Admiralty Head Lighthouse, Fort Casey, Whidby Island , plein air painting by Robin Weiss

"Admiralty Head Lighthouse" 8x12 oil on panel   Sold

I have painted this view of the lighthouse before in watercolor back in 05 I think...But never had the chance with snow on the ground! By the end of the day my face was sunburned from the intense sun reflecting off the snow.

Sometimes it is a challenge to paint complicated architecture on location. For this painting I used a plexiglass sheet to draw the outline of the structure in a grid to give me an idea how the shape would fit within the format of an 8x 12 panel. I didn't trace the outline but just used it like a preliminary drawing. This helps to speed up the layout in fast changing light situations.

It also helps to have friends along to paint with!! Sylvia Carlton set up next to me and it was like having a stand up comedy act right next to you while your working!...=] ..It was also pretty cool to see how our different styles of painting progressed.

Friendly deer kept walking by too....adding to the fun!

Lots of folks turned out for Friday afternoon at the lighthouse. Susan  McManamen found a good side view.

She also graciously allowed me to camp out in the driveway of her familys cabin near Coopville for the night, so I would be able to start early at Ebeys Landing in the morning! And this is a cool little cabin! only 300 sq. feet, nestled in a wooded landscape reminiscent of something out of The Hobbit...All in all a very interesting weekend and this is only Friday!

"Keystone State Park " Whidby Island, plein air painting by Robin Weiss

"Keystone State Park" 6x8 oil on panel       Sold

After I finished the Snowfield painting, It was still cold but the sky was beginning to clear. I found this spot looking towards Fort Casey across the little inlet where the Keystone Ferry comes in. I believe that is plumes of smoke coming from the paper mill in Port Townsend across the bay. After I was done with this painting it had warmed up enough for me to get the van unstuck and we all headed for the Lighthouse at Fort Casey.

Here is the same view on a clear sunny day. I took this photo from a parks website..You can clearly see the lighthouse but I never saw it on Friday!

"Whidby Island Snowfield" plein air landscape painting by Robin Weiss

"Whidby Island Snowfield" 8x12 oil on panel       Sold

After getting my van stuck in the snow upon departing the Keystone ferry on Whidby Island there was not much else to do but paint! A freak snow storm that drew a pencil line around the island and parts of Everett dropped about six inches of snow.

Jane Wallis and Sylvia Carlton painting in the snow

Fortunately there were some other hardy painters who showed up for the first outdoor paint out organized by the Plein Air Washington Painters.


Jane Wallis and Sylvia Carlton decided to use the car as a wind break and happily painted away.

Add caption

I wasn't so smart....But loved the view and managed to push the stiff paint into an acceptable painting.

Sure was nice to hit the Keystone Cafe' for a hot cup of coffee!

By the time we finished our paintings the sun came out and melted the snow enough for me to get the van out of the parking lot and head up to the Light House....which had been closed due to the weather!

"Faux Flowers" plein air still life painting by Robin Weiss

"Faux Flowers" 8x8 oil on panel    Sold

We have officially started the new year of PA painting with The Plein Air Washington Painters this weekend on Whidby Island...and what a time it was with snow blizzards and sun stroke!  But of course, still trying to catch up here on the blog,  I'm posting a still life from the indoor paint out in Feb!

Sylvia Carlton, founder of PAWA was crowned lifetime member at the meeting.

My friend and painting buddy Darrell Anderson gave the still life a try .

Coming up in my next posts are the paintings I did on Whidby this weekend....After I got the van stuck in the parking lot of the Keystone Cafe , there wasn't much else to do but paint!

"At Rest" marine oil painting by Robin Weiss

"At Rest" marine 10x8 oil on panel   SOLD

This is a companion piece painted at the same time as my last post and bought by the same collector!.(Thanks Brian!!..=] )...I also missed posting this one....go figure.....I must have been way over-caffeinated!

Wa. State ferry routes

My wife and I love travelling around our beautiful state! I painted this from a photo, taken on a loop ferry trip to Alki Arts. We went over on the Bainbridge Island ferry and came back via the Fauntleroy / Vashon ferry..This scene is Vashon Harbor.
 There are also lots of other fun ferry loop trips you can make that feature some of the most stunning views in Western Washington. So get out there this summer and soak up the beauty!! 

"Vashon Sailboat" marine oil painting by Robin Weiss

"Vashon Sailboat"  10x8 oil on panel  SOLD

A kind collector bought this painting at Alki Arts gallery show last night (Thanks Brian!)  and when I went to my blog to mark it sold, realized that it was never posted....So here it is!!   We had a great time at the Second Thursday Artwalk on Alki Beach...Thanks so much to all who were able to make it out!  It's always nice to visit with friends.... and to mark paintings sold!

