"Echo Valley Cabin" Landscape, oil painting by Robin Weiss

"Echo Valley Cabin"  7x7 oil on panel     Sold

It's Christmas morning 2016.  The year is almost at an end and I think about all the great adventures I have had this year. All the wonderful time with friends and family. This painting was inspired by one of those times on a family outing to Echo Valley with my wife Ann, our kids and grandkids. I painted very fast,and very gesturally here to capture the feel of a blowing, cold and wintery landscape, then added the touch of warmth in the window of the cabin to give the feel of the comfort of home in harsh surroundings. That's the feeling our family gives us.....and that's the feeling that faith in a Savior gives us. After all, Jesus is the reason for the season.  Wishing you all the comfort of faith and family this Holiday season from our family to yours.

"Forest Light" Olympic National Park, oil painting by Robin Weiss

"Forest Light' 20 x16 oil on linen panel       Sold
Available through the American Art Co. 

This  painting was accepted into the Plein Air Washington Artists (PAWA) yearly exhibit at the American Art Co.in Tacoma WA. Every year the exhibit showcases a plein air painting accompanied by a studio work inspired by the plein air study. This year the theme was "A National Park Salute" to commemorate the National Parks 100 year anniversary.

"Dappled Trees"  plein air painting
done on location in Olympic National
Park.  10x6 oil on panel   $600
Available through the American Art Co.

The plein air painting that inspired "Forest Light" was done from the parking lot of the ranger gatehouse entry to Hurricane Ridge.

I participated as a guest artist in Paint the Peninsula again this year and was having a blast connecting with old friends and meeting new ones. Everyone was meeting at the lodge at Hurricane Ridge on this day of the event, After many miles in the van traveling to paint around the country I kept having issues with the van over-heating. I even had some repairs done in Colorado that I thought fixed the problem but found myself again stressing as the temp gauge rapidly shot past green into the red zone while waiting in the VERY long line to get into the park.

Rather than try to take the long and winding road to the top I just pulled into the parking lot by the gatehouse and painted what was in front of me while the van cooled down. The day was hot and there was plenty of shade to paint under. I didn't think much of the painting but got a good response from the other artists when they saw it.

This became my color reference and inspiration for "Forrest Light" which received the "Gamblin, Best Use of Color Award" from juror,  Jim McVicker at the awards ceremony.
Both paintings are currently available through the American Art Co. in Tacoma, WA.

Our annual studio tour was a big success as well this year but I have a lot of 2017 calendars still available! If you would like to order one just send a check for $10 for the first and $5 for any additional to ;

Robin Weiss

23771 Bond Rd.

Poulsbo, WA, 98371

or email

robinweiss@earthlink.net

2017 Desk Clendar

THANKS  =]

"City Walk" Seattle city oil painting by Robin Weiss

"City Walk" 12x8 oil on panel     Sold

I started this cityscape in my usual way of blocking in the composition and values as close as possible with an underpainting in Burnt Sienna. After letting it set a bit I go right in with color. The challenge was to render the gestures of the girls as they chatted while walking down the sidewalk on a sunny day in Seattle. This is a front lit scene which is more of a challenge for me than back lit figures such as the scene below, of figures walking down the sidewalk in Seattles, Westlake Center.

"Westlake Shoppers"  14x9 oil on panel
$700

You have to be careful  when laying in the rim light around the figures but facial features are more easily rendered in the back lit scene.


Again the most interesting thing in these compositions is the gestures of the figures. Try to vary movement of arms and legs. Make one figure the "Star" of the show that will draw the viewer in to your story. If one figure is looking directly at the viewer that figure should be the focal point and should get the most attention.

The best way to get good at gesture in your figures is to draw all the time!  Spend quality time with your sketchbook!  It will love you for it!  =]

"Curious Calf" cow painting by Robin Weiss

"Curious Calf"  6x8 oil on panel        Sold

This may be the last cow painting for awhile. I moved on to still lifes. Again this is from my Colorado reference taken this summer on a long loop road trip from Seattle, through Wyoming to Colorado and back.

