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I just took a painting trip on April 24th to Baker Canyon, part of the Irvine Ranch Wilderness in Orange County, California.  It was a special outing for the Southern Calif Plein Air Painter`s Association, also in co-ordination with OCParks.  We hiked up a long trail that goes above the Red Rock Cliffs towards a much higher climb.   I decided to stay closer to bottom near the Red Rock Cliffs view to spare myself the struggle with all my art gear.   I was hoping they provided us with a 4WD to bring us back in the canyon, but driver`s were not available.   The weather was threatening rain and I was immediately attracted to this composition of the curve in the dusty clay trail, the buttery wild oats, the pastel green coastal sage, dark green oaks and other brush in front of those Red Rock Cliffs.  Looking at the time, I noticed I had only 2 hours to paint left.  After sketching several possibilities of arrangement of the subject matter, I went right into painting.  Usually I have several pre-blended puddles of oil colors in different values on my palette, but this time I didn`t.  I kept saying to myself, right now, what is most important to do, this helped me move fast and use discernment in my choice of action.  I thought of John Carlson`s book on Landscape Composition and the four planes of light values.  I thought of Kevin MacPherson`s advice on dividing the composition into larger masses, no more than 6.  I squinted to see those masses and with a diluted brush full of red-brown I drew in sketchy shapes and made sure the whole linen panel was washed a warm red-orange brown.  I decided not to draw exactly as I saw the scene, just loose indications of the mass areas like ground, shrubs-trees, hills and sky.   They constitute the four planes.  Then I squinted again and saw the shadow design in the low lying shrubs like coastal sage brush, it tied the taller dark shrubs to the oak trees. I made a blue-violet color on my palette, tinted it with Raw Sienna to neutralize it and dipped my brush in mineral spirits to wash that color in first.  I felt one of those ooh & ahh moments as I saw that color on my linen panel mix with the warm red-orange-brown wash that was already there.  On a cool day there is supposed to be warm shadows, I loved the happy accident.  When I am painting nature, I have a reverence for her natural colors, it is what I place importance upon as I create a painting.  But for the art sake, I must enhance the degree of color and light or shade to make a beautiful painting without destroying the essence of the scene.   When I build a painting, the first color I put down has to relate in harmony to the next color and the whole painting will sing in harmony in the end.  I study the color wheel for a few minutes at the begining of each painting to find opposites like the blue-violet and yellow orange that is present in the underbrush and ground cover.  Then I noticed the blue-greens in the sage brush and oak trees, opposite that is red-orange which is in the Red Rock Cliffs as a faded, lighter value.   Color combinations excite the eyes and emotions and I felt real good as I recorded what nature presented me.  Exception here, I knew I was creating a work of art and I had to move things, edit things and simplify things for the design of the piece.  That is the joy of being an artist, we get to use our inner/outer visual perception combined with our education and techinques of painting from learning and experience.  Scroll below to see the detail of this work to see my brush strokes, you can tell I was elated to be present in Nature`s beauty. 

Here are several images of that day I painted:

I refined the artwork in my studio last night to further create a noble piece.

Showing my production set-up, I haul everything in this old Radio Flyer wagon.  I must have the comforts of a little coffee,cold water, fruit and plenty of art tools including extra paints, camera,etc...

Here is the detail image of the focal point in the painting, the trail going by the oak tree down the hill. 

