Twilight Daisy

Twilight Daisy

Soft Pastel

18x24 Framed $240

By Tom Willa

The good news is that Renton River Days begins tomorrow. It was the catalyst to creating the frame for Twilight Daisy. It now has a koa veneer frame with a double mat. The interior mat is a grey green which adds to the visual strenght of the pedal shadows. Please stop by and check it out we will be at Liberty Park this weekend. Thanks to my friends and family who have sent supporting emails for the Art Sale. Love Tom and Miki

Twin Falls Summer

Twin Falls Summer

By Tom Willa

Soft Pastel on Art Spectrum

7x12 $75 Framed

Twin Falls Trail is a very popular 2 mile trail in the Snohomish area. It is moderate trail with two hills leading up the bridge where you can see the falls. It is a great trail for younger hikers unfortunately during the summer many adults feel it is a playground. The number of children who are unsupervised or not informed that going off the trail will cause serious long term consequences is a little sad.

Enough of that, year round the trail transforms with the seasons. I have hiked it twice with family this year. Once in the spring and recently this summer seeing the falls is wonderful but observing the transformation of the seasons is inspirational, reminding the hiker what a dynamic lovely planet we live on.

Daisy Scape

Daisy Scape

Soft Pastel on Pastel Paper

24x20 Framed $140

Here's the painting from the earlier post, today. I worked with a palette of green and purples palette with beige, pink and blue tints for the daisy. I used a similar style on some paintings while we were in Hawaii, they were appreciated for the contrast which is a little dramatic.

Daisies Grey Study

Daisy Grey
20 x24
by Tom Willa

Why do I paint flowers? I am greatly motivated by concept of capturing their beauty. I think many have a concept of what flowers should look like, I sometimes have to work hard at not painting a symbol for a bloom. I attempt to capture the essence of a flower by painting a realistic image while using some abstract techniques glorify the beauty I see and feel. All this being said, I am approaching this painting with a value study in greys which I will use as under painting. Stayed tuned folks,to see the final image.

River Stream

River Stream

9x12 Pastel $75

by Tom Willa

Wow, more than two weeks have flown by since I last posted. Miki opened her show at the Cormerstone Coffee Cafe in Bremerton last Friday. Her paintings will be showing there through the 31st of July. Stop by check out original paintings of the Northwest, her glass blowing series and some great still life priced to be very reasonably for all.

This is a painting from last summer road trip. I remember we were in Maine's Mountains very close to Canada at a camp ground that was a canoeist favorite launch site. I was thinking about the water in some of the eagle images that I hope to create and decided to continue working on the water in this painting for practice. Now it is done.

During my sister's visit we talked some about the joy of artistic creation. She makes beautiful quilts which are inspirational unique. I think she has a lot of fun with the challenges that are required in that process. I've decided to paint some more flowers(not a big surprise). I am going to go big and bold while sowing some fun for myself. So stay tuned and for now "That's All Folks."

Flyer Framed

Flier

9x14 Soft Pastel

By Tom Willa

$78

Hi happy Tuesday. I posted the framed image from last Wednesday. I had some trouble so it ended up a little smaller than I had originally planned. I also grabbed a different camera and shot this under incandescent light. I usually only shot in natural light but wanted everyone to have an impression of what it looks like in house light. The true color is closer to the blue in the original image. I try really hard to make my pastel paintings easy for anyone to buy, receive and hang up. Sometimes as an artist you finish your work controlling the process other times not so much. I think the cropping of the Flier painting gave the eagle a little more intensity which I accepted. Have a great week.

Haiku Mountain Meadow

Mountain Meadow

By Tom Willa

Soft Pastel

9x11/framed 11x14

$78

Happy Day to all.

A framed mountain landscape

Sky, mountains, meadow

Trees wildflowers

Pathway morning shadows cast

Majestic beauty

Flying

Flying

10x14 Soft Pastel

By Tom Willa

$78 framed plus shipping

Here is first one of the eagle series. After working yesterday afternoon and all this morning on this painting it is done. I am going to frame it in a white frame we picked up at Daniel Smiths. It was painted to fit in the frame.

