Rusty Haze

"Oil Plant 11 (Rusty Haze)"
oil on panel, 2014
6" x 6" (15.25cm x 15.24)

Number 11 in my series of the Oil Plant, actually an oil pumping station from the 1930's or 40's I think.
(I've done more than 11, some were not titled within the numbers) Unfortunately it is gone now but my series will continue. It is a hazy memory.
I left out quite a bit of the pipes and such in the background, more than I usually do. I reached a point and it just felt right for this one. It was more about the thick atmosphere.
But then I take another look and think it may have been better with just a whisper of them here and there.
Who knows. It's probably better to move on to the next one.292

My Pinterest Page

OK, I have been busy with multiple projects lately and have not been posting here to my blog.
I have however managed to start a Pinterest page, something I have had in mind for a while.

Of course it is a work in progress and incomplete for some categories but I felt I had enough uploaded to make the announcement here.

One advantage, unlike my Daily Paintworks gallery or this blog, is you can see more of my art on the screen at one time regardless of its status.

My DPW gallery does not include work sold before I joined it or artwork not available for sale. The blog format does not allow for simple showcasing of my artwork by subject, genre and series or without scrolling through posts or using keywords.
DPW serves primarily as a sale site, my blogs, Avid Art and Avid Art 2, as a record of my thoughts and ideas behind the work and my Pinterest page as a showcase of work past and present, preliminary and finished.

It serves a different purpose. Easy and quick viewing of my art.
Enjoy.

Seven online locations, links:
David J. Teter on Pinterest.
David J. Teter on Daily Paintworks
David J. Teter on Avid Art 2 blog
David J. Teter on Google Plus
David J. Teter on You Tube
David J. Teter on Linkedin
... and, you are already here but go ahead and click anyway  ; ) ...
David J. Teter on Avid Art blog

Watercolor Landscape - Storm

"Storm Over Cajon"

watercolor on paper, 2014

9" x 13" (22.86cm x 33.02cm)
For Sale at DAILY PAINTWORKS, CLICK HERE

Direct link to painting here

Although I would describe myself as a fair weather person I love stormy weather. It always makes for a great painting subject.
A nice dramatic storm rising from the Cajon Pass, the long climb from San Bernardino to the high desert, is about to pounce on the Mojave Desert.291

Watercolor Landscape - Old Tree

"Old Tree"
watercolor on paper, 2014
9" x 13" (22.86cm x 33.02cm)
For Sale at DAILY PAINTWORKS, CLICK HERE

Direct link to painting here

A simple watercolor of an old tree hemmed in by lush green healthy ones. They seemed to be huddling around it, as if in a protective manner. I simplified the dark mass of trees to better play-off the lines of the foreground.

I also liked the shapes of this landscape, the troughed out foreground and the odd irrigation pipe loop so I painted it. That's it.290

Watercolor Landscape - Palm Grove

"Palm Grove"   SOLD

watercolor on paper, 2014

9" x 13" (22.86cm x 33.02cm)

This palm grove near home made for a simple subject but challenging compositional design. Its simple design motif of the palm tree shapes could too easily lead to a boring design of repetitive shapes.
The right cropping and ratio of positive to negative shapes is what makes it work. The only trees shown in their full outline are the yellow green ones which are not big within the overall composition.

I took a more graphic approach for this watercolor using value for atmospheric depth but ignoring the rule of warm foreground to cooler bluer colors (only) as the landscape recedes, except for the distant tree line of blue and purple.
I like to test various ways of depicting distance and here I put the coldest color, blue, in the foreground, a blue green in the near middle ground, changing to a yellow green in the far middle ground. The far background falling into the cooler range of purple and blue.
The alternating cool, warm, cool still does a good job of showing distance - cool foreground, warm middle ground, cool background.
The color saturation and intensity falls somewhere in the middle of the scale but is low chroma.
I like to do simplistic studies like these to work out ideas for the more involved paintings. That way I am not committing huge blocks of time only to find out it did not work.289

Road w/ Pipeline

"Road w/ Pipeline"
oil on panel, 2014
6" x 9" (15.24cm x 22.86cm)
For Sale at DAILY PAINTWORKS, CLICK HERE
Direct link to painting here

Here's a landscape not far from home. It's an unstable area under constant land movement as it slowly slides into the Pacific Ocean. Because of this the pipeline must be above ground and the road requires year round maintenance. After a rain the road can get cracks and vertical drops of several inches overnight.

