Day 2 of Portland journey Painting

Coming into the studio this morning I was feeling good about my painting start from yesterday. That was until I took a look at the painting. Everything I felt good about I didn't today. From design to color this painting needed help. It's funny, this always happens when I start a painting. The first day everything looks really great and I feel good when I leave that night and the next day I end up repainting everything. Well, almost.

End of Day 1 start

Looking at the painting with a fresh eye a few things popped out at me. First problem was in the design. I can see I split my canvas corner to corner with the strong diagonal of trees. I'll have to fix that, by bringing the sky, water and mountains over farther. This is a gorge so I think the mountains are really hills, but living in a place where they call us "Flatlanders", I would say they are mountains.

First changes to painting-working on mountains

Second problem needed to be fix - the mountains, sky, and water were all about the same size and length. One of these will have too become more dominate than the others. Since this painting is about depth, the mountains should become bigger, the water smaller and more curved, and the sky should be thin across the top of the painting.

Working on design and foreground.

After those two problems are fixed I can start working in the dark mass to pull out trees shapes. This is a big area of the painting and it will need some interest. but I don't want too take away from the focus of the painting. And that is the bright sun light spot on the highway and the white semi truck that is just coming out of the shadows.

Well that's the plan for day 2. Planing out what you want to get done each day helps keep a focus to the painting. I'll work one area at a time and won't get distracted with other parts of the painting. Time to hit that trail and get busy. Turning on the tunes, mixing up some new paint and turn those big hills into mountains. Lets see how my day goes.

Remember to be a Traveler in this project, just become friends with the Artist, have a great story to share, and some type of small souvenir like a postcard or used lift ticket to contribute to the blog and painting. Making new friends and learning about new places is what this project is about. Like I always say, "Come find me, I'll be painting somewhere." and join in the adventure to cover the world in paint.

Day 1 of Portland journey Painting

Day 1 of Portland journey Painting

The start of a painting is a lot like the start of a trip. You have a real good idea of where you are going and how to get there, but there are detours along the way. With this first painting the detour was right at the beginning, when the Traveler's story was way different than the painting idea. With that I decided to stay a little longer in Portland.

Portland is such a beautiful place I heard it's hard to even stop painting there. When you travel 20 min. in any direction, you have totally different sites to take in. You have an Ocean with its rocky coast to the west. You have mountains over there and big giant forests over here. And that's not even counting Portland's own beauty. The Japanese Gardens are supposed to be a wonderful place to take in. So I'm staying a little longer here. And that will give other Travelers in this journey more time to pack.

Remember to be a Traveler in this project, just become friends with the Artist, have a great story to share, and some type of small souvenir like a postcard or used lift ticket to contribute to the blog and painting. Making new friends and learning about new places is what this project is about. Like I always say, "Come find me, I'll be painting somewhere." and join in the adventure to cover the world in paintings.

The Artist's Notes: When I received Jerry's story, I felt that what I was going to paint of his journey didn't go with his story. I've illustrated for many a year for books and in advertising and know they need to mesh a little more. So as the Artist, I called for a detour. His story was about how hard it was to get there for a guy in a wheel chair and his dog. And not just any dog a full grew St. Bernard. Jerry's a tough guy, and I'm sure his trip was a lot rougher than he lets on. But that being said lets get to the painting.

The better you know your subject the less you have too known about it. I'm starting this painting on a 20" x 24" linen canvas that has a clear acrylic coat on the surface in my studio. I have the story information from the Traveler; I have a few images to work with and a post card from Portland. Thank you Jerry.

In this first day of site seeing I want to map out what I do. First is the design of the painting. Without a good design the painting will not make it far, a good composition can make a painting great. I like to familiarize myself with the subject or "interview it" as an old art buddy told me. This is where I try and break the painting apart to its simplest forms. With the basic composition in mind I can design the image. (See image below)

With the design figured out, it's time to get busy. First I lay out my colors on the palette. The palette is an old heavy glass mirror. It's real easy to move colors around on and makes for easy clean ups with a razor blade. It's also a real good size, not too big and not too small, so I don't waste a lot of paint. (See image below)

Before I mix up my paint I transfer my sketch loosely to the canvas. I'll rub in a little paint on the canvas with the brush and then use a paper towel to smear it around. Then I'll try and pull out the high lights from the wet paint. And then draw in the sketch. (See image below)

With the sketch on the canvas it's time to mix up the colors for the painting. I work mixing up my colors on the palette like I paint-from dark to light. I'll start with my dark colors first and then work towards my lights-which is the sky in this painting. The sky is almost always the lightest light. I'll try and mix up most of the colors I'm going to need for the painting in small piles of paint.

