Finally! #30 of 30 paintings in 30 days: "Conversation With The Sages"

"Conversation With the Sages" - Smith Rock, OR, USA
- Oil Pastel on Paper, approx. 8.2x7.4"/ 207x184mm

When we lived in Portland, OR, we would often take the 4.5 hour drive to Bend. One of our favorite stops along the way was Smith Rock State Park. On this particular occasion, we worked our way to the edge of the crumbling basalt cliff that lined the less traveled side of the Crooked River, near the bivouac area. This was one of the views through the sage and junipers as we walked quietly, our boots leaving no trace of our passage across the moss and grass covered rocks. I figured that since I started the "30 paintings in 30 days" challenge with oil pastels, I'd finish with one, too--sort of coming full circle, I guess. This was done on gray Canson MiTeintes paper. I've learned that a neutral tone in a mid-range value seems to work best for me when doing oil pastels.

#29 of 30 - "Waiting for Runoff"

"Waiting for Runoff" - Liangshan Creek, Taiwan 
- Ink and Ballpoint Pen - 9.9x6.9"/250x176mm

This was one of our first views on the way to the three levels of Liangshan Falls. Since we're in the middle of winter here, it was dry as a bone. I wonder what it looks like with the water carving away at layer after layer of stone. We'll just have to come back in a few months and see it again. I've been painting with these Inktense ink blocks for a couple of years now, and I never really noticed this wonderful Payne's Gray! It came in very handy on this painting.

#28 of 30 - "As the Sun Smiled"

"As the Sun Smiled" - GuanYin Shan from Danshui, plein air
- Ink and Ballpoint Pen - 9.9x6.9"/250x176mm

We rode the tandem bike down to the river and then pedaled to what's become our favorite stretch of rock-covered riverbank, just before the fishermen's wharf. From here, on a perfect, sunny Taiwanese winter afternoon, we could see GuanYin Shan's many peaks rising from the far bank. So good to be out when the sun is smiling.

#27 of 30 - "One of Many Turns"

"One of Many Turns" - Taiwan - Ink and Ballpoint Pen, - 9.9x6.9"/250x176mm

One of the wonderful things about hiking in a new area is that you never know what you'll come to next. We often have some expectation, or some idea of what is there, but we have to round the bend to find out what is really there. This was an early turn in a hike that eventually had us gasping at a sheer dropoff. Taiwan's Taroko Gorge is truly spectacular. This little painting is just a teaser, really. (And yes, this picture was taken with my phone, and that's my lap.)

#26 of 30 "Shall We Go Up?" - Guizekeng, Beitou, Taiwan

"Shall We Go Up?" - Guizekeng, Taiwan
- Acrylic on Canvas
- approx. 16.1x12.4"/41x 31.5cm

From our front door to the trail head to Guizekeng takes about 13 minutes on foot. About half an hour and a steep climb later, you traverse a long ridge, then drop into a steep drainage and come back out. Just beyond a little temple to the mountain god, you come to this bend in the trail where you have a choice: you can head on down again and loop back home, or you can take the stone steps and check out another view before you go.

#25 of 30 - "Where the Mountain Breathes" - Yangmingshan

"Where the Mountain Breathes" - Yangmingshan
- Acrylic on Canvas, approx. 16x21"/41x53cm

On January 1 of 2014, we had perfect weather, so Ping and I got on the motorcycle and wound our way up to Yangmingshan National Park, not far from our house. A couple of hours later, we topped out on Qixingshan, a.k.a. "7 Star Mountain." It was such a nice day that everyone was out hiking. It was a zoo at the summit. However, the hike was well worth it. This is my view of Ping hiking through XiaoYouKung, climbing up between the fumaroles. I love these volcanic areas where you can see the mountain breathing. This painting was another "go for speed" experiment. I used only two brushes and limited my palette to 6 colors plus white. I'll do some tweaks, but it's "signed and being stared at" now.

#24 of 30 - "Commander's Platform Prayer Flags"

"Commander's Platform Prayer Flags" - Beijiang, China 
- Acrylic on Canvas, approx. 16.1x12.4"/410x315mm

We had just been standing in the sun by the side of the largest alpine lake in China. Halfway around the lake, we climbed the hill to the famed "Commander's Platform." Tattered prayer flags still clinging to the posts thrashed and snapped in the wind. Not long after we climbed back down, the storm unleashed its full force. This painting was done alla prima. We'll see if it's "done" or if it's just at that "signed it and staring at it" phase.

#23 of 30 - "Beijiang Grove Last Light"

"Beijiang Grove Last Light" - Xinjiang, China
- Soft Pastel on Paper, approx. 5.3x7"/135x180mm

Ping and I had the chance to travel through the northern part of China's Xinjiang province a couple of years ago. One night, after dinner, we had the chance to walk along the river and came to this lovely little grove of trees which were shimmering in the last light of the evening. So often we find that the things that enchant us are delightfully ordinary, even far from home.

