Seagull

Seagull

15x18 Soft Pastel 0n Art Spectrum Colorfix

By Tom Willa

$165 matted

Here's one of my first paintings of this year. It may not seem to you that "out of the box" compared to some of my other paintings, but it was a challenge and fun to attempt. I attended a presentation by by Bill McEnroe at the annual meeting of the Northwest Pastel Society. I really like his "Sequim Lavender" painting.

I was inspired to attempt a similar creation. I was impressed at his intention being to honor barns in his painting. My intention was to honor the seagulls and the ocean. I also wanted to make sure I didn't overwork my painting. I decided to use a pane of glass with an area of magnification to take it "out of the box."

Custer Road, Lakewood, WA

Custer Road, Residential Property

By Tom Willa

Today was a beautiful Northwest day. I got the call to this morning to shoot a listing. I scheduled it for an afternoon session. Tomorrow I'll do the editing for this listing but I wanted to share what keeps soup in the pot.

Plein Air through the window

Late Winter Stump

9x12 Soft Pastel on Art Spectrum Colorfix

By Tom Willa

$75 matted

Here is the painting of the stump in our backyard. It was completed in the warmth of the studio. I was motivated by the return home from Arizona with the desire to paint plein air. The painting took on the challenge of having the easel in place inside the studio for a few days. The stump catches light on sunny afternoons but has a cool feel on the typical Northwest overcast day. My value study sketch was completed on a sunny afternoon while most of the painting was executed during one of those overcast days. I had the desire to meld both of these winter day temperatures together for the feeling of spring being around the corner.

Twilight Daisy

Twilight Daisy
18x24 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Colorfix
By Tom Willa
On Hold

This painting is about soft summer dusk lighting. Additionally, the intention with this floral creation is to present the beauty of a flower in bloom. I emphasized the contrast between dark and light, used warm and cool hues to encourage the viewer around various focal areas. The beauty of the flowers reminds me of the beauty of people. Sometimes one should slow down enough to experience it. Although, once you have that beauty it creates a joy that lingers within one for quite some time.

Studio Portraits

Lisa Smile

by Tom Willa

8x10

Lisa Serious

by TomWilla

8x10

Studio photography is fun when both the model and the photographer are committed to achieving a photo that captures a range of emotions. I think many people would appreciate studio images of themselves or their families as time passes. The controlled lighting of the studio creates the opportunity for a formal arrangement which captures beauty and personal aura.

Glass Blowers

Glass Blowers

7x5 By Tom Willa

This another photo from our trip to Uptown Glassworks in Renton. The team is putting together a sphere using an Italian technique. The rods of cane are fused together to form a cylinder. The cylinder is then shaped into a vessel. In this case, Alex is shaping the creation into a sphere. That is simplification of the process.

Capturing pictures around the a glass studio is an interesting challenge. Nothing is still (hands, people, even the molten glass are always changing) , the temperature of the the glass is around 2000F, the intense light from the furnace and the glass can be an interesting contrast to the studio lighting. It is a tough assignment for a photographer. I love to capture the concentrated intensity of glass blowing. It is like shooting an event from a documentary point of view, the opportunity for shots come fast and "look this way and freeze" is not an option.

Cactus

Cactus

12 x 9 soft pastels on Art Spectrum Colorfix

by Tom Willa

$75 matted

I enjoyed the Arizona desert around Sedona very much while attending a mentoring workshop with Michael Chelsey Johnson. I challenged myself to obtain a deeper understanding of color temperature while employing the relationship of values. The discussion about these aspects of painting helped me greatly to comprehend the importance to producing quality creations.

This is a studio creation where I made a concentrated effort to reinforce those concepts. It is a Friday night special after recovering from the journey home. It is designed from a photo I took outside the house where we stayed. I found the colors of the cactus vibrate with a combination of warm rich reds and yellows complimented by cooler green blues. The desert was filled with color temperature relationships that were breath taking.