The Columbia River Estuary from Space

Images of the Columbia River Estuary are ones that I have studied for years. From satellite images, I have mapped wetlands. landcover and invasive species within the 141 mile long area from the mouth of the Columbia to Bonneville Dam, the upper limit of its tidal influence.

The subject of the painted collage above is primarily one Landsat 5 image, but the collage does not hold to that one point in time. The estuary is a constantly changing place with tides and river levels rising and falling, sand bars and mud flats changing shape, and clearcuts and regrowth in the forests along the Columbia's banks. Seasonal changes are constantly occurring as well. So the collage portrays a changing, dynamic landscape. The choice of ranges of light, near infrared, red and green, gives growing vegetation a red color in this image.

This collage is the third in a a series of recent collages and paintings based on satellite images (the two others are "Rice Fields from Space" and Owens Lake, a lost lake in California). The images tell a story if you look at the details in the landscape and they have a beauty inherent to their landforms and habitats.

This collage will be one of five collages and paintings that I will be showing in the "As Time Goes By" exhibit at the LaSells Stewart Center at Oregon State University during June.

Linoleum Stamp

Here is a photo of the linoleum stamp (mentioned in my previous post) that I carved during the Betsy Dillard Stroud painting workshop I attended this past week. It was carved with a small X-Acto v-shaped groover tool.
(The brown and yellow color is stain from paint. The color of the linoleum is the lighter color.)

Iridescence

Getting a photo to accurately capture iridescence is difficult at best, but I have taken a few shots to show sections of the painting in my previous post that were painted with iridescent paint. They do show some of the sparkle and color shifts that are characteristic of iridescence.

"Rice Fields from Space"

Rice Fields from Space is my latest painting. It is another in my current series using satellite images as the subject matter. The subject for this painting is a location in the region of rice fields north of Sacramento, California. The mosaic-like pattern formed by the rice fields interspersed with natural drainage and highways is what attracted me to this particular image.

Rice Fields from Space
(Acrylic on paper - 30"x22" - 2011)

Unfortunately, the iridescent paint in the painting which makes it more visually interesting does not show well in the photo. I'll have to work at producing some photos or animation that give a better look at that aspect of the painting.

Experiments in Paint

At times some painting is pure experimentation, never meant as a "finished painting", to see what a medium can do. Here are some examples from experiments in acrylic paint, detailed sections of larger panels, where paint has been brushed, poured, dripped, splattered, layered, scraped, wiped, etc. Besides being just plain fun, results found during these these tests can be useful in future paintings.

James Lavadour Painting Exhibit, Salem

During an art field trip to Salem yesterday, I thoroughly enjoyed an exhibit of paintings by Oregon artist, James Lavadour. The exhibit, "The Properties of Paint," is at the Hallie Ford Museum thru March 30. The colorful (sometimes glowing), creative paintings are mesmerizing to me. Photos of the paintings can be seen at the PDX Contemporary Art website (click on the "Show more images" link). The photos can give you an idea of how the paintings look, but the paintings definitely need to be seen in person.

Driven to abstraction

It is interesting to see what appears to be a natural progression among many artists from representational artwork to the more abstract. Many masters during the past have gone that route - Picasso and Munch come immediately to mind.
You hear about the desire to paint "more loosely." To me it is more a matter of painting less tangible subjects - ideas, feelings - or focusing on the surface and medium - or working with design, color, texture, etc. I still paint more representationally when a sense of place or character is a major part of the subject.

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