"Alki Lighthouse" Lighthouse oil painting by Robin Weiss

Alki Lighthouse 10x14 oil on canvas SOLD

This is a hard lighthouse to get to! They have it all fenced off from the public and the only good view of it is to walk down the beach at low tide. Which we did! I have painted lots of lighthouses and always enjoy painting the white buildings and the red roofs.
Here are a few more I have painted in the past

"The Lighthouse Trail"  2011  sold

"Point No Point Spring"  2010  sold

"The Lime Kiln Light"  watercolor  2009 sold

"The Lighthouse at Fort Warden"  2008  sold

"Red Roofs" the lighthouse keepers residence at Pt no Pt  2007 sold

"Alki Point" Seattle landscape,oil painting by Robin Weiss

"Alki Point" 18x36 oil on canvas  sold

I need to play a little catch up..I have paintings not posted from before our trip and lots scattered in between that I would like to share before we are current again. This one was done from an evening photo I took on the ferry as we were crossing over to Seattle. I have a show coming up in June at Alki Arts, that will feature my recent Seattle city paintings. My son Maury is going to join with me in this show. More on that later...right now the sun is out (finally!) and I need to get to work!

"View from Big Bend" Mt Zion National Park, plein air oil painting by Robin Weiss

"View from Big Bend"Mt Zion national Park,  8x10 oil on panel

So I'm painting in Zion National Park on our way home from Vegas. An old cowboy comes walking up the trail beside me and says " That's a good man with a paint brush in his hand". " I'm givin her my best shot "  says I....Then he says..." Well, your wife tolerates it pretty good, shes down in the van sleeping!" 
  This is my last post from the southwest trip. I've pretty much covered all the highlights and shared all my paintings. I'll take this opportunity to thank my wife for her support and encouragement.  She spent a lot of time on this trip reading, (and sleeping) in the van while I was out painting and always had a smile, a joke and a hug for me....That's what I call an artists wife!
  Thank you honey!!

Ann and I on the Cedar Creek Trail

Multnoma Falls

Ann at the Dam souvenir store!

We had a lot of fun stopping along the way and visiting sights that I had never seen. 

At the Grand Canyon

The Van by Red Rocks

"South Canyon Rim"  9x14 oil on linen panel

The first order of business after setting up camp was to scout a good painting spot...trouble is,  every direction you look could be a great painting! I threw the pack down on this spectacular ledge overlooking the canyon to the east so there would be good light all day. What a challenge to paint the Grand Canyon! It is fairly overwhelming when you are standing in front of that amazing natural cataract. The colors are intense and the atmospheric distances vast!.

"Sunset Rim" 6x8 oil on panel

Ann and I came back on the evening of our second night to watch the sun set over the rim.  The days were warm and sunny but the night temperature got down to 29 degrees! I quickly set up and started a small painting as the sun was going down. The light moved so fast that the paint was applied pretty furiously. I tried to keep the composition as simple as possible.

This little 6x8 is my impression of the evening.

After that we went back and got the fire going!  I have this big enameled basin for heating water over the fire....then you dip a wash cloth in and take a steaming sponge bath...feels good after a hard day of work!.....work.....ya right!  I love my job!



The last video!   Thanks for the applause!

Calico Basin at Red Rock Canyon, plein air painting by Robin Weiss

"Calico Basin Rock Rhythms" 8x10 oil on canvas panel

Our plans were to go on to the Grand Canyon after the convention so I had Sunday evening to paint after everyone else headed home. I found a nice little spot to set up and began this painting. When I was finishing up another artist bounded down the hill and introduced himself as Thomas Jefferson Kitts! He had a friend with him named Brenda Boylan and all of a sudden I  had some painting buddies!!

"Brenda at Work" 7x7 oil on panel

  Now I wanted to stay and do another painting! Since everyone else was painting the scene I just painted, without moving my set up to another location I just turned a bit and painted Brenda in action. I also had my eye on Thomas to see how one of the real pros began his approach...
   It was a highlight of the convention for me. Gods awesome creation, paint, canvas and new friends who love plein air painting. Nice to have someone to laugh and share it with!

