked a bit on the left ridges, the river, and the falls. There is a tree with very golden leaves in the near ground that I will be adding in the next stage, if I get brave enough.

I was reading Linda Blondheim's Thanksgiving post about the ugly stages of a painting. It is so good to read about the process other artists go through in their painting. I am always amazed at just how ugly my paintings can be in the early and middle stages. When I take a class, or paint in public, I have had to learn to just trust the process and not worry about what others think. That is no easy task, for me. The way I have of approaching a painting has evolved over time from working on one small section until it is as good as I can get it before moving on to the next, to working with the whole piece in mind from the beginning. It makes it much easier to see how colors and values will react with their neighbors, but it sure makes from some not so lovely scenes. Even on this painting, I placed the values and temperatures in the first layer. Staying with them, I am able to work back and forth on different elements.t

Given all that, I am still learning how to let go of those paintings that never leave the ugly stage. If you have watched my progress on the blog, I am sure you know which ones I mean.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Lower Falls WIP 1

Lower Falls WIP

by Miki Willa

After I did my preliminary sketches, I got out a full sheet of Art Spectrum Colourfix and found a backing board large enough. I did a very rough sketch of the basic lines and shapes. I selected pastels in different values and temperature to lay in the basics. I worked the falls and river first, something I rarely do. What you see here is a bare beginning, just trying to establish value and some form. I am also trying to keep the majesty and my emotions at first seeing this place. A tall order, perhaps. Lots of work still to do.