Monday, April 28

Lets catch up a little bit here. Last week after the crit session I changed a few things on the 24x36 of Copenhagen. The laundry was removed from the background building; as I thought it was just too distracting. More attention had to be on the boats in the foreground. So I added color though the addition of some flags, something that every boat seems to have. The water was also lightened up on the right side which gives it a better feel. Now I can say its done, ready for the show at Coos Bay, Oregon in July.

Over the weekend I started another 40x30 for the Howard/Mandville Gallery. This is a small alleyway in the moutain top village of Gordes, Provence.

Today I finished more off on it. The painting has been fun to do since it requires no detail. Unlike the boats and rigging this is just haphazard stonework that can be blasted in with a big brush and I can have some fun. I added the roses for extra color and they seem to play off nicely against the dappled light on the stones.  I'll set it aside now to think about what else it could use.

This Wednesday I'll be traveling down to Moab with Dave Strayer and his group of research scientists from around the country. this is the same bunch we took on the San Juan River several years back so they could do their study of how the brain reacts to be being disconnected for technology. Now most people in Utah tend to laugh at such a study; we take it all for granted, its right out our backdoor.

People from back east though don't really have this opportunity and find it difficult to leave the cell phone alone for five days. This could be why the media seemed to pick it up with joy; as they did get some write-ups in national magazines and TV shows.

As for me I was invited along as the token artist. I seem to disconnect every time I paint in nature!

Besides they got a grant for this and all expenses are paid for me…I'm not an idiot!

Richard Boyer

Wednesday

Well I sent two cafe paintings off to the new gallery, Silvana Gallery in Glendale, California. I've heard its a rather wealthy area of LA…so I have my fingers crossed that they will sell something of mine. If not, I'll be out on the streets of LA…the art market can be cruel sometimes. As they say getting into a gallery is only half the problem, staying in there in the other!!!

They wanted to try this 24x36 and my newer 18x24 breakfast cafe below

On a side note I got my garden all tilded up, added some soil prep and fertilizer so now I am ready to plant the crops. Actually yesterday I planted carrots, spinach and kale, which I rather hate to eat, but my son loves to put it in a smoothy. So I figured why not grow it instead of buying it.  Today I drove up north, along I-15 to a nursery that was having a sale on everything. I bought a dozen tomato plants, basil, peppers, zucchini and several squashes so now I do believe I am set. Except that everyone say's not to plant most of the stuff I bought until after Mothers Day!!!   I really don't know what she has to do with it, maybe, just maybe it might have something to do with the weather.

Today I worked more on the water in the Copenhagen painting and defined the figures some more as well. its to the point where I'll set it aside and contemplate over it for a week or two; as well as run it though the crit session to get some feed back.

Richard Boyer

Monday, April 21

First day back at work from our spring break vacation down in Bluff, Utah.  It was relaxing to get back into hiking and exploring the ruins of the four corners area. Every day we set out on a three to four mile trek to a new location. Although much of the cliff dwellings we have seen before on earlier trips.

The first day was to visit Monarch Canyon up Butler Wash, one of my favorite Anasazi ruins that I have painted before. Behind the ruin there are hand prints up on the wall from the families that lived there.

The next ruin was up on Cedar Mesa. Along one of the many dirt roads you set your odometer to 6.3 and arrive at a trail head. There you follow the path for several miles to a fin that stretches out above the canyon floor. With several zigzags and light climbing moves you end up on a flat top rock structure about 30 feet wide and moving along that for several hundred feet you arrive up at a high perched ruin called Citadel. This would have been towards the end of the Anasazi period around 1300 BC, when times became critical and food scarce.

On the way back we stopped off at Sego Canyon to visit some old petroglyphs, definitive prove that we were visited by space aliens 5000 years ago!!!

Today I was back on the Copenhagen painting adding more boats to the right side. The rigging I got in place in the middle and will move on to the left side tomorrow. It might mean the laundry in the background could be eliminated, I don't want that to be too busy with the masts in front. Once all that is done I'm going to add some figures working on them and then finish up the water.

Richard Boyer

Saturday

Thursday night was our crit session up at Nick's place, so I had a list of small changes on these paintings. The first one here needed a few chair removed, they felt it was a little crowded. Now painting out chairs is never an easy project; usually it means covering over the area in a neutral color and re-painting that section over. I also had the head too big on the child to the right, so that was reduced. The trunk of the tree was darkened and some of the umbrellas needed more definition.

The Amsterdam cafe I changed some of the clothing on the figures to brighter reds and oranges. the light post on the left side was lowered so it wouldn't go off the top of the canvas. The ivy in the background was also brought up higher to break the line of windows across the top. I feel the color is a lot better now.

After my daughters soccer game I did another small head study. This was a woman sitting at a cafe by one of the canals in Amsterdam. Some guy was chatting her up across the table and I have a feeling from her body language that she was quite bored!

Richard Boyer

Thursday

This morning I was back on to this painting, finishing off the masts in the background boats. I then moved on to the main warehouse. With so many windows I am finding that I need to taker my time and check constantly with the perspective to make sure I'm painting them all so they fall into place. If an angle is off on the architecture the whole building will look just wrong. There is some nice laundry hanging from some of the open windows; as well as potted plants. Once I get all that painted in, along with the masts of the boats in front; the building will seem less dominant.

