Return to the River

Waning Light
@ 9" x 12"
Pastel
Casey Klahn

Remember the River Series? I return to it here, and will post the rest in the next few days.

Plein Air Links

Photo: Lorie Klahn
This box of pastels I made from a cigar box which is deep enough for two layer of sticks. The top tray is a hand made Fome Core tray. The levels are further sub-divided with Fome Core, and the top tray is lifted out with a ribbon. I organize this box by six values, and choose mostly subdued hues. Casey Klahn.

The plein air links I posted the other day were very well received, and I promised a continuation of these links. As I take up a project of painting outdoors every day for a month, follow my journey. I won't post everything, but my foibles and fun will be shared liberally.

On my mind as I take up my month long project are the following links:

Painting Wales Diary - Rob Ijbema
Plein Air Artists. Ning
My French Easel - Benoit Philippe

Telluride via Deborah Paris
Michael Chelsey Johnson
Pastel Pointers with Richard McKinley

The Lighthouse Keeper

The Lighthouse Keeper
5" x 7"
Pastel
Casey Klahn
scanned image of artwork

This image of the lighthouse base at Yaquina Head, Oregon, is a studio finish of an on sight drawing. The real artwork is more subtle, but here is a scanned and somewhat adjusted version posted just for the sake of interest.

Now that I'm on day 3 of my daily painting outdoors project, a few things are becoming evident. My goal of creating finished works at the French easel is still the main thing, but so far I have two "thumbs" and one that's a keeper. Many will simply be studies for studio works.

I won't be posting all of them, or even daily, since that isn't the goal. But, kind reader, you will see many of them as I go on this exploration of daily outdoor painting. This is a good time for you to Follow Me, since my month long project is just beginning.

It helps to have a picturesque home and surroundings. Although our older farmhouse still needs a lot of TLC, the yard is coming along better this year. Also, my kids are just old enough to let me go outside for an hour or so without creating a massive disruption in the space-time continuum.

I'll post some more plein air links on Monday.

Plein Air Plans

Painting Near Point Brown
Ocean Shores, Washington

Yesterday I did a painting in the front yard, and so begins my month of a daily painting en plein air. Having just returned from a family vacation at the Pacific Ocean beaches in Washington and Oregon, pictured above, I am well tuned for the hard work of outdoor painting.

Yaq. Pt. Lighthouse Sub Building
Small
Pastel & Charcoal in Moleskine
Casey Klahn

Here are some links to some recent plein air web sites and events:

Hudson River via Linda Richichi.
NW Pastel Society Paint-Outs.
Pacific NW Plein Air Painting Competition.

American Artist "En Plein Air Pearls from Painters Past."
American Artist A Conversation with Camille Przewodek.
Pleinairpainting.com.

More in my next post.


A first draft goal list for my project includes the following:

1. Daily painting of at least one work - not a drawing, but a soft pastel work.
2. Reorganize my pastel box to fit in my ThumBox.
3. Refine the pastel boxes to moderate the hot colors and to "fit" the area around my studio and home.
4. Refine my choices of support.
5. Fine tune my usage of umbrellas. I have two, and want to get at least one to stand alone by staking it in the ground. I want to customize this myself.
6. Get or make an extender for supports for my ThumBox.
   

Pop Icon Passes

Since I have made some traction, myself, off of Michael Jackson, I think it fair to give the old boy some airplay on the event of his untimely death. Known as the King of Pop, Jackson passed on today of a cardiac arrest. My connection to him was our coordinate birthdays - one week apart, in 1958. I have blogged about him, and another child pop icon of the same age, whose name I won't include here.

May he rest in peace.

Back in Action

Back to the Studio

We are back safe & sound from the family beach trip. I did blog twice from our beach hotel in Washington, but couldn't get a connection from our camp site on the Oregon beach. Imagine that. Mild weather, big ocean fun and plein air outings at the lighthouse completed our trip. Oh yeah, I can't leave out the Newport Cafe (Oregon) and wonderful sea food baskets.

I made contact with a few galleries along the way, and hope to follow up on one invitation to send a portfolio. Several plein air pieces were at least started - about 4 or 5 I think. I really love one of them, but have hopes for the rest at least producing studio finished works, as well. Believe me, just getting the easel and umbrella and pastels set up on the beach is a huge success. I'll have pictures of all of that soon.

Beach Bits

Photo: Lorie Klahn

I love the beach.

Yesterday I set up and painted from my Guerrilla ThumBox. I had to contend with the tripod, pad of paper, mid-sized box of pastels, etc. I was lucky that I didn't have to put up my new umbrella as the sun angled just right to shade my paper. And, the wind cooperated.

It was a success just to get out and up. Not to mention I really liked the results. I will see what I can do to get a photo and post it. Maybe a sunlight set-up, we'll see.

Being Coastal

The family and I are on the coast for a vacation. The Pacific Ocean, no small feature, is built-in to my psyche. My father and my mother, Nadine, raised me here until I was about 1 year old. Mom was born and raised at the beach. She subsisted for times on clams, and washed my diapers in the iron ore streams that empty to the ocean. I'm told that made them red.

Here is my last post where I drew these pictures of the jetty. Hopefully, I'll have a few plein air images to post of the beach, and of the Hoquiam River, soon.

Time to relax, now.

Start Again

Deer "Cast" Drawing
14" x 12"
Charcoal, Conte and Compressed Charcoal
Casey Klahn

"You have to start, over and over again."

Willem de Kooning. de Kooning, An American Master, Mark Stevens, Annalyn Swan.

Here is artist blogger Chris Ashley's view and review of de Kooning at the MoMA.


A new start for me is taking place at art *setter, where I have posted some images and an essay.

art *setter. person or institution whose tastes, talent, knowledge or ideas, has an influence on art.