Last day of the Tulip Image Giveaway . I have to go get some lunch then do the framing for Flying. I hope you all have a great week, peace

Pink Bloom

Pink Rhododendron Bloom

12x9 Soft Pastel on Art Spectrum Color fix

by Tom Willa

$60

Ten days left in the Tulip Image Giveaway . Painting is like life, letting going sometimes it is hard. I was trying to use an more abstract background for capturing this backyard beauty but, I didn't quite go completely down that road. It is funny because the sketch and notes I did looks a lot like the painting. What you plan for sometimes is what you get. Painting rhododendrons is a challenge after years of painting hibiscus in Hawaii. The similarity of the process works both ways, I did a lot of large floral in Hawaii, so I decided to paint up a smaller image just to keep my brain from using symbol of hibiscus. I think that worked for me but the challenge of the background may have to addressed in another painting. Sometimes you have to accept what you made, going with the flow and knowing when to move on.

Early Lupins

Early Lupins

By Tom Willa

Soft Pastel on Art Spectrum Color fix

8x12 $70

Lupins are another one of my favorite flowers. These beauties pop up a little later then the rhododendrons. I selected a split compliment palette for this painting. I wanted to keep the blossoms and the foliage in contrast, I think the palette helped achieve that end. The foreground details against the background abstract helps draw the focal area to the blossoms,too.

A reminder about the Tulip Image Giveaway get out there and make a choice to win.

Have a great day,

Bonnets

Bonnets

8x10 Soft Pastel on Art Spectrum Color fix

By Tom Willa

$70

This is the fourth painting posting in a row. That's a good thing. I saw these flower blossoming a couple of weeks ago during a walk in Renton by the Cedar River. I was captivated by presence of beauty of these small flowers. The individual bloom, the cascading strength of the blooms of each plant and majestic quality of the groups of plants springing up combining to celebrate a new season of growth. Winter is a tough season for me, I am so glad that flowers our blooming. The coolness and dark values maybe a little over stated but like the seasons my paintings seems to be tied to my emotional state. Be happy and live.

Red Yellow

Red Light, Yellow Light

6x9 Soft Pastel on Art Spectrum Color fix

by Tom Willa

$60

May tulips are still hanging around this is number six in the series. I may have one more of these in me but the tulip series is just about over for '09. I found these two growing in a yard of church in downtown Renton. I have a photo shoot this afternoon so I can't dilly dally to long, have a wonderful Wednesday. Peace out.

Purple Step

Purple Step

12x16 Pastel on Art Spectrum Color Fix

By Tom Willa

$90 matted 16x20

Hi everybody. The tulip series continues. I scouted out some purple tulips growing around town, they became the motivation for a little surrealism. A long time ago when I first started painting, I kept a dream journal (college course assignment) it was fun. Like writers who keep the note pad by the bed you keep your sketch book on the night stand. It was a kick to wake up start drawing subconscious thoughts consolidating them onto a page. I think this is where my habit to wake up start painting immediately and my fine tuning of painting image concept mentally comes from. Well the day has begun to slip away, I have to go the gym for some exercise before the rain storm arrives. Stay dry,stay comfortable and most of all stay happy with you.

Pink Light

Pink Light
8x10 Soft Pastel on Art Spectrum Color fix
by Tom Willa
$65 , $75 framed

April 27th the day after Arts Unlimited art show, it was a very comfortable location at the Taste of the Landing in Renton. We had space in a vacant commercial building with plenty of space. Everyone was most pleasant, the number of people was okay, the reality of showing at a combination event was no sales for us. Our 10x10 space was expanded to 15x10 which makes everyone a lot more comfortable. The hard part about a day like that is getting motivated to paint,again. This made me realize why I paint is to capture the beauty, presenting others with my view of loveliness. So that hurdle seem to vanish quickly and quietly this afternoon. The last couple of days I have been thinking about this painting while getting the framing done. So today I was very enthused about it. I actually did this sitting down on a very small board as an easel. I used a new set of faber-Castell 24 soft pastel Sticks basic colors which I picked up at Daniel Smith while getting framing supplies. I enjoyed painting the blossom on flat surface first because all the pigment stayed on the surface which allowed me to use some nu-pastels to blend them in. I worked the background keeping with the style of my tulip series which turned out pretty good. Finally I need to set up vertically on my easel to make some texture strokes, touch up and additional blending. I may add a few more paintings to the series because I enjoyed doing this paintin a lot and we went for a nice walk and saw some more really beautiful blossoms.