#22 of 30 - "Paria Rimrocks Toadstools"

"Paria Rimrocks Toadstools" - Utah, USA
- Acrylic on Canvas, approx. 10.6x8.7"/22x27cm

One of the places Ping found on the map that we just HAD to go see was Toadstools in Utah. When we got there, we had no idea how magical it would be! We had the place pretty much to ourselves, too. This is just one view of the wash we followed much of the way in. Not much further in, we got to the real feature: the amazing hoodoos of all shapes and sizes. (I'll see if I can paint some of those later. They're so unreal, you'd think I was making them up myself.) This is the informal snapshot of this painting. It's probably a work in progress, but this was Session #1, doing my best to see if I could work opaquely in acrylic, alla prima, without a lot of prep.

#21 of 30 "Number 26 Is Available" - Mexico

"Number 26 Is Available" - Mexico
- Ink and Ballpoint Pen - 9.9x6.9"/250x176mm
When Ping and I visited Mexico some years ago, we set out on our own and explored the little hills and back alleys whenever we could. This little residence had been long since taken over by tenants of a botanical nature. I thought the title was fitting.

#20 of 30 - "Oak, Pine, Granite"

"Oak, Pine, Granite" - Yosemite Valley, CA
- Soft Pastel on Paper, approx. 4x6.3"/10.1x16cm

Back in 2010, Ping and I spent a cold March day in Yosemite with no plan, no goal, and no destination. We just wanted to be there for the day. As we reluctantly started to drive out late that afternoon, we pulled over and made one last foray into the woods. Somewhere near the massive wall of El Capitan, we found this old oak among its evergreen and granite fellows. My goal with this painting was to get as loose as I possibly could and still get that sense of space.

#19 of 30 - "Keyes Point Sunset II"

"Keyes Point Sunset II" - California, USA
- Acrylic on Canvas, approx. 12.5x16"/315x410mm

When we lived in California, we took advantage of our proximity to several national parks. This was the sunset on the first day we spent at Joshua Tree. The ranger had highly recommended Keyes Point for the sunset. We were so glad we went! I feel the stillness every time I look at these images.

This particular painting was a real challenge in acrylic, at least at this stage

#18 of 30 "Stalwart Sandstone" - Monument Valley

"Stalwart Sandstone" - Monument Valley, USA
- Soft Pastel on Paper, approx 4x6"/102x152mm
We got the chance to spend some time in Monument Valley. No matter how many pictures I'd seen of it, nothing compared to the real thing.  Here's a small look at something huge.

#17 of 30 - "Liangshan Creek 2"

I got started late today, but I still stayed with the "30 paintings in 30 days" challenge. Here's #17.
"Liangshan Creek 2" - Taiwan
- Acrylic on Canvas, approx. 22x27cm/10.6x8.7"

This was one of the first views of Liangshan Creek. Actually, it's more like what the first view would have looked like before people arrived and built stuff along the creek. My goal with this painting was to simplify shapes as much as possible and get the feel of it, more than the details of it.

#16 of 30 - "Berkeley Hills Tree"

I've been meaning to paint this tree for years. Tonight, as part of my 30 paintings in 30 days, I finally got around to doing it! Somewhere back in the hills behind UC Berkeley, you'll find these massive trees. This is only one of them. Ping and I loved wandering around the trails back there when we lived in California. It's a great place for hiking.
"Berkeley Hills Tree 1" - Berkeley, CA, USA
- Soft Pastel on Paper, approx. 4x6"/101x152mm

#15 of 30 paintings "Stone Path"

"Stone Path" - LiuDui Cultural Park, Taiwan
- Ink and Ballpoint Pen - 5.6x4.25"/140x108mm

This painting was done plein air on the same day that we hiked to the upper fall at Liangshan. Roaming through a seemingly abandoned cultural park was an odd experience. Rather than continue, I found a stone path that wound through a wooded area and sat on one of the stone blocks which were set at intervals. A number of intrepid ants explored the landscape of my pants and shirt as I painted this. I don't know how many I transported when I moved on. They all seemed to have disembarked when I stopped again later.

#14 of 30 paintings in 30 days - Selfie!

"Computer Cam Self Portrait 1/2014"
- Oil Pastel on Paper, approx. 8x10"/20x25cm
Okay, this one was a REAL stretch for me. I took a relatively low-resolution picture from my laptop camera and painted it in oil pastel on mustard yellow paper. (You know, that's kind of what I look like, after all!)

#13 of 30: "Into the Deep"

"Into the Deep" - Ninh Binh Cave, Vietnam
- Acrylic on Canvas, approx. 10.6x8.7"/27x22cm
Still working on the 30 paintings in 30 days. Here's #13: Ninh Binh Cave.

