"Sunflowers for Freedom" Praying for peace in Ukraine

"Sunflowers for Freedom"  8x10 oil on panel

 

I didn't know when I painted this still life at the Plein Air Washington Artists Paint In that Sunflowers are the national flower of Ukraine. Or that Ukraine is one of the worlds largest supplier of sunflower seeds and oil... until I started seeing artists post sunflower paintings online.

There are many atrocities and injustices happening in many places around the world and I'm not even sure if the invasion of Ukraine is the worst one. But at this moment in time the courage of the Ukrainian people standing up and fighting for their freedom and their families seems symbolic of the fight for freedom, stability and peace of oppressed peoples around the globe and I support that.

I have missionary friends in Romania who are preparing to take in the Ukrainian refugees even though they have little themselves.  They believe that true peace and real hope can only come from the Gospel of Jesus Christ which they will also share and I agree and support them as well.  

I hope you are finding true peace in your life.

"You Are My Sunshine" Plein air painting by Robin Weiss

You Are My Sunshine  11x14 oil on linen panel
SOLD

 

I'm posting this plein air painting done on Bainbridge Island at Suyamatsu Farm to announce a group exhibition coming up at the Roby King Gallery in Winslow.  I will be joining Cheri Christensen , Pam Ingalls, William F Reese (1938-2010) and Pamela Wachtler presenting original work celebrating impressionism and plein air painting.

"Snowy Tractor" original oil painting by Robin Weiss

"Snowy Tractor"  11x14 oil on linen       Sold

 

I had another go at the old tractor outside the studio, this time after the snow fell.  Below is another rendition from 2020. The one above is a studio painting from a photo and the one below is a plein air painting done from life.. Sometimes it feels like I learn nothing from all the plein air painting I do!  The one done from life has more life to it!! 

You just have to carry on! Continue to paint outside from life and hope it rubs off in the studio....and it will!  =]

"Winter Creek" original landscape painting by Robin Weiss

Winter Creek 14x18 oil on linen panel   $1000

 

I have always loved how a fresh blanket of snow can transform the most mundane scene into a magical fantasy land.  When the morning revealed the result of an overnight snow storm I grabbed my camera and went walking through the woods and around the neighborhood looking for a good scene to paint. I couldn't find anything close to the composition I imagined in my head until I almost gave up and walked up my moms driveway to get her mail and saw the scene above. The little winter creek that trickles through  the alders in the field by her house had been transformed. 

"Baby Cow" original oil painting by Robin Weiss

"Baby Cow"  20x20 oil on linen board  SOLD

 

Time flies! Been over a month already since my last blog post. I have been mostly busy painting! Spending a lot less time on social media and more time outside.  That all makes me happy, but I do want to get my paintings out there for folks to see so I have entered some competitions and applied for some painting events. The painting above was done over the winter from reference I gathered in crested Butte CO. I have entered this work into the Oil Painters of America  National Show and hopefully will be able to attend the convention in Steamboat Springs this summer.  

Over the winter I have been purging old paintings by throwing them out , cutting them up or in this case painting over old work. The fact that I don't have a lot of storage helps with the vital task of working over or destroying inferior canvases that tend to pile up in every nook and cranny.....Hey, it's liberating!  and what we need right now is more liberty!!  

If you want to get out and paint with me, check out my website, which has just been updated with some of my workshops and events scheduled for 2022!  Link to it HERE 

Hope to see you out there this summer!  =]

Plein Air Workshop in Ormand Beach Florida 2021

"Salt Marsh Snow" landscape painting by Robin Weiss

Salt Marsh Snow 7x5 oil on panel  Sold

 

One of my first paintings of 2022. I was trying to get back into a painting routine by going to the studio and working out some simple compositions on small panels.  I used some random photos taken during recent snowy days.  I liked the abstract shapes in this one of the Fish Park in Poulsbo. 

Believe it or not, the days are getting longer!  Looking forward to the new growth of spring and new painting adventures.  Stay tuned for upcoming workshops and shows in 2022!

Winterbird #8

Winterbird #8  6x6 oil on panel  Sold

 

My last Chickadee painting for this series.  I wanted to post it on the 1st day of the year but got busy! I still have a few paintings to post completed in 2021 but am anxious to get started on a new year of plein air adventures in 2022!  Hope you will continue to follow along!  Thanks again for all your support and encouragement this past year!  All the best to you and yours in 2022!

Winterbird #7

Winterbird #7   4x5 oil on panel, framed   $150

 

It's New Years Eve and I only have one Wnterbird painting left to post. I will do that tomorrow morning, the first day of 2022 and then it's a whole new year to look forward to! I have lots of adventures planned for next year so I hope you will continue to follow along!  May your New Years Eve be filled with lots of love and family!  Thank you for all your support and encouragement!  See you in 2022!  

Winterbird #6

Winterbird #6  5x7 oil on panel, framed   $150

 

Hope you are enjoying a winter wonderland like we are here in the Pacific Northwest! If you are, you will probably be seeing these friendly birds at your feeder.  Chickadees are one of the songbirds that will readily use a nest box in the spring. Be sure to clean yours out before they start nesting!!  Enjoy!!

