Time to revive this blog

tomorrow i will post a new image. it is time again to be working everyday as an artist.

new work

it has been a while since i have painted so tonight i decided to go big... this 2 ft x 3 ft painting was truly a blast to create! i hope you like it!

a poem for a painting

I see you as full
White arches.
Contours engaged, unfolded - rounded,
Volumes of light spilling over.
Remade in your ceaseless
Coming and going.

I see you as waves -
Subtle contrasts.
Your feathered wing-tips
Dancing around me.
Catching our makeshift arms -
To Heaven aspiring.


I see you there
Noumenon in phenomena.
Silent until you find me.
A map of you shifts
Through the space and light.
Dark pathways guide me towards you.

I see you there
Within a nameless landscape.
Patterns of you,
Non-repeating,
Parting fields and seas
In your touching.

I see you there
Within layers of form and substance.
And the textures of your delicate
Finger-prints
Wick tears from my dry
And weathered soil

I see you there,
Gentle-whisper.
You touch me, and I know you
In all around me,
Filling my thoughts,
Blinding my eyes.

I see you there
And I cannot have you.
But with my wings I will engage you.
Leaning into you -
You catch me.
Carry me to other shores

Tonight my canvas was my house...

i used acid stain to color the concrete floor of my just built second bedroom! what a crazy process! I liked it all except the part about acid stain being nearly deadly. so for about half of today i was sporting a wannabe darth vader outfit and breathing through a respirator. today was a good day for it though, the weather was good enough to leave all doors an windows open. i have some images to post once my camera batteries charge up. happy blogging America!

with love,

daniel

p.s. i started Yoga this week with megan (i know, what the crap!), and it is surprisingly hard and really fun. it was time to start meeting new people and getting my body back in shape for soccer. i thought yoga might be a good first stop, so far so good. perhaps i might meet a nice girl interested in health and wellness?? here is the cool thing, all types of people go there - the single unifying quality is their above average bendiness. something thing i did not expect is that it is "hot " yoga (i forget the real name) and that adds a cool dimension to the workout. Picture this: the room is above 100 degrees and we are all holding these ridiculously challenging poses and breathing really slowly, the people are all sweating so much that it looks exactly like we all just got out of a pool. after my first day i was sore for the next 2 days (and i am not in bad shape, i run a mile and a half in well under nine minutes without effort, i play a lot of soccer do push-ups, sit-ups etc... but i was still dominated by simply standing in a hot room!) well, time to sleep.

Another day, another painting...

...another painting done but not posted. i painted two watercolors today - both portraits. i will see if i can post them tomorrow.

okay, so we need some good reading to fill the void of having no pretty picture to look at. tonight i have some notes from a chapter i read yesterday. the book is called "A Passion for Truth" by Abraham Heschel.

The quotes: "Love and Truth are the two ways that lead the soul out of the inner jungle." "...the essential goal is living in attachment to God." "The central issue is not Truth in terms of doctrine, but veracity, honesty, or sincerity in terms of personal existence."

those are some nice highlights from a few pages of a good book.

thanks to everyone who still visits this little blog! i will try and make it more worth your while in the coming days. have a good night.

love and peace,

daniel

Well, how long has it been?

I am back again. I took a few weeks off from posting - but I have been painting! Have I painted every day? Well, no I have not.

Here is the short of it: It all ended the day one of my dearest friends from high school called and said he was in Larkspur for the night visiting family ( he lives in Portland). I knew that it had been too long since I had seen him - so I made the trip. It was a good time with good talk. BUT I did miss painting that day and it was hard to just jump back in knowing the string was broken. I did make it over seven weeks. 50 paintings! It has been a strange few weeks, full of talk and thought, full of reading and reflection. It has been a time of strong ideas and real learning. It also has been the start of women's soccer - so my coaching schedule is very busy again!

All of these excuses aside, I have still been painting (about 4 to 5 paintings a week). I will post the retrospective of the last few weeks soon. Until then, enjoy the nearness of Spring.

Daniel

p.s. This life is amazing.

Why use words... when this will suffice

This is a perfect painting for my temperament... hovering between comic / bewildered / isolated

But words don't match the layers implied by this simple shape in the expanse of space around it.

