Cement, original Betker oil on canvas, Seattle’s Harbor Island, industrial-recreational marina

Cement, © BVF Betker, oil on canvas, 36” x 36”

Seattle’s Harbor Island, mixed-use industrial and recreational marina
Currently exhibited and available at Jamieson Furniture Gallery, Bellevue, Washington
www.greatroomfurn.com/
See more at www.betkerfineart.com.
Inquires to halfsweet@betkerart.com

across green lake

This is one of my latest favorites. Having finally acquired a small studio space, one goal is to create some large works based on my tiny plein air oil sketches. Here is my first such effort, a 24 x 36 acrylic based on a little oil sketch I did last spring at Green Lake. The challenge is to retain the freshness of the original. Layering paint into wet mediums seems to give me the feeling I'm after!

Here is the original sketch:

welcome to the neighborhood!

Friend Frances and I conspired and found studio space in Wallingford, and moved in this week. She has since decided to resume looking further south, thereby avoiding a long, toxic commute, but I hope we will continue to collaborate materially and in spirit despite this distance -- as we have so far!
For me, this is the part of town that has everything -- industry, waterscape, neighborhood! I will try to make the most of it.
This is my first painting done in the new space. Acrylic on canvas, 8 x 8, from a photo taken at fishermen's terminal.

Also spent a little time at Gas Works Park ruminating. Here is yesterday's 4x6 lunchtime sketch of a tiny part of the view across Lake Union, in white ink and gouache:

farther along on the burke-gilman

so here is my best attempt at a photo of the new wet 12 x 16 oil on panel of the same scene sketched a few days ago. This has been an illuminating experience in many ways. First, I don't get tired of painting the same thing, plus it's a different puzzle to solve in different media; second, this process causes me to look at and see the scene again and then again; third, working in black and white helps me work out values. These are no-brainers to visual artists, but I relearn a lot of these every day as I clump towards enlightenment.

I am sure many of my friends on flickr will go on liking one of the sketches better than this painting; but this is a step closer to my own goal -- if only because I addictively struggle to bend this beloved medium to my will.

burke-gilman trail

looking at old photographs from the next-to-last studio days down on Lake Union (1998?) and found myself sketching one of them. Did a series of 3-1/2 sketches (on my flickr site) on black paper, using white ink, gouache, black ink. Here is the colorful one:

blue house

Visiting green lake so I snuck off to make a sketch. I've been admiring the houses around the lake, you could spend all your time painting them and never get done. This one is east of the lake, across the street. Being in a hurry adds drama!

Bardens' garden

Here are a couple small plein air oil sketches from yesterday's "Secret Gardens of Lake Forest Park" tour! Many thanks to Carolyn and Chuff Barden for inviting Frances and me to paint in their garden! The upper image was painted on gold-gessoed hardboard, 8" x 8". The lower one is painted over a red acrylic base on canvasboard, 12" x 12".

So -- here are a few sketches from the past few days. Lake City Farmer's Market (today, with a couple other "urban sketchers"), Rockler -- the Woodworkers' Store -- (two days ago) and Darrells Tavern (yesterday). Funny what the hot sun makes us do.