Here is the whole painting below:

This painting represents special meaning for me, I painted it at Crystal Cove Cottages a few days ago while celebrating my birthday.  I stayed overnight two nights in the cottages on the bluff overlooking the coastal scenery at Crystal Cove Beach.  Just below me as I stand on the deck atop the the bluff are the antique cottages abandoned a dozen years ago.   As they await renovation by the state and the Crystal Cove Alliance, artists like myself love their imperfections to create paintings from.  I say they are "imperfect, yet perfect to an artist."  We can make such beauty from their disorganized, disarray of peeling rooftops, tossed boards, fallen bricks and architectural uniqueness that is now decaying back to nature.  How the plants and flowers grow so freely with vigor without a gardener add to the wild aura around the cottages.  The flowers I spotted along the bluff were yellow asters, magenta blooming ice plants, orange flowered succulents, nasturtiums, purple statice and blue phlox.  The ocean was reflecting a marine layer and the bluffs in the distance captured a golden glow from the later afternoon sunlight.  The mist lifted long enough in the afternoon to light up the faces of the white cottages and reveal the high chroma of the flowers.   I think this painting also reflects my extreme happiness that day as I had friends coming to share my birthday at the cottage by having a dinner with us.  They were bearing more flowers, food and gifts, it was a great two days.  Usually in 2 days at Crystal Cove I can get 2 paintings going except all the company this time only allowed me to start one.  I began with a  few sketches in my sketchbook to compose the scene into the 8x10 format.  I then roughed in an oil sketch around 3pm. See image below:

There had been 7 days of socked in fog in the Orange County coastline, so this sunshine was highly welcomed by me.  I took it as my birthday gift from Mother Nature.  Next is an image of my painting as I worked on it at the deck overlooking the cottages and beach below. As you can see, the marine layer was coming back ashore and I had to quit for the day, besides I had company walking on deck about this time.  I tried to work, but guests must be paid attention to and they were great friends.

Below is an image of three of my Crystal Cove originals that I placed on the fireplace mantle at the cottage.  The one on the right is the afternoon`s painting which I put a little more ocean colors into before I actually called it an evening.  

I brought the piece home and saved my oil color blends that were made on my easel palette to use to complete the piece in my studio.   I added my artistic license to make more flowers on the bluff than actually were there to really brighten up the artwork and make the eyes delight in the sense of spring colors.  I must`ve went into another Gustav Klimt and Monet zone when adding the flowers in this impressionistic way.  Spring means a rebirth for flowers and I felt it was also for myself.  Every year we celebrate another year, we are reborn. 

I may just keep this painting in my personal-family collection as it holds dear memories of a stellar birthday.

Here is another image of the whole completed painting and a detail image:

Last week I drove down to the Dana Point Harbor to catch some sunshine and maybe come upon some of the wild herons and egrets that live there.  It was my lucky or not so lucky day as I did spot a young Great White Egret over the rocky embankment in the harbor channel.  I immediately noticed it was wounded.  I`ve been around these wild marine birds long enough to know when one is wounded, the authorities get alerted.  Somebody probably already went to call the animal control or went into the Sheriff HarborPatrol office next door. 

He had a red bloody wound that looked fresh, although the rest of him looked clean and white.  He looked young, about 6-8 months old, these birds get very large.  I thought maybe a dog attacked him or he fell from one of the high eucalyptus trees.  I slowly climbed down the rocks, taking pictures as I became closer to him.  I kept saying out loud, "It`s okay, it`s okay."  He just stared at me complacently and did not move away.  This is rare, so I knew he was hurting.  I am a sap for injured animals, I began to get a lump in my throat feeling an instinct something was bad.  But I knew I was going to run out of time to be with him, so I hurried back to my art supplies and grabbed my sketchbook and pencils.  I was able to get very close again and began to quickly sketch him. 

During my sketching period, I was in eye contact and felt a sense of bonding.  As you can see by my notes on the bottom, he was not going to kept alive.  Animal control popped up behind me with big fuzzy blankets and approached the bird.  It took off and they went in chase, catching him.  The woman animal control officer said the wing bones were shattered too much and he would have to be euthanized.  There was a little crowd of us observers by then.  We were all objecting to having him put down.  But the animal control officer said he would never fly.  We all shook our heads and he was taken away.  I was pretty accepting of it at that point but when I got back to my picnic bench where I set up to paint that day, sadness was overwhelming.  I was trying to hide my emotions, but then the tears rolled.  I kept thinking how I was connected to that bird`s spirit and now his life had to end.  He was not even fully grown and it was being cut short.  I realized I had to paint him since my heart was so full of passion.  I spent the rest of the late afternoon creating a small 3" wide by 5" high oil painting from memory and the sketchbook drawing.  It was the best I could do in memory of the fledgling egret who could not survive with one wing.   I watched him try to get away and he could only stretch out one wing, it was a crying shame to see a beautiful bird be grounded.   I was really depressed about it all, but that is the circle of life, sometimes you have to let go. 

