Paul Kratter Wins Plein Air Awards

Paul Kratter is sporting two more feathers in his cap. At last month's Carmel Art Festival, his painting "Rush Hour" (oil on canvas, 8" x 16") was awarded Second Place—a feat topped this month with first prize honors for his "Glory Days" (oil on canvas, 10" x 20") at the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association Best of Plein Air Show! No doubt about it, Paul's clearly established himself as one of California's top landscape painters.

Congratulations, Paul!

Rush Hour

Glory Days

New work from Erik Tiemens

Erik Tiemens just brought in three lovely Marin County oil paintings, all done at Rodeo Beach.

This (above) is "Rodeo Beach—Marin Headlands," 12" x 16". $1200 unframed.

“Hillside at Rodeo Beach,” 8-3/4" x 11-3/4". $1100 unframed.

 “View of Rodeo Beach,” 6" x 12". $900 unframed.

Framing a small Edward Curtis—Another Carved Corner Design

Recently framed this small original Edward Curtis photogravure of Apache Indians for a couple in Texas. The print had wide margins, but we wanted the effect of framing it close so used a lap-joined flat — kind of a wooden mat, although on top of the glass. We've taken this approach a number of times before.

 Also wanted to show the carved corner design. Both the corner design and the chamfer on the flat, which has 45 degree angled stops, echo the headdresses in the photo.

Framing Kevin Courter in Compound Polyptych

A customer recently commissioned Kevin Courter to paint three cottages on his rural northern California property, then had us frame the three 8 x 10's. Here it is:

The idea was to create a frame alive to the soft edges as well as architectural subject matter.

Sharon Calahan Medals in OPA Western Regional!

Sharon Calahan came home from the Oil Painters of America Western Regional Exhibition this weekend with a Bronze Medal! Her painting is "June Pasture," 20" x 40". We had framed it in a quartersawn white oak compound flat with carved sight edge.

Congratulations, Sharon!

James McGrew

We're excited to be welcoming James McGrew to the Gallery.

 A passionate explorer and painter of Yosemite National Park, James has spent a lifetime (well, his life so far) capturing the Park's magnificent natural beauty. We're featuring his plein air work, all fairly small (i.e., nicely affordable). While we're still framing his paintings, you can see what we have pre-framed on his page on our site, here. (His own website is here.)

We're also framing a beautiful piece, below, for James to enter in the American Impressionist Society's Annual Show in October in Carmel.

Great to have you aboard, James!

Congratulations Bryan Taylor!

Our artist, Bryan Mark Taylor, won first place in the Quick Draw competition at Plein Air Easton, Maryland (July 18-24, 2011). Congratulations, Bryan! Learn more here...

See the piece and the artists remarks on it at his blog, here.

Here are a couple of my favorite pieces we have by Bryan:

"Morro Rock Memories," o/c, 9 x 12.

"Along Adobe Road," o/c, 8" x 10".

See Bryan's page on our website here.

Recent Bill Cone work, and framing

Bill Cone recently brought in these two beautiful pastels for The Summer Show.

"Gateway Morning," pastel on paper. 8" x 8".

"Wildflowers," pastel on paper. 9" x 12".

We've also just completed framing a few of Bill's works for a customer. Here they are:

All are profiles that are simple but designed to suit Bill's direct and no nonsense views of the natural landscape. They're done in carved walnut, muted with a light stain, which is just right with the artist's palette and texture.

Bill's blog is always fascinating. Top notch!

"Kevin Courter: From Dusk to Dawn" is posted

The last of Kevin Courter's paintings for his upcoming show, "From Dusk to Dawn," is in, and it's a great example of a theme he's been having a lot of fun with for the last few months. This is called "Evening's Solitude," and it's 8 x 16. The frame, No. 1.4 CV, is one we use often, as it's so versatile, simple and effective.

Hope you'll put the show on your calendar. It opens Saturday, February 26, with a reception for the artist from 4 to 6 in the evening.