  You can view Thomas Jefferson Kitts awesome paintings HERE

  You can view Brenda Boylans fabulous work HERE

And now, if you can stand it......another installment of the promised video ....staring Juan Valdez as artist Robin Weiss.....

 

The Red Rocks from Oak Creek, plein air landscape painting by Robin Weiss

Red Rock National Conservation Area from Oak Creek. 10x18 oil on canvas

I scouted a great spot for painting while driving through the Red Rocks on the first day we arrived. I went back to that spot on the second day of the paint out. It was a beautiful location and I set my camera up to try some videos.

 

It's kind of a series .....And my first try at this!....... Well,..I have two more vids as I progress, but apparently Blogger will only allow me to upload one video at a time .......sheesh!
But anyhow, you get a pretty good idea of my location and set up here...

(Tip Section)...=]....After completing a few paintings it was discovered that I had forgot to bring something to store my wet paintings for the trip home. So, after discussing it with my wife it was decided that I would go to Home Depot and find something. I ended up with several flat cardboard boxes. Which I cut up and constructed a box with shelves to protect the wet work...The tip is....Do Not  leave your wet-painting box on the table , in the camp ground unattended! 

The ravens thought there might be something tasty in it and proceeded to peck holes all over looking for tid-bits!...Tip #2....Don't try and pick debris out of your wet painting until it is Dry!....Oh...and Duct Tape....Don't leave home without it!!!

Red Rock Canyon, plein air landscape painting by Robin Weiss

Red Rock Canyon Cactus 6x8 oil on panel

This is the second one I did on the first day of painting at the same overlook....Still rainy and misty!

I want to try and pass on some of what I learned at the convention and one bit of wisdom  picked up was that my blog should not be a Rob-fest....in other words you guys don't necessarily want to read a bunch of self promotion by me....My blog should be about you! What you would like to know about me or maybe learn from me...right?  That's kinda tricky because I do want to promote my work which is pretty essential to how I make my living...but I also want to keep you interested and coming back ....so if you have the time drop me a note and let me know what you really like reading about.

Plein Air Convention room at the Red Rock Casino

One of the first demonstrators was Richard Robinson. He is a very successful plein air painter from New Zealand. One of the things that has brought Richard a lot of attention besides his amazing artwork is his ability to teach his process using videos and social media. I met Richard when we were on our way to the Vermillion Cliffs. He was painting the canyon with another artist from Australia and invited me to paint with him..I'm sorry I didn't!  But We wanted to get to the cliffs....You can order Richards excellent videos here.  There is some free stuff too!...see.... I told you he was a good marketer!..

P.S. If you're wondering what the marching band is doing in the convention room....well, that is Eric Rhodes idea of a grand finale......and believe it or not....Elvis kicked off the event......Thank ya very much....

First Annual Plein Air Convention and Expo, plein air paintings by Robin Weiss

Red Rock Canyon from the Overlook, 8x10 oil on panel

Well....now that we are back home I can post all about the First Annual Plein Air Convention and Expo held at Red Rock Casino and Resort in Las Vegas. We have been gone about 12 days and took a whirl-wind tour of the Grand Canyon and Zion National parks. I did nine plein air paintings on this trip in some extreme conditions. These paintings are meant to be studies and color notes for larger paintings. As you can see in this study the weather during the first few days was wet. Rain and mist kept blowing through the canyon and changed by the minute.
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Jeremy Lipking demonstrates the portrait at the first Annual Plein Air Convention and Expo

The overlook at Red Rocks National Conservancy Area

The first time I had the chance to paint was after two days of classes and demonstrations . We learned a lot about marketing and saw some of the best painters in the business do on stage demos.   Jeremy Lipking set up with Alexy Steel and Tony Pro for an on stage portrait demonstration. We also got to see Richard Robinson, Ken Auster , Ned Muellar, Matt Smith and many other great artists paint and explain their process. It was great and I picked up some good tips.There was also a lot of vendors selling their wares....I highly recomend Rosemary brushes if you haven't tried them yet .     I'll be posting my paintings and pictures of the trip over the next few days so stay tuned. If you have any questions about the convention, what I learned  or the paintings, feel free to email me at robinweiss@earthlink.net                                                                                                           