Here is the little artwork and I will include a small wooden easel to display it without a frame.   I intend on using this experience to place him in a larger painting like a marsh or a Back Bay scene.  He will forever live through art. 

Here is a plein air artwork that was created at Black Star Canyon area in the Irvine Ranch Wilderness early in January.  I had taken a hike into Baker Canon first during an Irvine Ranch/OC Parks open access day, it was sunny then.  I had sketched a few drawings of landscapes in an oak meadow.  After the hike, I went to my Jeep where it was parked, took one look towards the west and was completely captivated by the panoramic landscape of Red Rock Canyon in the late day.  I began to sketch several small compositions and then decided what to paint.  I knew I had to paint fast and sure.   It was near sunset as clouds began to drift in blocking out the sunlight.  A few minutes before the sunset, the clouds shifted and changed to warm wispy cumulus clouds.  The sun peeked through lightly enough to show itself and sunk behing the canyon wall.  I was marveling at the way the combination of sifted light turned the colors of Red Rock Canyon a mauve tint.  The live oak trees were a dusty oak green with subtle olive highlights.  There stood a dead oak tree, blackened by a previous wildfire years ago.  It added a rustic ranchland aura to the setting.  I am so glad these lands are protected and allowed to stay as they are, wild and free. 

Here are a few images below of the day I painted there:

 This is the initial block in of the little 8x6 oil on linen panel.  In fading light like this, I had to move fast and cover the canvas in the shapes and color tones that depicted this unique light.   For artistic reasons to enhance the painting`s appeal, I added just a wee bit more alizaron crimson to my midtone gray to spark up the pink.  I did not want to overdo it, so I added only a small dab of Alizaron to my color blend.  Just to let you know, I make color blends on my glass palette that generally match the nature colors before I commit to the canvas.   It takes a little more time but it is worth it.  The oak trees were blocked in with the dark tones first, then I added lighter greens and bluegreens to build the tree forms.  The foreground tundra was also blocked in with the shadow shapes first and sculpted with lighter tones after I established the midground and focal area.  I chose the dead tree and the sunset section for my area of focus.  

Below is the completed plein air work and I was very grateful for being there.  It looks dark because the sun had gone and it was getting darker rather fast, I packed up and got out of there.  It is mountain lion country and a bit unpredictable as to whom or what you may meet on a backroad.   

Here are my little skecthes from my 6" x 8" sketchbook.  I make them fast before I paint as we are battling with time and the sunlight is not waiting for us.  They help greatly in figuring out how I am going to arrange my subject matter.  Turns out I shifted my angle more towards a leftside scene after I sketched these on the far right side of my view.  There were two large dead oak trees, I had that; What to Paint? frenzy moment.  I wanted to paint a wider landscape view, but a 6x8 limits an artist to zoom in and pick a fragment of what we see.  Also, a 6x8 allows me to cover the canvas quicker in an hour or less.   What I want to do in the future is to produce a studio painting that is more panoramic using this painting as a study.  If the painting sells first, well, I just have to go back there now don`t I?  I won`t complain, I love it out there.

Here is a sketch of the larger live Oak tree in Baker Canyon from earlier in the day.  I want to paint that tree!  I need permission to go in there though unless it is another open access day.  The tree will wait for me I hope.

