First image: The finished exhibit, just in time for the ribbon cutting, yesterday, Wednesday, September 1, 2010 at 10 in the morning. Various local dignitaries in attendance, including the mayor of Rancho Cordova. Unfortunately, I failed to get an image of the ribbon cutting. The camera batteries went south. By the time new batteries were obtained, i became trapped inside the building. The ribbon cutting was outside. Bad timing on my part, and let’s leave it at that.

In celebration of the first Grand Opening weekend, I’ll be doing a “meet and greet” on Saturday and Sunday, September 4 and 5. I might even get in a few watercolor demonstrations. I look forward to seeing you. We’ll have plenty of time for “shop talk” about watercolor paintings, classes, and workshops.

Second image: South-west from my exhibit area. Clearly visible is some interesting sculpture by Charles Shramek. My daughter and her partner are now the proud owners of one of his fascinating works of art.

The Market Place Home and Garden Expo is located at 11395 Folsom Blvd., Rancho Cordova, between Sunrise & Hazel off Highway 50. Open 7 days a week, 10 am – 7 p.m.. My exhibit is in the far left, rear of the exhibition hall. You can’t miss it. Please drop by and say hello.

First image: After several days of preparation this is the exhibition space at about 10 am this morning.
Second image: Seven hours later. Some definite progress, but still more work to be done. I’ll post further progress in the near future.

Preparation in progress for my watercolor exhibit at the Market Place Home Expo Grand Opening on Wednesday, Sept. 1, at 10 am. The Market Place is located at 11395 Folsom Blvd., Rancho Cordova, between Sunrise & Hazel off Hiway 50. Open 7 days a week, 10 am – 7 pm. I’ll be in the far left, rear of the exhibition hall. Please drop by and say hello.

Also check out my September, three-day Gualala Watercolor Workshop Two-Fer deal. It’s enough to make Cheap Joe green with envy (grin)! Learn more here: http://www.allthingswatercolor.com/0.WorkshopSched.html

I’m pleased to announce that beginning September 1, 2010, I’ll be demonstrating and exhibiting my original, watercolor paintings, at The Market Place,11395 Folsom Blvd., Suite 150, in Rancho Cordova, California. The Market Place is a new, year-round expo featuring home and garden products and services, collectibles and original art by local artists. Open seven days a week. Hours: Sunday – Friday, 10:00 am – 7:00 pm.. Saturday, 9:00 am – 7 pm.

I hope you will join me in celebrating the Grand Opening on Wednesday, September 1, 10:00 am to 7:00 pm. My exhibit is easy to locate. I’ll be set up in the far left corner area of the expo. Please drop by and say hello.

Imagine being able to go to a home, garden, and local art expo any time you want. The Market Place makes that possible. The Market Place is a new, permanent, year round exhibition showroom open seven days a week.

Saturday and Sunday are the days all booth spaces are staffed with knowledgeable people in their fields of expertise. Monday thru Friday you can visit the booths, pick-up literature, and in some cases make purchases .

The Sacramento Business Journal (http://sacramento.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2010/06/07/story10.html) reports that The Market Place Rancho Cordova, a permanent expo, will open September 1, 2010, with about 100 vendors. The Market Place encompasses 23,000 square feet of the former Antique Plaza along Folsom Boulevard.

The Journal notes further, that The Market Place partners have invested $100,000 into Market Place. They’ll start with about 15 employees, who will run a coffee shop, oversee booths and handle purchases.

The Market Place offers home-improvement classes, seminars. demos, and other events on weekends. On the first Sunday of each month until October, the expo will offer outside booths and food vendors.

The Market Place Rancho Cordova, year-round, indoor expo for home improvement, garden, fine art, and collectibles is at 11395 Folsom Blvd., Suite 150.

Web: MarketPlaceRancho.com

Above is a detail image of one of four demonstration paintings accomplished during my Fourteenth Annual Mt. Shasta Watercolor Workshop in July of 2010.

The subject of this painting is a depiction of the remains of an old, pedestrian style suspension bridge that I’m told was once used to get from the north side of the Sacramento River to the south side. About all that remains of the bridge is an interesting block of concrete with large threaded bolts anchored in cement. The bolts, unforgiving, and thrusting skyward, add vertical interest to the remains of a weathered chunk of bridge footing in the Cantara Loop area of Mt. Shasta, California.. I thought the grouping of elements fascinating and worthy of interest.

I’ve painted this subject a couple of times before. Anyone interested in seeing the other versions can do so via this blog and my web site. Yesteryear Bridge, may be seem by following this link. And, Bridge Abutments, can be seen here.

For pricing, and availability of Bridge Remnants, click here

Cow Pie Awards was painted the afternoon of the second day of three, Plein Air Days at this year’s California State Fair. It was painted shortly after walking through one of the livestock buildings on the fair grounds. The premise of the painting had been germinating for many weeks. The sights and smells within the livestock building helped solidify my thoughts.

For several years the fair has hosted Plein Air Days. It is a time set aside for selected painters to create their works, outdoors among fair visitors. The original, non-competitive nature of Plein Air Days At The Fair seems like a commendable idea. This was my third season of participation. For the most part, i’ve found the experience worthwhile and positive.

This year someone, or some committee, decided to turn Plein Air Days into a competition. I assume this was done on the basis of solid reasoning, and accomplished with the best of intentions. Furthermore, I assume some of my fellow painters welcomed an opportunity to win award money. However, as many decisions in life, there is an up side and a down side.

I find the change troublesome. As a result, I participated in the three day affair, but did not submit any work for the competition. By doing so I prevented myself from having even the slightest chance at award money or possible sales. Admittedly,not smart and a very poor business decision on my part. Spinning wheels and tilting windmills.