"The Bus Stop at Second and Marion" Seattle cityscape oil painting by Robin Weiss

"The Bus stop at 2nd and Marion" 16x24 oil on canvas Sold

I don't recommend this for anyone else ....but....I have this bad habit of resting my camera on the steering wheel while driving down city streets. I snap pictures without really looking at what the camera is getting and then sort it all out later... This can be dangerous if you don't have a lot of practice doing it....You have to concentrate hard on what is going on around you without focusing on the camera but just hitting the shutter....This painting is a compilation of some of those images.  You can see the Smith Tower in the distance and on the left is the Metropolitan Grill. For a long time the Smith Tower was the tallest building in Seattle.

"Tulip Farm" LaConnor flower field, landscape oil painting by Robin Weiss"Tulip Farm"

"Tulip Farm" 8x6 oil on panel

Well, I have decided that tulips are HARD to paint! Especially red tulips! This is another one that I tried to get the sense of being down among the flowers in the field .......not so successfully....The problem is I wasn't happy with the foreground tulips so I totally over worked them.

I think that I did better with this view.

"Daffodil Farm" LaConnor flower field, oil painting by Robin Weiss

"Daffodil Farm" 7x11 oil on canvas panel

I tried to develop the foreground daffodils in this study to get a sense that you are right down among the flowers.
 I painted this on a canvas panel that me and my friend, artist Derek Gundy are collaborating on making for plein air painting. Derek works at the local framing and art supply store called Artists Edge here in poulsbo.He is also a great artist and you can see some of his interesting , whimsical and often humorous paintings HERE

You can see the earlier painting that I did of this field here

"Tulip Fields Forever" LaConner flower field, oil painting by Robin Weiss

"Tulip Fields Forever" 18x36 oil on panel

I have been watching the early fruit trees coming into blossom the last few weeks and wanting to paint them. Every time I got out the PA gear with a break in the weather hoping to paint, the sky would go black and the wind would pick up and I would be back in the studio looking through my reference photos.  I found my images from a trip to LaConner in 2010 and decided to paint a few spring inspired paintings.

"Rooms 75 Cents" Seattle cityscape oil painting by Robin Weiss

"Rooms 75 Cents" 8x10 oil on panel SOLD

This completes the Pergola rainy day series...for now anyway....The weather is finally shaping up around here and I want to go out and paint!
 I do have a few paintings done from pictures I took in Laconor of the flower fields to post. These paintings were done for Bluewater Artworks spring show. After that maybe we can get down to some real plein air painting!

"White Umbrella" Seattle cityscape, oil painting by Robin Weiss

"White Umbrella" 6x8 oil on panel

I followed this couple as they were walking happily.... and apparently in love, down the side walk with the rain pouring down . They were laughing and holding hands ....and I was hoping I could capture the spirit and feel of the scene.....

I really enjoy trying to capture these rainy day scenes ...HERE is another one from the archives....a large 60x40 commission piece I did a few years back...It is now hanging on the 16th floor of the Four Seasons Hotel in Seattle.

"Rain Shine" Seattle cityscape, oil painting by Robin Weiss

"Rain Shine"  8x12 oil on panel SOLD

The next in this series.... features happy people with umbrellas, walking in the city with the Pergola as a backdrop....I hope this painting lifts your spirits a little ....especially if you live in the Northwest where we have been getting our fair share of rain!