Framing Kevin Courter's "Cradled Moon"

Enjoyed framing this 12" x 14" oil for Kevin Courter, now at New Masters Gallery in Carmel. Chose walnut for its color (used a light stain to get the harmony just right) and because it's good for carving. Chose a flat profile, since it's a flat composition, but at the sight edge it's got a very subtle convex, or ovolo, form echoing the form of the treetops cradling the moon. The frame similarly cradles the painting. The carved pattern takes its cue from the crescent moon and the branches. The narrow slip with lemon gold leaf matches the moon.

Framing Kevin Courter's "Soaring Skies"

Just finished framing this wonderful Kevin Courter oil on linen, 20" x 16", titled "Soaring Skies." I wanted the frame to extend the perspective with the right form and amount of line work, but keeping it simple and rustic in spirit. The color came out of the shadows in the grasses. Shadows are frequently a good source for frame color, helping the frame remain subordinate to the painting. The bright sunlight off the clouds suggested the gilt slip.

The painting is headed to New Masters Gallery in Carmel.

Framing Paintings—I: Kevin Courter's "Colusa Sunset"

"All true art is praise," as John Ruskin said, getting right at the heart of picture-making (and blowing the top off a lot of pretentious blather about art, too). Last fall Kevin Courter brought in this work of praise, a 16" x 20" oil on linen, less than 2 weeks before our show, "A Heaven in the Eye" was to open. It's a stunner, as you can see, and to a frame-maker an inspiration. My enthusiasm and the extra focus imposed by the deadline spurred me to produce one of my favorite recent pieces.

An Embarrassment of Riches: New Showroom Display Full of Great Paintings

We just rehung the Gallery to show off all eight of our painters. It's a true delight to walk in and see such a lavish display of this tremendous group of artists.

I hope you'll come by and experience it!

Holton Studio Landscape Show--A Heaven in the Eye

The opening for the current landscape show at Holton Studio, A Heaven in the Eye, took place last Saturday, Nov. 14th. The show features 7 Northern California landscape painters: Kevin Courter, Christin Coy, Mark Farina, Paul Kratter, Terry Miura, Robin Moore, Brian Mark Taylor. Tim Holton has assembled a strong show of landscape paintings, all beautifully framed in his Craftsman style frames, each one custom built to suite the painting it surrounds. The gallery is open daily and is located in Emeryville. Please visit the website for more information. http:/www.holtonframes.com

Cold Weather Painting, by Paul Kratter

In late February I spent a couple of days at Silver Lake just south of Lake Tahoe. A recent storm left a fresh layer of snow and cooler temperatures. I had a chance to do some sketching (I'll write about that later) and did one painting.
Winter painting offers some unique challenges, mainly staying warm. The obvious extremite to keep warm is your hands, but most of the time I'm able to paint glove-free. My feet always get cold standing in one spot and the freezing temperatures seem to slowly crawl up from my snow boots. Temperatures started at 18 degrees in the morning, but quickly rose as the sun warmed up the area.
Snow offers a unique color range from soft pinks to blues and purples. I saw this beautiful grove of pines standing out against the cool mountains in the background. The light and shadow patterns of the snow offset the strong graphic nature of the pines. I'm happy to sacrifice some cold feet in exchange for a chance to paint such a beautiful scene.

Terry Miura

Made another big step in this year's plan to grow the theme of the picture gallery as contemporary paintings of the local and northern California landscape: Sacramento painter Terry Miura recently delivered his first batch of paintings. They are a real privilege to have here, and I look forward to framing them and displaying them. Terry, who's a friend of Paul Kratter, is also a graduate of the Art Center in Pasadena and has a professional commercial art background, having worked in New York as a freelance illustrator for magazines and newspapers. Originally from San Diego, while in the Big Apple his paintings naturally focused on cityscapes, but now he's delving into the rural landscapes of his native state. He's got a wonderful tonalist palette, reflecting his gentle vision of rustic California as well as a humbler approach to the role of painting as just one of the arts that create an architectural interior.
Terry will be included in the group show coming up next fall, "A Heaven In the Eye," in which he'll have new work capturing the Sacramento Delta. (Christin Coy, Paul Kratter, Kevin Courter and possibly another artist will join him.)