I look for harmony in the colors on my palette before I put them on the canvas. If a color jumps out too much it's usually wrong, but not always it does depend on what you're painting. Remember sometimes the rules of art are meant to be bent or broken. Funny I've always have found that saying strange, that " Art has rules to go by, and then turning around and telling you it’s OK too bend and break them. Maybe they are more like Guidelines.

OK, finally paint on Canvas. Music is on, and I'm off. I'll lay in the dark colors first to get the structure of the painting down. I put my dark colors in thin and lights colors thick. I work with a large brush to block in the painting quickly. Think big brush, big strokes, and big ideas. By the end of the block in the painting should really be taking form. (See image below)

With painting blocked in and a little break to get a fresh eye, I'll start to refine the painting. Working on the focus and depth. A lot of color shifting and design changes will have too be done. With that accomplished the lighten the studio is gone, and day 1 of the first Traveler painting is over. Time to clean the palette and brushes.

From Beloit, WI to Portland, OR

The first Traveler in this painting journey is Jerry from Portland. Jerry's wife Jackie was starting a new job that required them to move from Beloit, WI to Portland Oregon. Jackie had gone on ahead while Jerry stayed behind to sell the house. After the sale, Jerry would then drive with their St Bernard, Winnie, to their new home on the west coast. An adventure in and of itself but made more exciting when you’re in a wheel chair.

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The Traveler story:
Jerry's From Beloit, WI to Portland, OR

"When I mapped out the road trip from Beloit to Portland it was going to take 30 hours behind the wheel. Considering I am in a wheelchair and I am taking my St. Bernard, Winnie, with me it sure seemed like a road trip from Hell. Winnie had never been for more than a half hour car ride so looking at 30 hours was kind of frightening for me. But it was better than flying her out and driving by myself. I wanted to have my van when I got there since the movers were not going to be there for a week or more. So we figured it would be 3 days before I arrived in Portland.

I spent a week before the trip getting everything I would load into the van together so that we were ready to roll when the movers drove off. So Tuesday at 2 p.m. our adventure began. I had mapped out the trip and decided to take I-90 most of the way which was a good move looking back. It turned out to be a beautiful drive. Winnie turned out to be a real “road dog”. We would drive till I needed gas or she needed to relieve herself. I had brought a long leash that I would use so that I didn’t have to get out of the van when she needed to go potty. I just pulled over and let the ramp down and she did her business and we were back on the road. She soiled every state we went thru. She is pretty proud of that fact.

So we left at 2 p.m. and drove thru Minnesota, South Dakota, and part of Montana before I finally pulled over at a rest stop at 4 a.m. to get some shut-eye. During the night, as I drove, I had noticed what looked like low lying clouds. When I woke up at 6:30 a.m. I saw that they were actually snow-covered mountains and when I looked around the scenery was unbelievable. When I was a kid the scenery all seemed to look the same and I never really noticed it. But since I’ve grownup and seen lots of different places, it is the first thing I notice about a place, that is why I love Portland so much.


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After seeing what I was driving into it gave me a big boost and I couldn’t wait to see what was coming up after each turn or hill that we came up to. Wisconsin is Beautiful but it is really flat compared to the mountains and valleys we were driving thru on this trip. Montana was beautiful but it was also the longest part of the drive. Once we got thru Montana and Idaho by 3 or 4 p.m. I knew we could make it the rest of the way without stopping for the night. So we took I-90 to Spokane, Washington, then we took I-84 to take us to Portland. Once I-84 got us across the Columbia River to Oregon the ride got even better.