One more plug for the Cole Gallery Holiday Open House upon us this Saturday in Edmonds! I'll be doing a painting demo around 4pm along with Michelle Waldele.......but it won't be cows!  =] Hope to see you there!

"On Guard" Cow painting by Robin Weiss

"On Guard"  12x8 oil on panel  Sold

This cow painting is also from my Colorado reference...and also available at The Cole Gallery in Edmonds WA.. I experimented on this one by leaving the foreground loose and washy which I think is interesting and makes the piece more painterly and less photographic.
    By the way,
 If you are in the area and interested in watching me paint a demo come to the Cole Gallery on Saturday the 3rd of December for a wonderful open house and Still Life Show just in time for Christmas! I will be starting at 4pm and there will be other artists painting as well. Click the link HERE for more info.

"Hereford Heaven" Cow painting by Robin Weiss

"Hereford Heaven"   11x14 oil on linen panel   Sold
Available through the Cole Gallery. Edmonds, WA

There is no better place I have found to get good cow reference photos and sketches than the road leading into Crested Butte through some amazing ranch land along the Slate river in Colorado. I stopped a bunch on my way back and forth from Crested Butte to where I was staying with a good artist friend this summer to paint and take pictures. This was painted from those reference pics and sketches and is available through the Cole Gallery in Edmonds, Wa.  You can check out their website HERE

"Hollyhocks" Floral studio painting by Robin Weiss

"Hollyhocks"  14x9 oil on panel   Sold

I walked by a stucco wall in Tucson while visiting the art museum. The sun was intense and these hollyhocks seemed lit from within.

"Teton Raven" Grand Teton National Park, studio painting by Robin Weiss

"Teton Raven"   10x12 oil on panel   Sold

There are many reasons why it is important to paint on location but one of them is to be there and feel the wind, smell the rain and as you are gathering reference also gather the feel and spirit of the place in your heart. When you get back it can not help but inform your studio work. I watched this raven for a long time one early morning on Mormon Row in the Grand Tetons before he gracefully dropped off a fence rail and flew past me.

It was a magical morning in a spectacular landscape.I would never have been able to paint the area as well from stock photos even if I wanted to.



While I was there quietly observing, a few other critters showed up .

"Fish On" Snake River, plein air painting by Robin Weiss

"Fish On" 7x12 oil on panel    Sold
Available at the Oh Be Joyful Gallery, Crested Butte , CO

When I started this painting the fisherman didn't have his boots on yet. As he waded into the river casting his fly rod I took a picture and added the figure from my camera monitor. I have been doing this for awhile now and it is getting easier for me.  The image is small, usually hard to see in the sun and only lasts for a minuet before I have to bring it back up on the monitor. That seems to force me into not getting too nit picky with the photo and make the figure more integral to the painting

Here is an example of a painting where I tried a little too hard to get all the detail of the fisherman and the figure seems pasted on to me.


"Fish On is available through the Oh Be Joyful gallery in Crested Butte. You can check out the website HERE.  Thanks for visiting!
.

   

"Touring the Tetons" Studio painting of Grand Teton National Park by Robin Weiss

"Touring the Tetons" 12x16 oil on linen panel   $1200

Two weeks in the Grand Tetons is not nearly enough time!  They say if you drive every paved road through the park you have seen only 1% of it!  During my first week there with the Plein Air Washington Artists the weather was stormy with dramatic clouds roiling around the majestic peaks. I painted this from photo reference and sketches taken on location after getting back to the studio. It will be available at Arts in the Woods coming up Nov, 11th, 12th, and 13th 2016. check out the Cultural Arts Foundation website HERE for more info on AITW.

From the campsite at Gros Vantre

 This picture was taken at the Gros Ventre campground where we set up camp for the PAWA paintout. The views were spectacular right out of the tent flap!  Later I moved on to a cabin at the Hatchet Ranch.....but more about that in another post. 

If you live in Washington State and have an opportunity to come to Poulsbo please visit the studio for Arts in the Woods! Always the second weekend in November!

