tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51718498909932626692024-03-13T08:38:07.208-07:00Laura Cunningham Art and NatureLaura Cunninghamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08902698651916826204noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5171849890993262669.post-33538536796917333922019-08-11T21:37:00.000-07:002019-08-11T21:37:10.184-07:00Explosion of Interest in Block Diagrams<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pen and ink, colored pencil on paper.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: , , "blinkmacsystemfont" , ".sfnstext-regular" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">I have not posted here in a while, because I am trying to crowdsource funds to write new books and publish them through <a href="https://www.patreon.com/LauraCunninghamPaleoart">Patreon.com</a> lately.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: , , "blinkmacsystemfont" , ".sfnstext-regular" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">But when I posted this geology-hydrology block diagram on <a href="https://twitter.com/PaleoLaura">my Twitter page</a>, it went viral. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: , , "blinkmacsystemfont" , ".sfnstext-regular" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">That surprised me, as this was an old-fashioned, hand-drawn illustration. But it raised some interesting questions about the loss of traditional artistic techniques, and methods of presenting scientific information. Perhaps computer-driven digital graphics still lack something (unless you have a gigantic budget to hire Hollywood film-quality graphic designers). </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: , , "blinkmacsystemfont" , ".sfnstext-regular" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">I whipped this block diagram illustration out easily in a day. I started with a rough pencil sketch, using the principles of perspective. Then I traced over the pencil lines with pen and ink. Lastly, I colored in the diagram with colored pencils. On paper.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: , , "blinkmacsystemfont" , ".sfnstext-regular" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Seems primitive nowadays. But the response from social media has been tremendous, and many people seemed to appreciate the hand-drawn quality, backed up with my years of feild sketching and observation of desert landscapes, vegetation, and geology.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: , , "blinkmacsystemfont" , ".sfnstext-regular" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Plus my study of old block diagrams from the early 20th Century. More on that later.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: , , "blinkmacsystemfont" , ".sfnstext-regular" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">I enjoy doing block diagrams of landscapes, been doing them for decades. This one is a distillation of all my field sketches and experience drawing the Mojave Desert, plus hydrology and geology science. I did it for an educational project for kids, helping to take high school classes to the Mojave Desert from urban areas. Some kids have never been to the desert, let along camping or hiking in remote areas. The last field trip we did was a great success, some kids told me they wanted to be scientists! This year we are going to integrate more art into the field curriculum. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: , , "blinkmacsystemfont" , ".sfnstext-regular" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">I have even learned a new saying from a commenter: "Never underestimate the importance of kindergarten." (And the pre-computer days of coloring books!)</span><br />
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Laura Cunninghamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08902698651916826204noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5171849890993262669.post-52243198956573072432019-03-24T22:59:00.002-07:002019-03-24T22:59:20.606-07:00Point Reyes Tour of Coastal Prairie and Elk!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Join me and expert native plant restorationist Diana Oppenheim for a Monday morning tour of coastal prairie relicts and discussions of how we can help conserve this amazing peninsula.<br />
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Can't make it? No worries, I will schedule another tour in June on a weekend.<br />
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Point Reyes National Seashore is undergoing a General Management Plan revision, which means we the public all need to weigh in and comment. I'll let you know what links to follow to comment when the time comes.<br />
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<br />Laura Cunninghamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08902698651916826204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5171849890993262669.post-30420443332602380422017-11-24T11:57:00.001-08:002017-11-24T11:57:27.097-08:00Paint OutsI've had a busy Fall teaching workshops in Nevada and hosting Paint Outs where local artists get together to paint outdoors at a select location. We try to do this once a month in a new place, and I plan to also host these in a wider geographic area in California and Nevada. We named our informal group Desert Plein Air Painters, and you can find us on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Desert-Plein-Air-Painters-187134571837454/?hc_ref=ARQ8Kq-Vk8Fr68RNbbDNng71naqDawmil-CdOBsrGQrwixBEZXJTTzQUhqcGiaInx3k&fref=nf">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://www.meetup.com/Desert-Plein-Air-Painters/">MeetUp</a>.<br />
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In October and November we met at different locations in Red Rock Canyon National Recreation Area near Las Vegas, Nevada. We each painted a similar view, and the results were very different interpretations of the landscape--always interesting to see the different styles!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Painting the Red Rock cliffs with pastels and oils.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My set-up to paint the colorful sandstone: a Guerrilla Paintbox with a small 8 x 10 inch panel. The shadows moved quickly!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steve even decided to do an abstract interpretation. Beautiful.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Keith Noble, Stephen Shooster, and Laura Cunningham after another successful Paint Out, practicing plein air painting outdoors.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red Rock Cliffs, oil on panel, 8 x 10 inches, November 2017. Copyright Laura Cunningham.</td></tr>
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Completing a painting outdoors is quite a challenge, and I've had to "throw out" several attempts--either the sunlight changed too fast to finish, or I simply couldn't capture the effects I wanted in the few hours working outside. Actually I never throw out a painting, they are all valuable experiences learning how to mix color, imitate the play of light and shadow on a two-dimensional surface, and observe nature. I always work on a painting with the thought that no one may ever see it, but I keep the attempts in my studio as references. Then, when conditions are right and the creative Muse is flowing, occasionally I am able to finish a painting to a higher level and present it to the public.<br />
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Plein air painting presents many challenges not found in studio painting, but the practice is critical in my view to painting in a fresh manner in any form, and learning more about how to translate natural scenes into a visual language of paint.Laura Cunninghamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08902698651916826204noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5171849890993262669.post-28993779817437248942017-08-19T10:40:00.000-07:002017-08-19T10:40:26.934-07:00San Francisco Before the City<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: SF Optimized, system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, .SFNSText-Regular, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.11999999731779099px;">500 years ago: imagine standing on Nob Hill in present San Francisco looking eastward towards the East Bay, Mt Diablo barely visible in the distance. The middle ground Bay shore to the right is the site of downtown SF, since filled in with landfill. Market Street with tall skyscrapers would fill the view today. Treasure Island lies in the middle distance, and Oakland and Berkeley are in the background shore. Sand hills, coastal prairie with diverse bunchgrasses, California buttercups (<i>Ranunculus californicus</i>), California sagebrush (<i>Artemisia californica</i>), lilac bushes (<i>Ceanothus thyrsiflorus</i>), and a shed tule elk antler are visible in this early scene of San Francisco past. </span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtUk8G_nYEaPYetxMj4kNLO8ZBJ7Nx8UwmELok5_7EXGsTR3UyK0vr42XTFBFx6j1cuTgkZjgZdZuSfPx4VsJgVoVfbmaXmJgFKw4yPiB7fn420IDVmCS93Idz9J9t0p5hkPY2jRzpwQ4/s1600/SFNobHill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="358" data-original-width="700" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtUk8G_nYEaPYetxMj4kNLO8ZBJ7Nx8UwmELok5_7EXGsTR3UyK0vr42XTFBFx6j1cuTgkZjgZdZuSfPx4VsJgVoVfbmaXmJgFKw4yPiB7fn420IDVmCS93Idz9J9t0p5hkPY2jRzpwQ4/s640/SFNobHill.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">San Francisco View From Nob Hill, 500 Years Ago. Oil on panel, 11 x 21.5 inches, 2003. Private collection.</td></tr>
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I painted the bay waters with a glaze of verdigris in Copaiba balsam to make a translucent glassy effect that differs from the opaque greens of the grassy hills and flats. The glaze was placed over a bright white acrylic gesso ground, and light bounces off this white ground through the glaze to add sparkle to the water. This is something you can better appreciate when viewing the original painting.<br />
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Over the green glaze I added touches of ultramarine blue and a bit of alizarin crimson to moderate the green hue. The sky is painted with ultramarine blue and a lot of white to give the feel of clear oceanic air, and a cold humidity that dances in the wind, slightly obscuring the distance.<br />
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This photo I took shows the same scene today, looking down towards Market Street. This landscape has changed drastically, and I had to do a lot of research using old maps, descriptions from historical accounts, botanical archives, as well as searching out relict natural areas in the city.<br />
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Imagination, art, and science, combined to model an early California landscape.Laura Cunninghamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08902698651916826204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5171849890993262669.post-33206075691172832872017-08-09T11:39:00.003-07:002017-08-09T11:39:47.802-07:00Art Prints Now Available<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have a collection of limited edition prints of various oil paintings, many of which are illustrated in my book <i>A State of Change: Forgotten Landscapes of California</i> (Heyday: 2010). These are printed on a professional press with archival ink on microceramic paper, and each has a label and protected by a clear sleeve, ready for framing. I adjusted each print during the process to match my original oil paintings as closely as possible.<br />
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12.800000190734863px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Go to this link on my art website to view the prints:</b></span><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><a href="https://lcunningham-art.com/collections/102217">https://lcunningham-art.com/collections/102217</a><br />
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As a fundraiser towards publishing my future manuscripts, such as a possible volume 2 on the ecological history of California and Nevada, I am reducing the price on these prints. <a href="mailto:lauracunninghamart@gmail.com">Email me</a> to purchase prints and I will ship them to you by Priority mail. You can mail a check to me at PO Box 70, Beatty NV 89003, or drop a payment into <a href="http://paypal.me/LauraC292">my PayPal account</a>.<br />
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I only have one or two of each, so collect them while you can!<br />
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<br />Laura Cunninghamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08902698651916826204noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5171849890993262669.post-6945032980038038672017-07-27T10:09:00.001-07:002017-07-27T10:09:50.471-07:00Meet Up Group Check out my new Meet Up group for painting and sketching in the Great Basin. I'll be in South Lake Tahoe the first week of August.<br />
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<a href="https://www.meetup.com/Great-Basin-Plein-Air-Painters/">https://www.meetup.com/Great-Basin-Plein-Air-Painters/ </a><br />
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Also a new Facebook page to go with it, where I share my explorations of the Great Basin: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Great-Basin-Plein-Air-Painters-105666293452755/">https://www.facebook.com/Great-Basin-Plein-Air-Painters-105666293452755/</a><br />
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It's a long process, but this is all part of how I do research for a potential Volume 2 book on the Ecological History of the Great Basin, which would be a companion volume to <i><a href="https://heydaybooks.com/book/a-state-of-change/">A State of Change: Forgotten Landscapes of California</a></i> (Heyday: 2010).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Field sketching in the Wee Pah Springs Wilderness Area on Timber Mountain, Nevada.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plein air painting on Sonora Pass CA in the Sierra Nevada. A lot of snow in June 2017!</td></tr>