Feel free to join my Newsletter list if you want more information on my events , latest paintings and art trips I go on.  There is a link at the top of my website page to sign up.

Thanks for reading!

This painting began en plein air down at the gazebo above the bluffs at Heisler Park in Laguna Beach, California.   It was a completed plein air artwork, done in October 2011, but recently I wanted to try to recreate it to give a more ethereal atmosphere, so I sanded down the original piece and began to transform it apart from the scenery.   As an artist evolves we want to experiment and apply a new found understanding of what a work of 'art' truly means.  After over 50 years of being an artist and studying everything about it, there comes a time when I have to step up my creations.  It is hard to explain, although I felt a shift going on inside me this new year.  One that wants to use more of my experience in what works better for me with colors, building form with values and creating that sense of light and perspective.   Impressionism is not a literal copying of the image you see, it is combining many artistic aspects of creating form that represents the scene in a whole unique way.   Art means new things to me now, of course it means I can draw a likeness with the pencil or brush but one that I use my imagination and inner senses to shift & enhance the whole painting or sketch.   I feel ready to place more of my emotions into a painting by trusting my abilities to produce a more painterly, abstraction of the actual, literal scene.   One must trust in their abilities before they can utilize all those skills and techniques and let go with the flow enough to create the sublime in art.   A painting that involves you the viewer to become a part of discovering through colors, shapes, transistions and using your imagination to see into the brushwork.  In the end, it imparts an interactive emotional/mental response as you traveled into dream-like parts of your mind and soul vicariously through the artwork.   Enough of the mind boggling talk, here is my results:

Here the waves come rolling in as you view this painting.  How clear the shallow waters are with their aqua greens and blues flowing and washing under white waves.  See yourself walking along the shoreline and rocks with the scent of salty air being inhaled into your lungs.  A warm gentle breeze sways the palm trees and shrubbery on the bluffs.  The moisture in the air feels soothing and healing.  It all looks like a dream.  That`s Laguna Beach along the coast.   That is what I want you to feel!  If I left anything out, please enjoy your personal experience thorugh this artwork.  It can become yours forever to enjoy if you chose to purchase it.  I will include a dark wood wide edge frame in the purchase price from the Randy Higbee Gallery, King of Frames. 

Below are some close-ups to see my brushstrokes:

Thanks for your viewing and reading!  EJ Williams

Quick update, this painting is being auctioned on eBay.com right now.  Click here to go to the auction.

From one of my personal vintage Barbies is this original oil on miniature canvas panel.  I painted this from life and added my own painting style to give it artistic design.  It is not a literal photocopy or painted from a projection.  I am a fine artist and must infuse elements into my paintings to create something special from the ordinary.  Except I do believe the vintage Barbie is far from ordinary, she is an icon to doll collectors.  Therefore, I must add a wee bit more imagination in these artworks to set it apart from a mere photograph.  I do have a nice collection of vintage Barbies and being an artist, well they are inspiring to paint from with such intricate oufits and beautiful faces.  Even the mold of the doll herself is a work of art by it`s original designer.  Barbie is a work of art!  So I continue to paint originals from my Barbie dolls when the muse strikes.  It is not easy, her face is small and when originally manufactured (except for the hand painted prototypes) was expertly painted with a template.   So, each painting I create is hand orchestrated without a template.  I imagine I use similar tiny brushes like the Japanese workers did.  I even use special granny glasses.  Besides the technical skills, I am very passionate about these dolls as many collectors are.  There is LOVE in each and every painting.   As I was painting this Barbie dressed in 'Commuter Set' I was intrigued by the combination of reds and blues.  Barbie`s wool suit is a deep navy blue with an ecru satin top, she wears crystal beads and pearl earrings.  Her wonderful hat is made of silk flower petals across a hat band.  Barbie`s lips are full and red, her eyeliner is vivid blue with black outlines.  She has soft blushed cheeks and warm brown brows slightly curved as the number three Barbies are known for.  Her soft black hair is placed into the well known ponytail with curly front bangs.  For the painting I put the ponytail out a little so you can see the curl.  That is using artistic license.  Also, I never know how a painting is going to turn out in the end.  I left the background blank until the very end.  It was then I just went with my inner voice to add some dabs of soft yellow.  Next thing I knew I was adding some soft gray blue to make it more dimensional and it began to appear like clouds.   So I modeled them a little and there you have it, she looks heavenly. 

