More sketchbook studies from Lake Powell

Today dawned bright and sunny so we took advantage of it by taking an early morning cruise on David Drummond's pontoon boat. I managed a few quick drawings in my sketchbook and shot a number of digital photos to use as reference later.



Sketchbook Drawing above of Castle Rock was done while waiting for the group to gather at the Wahweap Marina. The sketchbook drawing below of Lone Rock was done in the late afternoon before getting together on Drummond's houseboat for dinner.

Sketching and Painting Lake Powell

It has rained like crazy for two days here in Page Arizona on the shore of Lake Powell. You'd think we were in Seattle instead of the desert. Some people here say they can't remember a pounding rain like this in 30 years. It was spectacular though with huge gushing waterfalls pouring out of the slot canyons into the lake. It broke up a little this evening so I went out to Antelope Point and did some sketching finally. Driving back to the hotel I caught a glimpse of a full moon peaking out from behing the clouds. What a sight!



David Drummond demonstrated a neat technique for rendering rocks. This is my classroom watercolor study utilizing the technique. The top drawing is my sketchbook value study for this painting. Tomorrow David will show us his technique for painting water, which is his specialty. The workshop is great!

Left, my sketchbook study of Gunsight Butte from the road to Antelope Point.

Below, David Drummond demonstrates his wet in wet watercolor landscape techniques to an eager group of artists from all over the United States. The workshop was hosted by the Powell Museum in Page Arizona. Drummond is well-known for his paintings of Lake Powell featuring fantastic reflections in the water. His paintings have been selected for all 15 Arts for the Parks Top 100 exhibits.

Sketching at Pipe Spring National Monument

On the way over to Lake Powell, I took a little side trip to Pipe Spring National Monument and the paiute Museum on the Arizona Strip. It's a wonderful old historic site with people in period costume. It is the location of an early Mormon pioneer settlement called Winsor Castle. Actually it is a stone fort built over the natural spring to protect the settlers from Indian raids. Today the paiutes and the National Park Service work together to run the site.



I did several sketches in my travel sketchbook and shot some digital photos for reference. I was thinking about doing a painting here for the 2007 Arts for the Parks National Competition.

I always use the Watson Guptill hardbound sketchbooks and a 6B or 8B pencil. I have run the sketchbooks through some rough trials carrying them with me in my travels all over the world. They hold together great and the drawings will not smudge because of the hard cover. I had my local art supply store, Passion for Painting Gallery, stock them for me and my students.

Putting an Underglaze on the Buildings

I rubbed in a thin underglaze of burnt sienna on the buildings using thinner to establish an even value. Then I set everything aside and headed out to Page Arizona for a workshop with David Drummond at Lake Powell.I will get back to the mural on Monday when I return.

Getting Started on the Library Mural

I finally got started painting the 4' x 8' library mural this week. Actually it's not technically a mural, but a very large painting. It will be mounted on the wall permanently and surrounded by a frame, though, so either term probably works. I ordered Claessons Oil primed Belgian linen from Dick Blick and mounted it on a tempered masonite panel using Demco's archival adhesive. I then hung the panel on the wall of my frame shop (my studio is too small) so I can work vertically. It's worked pretty well so far. Here are a few of photos of the process after two days of painting.


From my 10" x 20" pencil layout, I transferred the design using grids in red pencil. I did some sketching directly on the linen using pencil, but used a red pencil for the main outlines, since it smears less when the first paint is applied.



I decided to work on the figures first and establish their main values, leaving the background buildings for later. Once the figures are almost complete I will work on the background and return for the final detail work on the figures last.



I'll be able to block in a little more tomorrow, and apply a red underglaze to the buildings. Then I'll set this painting aside for a few days, as I head off for Lake Powell to take a watercolor workshop with David Drummond.

Fall Colors in Utah

While Vermont excells in grand displays of reds, Utah puts on a show of yellows and golds in Autumn. Over the weekend I took a little drive over the Alpine Loop up American Fork Canyon and even though it was overcast, the colors still made me marvel.

The Mission Gallery opens in St. George, UT

Roland Lee (right) with fellow artist Lynn Griffin at the opening artist's reception of the Mission Gallery in St. George, Utah

Although the Mission Gallery has been open for business for several months, they just completed the remodeling and signage and held an offical ribbon-cutting ceremony this morning which I attended. In addition a good number of art appreciators stopped by for the open house and artist reception tonight. I'm not crazy about receptions, but I do enjoy visiting with those who appreciate art. So I had a pleasant time chatting with the collectors and looking at the new paintings. A number of top regional painters are exhibiting at the Mission Gallery, and I will enjoy being among them. I currently have 9 paintings on display there. Thanks to Jane Juber for her foresight and vision in creating her second gallery in St. George. She also owns the Authentique Gallery.



The Mission Gallery is located in a wonderful old adobe pioneer home in Ancestor Square at 173 North Main Street, St. George, UT 84770. For information call Toll Free 866-999-1278

Demonstration Painting Sage in the Sun

The light in the desert is always a prevalent feature of the landscape. The shapes of mesas, and desert shrubs are well-delineated by the sunlight hitting the surfaces and bouncing around to create a wonderful pattern of warms and cools. Our eye is naturally drawn to light objects against darker backgrounds. The painting above was painted to demonstrate how powerful that effect can be in even something as simple as a sagebrush in the sand.

Demonstration Paintings Step by Step

I focused this class on learning to see the lights in nature. I have learned over the years that we really see objects that are light against dark, rather than dark against light. The objects we see first in the landscape are the ones that are recieving light when viewed against a darker background. In this demonstration I showed the students how to analyze what you see, then work up a simple value study to determine the positive and negative shapes.



Above: First I begin with a pencil study to determine lights and darks



Above: Detail of the finished watercolor study. Notice how we see the edges clearly because of the contrast between light and dark. It is the main way we see shapes in nature.

Painting Workshop Day 2 -- "Learning to See the Landscape"

I really enjoy teaching workshops, especially because of the friendships that are developed. I was joined by a really special group of students at this class with a ton of talent and experience. Some of their work is truly outstanding. I sure hope I was able to share something with them that was meaningful. If nothing else, I think we all encouraged each other to work harder. I developed a new Powerpoint demonstration for this session called "Learning to see the Landscape."