Jessie Rasche is another Washington painter who works in a very impressionistic style. She was raised in the Seattle area but now lives in Eastern Washington...Check out her website here

"Run for Cover" Seattle cityscape by robin weiss

"Run for Cover" 7x7 oil on panel. Seattle cityscape, by Robin Weiss  Sold

Seattle is known for it's rain and we have had plenty this spring! I love to be in the city when it is pouring down rain! All the reflections and umbrellas come out . Nature does the job of softening edges and muting colors that makes for great painting. I have completed a small series of rainy day studies featuring the famous Seattle Pergola in the heart of Pioneer Square.
 The elaborate Iron Pergola was erected in 1909 as a stop for the Yesler and James Street Cable Car Company. This waiting shelter was the most lavish of its kind west of the Mississippi with ornamental iron columns, wrought iron ornamentation and a large underground restroom. The pergola was designed by Seattle architect Julian Everett.
  Here is another Pergola painting from the archive which received a lot of attention.

"Under the Monorail", Seattle cityscape, oil painting by Robin Weiss

"Under the Monorail" 10x6 oil on panel SOLD

Maury and I hang out in the city every time we get the chance.....which is fairly often.  I'm usually over a couple times a month..Sometimes we find a spot to sit and sketch , other times we walk around taking pictures of everything like tourists.... hoping for a photo that will yield elements that we can use in a composition for painting. This time we were headed for the Five Point Cafe.....our newest favorite place to eat lunch.  This scene has two classic Seattle monuments, The Space Needle and the Monorail,  which leads from Westlake to Seattle Center.


This is my first painting of the Monorail, but I have painted the Space Needle many times . You can see my painting of the most well known view of this iconic symbol of Seattle here.

The Space Needle was built for the 1962 Worlds Fair.It has 25 lightning rods. It is built to withstand winds of up to 200miles an hour and earthquakes up to 9.1 magnitude. The earthquake stability of the Space Needle was ensured when a hole was dug 30 feet deep and 120 feet across, and 467 concrete trucks took one full day to fill it. The foundation weighs 5850 tons, including 250 tons of reinforcing steel. With this concrete base weighing the same as the above-ground structure, the Needle's center of gravity is just 5 feet above ground level. The structure is bolted to the foundation with 72 bolts, each one 30 feet long.

Here is the latest "Art" project associated with the Space Needle.  Apparently, Angry Birds needed a launching pad to get into space and decided that the Space Needle would be perfect!.......Looks like he's going to smash into the restaurant to me....


Photo by Todd Bishop on GeekWire.com

"Powerline Firs" plein air, landscape painting, by robin weiss

"Power Line Firs"  10x8 oil on panel

It has been a cold wet spring here in the Pacific Northwest....as per usual!!  But every once in a while we get a few hours of decent weather....I took the opportunity to sneak out to the power line rd....which is right across the street from the studio.

 sold

You can see a new element to the plein air rig....I have bungeed my  back-pack to a hand truck. which helps a lot when I don't have to hike into a remote location....I'm hoping to be able to use this at Red Rocks....  Wow! ....and that's coming up pretty soon! 


Mike Hernandez is an artist I have been following on Facebook. He is quite versatile in many mediums including digital art. He lives in the Seattle area but is employed at Dreamworks in L.A. Check out Mike's art HERE

"Viaduct Afternoon" Seattle cityscape,oil painting by Robin Weiss

"Viaduct Afternoon" 12x8 oil on panel SOLD

I'm back to painting city scenes for our upcoming show at Alki Arts in June. My son Maury and I will be collaborating in this father and son show to celebrate Fathers Day. Maury has graduated from the Art Institute of Seattle and is mostly working digital...(You can see his work here). However he has agreed to join me in this exhibition with some traditional artwork..

 I even got him out of his computer cave in Belltown for some studio time with the Old Man...


It is always great meeting like minded artists. Last week I went over to meet a friend I met on Facebook who also enjoys painting city scenes of Seattle. Having the background of architectural illustration he's good at it too! William hook is spending his free time these days doing fine art paintings of Seattle and environs in watercolor. You can see his excellent work here. Thanks for giving me the tour of your working space Bill!

 By the way, if you have been linked to my site before and are wondering why you're not any more it is because I lost all my links when I updated to the new template. I am slowly adding most of the links back as I remember them. Feel free to give me a shout if you would like a link.