I have re-read Ecclesiastes tonight and I think it was good, but it got at the root of me too. There is too much to say and I don't feel like recording it here - I am tempted to push the blinking cursor far far down the page... but I will let it be.

ten-minute idea sketch...

This is no kind of finished work, but with the short time I had tonight I wanted to do a quick sketch in paint... I have been thinking about an image like this for a long time. Painting this little experiment taught me what to look for as I prepare for the final form of this investigation.

goodnight,

Daniel

I painted at work again... so no post...

Sorry, I will make sure to repost the image later.

Feeling beat, need to sleep, here is a quick painting

This little painting is the result of having a vomit inducing migrane tonight and feeling the onset of a little sickness. I had the beginnings of a great talk at school today but had a hard time hanging with it due to the enormous headache that was mounting. Well, I took some advil and ate some real food to help calm my body down once I got home. It worked for a little while... long enough to finish sanding the final room of the basement... but now I am feeling crappy and really need to sleep. The painting is not much, but I did what I could.

p.s. Great question of the night: What is the Holy Spirit? I have lived with the idea and reality of the Holy Spirit in my life for a long time, but I have not ever sat down to define it. Well, I am also starting that process tonight! What a full day!

p.p.s. sledding on cafeteria trays is good way to spend an afternoon OR sprain a wrist OR both.

goodnight ya'll

Daniel

A portrait

i can't post the image... i left the painting at work.

A great poem to keep your interest:

The Man Watching

by Rainer Maria Rilke

I can tell by the way the trees beat, after
so many dull days, on my worried windowpanes
that a storm is coming,
and I hear the far-off fields say things
I can't bear without a friend,
I can't love without a sister

The storm, the shifter of shapes, drives on
across the woods and across time,
and the world looks as if it had no age:
the landscape like a line in the psalm book,
is seriousness and weight and eternity.

What we choose to fight is so tiny!
What fights us is so great!
If only we would let ourselves be dominated
as things do by some immense storm,
we would become strong too, and not need names.

When we win it's with small things,
and the triumph itself makes us small.
What is extraordinary and eternal
does not want to be bent by us.
I mean the Angel who appeared
to the wrestlers of the Old Testament:
when the wrestler's sinews
grew long like metal strings,
he felt them under his fingers
like chords of deep music.

Whoever was beaten by this Angel
(who often simply declined the fight)
went away proud and strengthened
and great from that harsh hand,
that kneaded him as if to change his shape.
Winning does not tempt that man.
This is how he grows: by being defeated, decisively,
by constantly greater beings.

Still Frame Abstract

I forgot to bring home my paints tonight so I did the best I could with what was there. I had a couple colors and that is about it. The inspiration is a still-frame from the film "Master and Commander." The specific scene shows the boy drawing the animals of the Galapagos. This is a great part of a good movie. I thought it made for a nice quick-study, even if the proper materials were absent.

best wishes,

goodnight

Another Apple Said Eve

The colors in the photo are off and the image is skewed b/c the way I took the picture, but here it is.

Dream well,

Daniel

Here it is: I had no time to make it special...

Bed time means I had to make this happen fast, and it shows. Well, I still painted ...Right? This image is from Italy again. Take a guess at what city...

okay, so is "bed time" one word or two? Seriously, how have I lived 27 years and never have used that word in written form before?

good night all.

p.s. the studio is ready for sanding and paint. BUT - we are going to acid stain the floor first (maybe tomorrow) - I am so excited about trying this out!

p.s. the spell checker for blogger wants to replace "p.s." with "pooh."

I painted a quick one today

... but I left it at work. I will post it later this weekend.

p.s. The new studio space is almost built - the basement looks totally new!

Okay, I am back to normal posting: Rome at Dusk

I have painted this before, but I had to do it again. Listening to some great hymns tonight, I was overcome with a sense of reverence, longing, and a joy I can only describe as similar to the feeling of - clean spring air rushing over my face as I sprint through a warm twilight, as stars alight and my heart breaks free on the wind. I love the Spring, and yesterday I could smell it in the evening. The sky in the original image was the perfect color of twilight and filled me with remembrance of traveling with a good friend. This is a large painting by the "painting per day" standards. I guess it is 14 by 18 inches - painted quickly (and I ran out of white paint!), painted with a joyful heart.