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<br />Laura Cunninghamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08902698651916826204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5171849890993262669.post-66996695460137536732017-07-05T22:20:00.000-07:002017-07-05T22:23:38.114-07:00Mountain and Desert Travels With Paintbox: Part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5MunqYM7H56hredLVTz-sEc_SZjQKou3BkmRwTsDyTWL26JH3qu7IX-Os-171cQ_kKI0ZSvIssFJFcfJdFe2-tWxB1iVxN18B6Kn8Q71rivDLllyN4fnkYUC5X8wfYRFcu50HwOXux8I/s1600/Mt-Jackson-plein-air2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="329" data-original-width="640" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5MunqYM7H56hredLVTz-sEc_SZjQKou3BkmRwTsDyTWL26JH3qu7IX-Os-171cQ_kKI0ZSvIssFJFcfJdFe2-tWxB1iVxN18B6Kn8Q71rivDLllyN4fnkYUC5X8wfYRFcu50HwOXux8I/s640/Mt-Jackson-plein-air2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The past month I've been trying to bring the paint box along with me more on trips and pause for an hour or two at certain spots to paint a landscape or a study of a part of a natural feature. Since I live in the Nevada Desert, any sort of travel means I have to drive through some beautiful countryside, so I have been determined to paint more of it (and sketch it too). In this 3 part series I show some of my methods and the resulting open-air oil paintings.</div>
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Twenty or so years ago when I took my paint box outdoors to do oil studies it was this large and somewhat clunky old paint box:</div>
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This served me well over the years, and it held everything I needed, but it was large and heavy--too heavy really to take on a hike. I usually sat on a chair or on the ground and set this paint box on the ground near me or on a table--no tripod in those days. Today there is a large array of small, light-weight, and well-designed paint boxes of all kinds to choose from. Many come with a backpack or carrying case with a shoulder strap to take into the field. Just right for small oil paintings and sketches. We really are lucky to live in this renaissance of plein air painting.</div>
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During the last month, my first stop was the western Nevada desert near Mt. Jackson and Lida--a lonely stretch of transitional desert scrubland between the Mojave and Great Basin deserts with mesas, mountain ranges, and wide basins filled with salt playas. Just my kind of place to hang out for a few hours. I set up my tripod and paint box among the scattered saltbush (<i>Atriplex</i>) and other shrubs that dotted the foreground, melding into a pale green-gray into the far distant basin.</div>
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The set-up I used was a simple Sienna paint box with tripod, along with a backpack full of supplies and wet canvas box to hold the finished painting. I didn't venture too far off the dirt roads, I didn't need too. The sun was setting and I had limited time to capture the light and shadows before night set in, and the scenery was ripe for painting. </div>
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I like to start any outdoor painting with a quick drawing to map out the main lines and some shadows--in this case I focused in on some distant hills and drew them with a reddish Conte crayon on a gessoed panel.</div>
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Then I washed in a thin underpainting to block in the shadows, in this case Ultramarine blue plus Burnt sienna thinned with turpentine. I added some light areas with yellow ochre, also thinned. The shadows were moving so I couldn't dawdle too long on details.</div>
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Next I added copal painting medium and went over the entire picture again with thicker oil paint to do a second layer (overpainting). Now I added white to the yellow ochre to go over the sunlit parts of the scene. I kept the shadows thin with no white--only painting medium, and tried to refine the details. You can see that the shadows have now overtaken the landscape as the sun set, and I have lost the light. This was the time I decided to pack up and take the unfinished painting back to the studio.</div>
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Loading the oil painting into the wet canvas box with slots to hold the panel so the paint will not smear, I am ready to drive home.</div>
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Stay tuned as I decide how to finish this oil study back in the studio--the location is too far and remote to drive back to. I think I will add a light bluish sky color to this painting and call it a day. I can work from memory on the sky (and past experience painting skies during this hour of the day). I don't want to add too much more detail, because I have had the experience of trying to do this and wrecking a painting. Sometimes it is best to just let your outdoor oil painting alone, keep it for the qualities you observed outside in the light and judging color. I have many such oil sketch studies in my studio that I use for reference material. Camera photographs do not capture the properties I am seeking, so these outdoor oil sketches are very valuable to me.</div>
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In the next installment I will show you how I painted a study of the Sierra Nevada snowpack along the crest just east of Sonora Pass. In this painting I decided to carry the painting further by adding more detail, so that it is a finished piece worthy of hanging on the wall.</div>
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Laura Cunninghamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08902698651916826204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5171849890993262669.post-14855235056547969472017-06-14T08:36:00.000-07:002017-08-19T11:31:07.468-07:00Desert Oil Painting Workshops Schedule - A Catalog<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY_7NObmZratt0OF-vh42uNBwFgqA8jqPX0x29AMEnT6bUlH1vUsEYlsMPDToFBH_uN9XVxHnFiri0Eg5gdK9aM12FKMLbdiloXIkkxVDwEotvI9qD8WiL8F5CX5vdjf-fX6QzGRoY328/s1600/pleinair-MtJackson-crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="943" data-original-width="1600" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY_7NObmZratt0OF-vh42uNBwFgqA8jqPX0x29AMEnT6bUlH1vUsEYlsMPDToFBH_uN9XVxHnFiri0Eg5gdK9aM12FKMLbdiloXIkkxVDwEotvI9qD8WiL8F5CX5vdjf-fX6QzGRoY328/s400/pleinair-MtJackson-crop.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have been organizing a variety of plein air oil painting workshops for the summer and fall (and getting the permits for a few more), in a diversity of outdoor locations in California and Nevada. These range from a few hours, to a day or weekend, to an entire painting vacation package where just about everything is covered--including lodging and meals. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Browse the selection below and register early, as workshops are limited to 10 people. These are ideal for beginning artists who want to see and work with the different kinds of materials that are available to paint landscapes outside in beautiful locations. I provide the easels and paints, you provide the creativity. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Workshops: </span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Shoshone Oil Painting Workshop</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge Plein Air Painting Workshop</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Desert National Wildlife Refuge Plein Air Painting Workshop</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Mono Lake Aspen Color Oil Painting Vacation Workshop</span></li>
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October 28 to October 29, 2017</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3lNFn_LrYTSdryaz8ztEie3juC6pERfaC9wp3Npja79BhGiKQ52GytakuWT-iQOxwzBAH0syVw9ny60xP1zc5Ort1Zik-zNFTtqS87DVIVqTkLIAp7-b63MRGEdlhk2REnyKUqeRbxlo/s1600/Shoshone-phainopepla.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3lNFn_LrYTSdryaz8ztEie3juC6pERfaC9wp3Npja79BhGiKQ52GytakuWT-iQOxwzBAH0syVw9ny60xP1zc5Ort1Zik-zNFTtqS87DVIVqTkLIAp7-b63MRGEdlhk2REnyKUqeRbxlo/s400/Shoshone-phainopepla.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Phainopepla in the mesquite.</td></tr>
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<span style="padding-top: 0px;">Beginners welcome! If you have never lifted a paintbrush in your life, this class will help you get a start with the wonderful world of oil painting. This workshop is designed for anyone who wants to try painting and learn how to start depicting landscapes and natural history subjects, both indoors and out in the field in the beautiful Mojave Desert.</span><br />
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If you have oil painting experience and want to learn more about traditional techniques I will show you what I have researched about landscape painting methods from history, through the Renaissance to the French Academy, and Impressionism.</div>
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<span style="padding-top: 0px;"><span style="color: #666a73; font-family: "benton sans" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.5px; padding-top: 0px;">Supplies will be provided! You can bring your own drawing and painting material, sketchbooks, and </span><i><span style="color: #666a73; font-family: "benton sans" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">plein air </span></span></i><span style="color: #666a73; font-family: "benton sans" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">equipment if you want. But no lists will be needed, just bring your curiosity and I will show you the materials to dive deeply into oil painting. (Bring your binoculars and camera too.)</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="padding-top: 0px;"><span style="padding-top: 0px;">Students will learn about materials to prepare surfaces for archival oil painting, drawing and sketching, and the diversity of grounds, brushes, pigments, and painting media. We will discuss shadow and light, underpainting and overpainting, and the difference between layering in oils (the real key to oils that you cannot get with any other medium), and quick paintings done in one sitting (</span><i>alla prima</i>) to capture the effects of daylight outdoors. Simple and easy to understand exercises will get you started. I will give presentations on history and methods as well.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnGY6X4bXCk83I8Nq7N-cXwTZEmHpj9en1JhgA0HH4gd4yvgfKyGeFr-VDSvH_S90ZUvuo9W0cYZh1ZSKm1QW3grjI8LuATeoMa4Qm8llRaXuG7oXNmxU3E0WwnIZLVXGo636pdTPbKpM/s1600/Shoshone-badlands2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="700" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnGY6X4bXCk83I8Nq7N-cXwTZEmHpj9en1JhgA0HH4gd4yvgfKyGeFr-VDSvH_S90ZUvuo9W0cYZh1ZSKm1QW3grjI8LuATeoMa4Qm8llRaXuG7oXNmxU3E0WwnIZLVXGo636pdTPbKpM/s400/Shoshone-badlands2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Badlands near Shoshone remind me of Ghost Ranch, New Mexico.</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #45494e; font-family: "benton sans" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; padding-top: 0px;">The main class will be from 9 AM – 3 PM Saturday (includes demonstrations with materials, presentations on oil painting, and </span><span style="color: #45494e; font-family: "benton sans" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif;">plein air sessions). We will have lunch and dinner at the Crowbar Inn, which has vegetarian items. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #45494e; font-family: "benton sans" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Our itinerary: Saturday, October 28</span><br />
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<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="padding-top: 0px;">9 AM - meet at the Flower Building in Shoshone, introduction.</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 5px 0px 0px;"><span style="padding-top: 0px;">Slide presentation on the history of landscape painting, introducing some of the materials and techniques we will use.</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 5px 0px 0px;"><span style="padding-top: 0px;">Hands on course about oil painting materials, drawing materials, supports, and media.</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 5px 0px 0px;"><span style="padding-top: 0px;">Intro to oil paint and media: each students will experiment with a small support, brushes, and paint with different media (linseed oil, solvents, damar varnish, etc.) to learn about the different working properties of oil paint.</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 5px 0px 0px;"><span style="padding-top: 0px;">Then we will go outside to sketch, look at the desert hills, take natural history notes, and observe the sunlight and color of shadows. There are some beautiful nature trails next to town and the Amargosa River that harbor birds such as phainopeplas and verdins, as well as possible breeding Least Bell's vireos!</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 5px 0px 0px;"><span style="padding-top: 0px;">Noon - LUNCH</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 5px 0px 0px;"><span style="padding-top: 0px;">1 PM - Exercise in layering and blocking in an underpainting with various techniques and colors, using different traditional methods.</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 5px 0px 0px;"><span style="padding-top: 0px;">Talk on topics such as preparatory drawing, shading, composition, light and shadow, and use of photography. Part of my library of v</span>arious art books will be passed around to review the work of traditional landscape masters.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 5px 0px 0px;"><span style="padding-top: 0px;">We will then go outside to practice painting a landscape using techniques learned.</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 5px 0px 0px;"><span style="padding-top: 0px;">3PM - free time break, dinner.</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 5px 0px 0px;"><span style="padding-top: 0px;">Meet after dinner for sunset sketches in oil to capture the colors.</span></li>
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<span style="color: #45494e; font-family: "benton sans" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Sunday, October 29</span><br />
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<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="padding-top: 0px;">9 AM - nature trail walks, visit the pupfish pond, sketching, talking about how to see and light and colors and translate your observations into oil paint. </span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 5px 0px 0px;"><span style="padding-top: 0px;">Noon - end of workshop. You are free to visit Death Valley National Park nearby and I can give you ideas for places to go to.</span></li>
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<span style="padding-top: 0px;"><span style="padding-top: 0px;">Hotel accommodations and camping are available in the town of Shoshone </span><a href="http://www.shoshonevillage.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" style="color: #0278b8; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="padding-top: 0px;">http://www.shoshonevillage.com</span></a>. There is a store, gas station and café in town. Meals and accommodations not included.</span></div>