"Dirt Road Ready" Colorado plein air painting by Robin Weiss

"Dirt Road Ready"  12x8 oil on panel $600
Available at Oh-Be-Joyful Galley, Crested Butte CO

The bad thing about Bloggers Block is the longer you let it go on the harder it is to get back to it! So much happened this summer and I have waited so long to start back posting on IPA I hardly know where to start! I will keep this short for now and just say on one trip alone I was gone five weeks and covered 4000 miles. The painting above was done in Crested Butte CO during that trip.
Maybe this will get the ball rolling again.......See you soon!!  =]
To view this painting and see other work available at the Oh-Be-Joyful Gallery in Crested Butte go to the website HERE

"High Country Barn" Grand Teton National Park, plein air landscape painting by Robin Weiss

"High Country Barn"  9x12 oil on panel,    Sold

I'm sitting in a coffee shop in Missoula, Montana.  The van is in the shop again after throwing the serpentine belt on the highway. James, the tow truck driver, Iraq/Afghanistan war vet , befriended me and took me to his girlfriends house for lunch. We talked some about his experiences in the war, his thoughts about the upcoming election and other stuff.....I learned a few things and am convinced again that events, including break downs on the highway happen for a reason..James dropped me off at the Brooks Motel... Now I have plenty of time to update my blog.....
 Thinking back over the last month...and now it's been over a month...but seems like two or three, it's been another amazing adventure starting in Grand Teton National Park.  I met 11 or so other members of Plein Air Washington Artists (PAWA) in the park and set up camp at Gros Ventre campground , pronounced "gro vant".  I shared a spot with fellow PAWA member, Paula Ensign and her dog.
My plan was to attend the paint outs in the park with PAWA then spend a week on a ranch in Jackson while waiting to pick up my wife at the airport in Grand Junction where we would then drive to Telluride, CO for the Telluride Plein Air event. After that Ann would fly home and I would continue on to Crested Butte for a featured artist exhibition and demo.....Whew!
I'll try to fill you in on all that has happened, and a lot has happened.. in my following posts...... Thanks for checking in!

Buffalo in the Grand Tetons

"Tucson Territory" Arizona landscape painting by Robin Weiss

"Tucson Territory"  18x14 oil on linen    $1200

 After driving through some of the most amazing desert country I have ever seen....I ended up in the parking lot of the hotel to do my first painting in Arizona!
 There was so much to do getting ready for the next big painting adventure I only had time to do one studio painting after returning from the Plein Air Convention in Tucson . I painted this from a study done right in the parking lot of the El Conquistador Hotel where PACE16 was held.

Plein air study

The intensity of the sun was ...well,  intense! Not being used to that kind of heat, light or color palette it took me awhile to acclimatize to the landscape in Tucson.  I started with my usual red/orange under-painting for this study and that seemed to work pretty good at retaining the warmth of the light I was seeing.

BTW if you are visiting Tucson stop by the El Conquistador Hotel and have a cold beer down by the pool!  Even if you can't afford to stay there it's a great place to have dinner or a cold one...or both!    =]

"Santa Barbara Marina" California, plein air painting by Robin Weiss

"Santa Barbara Marina"  10x10 oil on panel   Sold

Being from Seattle the first thing we look for in the morning is coffee!  After inquiring from a local where the best coffee was we ended up in a little brew shop tucked away in the Santa Barbara Marina......With lots of great scenes to paint!  Ann went to do some sight seeing and I unpacked the gear right there...

 Love it when I can leave my easel set up and walk around the corner for some great coffee at break time!

The day was overcast with a thick marine layer but that can make for some juicy grays in a plein air painting...

They had the van all fixed up by the end of the day and we were back on the road the next morning headed for Tucson and  PACE16....We sure had a great time in Santa Barbara!

