"Beach Combers" oil, marinescape painting by Robin Weiss

"Beach Combers"    10x12 oil on panel , framed    $600

We waited for a sunny day to hike the trail down to Second Beach near LaPush, WA on the Olympic Peninsula. I painted here last year during PTP 2014 and even did a different view of this same sea stack.

"Incoming Tide" 10x12 oil on linen
PTP 2014     $600

The beach was pretty crowded with hikers and campers. I picked a spot out of the way, in the shade, then quickly sketched my composition with a drawing brush and thin, Quin Sienna paint from Daniel Smith. I like the transparency and the more saturated, red/orange color of the pigment for under-painting in the Northwest where we have so much blue and green to deal with.

The sun was moving very fast so I quickly washed in the shaded areas and then STUCK to my light/dark plan as everything started to change dramatically.  I finished this painting in about an hour and a half then packed my gear and headed down the beach to meet other artist friends.

Rhonda McKay painting on 2nd Beach

I was looking for something different from the last couple years of painting on Second Beach. The storm twisted firs marching up the bluffs caught my eye. Artist Rhonda Thatcher McKay was in my field of view so I painted her in.

Ned Mueller's  painting on 2nd Beach

Many fine paintings were done down on the beach that day by artists including Jim Lamb, Bob Stem, Eric Jacobson and one of my favorites of the day by Ned Mueller.

During the month of January and February 2016 you can view many of these paintings during a solo exhibition at the Tree House Cafe. Click
                                                      HERE 
for info on this great restaurant and event destination located in Lynwood Center on Bainbridge  Island.

"Driftwood Giants, plein air, landscape by Robin Weiss

"Driftwood Giants" 9x12 oil on linen     Sold
New Dungeness Light Station Keepers Award  PTP 2015

We were designated a painting spot on one of the days during Paint the Peninsula so me and painting friends, Jim Lamb and Melanie Thompson met early at the Dungeness Wildlife Refuge and headed for the beach. The Dungeness Spit is a long narrow strip of land five miles long with a light station at the end. As one of the sponsors of PTP 2015 the Light Station Keepers would be judging and giving awards for the work done by the artists painting in the refuge during the day.

Melanie working on her painting

The trail from the parking area is about three quarters of a mile. When we reached the end Melanie set up right there with a view of the Olympics peaking out through rapidly changing cloud conditions. It wasn't the best weather but it wasn't raining either!
 I hefted my pack down the spit where there was more driftwood. I found an interesting arrangement that would lead the eye of the viewer into the painting. I even moved a few pieces out of the way to make a better composition where one long piece of driftwood goes through the "eye" of another.

On the Dungeness Spit

The sun kept peeking out through the clouds. I snapped a picture so that I could reference my camera monitor to add shadows where I couldn't see them most of the time. I punched up the color notes and increased the size of the Olympic Mountain range in the distance. I was inspired by the color of the mountains and the way they were obscured by the clouds so I increased the saturation of the blue-green color of distant land seen through atmosphere.

In the mean time the light station keepers came around to check on the painters and encourage us.

 When I finished this one I moved to the other side of the spit where Jim was already painting. We were positioned at about 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock  around a large tide pool formed as the tide retreated into Dungeness Bay.

Dungeness Bay  9x14 oil on panel  $600 

As we were painting I noticed something moving in the tide pool that looked like seaweed. There was no current since the pool was isolated by now and the movement caught my eye. I walked down closer thinking it may have been a sea otter but when close I recognized it as a Giant Pacific Octopus trapped in the tide pool.  Jim came down and we both started taking videos of it. As it moved to a sandy area and settle down it would change color and blend in perfectly with the bottom. Then it would start moving and turn a rust red color.

The funny part about this octopus story is when we got back that day I posted my video on facebook and it received over a thousand views. Jim posted his and since he took the video vertically it posted vertically  and didn't get many views.  Being new to facebook he was not sure how to rotate it and in trying to he re-posted it to his page six times and changed his profile picture to the octopus. Ha!  You have to hear him tell the story!