If you are still reading please follow along a bit more:

"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful."

- John 14:27

"Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love... These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete...
This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. ..This I command you, that you love one another."
- John 15: ?:?

In the world you have trouble, but be brave; I have overcome the world.
- John 16:33


"My peace I give to you," peace the world cannot give. "In the world you will have trouble, but be brave; I have overcome the world." "That your joy may be complete." How incredible is that!

How many can say they have touched peace?

Live well,
may the Fruit of the Spirit follow.

Daniel

Another quick one: turp and single color

It stinks that I have not had enough time or energy to really dig into the last few studies. This one had to be very quick... I have a lot of work to finish tonight.

take care.

Daniel

It is only Monday - but I am SO tired.

I painted, it looks crappy, and I will post it tomorrow. I am going to bed...

Dream well.

Daniel

Second image, a study of Joaquin Sorolla detail:

This was a fun one! Sorolla is the best! This is only the second time I have ever reproduced another artist's work... I think it was a learning experience. When I have more time I will have to post about visiting Sorolla's home (now a museum) in Madrid. If I ever think I am getting good at painting all I have to do to regain humility is open one of his books and my heart fills with the intense desire to learn. I love the way he paints.

Posting New Paintings Again!

I have images from the last few days to post. This first one is a figure study using some left-over paint and a little turpentine.

It looks like I have missed a few days... But that is not the case!

I have had tech troubles and had my blog is being weird lately. Do not worry, I am still painting everyday! All images will be up soon.

Problem with posting image... camera died and image wont post.

I'll post it when I can.

goodnight.

looking back

Many of the last 17 paintings have been done on one large board. it happens that my good friend Nick has some interest in buying the entire boards of paintings as one large piece! How cool!

Again, Sweden - it was beautiful

From the hills overlooking the sea... this one had to be quick!

The Final phase of the basement remodel was initiated today. We worked for a few hours and are SO CLOSE to getting to the fun part. I was reluctant to paint today, it was late and I was tired, but once I got going it was very enjoyable.

Best wishes everyone

Daniel

p.s. Delight in the small things - let awe replace expectation.

More From Sweden, monochromatic rocks...

Island Rocks and the stone path that bends around the coastline are the subject of this almost two-color painting. I simplified the content and left only a single figure standing at the waters edge. This is a small example of the stark beauty we found so far north...

Tonight will be the first time I am asleep before 12:00am in a long time. I need it so much. Sometimes the days are unexpectedly hard.

Thanks to all who have been visiting. May your hearts know great peace even when troubles are near. Dream well friends and strangers,

Daniel

Painting and Another Sketchbook page - by request.

This is bad photo of an average painting (I promise the real thing looks a lot better!). The reference image was from a recent trip to Sweden. This image is from a small island about a 1/2 hour from Gotenburg. The other side of the island is where I and Katie or "Lizzle" spent the whole day swimming in the cold (can't recall the name) sea and warming our bodies on the large smooth rock outcroppings that spread into the waters. It was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. The fresh "fish and chips" were also the best I've had.


Here is a little unfinished business I am working on for Illustration Friday (the theme is Glamor)... the request for a little more sketchbook seemed like a good idea.

Goodnight!

Daniel

Horses East of town

Here we are again... this one went quick and I needed that. I have done battle with the last few paintings, tonight was sweet relief. Again, thanks for coming.

Movie suggestion: Second Hand Lions. That movie (just watched) has become one of my top 10 of all time. Check it out.

New Artwork will be up shortly. (replace painting with work from my sketchbook that day)

Here is some stuff I am working on for a new painting series.

Train station in Roma

A busy night tonight! I came home at 10:30 after having a nice night out with friends (playing chess and talking). I almost fell asleep on the way home I was so tired. Too many late nights recently...

I so much wanted to just go to sleep as I walked in the door, but I had to paint! I needed something I already understood - so I created a small version of a painting I did a few years ago. This is painted from a photograph I took at the train station in Rome at 4:30am.

The actual painting came out far better than this image - for some reason I could not get a good copy of it for the website!