To make for a better midday painting and give the hillside a dark richness and I dropped in a soft shadow from passing overhead clouds. That also made for a better separation of foreground and background.288

Discounted Artworks

I recently added a new category 'Discounted Artworks' to my Daily Paintworks gallery page as I prepare to post new art.
Right now a couple categories are empty since art was moved into the discounted one but I am working to refresh those with new art.
Have a look, you might find something there that is crying out to hang on your wall.

Series - Locomotive - UP 2464 Fire Hydrant

"UP 2464 Fire Hydrant"
oil on panel, 2013
5" x 7" (12.7cm x 17.78)

Number nine in my New Locomotive Series.

For this series, at least early on, my aim is to feature the locomotive in its entirety, in profile and in its environment.
The challenge with that is its horizontal format. That means I have to find ways to counter the side to side emphasis by using verticals and diagonals.
The hydrant was used as a compositional device. It helps break up the foreground horizontal sweep of the otherwise simple vacate street. This is part of my experimenting with the series.

Lighting is another element I am experimenting with. Here I backlit the subject as I did in "UP 4343". The difference in this one as opposed to UP 4343 is the locomotive is under a subtle undefined shadow consistent with the windy, cloudy spring day and not receiving a direct hit of sunlight.
So while UP 4343 has a diagonal streak of sunlight to break up the simplified foreground this one has a strong vertical to accomplish the same.
The same can be said of the clouds in each. It is not by accident but by design. In UP 4343 I designed the light streaking through the atmosphere to echo the foreground diagonal. Here I dragged nearly vertical streaks to break up the horizontal band of clouds and make a better composition.

I have some others in progress for this series that are different formats and views and will begin posting those in the near future.285

Click the 'SERIES-locomotive' label to see all.

Catalina Pacific Concrete - Ruins Study 15

"Catalina Pacific Concrete - Ruins Study 15"

watercolor on paper, 2014

5¾"  x 7¾" (14.605cm x 19.685cm)

For sale at Daily Paintworks, CLICK HERE

Studying more of the shapes within the overall mass as I have done in study 13, study 12, study 11 and study 2. Of course I could say that is true on all of them since you really can't ignore shape but these four I was focusing more intently on the debris atop the main structure.

This one, 13 and 2  I was also really looking into the shadows. There are so many great jagged puzzle pieces within the shadows that even with a predominantly horizontal composition and rectangular form, and I am referring to the upright structural nature of the architecture in its blocky squareness, it is secondary to the dynamic and lively action of its torn and shattered appearance.

There is some anguish in the shredded metal of the tank as it reaches up and back upon itself. Sort of like a fist cursing its demise.

The more I do of these, the more I see.284

"Catalina Pacific Concrete - Ruins Study 14"

watercolor on paper, 2014

5¾"  x 7¾" (14.605cm x 19.685cm)

For sale at Daily Paintworks, CLICK HERE

Taking my cue from Study 13 I kept the sky nearly white except that here I used coastal fog just beginning to envelope the ruins, but while they are still in sunlight.

Because the primary shape and composition is essentially a rectangle within a rectangle I needed to add some element to make it interesting. Although the cast shadows do some of that work, the atmospheric condition adds more and also increases the depth.283

Catalina Pacific Concrete - Ruins Study 13

"Catalina Pacific Concrete - Ruins Study 13"

watercolor on paper, 2014

5¾"  x 7¾" (14.605cm x 19.685cm)

For sale at Daily Paintworks, CLICK HERE

This is one of my favorites so far. I love the energetic shapes in this one, especially the shadows

It is Study #2 from a different view.