Receiving the New Dungeness Light Station Keepers Award
For "Driftwood Giants" Paint the Peninsula 2015

"Rainbow Farm" Paint the Peninsula 2015, plein air oil painting by Robin Weiss

"Rainbow Farm"  9x12 oil on panel    Sold

See my prior post to learn more about this plein air painting done in Sequim WA during Paint the Peninsula 2015. Even though the current name is Chi's Farm I named the painting Rainbow Farm, it's former name still on the sign....because I thought it was kinda catchy...=]

"Airstreams and Tractors" Paint the Peninsula, plein air, oil painting by Robin Weiss

"Airstreams and Tractors" 9x12 oil on panel    Sold

Looking back over my blog I realized there are no posts about Paint the Peninsula 2015! Yikes! That was a huge show for me this year and a great success as I won three different awards including Best of Show for this painting.

There were so many adventures and so much fun meeting new friends that it will be hard to condense it all down. To start off I was juried into the show and given host housing with Jinx and Gunar in Sequim, WA. That turned out great because I had the opportunity to paint more in that area like Chi's Farm where Airstreams and Tractors was done.
 The long row of bright yellow sunflowers was the first thing that grabbed my attention driving down Towne Rd looking for a good painting location . I pulled the van into the driveway and saw a small, neat little farm with a small shack and  few Airstream trailers. The shack had a sign inviting friends to come in and pick up their eggs leaving money in a can on the desk. There was a card describing the farm as a CSA and a phone number of the manager. I called the number and explained that I was an artists and would love to paint on location there.

The pizza oven

 Ankur enthusiastically said"Great! It's a good day, we are having our end-of-the-month pizza and veggie pick up party.  I had noticed a thick column of smoke coming from the back yard but didn't know that it was a home made, clay pizza oven!  Well that sounded good to me so I set up the easel and started my first painting.

Click HERE to learn more about Chi's Farm

Chi's Farm

I wanted to capture the first thing that impressed me about the farm. The sunflowers! So I set up to do that painting first. I will post the finished painting in my next post.
 My under-painting shown here was drawn in with a "drawing brush' and then filled in to fix my composition and values before starting in with color. This has been my standard way of getting started on a plein air painting and it works for me...=]

Plein Air wine from Camaraderie Cellars

By the way...part of my award for winning Best of Show at PTP 2015 was getting the winning painting printed on a wine label for Camaraderie Cellars signature"Plein Air" wine. A portion of sales are used to benifit the Port Angeles Fine Art Center If you are interested in learning more about PACAC and this wine click the link HERE

If you would like to go directly to the page where you can order this wine from the Camaraderie Cellars website click the link HERE

"Christmas Still Life" original oil painting by Robin Weiss

"Christmas Still Life"  10x10 oil on panel         Sold


We had our annual end-of-the-season paint out, potluck for the Plein Air Washington Painters in Edmonds last month. It is always a great time to connect with friends and go over the years events and plan for next year....and there are great plans for next year!  Lots of fun painting adventures to come!  Check out PAWA's website HERE during the year to see what we are up to.

Thanks for YOUR support and have a safe and blessed holiday season!

PAWA , Edmonds paint out

"Happy Hour" Seattle city, urban landscape, oil painting by Robin Weiss

"Happy Hour" 20x20 oil on canvas      Sold

Rumor has it that this whole block in Seattle will soon be demolished and the only business that will remain is this old and iconic bar called the Diller Room. Things are changing fast in Seattle and part of my job is to chronicle the old city as it was.
You can see more of my recent cityscapes at Alki Arts located on First and Seneca, downtown Seattle.

"After the Flowers" oil; landscape painting by Robin Weiss

"After the Flowers" 10x12 oil on panel   Sold

Awhile back I was invited to be in the Howard Mandville gallery Small Works Show.  The show is over now but it was an amazing collection of fine art from some of the nations top artists. It was a real honor to be a part of it! They have kept over some of the paintings, mine among them and are still available to see and purchase in the gallery. If you are in Kirkland, WA. and have the opportunity please stop by and see this impressive venue of local and international fine art.