Here are several images of the vintage 1960 Number 3 Barbie as she looked when I was painting her yesterday in my back garden.  I prefer to paint in natural light but will also paint in studio light. 

I had to place this Barbie up higher to be able to see her eyes better under those heavy black lids, they cast shadows in the natural light.  Besides, she appears to be looking down at humans like she is the queen that she is!

Here it is nearly done, except for the background and refinements.  When I paint from life, I block in major shapes first to capture the overall light/shadow patterns, colors and design/composition.  I work from large to small.  I squint at the scene a lot to see only the large shapes and color effects.  I am constantly blending mixed colors on my palette to correctly match what I see in value stages, then add a bit of pure color afterwards. 

Here is after the sun had just set down over the ocean bluff and I still had ambient light.  I also abstractly created my background, the joy of that was I in an artistic zone that was allowing me to reach deep into my creative spirit.  It was like a floating feeling and I let myself go with natural instincts and imagination.  The real sky during my day was blue, but I created clouds.  Ah, the pure joy of art!

Here is a closer look at her face.

The painting is signed in the lower right corner as EJW in script, red oil.   I highly recommend that it be framed in a FLOATER frame, so that there is no loss of the painting`s sides.  For that, go to your local framer and ask for a floater frame to be made.  Or  order a custom made one online.  I recommend this company, www.kingofframe.com and this frame, the Arroyo Black with gold liner.

If you want, you can buy a mini easel at any art supply store like Aaron Brothers and display it without a frame in any room, on a desk, etc...

I am honored to be a part of this fine art exhibition once again! 

It is that special time of the year, the Holiday Season!  What a better choice for gifts than the choice of original art.  Come to the 4th annual 6 Inch Squared or 6x6 Art Exhibition at the Randy Higbee Gallery, this Saturday is the grand gala opening reception.  The date is 12/08/2012.  The time is 5-9pm.  The address is 102 Kalmus, Costa Mesa, California 92626. Toll free number is (800) 506-7624.

My two artworks in this exhibition are as follows:

Rooftop View - Crystal Cove, $275, oil on linen, framed in a Higbee floater quality frame

Summer at Los Trancos Creek - Crystal Cove, $275, oil on linen, framed in a Higbee floater quality frame

All painting by the articipating artists can be purchased online or at the gallery.  Online link is here.  You can see all the paintings in the show online and buy with PayPal. 

The show will run through December 21st at the Higbee Gallery if you prefer to go in at your convenience.   Directions are available on the link.

May you have a Happy Holiday Season and a great 2013! 

I like to use acrylics every so often.  I was part of a blind test recently for an unknown brand of acrylics and this little creation was the happy result.  I would buy these and as soon as I know the brand name, I will post it.  Since I have a pond in my back yard, I have painted waterlilies for years.  My inspiration as Monet from years ago.  I planted these pink variegated lilies and they thrive with multiple blooms every year from spring to late fall.  The blooms last only a couple of days and then a new pink lily will pop up. I capture images of them on my smart phone in the morning as the colors are very saturated.  This was painted from such a capture.  So, I titled it Forever Lily, as it will last that long.  I will often go out to my waterlily and Koi pond to meditate or go into deep thought.  Lilies are like mandalas and I can gaze into them while my immediate world disappears.  Their beautiful color and delicate petals calm me and bring  joyful feelings to my heart.   More will be painted, I need to create many more lily pond paintings.