"Creek Fall" waterfall, oil painting by Robin Weiss

"Creek Fall" 14x10 oil on canvas

On the way back from the ocean there is a long drive around Crescent Lake. There are many beautiful scenes as you bank the turns following the shore line. What always catches me veering into the opposite lane as I crane my neck around to look are these magical little waterfalls, especially in the winter, that cascade down to the lake. I had to pull over and capture this one. I tried my best to simplify and create a mood here .......Over-worked?

 I have completed about six or seven waterfall paintings. You can see the one I think was the best here.....and it is in the middle of Seattle!


Richard Schmid is a master of landscape painting. I received his new book, "The Landscapes" for my birthday. In It are several examples of waterfall paintings that will certainly inspire you to give them a try! You can down load some of Richards instructional videos on painting here

"Driftwood at Rialto Beach" La Push seascape, oil painting, by Robin Weiss

"Driftwood on Rialto Beach" 8x12 oil on panel  Sold

I was interested by the trees coming down to the oceans edge... They remind me of a scene from some fantasy movie. I can picture Sam and Frodo making their way through a forest like this, evading some unseen danger.

It was also quite an exercise in perspective drawing. Not only with line but with atmosphere. Another painter who does a great job painting distance with atmosphere is Marc Hansen. You can see his work here.

If you would like to take a trip down blogger-memory lane,  you can click here to see some sketches of a trip I made to La Push in 2008.

8x12 oil on panel. 

"Stormy Seas" La Push, seascape by Robin Weiss

Back to my series of ocean scenes from La Push, Washington. This was done from a photograph taken on location. I have tried to paint in conditions like this and it is no fun. You end up getting more sand on your canvas than paint!  I did try and limit my time for execution which gives it a little more of a PA feeling....I hope..This view of James Island is from  Rialto beach.
8x12 oil on panel

 You do have to be careful when you are on the beach at the Washington coast in the winter time...Here is a nice picture of my wife posing to have her photo taken.....

The rogue wave came fast and furiously but fortunately did not wash my poor wife out to sea.....however it was a long, rather damp walk back to the cabin....

The rubber boots didn't help much....maybe a deep sea diving suit with helmet .....=]   Love you Honey...

"Old and New" Plein air landscape painting by Robin Weiss

All things must change.....Right!  But man it is hard for me to change old habits and ingrained routines!...I have had my old blogger template since 2006!...virtually everyone has updated their blogger formats but me....Keeping things fresh is crucial in this business .....so after getting fed up with the problems I have been encountering with my old blogger interface I finally updated to a new one...Let me know what you think?

I really want to be open to change and keeping things fresh with my artwork too..I think one of the keys to that will be to get out in the field more this year. I have a couple workshop trips planned starting with the First Annual Plein Air Convention and Expo in April. I am also looking forward to joining my friend and fellow painter Darrell Anderson in Montana for the Bitterroot Workshop later in the fall.  Until then I will be getting out between commissions..
  These pines are out in the field by the studio....Unfortunately they are dying ...So I wanted to paint them before they are removed.
My pallet consists of Ultramarine blue, Cad Red, Hansa Yellow and Titanium White. 
8x10 oil on panel.

"Quileute Marina Boats" La Push, marine, fishing boat, painting by Robin Weiss

I was amazed to see the patched up old fishing boats that are still used by the Quileutes to fish out in the open ocean!  Although they are great subjects for painting I would not want to be out to sea in some of these...
8x10 oil on panel.


On another note...so to speak....If you live in our area and have never been to the Knowles Studio where I work...Saturday night would be a good time to do that!  Jazz Canvas is a special event at the studio. A core group of jazz musicians play with a special guest artist while my colleague, Leigh Metteer interprets the music on canvas...At the end of the show the painting is raffled off...It is a fun night you won't want to miss....especially since Kyle Gregory is back with us again from Verona Italy!

Jazz Canvas at the Knowles Studio with Kyle Gregory  2011