It was like scenes from a National Geographic movie and it just got better the farther we went down 84. As we head west toward Portland we are following the river and you can see Mount Hood thru most of it. At one point in the drive the road looks like it is going right into the mountain and Mount Hood takes up the whole windshield. It was just an awesome site and I wish I had a camera handy at that moment. This whole area is called the Columbia Gorge and it is the best part of the whole trip. On the right side you have the Columbia River and the state of Washington and on the left you have the mountains and cliffs of the Gorge. Every once in a while you could see waterfalls pouring out of the cliffs. There is a huge waterfall called Multnomah Falls that has a special exit near Portland and you can see the falls from the interstate. It’s one of the coolest things I have ever seen.

We arrived at our new home in Portland at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, so a 3-day road trip took Winnie and me a day and a half. I didn’t need a bunch of coffee or caffeine to keep me awake. The scenery alone did that. I look forward to making the drive again some day, I'll make sure to have a camera ready at all times for that one.

"Artist's Notes:" When Jerry sent me his photos my jaw dropped. I was and am, so jealous because of where he lives. From what he been telling me, the only problem with Portland is they don't know how to drive when it snows. But hey, not many places do. He also says that the town is beautiful and is surrounded in even more natural beauty. For me coming from a place were they call us Flat landers and to see those mountainous landscapes was really inspiring.

This first painting I'm starting is of a mountainous highway scene in tribute to Jerry and his St Bernards trip. The 1st Traveler painting will be of medium size 20"x 24" on linen canvas. Here is my rough sketch of the painting. These kind of sketches or usually for my eyes only , but since we are friends you can take a look. I will post my progress on this painting along with my comments so you can see what's been happening with it. I already now how it's going to turn out in my head, so watch here and see it unfold. Thanks again little Bro.

The Journey Begins.

The painter Robert Henri said, "Every brush stroke is a record by the artist. It records a time, a place, and the energy of the artist."

Like a Travelers camera, which captures a record of their time and space, Artist Jim Swanson will make his own record of the journey with a brush on canvas.

This Blog is about traveling with friends all over the world and telling it in paint. It's about two shared journeys between friends. It's about one friend being a Traveler, and the other friend is the Artist Jim Swanson. They travel two totally different roads and mediums to reach the same place. The Traveler will be taking the normal route by train’s planes and automobiles and Jim will take his by brush, paint, and canvas. The object is to take a world journey in paintings, stories and making new friends along the way.

With today's technology and Web, the 6 degrees of separation have never been so true and easier to do. We are communicating on a level never before seen in time. So how come, when you run into an old friend and ask "what's new?" They always seem to say, " you know, the same old." But when you ask them, " have they been anywhere lately?" they get a big smile on their face and have a great story to tell about their travels.

Who is or can be the Traveler? Anyone the Artist knows-a family member, close friend, or friend of a friend, a business acquaintance, or someone the Artist just met and became friends with, and also through this blog at theArtistandtheTraveler@gmail.com .The Traveler's journey will take place all over the world, from Timbuktu to Kalamazoo. On vacation trips, business trips, day trips, and even trips just around the corner. All seen threw many different eyes, and cameras, and retold through one, Jim Swanson's eye.

The Artist - Jim Swanson is an award winning Oil painter and Pastel artist, to see Jim's art go to www.jamesswansondesign.com/paintings. "I will be painting the world from my studio with the help of my friends. With paints, brushes, and the sights and stories of the Traveler, I will create a painting for that journey. The process of the painting will be recorded here on this blog, along with my Artist comments and the Travelers tale along with any tidbits of information I can come up with, kind of a travel log in paint."

How the project will work. Jim will receives images from his friends the Travelers, which will be in photographs and digital files of places he has never seen before, but will one day visit. The images will be collected, and stored with the interview of the Traveler about their travel experience. Then the Jim will create a painting from what he has absorbed from the Travelers journey. For the images and small souvenir from the trip - like a postcard, or brochure the Traveler will receive a print of their painting, along with credit for their trip on the painting, anything else this journey leads too.

Artists Notes: " So find me! If you have a great place you've been and have a story to tell I want to see and hear about it. Just as the Traveler plans his trip, this Artist will be planning his. This is the start of a long and painterly journey. Join in this new experiment in art, and learn some things about art and oil painting along the way. "Happy Trails " as Roy Rodgers used to say, I'm off to Portland Oregon to meet up with the first Traveler Jerry, see you there!"



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