Look, See

Untitled

Untitled, 2007, Watercolor and pencil on drafting vellum, 20 x 16 inches

Untitled

Untitled, 2007, Watercolor and pencil on drafting vellum, 20 x 16 inches

Untitled

Untitled, 2007, Watercolor and pencil on drafting vellum, 20 x 16 inches

Untitled

Untitled, 2007, Watercolor on drafting vellum, 20 x 16 inches

Untitled

Untitled, 2007, Watercolor on drafting paper, 20 x 16 inches

Untitled

Untitled, 2007, Watercolor and pencil on drafting paper, 20 x 16 inches

Colina Doblada

Colina Doblada, 2007, oil on clear acrylic on linen, 16 x 13 inches

STMW (Study for Window)

STMW (Study for Window), 2007, Pencil, watercolor, and ink on drafting paper, 16 x 20 inches

STMW (Study for Window)

STMW (Study for Window), 2007, Pencil, watercolor, and ink on vellum, 16 x 20 inches

Untitled (Silver, Green, Orange)

Untitled (Silver, Green, Orange), 2007, oil and aluminum Rust-oleum on clear acrylic on linen, 19 x 15 inches

Glasberg

Glasberg, 2007, oil and aluminum Rust-oleum on clear acrylic on linen, 18 x 15 inches

Schattenberg

Schattenberg, 2007, oil and aluminum Rust-oleum on clear acrylic on linen, 17 x 14 inches

Regenberg

Regenberg, 2007, oil and aluminum Rust-oleum on clear acrylic on linen, 17 x 14 inches

Sash

Sash, 2007, oil on canvas, 24 x 20 inches

Polychrome

Polychrome, 2007, oil on canvas, 24 x 20 inches

Dusk

Dusk, 2007, oil on canvas, 24 x 20 inches

Corner

Corner, 2007, oil on canvas, 24 x 20 inches

Case

Case, 2007, oil on canvas, 24 x 20 inches

Hang

Hang, 2007, oil on canvas, 24 x 20 inches

Fifteen Watercolors

Fifteen Watercolors, September 2007, Watercolor and Pencil on Crane's 100% Fine Cotton 24 LB. Premium Weight Acid Free White Thesis Paper, 11 x 8.5 inches each (scanned; click each for large view)

Cinematic Dataculture

Cinematic Dataculture, 2007, inkjet print, 11 x 8.5 inches

Lassen

Lassen, 2007, inkjet print, 11 x 8.5 inches

Percolating

Percolating, 2007, inkjet print, 11 x 8.5 inches

Tuolumne

Tuolumne, 2007, inkjet print, 11 x 8.5 inches

Zen Arcade

Zen Arcade, 2007, inkjet print, 11 x 8.5 inches

AltGeo install

Twelve and Thirteen, 2006, oil on linen, installation view, AltGeo, Green Line Art Projects, Philadelphia, February-March 2007

Tethered and Untethered Stars

Douglas Witmer & Chris Ashley: Tethered and Untethered Stars, 2007. Ink, acrylic, and magic marker on found paper

Installed in Across the Borderline at Rike Art Center, University of Dayton, Ohio, January 11- February 10, 2007

For Ann (Happy Birthday)

Untitled 1-4

Untitled 1-4, 2006, ballpoint pen on Canford Snow White Imperial, 20.5 x 15.5 in.

Wave

Untitled 1-18

Untitled1-18, November-December 2006, graphite on Strathmore 80lb. medium drawing paper, 8 x 6 inches each

Stars 1-20

Stars 1-20, October 2006, ink on paper, Size A5 (5.83 x 8.27 inches)

Mauai Sketchbook

Mauai Sketchbook (Honokawai), October 8-10, 2006, ink on paper, Size A5 (5.83 x 8.27 inches)

Mauai Sketchbook

Mauai Sketchbook (Honokawai), October 8-10, 2006, ink on paper, Size A5 (5.83 x 8.27 inches)

Mauai Sketchbook

Mauai Sketchbook (Honokawai), October 8-10, 2006, ink on paper, Size A5 (5.83 x 8.27 inches)

Mauai Sketchbook

Mauai Sketchbook (Honokawai), October 8-10, 2006, ink on paper, Size A5 (5.83 x 8.27 inches)