I painted the sky in the most subtle pale washes I could. Just enough to give it some substance, a breath of tone that a solid blue, darker or gradated tone would not accomplish. The hard metal and concrete against it gives the painting a cool toned stark quality that doesn't quite translate in this photo, the original is far better.282

Catalina Pacific Concrete - Ruins Study 12

"Catalina Pacific Concrete - Ruins Study 12"

watercolor on paper, 2014

7¾"  x 5¾" (14.605cm x 19.685cm)

For sale at Daily Paintworks, CLICK HERE

This, like the previous study focuses more on the rubble but also I pushed the color, exaggerating the warms and cools.

The chunks of concrete and broken edges of concrete walls, (and the ambiguous shaped torn metal tanks in the background), are painted in that pale blue while the weathered surfaces are warm gray-greens, yellow ochres and rusty sienna's.
This is akin to painting a tree for example that has been split open, revealing its clean color on the inside against the weathered surface of its bark.281

Catalina Pacific Concrete - Ruins Study 11

"Catalina Pacific Concrete - Ruins Study 11"

watercolor on paper, 2014

5¾"  x 7¾" (14.605cm x 19.685cm)

For sale at Daily Paintworks, CLICK HERE

This study is more of a detail than previous ones. I am figuring out the shapes within the rubble.
The even light of being in shadow makes it a challenge since I don't have the advantage of light and cast shadow to aid in revealing form. This forces me to not just see the shapes but really design them and edit a lot. It takes a clearer understanding of what is going on to make it work. I know because I have done several of these that did not pan out.280

Some Thoughts on the CPC Ruins Series (so far)

I'm working on some other projects right now so I'm reluctantly pausing on these studies.

Here are some of my thoughts and observations after the first ten. I have done more but some did not work out.

Even a simple idea or motif can have endless possibilities and I am not short of those in this series.

It does not matter what the subject is VISUALLY, these could just as well be landscape rock formations, still life's or ancient ruins, which I am basing them on. I chose the ruins of the industrial landscape.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Study 7

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Study 4

For the artist the same concerns apply the moment you sit down and begin working. You are faced with all the design issues of value, shape, composition, color etc.

But really all those are merely tools put to work to make the picture and present some idea or record some observation. You have to mold them into your vision.

The hard part is figuring out HOW to say it. And the combinations are limitless.

That is one reason for the studies. Another is to get familiar with the subject.

Some of these studies have a monumental scale to them as in 3 (below), 4 and 7 (above), while others rest within the picture frame peacefully like 6 and 8 (below).

Study 3

Study 6

Study 8

Study 9 (below) is close to that monumental scale but is pulled back ever so slightly. It makes a subtle difference. This is middle distance cropped close. It is a little less commanding.

The relationship of distance and cropping is very much like any relationship of the art elements, they can be separated but are really tied together.

Crop in close on an object, from a near, middle and far distance and you get 3 different results  relating to perspective and our perception.

Study 9

In Study 9,  in addition to the practical reasons I noted in the post, I wanted to downplay its overall block shape. To do this I needed to put the focus on some other feature in order to modify its shape.

I de-emphasized the blockish straight sides by making the value close to that of the sky, losing its edges, then concentrated on the busted up concrete in shadow, climbing from the corner to its scooped out top.

Simply by adjusting values up or down you can overcome predominant shapes to suit your end goal.

Study 2 could have that monumental sense too but is tamed somewhat through values and edges. And even though it is cropped tight like Study 3 its angles are less severe. It makes a difference.

Study 2

No one factor or element really does it on its own. It is the interplay of the various combinations.

See my Daily Paintworks page for available works from this series.

Catalina Pacific Concrete - Ruins Study 10

"Catalina Pacific Concrete - Ruins Study 10"

watercolor on paper, 2014

7¾"  x 5¾" (19.685cm x14.605cm)

For sale at Daily Paintworks, CLICK HERE

I pushed more color in this one compared to previous ones. I am still figuring out what I want to do and say with this series so in the experimental stage I am putting down whatever comes to mind.

As in others from this series of studies this one shows the excavator, but while at rest.
The 'Ruins' sub-series focuses on the plant, during its demise, but at its periods of inactivity. Much closer to the silence of ancient ruins in their depictions.
But here the silence is only for its short periods, not years and years... here it is brief.
So the excavator lingers nearby, ready to go at it again.