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<span style="padding-top: 0px;">Limit 10 people.</span></div>
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<span style="padding-top: 0px;">$100 materials included </span></div>
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<span style="padding-top: 0px;"><a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/shoshone-oil-painting-workshop-tickets-35116051054">REGISTER</a></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8JIST-RMsM3yFUXoC2wNFc-9Cf8TyTOIQ8rlMb8IdP8vR2r8EUA9QNY9fV2hc6YnntzNAH39UeAJO-bx4SE0IunbxMIX9z-rhydThU_pZAFN9W7gAbesqKTcm7F6Iy76zi5kqOXDCkeo/s1600/Shoshone-calicocactus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8JIST-RMsM3yFUXoC2wNFc-9Cf8TyTOIQ8rlMb8IdP8vR2r8EUA9QNY9fV2hc6YnntzNAH39UeAJO-bx4SE0IunbxMIX9z-rhydThU_pZAFN9W7gAbesqKTcm7F6Iy76zi5kqOXDCkeo/s320/Shoshone-calicocactus.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Calico cactus (<i>Echinocereus engelmannii</i>)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGL-jvaCcm5viJOWK_3pAzkblAxq4k6lwMUpGJ1cN1Qh6o8w1bNQhuQCp_rILXeCUhAC3JpZ6x4DaVjFkj8hGnzrso5lSCzBpQ9P0EHJBw5Ir0q7E_l92v9sOzI4dHQvgykNhJAZ9J8Yo/s1600/Shoshone-Dantesview.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="313" data-original-width="700" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGL-jvaCcm5viJOWK_3pAzkblAxq4k6lwMUpGJ1cN1Qh6o8w1bNQhuQCp_rILXeCUhAC3JpZ6x4DaVjFkj8hGnzrso5lSCzBpQ9P0EHJBw5Ir0q7E_l92v9sOzI4dHQvgykNhJAZ9J8Yo/s400/Shoshone-Dantesview.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of Death Valley from Dante's View, Death Valley National Park.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvncEaC1mvHjqEBKlKuVtfGjF6DHz6ExxssfpgGpeoEGWy4bdiEk2RnuqEVbJ3QJOzj2Tv7dxf0HutiQMnbY4lpFue8faRo3snyIu62zQgIhDjli6BaqhEP71hr0hAIYEHH511wnYGjOA/s1600/Shoshone-stream.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="450" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvncEaC1mvHjqEBKlKuVtfGjF6DHz6ExxssfpgGpeoEGWy4bdiEk2RnuqEVbJ3QJOzj2Tv7dxf0HutiQMnbY4lpFue8faRo3snyIu62zQgIhDjli6BaqhEP71hr0hAIYEHH511wnYGjOA/s320/Shoshone-stream.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Restored spring pools, brooks, and wetlands host rare species.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYHRLoOQi7i_NBvK2auRB74e_cjXUoLvaHhflRZ4Ph1dbnbEVc_w-yvAw3s3LcXpA_8xR7IsIaKvPcye6oBrSeEwEJxd4n3A-7xwGYh4teu97VfLDYiw6MdAnKTFlINr6-oiO9SpIgVY4/s1600/Shoshone-village.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="700" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYHRLoOQi7i_NBvK2auRB74e_cjXUoLvaHhflRZ4Ph1dbnbEVc_w-yvAw3s3LcXpA_8xR7IsIaKvPcye6oBrSeEwEJxd4n3A-7xwGYh4teu97VfLDYiw6MdAnKTFlINr6-oiO9SpIgVY4/s320/Shoshone-village.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shoshone Village downtown.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN9tgJlVPGzmssd4U9VxbeMAqHtU0Jff3ZPRHHwORyr21O3Q__96cJOEXtxCcF-FmuOprZD97jv7ZLZrBQkwoA7hp_4hLNClZnc2Ciq2-QA0LBYdt2-RmImwX_09nRCWxNWs-TblTx0c0/s1600/Shoshone-bedroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="700" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN9tgJlVPGzmssd4U9VxbeMAqHtU0Jff3ZPRHHwORyr21O3Q__96cJOEXtxCcF-FmuOprZD97jv7ZLZrBQkwoA7hp_4hLNClZnc2Ciq2-QA0LBYdt2-RmImwX_09nRCWxNWs-TblTx0c0/s320/Shoshone-bedroom.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New rooms at the Shoshone Inn.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKKXi0cdSfCPIphSbDJkbtR2hlgCEh2w9jX1kfxB5bvuqIM1LMb7qipW9roHByOS3oojsVip9s0xnGTq5jHvG1qcBhp8HakGGd7tEUp6Lxla8vGGFtJF8d-R8tDevj07QxWXlkis29zSE/s1600/Shoshone-moon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="700" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKKXi0cdSfCPIphSbDJkbtR2hlgCEh2w9jX1kfxB5bvuqIM1LMb7qipW9roHByOS3oojsVip9s0xnGTq5jHvG1qcBhp8HakGGd7tEUp6Lxla8vGGFtJF8d-R8tDevj07QxWXlkis29zSE/s400/Shoshone-moon.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moonrise over Eagle Mountain.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge Plein Air Painting Workshop</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">September 16, 2017 - 10 AM to 3 PM</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEi6P3y6xiJjTtPaUvQoZxwtYCrvAXxI9vJURTbGBQu6MgdvUWPAWOfOaiKQTEAC_KgZadJw3LMCsnIU1v-c0fmtgsbpLIt3DaB62zp6xBD16NSVae6DS4I8KqZ5iG__Y8wiGniEih1AE/s1600/Ashmeadows-view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="382" data-original-width="700" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEi6P3y6xiJjTtPaUvQoZxwtYCrvAXxI9vJURTbGBQu6MgdvUWPAWOfOaiKQTEAC_KgZadJw3LMCsnIU1v-c0fmtgsbpLIt3DaB62zp6xBD16NSVae6DS4I8KqZ5iG__Y8wiGniEih1AE/s400/Ashmeadows-view.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ash Meadows, an oasis in the Mojave Desert.</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #666a73; font-family: "benton sans" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">A day-long oil painting workshop where students learn about nature and landscape painting. All materials provided: easels and paint boxes will be set up in the outdoor patio of the visitor center in the morning, and Laura will show students various materials and methods for plein air painting outside. Students will also hear an introduction about the refuge, wildlife, rare species, and conservation biology by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff at</span><span style="color: #666a73; font-family: "benton sans" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.5px;"> </span><a href="https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Ash_Meadows/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" style="color: #0278b8; font-family: 'Benton Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.5px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge</a><span style="color: #666a73; font-family: "benton sans" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.5px;">. Crystal Springs, wetlands, ash trees and screwbean mesquite groves, and the surrounding limestone mountains present amazing views and subjects to paint and sketch. Bring your binoculars for birding! Picnic lunches will be provided at noon (bring your own snacks and drinks too), and afterwards Laura will demonstrate how to start a landscape painting along one of the many easy and beautiful trails near the visitor center. Students will be provided with materials to paint their own landscape for the afternoon in the shade of trail pull-outs and mesquite groves. Laura will also discuss the various plants, wildlife, and natural history of the area.</span></div>
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The art workshop will occur on September 16, 2017, from 10 AM to 3 PM in the refuge new visitor center patio and out on the boardwalks. The visitor center is next to a large parking lot with easy access. Don't miss this opportunity to experience the refuge from a unique perspective, with both art and science emphasized.</div>
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$80 materials included.</div>
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<a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ash-meadows-national-wildlife-refuge-plein-air-painting-workshop-tickets-35350805210">REGISTER</a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfSBpyUXPA8WNOwQLfXKl3cwfD4nNd0EKOEtE7XYcE8nD50JNMDQq2xb69T9x20BvUGmeC0sp1pZ0_xA9Slt_h7y1kXohLqOhgb4XyibHcWtS7M-2enHBf9AQydXIhOMhIQPsWwlD1F2w/s1600/Ashmeadows-spring.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="700" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfSBpyUXPA8WNOwQLfXKl3cwfD4nNd0EKOEtE7XYcE8nD50JNMDQq2xb69T9x20BvUGmeC0sp1pZ0_xA9Slt_h7y1kXohLqOhgb4XyibHcWtS7M-2enHBf9AQydXIhOMhIQPsWwlD1F2w/s400/Ashmeadows-spring.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crystal Spring bubbles out of the ground and has pupfish.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi65HmI7L00bA2dDcuMv6TaJrysWCRXiNtaJlS6eLWrzkQEWCAI_n-WJ5x04pCU3dVf2zeXX7FpEbITaxOq0LiMmHMWg8r879K842iDN2SCpVgEU6bEl-CfFDaTIBzn8a_87D0D6iFIcxo/s1600/Ash-Meadows-VC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="900" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi65HmI7L00bA2dDcuMv6TaJrysWCRXiNtaJlS6eLWrzkQEWCAI_n-WJ5x04pCU3dVf2zeXX7FpEbITaxOq0LiMmHMWg8r879K842iDN2SCpVgEU6bEl-CfFDaTIBzn8a_87D0D6iFIcxo/s400/Ash-Meadows-VC.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The new state-of-the-art visitor center at the wildlife refuge.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBfPv9ab9ubm-diRGcm4f5w0HhZ6Rikzf_t6PVsEIEk_O_rnh0DNA0ZJCBNuu9yLuxuY5dvmw_WMRyvs5NZZ7LgXCqsemm1bTuJAQy-ehbNfPnf24tzXQ3w5ldVQIbmbrRVs-8d_H_Ciw/s1600/Ash-Meadows-boardwalk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="841" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBfPv9ab9ubm-diRGcm4f5w0HhZ6Rikzf_t6PVsEIEk_O_rnh0DNA0ZJCBNuu9yLuxuY5dvmw_WMRyvs5NZZ7LgXCqsemm1bTuJAQy-ehbNfPnf24tzXQ3w5ldVQIbmbrRVs-8d_H_Ciw/s320/Ash-Meadows-boardwalk.jpg" width="304" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trails and boardwalks wind through the saltgrass meadows and screw bean mesquite groves to springs and streams.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Desert National Wildlife Refuge Plein Air Painting Workshop</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">September 23. 2017 - 10 AM to 3 PM</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW9qnYQBLDMdrk2rUDaAydah1936xFLNtAVspOzxSujcL0iXYtyO-kZe7RWXBGCp0xLN16Cbp9sr9S2njLWCH_OTD1PQZeNN3urqX78m-oOrIz7UzgbaOwyUNYWjqBG2zUQ6tPjyM9Yvo/s1600/Desert-sunset-trail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW9qnYQBLDMdrk2rUDaAydah1936xFLNtAVspOzxSujcL0iXYtyO-kZe7RWXBGCp0xLN16Cbp9sr9S2njLWCH_OTD1PQZeNN3urqX78m-oOrIz7UzgbaOwyUNYWjqBG2zUQ6tPjyM9Yvo/s640/Desert-sunset-trail.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View at sunset of the Sheep Range from a trail pullout.</td></tr>
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A day-long oil painting workshop where students learn about nature and landscape painting. All materials provided: easels and paint boxes will be set up in the outdoor patio of the visitor center in the morning, and Laura will show students various materials and methods for plein air painting outside. Students will also hear an introduction about the refuge, wildlife, rare species, and conservation biology by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff at <a href="https://www.fws.gov/refuge/desert/">Desert National Wildlife Refuge</a>. Corn Creek springs, cottonwood/mesquite groves, and the Sheep Range present amazing views and subjects to paint and sketch. Bring your binoculars for birding!</div>
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Picnic lunches will be provided at noon (bring your own snacks and drinks too), and afterwards Laura will demonstrate how to start a landscape painting along one of the many easy and beautiful trails near the visitor center. Students will be provided with materials to paint their own landscape for the afternoon in the shade of cottonwood trees and historic orchards. Laura will also discuss the various plants, wildlife, and natural history of the area.</div>
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<span style="padding-top: 0px;">The art workshop will occur on September 23, 2017, from 10 AM to 3 PM. The visitor center is next to a large parking lot with easy access, half an hour north of Las Vegas, Nevada, off US-95. </span></div>
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<span style="padding-top: 0px;">Don't miss this opportunity to experience the refuge from a unique perspective, with both art and science emphasized.</span></div>
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<span style="padding-top: 0px;">$80 materials provided. </span></div>
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<span style="padding-top: 0px;"><a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/desert-national-wildlife-refuge-plein-air-painting-workshop-tickets-35337416163">REGISTER</a></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOty-vm-9JRoOo0jvOOJRPQrgmZRGO64WFd17d0G4-qjpdSWzQIOcQ_M4dWkwMWEBy4Sd-7qExRp6vFilbwFC5BxBs3XrYLG7yd3CR5C5mWd9Rehytxi4gerekgIqbHZVvz0HJKvL2N4A/s1600/Corncreek-tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="362" data-original-width="600" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOty-vm-9JRoOo0jvOOJRPQrgmZRGO64WFd17d0G4-qjpdSWzQIOcQ_M4dWkwMWEBy4Sd-7qExRp6vFilbwFC5BxBs3XrYLG7yd3CR5C5mWd9Rehytxi4gerekgIqbHZVvz0HJKvL2N4A/s400/Corncreek-tree.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cottonwoods and willows at Corn Creek springs. Mt. Charleston is in the distance.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New trails and boardwalks by the refuge visitor center.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNhBWUzMjcHoZp0Oyb06sj8WtAo8NXWglSbMtdNNtbc9OfQQ0EnaHhOwVMuHr3uB8aHw1plZf3-rMTCuQMGcJNEMm5UEkqE4bmJcoXkvjp_e6DIo85B2VbK1CP3Kq3zypSQFECzkUfHMg/s1600/Desert-sculpture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNhBWUzMjcHoZp0Oyb06sj8WtAo8NXWglSbMtdNNtbc9OfQQ0EnaHhOwVMuHr3uB8aHw1plZf3-rMTCuQMGcJNEMm5UEkqE4bmJcoXkvjp_e6DIo85B2VbK1CP3Kq3zypSQFECzkUfHMg/s320/Desert-sculpture.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Outdoor sculpture art along the trails.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJiS9R_u5Vc1fwMTeAJQpZqJogSwY7i1anbcJXvV6QShSfDJ9eMPqbN-p91h38Yj36JAefpsZKCtUTeZMNEui1cJQjWeKAZ8ZI_dth0p0zpNIGNuVY_UXgH2IbppnE-_eSuRIKMLRj8eY/s1600/Desert-sunset.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="369" data-original-width="900" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJiS9R_u5Vc1fwMTeAJQpZqJogSwY7i1anbcJXvV6QShSfDJ9eMPqbN-p91h38Yj36JAefpsZKCtUTeZMNEui1cJQjWeKAZ8ZI_dth0p0zpNIGNuVY_UXgH2IbppnE-_eSuRIKMLRj8eY/s640/Desert-sunset.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Sheep Range glows at sunset.</td></tr>
