Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Sketches from Oregon and other news



8.5 x 10
Pastel on Canson Paper


5 x 6
Pastel on Canson Paper


5.5 x 14
Pastel on Canson Paper


7.5 x 12.75
Pastel on Canson Paper


4.5 x 7.5
Pastel on Canson Paper

Every summer for over a decade I attend a family reunion in central Oregon, North of Sisters. I have to credit that location with
starting me into working with pastels, as it is one of the first places I explored working outdoors with this messy, crumbly medium, while I was working on "A Bug's Life". But such gatherings are also about family, and my efforts there began to diminish in favor of being less isolated. This year, I was able to paint with my daughter, which was as good as an excuse as any to sit by a pond, or a high mountain lake, with good company at hand. We had a few days of thunderstorms, which ignited over 400 fires throughout the state. The air quality went from high desert clarity to a bad day in L. A. overnight. These were fairly quick and small pieces from two afternoons of work. Nothing serious, but always fun to immerse onesself into the problems at hand.

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A talented colleague of mine, Sharon Calahan, has been ensconsed in the NE corner of Oregon for the last month or so, painting almost every day. She started a blog, so you can see what she's up to. There's some real gems on there. Check it out!

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In a week, I'll be headed into the Sierras for my fourth year of backpacking and painting with 10 other likeminded souls. With mules hauling your gear in and out, and a terrific cook, it is not a journey of deprivation, but one of relative comfort in a region of extraordinary beauty. We'll be painting in the Ansel Adams wilderness for 6 days. Here's 2 pieces from the same region on our first trip there in 2005.


20 comments:

nyoman said...

pro in painting

Francis said...

your work continues to amaze me!

TJ said...

Lovely paintings and what fun trips. Particularly packing in and having a cook, to boot! Doesn't get much better than that. I bet when you finally get to sleep at night you sleep well!

Can't wait to peek over at Sharon's blog.

Enjoy your family time.

Terry

JP said...

Stunning, Bill. your blog is always an inspiration to get out there and paint. I'm going to take off and see what the Israeli desert has to offer!

RAWLS said...

Those are really superb Bill!! I can almost smell the fresh air! Great work my friend.

Benjamin Plouffe said...

Yeah amazing stuff Bill 0_o. My brain just exploded!!

Jeffrey Hayes said...

wow - stunning - sounds like a great trip, too...

dicet said...

you are insane bill...
I might as well quit today..

belindadelpesco.com said...

As always, incredibly inspirational, and jaw-dropping beautiful art. Can't wait for your next post.

Anonymous said...

Very Very Beautiful. Need to put on my hiking shoes and this wilderness first hand.

cK

Anonymous said...

Very Very Beautiful. Need to put on my hiking shoes and this wilderness first hand.

cK

Anonymous said...

^-^
my most colored admiration for your talent, yesterday, now and for ever.
it's so much happiness in your artwork,
...
^-^

Michael Chesley Johnson, Artist / Writer said...

Gorgeous work, Bill. How small are these pieces?

Nathan Fowkes said...

Wow.

Nick Sung said...

bill, you are ridiculously good.
these are beautiful.

Bill Cone said...

Thanks everyone for all your kind comments. Very much appreciated. As far as
dimensions go, I posted them on the paintings. I generally work in 3 sizes, to keep my framing simple.
On the Grand Canyon trip, I started painting smaller, to simplify things I was struggling with, and also to not run out of paper before the end of the trip. So, in Oregon, I cut my paper to 2 standard frame sizes, but
for the most part worked smaller than my ordinary dimensions. I have been working in 10 x 10.5, 10 x 14, and 7.5 x 12.5 for several years. Smaller is a nice break.

b.

Flomize said...

amazing pieces!
just unreal...

Unknown said...

jeez those are good!!

abhishek singh said...

i sooooo thrilled to hav figured out ur blog ...
really HAPPY ....i'm such a huge admirer of ur art ..
it's SUPER AMAZIN ...i hav the nemo art book n i totally adore ur color scripts ...so much to learn from them ....n after lookin at these gorgeous painting i'm feelin a little dizzy hehe!! they r WOW!!!
i want to ask ur permission to link ur blog ...if tht's ok....
:)
inspirin n i will draw harder from now on :)

Kei Acedera said...

love love love!

Bobby and I are now proud owners of one of your masterpieces! We'll take good care of it and treasure it forever.. its too bad we missed you during the auction night, we hope to see you next time :) Thank you!!