Mauai Sketchbook

Mauai Sketchbook (Honokawai), October 8-10, 2006, ink on paper, Size A5 (5.83 x 8.27 inches)

Mauai Sketchbook

Mauai Sketchbook (Honokawai), October 8-10, 2006, ink on paper, Size A5 (5.83 x 8.27 inches)

Mauai Sketchbook

Mauai Sketchbook (Honokawai), October 8-10, 2006, ink on paper, Size A5 (5.83 x 8.27 inches)

Mauai Sketchbook

Mauai Sketchbook (Honokawai), October 8-10, 2006, ink on paper, Size A5 (5.83 x 8.27 inches)

Mauai Sketchbook

Mauai Sketchbook (Honokawai), October 8-10, 2006, ink on paper, Size A5 (5.83 x 8.27 inches)

Mauai Sketchbook

Mauai Sketchbook (Honokawai), October 8-10, 2006, ink on paper, Size A5 (5.83 x 8.27 inches)

Mauai Sketchbook

Mauai Sketchbook (Honokawai), October 8-10, 2006, ink on paper, Size A5 (5.83 x 8.27 inches)

Mauai Sketchbook

Mauai Sketchbook (Honokawai), October 8-10, 2006, ink on paper, Size A5 (5.83 x 8.27 inches)

Mauai Sketchbook

Mauai Sketchbook (Honokawai), October 8-10, 2006, ink on paper, Size A5 (5.83 x 8.27 inches)

Bojagi

Bojagi, 2006, oil on canvas, 16 x 12 inches

Bojagi

Bojagi, 2006, oil on canvas, 20 x 16 inches

Bojagi

Bojagi, 2006, oil on canvas, 18 x 14 inches

Bojagi

L-R: Bojagi 3, 2, & 1, 2006

Travelling Northward (After Tu Fu)

Travelling Northward (After Tu Fu), 2006, oil on canvas, two panels, 20 x 16 inches each (20 x 33.75 inches installed)

Tres Sendas

Tres Sendas, 2006, oil on canvas, four panels, 12 x 9 inches each (12 x 40.5 inches installed)

Strummer

Strummer, 2006, oil on canvas, four panels, 12 x 9 inches each (12 x 40.5 inches installed)

Berkeley Paintings Statement

Berkeley Paintings 1-6 installed, 2195 Hearst, UC Berkeley (see photo of each painting)

Six Paintings for a Room in Berkeley

These six paintings were made with Room 200C in 2195 Hearst at UC Berkeley in mind. In this room there are seven windows in-between which are six short walls, each approximately three feet wide. Looking out through the windows one sees an intersection, buildings, cars and pedestrians, trees and hills. From the beginning it was my intention to make six paintings to hang between the windows using a blue and green palette. In making these paintings I determined that these paintings would refer to the Berkeley landscape.

Qinglü 青 绿 (also called qinglübai or qinglü shanshui) is a style of Chinese blue and green landscape painting made principally during the Sui (581–618) and Tang (618–907) dynasties. A rich and powerful color effect was achieved using two mineral colors— azurite blue and malachite green. In Fantastic Mountains: Chinese Landscape Painting from The Shanghai Museum, Liu Yang writes that this style “developed during the Six Dynasties period (222-479) to become the prime mode for landscape painting,” and “enjoyed its heyday during the Tang dynasty but remained vital thereafter.”

These paintings use a variety of ways to directly and simply make a painted image. The paint is applied in dots, gestures, drips, strokes, line, and filled-in shape. The black outlines are calligraphic and have different qualities: smooth; thin; barbed; abrupt; flowing. The blue and green don’t blend or mix, so the colors remain distinct and clean. The linen ground is not hidden, providing a warm background in which the fabric is plainly visible. The aluminum paint seems to both give off and flatten light; its contrast with the linen points to both the natural and the artificial, which is what paintings are.

Berkeley Paintings Installation

Berkeley Paintings 1-6 installed, 2195 Hearst, UC Berkeley

Ocean View (Berkeley Painting #6)

Ocean View (Berkeley Painting #6), 2006, oil and aluminum Rust-oleum on clear acrylic on linen, 23 x 15 in

Strawberry (Berkeley Painting #5)

Strawberry (Berkeley Painting #5), 2006, oil and aluminum Rust-oleum on clear acrylic on linen, 23 x 16 in

La Loma (Berkeley Painting #4)

La Loma (Berkeley Painting #4), 2006, oil and aluminum Rust-oleum on clear acrylic on linen, 23 x 17 in

Tao-chi: a leaf from an An Album for Taoist Yü. See my essay About a leaf from Tao-chi's Album for Taoist Yü, December 2004.