Royal Reds

Royal Red Tulips
8x10 Soft Pastel on Art Spectrum Color fix
By Tom Willa
$65 matted to fit 11x14 frame

We had another sunny day. Spring may have arrived. Here is number three in the tulip series. I am working on getting my fuchsia recovered beside painting these days. I have decided that I am going to do a give away once I finish this series of tulips. My plan is to post my the details here and on my face book wall. I let you know how to sign up once I get the next two paintings create. Have a great day, stay healthy, be happy.

Floating Tulips

Floating Tulips

9x12 Soft Pastel on Art Spectrum Color fix

$50

by Tom Willa

Today was an uplifting experience. I have been hiding away from the easel, I'm glad to be back. One could consider this my second in a series of painting about tulips. Tulips are huge here in the Northwest, they are short lived but abound around the Sound. My goal is to paint 5 in this series so keep you eye out.

Spring Tulip

Spring Tulip

8x10 Soft Pastel on Art Spectrum

By Tom Willa

$65

I have been doing some juggling of priorities in the last week. This is my studio painter creation, after ignoring the easel for more than a week I have spent many hours defining this painting. I jumped into on Monday got it to a point yesterday. Today I have obsessed on it to the point where it is wise for me to sign it and put it out of sight. I hope you all enjoy the flower, have a great week.

Onset Sphere

Onset Sphere

6x9 Soft Pastel on Art Spectrum Colorfix

11x14 matted $55

By Tom Willa

Here is another gem of glass being made. Hugh has a wonderful new creative sculpture series, Culture Cells, that he has designed and currently is in the process of producing. (See image below.) It involves a lot of optics, spheres and cold work to make one. We visited the gallery while he was making a sphere component for one. I snapped the photo because I could sense the glass starting to transform into a sphere. In my painting, it was my goal to capture that moment where the bubble starts to takes on the characteristics and form achieved by Hugh's efforts.

Culture Cells

By Hugh Willa

On The Bench

On the Bench

by Tom Willa

8x110 Soft Pastel on ArtSpectrum Colorfix

$75

On the Bench is the result of our latest trip to the glass blowing studio. It also sums up a lot of where my creative efforts are taking me this year. It was painted in the studio from a photo. Photos, yesterday I finished up a real estate photo shoot for David Edwards in Issaquah. It was a magnificent home with wonderful windows, an office and great layout.

I really love taking photos and painting. I am off to shoot a family event tomorrow. I am going to try out a 85mm lens. Sometimes the peace of pursuing what we have passions for is little consuming. That relationship creates a larger conflict when you are trying to make a living. The contrasts in this latest painting represents some of those emotions. Warm and cools, spheres and linear, abstract and realism kind of sums up how it feels some days.

I will route an image of the finished vessel and post it for you to see at a latter date, time to finish organizing for the shoot which also involves doing a traveling packing and a quick yoga session to keep me sane

Flower Vase

Flower Vase

12x18 Soft Pastel on Art Spectrum Colorfix

Another rainy week, I appreciate the suggestions about the wall color, thanks. I come to an impasse on deciding which one will be there when this is finished. I also decided to give it a rest before it enters the overworked collection. The list: I touched up the the tulips shadow to include a little more local color, the reflection gained some red, the vase has taken on some blue tint.

I've decided to pursue glass being created in the studio. Our visit to Viscosity and pick up a plate for a friend from Hugh yielded some photos. My goal is to capture a sense of intensity and motion of the molten glass while being formed. That, should be what you have to look forward from me creatively speaking.