Winterbird #5

Winterbird #5  7x5 oil on panel  $150

 

Another Chickadee...They all seem like they have unique personalities   =] 

Winterbird #4

Winterbird #4   6x8 oil on panel   SOLD

 

Now that major snow has come to the Pacific Northwest and the temps have dropped dramatically I see these Chickadees flitting about everywhere as if they are celebrating the winter wonderland. This is another painting that sold recently at the Front Street Gallery in Poulsbo, WA

Hope you are enjoying all your feathered friends!

Winterbird #3

Winterbird #3  6x6 oil  SOLD

 

This one sold at the Front Street Gallery in Poulsbo over the weekend. Someone had a good Christmas!

Hope you did too!! 

Winterbird #2

Winterbird #2   6x8 oil on panel  framed SOLD

 

Just gonna keep posting the little bird paintings till I run out... Hope you enjoy them!  

Merry Christmas!

Winterbird #1

Winter Bird #1  6x6 oil on panel   $150

 

Every year I get in the mood to paint little song birds. I especially like the snow scenes.  I am using stock photos off the internet for these but I make up my own compositions and color. 

If your interested they are framed for $150 plus shipping. Super deal!  robinweiss@earthlink.net

Daily Paintworks Pick of the Day!  Thanks David!  =]

"Edmonds Side Street" original urban oil painting by Robin Weiss

"Edmonds Side Street" 15x19  oil on linen   $1200
Available through the Cole Gallery   425-697-2787

 

Any subject can make great art. Even a non-descript side street on a wet Northwest day in Edmonds.

Part of appreciating life is the ability to quietly observe the beauty of everyday encounters with all that surounds us.  A special bonus is to be able to make a living capturing those moments on canvas..

View this painting in person or inquire through the Cole Gallery in Edmonds WA. 

Thanks to all of you who encourage me every day as I live the artists life! 

"The Resting Place" Original Northwest, oil painting by Robin Weiss

"The Resting Place"  14x18 oil on linen   SOLD

 

I keep finding pieces in my artwork file that have not been posted on the blog. It's important because all my sites are interconnected now.  When I post on my blog, that post is picked up and applied to my Dailypaintworks gallery page....and when you click on the portfolio tab on my website, it goes to that DP gallery page.  ...so if I want all my work to be available on the website, it needs to be posted on the blog....Anyhow, I'm trying to keep up! 

The Resting Place is one of those paintings that never got posted. It recently sold at the Roby King Gallery on Bainbridge Island.  It's a scene of Port Hadlock from a favorite painting location outside the Ajax Cafe.  You can see more of my work available at the Roby King Gallery HERE.

"Fish Park Trail" original landscape painting by Robin Weiss

"Fish Park Trail"  11x14 oil on linen   $800

 

They made a park at the bottom of our road where Dog Fish Creek meets Liberty Bay and called it Dog Fish Park.  I guess, originally, it was Dog Fish Bay because they caught a lot of Dog Fish here. The livers had oil in them which they would render and use to grease the skids that slid the logs into the bay for transport. They changed the name to Liberty Bay which was probably a good idea. 

There are a lot of trails that wind through the marsh now and it is a good place not far away to paint. I caught it on a foggy day here.  This is what winter mostly looks like in the Pacific Northwest.  I love it!

"Fish Camp on Stavis Bay" original oil painting by Robin Weiss

"Fish Camp on Stavis Bay" 24x32 oil on canvas    $2200
available at the Roby King Gallery   206-842-2063

I originally started this painting on another canvas. I was working from a photo taken as Ann and I were headed out for a day hike to Guillemot Cove near Seabeck, WA.  If you have an interest in this work you can see it or inquire through the Roby King Gallery on Bainbridge Island.

I started in my usual underpainting color, Quinacridone Rust made by MGraham Paint Co. I liked how the design was coming along and posted it. I received quite a few good comments and got cold feet about going in with color...I didn't want to ruin it!  That happens to me sometimes but usually I soldier on and sometimes I do ruin the painting. This time I decided to save the monotone painting and start a new canvas. I really wasn't satisfied with the new painting. It needed something!  Noticing a light brush stroke in the distant land mass I turned it into a beach fire and called it a fish camp...That added interest but I still wasn't thrilled about it. I still have the first tonal painting and after time has gone on, now I think I can go in with color and finish it.

 That's how it goes sometimes.  =]

"Marrowstone Point" , plein air landscape painting by Robin Weiss

"Marrowstone Point"   12x24 oil on panel   SOLD

 

There is a stretch of salt marsh as you pass by Indian Island along the causeway to Marrowstone. I love the open vistas of tidelands, marsh and distant points of land. I think sometimes about the ancestors of the S'Klallam and Chimacum peoples who used to hunt and gather here for over 1500 years. It's a good place to be quiet and listen,... and especially I like to try and capture the authenticity of this land on canvas.

"Cotton Wood Creek" Teton National Park plein air painting by Robin Weiss

"Cotton Wood Creek" 12x9 oil  SOLD

 

Sometimes I lose track of paintings and forget they are even out there until I get a check in the mail. A nice surprise came from the Roby King Gallery on Bainbrdige Island this week for two paintings they sold.