"Point Wilson" Fort Worden State Park oil painting by Robin Weiss

"Point Wilson" 26x32 oil on canvas

I'm saving this painting to enter into Plein Air Washington Painters , State Parks Centennial Show in September.  A juried group exhibition will be hosted by The American Art Company in Tacoma for the PAWA members. Each entry will consist of a plein air painting done on location at one of the Washington Sate Parks (of which there are 117) and the accompanying studio painting done from the plein air study.

Point Wilson plein air study  sold

 I'm really looking forward to seeing the work that will be generated for this major show. It is an honor to be able to join the talented and fun loving Plein Air Washington Painters!





I'll be posting more on this show as the date gets closer....in the mean time I have two featured artist shows coming up associated with Alki Arts who represent my work in Seattle. The first is Thursday March 14th at Alki Arts on Alki Beach in West Seattle for their Second Thursday Artwalk.  I'll be there from 6:00pm till.9:00pm..If you are in the area , stop by and say hi!

The second opportunity to see some of my recent work will be First Thursday in May at the Harbor Steps gallery across from the Seattle Art Museum at the bottom of The Harbor Steps. Come by , have a glass of wine, check out the art and then walk up to the SAM for a reduced rate on the new "Early Masters" exhibit.

"Space Race" Seattle city oil painting by Robin Weiss

"Space Race" 24x48 oil on canvas by Robin Weiss    Sold

While I'm on the topic of doing value studies for larger studio paintings I want to post the progression of images and ideas that lead to this larger work entitled "Space Race"

 I started out with this obscure photo taken while driving to my sons apartment in Bell Town. I've talked in other posts about taking pictures while driving...I do not recommend you do this! I have a lot of practice and can take these pictures without looking at my camera or being distracted from driving....seriously!

I liked the break up of the big shapes in the photo so I worked out some simple compositions placing the Space Needle in different positions and using different formats. This is a crucial stage....I am learning!... As you can see they don't have to be great works of art....just simple thumbnail sketches working out big shape placement.

Space Race value study 6x10 B/W oil on panel  sold

The next step was fun!  After I picked the shape placement that looked the best to my eye, I put some black, white and portland grey medium, paint on the palette and did a fast value painting in oil . As you can see here,  this established some of the drama and atmosphere of the painting.

The next step I didn't plan but it helped with the final painting. My wife and I attended the Nicolai Fechin exhibit at the Fry Art Museum in Seattle.I was struck by the rich impasto application of the paint. When I came home to work on this painting I scraped all the paint off my palette into piles of greys, loosely mixed. I then added a lot more paint than usual for me to lay in thick layers with the dryed clumps of paint mixed in. This enhanced the feel of the sort of "gritty city" piece I was hoping to achieve.   Hope this helps you in making some of your compositional decisions!  Happy painting!

"North Head Light" oil landscape painting, color study for studio painting by Robin Weiss

"North Head Light" plein air study for a large studio painting.  sold

The day was totally socked in. Realizing that I would not be back to this area any time soon I tried to capture the mood of the place. This 6x10 study doesn't look like much but has done the work of imprinting the scene and color in my mind. Now I will work from photos and sketches for a larger studio painting.....starting with value studies to work out the composition.

North Head Lighthouse value study 6x12 oil on panel

This study was from a photo taken the following day .......much clearer as you can see, but lacks a lot of the drama and mystery of the first day . I think I can combine them for a more defined design with some of the original atmosphere.

North Head Lighthouse value study 8x12 oil on panel

The value study shown here is an even better composition with the lighthouse visible through the mist and the drift wood creating movement into the scene and even a sense of danger and mystery.

On another interesting note....We found this debris. apparently washed across the Pacific ocean  from the tsunami in Japan, a few hundred yards up from this spot on the beach at Cape Disappointment.

"Cape Disappointment" plein air , oil , landscape painting by Robin Weiss

"Cape Disappointment" plein air oil painting by Robin Weiss  sold

Lots of events are coming up with The Plein Air Washington Painters this season!  One that I am excited to be a part of is the State Parks Centennial Show. Washington Sate Parks are celebrating their 100th anniversary this year and PAWA is partnering with them by hosting many paint-outs in the parks. In Oct through Dec. there will be a juried show exhibited at American Art Company in Tacoma of the work generated by the group. The entries will consist of a plein air painting and the resulting studio painting done from that study.  I am considering the plein air study above for a larger studio painting.

I am really excited about painting the state parks this year and am getting more and more comfortable getting out and painting in all kinds of weather. I have found out that , with oil paint, if it starts to rain you can just dump the water out of your palette and keep going!

North Head Lighthouse

We took so many good pictures on this trip that I can't possibly post them all....But there will be paintings!

Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center

One of the must-do activities at Cape Disappointment is the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. This was especially interesting to me as I had just finished "Undaunted Courage" about the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Happy Valentines Day!

 My wife Ann and I always like to mix business with pleasure...=]  This painting trip was also our Valentines Day get-away!

"Clear Creek Park" plein air oil painting by Robin Weiss"

Clear Creek Park ,8x10 oil on panel  sold

There is a cool little park near Silverdale that used to be a farm with open fields. The county has turned it into a park with boardwalk trails...I drove over on another overcast day to try and get a painting...after much groaning, scraping , pounding my fists on the ground and other useless antics, this is what I ended up with.

I put the boardwalk into the painting at first as a lead into the scene but it just wasn't working for me ....so I scraped it out..

I've been working on doing more value studies to avoid some of these hit and miss paintings ....A lesson that, apparently, I have to learn over and over again

Robin Weiss in the Artists Painting Artist feature in Plein air Magazine

That very issue was mentioned in the mini article in Plein Air Magazine about a workshop I attended in Montana with my buddy Darrell Anderson, Cathe Gill and Bob Phinney.

Did I mention that my plein air piece "Gordon Painting on Kootenai Creek" was published in Plein air Magazine!!

There it is in full color along with a sketch of Bob Phinney in the March/April edition!

More on the value study stuff in my next post.

"Sawdust Hill Road Barn" plein air, oil landscape painting by Robin Weiss

"Sawdust Hill Rd. Barn"  8x12 oil on canvas Sold

Near us is a side road called Sawdust Hill.  My wife runs up it for exercise...I prefer to drive up....At the top and around the bend is this great farm. I pulled off the road and set up by the fence for this painting. Things were not going well until I loosened up and started to be more expressive with my brush work....then the magic started to happen....

Sawdust Hill Barn

The sheep farmer across the road came over on his John Deer tractor to say hi and see what the heck I was doing..He told me tending sheep is a full time occupation....I believe it!  We parted ways both happy with our chosen professions.

"Port Williams" marine scape oil painting by Robin Weiss

"Port Williams"10x8  Marine scape oil painting by Robin Weiss SOLD

There was still some daylight left after finishing my painting on Old Gardner Rd. so I headed to Sequim (pronounced Squim, silent E ) hoping to find the sun. They say Sequim is in the "Banana Belt" around here and gets the least amount of rain. The sun never came out but I found a good spot to set up by the boat launch at the end of Port Williams Rd.

plein air at port williams

The distant point provided a good focal point and the beach with the driftwood leads the eye to it.  I touched the final painting up in the studio using the photos I took on location.



In this case the original field painting may have turned out better than the studio rework...

"The View from Old Gardner Road" oil landscape painting by Robin Weiss

"The View from Old Gardner Road" 8x10 oil landscape painting by Robin Weiss    SOLD

The weather turned for a few days last week and I got out to the field for some plein air painting. The day started out pretty foggy put cleared up just enough to see some distant tree lines. I love it like this! You don't have to worry about turning your palette out of the sun and the light stays fairly constant until the end of the day which is about 4:00pm right now.

Plein air painting by Robin Weiss

 I headed out towards Sequim thinking about a marsh area by Discovery Bay. On the way I stumbled onto Old Gardner Road and decided to explore. Just what I was looking for! Plenty of room to pull off, nobody around and wide open spaces!

Pochade box designed by Robin Weiss

Before Christmas I started shopping around for a pochade box to give my son Maury. He likes to go out painting with me on occasion and gets stuck with my old french easel....I couldn't believe the cost for these things with all the accessories needed. With the help of my friend Jim Metteer, I designed a box and built two. One for me and one for Maury! It turned out great and uses my innovation of velcro to attach the carry panels to the easel part of the pochade. I posted some of the process on Facebook but since there have been some requests  a pdf of the design will be made available as soon as I get it drawn up...Let me know if you're interested!

"Greg O" oil portrait study by Robin Weiss

"Greg O" 8x8 oil on panel

I've started attending a portrait group on Bainbridge Island with some other talented artists. I feel that Portraits are my most challenging subject and I have procrastinated on it for years.  I am posting this one because it is at least presentable....I've wiped two others.

A book that is helping me right now is "The Practice of Oil Painting and Drawing" by Solomon J Solomon. In it he has very helpful principles for drafting the figure and the head. Of course reading these and applying them are a world of brush miles apart....=]

"The Barn by Egg and I Road" oil landscape painting by Robin Weiss

"The Barn by Egg and I Road" oil landscape painting by Robin Weiss SOLD

Man, I have been procrastinating on the blog again!  I think it is because I have so much stuff banging around in my head to post about, that I just keep putting it off!  In my effort to get the ball rolling again I will post this warm up study of a photo I took last summer. this is a familiar barn to lots of us who live on the Kitsap Peninnsula.  Its right off the main highway on the way to Port Townsend and right next to a road named for a book that is iconic in our area.

