Announcing Art Show…
Rich Brimer September 3rd, 2008
“Faces” Solo Art Show
at the Cafe on A Gallery in Oxnard, CA
OPENING RECEPTION: Friday October 3rd, 2008 6:30 to 9:30
Huntington Beach Festival II
Rich Brimer September 2nd, 2008
Back from another weekend. I did not get much painting done, but I had a wonderful time at the beach. It started out at San Onofre on Friday. I left work at 1pm to make my drive down to the camp site, and it ended up that I did not get there until nearly 6:00. I changed into my swimming trunks and went straight to the shore and dropped my things and went into the water. After a 5-hour (190 mile) drive I was so ready for a good swim. There were very few people on the beach at this time of night which was fine my me. I stayed there in solitude watching the sky and the birds and and the sea. The sun went down around 7:30, so just after the big red orb lost its last flicker on the horizon, I made my way back to the cliffs to make the climb back to camp. Oh, what a night it was. I decided to not put the tent up, choosing to sleep in the bed of my Ford F-150. With a tarp over half of the bed to catch the evening dew, I put three sleeping bags down for the base coat and used only a sheet for a cover. The night was a balmy 70 degrees.
I got up with the sun and packed up and found a Starbucks in San Clemente and continued my drive north to Huntington Harbor where I painted this … “Harbor View” which is a few of the harbor from the end of Edinger. As you can see, I was able to save the tree from the potentially disastrous stripe of phthalo blue. <whew!>
Whoops!
Rich Brimer August 31st, 2008
So, there I was, really enjoying painting the trunk of this fat fruitless Mulberry. I had the blue brush in my hand when I reached to the ground to get more red paint when I noticed that my brush hit “something” as I reached over to the ground. I paused and took a deep breath and slowly looked over to my freshly painted trunk, and as you see here, there was a long blue stripe across it. Not just any blue mind you, but PHTHALO blue. This particular blue is only good for doing blue awnings and boat covers, and also for that rich gem-like water that needs to pop. When mixed with anything, it kills it. I have to keep it far away from anything, then I go and stripe my tree. <DOH!!>
I slowly wiped it off with a fresh paper towel, and then re-painted the missing bits back in. I will finish up some of the details in the harbor in the background tomorrow, and I will post the rest of the painting then.
Huntington Beach Festival
Rich Brimer August 24th, 2008
So, I got two paintings in this weekend at my first entrance into the competition. I was invited last year, but was unable to make it. The competition is through three weeks, but as I have a day job, and live so far away, I can only paint on weekends. I will be glad if I can get three new paintings worthy of entering when it is all said and done. Here are the first two sketches I did, and will likely go back to both locations later and paint again. I love the Bolsa Chica wildlife preserve. There are some awesome birdlife wondering around there. Pelicans, egrets, and many smaller shorebirds were there watching me while I painted.
Jasmine Tea
Rich Brimer August 20th, 2008
Some of the best tea I have ever had I bought a couple of years ago from World Spice. They are this small Seattle shop with spices and teas. Well, I am out of tea, so I went to their website that is listed on the front of my now empty Dragon Tears jasmine tea package. I filled my cart with 4 ounces of tea, pulled out my credit card to make the payment and… I got the following ASTONISHING message…
Thank you for shopping with us. Your order has been submitted and you will receive an email confirmation within 24 hours along with shipping information and answers to FAQ’s. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
A Note on Payment:
We prefer to do business the old fashioned way… yes, that’s why we didn’t ask for your credit card. We will enclose an invoice along with your spices and when you receive it, simply mail us a check. If you have submitted a gift order, please let us know and we will send the invoice separately via email.Eat Well, Enjoy Life! Best Regards from the World Spice staff.
So, I just had to say something. Please buy tea from World Spice to help them make the world a better place by sending out awesome tea and trusting that there are still good humans in this world and they will get payment in return.
On the Boardwalk
Rich Brimer August 19th, 2008
So, here it is. Another student painting for the blog. Ryan Manke is going to make a hellovah painter. He has a natural sense of composition and contrast. With a few more solo paintings under his belt, you may be able to see some good work hanging around on walls around Oceanside. Congrats Ryan. Thanks for making my weekend stress-free!!!
Ryan is going to learn to paint today
Rich Brimer August 16th, 2008
So, today we are going to start something new. Ryan Manke has never painted but he says that he wants to. So, at the end of the day we will be posting some photos of our progress… Come back soon!
Il Paradiso II
Rich Brimer August 16th, 2008
I have added a glaze to the sky and painted a second layer over the landscape, wiping away some of the bits to let the underpainting show through. Next, I will go back into the clouds to bring back some highlights and deepen the shadows. Getting close…
Nicky Face III
Rich Brimer August 15th, 2008
So, Nick has been sitting over int he corner for months watching me whenever I come into the garage/studio. I finally have started to upgrade the background from the first strokes I put on the panel those many months ago. The first thing to do is to add a warm glaze over the sky, then rag off most of it, bringing some life to the clouds.
Next I painted some more natural colored grass into the foreground. Once that dries, I will do some more work on it to add some texture. I am not really happy with his eyes, but that is pretty much how he looked because of the location of the sun. Sometime soon, I will take a new reference photo that has his eyes more open and not squinting like my son from south-east asia.