I like the bright artificial color of the machine against the earthy colors of the ruins. Coming in from the corner it does seem at the ready.279

Catalina Pacific Concrete - Ruins Study 9

"Catalina Pacific Concrete - Ruins Study 9"

watercolor on paper, 2014

7¾"  x 5¾" (19.685cm x14.605cm)

For sale at Daily Paintworks, CLICK HERE

This one is similar to study 2 in palette, a palette of earthy color favoring the gray-greens, layer upon layer, but painted harder edged and more defined.

It is the same section of building as studies 4 and 7 but different views and at different times in the demolition.

The left side is kept light in value, especially the lower left corner to avoid any uncomfortable near-tangent. This allows for the tighter cropping with the structure pushed left and off center but still opens up the picture (frame) to let the light filter in.
The real substance of the painting is the shadow. It's where all the visual action takes place, busy and energetic against the sky and smooth face of concrete collectively.278

Catalina Pacific Concrete - Ruins Study 8

"Catalina Pacific Concrete - Ruins Study 8"

watercolor on paper, 2014

7¾"  x 5¾" (19.685cm x14.605cm)

Again while looking at the art of ruins from history I take my cue from them so this view is presented from what I would call a middle distance.

The emphasis is on the talus in the foreground, ramping up toward the ruins so the color temperature  variation really takes place there, the background is left cool. The placement of the sun also creates a wedge-shaped shaft of light further emphasizing the talus.

The sky is slightly darker than the this photo so the painting looks almost like a moonlit night.

I might make changes/improvements in another version of this, but that is the point of studies, to explore options.277

Catalina Pacific Concrete - Ruins Study 7

"Catalina Pacific Concrete - Ruins Study 7"

watercolor on paper, 2014

7¾"  x 5¾" (19.685cm x14.605cm)
For sale at Daily Paintworks, CLICK HERE

One thing I have noted while doing these recent studies is the absolutely great negative shapes that jut in and around the positive shapes of the ruins.

If you see this recent watercolor and this one from 2012 you can see the plant in its previous form rose into the skyline as a solid brick. It is a different animal in its battered state.

The previous 3 and 4 have those great negative shapes, that puzzle piece of sky. Some are sharp and jagged, slicing into the concrete as in study 3, others blunt and round, the middle punched open and exposed as in 4.

I love the alternating rhythm of the negative sky shape in this study. The sky punches down into the ruins then the ruins punch back up into the sky, again the sky punches back.

I have to really pay attention to this and use it to my benefit.

This one is another (near) monochromatic in black watercolor. I first laid down a wash of pale yellow to give it an underlying warmth.

Again, as in study 4, the forward most column of concrete and its base separate from the rest.
In this one warmer and lighter in value but raked in a half light instead of a reflected light, the shadows streaking diagonally.276

Catalina Pacific Concrete - Ruins Study 6

"Catalina Pacific Concrete - Ruins Study 6"

watercolor on paper, 2014

7¾"  x 5¾" (19.685cm x14.605cm)
For sale at Daily Paintworks, CLICK HERE

I have always had a love for images of ancient ruins. I can't believe it has taken so long to do my own.
This study is the one most rooted in art history that I've done so far.

It has that romantic vision so often seen in the art from the past, it's airy with soft dreamy light and plenty of sky.

But again a hint of the excavator, modern machinery, to anchor it to the present.275

Catalina Pacific Concrete - Ruins Study 5

"Catalina Pacific Concrete - Ruins Study 5"

watercolor on paper, 2014

5¾"  x 7¾" (14.605cm x 19.685cm)
For sale at Daily Paintworks, CLICK HERE

Although this is a more tightly controlled study my goal was to push the color. Not only rich saturated color but especially the warms and cools.

Here I placed the warms to the left side, the direction of the sun.
But there are cools interspersed, as in the tanks and the standing concrete slab, so it ties into the right side.

On the two archways I went to extremes. Although both are in shadow I painted one warm and one cool to show their different directions in the environment.
Sometimes despite their shapes forms can flatten out, especially when they are the same value. One way to 'turn the form' or show their different directions is through warms and cools and not value.

This is all part of doing these studies, to try out as many variations and ideas as possible.274