 The Egg and I, first published in 1945, is a humorous memoir by American author Betty MacDonald about her adventures and travels as a young wife on a chicken farm on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state. The book is based on the author's experiences as a newlywed in trying to acclimate and operate a small chicken farm with her first husband Robert Heskett from 1927 to 1931 near Chimacum, Washington. On visits with her family in Seattle, she told stories of their tribulations, which greatly amused them. In the 1940s, MacDonald's sisters strongly encouraged her to write a book about these experiences. The Egg and I was MacDonald's first attempt at writing a book.

First published by the J. B. Lippincott Company on October 3, 1945, The Egg and I received laudatory reviews and soon appeared on the best-seller list. The book was a blockbuster success as a novel, being reprinted on a nearly monthly basis for the next two years.
On September 12, 1946, the specially-bound one-millionth copy of the book was presented to MacDonald by Washington Governor Monrad Wallgren at a luncheon in Seattle

These excerpts were taken from Wikipedia.  I have not yet read the book even though it has been on my bookshelf for about 20 years!  After doing this research I will have to read it!

"Southwest Morrison Street" Portland city oil painting by Robin Weiss

"Southwest Morrison Street" 9x12 oil on panel by Robin Weiss Sold

This old building was lit aglow by the afternoon sun....Had to paint it! 

"Powell's Books" Portland city oil painting by Robin Weiss

"Powell's Books" 12x9 oil on panel by Robin Weiss Sold

An iconic institution and destination in Portland Oregon, almost everyone who has been to the city has browsed the four floors and almost endless aisles of  books at Powell's. The art books are on the fourth floor. I can get lost up there and just camp out in the aisle..=]...There is also a great cafe downstairs where you can bring your treasures and drink good coffee while you read....That's a satisfying afternoon in my book!

Sometimes it's hard to tell while in the process, just what will bring that extra spark of magic to a painting....but when you get it, you know it...and the gallery owner knows it ...and the collectors know it..Sometimes it is just a stroke or two, maybe a value/ hue change to an area or shadow..I set this one aside for awhile , not sure I could pull off that spark...sometimes I just can't figure it out...Then, while working on another painting I mixed up some pure , intense , color with just a bit of white to heighten the value but not kill the chroma and added it to the tree on the left that is caught in the strong afternoon light...I added some touches to the figures as well.....I think that did it.....?

"Bluster" Portland city oil painting by Robin Weiss

"Bluster"  10x8 oil on panel by Robin Weiss SOLD

I still have the "crud"  and I'm still working my way through the Portland photos from our anniversary visit in November.  The first night we were there was just like this, all blustery with rain and wet reflections...I love it like this! ...and then we got sun which is okay too I guess....

I spent about two hours on google street view trying to locate and name the streets where I captured some of these scenes. I found some,.. others remain nameless.....I have no idea where in the city this is...Lesson:.. I need to keep better records in my sketch book!

"Waterfront Park" Portland city oil painting by Robin Weiss

"Waterfront Park" 8x10 oil on panel by Robin Weiss   sold

This is my first painting done in 2013!  I'm really looking forward to all the painting adventures coming up this year!

My wife Ann and I went to Portland, Oregon for our anniversary and fell in love again with the Rose City! We had one day of rain and two days of glorious sun! I took lots of photos and am working through them while I am sick with a pretty tenacious upper respiratory thing going on....plus the weather here is back to rain/slush/cold..They say the days are getting longer...they also said December was the darkest month in our recorded history here in Seattle...somehow the weather folks can track the amount of radiation daily...Anyway...It will be nice to sit in the warm sun again!!  Here's wishing you all the best in 2013!

"South on Second" Seattle city oil painting by Robin Weiss

"South on Second" 20x20 oil on canvas by Robin Weiss  $1000

Still continuing to catch up on paintings completed in 2012!!  Sheesh!  Why didn't I get this done earlier!

Cold and clear today! One of the best times to be in Seattle in the Pacific Northwest!!  I'll be posting my first painting done in 2013 soon....after I tie up all the loose ends!

"Winter Fir" plein air oil landscape painting by Robin Weiss

"Winter Fir" 8x6 oil on panel by Robin Weiss  sold

We did have a little snow in Dec. and I took the opportunity to paint a small study looking out the studio window. I have painted this fir tree before as the scene changes with the seasons. Although I still have a few paintings to post that were completed in 2012 I am looking forward to a new year of creating artwork and meeting new friends in 2013! Wishing you all the best of Gods blessings in the new year!