I should note that realistically, in three days of outdoor painting I didn’t produce much that a state fair juror would recognize as worthy of an award. Then too,even though I’m pleased with Cow Pie Awards, it appears more political cartoon than painting (no disrespect intended).

I realize the award process is a large part of all state fairs. We have, of course, a juried event at the main state fair art show. Fair enough. No problem with the basic idea. And, frankly, I have a tendency to be as competitive as the next person. In some cases, even more so … to a fault. That noted, I definitely enjoyed the non-competitiveness of yesteryear’s Plein Air Days. I also understand the only constant is change. Still, the jury process being what it is, I believe it would be reasonable to expect one art event at the fair to promotes art appreciation over judgement.

Cow Pie Awards was painted with an intention of placing it in the competition. Awards aside, I wanted a personal statement seen and point of view presented. However, people whose judgement I respect cautioned me that Cow Pie Awards might be viewed as offensive. As the saying goes, “hog-wash!” Yet as I was about to walk out the door the early morning of the third and last day of Plein Air Days, I made a split second decision. I intentionally left this painting in the studio. Regrettably, a kind of self-censorship. The worst kind.

Arguably, I suppose a high stakes robbery, and the shooing of a pregnant cow is enough fair controversy for one year. The good news? I hear fair attendance was up somewhere around ten percent.

For pricing, and availability, click here

Join fellow watercolorist David Peterson and me as we again participate in major events at the California State Fair!

David and I will be doing continuous indoor watercolor demonstrations on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, July 17, 18, and 19. We’ll do our best to inform and entertain at our special booth. We’ll be there from opening to closing each day. Look for us in Building 7, Expo Center. We’ll be happy to answer your watercolor questions, tell you about private and group workshops, regional art groups, paint-outs, and/or discuss/debate all things watercolor. Join us with an open, inquisitive mind and your time will be well spent.

What you see and learn might just surprise you. Similar to last year, we have a few surprises up our sleeves! And, each of us will have lots of original watercolor works on site for your viewing pleasure and purchase (think outstanding fair prices). It will be a great fun and informative special event for people of all ages! So when you visit the California State Fair, please be sure to visit us!

This is another piece done as a result of the Henry Fukuhara Manzanar Watercolor Workshop. The location is the Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, CA.

I use my usual approach, a 3-value pencil sketch precedes the actual painting. The sketch is then used as a guide to develop the final watercolor. In this instance, the black line is drawn first, free hand, no preliminary pencil pattern, on the paper. With the ink line there is little room for mistakes. An eraser won’t work here. The watercolor is then put on in layers, with each layer allowed to become bone dry before adding the next layer.

One has to experience the Alabama Hills first hand as photographs, drawings, and paintings, only suggest the grandeur of the actual location. These “hills” are the movie home of my childhood heros, the Lone Ranger (Clayton Moore), Tonto (Jay Silverheels), and Hopalong Cassidy (William Boyd). Here’s a link to some interesting information about the Alabama Hills.

A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty “Hi Yo Yellow” … err, … “Hi Yo SIL-ver, away, and the Lone Ranger rides again!”

For more information, including price, and availability, click here

I painted this piece on a Sunday afternoon at the recent Henry Fukuhara Manzanar Watercolor Workshop. This is one of several paintings from three different locations, a working ranch, the Alabama Hills, and Manzanar..

Overall, the workshop weather was exceptionally pleasant, in the low eighties each day. Although, the infamous Owens Valley-Manzanar wind kicked up a bit Sunday afternoon. As a result, I painted this outdoors but not on site. But then, I – for some time now – rarely paint in front of my subject. Instead, I prefer to work from a value sketch done on site. As I’ve noted before, once one has a value sketch the painting can be painted at any location. In this case, Manzanar Transformation was accomplished outdoors, in a wind protected area of the motel at which I was staying.

There’s an old saying that a watercolor painter is wise to remember that “less is more.” Henry often spoke of that saying. In this case, if there were much less there would be no painting at all (ouch)! In tribute to Henry, I modified my original sketch by adding the Manzanar cemetery monument. I also was careful to accentuate the corners of the guard house roof. I have fond memories of Henry lecturing us about the “correct” way to paint that particular roof. There’s more to the story, but that mighty best wait for another time and place.

The last strokes added to the painting are those two oblique lines near the lower center on the right side of the painting. Despite the initial appearance of being of little significance, I believe those two simple marks are, in actuality. major – not minor – parts of the whole design. Less is more.

For more information, including price, and availability, click here

Why an image of Nora Jones on Memorial Day?
1. I’ve posted it before. It bears repeating on this special day.
2. View the short video.
3. In memory of my uncle, Arnold Hansen, cousin Harold Loch, and fellow veterans, present and past. Arnold died at age 18, WWII, US Navy, April 19, 1944. Body lost at sea. Ship: John Straub. Harold Loch (11/05/31-12/11/98), received the Korean War Veteran Medal of Honor on June 22, 1996, and carried the price of freedom to his natural death..
4. Thank you, Nora Jones. I cannot imagine the song being presented any better; a wonderful blend of art and craft. Album available on iTunes.

NEWSWORTHY:
Apparently, the military is denying benefits to physically wounded soldiers, claiming their wounds were caused by a “Personality Disorder.” Being discharged with this pre-existing condition means no disability benefits and no long-term medical care. Regardless of how you feel about these wars, it is shameful how we turn our backs on our wounded soldiers. Write your representatives in Congress and let them know this deplorable behavior is disgraceful and must be stopped. More here ...