"Santa Barbara Waterfront" California, plein air painting by Robin Weiss

"Santa Barbara Waterfront"  10x12 oil on panel

After talking with the guys at the repair shop and finding out we were spending another night in Santa Barbara I headed to the beach hoping to catch the late afternoon sun and Ann got us checked into the Motel. We stayed at the Days Inn on Castillo Street ...Great place!

Ann in Santa Barba

It was just a short walk to the beach and there was a trolley to take you down to Stearns Wharf...I took the long way around the marina and down the beach ending up along the walk with a great view of the Santa Barbara waterfront .  Later we went out to eat at the Endless Summer Bar and Cafe to enjoy the evening and wind down after a long day.

I have to say again how much I love my job! Even a break down on the road turned out to be a fun adventure.  Just another day at the office....=]

"Santa Barbara Courthouse" California oil painting by Robin Weiss

"Santa Barbara Courthouse"  10x12 oil on panel  $500

The van we now drive when traveling to painting locations and events was given to us by my wifes parents. It was very gracious of them and we greatly enjoyed driving it back to Seattle from Ohio via the Trans-Canada highway. We had a grand adventure in the process!  The only drawback to the van was it's early life on the salted winter roads of Ohio which can turn a new car into a rust heap in a few years. They took great care of it and kept it in the garage but there is no avoiding that salt!

In Santa Barbara  2016

..That's what came to mind when backing down the steep driveway of the airbnb we stayed at the first night in Santa Barbara.  Ann decided to get out and check for oncoming traffic and I jammed my foot on the brake pedal ...then heard a pop and the pedal hit the floor!  Ann was out of the van and there seemed to be enough pressure left to keep the beast from careening backward down the hill so we slowly wound our way to town and stopped at the first auto repair shop we came to. Ayers Repair.  They took us right in and gave the job a priority because we only had a few days to get to Tucson and make it on  time for the convention.

Waterfront

If your going to break down, Santa Barbara is not a bad place to do it in! After leaving the van in the capable hands of Rodger and his crew at Ayers Repair, we quickly set up home base at a nearby Starbucks to check the internet for places to stay and see in SB.  Then we took a walkabout to see the sights and scout potential painting sites.  May as well get some work done while I'm stuck here!

I settled on the amazing grounds of the Santa Barbara courthouse for my first painting.  What a beautiful location!

After that we walked back to the repair shop and found out that sure enough, the break lines had rusted through and the extra pressure exerted backing down the driveway caused a rupture.....We would be staying the night in SB....What a bummer!....I had already located several good painting sites!

'Soledad Mission" California, plein air painting by Robin Weiss

"Soledad Mission" 10x10 oil on panel   $350

It's really nice when you take a road trip to allow enough time each day to see some sights if you can. We planned on five days traveling to Tucson which gave us plenty of leeway to stop and paint if I saw a good spot.

 When we dropped down to highway 101 near Salinas on our way to Santa Barbara We stopped for coffee in Soledad where there was an old California Mission that was still in use. We decided to have a look , then stayed in this peaceful spot while I did the painting above.

By that time it was getting late. We got back on the road hoping to make it to our next airbnb in Santa Barabara and having time to enjoy that city. Little did we know that there would be plenty of time to walk around and see the sights there.

The Rose Garden at the Soledad Mission

"California Farm Country" oil landscape painting by Robin Weiss

"California Farm Country" 8x8 oil on panel  Sold

What an amazing adventure!  We drove 3700 miles round trip to Tucson AZ for the Plein Air Convention and Expo 2016. In the next several posts I will try and document our road trip down and back again.

packed van

 I added four Louis Lamour books to our packed van then Ann and I hopped in and headed for the ferry that would take us across to Edmonds and on to our first airbnb in Springfield Oregon.  BTW a plug for airbnb, Great service !  I love meeting new people and hotels are so depressing.

Ann enjoying dinner out in Sacramento

After Oregon we headed south through California and made it to Sacramento where we stayed with hosts Melanie and Rick in their cozy basement apartment. We found a Thai place in town and enjoyed some vacation time.