Enjoy,

Daniel

A very different approach

Tonight, something different: This is an image of the first non-referential painting I have ever done. This strange product is a preparatory piece for something I want to try soon. I must say that after painting from observation for the last three weeks it gives me a curious feeling as I look at this unexpected creation. The same principles of design are being used, but the forms and spatial intentions are much changed. I am going to have to try this a few more times before I can effectively evaluate the relevance of this exploration. I will keep the intended goal of this experiment a surprise for now.

May your Fruit be the Fruit of the Spirit.

Goodnight.

Daniel

19 minute portrait

Hey, it's me! kind of...

This image of my quick portrait was taken from the side to prevent glare... sorry about that.
By the time I sat down to work it was very late (11:37), so I had to rush things a little. It may not be a great likeness but i t was a nice challenge for such a short session. Fun stuff.

Daniel

From the hills above Florence

Here is a quick one...again from the Italy trip! Tonight I am, finally, so close to finishing the basement and getting my studio back! I have not brought my good painting stuff back from work all this time as a sort of added motivation to get the basement finished... I did not think it would take this long! But now the end is in sight, and even though I have had to make some compromises, the paintings are all here!

Next week I think there will be some special changes around this "painting a day" site. Keep checking in for the update.

Last thing: There is always so much to learn (and that is what I keep asking for - that is what I want)... I find my head is spinning more than not. I find my heart is full of longing and yet full of peace. I find myself at home in wonderment.

Take care,

Daniel

Venice

This is from a photo taken during a great Europe trip. I have painted it before, but not with this composition. I was a ready to do something other than still-life today.

p.s. The basement is almost done. Today I finally picked a color and set to work. It is a light-ish warm green-gray and I think it looks okay. I think I will post the before and after pictures soon at "The Wonderment" my other blog. Find the link in the sidebar.

oh, and there is a good haiku from Bill below this post! keep 'em coming.

Haiku challenge:

Write a Haiku about something you do once per day. Submit as a comment.

Gala Apple 2

I like painting fruit. Gala apples are so good to eat and fun to paint.

This photo is a little off, but it works okay.

happy weekend to you all.

Daniel

Painting is done but I have no picture of it...

Please wait until morning - sorry about the delay!


We watched Il Postino today. I love that movie.

A poem in placeof the painting for the moment:


Morning XVII

Naked, you are simple as one of your hands,
smooth, earthy, small, transparent, round:
you have moon-lines, apple-pathways:
naked, you are slender as a naked grain of wheat.

Naked, you are blue as a night in Cuba;
you have vines and stars in your hair;
naked you are spacious and yellow
as summer in a golden church.

Naked, you are tiny as one of your nails -
curved, subtle, rosy, till the day is born
and you withdraw to the underground world,

as if down a long tunnel of clothing and of chores:
your clear light dims, gets dressed - drops its leaves -
and becomes a naked hand again.

-- Pablo Neruda

Gerber Daisies

Through the kindest of gestures I have flowers in my house again. This is the first time since summer that I have had flowers on the table. I guess it was time! I have always liked the sturdy and large blossoms of Gerber Daisies. So as I was looking around the house tonight I thought, "Oh now! That there would make a fine painting." (I don't really think to myself in a North Dakota accent but...)

As it turns out, I forgot that I don’t enjoy painting flowers all that much. It needs to be stated that there are other factors of frustration. What is left of my last crappy brush is a short stock of crispy-hard bristles that do more shoveling than spreading of paint. You could honestly say that tonight’s painting was done with a chopstick. I have a hard enough time eating slippery Chinese food with chopsticks! I should have never tried to render the delicacy of silk-like semi-translucent petals with that balsa-like brush. Technically I painted as much with the handle as with what is left of the bristles. Tonight I also tried a more plodding and deliberate approach which is quite unlike my normal disposition. Learn and learn I guess…

Complaining aside, these are beautiful flowers – especially in the middle of January. I hope they last another week!

Dream well,

Daniel

p.s. thanks again.

Tangerines and black box

The studio will be back in place in a few days. Soon I will be able to paint how I want to paint and with the tools I prefer. Until then, I apologize for the horrible brush I am using and for the limited palette that necessitates some compromises in color accuracy.