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<span style="padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And if you are interested in taking a vacation this summer or fall, while learning how to further your artistic skills, take a look at our oil painting workshop vacations at Mono Lake in the Eastern Sierra of California.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Mono Lake Aspen Color Oil Painting Vacation Workshop</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">September 29 to October 2, 2017</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ap0-xU8f-m6b1GB-Fj72jvYfg9C0djqeZGs5k3G5VJ6OGOPkwWLzl2MaVEX0qDtUhPctvd5LCps2hqV-VzRfl7-Z_6tnoVjEcKwDNqG6YQjx62WXtxsq4dDNfFBjFLiZkovgAXvYsPI/s1600/Monolake-aspen-colorview.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="361" data-original-width="600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ap0-xU8f-m6b1GB-Fj72jvYfg9C0djqeZGs5k3G5VJ6OGOPkwWLzl2MaVEX0qDtUhPctvd5LCps2hqV-VzRfl7-Z_6tnoVjEcKwDNqG6YQjx62WXtxsq4dDNfFBjFLiZkovgAXvYsPI/s400/Monolake-aspen-colorview.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Fall aspen colors near Mono Lake in the Eastern Sierra.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Want to take a fall color painting vacation where all you have to do is show up? The aspens will be golden at this time of the year in the Sierra Nevada. This workshop is designed for students wishing to discover oil painting methods and materials at a beautiful location. We provide all the oil painting supplies so you don't have to bring them, along the shores of Mono Lake in the eastern Sierra Nevada of California.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you have never picked up a paintbrush you will enjoy the easy explanations of how to paint. If you are already a painter, you will like the variety of landscapes here, and undertake a deeper exploration of traditional oil painting methods.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU7tDfUSbn38-qO8gx5dIM55Aj9S0c3ON6AfsZ6XGBmSrVWa71JLiwOyBV-WyJk1PUFc1hCwfpzwpBXOx930YGFUrSjUC257v66ZLeE9d6-pWrFN6aPU7PTJDYqe5b6iS-6KTwPlsVbDk/s1600/Monolake-tufashore2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="314" data-original-width="700" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU7tDfUSbn38-qO8gx5dIM55Aj9S0c3ON6AfsZ6XGBmSrVWa71JLiwOyBV-WyJk1PUFc1hCwfpzwpBXOx930YGFUrSjUC257v66ZLeE9d6-pWrFN6aPU7PTJDYqe5b6iS-6KTwPlsVbDk/s640/Monolake-tufashore2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Mono Lake with tufa.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">An all-inclusve trip including rooms and meals: you will stay the weekend at the Tioga Lodge in Lee Vining, and delicious healthy meals will be catered to the class by Tioga Lodge's expert chef and staff from their Hammond Station Restaurant locally. A vegan meal option will be available. Breakfast, lunch and dinner will be provided Saturday, as well as Sunday breakfast and picnic lunch. All you have to do is arrive at the lodge and we will take care of you as you learn about oil painting techniques and practice painting landscapes.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The <a data-mce-href="https://www.tiogalodgeatmonolake.com" href="https://www.tiogalodgeatmonolake.com/" target="_blank">Tioga Lodge at Mono Lake</a> has rooms in historic cabins, a conference room, and gourmet restaurant, along with shady lawns for painting, a gazebo, and a creek running through the property. Some of the buildings were moved long ago from the ghost town of Bodie and newly retsored. Private access to the shores of Mono Lake will ensure we have plenty of options to paint <em>en plein air.</em></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Students arrive Friday for the evening. I will be there to help greet you.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Saturday morning continental breakfast. Breakfast options such as Tioga scrambles and Banana pancakes. </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After breakfast we meet at the conference room from 9 AM-Noon. I will provide all materials.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Meet in the conference room after breakfast for an Introduction, handouts will explain what students will learn.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">30 minute Powerpoint presentation on oil painting history and methods.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Demonstration of oil painting materials and methods in the meeting room. Set up of easels and painting materials. Students practice painting methods such as underpainting, layering, the use of different painting mediums, color theory, composition, and how to start a landscape outdoors.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Lunch - Noon - Catered Tioga Special chicken salad or Vegan Eight Ingredient Fried Rice. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1-4 PM outside on the grounds at the gazebo, by the creek, looking at the historic buildings, on the grass. Aspen trees will be in fall color and we will concentrate on painting methods to capture the glow of golden leaves against mountain backdrops. Set up of painting easels, a portable table of demo materials. I will provide all materials. Students will start their own landscape outside, and we will work with different methods to capture the color of shadows based on different traditional methods: brown suace, Impressionist, local color, etc. The use of framing aides will be explored to compose a scene. Students will get to use a variety of different easels, paint boxes, paints, brushes, and mediums to explore what they like best.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Dinner - 6 PM Catered. Choice of BBQ pork ribs, Basil pesto tilapia, or vegetarian Ginger delight with tofu.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Meet in the Conference room after breakfast at 9 AM for a 2 hour Powerpoint presentation and discussion on more advanced painting methods. I will provide all materials. Informal fun critique of yesterday's paintings.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">11 AM - 2 PM go to Mono Lake shore to paint outdoors, with demos and students trying different methods with guidance. Learn to paint water and sky. A picnic lunch will be provided.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The rest of the day will be free time to explore and paint outdoors, with guidance, discussion, and teaching suggestions. We may choose to venture to the nearby Mono Lake Scenic Area Visitor Center, the tufa formations and boardwalks of the state park at the lake, or visit the town of Lee Vining. Option of carpooling to one of the best aspen color displays in California with a sweeping vista of groves.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sunday dinner optional and free to choose local restaurants in town. Optional set-up to paint the sunset on Mono Lake that evening.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Check out Monday morning, some students may need to check out Sunday--let me know.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You may choose rooms with single bed or double beds. We are flexible to options, just let me know at lauracunninghamart@gmail.com.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Limit 10 people, minumum 3. $900 includes materials, lodging, food, and conference room rental. $200 deposit can be arranged to reserve a space, balance due 7 days before start of workshop.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Mono Lake and the Sierra Nevada.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snowy Sierra view with Mono lake.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fall color aspen trees.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Golden Aspen in late September in the Eastern Sierra.</td></tr>
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Laura Cunninghamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08902698651916826204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5171849890993262669.post-354353641873792172017-06-12T11:13:00.001-07:002017-06-12T12:29:22.583-07:00Painting the DesertThis is an excerpt from my manuscript on oil painting nature and landscapes.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkQ_9k3lWFzMyJd_OC8HI-bIb0q5zBDuHYSqgKz7Z2ZSGcUJKK-dE30T2PR-YwxTRXFS2anqvtvgRjjt8arIf4b7NmRdh_dzhfh1YXClgZ9-Re-xw4RxMc_VIFFcZKwPEHtE5cPJ4q3Xc/s1600/DesertRains-Cloudburst.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="278" data-original-width="600" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkQ_9k3lWFzMyJd_OC8HI-bIb0q5zBDuHYSqgKz7Z2ZSGcUJKK-dE30T2PR-YwxTRXFS2anqvtvgRjjt8arIf4b7NmRdh_dzhfh1YXClgZ9-Re-xw4RxMc_VIFFcZKwPEHtE5cPJ4q3Xc/s400/DesertRains-Cloudburst.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: small; text-align: start;">Desert Rain Cloudburst, oil on Aquarelle Arches cotton rag 140 lb paper, 1998, 5.5 x 12.5 inches, private collection.</span></td></tr>
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An August cloudburst at Cima Dome in the Mojave National Preserve, California Desert. A desert tortoise emerged from its burrow to find a drink of rainwater. I watched this summer monsoon cloud open up and drop a cloudburst of rain onto the dry creosote-burgage desert. I had to paint this remarkable weather scene in the arid landscape.</div>
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This is a great example of how to paint clouds. Notice how the cloud shadows and rain columns are painted more thinly and the light areas painted thickly and opaquely with the brush loaded with white. Colors used: Titanium white, Naples yellow, permanent rose, cobalt blue, cerulean blue, ultramarine blue, and terra rosa. </div>
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Fortunately the storm did not rain on me, but the air was humid and a welcoming coolness filled the air. Another special day in the desert.</div>
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Laura Cunninghamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08902698651916826204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5171849890993262669.post-13432954666822078552017-05-22T23:23:00.000-07:002017-05-24T10:16:42.055-07:00Art book or text book? And a note on styles.In writing and illustrating my book, <i>A State of Change: Forgotten Landscapes of California</i> (Heyday: 2010), I had originally intended it to be more of an art book, filled with pages of large oil paintings and field sketches. Something for the coffee table I had hoped. After four years of editing, the book turned out to be more text and somewhat less artwork, but Heyday did a wonderful job of creating a manageable, readable work from my unwieldy manuscript. Still a good art book, I thought.<br />
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A lot of artwork was left on the cutting room floor, however, and I am going to use it for my upcoming book on <i>Oil Painting Landscapes and Nature</i>. Here are a sampling of illustrations I had completed years ago as Chapter title pages for <i>A State of Change</i>. I am re-purposing them now as new Chapter titles for my current manuscript. As an aside, I have been accused of having too many artistic "styles." But I enjoy exploring different media, materials, and stylistic expressions. Why should an artist be restricted?<br />
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Here are samples of Chapter title illustrations, influenced by my admiration for Arts and Crafts styles (all colored pencil and ink on paper).<br />
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And I recently found a few new reviews of my book, from 2016 on Good Reads: <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9897882-state-of-change-a?from_search%3Dtrue&source=gmail&ust=1495596692903000&usg=AFQjCNFl9vVXzpAhpD-XltmsCZf0s52-nw" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9897882-state-of-change-a?from_search=true" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;" target="_blank">https://www.goodreads.com/<wbr></wbr>book/show/9897882-state-of-<wbr></wbr>change-a?from_search=true</a></div>
<br />Laura Cunninghamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08902698651916826204noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5171849890993262669.post-92035087956723891012017-05-05T09:02:00.000-07:002017-05-05T09:02:15.592-07:00Carrizo Plain: a glimpse of California back in time I drove through Carrizo Plain in late April on the way to the Bay Area for some book and art events; I stopped, I walked around, I took photos, and my jaw dropped.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fields of hillside daisy (<i>Monolopia lanceolata</i>) on the valley floor.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEievsgs0fdnTRLy3Ue8KUUEjpTCSUirg48oPmTbosDFNkJPPS_33Wl5VFJaqUF9_E_QTAEse5dGaJnfippmsi7I9yj3uG_0I_NrGS3dFDBUOIgYuuKp4A_tAzji7fIUSDo3ErudwiciV1c/s1600/IMG_4390.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEievsgs0fdnTRLy3Ue8KUUEjpTCSUirg48oPmTbosDFNkJPPS_33Wl5VFJaqUF9_E_QTAEse5dGaJnfippmsi7I9yj3uG_0I_NrGS3dFDBUOIgYuuKp4A_tAzji7fIUSDo3ErudwiciV1c/s400/IMG_4390.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hillside daisy patches.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSj0JsKJ8ZB6XaqOC5mqFnfjliwupOh2foKWKJYPwEpojcqj_5OzrA-fP5J0l3BXlsZRKMhk1xfbD0Ep0_COYTJAzJ8XsOi_8kZrtYlDcHxoI9ZTO0mcPdfCw_nYcnLTUvJL2i6oTCFFs/s1600/IMG_4388.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSj0JsKJ8ZB6XaqOC5mqFnfjliwupOh2foKWKJYPwEpojcqj_5OzrA-fP5J0l3BXlsZRKMhk1xfbD0Ep0_COYTJAzJ8XsOi_8kZrtYlDcHxoI9ZTO0mcPdfCw_nYcnLTUvJL2i6oTCFFs/s640/IMG_4388.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thousands of acres of hillside daisy lighting up Carrizo Plain and the Temblor Range.</td></tr>
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My timing to visit the broad valley and surrounding South Coast Ranges in southern California was off, I had missed the peak according to all accounts on the Internet and social media. So I was not sure what I was going to encounter. Perhaps the Superbloom had dried up?<br />
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No--it was amazing. In fact the best wildflower display I have <u>ever seen</u> in the California Floristic Province. It was epic. Prehistoric. What California might have been like before European Contact 300 years ago.<br />
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I grew up in California and spent decades exploring the Golden State, searching out wildflower displays, observing and trying to see what the grasslands and oak savannas might have looked like. And I was quite pleased to drive into Carrizo Plain and experience something I had not seen before.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqu6F5qC-HrH370iByCmEUXZTz0wSVg6csq2TJ2-s3qDnpsPTADMbJEI7HOP93XneeGVMxKJ-Pdmx_3T4aEV9QB2PO1IrpHbyVPPRV8w8NIP90BJNCycLoonDCDegf9wE7YWNk3EwW5hw/s1600/IMG_4358.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqu6F5qC-HrH370iByCmEUXZTz0wSVg6csq2TJ2-s3qDnpsPTADMbJEI7HOP93XneeGVMxKJ-Pdmx_3T4aEV9QB2PO1IrpHbyVPPRV8w8NIP90BJNCycLoonDCDegf9wE7YWNk3EwW5hw/s400/IMG_4358.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="text-align: left;">Purple owl's clover</span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (<i>Castilleja exsert</i>a).</span></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfMe1ANh_poScXQoxpuRzl3RP-cofZkXvQu6QxCIyyoQSecOD-37AmTOHCb0w_p2Tu0hlx_gwGOOh6ckmGkcJXC5Ai0zgLV6XjaMwZtzGlq188zMRrKqxGEsIHIW_NFWZrRRpYJjcZWSM/s1600/IMG_4359.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfMe1ANh_poScXQoxpuRzl3RP-cofZkXvQu6QxCIyyoQSecOD-37AmTOHCb0w_p2Tu0hlx_gwGOOh6ckmGkcJXC5Ai0zgLV6XjaMwZtzGlq188zMRrKqxGEsIHIW_NFWZrRRpYJjcZWSM/s320/IMG_4359.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Purple owl's clover on the plain at sunset.</td></tr>
