"Yellow Apple" fruit still life painting

Okay, ...This post starts a series of small still life paintings I have been rendering from life in the studio. Most of them are 6x6 studies of the fall fruit, berries and flowers found in the fields right around the Knowles Studio.I love this time of year and recently, for the first time,...have been making pies from the apples and huckleberries that are abundant this year. They tell me this is a Yellow Transparent.  Delicious in a pie!!
6x8 oil on canvas

"Seattle Waterfront" and Arts in the Woods

I walk by here a lot when I am in Seattle. It's just a little way down from where the ferry lets you off at Coleman dock if you are coming over from Bainbridge Island or Bremerton. Both of these boats do tour cruises. This painting will be on display for the Arts in the woods Studio Tour in Poulsbo coming up November 11th, 12th and 13th . Stop by if you are in the area! The Knowles Studio will be decked out with exciting new artwork!
6x10 oil on panel  sold

"The Flower Vendor 2011" figurative, floral , oil painting, Seattle city scenes.

It seems like every time someone sees this painting they say "I know that girl"!  This is a familiar face and a familiar scene at the Pike Place Market in Seattle. The flower stalls at the market and the folks who create the bouquets are irresistible to me as an artist! I have painted this same girl before but I think my technique is improving from many "brush hours"  . I am going to post a link to my last painting of this scene from 2007 (even though I am embarrassed to do it) just to show how much you can improve yourself by determination and practice(and prayer!). click here  .....By the way, this is the same girl!
16x20 oil on canvas sold

More Sunflowers, plein air sunflower oil paintings

I couldn't resist painting Leigh, painting the sunflowers!  That's the studio behind her and the field all dry from the summer's hot days.
6x10 oil on panel

"Sunflowers" Plein air paintings by Robin Weiss

I took my student, Mike, out to Leigh's flower garden for some plein air painting. We were using the three color palette,  Ultramarine Blue, Quin Red and Hansa Yellow.

 

 One of the challenges we talked about was simplifying your subject

and creating a good design.

 If you live in the Northwest and would like to see the Knowles Studio for yourself, November would be a great time to do that!  Arts in the Woods Studio Tour is always the second week in November. This year it falls on the 11th, 12th and 13th of November. The stunning Knowles Studio will be decked out with new and exciting art work for this three day event. I would love to see you there!

"Main Street Gyros" Seattle city scenes.

A great place to get some good grub! Surrounded by the tall buildings of Seattle and located next to the Comedy Underground is Main Street Gyros. It looks as if somebody dropped the place out of an airplane and it landed in the middle of the city!
6x8 oil on panel   sold

"Ferry Deck" Washington state ferry oil painting

A very familiar view from the top deck of the ferry for those who commute or ride the ferries regularly here in the Pacific Northwest.
8x10 oil on panel  sold

"Last Vendor Open" Pike street market, Seattle city oil painting

As the sun goes down at Pike street market in Seattle, vendors try to attract the last of the tourist dollars.
8x8 oil on panel

"Stormy Day on Alki" Seattle city scenes, cityscape oil painting.

We get down to Alki a lot more than ever now that the gallery there has been exhibiting my paintings.There are some great views of Seattle across the water and the atmosphere is always changing , sometimes very dramatically!.. If you get the chance to come to Alki Beach be sure to stop in Alki Arts and say hello to Diane. She will be glad to show you all the work that the many talented artists have on display.
8x10 oil on panel  sold

"Morning Run" plein air painting, Juanita Bay Park, Kirkland, Washington

I set up in the shade for my first painting at Jim Lamb's PA workshop in Kirkland.  It was a beautiful day promising to be very hot and lots of folks were coming to the park. I tend to have a hard time painting figures into a plein air painting so I made a point to try and get them in this one. Jim gave me some good advice about adjusting values and a good tip that "rich ,saturated color(in the foreground and around the focal point) reads sunny day".
8x10 oil on panel

I tried to get one more quick 5x7  done at the end of the day. Sometimes these quick sketches can be the best ones, This one seems to be a bit washed out and flat.  Overall a great day of painting with good friends, Emiliya, Janet, Dianna, and our excellent workshop host Jim Lamb!

"Backlit Willow" Plein air painting with Jim Lamb, Juanita Bay Park, Kirkland

I attended another plein air class with Jim Lamb. Along with three other artists, we spent the day at Juanita Bay Park in Kirkland Washington painting on a beautiful sunny, summer day.  One of the tips I picked up from Jim was to look for a backlit scene in the middle of the day when the sun is high.
8x10 oil on panel.