Here is a closeup of the waterlily:

The acrylic colors I was sent were only Red, Blue, Yellow with a Brown and White.  Also sent where a Fluid and Gel Medium.  I was pleased with the vibrancy of the colors and the viscosity (smoothness).  I was also very pleased with intense colors I made by blending these supplied primary colors into secondary colors that did not lose chromatic intensity.  A limited palette can create a unified, color harmony painting with ease.  

Here is the whole size artwork, it is a small one but packs so much into the canvas.  I used small synthetic flats and pointers for brushes.

CHEERS!

Painted en plein air at Inspiration Point off the shoreline of Corona del Mar, California.   Comes framed at this price.  Here is an image of the day I painted it on location.

The giant pillar type rocks down on the craggy shoreline looked like guardians of the shore.  In a curved fashion the jagged rocks of all sizes hugged the shoreline.  Waves hit the rock and pour over it, it was a gentle caressing action, not crashing and relentless this day.  I painted it at high tide, in the later afternoon when I was finished the tide went out and thousands more craggy rocks appeared, the color of the sea changed also from various greens to blues.  When a painter arrives in the morning light, the sea is more green with subtle nuances of light.  I would like to paint an afternoon artwork there someday also.   Later in my home studio I added a wave line to the painting that showed a more believable continuation of the wave that hit the rock. It is very hard to capture waves in their entiriety while painting on location.  That is why it is important to take SLR images while painting and study them at home to see if one can add to the design of the painting in the studio.   But there is nothing like practicing on location to truly grab the feeling, the movement and nature`s colors in plein air painting.   That is one of my reasons I love to paint at the sea so much, I like to immerse myself in the sea air, the feel of the water, the moisture, the light traveling through the waves.  There is so much to absorb in viewing the colors of the sea.  For the rocks, I am always trying to experiment how to portray their shape, their strength, solidity and how it is set into the waters with shadows and reflections.  If light hits the rock, there are accents of color on the edges that tell the jagged angular shape.  If water hits the rock, it becomes altered in dark shades interchanged with light values.  I carefully build the rock shape with cool to warm gradations of natural colors that I observe on sight.  The whole experience is painted onto that linen panel and I can relive it everytime I view the painting at home.   Or let it be sold and allow someone else to enjoy the atmosphere of the sea.   This scene would be fantastic painted much larger to include more of the shoreline, rocks, sea and sky.  I am going back now that I found this special place!

On a stormy morning at Crystal Cove, I set out to paint en plein air with an artist friend.  The weather radar warned of a severe storm cell just off the Newport Coast, it rather excited me to be there to witness it`s fury.  Sure enough, I saw two waterspouts touch down out at sea.   Here is an image of one of the waterspouts:

My artist friend & I got rained on but knew it would not be an all day rain.  Within an hour it started to clear as I was setting up my easel under an umbrella.   The air is amazing after a storm, it is so clean and crisp, the colors on land and sea are fully saturated.  There is a brilliance to everything.  The rim of storm clouds were moving fast inland, so I quickly painted them in on my canvas.  There was a constant stream of vivid cumulus clouds rolling in off the coast and up over the bluffs at Crystal Cove.  I enjoyed seeing their puffy white tops and blue-violet bases against a deep blue sky.  Other tints of butter yellow and red-violet added great attraction to me.  As soon as I brushed down the shapes of the clouds, then I concentrated on painting the seascape below, mainly the wet shoreline and the last two cottages on the end.  Normally on any other beach day there is a misty layer down the shoreline, this day it was freshly washed away.  The warm sun felt great and made the world feel new again. 

Below is an image of the painting on the easel after I was done.  I later brought it home, let it set dry for a few days and did some additional adjusting of colors in the clouds, sky and shoreline to enhance the art.

Below is an image of Morning Rain Clearing as it looks framed:

You can view this artwork in person and purchase it at Converge Salon in Laguna Niguel.