Until next time, be good to each other

Ciao,

Daniel

Sumi Paint set

This again was done with all the wrong materials, yet again I admit it was a fun painting to make. This sumi set has been around a long time. The grinding stone and wooden case are the kind of things that awaken a fleeting little joy whenever I open them up. I will revisit this subject when I have my studio back!

A little quote for the late crowd: "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things." Philippians 4:8

Balsamic Vinegar - my favorite

Again, painting without proper tools... hey, this is becoming fun! I really enjoyed the challenge of painting with what felt like a toothbrush. It gave the painting great texture and made the brushwork more evident. This was a fun painting. I like the rich and warm palette.

As we said at the end of Batman (this is for you Dizzle)"Count it!"

Enjoy your MLK day.

Dream well,

Daniel

Day of rest...

I was on the doorstep of making a compromise about this painting a day... I almost said, "Hey, it is Sunday and I am going to make this my day of rest (especially since it is 11:35pm and I forgot to paint today. Oh, and i don't have my paints at home, oh, and my studio is under an 1/8 inch layer of drywall dust, and oh, i have no turpentine, and oh, I am tired etc.)" Well, I pulled some stuff together and ruined a crappy brush painting without turpentine. I got this done and posted in less than 30 minutes. The quality is lacking, but hey - it's hard to screw up Spanish arches!

I hope you like this - the simplest of all simple little paintings.

Daniel

Toy plane - bad photo.

Today's image is a toy plane. I still don't have my studio back - so I painted at my good friend's house this evening during the Bronco game (the Broncos won in spite of having zero offensive potency). Today's painting was done quickly, and I honestly dont care for it, but practice is practice. I would like to say that I really did enjoy the process and outcome of yesterday's work even though the photo does not accurately replicate the colors in the original. (This is also a bad photo)

Thanks for visiting,

goodnight


Daniel

Newest Work -Jar With Brushes

A jar full of stuff from the studio.

Thanks for the patience, I have had a crazy week! At the moment I don't have a studio which lead to many of the issues I encountered in getting the work ready for viewing. Thanks for coming.

Enjoy the weekend.

Blue Vase

This was a fun one to paint.

Another Portrait Study - 25 to 30 minutes.

I did not have time to finish but here it is.

New Painting... Photography timer

posted at last

best wishes,
Daniel

Portrait 2

This is a painting of another student. I am doing these quick studies for each of my Yearbook kids. 11 x 14

Orange

Another painting, Another day. Again I am sorry about the image quality... this has been a crazy week. My studio is under a layer of drywall dust...make that, the whole basement is covered by a thick layer of drywall dust! Good thing i have an optical mouse or moving the pointer would be about impossible right now. Well, it is progress. Progress! The home improvment is great but it is having its impact on my painting and free time!

From Barcelona

Again, a crazy-busy day... refinishing the basement - worked all day. Again, painted without decent supplies. Tonight I did not even have turpentine to clean my brush etc. Well, it is done!

p.s. This is a horrible image of the painting. I will retake it tomorrow. There are so many little things to work out about this process.

Best wishes

Daniel

Spanish Bridge

Today i got home at 10:40pm... i had left all my good painting stuff at work. So with no time to spare and no good stuff to use i set to paint what i hope is a decent study. With a $.50 brush, old crappy paints, a reused canvas, and plastic wrap for a palette... I tried to do something worthwhile. Hope you like it.

Portrait Study

11 x 14. Oil on Canvas. Portrait of one of my students - done as a demo during class.

Tube of Paint with Brush Cleaner

Again, a busy night and I just made my deadline! Again, a bad photo of the work... I am going to have to start taking these to work to re-shoot the images.

My Green Mug

I just finished! I spent most of the night hanging drywall on the ceiling in the basement with a friend. Once we finished I got to work as fast as I could on this painting. Starting and finishing very late forced me to have to photograph the artwork in bad lighting. I will post a better image tomorrow.

Gala Apple on a warm day in January

1st day's work. Oil on Board, 6 x 8 inches.

First post for the new year.

Expect a lot of art and some nice chat.

Each day a new painting will appear, one per day for the rest of the year.

thanks for visiting.