Panoramic (Berkeley Painting #3)

Panoramic (Berkeley Painting #3), 2006, oil and aluminum Rust-oleum on clear acrylic on linen, 23 x 17 in

Cragmont (Berkeley Painting #2)

Cragmont (Berkeley Painting #2), 2006, oil and aluminum Rust-oleum on clear acrylic on linen, 23 x 18 in

Tilden (Berkeley Painting #1)

Tilden (Berkeley Painting #1), 2006, oil and aluminum Rust-oleum on clear acrylic on linen, 23 x 19 in

Strummer

Strummer, 2006, oil on canvas, four panels, 12 x 9 inches each (12 x 40.5 inches installed)

Towards

Towards, 2005, oil on canvas, four panels, 20 x 16 inches each, 20 x 70 inches installed

Untitled

Untitled, 2005, oil on canvas, four panels, 18 x 14 inches each, 18 x 62 inches installed

Limantour 1-5

Limantour 1-5, 2005, Pencil, watercolor & ink on Rives BFK paper, approx. 8.75 x 6.75" each (scanned)

Limantour 1-5

Limantour 1-5, 2005, Pencil, watercolor & ink on Rives BFK paper, approx. 8.75 x 6.75" each (scanned)

Sausal Creek 1-5

Sausal Creek 1-5, 2005, Pencil, watercolor & ink on Rives BFK paper, approx. 8.75 x 6.75" each (scanned)

Occidental 1-5 (Version One)

Occidental 1-5 (Version One) , 2005, Pencil, watercolor & ink on Rives BFK paper, approx. 8.75 x 6.75" each (scanned)

Occidental 1-5 (Version Two)

Occidental 1-5 (Version Two), 2005, Pencil, watercolor & ink on Rives BFK paper, approx. 8.75 x 6.75" each (scanned)

Untitled (Reds) 1-5

Untitled (Reds) 1-5, 2005 (September), pencil, watercolor & ink on paper, approx. 8.75 x 6.75" each (scanned)

Untitled (Blue, Green & Orange) 1-5

Untitled (Blue, Green & Orange) 1-5, 2005 (September), watercolor & ink on paper, approx. 8.75 x 6.75" each (scanned)

Towards Crossmaglen 1-5

Towards Crossmaglen 1-5, 2005 (September), pencil, watercolor & ink on paper, approx. 8.75 x 6.75" each (scanned)

Four for W.A.A.

Four for W.A.A., 2005 (September), Pencil, watercolor & ink on Rives BFP cream paper, 4 panels, approx. 8.75 x 6.75" each (scanned)

Qinglü (Album Two, 1-10)

Qinglü (Album Two, 1-10), 2005 (September), Pencil, watercolor & ink on Rives BFP cream paper, approx. 8.75 x 6.75" each (scanned)

Untitled 1-5

Untitled 1-5, 2005 (September), Pencil, watercolor & ink on paper, approx. 8.75 x 6.75" each (scanned)

Chimney Rock 1-5

Chimney Rock 1-5, 2005 (August), Pencil, watercolor & ink on paper, approx. 8.75 x 6.75" each (scanned)

Making straight edges

Just wondering lately if I want to incorporate straight edges into the paintings like I've been doing with the drawings. I've been telling myself no, as I'm not a taper, but I'm wondering about how the images in the drawing might be incorporated into the paintings.

This is a little experiment- oil on a 12 x 9 inch canvas. The straight edges are made using a common house painter's tool, the name of which I can't recall: it's a kind of guide, made with thin, flat metal with a slight arch along its length like a section of Venetian blind, used to protect adjacent areas from an area being painted, for example, separated a floor moulding from the wall when painting trim.

This is not a finished painting.

Jersey

On May 21st, 2005, as I took the train from Penn Station to Newark Airport...

I decided that this four panel work, hanging in the studio back at home 3,000 miles away, was probably finished...

Which I confirmed the next day after getting home.