Beautiful California Country

The country between Sacramento and Santa Barbara is stunning!  I got the chance to do my first painting at a rest stop somewhere along the way.  After a nice rest for Ann and a bit of work for me we headed for Santa Barbara where we ran into the first trouble of the trip.....

"The Trio" Seattle city, urban oil painting by Robin Weiss

"The Trio"  14x18 oil on canvas   Sold

The City paintings exhibited at Alki Arts for my featured artist show are selling fast and I'm very thankful for that. The Trio is one that is still available and you can see it in Seattle at The Hotel 1000 until the end of April.
I captured this scene at Pike Place Market on a sunny afternoon and used several snapshots to render the composition.
 The painting was larger but was working better cropped a bit. That was tricky because I used a Frederic's Nature Core linen panel to paint on and had to figure out how to cut and seal it. You can see my facebook post on this subject HERE

"Market Entrance" Seattle city, oil painting by Robin Weiss

"Market Entrance"  20x20 oil on canvas     Sold

This painting recently sold at Alki Arts but if you hurry you can still view and purchase my most recent paintings of Seattle. (see recent posts at inpleinair.blogspot.com)  At the end of march the paintings that are still available will be moved to The Hotel 1000 through April and will be available for purchase at Alki Arts website.   I'll keep you informed of plans after that...Thanks for stopping!  =]

"The Diller Room" Seattle city , oil painting by Robin Weiss

"The Diller Room" 36x48 oil on canvas  Sold
Available through Alki Arts

The news is that this whole block in the city of Seattle is being torn down to facilitate new construction. They will probably retain this corner with the Diller Room as it is an historical site but I'm not so sure about the beautiful shade trees.  We are all pretty sad about it especially since the grab for commercial space in Seattle has lost our beloved Alki Arts.....=[  But!  You can still see this painting and lots of other great local art at Alki Arts until the end of March. After that a lot of my recent work will be moved to Hotel 1000 next door until the end of April when I will be hoping for representation in another gallery here in the Pacific Northwest.
Please check out my website at Robin Weiss Fine Art to see what events, workshops and shows are coming up this summer..and what paintings are available and where!   Thanks for stopping by!

"Family Day" Seattle city, oil painting by Robin Weiss

"Family Day" 36x28 oil on panel   Sold

This painting will be available at Alki Arts on First and Seneca in downtown Seattle until the end of March. After that the plan is to move all the paintings in my exhibition to the Hotel 1000 next door for the month of April where you can still go and see the work.

There are many fine artists represented at Alki Arts, They will be closing at the end of the month so if you are looking for great deals on affordable art from many local Seattle artists please stop in and say hi to Diane. She would be happy to chat with you!  =]

"Pioneer Square Hotel" Seattle city, oil painting by Robin Weiss

"Pioneer Square Hotel" 36x48 oil on canvas   Sold
Available at Alki Arts, Seattle

Found out for sure last week that Alki Arts, a gallery that started out in West Seattle, moved downtown and has been representing me for over six years is closing the doors at the end of March. Very sad news for all the artists as we have become like family, prospered and grew our careers together there. Diane and her whole family have been and will continue to be good friends. Our whole community of artists and art lovers will miss her warm smile and nurturing spirit.

 I have been working hard on a series of paintings depicting iconic Seattle scenes for a show at Alki in May. That show got cut short but the paintings will be exhibited at the First and Seneca location until the end of March and then moved to another spot  in the city for April where they will be available for purchase. 

To see the rest of the paintings in this exhibition go to my gallery page HERE and scroll down to paintings available at Alki Arts

"Point no Point Light House" Lighthouse oil painting by Robin Weiss

"Point no Point Lighthouse"  7x11 oil on panel  
 Sold at Gallery North's Small Work Show

Point no Point Cards

A number of years ago I rendered a watercolor painting of the lighthouse at Point no Point not to far from us in Hansville Washington. I have been making cards of that painting ever since and it has been one of my best sellers. This little study was a warm-up for a longer painting session.

If you are interested in purchasing cards of the lighthouse or any of my paintings contact me at:

robinweiss@earthlink.net