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My first visit to Carrizo Plain was in the mid 1980s when it was a forgotten and barren landscape that no one cared about. Arid grasslands, dry brown hills and plains, some recovering from failed dry farming attempts in the 1930s, abandoned, drought-ridden, with scattered empty farmhouses like a diffuse ghost town. But a beautiful place, giving crucial hints about how the great San Joaquin Valley might have appeared a thousand years ago. A land subject to cycles of droughts and rainy phases, holding many endemic species such as the blunt-nosed leopard lizard (<i>Gambelia sila</i>) and giant kangaroo rat (<i>Dipodomys ingens</i>).<br />
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When I traveled to the Carrizo Plain decades ago, Soda Lake was regularly filled with water and attracting sandhill cranes. After that, a dry phase of many years emptied the lake and drought seemed to prevail for years on end. The sandhill cranes left.<br />
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So I am overjoyed to see Soda Lake filled to the brim with rainwater in a new wet cycle, that has produced phenomenal blooms and attracted visitors to enjoy and newly appreciate the barren plain--the wasteland--that has come alive with surprising color now.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBEb7qzBSLZ7C9Dv_3yuNWN0VtF6id3_1iwMnJss6lyVQaJWEfDNuMBqssHi7Pr6VwvhIFbx3UvgC4taJE-gAuglGIpTKUfBzIh-MCk7Oo_zy16UVaXkiphwBu9l8gI5n_PL8raPMIlyc/s1600/IMG_4382.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBEb7qzBSLZ7C9Dv_3yuNWN0VtF6id3_1iwMnJss6lyVQaJWEfDNuMBqssHi7Pr6VwvhIFbx3UvgC4taJE-gAuglGIpTKUfBzIh-MCk7Oo_zy16UVaXkiphwBu9l8gI5n_PL8raPMIlyc/s640/IMG_4382.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Larkspur (<i>Delphinium</i> sp.) overlooking Soda Lake.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfUjgSyVlXIpr-VIxJRDQ39SnKunxiNdTUpMPazrqj_mLIurRE_hz3_4MtI4n7CL2UGXJ39ruapXPHn4VeM6lPfrSYM7V7QRiI0qYQSiu_uAkU93btDXAEHicJao47n1aD3rqQewZ-EPs/s1600/IMG_4377.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfUjgSyVlXIpr-VIxJRDQ39SnKunxiNdTUpMPazrqj_mLIurRE_hz3_4MtI4n7CL2UGXJ39ruapXPHn4VeM6lPfrSYM7V7QRiI0qYQSiu_uAkU93btDXAEHicJao47n1aD3rqQewZ-EPs/s640/IMG_4377.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Soda Lake full of rainwater.</td></tr>
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Richard Minnich, ecological historian at UC Riverside, posits that much of the early California grasslands may have had vast and abundant wildflower displays similar to Carrizo Plain this year, that stretched from San Diego to San Francisco. The invasion of Eurasian annual grasses and forbs since outcompeted them, and today we see mostly lush green annual grass covering the hills and valleys, instead of the more open fields of wildflowers in between bunch grasses.<br />
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Minnich quotes Crespi's diary for May 7, 1770 as the Spanish expedition made its way north along the California coast into the Santa Ynez River area near Santa Barbara:<br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"We...[kept] on a northwesterly course over very grassy level land [<i>empastada</i>] near the shore. We shortly passed the point here, and in the distance made out another that formed still another bight [between Point Conception and Point Arguello]. At once after setting out, we commenced to find the fields all abloom with different kinds of wildflowers of all colors, so that, as many as were the flowers we had been meeting all along the way and on the Channel, it was not in such plenty as here, for it is all one mass blossom, great quantities of white, yellow, red, purple, and blue ones; many yellow violets or silly flowers of the sort that are planted in gardens, a great deal of larkspur, poppy, and chia [<i>Salvia columbaria</i>] in bloom, and what graced the fields most of all was the sight of all the different sorts of colors together." (Richard A. Minnich. 2008. California's Fading Wildflowers: Lost Legacy and Biological Invasions. University of California Press. Page 44.)</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzNruvIRqMhTsLxgZJOr7zgeZuuZKSRyBqA4XavLgMYs83WGL4vpg2oY2iyOKXMBrSOvdKlPZz7Y4Dbb361Bq_EXwDfPGvRHcrUeWjz8l8jsz7XElVLOogBuyTUGIMFyoYk8Q0rHTREio/s1600/IMG_4363.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzNruvIRqMhTsLxgZJOr7zgeZuuZKSRyBqA4XavLgMYs83WGL4vpg2oY2iyOKXMBrSOvdKlPZz7Y4Dbb361Bq_EXwDfPGvRHcrUeWjz8l8jsz7XElVLOogBuyTUGIMFyoYk8Q0rHTREio/s640/IMG_4363.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Native bunchgrasses of bluegrass (<i>Poa secunda</i>) grow around vernal pools in Carrizo Plain.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVSKJKQmqQc9vQj1cYwU3VuxrKsSmDNjRiSazquijYnICYGDNAmPCSTAGJCT1nEWL1q57m8BEZVDfPAwKQY6w0APaHIusR1G0nn-6KzPkalVKQ65b71Ezo8sPl05CPHBij-ddR8-bm6ik/s1600/IMG_4369.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVSKJKQmqQc9vQj1cYwU3VuxrKsSmDNjRiSazquijYnICYGDNAmPCSTAGJCT1nEWL1q57m8BEZVDfPAwKQY6w0APaHIusR1G0nn-6KzPkalVKQ65b71Ezo8sPl05CPHBij-ddR8-bm6ik/s320/IMG_4369.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Long awns catching the sunset light of nodding needle grass (<i>Stipa cernua</i>).</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3-4tEq7Vu-WdduD6GT9vUh7wupdisGGkKrSeg7d3Byi1KhcPxEZMxvjEad481hpEYnloI47eoigKfRxqDguOv69L2yZKh4ASy2VUfbWx6-Y0MwWs3L2Puui2oro4N4GEtpw7SxAW8EHU/s1600/IMG_4407.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3-4tEq7Vu-WdduD6GT9vUh7wupdisGGkKrSeg7d3Byi1KhcPxEZMxvjEad481hpEYnloI47eoigKfRxqDguOv69L2yZKh4ASy2VUfbWx6-Y0MwWs3L2Puui2oro4N4GEtpw7SxAW8EHU/s640/IMG_4407.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The native annual grass foxtail (<i>Festuca microstachys</i>) growing in the Temblor Range mixing with introduced Mediterranean annual grasses. The native fescues have spikelets more at right angles to the culm than the introduced species.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQqWVNQHTVXrhuJGfE6H-wv5zsNYlzCEidEPozHexyH5Ba9JVdDENX7oPtP8HPZi3JfT1XiDxtp0Gs4I0wiKxokMbm1TK1lWJOF9qOZ5kk9fUnp1W505n0onhQI-XQAoJcINs5bOGiifU/s1600/IMG_4387.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQqWVNQHTVXrhuJGfE6H-wv5zsNYlzCEidEPozHexyH5Ba9JVdDENX7oPtP8HPZi3JfT1XiDxtp0Gs4I0wiKxokMbm1TK1lWJOF9qOZ5kk9fUnp1W505n0onhQI-XQAoJcINs5bOGiifU/s320/IMG_4387.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another <i>Festuca microstchys</i> going among the goldfields (<i>Lasthenia californica</i>) and tidy tips (<i>Layia platyglossa</i>) of a drying vernal pool in Carrizo Plain. These native annual grasses are often overlooked but much have been more common before Spanish arrival.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoKvO26JXFf21RqhxT2LYYV1VAHTS9OFBT7cj4oIK0lNJ7Rg5IJf6NhEF1qAHnkFXPe-DOCRJjnYI63PBAcBdxknVq5Y_t9kulaJsmn0LpNHQQszysPEgvQam3_741IG_1F5bkIeOZBkQ/s1600/IMG_4366.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoKvO26JXFf21RqhxT2LYYV1VAHTS9OFBT7cj4oIK0lNJ7Rg5IJf6NhEF1qAHnkFXPe-DOCRJjnYI63PBAcBdxknVq5Y_t9kulaJsmn0LpNHQQszysPEgvQam3_741IG_1F5bkIeOZBkQ/s320/IMG_4366.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Deep blue color of lupine (<i>Lupinus bicolor</i>).</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidEbPPEVldEWOsDjQ8ZtyuyyTnfGxnWefy_pYJshEc992P6iiXjGqubf0dfEWoKKuGu2fcD79mIpXAwWFVD06E8M-_JKMWUhyphenhyphenlLhxYzlgr7p_no0fZgdFs7xNeCzMjAho9QDJ_RAps1QA/s1600/IMG_4368.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidEbPPEVldEWOsDjQ8ZtyuyyTnfGxnWefy_pYJshEc992P6iiXjGqubf0dfEWoKKuGu2fcD79mIpXAwWFVD06E8M-_JKMWUhyphenhyphenlLhxYzlgr7p_no0fZgdFs7xNeCzMjAho9QDJ_RAps1QA/s640/IMG_4368.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I have never seen such large patches of <i>Lupinus bicolor</i>, the scene reminded me of early 20th Century paintings by California Impressionists, such as Edgar Payne (1883-1947).</td></tr>
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<br />Laura Cunninghamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08902698651916826204noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5171849890993262669.post-59383669617262694492017-05-03T09:07:00.002-07:002017-05-03T09:45:47.854-07:00Oil Painting Demo Fun Class at Albany HillMy oil painting demo at Albany Hill, California, went well in April. I had a nice local area crowd show up for my outdoor demonstration of oil painting techniques and <i>plein air </i>methods.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT4Uxu5Q0xTF3nwmPXRacnsIcTABu7Bo-yIT4xoT0d93o64FqYKErHVWhx1CyfYCoIU0Grcdg3P7PMPTHOPG41PipYw71iq3imFIJnTRTZzdCMpmG1qK2mZhVW-UB0sJgK_RiFfV1MjnM/s1600/AlbanyHill-Demo-9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT4Uxu5Q0xTF3nwmPXRacnsIcTABu7Bo-yIT4xoT0d93o64FqYKErHVWhx1CyfYCoIU0Grcdg3P7PMPTHOPG41PipYw71iq3imFIJnTRTZzdCMpmG1qK2mZhVW-UB0sJgK_RiFfV1MjnM/s320/AlbanyHill-Demo-9.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I had designed the hour-long class in the Bay Area to highlight basic oil painting materials and show beginning methods for understanding oil painting. I was pleased with the curiosity and enthusiasm, as many people had tried watercolor but wanted to explore oils. A few people had experience with oil painting and were eager to go deeper.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMGenOFr2mlBOtE8rmmEORcDb4z5WmnWNg07KgSqBeb-F3Li784VjCxtQTipsttnOUSy7GFU_i49HrFrcjuShJt0XJJA4JCJTuiBN4Y398h9sjRUe-xOmbOI9-HgPq7X7VQntFLBeT2ys/s1600/FullSizeRender-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMGenOFr2mlBOtE8rmmEORcDb4z5WmnWNg07KgSqBeb-F3Li784VjCxtQTipsttnOUSy7GFU_i49HrFrcjuShJt0XJJA4JCJTuiBN4Y398h9sjRUe-xOmbOI9-HgPq7X7VQntFLBeT2ys/s640/FullSizeRender-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Different oil painting set-ups, easels, and paint boxes for outdoor painting. Plus a table full of oil painting materials to show absolute beginners.</td></tr>
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The students told me that oil painting can be intimidating because of the huge selection of materials you encounter when walking into an art store. Where to start? So I designed this class to simplify and organize the variety of painting materials, and let students experiment with different methods to see what they liked. I am a great believer in having a firm grasp of technique, so the student can then be creative and go their own way with high quality results.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oil painting materials on location at a beautiful landscape scene, Albany Hill Park. This event was co-hosted by <a href="https://friendsofalbanyhill.org/">Friends of Albany Hill</a>.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbLcpvFS_Y0lSAIhjmjj3US1iWBKoXzrP4fSLnr37HybWO2xQrIhqSkH1i__DqMRfwiyAapLdzTaInIHQJ7_q4oIXLnPVrZ0K6loAB9CiWAJNauwD2A8nF718PkVpunwWVx3gjZgWyJmo/s1600/AlbanyHill-Demo-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbLcpvFS_Y0lSAIhjmjj3US1iWBKoXzrP4fSLnr37HybWO2xQrIhqSkH1i__DqMRfwiyAapLdzTaInIHQJ7_q4oIXLnPVrZ0K6loAB9CiWAJNauwD2A8nF718PkVpunwWVx3gjZgWyJmo/s320/AlbanyHill-Demo-3.jpg" width="295" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One brand of modern portable painting box. I present a variety of different makes and models of outdoor painting easels and boxes.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIWcbfI2brbT2nAcCKGA3lKTGH-U9GL3T5FmBfmPJ3Psvi45_NvlGz3b4xFy8kpjx78QsTbNj2OwB_z5TfWwBGWa377aB95hRCZbfbJR2BMspvxCU485rRbHYnxenU1aiAg110KUphIwc/s1600/AlbanyHill-Demo-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIWcbfI2brbT2nAcCKGA3lKTGH-U9GL3T5FmBfmPJ3Psvi45_NvlGz3b4xFy8kpjx78QsTbNj2OwB_z5TfWwBGWa377aB95hRCZbfbJR2BMspvxCU485rRbHYnxenU1aiAg110KUphIwc/s320/AlbanyHill-Demo-2.jpg" width="301" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Traditional "Julian easel" and my old paint box.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinq4cdPisGjmFP-j3b1WWiXrRREwmYpDsNqReF0xdtPtXfFf9mYtnuVbqGY98hh2-nDauIlPWLAEY2jOW8AifBRI8yNelIGDfZo6DOg1xIZd6pH4cxIXjO2VGaFjgLCoQyyCAGKuMMFRE/s1600/AlbanyHill-Demo-10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinq4cdPisGjmFP-j3b1WWiXrRREwmYpDsNqReF0xdtPtXfFf9mYtnuVbqGY98hh2-nDauIlPWLAEY2jOW8AifBRI8yNelIGDfZo6DOg1xIZd6pH4cxIXjO2VGaFjgLCoQyyCAGKuMMFRE/s320/AlbanyHill-Demo-10.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I show students how painting supports can be stored inside the paint box even when wet with fresh oil paint.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzhNEuRNmQJAEmtvmpZXXM3bgK2vkx9LfX81dq1lgLcrbulGEiFpxvMDzPgUiX_9hq9OQrTJ3V1HVNDKMM2LRdSXotMsInoLKJ6ubis7V3sJnFU9hPB3wfomtzOCmsTzOjy9cE1TbfY24/s1600/IMG_1125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzhNEuRNmQJAEmtvmpZXXM3bgK2vkx9LfX81dq1lgLcrbulGEiFpxvMDzPgUiX_9hq9OQrTJ3V1HVNDKMM2LRdSXotMsInoLKJ6ubis7V3sJnFU9hPB3wfomtzOCmsTzOjy9cE1TbfY24/s320/IMG_1125.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I explain how I made color charts of oil paint swatches.</td></tr>
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Topics such as how to prepare different surfaces to paint on (canvas, wooden panel, cotton rag paper), layering, drying time, which colors dry quickly and which dry slowly were discussed--to name a few. People had many, many questions, which is a good thing and shows the need for a longer class.<br />
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We will schedule more in-depth workshops of a half day and full day in the next month, and return to the area. Plus get the students themselves painting with these materials. They were eager to pick up the brushes and start making art! See my art website at <a href="https://lcunningham-art.com/">https://lcunningham-art.com</a>.Laura Cunninghamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08902698651916826204noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5171849890993262669.post-35783198851357937122017-04-01T19:31:00.002-07:002017-04-01T19:31:47.724-07:00Oil Painting Demo at Albany HillJoin me on Earth Day, April 22, 2017, at 2 PM for an hour-long demonstration of oil painting methods and materials. This will be quite informal and fun, out on Beautiful Albany Hill near to where I grew up.<br />
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I will also have a few books for sale: see the announcement on thew <a href="https://heydaybooks.com/event/oil-painting-plein-air-demonstration-at-albany-hill/">Heyday</a> website.<br />