Jersey, 2005, oil on canvas, four panels, 20 x 16 inches each, 20 x 60 inches installed

Jersey

Updated photo of Jersey, 2005:

Limantour

San Felipe drawing @ Gmunden, AT

Thanks to Siegfriend Hozbauer I was in a group show in May in Gmunden, Austria. The work shown was originally drawn in HTML and posted at the old weblog in August 2003. I should say that I did not choose the drawing and had nothing to do with printing or framing it; it was Siegfried's choice and I'm fine with that.

San Felipe, Baja is a drawing from my Magnum Opus(ha!) Places I Have Slept (ca. 700kb), about 120 drawings made daily between August 3 and November 10, 2003. It was made from, literally, a list I made of every place I could remember having slept during my life.

What follows are: the HTML drawing; a photo of the printed, framed version which was shown; the announcement; and the catalog.

San Felipe, Baja, 2003, inkjet print (composed in HTML), 8 3/8 x 8 3/8 inches (21.5 x 21.5cm)

2005 paintings

2005 paintings gathered in one place:

Returning, 2004-05, oil on canvas, four panels, 16 x 12 inches each

Domestic, 2005, oil on canvas, four panels, 18 x 14 inches each

Jersey, 2005, oil on canvas, four panels, 20 x 16 inches each

Untitled, 2005, oil on canvas, four panels, 18 x 14 inches each

Sliabh Gorm, 2004-05, oil on canvas, four panels, 16 x 12 inches each

July Set 5

July Set 5, 1-5, 2005, Pencil, watercolor & ink on paper, approx. 8.75 x 6.75" each (scanned)

July Set 4

July Set 4, 1-5, 2005, Pencil, watercolor & ink on paper, approx. 8.75 x 6.75" each (scanned)

Green Mountain | Sliabh Gorm

July Set 1, 1-5

July Set 1, 1-5, 2005, Pencil, watercolor & ink on paper, approx. 8.75 x 6.75" each (scanned)

July Set 2, 1-5

July Set 2, 1-5, 2005, Pencil, watercolor & ink on paper, approx. 8.75 x 6.75" each (scanned)

July Set 3, 1-5

July Set 3, 1-5, 2005, Pencil, watercolor & ink on paper, approx. 8.75 x 6.75" each (scanned)

July Trio

July Trio, 2005, Pencil, watercolor & ink on paper, approx. 8.75 x 6.75" each (scanned)

Jersey 1-4

In progress

In progress, oil on canvas, 18 x 14" each

One Over One 1-9

French Trail, Albums 5 & 6

French Trail Album 5, 1-5, 2005, Pencil, watercolor & ink on paper, approx. 8.75 x 6.75" each (scanned), Private Collection

French Trail Album 6, 1-5, 2005, Pencil, watercolor & ink on paper, approx. 8.75 x 6.75" each (scanned), Private Collection

Two more albums in the French Trail series. Each album has five drawings. Three albums were posted on 20050317, and another 20050325. In these two albums each drawing uses a different motif, contrasts between free and ruled lines, and free and ruled brushed watercolor, and all have the ruled black finishing line. Albums 5 and 6 are gifts, and will go into a folder made from the same paper on which all of these drawings are made- Rives BFK lightweight cream, a thin, sensitive rag printmaking paper that handles water media well, doesn't stand up to lots of erasure, has a beautiful cream color, and is not expensive. I've used this paper off and on since about 1978.

Recent Drawings

French Trail Album 4, 1-5, 2005, Pencil, watercolor & ink on paper, approx. 8.75 x 6.75" each (scanned)

Qinglü (Blue & Green), 1-5, 2005, Pencil, watercolor & ink on paper, approx. 8.75 x 6.75" each (scanned)

Untitled, 1-5, Pencil, 2005, watercolor & ink on paper, approx. 8.75 x 6.75" each (scanned)

See recent French Trail drawings, Sets 1-3.

