Archive for February, 2010

Congratulations Artist Trust!

Saturday, February 27th, 2010

Despite the down economy, the Artist Trust 2010 Benefit Auction raised a record-breaking $315,000!  Thank you, local arts supporters and art community!  The proceeds will fund grants to artists, career training like the EDGE program and numerous workshops, and business resources for artists in Washington State.  This is a direct and significant benefit to regional artists.

Thanks to the purchaser of the painting I donated, Dry Farm (posted earlier).  I hope you enjoy living with it.  That’s my great-grandpa on the family farm in the Southwest.

Updated website: stephas.com

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

Man, it takes a lot of work to redesign a website from scratch.  But www.stephas.com was looking a little dated, and I wanted to get my new series of paintings up.  Thanks to Michael Jochimsen for the programming.  Last week we tested and proofed, and I confirmed that I don’t like working on a computer all day anymore.  Please check it out: new design, new artworks.

http://www.stephas.com

High on Sunshine?

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

Last Saturday’s 60-mile bike ride was extraordinary:  my  ByrneInvent teammates and I had more than a half dozen actively positive interactions with drivers and passers-by — and no negative ones!  A guy crossing the street with his cup of coffee cheered us as we went by.  A Metro bus driver passed us with an entire lane to spare, and then gave us a thumbs-up as we passed him at a layover.  Drivers made space for us to change across lanes when we signalled.  The traffic sensor in the turn lane at 145th has been fixed to detect bikes.  People waved.  Walkers on the trail smiled.

Can it be that we’ve finally turned the corner to a society in which cyclists are recognized fondly as legitimate road users?  Even admired?

Or was it just one of those bluebirds-singing, everything-right-with-the-world Disney moments that occur on the rare occasions when Seattle has sunshine in February?

They made me an offer I couldn’t refuse…

Thursday, February 4th, 2010

I am designing the 2010 Ride Around Mt. Rainier (RAMROD) souvenir jersey for Redmond Cycling Club.  I’m not posting it here yet, it’s under wraps until we post it on Active.com when registration opens.  Suffice to say it revisits (with permission) the theme of one of the most popular RAMROD jersey designs of the previous century.  Retro?  Wool?  A corny rebus?  Stay tuned to this station.

RAMROD 2007 front ramrod_jersey_frontRamrod Jersey 2009Q

Reading Now: Mitchell Albala, Landscape Painting

Thursday, February 4th, 2010

I’ve been reading a few pages at a time of Mitch Albala’s new book, Landscape Painting. Very clear and well written.

His approach is very analytic and his generalizations are illustrated by specifics.  It seems clear enough for beginners, and addresses many basics that apply to any subject.  But it also has plenty of meat for more advanced painters.  There are reminders of many considerations we learned long ago but often forget in the heat of the forge, along with helpful tips on site selection, plein-aire tricks, changing light, simplification, and other issues important to landscapists.  The illustrations alone are worth the price of admission: an extremely varied, thoughtful selection of works by many artists, reproduced beautifully.
I don’t want the feast to end.

Albala, Landscape Painting (cover)