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In cooperation with <a href="https://friendsofalbanyhill.org/category/calendar/">Friends of Albany Hill</a>, in the East Bay, California.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilEvAHOx59qZM52ru_gyuaSd1jNq6Wq7RtOHe4Ln7ZM2oGLk0jRhB8nuSrIl8KKiD6c-jQCDQXO1dqvsqs2s_-VPpXZPim5keXa6VgHjkb6CcrccqjcOMk8ObD2jxBz3I8dO26V5qJ6wc/s1600/Bay-sunset.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilEvAHOx59qZM52ru_gyuaSd1jNq6Wq7RtOHe4Ln7ZM2oGLk0jRhB8nuSrIl8KKiD6c-jQCDQXO1dqvsqs2s_-VPpXZPim5keXa6VgHjkb6CcrccqjcOMk8ObD2jxBz3I8dO26V5qJ6wc/s640/Bay-sunset.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">San Francisco Bay November Sunset, in the past before the city. Oil on Aquarelle Arches cotton rag paper. 1998. Private collection.</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Are you curious about oil painting landscapes and nature? Come up to the top of Albany Hill on Earth Day for an hourlong demonstration of oil painting methods for painting beautiful local landscapes, by Laura Cunningham, artist and author of </span><em style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a href="https://heydaybooks.com/book/a-state-of-change/" style="color: #a84d0f; text-decoration: none;">A State of Change: Forgotten Landscapes of California</a></em><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">.</span><br />
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Beginners welcome, this is a demo to show you the basic materials and starting methods for painting a landscape in oil colors outdoors, using traditional methods. For Earth Day we will also discuss environmentally-friendly and non-toxic materials for painting. You will see some of the techniques I used to paint many of the illustrations in my books, and see samples of a new manuscript I am working on about oil painting. The wildflowers should be out and you can see 360-degree views of the Bay Area from this unique natural vantage point nestled in an urban setting. Future workshops about oil painting in the Bay Area will be announced.</div>
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Free event!</div>
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Directions: From San Pablo Ave in Albany go west on either Marin/Buchanan, Solano, or Washington St. After 4 blocks go right (north) on Cerrito St and follow to T-intersection with Hillside Ave. Go left (southwest) on Hillside, then immediately right on Taft Ave. Follow Taft to the end at the top of Albany Hill. From I-80, take Buchanan St. exit to Albany, go east on Buchanan, left (north) on Jackson (before Gill Tract Farm), 2 blocks to Washington, go left (west) on Washington 1 block, right (north) on Cerrito St and follow to T-intersection with Hillside Ave. Go left (southwest) on Hillside, then immediately right on Taft Ave. Follow Taft to the end at the top of Albany Hill.</div>
Laura Cunninghamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08902698651916826204noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5171849890993262669.post-54694363439895083972017-04-01T10:23:00.001-07:002017-04-01T10:23:17.531-07:00My New Website<span style="background-color: #f3fdfe; color: #757575; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Visit my new website: Laura Cunningham Fine Art, at </span><a href="https://lcunningham-art.com/" style="color: #37afc0; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none;">https://lcunningham-art.com</a><br />
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FASO (Fine Art Studio Online) has put together a nice package for artists to show online galleries, portfolios, announce events, and communicate with viewers. I have had many requests over the years to buy my artwork, so I have put together this website where you may purchase original paintings and drawings. I will be selling prints too later this year. </div>
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I will blog about art, natural history, and science on this website as well, and continue to blog here.</div>
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Check this website for upcoming events, book talks, and art workshops. </div>
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And sign up there for my Newsletter!</div>
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Laura</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha6PPs-gHf-9XCTolsTn1VLXTab4FdJ8pX7FWLjglLk6Bt8_GINjhpzF-DTkPQwSRWLxNodbX2sviawx2y1wNGU_Ssr5iqwUZGhPhbNvf50ctcp03d9JakzNmpCma0MYpxZH0qPOetI5U/s1600/Tule-Lake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha6PPs-gHf-9XCTolsTn1VLXTab4FdJ8pX7FWLjglLk6Bt8_GINjhpzF-DTkPQwSRWLxNodbX2sviawx2y1wNGU_Ssr5iqwUZGhPhbNvf50ctcp03d9JakzNmpCma0MYpxZH0qPOetI5U/s320/Tule-Lake.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tule Lake, oil on cotton rag paper, 7 x 15 inches, 2009.</td></tr>
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Laura Cunninghamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08902698651916826204noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5171849890993262669.post-40936686820800189322017-02-23T21:34:00.002-08:002017-02-23T21:34:57.791-08:00Oil Painting Classes in Shoshone, California, with the Wildflower Bloom <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFGNBXvACJHy39qgGkYM3g2yfDbEiGQvOD9LiUf5PRVIhL8rmsrA9ObhlHCK_p7pvN8keVlB722GUxKoH98ixtSC7B8hSghbKfiiWewa75CXZT4T7qFSMjIITYe2QfyemQUtfQGIydXSQ/s1600/DV-Superbloom-lo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFGNBXvACJHy39qgGkYM3g2yfDbEiGQvOD9LiUf5PRVIhL8rmsrA9ObhlHCK_p7pvN8keVlB722GUxKoH98ixtSC7B8hSghbKfiiWewa75CXZT4T7qFSMjIITYe2QfyemQUtfQGIydXSQ/s640/DV-Superbloom-lo.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Desert gold during the Death Valley superbloom last winter in 2016. </td></tr>
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Beginners welcome! If you have never lifted a paintbrush in your life, this class will help you get a start with the wonderful world of oil painting. This workshop is designed for anyone who wants to try painting and learn how to start depicting landscapes and natural history subjects, both indoors and out in the field in the beautiful Mojave Desert.<br />
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If you have oil painting experience and want to learn more about traditional techniques I will show you what I have researched about landscape painting methods from history, through the Renaissance to the French Academy, and Impressionism.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdGQXG3_oknn7y2dS9wdEm9IQP94MCzVmN0B0gw9iyOk08R5ecQZTcQFQIixeYLooC9EmxNDKluBUEGPL1rItYfc9SEN_DantXGqeiftpIOZQEk4emc0uwbaT4YUGN1bVJ7n2reF-4MJE/s1600/FTHL-lo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdGQXG3_oknn7y2dS9wdEm9IQP94MCzVmN0B0gw9iyOk08R5ecQZTcQFQIixeYLooC9EmxNDKluBUEGPL1rItYfc9SEN_DantXGqeiftpIOZQEk4emc0uwbaT4YUGN1bVJ7n2reF-4MJE/s320/FTHL-lo.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flat-tailed horned lizard, oil on cotton rag paper. Copyright Laura Cunningham.</td></tr>
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The wildflowers should be amazing by mid March--the region has received a lot of rain, and I will take you out to the nearby desert to explore the diversity of plants and wildflowers. We will also do some birdwatching and observations of lizards (and perhaps even a desert tortoise). Death Valley National Park is right next door.<br />
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Supplies will be provided! You can bring your own drawing and painting material, sketchbooks, and <i>plein air</i> equipment if you want. But no lists will be needed, just bring your curiosity and I will show you the materials to dive deeply into oil painting. (Bring your binoculars and camera too.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQDB8SqF31R3YibQs3loSxpacmnOwfq0x2FjZgAPxdPF2YyGXm0sUhEHn82AOUbWx59JSQazGo1opu8TJ-5f5ejIM0_tdn4Jkoeva158tTSAvQGeoYyTPqpDsaeiutd3f94zvBeUn5Avg/s1600/ArtTech-paint.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQDB8SqF31R3YibQs3loSxpacmnOwfq0x2FjZgAPxdPF2YyGXm0sUhEHn82AOUbWx59JSQazGo1opu8TJ-5f5ejIM0_tdn4Jkoeva158tTSAvQGeoYyTPqpDsaeiutd3f94zvBeUn5Avg/s320/ArtTech-paint.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYxJGGBjGA0kWMYUidExpQfAIqOd-uty371xkDTAAzGVXU1ClRNKjsunkYkRmDsnb6t7fgzwZQ9w2mSHleAyYChX254qrq9k_lr1uo85ycVze3nHE2R3dvyRcObDem5Ema2nRmPe5JfUM/s1600/IMG_4441.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYxJGGBjGA0kWMYUidExpQfAIqOd-uty371xkDTAAzGVXU1ClRNKjsunkYkRmDsnb6t7fgzwZQ9w2mSHleAyYChX254qrq9k_lr1uo85ycVze3nHE2R3dvyRcObDem5Ema2nRmPe5JfUM/s320/IMG_4441.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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Students will learn about materials to prepare surfaces for archival oil painting, drawing and sketching, and the diversity of grounds, brushes, pigments, and painting media. We will discuss shadow and light, underpainting and overpainting, and the difference between layering in oils (the real key to oils that you cannot get with any other medium), and quick paintings done in one sitting (<i>alla prima</i>) to capture the effects of daylight outdoors. Simple and easy to understand exercises will get you started. I will give presentations on history and methods as well.<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'TimesNewRomanPSMT'; font-size: 12.000000pt;">The main class will be from 9 AM – 4 PM Saturday March 18, 2017 (includes demonstrations with materials, presentations on oil painting, and </span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPS; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">plein air </span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12pt;">sessions). We will have lunch and dinner at the Crowbar Inn, which has vegetarian items. The Wildflower Field Trip will be on Sunday morning, March 19, 2017.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12pt;">Our </span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">itinerary: Saturday March 18</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">9 AM - meet at the Flower Building in Shoshone, introduction.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">Slide presentation on the history of landscape painting, introducing some of the materials and techniques we will use.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">Hands on course about oil painting materials, drawing materials, supports, and media.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">Intro to oil paint and media: each students will experiment with a small support, brushes, and paint with different media (linseed oil, solvents, damar varnish, etc.) to learn about the different working properties of oil paint.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">Then we will go outside to sketch, look at wildflowers, make natural history observations in the desert, and observe the sunlight and color of shadows. There are some beautiful nature trails next to town and the Amargosa River that harbor birds such as phainopeplas and verdins, as well as possible breeding Least Bell's vireos!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">Noon - LUNCH</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">1 PM - Exercise in layering and blocking in an underpainting with various techniques and colors, using different traditional methods.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">Talk on topics such as preparatory drawing, shading, composition, light and shadow, and use of photography. Part of my library of v</span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">arious art books will be passed around to review the work of traditional landscape masters.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">We will then go outside to practice painting a landscape using techniques learned.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">4PM - finish, free time, dinner.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">Sunday March 19</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">9 AM - wildflower tour, sketching, talking about how to see and light and colors and translate your observations into oil paint. Identify and enjoy the wildflowers I will scout the region beforehand to find the best blooming hotspots.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">Noon - end of workshop. You are free to go visit Death Valley National Park nearby and I can give you ideas for places to go to.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">How to register for this workshop:</span></span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12pt;"> download the <a href="http://www.a-state-of-change.com/Art-Workshop-form.pdf">registration form (pdf)</a> and mail a check to Laura Cunningham Art, PO Box 70, Beatty NV 89003, or pay when you arrive.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12pt;">Or send me an email at lauracunninghamart@gmail.com and ask to sign up. You can sign the registration form at the workshop.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">Hotel accommodations and camping are available in the town of Shoshone
</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">http://www.shoshonevillage.com</span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">. There is a store, gas station and café in town.</span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"> Meals and accommodations not included.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">Limited to 20 people.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQJ00wElhZmg1f9fhkiIwYdMWawJICgSzgSab4Q3oDcjC1sY2Uf52YrElvqURCkA6eEjb0g81_d_oc50Xn2bWs79g58C57VyaO0LY6jCRIfP2Mf7W5hmX4ngotf1XLYpP5e_F0Z-qgRDU/s1600/Imperial-woodpeckers-lo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQJ00wElhZmg1f9fhkiIwYdMWawJICgSzgSab4Q3oDcjC1sY2Uf52YrElvqURCkA6eEjb0g81_d_oc50Xn2bWs79g58C57VyaO0LY6jCRIfP2Mf7W5hmX4ngotf1XLYpP5e_F0Z-qgRDU/s400/Imperial-woodpeckers-lo.jpg" width="305" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Imperial woodpeckers on a ponderosa pine in the San Jacinto Mountains above the Salton Basin, California Desert, long ago before European contact. Oil on cotton rag paper mounted on panel. Copyright Laura Cunningham. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bring your sketchbooks and supplies for some field sketching, and I will also provide sketching materials.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We will also learn how to do <i>plein air</i> oil paintings outdoors.</td></tr>
