From sketch to canvas

In an earlier October post I said that I was thinking of doing a full size painting using a plein air sketch I did of the Rose Theatre. Well, I found some time and did it. Here is the finished painting along with the original sketch.

 

I used fluid acrylics on a stretched 30"x30" 12 oz. canvas. I worked at it off and on for about a month until I was satisfied with the overall look. I used my artistic licensee quite liberally so it is more of a resemblance than an accurate portrayal of the site but recognizable!

 

 



Plant-a-thon commission

A little over a month ago I had a surprise visit to my downtown studio by Jude Rubin from the Northwest Watershed Institute.  She asked if I would be interested in creating a painting for the annual Plant-A-Thon where the image would be used on "tree cards" to be sold by students to raise money for their schools.   I quickly accepted the commission even though the deadline for completion was fast approaching.  The next day Jude took me hiking through the Tarboo Watershed where I was able to get a feel for the landscape and explore the salmon runs.  I went back to my studio and sketched out some ideas.  I decided to do the painting on a 30"x42" panel which would scale down perfectly to the 5x7 card size. After hours of editing ideas and drawings I settled on a final theme and sketched a full size drawing (shown below) which I submitted for their approval. 

 

 

 

It took me over three weeks to complete the painting and get it photographed and ready to be sent to the printer. We made the deadline and the cards are selling fast. Here are some excerpts from an article that   appeared in the November 27th issue of The Leader.

 

         

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 Local artist Don Tiller has created an acrylic painting especially for the ninth annual Plant-A-Thon.

The image is featured on the Plant-A-Thon “tree cards,” which are sold by students to raise a grand total of $300,000 for their schools.

For each of the 3,000 trees to be planted by local students during the Plant-A-Thon in February, students sell a tree card for $10; the card entitles the buyer to “plant a tree in honor of someone special.”

Best known for his bright rural landscapes and his playful rendering of patterns of human land use, Tiller often works from his childhood memories of South Dakota farmland. But when he accepted the commission for the Plant-A-Thon card, he hiked through the Tarboo Watershed for firsthand inspiration.

Titled “Thriving Watershed,” Tiller’s painting reflects his fascination with the interdependency of salmon and forests.

“The colors in the tree in the foreground represent the energy and nutrients from the salmon that trees take up after salmon spawn and decompose,” he said.

Tarboo–Dabob Bay is included in the image, as well as a barn on Dabob Road, a historic legacy of the Daniel Yarr farm that operated there during the early 1900s.

“I tried to include the many elements that the Plant-A-Thon program brings together: the salmon, the trees, the history of farming and of course, the kids out there planting,” Tiller said. The tree planters in the painting are modeled after a photo of youth crew leaders Heather and Daphne Hamilton and Hannah Spitzbart.

“Thriving Watershed” is now on display at Tiller’s studio on Water Street in Port Townsend, above the Public House restaurant.

Tree cards are available at participating schools: Port Townsend’s OCEAN Program, Chimacum Pi Program, Swan School, Jefferson Community School, and the PTHS Students for Sustainability Club. They are also available at Farm’s Reach Cafe, the Chimacum Corner Farmstand, and at the Chimacum Crafts Fair on Dec. 14-15, the final Port Townsend Farmers Market on Dec. 21, and at the Food Co-op from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Dec. 23.

 

Here is a link to the actual article:

Leader Plant-a-thon article.

 

 Also, here is the link to the card site where you can purchase cards online:

Ocean honorary tree cards

 

 

 

"Thriving Watershed" 30"x42"

Sketchy moments

Well, I have taken a little break from blogging but my wife and I have been doing our outdoor sketches on a fairly regular basis. Here are few highlights.

 

It was a nice sunny afternoon and we sat at a sidewalk bistro and sketched the Rose Theatre.  We love this little theatre and usually hit a matinee or an evening feature once or twice a month.  We watched "Gravity" in 3D and last week we saw "Captain Phillips".  Both are excellent movies.

I am thinking of doing a full size painting from this sketch.

We do a lot of hiking and this is a quick little sketch that I did while sitting in the Dosewallips State park next to the trail head.  We were having a lunch break after completing  a 4+ mile scenic hike through the forest.

 

This was a relaxing day at the beach.  It was sunny and windy at Point No Point so we found a spot to sit out of the wind and sketched the lighthouse. The beach was crowded with beachcombers, kite fliers and fishermen casting the surf for salmon.  Fun day!

 

 



Time to Draw

Well, we managed to squeeze in a few more outdoor drawing sessions.  these two sketches are the most recent.  The Bishop Victorian Hotel was sketched while sitting across the street in a parking lot.  It was a beautiful evening and we were early for our Saturday date night  movie so we decided to get out the camp chairs and do a quick sketch while we waited.  Everything went well until someone parked right in front of where we were sitting cutting off our view completely.  Oh well, it was about time for the movie to start anyway and the sketches were near completion. 

 

The boatyard sketch was completed today, the fourth of July!  Earlier in the day we did an eight mile bike ride up the Larry Scott Trail, enjoyed a delicious picnic lunch on a sunny beach and ended up in the boatyard about 4:00 p.m.  We parked our chairs in the shade of  the traveling boat lift  and spent about an hour sketching the "Paul Johnson" one of many boats in the yard waiting for paint and repairs. A fun day..........!

I really do enjoy the outdoor drawing sessions and plan to keep the momentum going for the rest of the summer. The choices for cool locations to draw or paint are endless!  Just do it!