This was the first cavern I've been in where I still wanted to stay when it came time to leave! If I could have spent the whole day there, I would have. I felt like I was in some "Lord of the Rings" environment. The most amazing thing--and I still hope to capture this--was looking out toward the massive opening. The natural light coming into the cavern gave it more mystery than any garishly colored glow cast up on the walls. Just as we were reluctantly heading out, I turned and took this picture, looking back in.

#12 of 30 - "Liangshan Creek Bed 1" - UPDATED 1/26

"Liangshan Creek Bed 1" - Taiwan
- Acrylic on Canvas - approx. 90x65cm/36x25"
This one is hot off the easel, so I have only an informal picture at this point. This painting is at the "signed it and staring at it" phase. (UPDATE: See the finished painting, below.) My goal was to do this relatively large painting in a single day. Success! I went for speed the whole way. This is one of a series of paintings of this creek and its three waterfalls. You can just see the uppermost fall in the background. I had a blast painting this, and remembering climbing around on the rocks on the way in to the upper fall.

Here's the finished, "formal portrait" of the painting--I added just a few details to the painting and got the lighting right for the final photo. By the way, my apologies for misspelling "Liangshan" with a "J" in an earlier version of this post!

#11 of 30 "Liangshan Hills 1"

"Liangshan Hills 1" - Taiwan 
- Soft Pastel on Paper - 5.9x8.2"/15x21cm
We hiked a couple of kilometers in to see the three falls that make up Liangshan Waterfall. This view was somewhere between the first and second fall, as I recall. The mid-morning mist filled the steep-sided rift cut by the creek. As always in Taiwan, a few kilometers feels more like a few miles. After painting so much ink and oil pastel recently, it was nice to play with soft pastels again on this one! I'm actually still using the first set Ping ever gave me.

#10 of 30 "Monkey Hill Tree"

"Monkey Hill Tree" - Southern Taiwan
- Ink and Ballpoint Pen - 9.9x6.9"/250x176mm

We'd been to this viewing place before, so rather than go inside and watch the wild monkeys come down and steal treats, I decided to sit in the parking lot and try to paint the light. I found this wonderful tree standing out in the sunlight, just up the hill. The monkeys called out from the woods as I painted, but none of them seemed interested in the artwork or the colorful blocks of ink. As people came out of the viewing area, they gathered around to watch me as I tried to finish before we had to go. (I guess I was a good encore to the monkey show! I got a standing ovation when I was done!)

#9 of 30 - "Liangshan Waterfall" plein air

I was very happy to be able to keep up with the 30 paintings in 30 days while Ping and I were traveling in Taiwan with a group of seniors, including Ping's mom. One of the stops was in the Miaolin National Scenic Area. Can't wait to go back!

"Liangshan Waterfall 1" - Miaolin District, Taiwan 
- Ink and Ballpoint Pen - 6.9x9.9"/176x250mm

In the misty morning light, we followed the trail as it wound up into the steep hills, tracing a rocky creek bed. The first fall was pretty. The second fall took a bit of scrambling to get to, and the third fall was a lengthy cataract down to a collection of boulders, some of which might not have fit in a two-car garage. Ping sat on one while I found another vantage point where I could paint this small section of the fall, plein air. By the time I was done, we had the place pretty much to ourselves. We hiked partway back in the creek bed, finally scrambling back up to the trail to catch up with the rest of our group. We took so many wonderful pictures on this one hike!! I'm going to paint a whole series from this outing alone! We're hoping to come back here, perhaps when the water is running a little higher. The place is truly magical!

#8 of 30 - "Mudstone"

This is the 8th of 30 paintings in 30 days. I imagined this landscape after having seen some of it on the way south.

"Mudstone" - Taiwan
- Ink and Ballpoint Pen - 9.9x6.9"/250x176mm
After taking a bus to the southern end of Taiwan, I sat in the hotel and painted this impression of some of the landscape we passed on the way.

#7 of 30 - "Mysterious Entryway"

"Mysterious Entryway" - Daedunsan, S. Korea
- Oil Pastel on Paper, approx. 6x9"/152x228mm
On our way down from the summit of Daedunsan in S. Korea, we passed this strange opening in the rocks. If we hadn't had to get back to the group, I'm sure Ping and I would have ventured inside. I still wonder what we might find just a few meters further in.

Tandem Bike in a Bag

Seriously! You can put a full-fledged, honest-to-god, rear-suspension, 24-speed bicycle built for two in a bag. Ping did a lot of research and found Glitterbike, a Taiwanese manufacturer which makes a folding tandem bike. We put over 80 km on it in just a few days, and we're loving it.