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<br />Laura Cunninghamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08902698651916826204noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5171849890993262669.post-63353464198431620252017-01-30T09:19:00.000-08:002017-01-30T09:21:01.148-08:00Oil Painting Classes Coming This Spring to the Desert<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVx4VXrx9mNzON0dPpbmTP7j0vj1Y4gAdzWV_nX1u18NRt2Zar2as1vUoi1FkJwXMwcQM8yaCrTvYzmKz2GQjqdvqtotEuC-7ZVQcD_CWyYAWomBzbGInEmJgURwmlr3OhUk0e-PwNwyA/s1600/FullSizeRender-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVx4VXrx9mNzON0dPpbmTP7j0vj1Y4gAdzWV_nX1u18NRt2Zar2as1vUoi1FkJwXMwcQM8yaCrTvYzmKz2GQjqdvqtotEuC-7ZVQcD_CWyYAWomBzbGInEmJgURwmlr3OhUk0e-PwNwyA/s320/FullSizeRender-01.jpg" width="189" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">I'm organizing a weekend oil painting workshop for late March or April in the town of <a href="http://www.shoshonevillage.com/">Shoshone Village</a> CA next to Death Valley National Park. You will be able to come for a day or spend the night for both days. I'll be providing supplies and you can also bring your own for sketching, drawing, and painting. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">This course will be great for absolute beginners who have never lifted a paintbrush, since I will show you all the materials and starting techniques. If you are a seasoned oil painter, you may learn some advanced methods used by traditional landscape oil painters through the centuries that I have extensively researched.</span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXt1bxCFChgk-Yxjed9GKEKy1U_1-W384fsii6vvwCdNzsP-1KLbXSP5SaOS15pEa8WMH4Ub1JkoCyrGYKeBzzNg5740L1Qaf5gmUsHWtjd60Ws2hO3xD-miDNSngk5TpLLOezy9FilHU/s1600/DVsandstone-pleinair.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXt1bxCFChgk-Yxjed9GKEKy1U_1-W384fsii6vvwCdNzsP-1KLbXSP5SaOS15pEa8WMH4Ub1JkoCyrGYKeBzzNg5740L1Qaf5gmUsHWtjd60Ws2hO3xD-miDNSngk5TpLLOezy9FilHU/s400/DVsandstone-pleinair.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A small oil sketch I did in under an hour in Death Valley, <i>en plein air</i>.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My photo of sunset light and shadow in a canyon of the Nopah Range. In this class we will learn how to paint shadows that glow.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeaFH2z4LZmtG03kPm36N5Z8Xb_m_RQgMPr_eGomr7ZRp8vzWR4uSusimSMCgJ7sahyD0I6WKTxI8QlmxuWE4WHnY5t_058ZCxNq1WPPgDqRDimnVXt6HizOCLRbC6vHDcnUM5aLqQNS4/s1600/IMG_0061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeaFH2z4LZmtG03kPm36N5Z8Xb_m_RQgMPr_eGomr7ZRp8vzWR4uSusimSMCgJ7sahyD0I6WKTxI8QlmxuWE4WHnY5t_058ZCxNq1WPPgDqRDimnVXt6HizOCLRbC6vHDcnUM5aLqQNS4/s320/IMG_0061.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pineapple cactus (<i>Sclerocactus johnsonii</i>) with red spines, near Shoshone CA.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaGeM6YAYao3JplOmCMj1a1mpJVnU9crpjp4Ea-afpQEPCuENoCVUS7kcdw8uBO0x93ACFRhkYKbgmjRROoOFM7Gj6Mfuoao2n4p1suA8Gb8ekT3i-9tw6wDQVlwFH_AtL7pEgDPD_Ujs/s1600/IMG_0155.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaGeM6YAYao3JplOmCMj1a1mpJVnU9crpjp4Ea-afpQEPCuENoCVUS7kcdw8uBO0x93ACFRhkYKbgmjRROoOFM7Gj6Mfuoao2n4p1suA8Gb8ekT3i-9tw6wDQVlwFH_AtL7pEgDPD_Ujs/s320/IMG_0155.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The wildflowers are already beginning to bloom in the southern tip of Death Valley National Park. There should be good blooms and we will take a few short field trips to see them. Sand verbena.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN7uHaouGps-xIYQEvO4FqC_thZulGpQPb2B88lb4X-UFPpQwNxp_QAhrnpFYqVcVf7_IXFwI4VN06xG2SSHtr_Xbya4m0bBD2smzOFZCO4sF1p8qD_J3UC9429_E9RzvpA1kHAziGoH8/s1600/IMG_0162.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN7uHaouGps-xIYQEvO4FqC_thZulGpQPb2B88lb4X-UFPpQwNxp_QAhrnpFYqVcVf7_IXFwI4VN06xG2SSHtr_Xbya4m0bBD2smzOFZCO4sF1p8qD_J3UC9429_E9RzvpA1kHAziGoH8/s320/IMG_0162.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">January rains storm and flash flooding in Silurian Valley. This should create wildflower displays in spring.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eagle Mountain from the Nopah Range, near Shoshone CA--our base camp for exploring the desert.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">There are motel accommodations available and camping, as well as a cafe. A community center will be our classroom for some presentations I will give about materials and landscape painting techniques. There will be good wildflowers displays nearby from all the rains, and we will take some short field trips to see the scenery. Natural history observation, birding, and botanizing will be encouraged! More details and dates later.</span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail of an oil painting I did in the studio based on field notes and sketches, of pronghorn antelope in the Mojave Desert, long ago.</td></tr>
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Laura Cunninghamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08902698651916826204noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5171849890993262669.post-23463739398040035132016-12-30T20:35:00.000-08:002016-12-30T20:35:47.259-08:00My upcoming book on oil painting and nature will have many paintings that were edited out of my 2010 book, <i>A State of Change</i>. These have not been seen before.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGusqIF3k71mxaxIdaqKqgLmvAr-FXY5SoclDRfhLOpAlnop1mVji7IMv37S_hxWsYd3n-gxpmY8Mmk1VRHDzUY4zrFVQY27FlWkqG3hLT-p3sgUDjDxmT7AA0fiFgR1ktojYozoPmx2Y/s1600/Kiskadee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGusqIF3k71mxaxIdaqKqgLmvAr-FXY5SoclDRfhLOpAlnop1mVji7IMv37S_hxWsYd3n-gxpmY8Mmk1VRHDzUY4zrFVQY27FlWkqG3hLT-p3sgUDjDxmT7AA0fiFgR1ktojYozoPmx2Y/s640/Kiskadee.jpg" width="379" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kiskadee flycatcher in Western sycamore. Oil on canvas.</td></tr>
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<br />Laura Cunninghamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08902698651916826204noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5171849890993262669.post-55910910785809408522016-11-20T09:36:00.001-08:002016-11-20T09:37:59.896-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My paleoart images of the White River Badlands fossil beds reconstructions of sabertooth cats, three-toed horses, and titanotheres has just been published in the beautiful book <i>The White River Badlands: Geology and Paleontology</i>, by Rachel Benton, Dennis Terry Jr., Emmett Evanoff, and H. Gregory McDonald, Indaian University Press (Bloomington & Indianapolis) 2015. I just received a copy in the mail, and it is a richly designed book full of the latest research on the 30-35 million-year-old fossil beds of South Dakota. See my earlier post on 6/5/16 about how I painted these mural images for the museum.</div>
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<br />Laura Cunninghamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08902698651916826204noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5171849890993262669.post-6432172757056348942016-11-20T09:17:00.000-08:002016-11-20T09:17:50.542-08:00Oil Painting Book CoverI am experimenting with book covers for my upcoming guide to oil painting (see earlier posts), and here is one idea. It is a large oil on panel painting of a rare melanistic mountain lion, with a deep black color, in a desert canyon. I first heard reports of a black mountain lion by a friend who saw one near Tilden Regional Park in back of the Oakland-Berkeley hills, Contra Costa County, CA. Black mountain lions are apparently somewhat more common in South America.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rare Black Mountain Lion, 28 x 36 inches, Oil on panel, 1997.</td></tr>
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<br />Laura Cunninghamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08902698651916826204noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5171849890993262669.post-25881981688627041932016-10-30T14:12:00.001-07:002016-10-30T14:12:41.818-07:00Oil Painting Classes Coming Soon!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Field sketching, oil painting in nature, landscapes, <i>en plain air</i>, these are all ways of doing art that I have enjoyed for decades. I have been planning to teach art for a long time and am finally organizing to do just this in 2017. Locations will be announced later, but will likely include such beautiful places as Mono Lake, Death Valley National Park, Mojave National Preserve, Joshua Tree National Park, Lake Tahoe, and other areas. I may be traveling to certain cities as well to teach field courses, including the Bay Area and Las Vegas.<br />
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I will be offering online courses as well to compliment these field courses. So stay tuned to this blog for future details.<br />
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My new book project is a how-to instructional guide to oil painting landscapes and natural history subjects. I have always been fascinated with traditional methods, and this book will delve deeply into the secrets of the many landscape traditions from centuries ago to modern times, plus a scientific understanding of materials.<br />
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Field Sketching, drawing, perspective, color theory, composition and more will be discussed. We will cover ways to paint outside in nature quickly, and work on larger full-sized paintings in the studio. Plenty of illustrations will make this an easy-to-use guide.<br />
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Here is my preliminary outline for the book, which will accompany the course:<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
<span style="font-size: 24pt;">Oil Painting Nature<u></u><u></u></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">How to Paint Landscapes From Classical Secrets to California Impressionists and Beyond<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">By Laura Cunningham<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">CONTENTS<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Introduction<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">The Landscape<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">History – From Ancient Rome to California Sunlight<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Landscape Painting Terms<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">The Digital Age<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Theory<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Get Outside! Nature Study – drawing, sketching, anatomy<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Composition<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Color<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Style, Expression<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Theme, Story, Meaning<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Materials<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Drawing Materials<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Brushes<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Palettes and Easels<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Grounds and Supports<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Media – Paints and Binders<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Methods<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">The Joys of Oil Paint<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Drawing<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Underpainting<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Overpainting<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Alla Prima<u></u><u></u></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">En Plein Air<u></u><u></u></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">In the Studio<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Use of Photography<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Framing and Packing<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Curation and Conservation</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL3p8wZ7hufWRylq9BsFBbJsQH1k2o2nRFlXtZGMyLadhK0RWqQueySqPh8tNP62by5RSARaACkBDkqRBvCQ8qAvGTK7Zp1R7R5Rx6IQ_hm76LsJqojx6KJV9FVwSOU4hFZ9kBWGTnAcE/s1600/McCloud+River.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL3p8wZ7hufWRylq9BsFBbJsQH1k2o2nRFlXtZGMyLadhK0RWqQueySqPh8tNP62by5RSARaACkBDkqRBvCQ8qAvGTK7Zp1R7R5Rx6IQ_hm76LsJqojx6KJV9FVwSOU4hFZ9kBWGTnAcE/s400/McCloud+River.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Underpainting techniques.</td></tr>
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We'll also explore the natural history of our local landscape, do some birding, plant identification, and discuss the ecological history of the regions we are in.<br />
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If you are interested and want to be on my future mailing list send me a message and I will keep you informed:<br />
lauracunninghamart@gmail.com<br />
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Thank you!<br />
<br />
Laura<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrA2R_SrxE8K_TUYleMLBOlF-dq1I1RqhjlNQjaI7K237WJ2OvdWmeWAcLcO9TPfjq9awmVzUMwMw_WPmrE3gU_vkKXXk2zoIh7t98rmV5bXA77U0DM7Q7aPP3ls2BHYXwWM_iT-vVbfA/s1600/DVsandstone-pleinair.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrA2R_SrxE8K_TUYleMLBOlF-dq1I1RqhjlNQjaI7K237WJ2OvdWmeWAcLcO9TPfjq9awmVzUMwMw_WPmrE3gU_vkKXXk2zoIh7t98rmV5bXA77U0DM7Q7aPP3ls2BHYXwWM_iT-vVbfA/s400/DVsandstone-pleinair.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Quick oil sketches outside to study the light.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Layering oil paints from underpainting to final layers and glazes.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVdU2vTZo74W5xswBFSNo5jOy2G-phTwUMTz-lyeyuS7jsuGA55ikAkIhyphenhyphenAtk1J-U8b2olztRUoWZWj-FZSgyZ4A2d5QbR35pviVq0j6RyJNhm0oRXTYxsNahWR_QHRV7Qi6fekN_xMXk/s1600/ArtTech-paintbox.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVdU2vTZo74W5xswBFSNo5jOy2G-phTwUMTz-lyeyuS7jsuGA55ikAkIhyphenhyphenAtk1J-U8b2olztRUoWZWj-FZSgyZ4A2d5QbR35pviVq0j6RyJNhm0oRXTYxsNahWR_QHRV7Qi6fekN_xMXk/s400/ArtTech-paintbox.jpg" width="392" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My paint box.</td></tr>
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Laura Cunninghamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08902698651916826204noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5171849890993262669.post-65286054692829334762016-06-05T09:32:00.002-07:002016-06-05T09:32:46.843-07:00Paleoart<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span id="goog_924577027"></span><span id="goog_924577028"></span>Paleoart is a fascinating field, one of my favorites, where imagination is used in heavy doses along with scientific accuracy to try to reconstruct scenes of past life and landscapes. I enjoy the challenge of researching the fossil record, paleontological studies, and comparing them to living ecosystems and wildlife in order to bring ancient scenes to life, whether a century in the past or a hundred million years ago.<br />