French Trail, Albums 1-3

French Trail Album 1, 1-5, 2005, Pencil, watercolor & ink on paper, approx. 8.75 x 6.75" each (scanned)

French Trail Album 2, 1-5, 2005, Pencil, watercolor & ink on paper, approx. 8.75 x 6.75" each (scanned)

French Trail Album 3, 1-5, 2005, Pencil, watercolor & ink on paper, approx. 8.75 x 6.75" each (scanned)

The French Trail is a narrow, steep trail in the Oakland Hills near where I live. We often walk a 3.5 mile loop with our dog that begins at the Skyline Gate Staging Area The FT is probably much less than one quarter of the distance in the total loop, branching off from a fire road in a meandering, tree-covered downhill descent, much of what looks like a Cezanne forest painting until one reaches a long stretch of creek that is lined with more recent generations of redwoods crowning the remaining cut or burnt out stumps of old growth redwood. At this time there are lots of flowers, but I'm lousy at flower names, so I can only name irises.

These are an attempt to get a direct image out that is light and that floats. I didn't want to work them too much. In each set there is contrasting use of lined and scribbled line. Lines are underneath washes, go over washes, or stop and start on either side of a wash. There is framing and unframing, deep and shallow spaces. Set 1 is the most place-specific. Set 2 is about openness. Set 3 is about looking up close.

All three sets came out of some thinking I've been carrying around for months about a small watercolor (below) I posted on 20040630 where I wrote, "I like the clear character of each stroke, the supporting straight line, the modesty of means and lack of presumption, the sense of air and breath, the pace of the eye through the five figures, and how the structure is not far from the grid I've been using so much for three years now but not overbearingly present. This is not a finished work, but I think there is an idea in here that I can use."

Untitled Blue & Green Album 1-4

Untitled Blue & Green Album 1-4, 2005, Watercolor & ink on paper, approx. 9 x 6.75", 22.7 x 17 cm

Untitled Blue & Green Album 1-5

Untitled Blue & Green Album 1-5, 2005, Watercolor & ink on paper, approx. 9 x 6.75", 22.7 x 17 cm

Documentation

Sliabh Ruadh, 2005, oil on canvas, 16 x 12"

In progress, 2005, oil on canvas, 18 x 14"

Untitled (Red & Gray), 2005, oil on canvas, 16 x 12"

Untitled Pair

Untitled Pair, in progress, oil on canvas, 18 x 14" each

Album 3

Album 3, 2005, watercolor & ink on paper, 5 leaves, approx. 10 x 8.75" each

Album 2

Album 2, 2005, watercolor & pencil on paper, 5 leaves, approx. 10 x 8.75" each

Album 1

Album 1, 2005, watercolor & ink on paper, 5 leaves, approx. 10 x 8.75" each

Carpenter's Blues

Three of four canvases, in progress, tentatively titled "Carpenter's Blues," oil on canvas, 18 x 14" each.

Returning 1-4, 2004-05

Returning, 2004-05, oil on four canvases, 16 x 12" each (large view)

These four canvases were part of a group of six. I painted them in mid-December and I've been looking at them for the last month. I've decided that they're finished and that they belong together. The other two have been sanded down and are being repainted as a pair.

The title "Returning" is literal, but not in the most obvious way: it has to do with my being away from "home," and these paintings as a homecoming, arrival, but I haven't literally been away from home, and the home I'm talking about is another place. It also has to do with Shitao's "Returning Home."

Studio view

Eight small paintings, acrylic on wood, in progress.

Small Red Stack

A stack of small paintings: acrylic on wood, in progress, with a red ground color.

Boxing Day (Blue & Green)

Boxing Day (Blue & Green), 2004, oil on canvas, 10 x 10 inches

Four oil studies

Four studies (in progress), 2004, oil on canvas, 16 x 12 inches each

Six oil studies

Six studies (in progress), December 2004, oil on canvas, 16 x 12 inches each

Blue/Green 1-6

Blue/Green 1-6, 2004, acrylic on wood, dimensions varied (approximately 12 x 8 inches), click each for larger view

The landscapes painting which executed in mineral green and azurite colors was called as Blue and Green Landscape.It divided by Big Blue and Green and Small Blue and Green.On the base of ochre color,Small Blue and Green executed mineral green and azurite colors;on the base of outline,Big Blue and Green executed arranging colors with decorative atmosphere. (Evidence)

Blue & Green 7-9

Blue & Green 7-9, 2004, pastel and water on paper, 12 x 9" each (scanned)
1-3 in this series posted 20041121
4-6 in this series posted 20041121

Blue & Green 4-6

Blue & Green 4-6, 2004, pastel and water on paper, 12 x 9" each (scanned)

1-3 in this series posted 20041121.