Here is today's quick study. the lighting wasn't the best in the studio this late in the day. So maybe tomorrow I'll take another shot of it in the morning light.

Richard Boyer

Wednesday

Yesterday I worked on the Copenhagen painting. The background buildings were painted in as well as some of the boats in front of them. I didn't get a chance to throw the masts in there yet. Those should make an interesting pattern against the buildings. There is still a long way to go on the piece, so in the mean time I am hoping on to new works. Paintings that I need to get done for this new gallery in LA.

My head study from yesterday turned more into an entire figure painting of Lillias. We shot this picture of her in the Uinta Mountains as she was making her way through some Aspen trees.  I know most people wouldn't go walking through tight trees with a dress and shall draped around their body. In fact much of the photo shoot she was walking around naked in the woods. So for me it was just a quick exercise in getting her nailed down in the environment, I figured cloths made better sense than without.

Today I worked on a small 10x16 for the LA gallery. This was more or less a one day session. The day before yesterday I covered over the start of an old painting I did in southern Utah, I knew the piece wouldn't amount to much so I used the canvas to start this new work. The cafe is along Prinsengracht in Amsterdam and I was really impressed by the color of the umbrellas, they set off nicely against the reds of the background buildings.

Richard Boyer

Monday, April 7

I forgot to post my study from yesterday. This is my son Victor with his usual mop of hair, but it has character, so I decided to paint it any ways.  This picture I used was when we were back at Niagara Falls, he now has shorter hair.

In the morning I was working on my cafe painting, trying to get as much done as possible. It's to the point now where I'll put it aside for a few days and look at it later with a fresh eye. Maybe then I'll see what it needs.

Todays head study was of my oldest son, the blond Swede.

Richard Boyer

Saturday

Today was a typical spring day in Utah. This morning it was sunny and warm, looked like it would just be a great day. Then the dark clouds roll in as my daughter has her soccer game, first a cold wind settles in then the rain starts, followed by hail. Before we knew it everyone was freezing in winter gear. Now when I walked out it was sunny and warm again!

I worked a bit on this one in the morning; adding the chairs and some of the elements on the right side. Maybe another few days and it should be done. I was called away from it by the soccer game, so maybe tomorrow I'll get some more accomplished.

My study for today I just finished now at 6:00 in the evening, well I didn't get time to start it until five. It's tax time again, so I was busy counting up a shoe box full of receipts.  The model was another woman from Skansen. Several years back I was there with Lina and we met this person spinning wool from a hand held wooden spool, she was showing the kids how it worked and letting them try it. I as the artist was there taking several hundred pictures.

Richard Boyer

Friday

Here was our model from last nights figure painting session at Rick Graham's place. She must have the irish blood in her with all the red hair. I decided to keep doing the head studies instead of the full figure, especially with that hair.  It was a small group with myself, Rick, Robert Duncan and Sid Colton.

After the session they all came back to my place for the evening Crit session, starting at the fashionable time of 9:30. It was good to have Robert Duncan here. With him living up in Midway its about an hours drive away, so I was glad when he said he would drop by for a bit. He does have a nice insight into anatomy and not only can he point out mistakes, but tell you why and how to fix them.

There were small changes done to this piece again. I had to bring more of a sense of light and shadow into the harbor, especially around the white boat coming into dock. I lightened up the water a bit in front of the boat and gave it a shadow behind.  Also the light was brought up more on that third boat in the middle and the sunlight was lowered on the masts to the left. Now when I look at it the whole painting seems more balanced in color.  It is done!!!

For my figure study today I picked a very special person…my daughter. The picture I used is a few years old, one I took when we both visited Skansen in Stockholm.

Richard Boyer

Thursday

Yesterday I was called away from my study by a leaking pipe connection.  I figured it was more important to take care of dripping water than an oil painting.

But today I'm back at it. so here is my quick 45 minute study of Felicia. I seem to have a lot of photo's of her, the typical fair complexion of a Swede; but she is a very good model and can fall naturally into any pose I tell her.

Since I have a show this summer in Coos Bay,Oregon for the American Society of Marine Artists I figured it best to get a few paintings ready for it. Yesterday I blocked in this 24x36 of some boats in Copenhagen. The building behind was an old storage house for cargo being loaded and unloaded from the ships. Now its been converted into high end apartments. What I liked about it was the reflection in the water.

This painting I started today. I may have gotten into a gallery in L.A. called Silvana Gallery. They are having a show next month and want to try some of my pieces…so that being said I need to get to work and produce some cafe pieces.  They want a few good painting to see if I am worthy!

With that in mind I'm going now to get a hair cut, working endless hours in the studio I can sometimes look a little un-refined. Time to get cleaned up, besides there is a crit tonight and a model session at Rick's. The perfect excuse to look presentable!!!

Richard Boyer

Tuesday

Well I broke down this morning and added another boat in my Stockholm Harbor painting. I wanted to take a good photo of it but the weather has been slightly disagreeable today. Looking out the studio window the snow is blowing sideways, welcome to spring in Utah.

I did manage to get a somewhat decent picture of today's head study, the lighting was still very dark.  It's another model from Skansen in Stockholm; I asked her to pose by the window for a few shots.

Richard Boyer