“The Pig’s Nose”
The pig’s nose is a small bluff that juts out of Little Sister Bay, Wisconsin, which is located on the eastern shore of Green Bay, near the tip of Wisconsin’s “thumb”. I’m not sure if it is known to others by that name, but it has iconic status within my family. We spent endless summer days on Little Sister when I was a boy and the pig’s nose was there with us, a part of our lives. While this bluff appears as something different from every angle it is viewed from, the view from our cottage, directly across the bay, turned the bluff into the shape of the nose of a pig.
My painting, “Pig’s Nose”, was done for my sister as an anniversary gift for her husband. It is based on a series of photographs I had taken in late spring of 2009, from the approximate spot of where my family vacationed when I was young. It was my good fortune to have chosen a day to photograph that grew into an incredible evening with a glorious sunset; so often the case in that magical land of Door County.
The pig’s nose lay seemingly suspended over the calm water of the bay while bowing to the sun’s retreat. The colors of this sunset seemed almost surreal, their complexity daunting against the stark light of the bluff. The contrast of the two gave me a sense of serenity. Because of its familiarity and significance to my family, this scene is perhaps my favorite painting.
The project of painting the “Pig’s Nose” lasted one and a half months. It is a 24 x 36″ oil on canvass. In order to capture the stunning colors of the sunset I first toned the canvass with a thin mixture of cadmium yellow medium and yellow ochre, a hue that peaks through the sky and water and helps unify the color of the composition. The brilliant hues along the horizon resulted from application of a glaze of cadmium red medium over the toned ground. I was experimenting with this combination initially, but once I saw the blaze of color that resulted I felt I found a way to approach and mimic the brightest sections of the sunset.
So, I feel good about the results of this painting. It is special to me and humbling to have captured an image of the fleeting moments of that day I spent alone with the pig’s nose on Little Sister Bay.
December 19, 2011
Through the Woods Backstory
“Through the Woods” is based on another of my brother’s photos. The building is a restored mill located in Wisconsin’s Southern Kettle Moraine State Forest. He came upon it shortly after a heavy and pristine snow fell on the area. The photograph jumped out at me and drew me in. I loved the contrast of the building’s deep red with its white surroundings. It seemed to be tucked safely away from the modern world and my imagination began to play about all it had witnessed over time. Another impression I had was that the picture reminded me of the old song “Over the River and through the Woods”. Thus, the title of “Through the Woods.” I believe the image is an honest portrayal of the beauty one can find in winter. The house is peeking out from its solitude and beckoning the viewer to come closer–to come through the woods, to come home.
December 18, 2011
Here is a thumbnail of the painting referenced in my previous post.
December 15, 2011
The painting I’ve been working on based on my brother Tom’s photograph “Pink and Blue” is finished. I hope to post a copy of it here in the near future. It was a challenging and exciting project. I feel good about the result. Door County, and that particular area of Lake Michigan, is a favorite of mine and the composition and nature of the picture is typical of the magical beauty one encounters there on a regular basis. The light of a sunrise over the lake is ever changing and fleeting. My attempt was to capture that light and commit it to the solid medium of oil on canvass.
November 13th, 2011
My current project is an oil on canvas that is based on my brother Tom’s photograph, “Pink and Blue.” I’ve been working on the piece for about three weeks now, and anticipate it taking at least another three weeks to complete. The length of time it takes me to complete a painting depends on its size (in this case, 18×24) as well as the amount of detail involved. This particular painting is a Door County cloudscape that looks North across Death’s Door from the Lake Michigan shoreline. It’s very personal to me, not only because I’m working from my brother’s photograph, but because his image was taken from the beach at my sister’s property in Door County.