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I painted this mural in oil on canvas years ago for Badlands National Park, working with park staff who provided me with detailed material to work from. It was a fun project. I favor working in oil paint to achieve a glow and luster of color that is still hard to match in digital media, such as Photoshop-created art. My background as a Paleontology Major at the University of California, Berkeley, helped inform how I researched the project, and my graduate work in scientific illustration at the University of California at Santa Cruz gave me many methods to choose from in working on the image. As for my oil painting technique, I am self-taught.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZQHoQFskoXU7g7G7LdFiuWRuB3q805taAUA1gNzeLE2F5F03SSCwJXHQFkOtWOwPSc4akhUsEKxDtZs2A_B5e26CU-mIF0CsXUUiKRtC4f3eYG50aRNPM5efDvFW-jErB3ihG__a5w5o/s1600/7.Titanonthere.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZQHoQFskoXU7g7G7LdFiuWRuB3q805taAUA1gNzeLE2F5F03SSCwJXHQFkOtWOwPSc4akhUsEKxDtZs2A_B5e26CU-mIF0CsXUUiKRtC4f3eYG50aRNPM5efDvFW-jErB3ihG__a5w5o/s400/7.Titanonthere.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The scene shows a giant 14-foot long titanothere (<i>Brontops</i>) mother with young calf, and a herd of small oreodonts (<i>Merycoidodon</i>) nearby. The exhibit illustrates a river marsh habitat in a subtropical forest with patches of savanna during the Upper Eocene Epoch (Chadron Formation), about 37 million years ago. Early grasslands were just beginning to expand in this wooded world, and most herbivores were still of the low-crowned dentition, leaf-browsing type.<br />
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To get an idea of the plant communities of the time, I looked at fossil floras of the Clarno Formation and John Day Formation, comparing them to my library of notes and photographs from my travels in such places as Costa Rica (with its dry tropical forests, savannas, and palm habitats), and all over North America (such as Florida, Great Plains states, and Southwestern woodlands).<br />
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I am always amazed when I look at the finished painting and compare how much times have changed in this same spot over the millions of years, the area now being a cold-winter temperate grassland habitat historically filled with herds of grazing bison.<br />
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Here are a few of my notes to illustrate how I research a painting and reconstruct a paleontological scene.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqlokrTJ0vu-kqK_sY67AhwnMOJ5eIU-JSy45BGf2-kPL7zxYVyVQiWxxQFSomuCVVypc1muokxbsEV9TtenTrZ8qPs0HG-BjAtWC5cgZj7d2bdinLk7Mt9WnHfdBikQ3q4TrVtx7fZqQ/s1600/Scan+6.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="341" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqlokrTJ0vu-kqK_sY67AhwnMOJ5eIU-JSy45BGf2-kPL7zxYVyVQiWxxQFSomuCVVypc1muokxbsEV9TtenTrZ8qPs0HG-BjAtWC5cgZj7d2bdinLk7Mt9WnHfdBikQ3q4TrVtx7fZqQ/s400/Scan+6.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sketches of the fossil fauna of the Eocene-Oligocene of North America, with relative sizes.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqKtJgAaSgvJrR9FpAumD1LYHgbGu0IcHlL8RugLa5QpM6w8W1wpSEIDpTjs5u63rF5BfTk7E367wEZdYSi0viqrwhwxrIjY5-zoh_toWuiV4aqO4pJvJWrcr7UK7ramYe3px3xlwayvs/s1600/Badlands-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqKtJgAaSgvJrR9FpAumD1LYHgbGu0IcHlL8RugLa5QpM6w8W1wpSEIDpTjs5u63rF5BfTk7E367wEZdYSi0viqrwhwxrIjY5-zoh_toWuiV4aqO4pJvJWrcr7UK7ramYe3px3xlwayvs/s400/Badlands-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A very rough sketch to begin to flesh out an idea of how the landscape will appear and positions of faunal elements.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVUABMSfBo68_5BHCm5OMxaf4lkEA_v2KvOc-OJmB74k3aVN5JC__bGJfqr0MZLwm5HAp0rtC744pLNct8cJW0tnCUZasWQS9N-2VfUD6m4DDMuG4amH4y2sXdELDTDZXTCV6YHU3wROA/s1600/Badlands-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVUABMSfBo68_5BHCm5OMxaf4lkEA_v2KvOc-OJmB74k3aVN5JC__bGJfqr0MZLwm5HAp0rtC744pLNct8cJW0tnCUZasWQS9N-2VfUD6m4DDMuG4amH4y2sXdELDTDZXTCV6YHU3wROA/s400/Badlands-1.jpg" width="335" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My list of fossil flora and pollen from the same time period and region, to be able to pick vegetation elements.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyZO4Xfbwssx7qg3ZsdSDDOJ3YylNSZGVyuFuwNdi5ToVjug-sFMrKjgtiCtj6d8kKuQYQLl-S_G5Epxd_1u220ToTj0aq0YJHZ0OQs7s9rI84kJBmXuebmpXzBtbxT7Y_og2TDFSWkdI/s1600/Scan+2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyZO4Xfbwssx7qg3ZsdSDDOJ3YylNSZGVyuFuwNdi5ToVjug-sFMrKjgtiCtj6d8kKuQYQLl-S_G5Epxd_1u220ToTj0aq0YJHZ0OQs7s9rI84kJBmXuebmpXzBtbxT7Y_og2TDFSWkdI/s400/Scan+2.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rough sketch of titanothere group.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidZnLOheaPUsNOBElOnLcVY2rrTJY8N0eX5-TO64cx8uzfJseMUthsV_pjZX6o-KOxFapE5AHqtObbaGM-ALH22tUUt_UQGf8cQE1-ivAvr2aOtnkmDj6P0OPgk9QYEWqdR0IanxTiXs8/s1600/Scan+4.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidZnLOheaPUsNOBElOnLcVY2rrTJY8N0eX5-TO64cx8uzfJseMUthsV_pjZX6o-KOxFapE5AHqtObbaGM-ALH22tUUt_UQGf8cQE1-ivAvr2aOtnkmDj6P0OPgk9QYEWqdR0IanxTiXs8/s400/Scan+4.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Notes on geological time, formations, and ages.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHuMUONY8IVWnKIa-_SSGEr5PhICx2p5uJaDXbTC2G8mOLBM9YVmD8FQwlqQFXZdYFq5z2_jAf27vHm4wVZN0uw3ZMivjkXuSzqRuiPX4dMiWi2H51-wKrJW9elsXU-tTJZZITqarkbMs/s1600/Scan+7.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHuMUONY8IVWnKIa-_SSGEr5PhICx2p5uJaDXbTC2G8mOLBM9YVmD8FQwlqQFXZdYFq5z2_jAf27vHm4wVZN0uw3ZMivjkXuSzqRuiPX4dMiWi2H51-wKrJW9elsXU-tTJZZITqarkbMs/s400/Scan+7.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Notes on the oreodonts in the scene--extinct, small, pig-like browsing herbivores.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUKxlFecNJIHEqRYmGAAYI7AyKewdqcuh7dWSk4jOJ52HdP8E2dABM2olHFbI_iDIvR7hK6PYwpLm5eGKOq8F5jSiZ8dN8SV2_Yg3qkWLcyujwdy5C9ie0_dMzO6AYn8okNuOZuaYRpnM/s1600/Scan+8.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUKxlFecNJIHEqRYmGAAYI7AyKewdqcuh7dWSk4jOJ52HdP8E2dABM2olHFbI_iDIvR7hK6PYwpLm5eGKOq8F5jSiZ8dN8SV2_Yg3qkWLcyujwdy5C9ie0_dMzO6AYn8okNuOZuaYRpnM/s400/Scan+8.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finer sketch of the titanothere group, finalizing the position and behavior of the extinct animals.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0XeOZB7gQ6ryA1uOxxp5Ohy6VB-ynXO_UKuo6rQInv2fXb1FXL4pQuMn7NcigE51Gyw79MQ_fF4VJq1xyZDPvdSlGryVghAXtiHQ3MFBAlIDT9F20kE78E09iMVtbOcfZS_MZJE1t4t4/s1600/Scan+9.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0XeOZB7gQ6ryA1uOxxp5Ohy6VB-ynXO_UKuo6rQInv2fXb1FXL4pQuMn7NcigE51Gyw79MQ_fF4VJq1xyZDPvdSlGryVghAXtiHQ3MFBAlIDT9F20kE78E09iMVtbOcfZS_MZJE1t4t4/s400/Scan+9.jpeg" width="316" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reconstructed life studies of the oreodonts.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggYdV3B-NUAnz40pRaL0_BBO2ftyOvF7V20rw8EV4_URAz8C7_AE10IKOfSIcbisyBj_ck2UU6Hhslglg7pTPKHpvGaaNn8BCT8iJ2gtOYIH1UXXlx6_HOva4nlOhWc3zt80pCkVpMSnA/s1600/Badlands-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggYdV3B-NUAnz40pRaL0_BBO2ftyOvF7V20rw8EV4_URAz8C7_AE10IKOfSIcbisyBj_ck2UU6Hhslglg7pTPKHpvGaaNn8BCT8iJ2gtOYIH1UXXlx6_HOva4nlOhWc3zt80pCkVpMSnA/s400/Badlands-4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Preliminary sketch of the scene, naming tree types, other plants, and rough positions of animals.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjITdsO0RpEKU7hBC8Wvva8AcSfz_G6mp04ST6WiIar4cZLVFu7JGcpMVlTEtUuIaeCVbFF1Kk0MiN0vHd3PDpUD-lwfuqtcD-0KyKd9h1k0pHEHNxFMPIEpPyncGaV1ffD1G770xshCFg/s1600/Badlands-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjITdsO0RpEKU7hBC8Wvva8AcSfz_G6mp04ST6WiIar4cZLVFu7JGcpMVlTEtUuIaeCVbFF1Kk0MiN0vHd3PDpUD-lwfuqtcD-0KyKd9h1k0pHEHNxFMPIEpPyncGaV1ffD1G770xshCFg/s400/Badlands-5.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Final detailed sketch. This will be transferred to the large canvas as an underdrawing for the oil painting.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-42nKPeDTSY7f8Fjtz7vtlF8Rv37LmaFPDYr06B1CmzvFH_YJQ8qNNtksIaTFk7Tu2HPVplRd5K8w4-Bll8MXi97mme0ky1v956cLafb504DJG0juyALknLaQFnknI05WNW7KvAImZEk/s1600/Scan+13-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-42nKPeDTSY7f8Fjtz7vtlF8Rv37LmaFPDYr06B1CmzvFH_YJQ8qNNtksIaTFk7Tu2HPVplRd5K8w4-Bll8MXi97mme0ky1v956cLafb504DJG0juyALknLaQFnknI05WNW7KvAImZEk/s400/Scan+13-1.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I make small clay models of each animal in the scene, and position a lamp in the direction that the sun would be in the painting, in order to see how shadows fall over the animal's body in three-dimensions, as well as the cast shadow on the ground. Then I make a quick note-sketch of this. Here, shadows on an oreodont.</td></tr>
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This was a fairly large and detailed mural, about 2.5 x 5 feet long on canvas, which would be shipped to the park and the image increased in size for the exhibit. It took me more than a month to complete the project.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfJccIs1zXwHxhf3ZzCTq3zg5I_5ainhzBbbzvD3lB43GnONfokb_KqZXMuiFypaExbcgw9K6KlF5xPdnyvq-NhB-QRYlmIq-2oCmdEDPTWnGZOU2r0dO5F_R2y6mXdbG8Z3Z9Zqc90Rg/s1600/Badlands-final-painting.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfJccIs1zXwHxhf3ZzCTq3zg5I_5ainhzBbbzvD3lB43GnONfokb_KqZXMuiFypaExbcgw9K6KlF5xPdnyvq-NhB-QRYlmIq-2oCmdEDPTWnGZOU2r0dO5F_R2y6mXdbG8Z3Z9Zqc90Rg/s640/Badlands-final-painting.tif" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Final mural, oil on canvas.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHxKxw5mkUp7t6Gaw5DYL5AHprP94pr7YjnyKxVnR9WBi5iTFh3es6c0U7deX0uc-BVrHkmhq2V2c_E18eFMV9iSRAgmScCdUPW1K3CXLPh-SyHKNKFiSE3oDN3bU8StW8XUn9ea8xup8/s1600/Badlands-oreodonts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHxKxw5mkUp7t6Gaw5DYL5AHprP94pr7YjnyKxVnR9WBi5iTFh3es6c0U7deX0uc-BVrHkmhq2V2c_E18eFMV9iSRAgmScCdUPW1K3CXLPh-SyHKNKFiSE3oDN3bU8StW8XUn9ea8xup8/s640/Badlands-oreodonts.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail, <i>Merycoidodon</i> herd.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsuWHhujLt1LOUNugJNRk0g4Q2qv_V0tT9Bd5XqjsaEXlxdhHsdAY7-N-XlRfI93q1ikdtCsHrxbAfYPGJqDrasvyJf-a0E2JS8iXFK7fmlkYciwG-PZqKKa3Vijb6sJCQ9dIUUcTca5Y/s1600/Badlands-titanothere.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsuWHhujLt1LOUNugJNRk0g4Q2qv_V0tT9Bd5XqjsaEXlxdhHsdAY7-N-XlRfI93q1ikdtCsHrxbAfYPGJqDrasvyJf-a0E2JS8iXFK7fmlkYciwG-PZqKKa3Vijb6sJCQ9dIUUcTca5Y/s640/Badlands-titanothere.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail, titanothere cow and calf.</td></tr>
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<br />Laura Cunninghamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08902698651916826204noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5171849890993262669.post-84588980753848160162016-05-04T12:48:00.001-07:002016-05-04T12:48:17.397-07:00Art and Conservation<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIkwr2qjbhJfXsnnt-A4_ZZHs1qKNh2lnYKMvDW0fL3mcVOEcXsbHwvguihguXenTtZA5Zt0TA98nk8pF64DILkfsX-H9WTA39ozmoCCFbrrnPWaSITBfg6_Q4-Z23pR1kaonoYtjdmU8/s1600/Coho-griz-neg-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIkwr2qjbhJfXsnnt-A4_ZZHs1qKNh2lnYKMvDW0fL3mcVOEcXsbHwvguihguXenTtZA5Zt0TA98nk8pF64DILkfsX-H9WTA39ozmoCCFbrrnPWaSITBfg6_Q4-Z23pR1kaonoYtjdmU8/s320/Coho-griz-neg-web.jpg" width="257" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grizzly mother and cubs feeding on coho salmon, Marin County CA in the past. Oil on cotton rag paper.</td></tr>
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<br />
A lot has happened since I first published <i><a href="https://heydaybooks.com/book/a-state-of-change/">A State of Change: Forgotten Landscapes of California</a></i> (Heyday) in 2010. The book came out in paperback as a second edition recently, and I wrote and illustrated a children's book, <i><a href="https://heydaybooks.com/book/the-bay-area-through-time/">The Bay Area Through Time</a></i> (Heyday 2015).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_vEUAjOE5ZOu-WlFvCNUTDCunx6CbNzfKOMQ78y2sF3dqlaSuSmYeO40B1sQyeZ3XEsjQ3dvccbLmqnm-kKyLODtbyxAiLwSPBASOLn7RUCDzbDhbDzwtNGRhG2esFs0boar4k1KJeac/s1600/Book-cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_vEUAjOE5ZOu-WlFvCNUTDCunx6CbNzfKOMQ78y2sF3dqlaSuSmYeO40B1sQyeZ3XEsjQ3dvccbLmqnm-kKyLODtbyxAiLwSPBASOLn7RUCDzbDhbDzwtNGRhG2esFs0boar4k1KJeac/s320/Book-cover.jpg" width="247" /></a><br />
I have some other book manuscripts I'm working on, including a guide to oil painting from Classical methods, through California Impressionists, to today's practice of <i>plein air</i> and studio painting landscapes. Also a book on the Ice Age of California, full of mammoths, sabertooth cats, and giant condors.<br />
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Since 2009 I have been working with friends and colleagues on desert conservation issues in California and Nevada, and just this past month we incorporated into a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization: <a href="http://www.basinandrangewatch.org/About.html">Basin & Range Watch</a>. I am happy we can take the next step towards protecting the vast Mojave Desert landscapes that I first visited in 1986. We will be seeking to host workshops, educational talks, and other events on conservation and natural history in the future.<br />
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I am also planning on a series of art workshops and classes during the coming year, to be held in various places and cities, where I will teach my methods of field sketching and oil painting landscapes, wildlife and nature. After spending years writing comment letters to agencies, becoming ever more involved in the environmental public review process, and still seeing desert ecosystems get bulldozed, I think education and participation in the outdoors is one of the most important activities we can do to help preserve the planet.<br />
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So join me soon and stay tuned for a calendar of events!<br />
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--Laura<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEX6EYVAJo5VCa74xqbx2TPtfShBwmbGdsbTjnXETsWI8MpliSugFcv4rqDTFcR-Qgcxo2MaThcy4YKZUnPFL4YA0-ngy7IfgkgGyiMEL7_aM62_BavK0OVdTK8Vi8g_Z1x4MzfJCrFDI/s1600/Ash-Crk-antelope-16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEX6EYVAJo5VCa74xqbx2TPtfShBwmbGdsbTjnXETsWI8MpliSugFcv4rqDTFcR-Qgcxo2MaThcy4YKZUnPFL4YA0-ngy7IfgkgGyiMEL7_aM62_BavK0OVdTK8Vi8g_Z1x4MzfJCrFDI/s320/Ash-Crk-antelope-16.jpg" width="248" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">Field sketch of pronghorn antelope</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCgdeF3nup4OE7oSITtlfMZZn-Z-YP13S6DtNElHfBvltKuFJHeye4RpMA0PLfw8miCtejiDGDk3aUh0EDFbFI4i_9EO-CO2-EKh8vB0CBMKrZcobDEMTmkRyGjp0swBxEOEzCwQgQkq8/s1600/Cratering-Sidewinder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCgdeF3nup4OE7oSITtlfMZZn-Z-YP13S6DtNElHfBvltKuFJHeye4RpMA0PLfw8miCtejiDGDk3aUh0EDFbFI4i_9EO-CO2-EKh8vB0CBMKrZcobDEMTmkRyGjp0swBxEOEzCwQgQkq8/s320/Cratering-Sidewinder.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">Cratering sidewinder, oil on cotton rag paper.</span></td></tr>
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<br />Laura Cunninghamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08902698651916826204noreply@blogger.com2