"The Copa" Seattle city scenes

Same day, same alley, same wife .....different view...=]
9x12 oil on canvas  sold

"Cafe Champagne" Seattle city scenes

Earlier this month I, my wife and her son Andrew went to the "Beauty and Bounty" exhibition at the Seattle art museum.  Which was great! Amazing landscapes by some of the great masters.....Anyhow, after that we walked around Seattle a bit and I was taking  pictures as usual....and my wife was walking in front of the camera....as usual...so I decided to include her and Andrew in my painting.....=]  (I don't know the couple sitting in the cafe but it looks like they are having fun too)
9x12 oil on canvas  sold

"Low Tide at Point no Point" Marine landscape painting by robin weiss

The last in this little series of  Point no Point paintings.  I painted this one from a photo I took while plein air painting in this spot a few weeks ago.  It was early morning, the tide was out and just a few folks were walking on the beach loving the fresh sea air and the quiet peace of early morning.
You can see a few wrinkles in the canvas as I painted this on loose linen. I will have it mounted on Gator Board and then framed.
14x16 oil on linen   sold

"Boys on the Beach" at Point no Point, Hansville Washington

These boys were getting a lesson from dad on how to rig a salmon lure.  Sometimes it's elbow to elbow down at the Point no Point beach during salmon season. Especially on a day like this one!
8x8 oil on panel   sold

"Lighthouse Trail" Point no Point Lighthouse, Hansville Washington, oil painting by Robin Weiss

Another view from my favorite spot to paint!  Still using (and loving) the three color limited palette.  Heading off to paint PA with Jim Lamb today. If you have never seen his amazing work check it out here.
8x10 oil on panel sold

"Needle View" Space Needle, Seattle city scenes in oil.

All over Seattle you get these peek-a-boo views of the Space Needle and you know exactly what city you are in. This one is from down by the stadium looking north.
6x6 oil on panel sold
FYI ..Fellow daily painter and founder of Daily Paintworks, David and Carol Marine have lost their home in a terrible wild fire down in Texas. A family member has started a fund to help them out. you can get more info here.

"Solitary Sentinal" Daily Paintworks, Help the Children of Africa Challenge

Daily Paintworks has started an Artists Challenge to benefit those suffering in one of the worst droughts in recent history on the Horn of Africa.  This challenge has a special meaning for me as I visited my wife in Uganda when she was serving as a nurse in the clinic at New Hope Kasana .You can see my posts from that time by clicking here. I have decided to donate this painting to the challenge and will give 100% of the proceeds minus shipping to World Vision, who are doing great work to ease the suffering in this part of Africa and all over the world. To go to the Daily Paintworks auction and bid on this painting click HERE.


15x30 oil on canvas  sold

"Lake Union Boathouse" urban marine scenes , Seattle

There is an amazing variety of great scenes to paint around Lake Union in Seattle. We were on our way to visit our friend Emiliya Lane who owns the cool and eclectic gallery/gift shop called Frank and Dunya, in Freemont. We stopped to take some pictures of the boat house's on Lake Union.
I'm still painting with the three color palette that I experimented with in the Jim Lamb workshop from a few weeks ago.....I think I will stick with it for now ....so much easier than trying to sort through all those colors!
sold

"Outside the Friesen Gallery" Seattle city scenes, urban oil painting

Being a full time artist and a daily painter has many challenges. Among them is keeping a good operating camera and taking quality pictures. (one of the reasons I haven't posted in a week) I prefer a moderately priced point and shoot so I can easily take it with me anywhere I go. Also a small camera is better for candid shots. Right now I am using a Nikon, Coolpix S8000.  This is my second one. My first one began a slow decline after I slipped on a steel sidewalk grate in Seattle and slammed it into the concrete. I liked it so much I ordered a refurbished one for half the price on Amazon. It looks like brand new and seems to work great and now I have an extra battery.......which is another good idea in this business(always take extra charged batteries and SD cards).  I have learned however that if you want studio quality photos of your work,  you need a very kind and giving colleague who knows photoshop to take your pictures with her fancy SLR.  THANKS LEIGH!

"Lake Agnes" Canadian Rockies,

I have never painted a majestic mountain scene before. We were so inspired by the Canadian Rocky Mountains near Banff I decided it was time.  I chose an image of Lake Agnes, a scene that I had sketched on location and took many pictures of . (see the sketches a few posts back) . If you hike up the mountain from Lake Louise to the Tea House, you can sit on the covered porch and take in the incredible beauty of this view as you sip a hot cup of tea.
36x30 oil on canvas  sold

Plein Air Painting, at the Point no Point Lighthouse

8x10 oil on panel sold

The morning started out foggy but was changing fast, so I had to set up and really get to slinging paint to try and capture the atmosphere.  My palette here is Titanium White, Hansa Yellow, Cad Red, Alizarine Perm., Trans. Orange Oxide, Veridian, Cobalt blue, Ultramarine Blue.

I found a good spot to set up on a bird watching platform! Nice flat stable footing with a great view from three directions!

Juan Valdez  all coffee'd up and pushing paint...=]

8x10 oil on panel

All of these paintings were done before the Jim Lamb color workshop on Saturday....Jim told us if there is a problem with a painting (and the design is good) it is one of four things;

Hue- (color)
Value- (dark to light)
Temperature- (warm/cool)
Intensity- ( amount of pigment)

This painting has problems in all four of those areas.....but I think the design is pretty good?

My last effort of the day. You can tell I'm sun burned and rummy.....time to pack it in...

Plein Air Painting, Brownsville marina

Brownsville Marina Boats 6x10 oil on panel

"River Cascade"

We stopped for a break at this river as we traveled from Banff to the Columbian Ice Fields.The sun was just coming out of the clouds, illuminating the spray and pulling the colors out from the rocks beneath the water.

18x14 oil on canvas.

"Water Hole" Grand Prairie, Trans Canadian Highway

I'm trying to convey the vastness and distance of Canada's Grand Prairie here. These small studies may be used in larger paintings down the road.
10x8 oil on panel