This painting was done several years ago during a trip with Plein Air Washington Artists to Teton National Park. I remember being a little nervous painting this one because I had no bear spray and there were reports of grizzlies in the area and a recent attack.....All I saw were mosquitoes!

If you are Christmas shopping on Bainbridge Island be sure to visit the Roby King Gallery! They have some of the best representational painters in the Northwest on display there.   =]

Merry Christmas!

"Skagit Fields" original landscape painting by Robin Weiss

"Skagit Fields"  12x24 oil on panel  SOLD

 

Big thanks to everyone who came out to Arts in the Woods studio tour! We didn't know what to expect but it turned out to be our best studio tour so far in the ten years we have been participating! Thanks to all who supported local artists in North Kitsap! It means so much to our community as a whole that you encourage our local artists and support local business! We couldn't do it without you!  =]

The painting above was bought by a local collector at AITW 2021. It depicts a tranquil scene in Skagit County Washington. The flower fields have been put to bed after the harvest season is done and the fall rains begin. It reminds the viewer of the changing and renewing landscape and a hopeful spring bursting with color and new life.

Don't forget to put Arts in the Woods on your calendar for next year! Always the second weekend in November where there will be a new crop of paintings to add to your collection!  Have a wonderful holiday season!

"Over The Edge" Mount Rainier landscape painting by Robin Weiss

"Over the Edge" Mount Ranier 18x24 oil 
SOLD

 

"Over the Edge" has been accepted into the Plein Air Washington Artists, Winter Show and will be on display at the American Art Company in Tacoma WA  along the years best plein air and studio work created by PAWA members in 2021.  

I hope you will join us for an opening reception, Dec 3rd from 2pm-5pm at the American Art Co.

This painting is a studio work painted in oil of a section of the majestic Mount Rainier. It was inspired by a plein air study of Mount Shuksan painted on location in Mount Baker National Park in 2017 and photo reference taken at Mount Rainier National Park during a PAWA paintout in 2019.

Me and Jim Lamb at Mount Rainier National Park 2019

"Flowers at the Fat Turnip Farm" Plein air landscape painting by Robin Weiss

"Flowers at the Fat Turnip Farm"
12x9 oil on panel $600

 

This painting was hanging in a featured artist exhibition at the Front Street Gallery in Poulsbo for the month of October. That show kinda slipped through the cracks on the blog and we will be taking it down today..But , it will be on display at the Knowles Studio for Arts in the Woods coming up next weekend! November 12th,13th and 14th, 2021! The gallery will be open from 10am-5pm each day and there will be a variety of arts and crafts to view. A great time to stock up on local art for this Christmas.

I took some time to visit a few local organic farms.
The Fat Turnip Farm is one not far from us in Eglon, Washington. They were very friendly and happy to let me set up to paint. I brought home a bag of cucumbers that were so good I went back a few weeks later to get some more and they were sold out!

Two events coming up quickly are;

 "Arts in the Woods" The North Kitsap Studio Tour comprising 18 studios and over 50 artists participating. 

Plein Air Washington Artists Winter Exhibition opening Dec 3rd at the American Art Company in Tacoma Wa.

"The Lewis River" plein air landscape painting by Robin Weiss

"The Lewis River" 9x12 oil   $600

 

After having a thoroughly fun time painting at the Cedar Creek Grist Mill a few of us decided to try and find Lucia Falls on the Lewis River to capture the afternoon light. Thankfully my GPS was working well and we found our way after winding around the wilds of Woodinville. After reaching the park we couldn't find the falls but set up anyway and I managed to get in some brush miles...Then the long drive back to Poulsbo.  Yet another fun PAWA pop-up paintout!  =]

"Cedar Creek Cascade" plein air landscape painting by Robin Weiss

"Cedar Creek Cascade" 9x12 oil on panel  SOLD

 

PAWA pop up events have been happening all summer. PAWA is the acronym for Plein Air Washington Artists. It is a large group of plein air artists in Washington State who regularly get together to paint our spectacularly beautiful region of the US.

In September a number of us traveled to Woodinville to paint at the Cedar Creek Gristmill. It started out as a cool foggy day but the sun slowly made an appearance and artists began to set up around the mill and down the river. I decided to paint a cascading section of Cedar Creek in the morning not finding a good view of the mill I liked.

 I took many pictures of the Grist mill which is a striking old, authentic grain processing mill originally built in 1876 and bought ,sold and refurbished many times until it became the oldest working museum in Washington state.  After working up this photo I wished that I had given it a shot from this perspective but it would have meant trying to balance on a big boulder under the bridge! 

As is often the case when you go to a PAWA paintout, I met new friends and reacquainted with old ones. Candy Smith painted the cascade with me on Cedar Creek. It was a pleasant morning listening to the river run and chatting with a new painting buddy. 

Hope you can make it to a PAWA paintout next year! If you have ever considered joining a painting support group PAWA is a gem!  A good time to meet many members and get a sense of who we are is to come to the end of the year get together in Edmonds . It is a live model paint in and we will be talking about events in 2022. Hope to see you there! Click HERE for more info.