Updated May 26. Click here for A Painter's Journal, a work in progress.
Once again it is time for ProArts East Bay Open Studios.
The group show is at the Pro ArtsGallery at 461 Ninth Street, at the corner of Broadway in Oakland, open 11:00 to 5:00. With one piece from each of about 400 artists, it is a good way to choose which artists' work you want to see. Oil painter Joseph Duvivier and I will again be showing together near Jack London Square.
June 5, 6, 12 & 13, 11:00 am to 6:00 pm
We are showing at 255 Third Street #307, Oakland California...
(between Alice and Webster, 2-1/2 blocks from Broadway - take Broadway exit from 880)
It was a busy year. I started out with part time work and plenty of time to travel and paint. Pyramid Lake and the John Muir Wilderness inspired me through the summer. I found snow through August in the Sierra and green valleys in the normally arid eastern half of Siskiyou County. Mt. Shasta affected the local weather all summer. I also painted closer tohome, on the coast and out at Point Reyes.
In autumn I painted in the Surprise Valley of Modoc County and took another November trip to the Thompson River in British Columbia, where it was still like summer and no frost had come to Spence's Bridge. In January I and my sister Anne made a short trip to Japan for my brother Mike's wedding.
Over the winter I continued work on hand colored etchings, one of the view from Mt. Washburn in Yellowstone and another view from Curtis Creek Camp above Jackson Hole.
The high sierra is still packed in snow, so I am happy to stay home two weekends to share my inspirations. I would especially enjoy if you bring a map and show me places I should paint.
Hope to see you there.
My art is affordable to anyone. Watercolors range in price from $125-175, etchings from $60-75. If you are interested in purchasing, please contact me at mv@vinsel.com.
Popular Works from the Past(These paintings have been sold)
About my Art - Watercolors and Fly Fishing
Fly fishing for trout and steelhead brings me to beautiful places, and watercolor painting is a perfect companion pursuit. The materials are lightweight and compact enough to fit in a vest pocket. Clear water need not be carried. The time for a simple sketch is about the time you would want to rest a pool after putting a good fish down, and a more involved painting can fill in time when waiting for the evening rise. It can be difficult to choose between painting and fishing when the sun sets and the fish are rising.
I have painted watercolors since 1975. My most inspiring influence was Tseng Ta-Yu of the East-West Art Studio in San Francisco, a renowned musician, poet, painter and calligrapher who impressed upon me the beauty and truth in oriental techiques and philosophy. My watercolors combine oriental influence with traditional transparent watercolor techniques in the raw natural landscape of western North America. Contrary to popular beliefs promoted by those who would continue to destroy our natural beauty, this nature still exists and is worth preserving.
I have recently studied etching at Kala Art Institute in Berkeley, CA and enjoy the process and planning involved in etching as a welcome balance to the spontaneity of watercolor, during the winter when painting outdoors can be problematic.
If you are interested in buying an etching or watercolor, to commission a painting for a specific location, to recommend a suggested location, or converse about the finer points of fly fishing, please contact me by electronic mail at mv@vinsel.com.
Commissions will be considered. References available on request.