This is the coolest thing: you can fold it so small that it fits into a bag which you can carry onto the MRT or the ferry. You don't have to buy a separate ticket just for the bike! Of course, at 19 kilos, you'll rather ride it than carry it, which inspired the following poem:

Bike in a Bag

by Mark Ivan Cole (thanks to Jerry Boyd for the idea!)

I carry a tandem bike here in my bag!
I carry it everywhere, though I may sag
And tumble and stumble and fumble and flag,
I still keep my bicycle zipped in my bag!
When other folks ask why I carry it there,
I simply respond, with the haughtiest air:
"My bike is pristine, and I feign would despair
"If once I besmirched it with my derriere!"
I've wondered, of course, if perhaps we should ride it,
And not haul a bag with a tandem inside it,
But till I've the courage to swallow my pride,
I'll lug this big sack with the tandem inside.

For more detail on the bike, read on!

#6 of 30 - "Marco en su Barco"

Here's the sixth installment in the 30/30 challenge. I took a huge leap and attempted a portrait in oil pastel--something I've never done before. (What??! Mark paints people???) I hope Marco would be pleased with the results!
"Marco en su Barco" - Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
- Oil Pastel on Paper, approx. 4x6"/102x152mm

We hired a small boat to take us out to the Arch of Cabo San Lucas, and since I can get around in Spanish, I asked our pilot his name. "Marco," he said. I laughed out loud. "Me llamo Marco también!" I said. For the rest of the ride, we chatted back and forth. I asked if I could have a picture of him as we came to a drifting halt near the amazing islands of Land's End. I hope the portrait gives you a glimpse of the man we got to meet.

#5 of 30, a Wallowa Mountains Moment

This is #5 of the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge. So far so good!
 "Edge of the Storm, Wallowa Mts." - Oregon, USA
- Oil Pastel on Paper, approx. 7x5"/178x127mm

We absolutely love the Wallowa Mountains of Eastern Oregon, right on the border with Washington and Idaho. There's nothing like standing out in the winter cold, watching the mountains reveal themselves only to hide once again behind the constantly moving blanket of clouds.

#4 of 30 - "Idaho Hills"

The painting challenge continues with this image from our first trip to the Sawtooths.

"Idaho Hills" - Sawtooth Mts., ID, USA
- Oil Pastel on Paper, approx. 7.5x5"/190x127mm

The photo for this painting was one of our first glimpses of Idaho's wonderful mountains. By the time we pulled over for the night, we were in Stanley, ID, watching the sun set over the jagged skyline. What a place! This painting was done on white watercolor paper (smooth) using Van Gogh and Pentel oil pastels.

#3 of 30 - "Big Granite, Small Pines"

The latest in the "30 Paintings in 30 Days" challenge, another small oil pastel piece. I tried the softer Sennelier pastels for this one--what a challenge! They're so soft, they melt in my hands. I ended up using a Swiss Army knife to scrape and spread the paint a bit. That worked pretty well, actually.
"Big Granite, Small Pines" - Cathedral Lakes, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
- Oil Pastel on Paper, approx. 5x7"/127x178mm

A few years ago, we hiked up into the Cathedral Lakes area of Yosemite National Park. Such a wonderful day! As we wandered around the lake, I snapped this shot of a small copse of pines. About an hour later, we were sitting on top of Medlicott Dome, looking out at Cloud's Rest and Half Dome on one side and Cathedral Peak on the other. Capturing this light with the very soft Sennelier oil pastels was a real challenge! I don't have a real painting knife, so I used my little Swiss Army knife to scrape and spread the paint around.

#2 of 30 - "Elder Brother"

Got started late today, but I still got a painting in at the last minute! Here's the second installment of "Thirty Paintings in Thirty Days." I call this "Elder Brother." Oil Pastel on Paper, approx. 5x7"

The photo was taken on one of our many hikes in the hills around Taipei. You can see the steps off to the side. This painting decided--on its own, I think--that it was going to be about getting more color down on the paper. I ended up with some pinks and purples, almost garish at one stage, until it finally ended up with this image. I think it's the most oil pastel (per square inch) that I've put down on a surface so far.

#1 of 30 - "Mt. Tallac" - New Year, New Challenge! 30 Paintings in 30 Days

To kick off 2014, I'm doing 30 paintings in 30 days. Here's the first:

"Mt. Tallac, Autumn" - Lake Tahoe, CA, USA

- Oil Pastel on Paper, approx. 7x5"/178x127mm
We've wanted to climb Mt. Tallac ever since we first saw it, but we never got it on the schedule. I still hope to do it someday. In the meantime, I've been looking at this picture since I took it back in 2007. Finally, today, I decided to paint it in oil pastels. Many thanks to Roman Rocco Burgan for the scratching technique he does so well! I found it useful on this one.