"Manhattan Tapestry" featured in the latest issue of Watercolor Artist Magazine

I was a bit surprised to find my painting, "Manhattan Tapestry" in the Aug 2009 issue of Watercolor Artist Magazine when I was looking for my friend, Chris Beck's featured article. Tapestry is included in an article about painting at night. (I think I've seen this article before somewhere). Still, it's great to see this awesome piece again! I spent many months working on this masterpiece, but the memory of the struggle has faded for me and the reality of the creation now shines through. :)

Plein Air setup

This is my "plein air" watercolor setup for working out in some rugged terrain. It is fairly self-contained and very sturdy. The board is 3/4" plywood but doesn't weigh that much after cutting a few holes in it. I've attached a tripod cleat to the back side for quick mounting on location. The palette has a spot of velcro on the back so I don't knock it off. :)

Yes Lance, it has cupholders! They fit a couple of Shakespeare's cups, but you don't want to be drinking out of them. They are for paint water! I made this board to accommodate a 16x20" piece of paper.

All done! Let's go paint!

"Detour" honored by Southern Watercolor Society

Southern Watercolor Society has awarded "Detour" the Aranas Family
award in their 2009 annual exhibition. It's been quite a ride for this
Pelican so far!

Inspiration at work

I've heard that if you love your job that you never really work a day in your life. I'm not sure if I could always agree with that thought, but looking at a room full of artists at work is pretty close to paradise for me. How did I ever get so lucky?!

The Purple Pig

Next time you are in the Tyler TX area, and have an appetite for
barbecue, check out the Purple Pig. This was one of our lunchtime
excursions during the workshop and well worth the visit. The Lone Star beer is cold and the sandwiches are tasty! Their mascot is quite friendly and I'm thinking the resemblance is rather uncanny.

My glass demo in Tyler

Painting glass in Tyler Texas

Although it was hot enough outside to melt glass, our indoor studio in Noonday, TX was filled with the coolest artists. Thanks to a couple of incredibly dedicated artists from Tyler, we had an awesome weekend workshop. I first met Debbie Cannatella in a workshop in New Orleans, and have since been lucky to share studio space with her a couple of times. She and Mollie Jones put together a great venue and rallied some of the neatest folks to join us. They were great hosts and showed us the best of southern hospitality! I can't wait until our next visit in late August, when we'll open an exhibition of my work at the new Tyler art gallery. I'll make sure to bring a fan, plenty of changes of clothes and a cooler full of ice! Y'all like it hot in Texas!

More fabric

My waterolor of Chartres cathedral in France, "Allure", was the
inspiration for this fabric swatch. If you sew or quilt and have a
great idea for such a piece of fabric, I might just be inclined to
send a piece to you to try out.

Fabric design

This is something I've been experimenting with lately, but have no real application for yet. I have allowed elements of my watercolors to be printed on fabric just to see what we could come up with. You might recognize my painting, "Catedral" from this swatch. I don't know what we'll use these for yet, but I'm open to suggestions.

Ties for Father's Day

When you find yourself pondering what to get Dad for Father's Day,
check out my line of watercolor ties! I have 309 different designs
available, and none you will find anywhere else. Each tie is custom
printed with my artwork. I guarantee he doesn't already have one just like it!

http://www.zazzle.com/pauljacksonart/ties*

Nice page in the Artist's Magazine

Page 15 of the July/August issue of the Artist's Magazine has a nice mention about my work and my involvement with the magazine over the past decade. Happy 25th anniversary Artist's Magazine! Thanks for featuring my work again!

Crosstown Traffic honored again

"Crosstown Traffic" won the Salis International award at the Northwest Watercolor Society 69th Annual Open Exhibition.

Cape Girardeau workshop

Although I have been far too busy for my own good, I have not
forgotten any of the great artists I have had the honor to work with.
This group from Cape Giradeau, MO was a riot. When they weren't making me laugh, they were teaching me a few things. There's a ton of talent hiding in SE Missouri. My exhibition at the Arts Council in the Cape was very well received and I look forward to many visits there. I'll have a kid in school at Southeast Missouri State this fall, so I'm certain we'll have lots of opportunities!

Backtracking to Cape Girardeau

In May I had so much going on I got too busy to blog my Cape Girardeau landscape workshop. I'll be back there tomorrow so I figure some catching up is in order. This was the demo from that workshop. It features a scene from Mont St Michel in France, where we'll be painting this October. There is still time to join the France Sketchbook Tour Oct 4-14 if you would like to be a part of the magic that is sure to happen.

Testing out a new addition to the website

To keep pace with the technology available to artists, I've licensed
my work for custom printing on all sorts of products from posters to
mouse pads. You can check them all out on this new addition to my
website.

http://pauljacksonart.com

While I'm catching up

It's been a whirlwind year so far and I've gotten behind on a few events, but the amount of traveling I've done lately makes me dizzy. This group from Manhattan Kansas was a well-organized bunch of talent. They paint together regularly and have a great comraderie going. If I ever had time to paint out with a regular group at home, I'd want them to be like these folks. They're serious about their work and they are seriously talented. They showed me the Prairie Chicken, sent me home with tomato plants and Morel mushrooms, and sent me a custom box for my favorite paintbrush. (thanks Robert!)

As a native Kansan, I must admit I have underestimated how much is going on in the land of Ahs. I'll be happy to come paint with Y'all anytime!

Prairie Chickens!

Our Manhattan Kansas workshop was spectacular! In addition to a great group of talented painters, I was treated with the awesome display of courting Prairie Chickens. These have to be some of earth's most amazing creatures! I could watch them "boom" for hours. This was definitely an experience I plan to repeat. Hopefully my travels will bring me back this way again soon!

Knoxville workshop

My Knoxville workshop was a fun weekend at the Crowne Plaza downtown. Half of my class was from the Rarity Bay Art Club. All were delightful folks and talented artists.

"Detour" featured in IN NEW YORK magazine

The April edition of IN New York Magazine features my watercolor, "Detour", with a piece about the 142nd annual exhibition of the American Watercolor Society, currently on display in New York. "Detour" received the Margery Soroka Memorial award, so I will be attending the award ceremonies on April 24th.

Sketchbook Tour de France

This fall I will be leading a 10-day watercolor sketchbook tour of France. If you've ever dreamed of seeing Paris through the eyes of an artist, this is your chance! I'm taking a small group of 15 on a private tour of the best places to sketch, photograph and paint in France.

Whether you are an accomplished artist or a novice, you'll be filled with inspiration and adventure as we walk in the footsteps of Monet & Gaugin. In Paris we'll stroll along the Seine from the Louvre to the Musee d'Orsay, sketch Pont Alexander III at sunset and chat with local artists at Mont Martre. We'll also visit the fabulous gardens at Versailles and have a rare opportunity to paint in Monet's gardens in Giverney. We'll also travel to the west coast of Normandy and sketch the impressive views of Mont St Michel.

For more info on this trip and my other workshops: http://www.pauljackson.com/calendar.asp

If you'd like to be part of this fabulous small group adventure, contact Marla: marlamjackson1@aol.com

Planet earth's treasures

In my travels I have been lucky to meet some of earth's magnificent
creatures. For years I have stashed away sketches and photos of these
animals for future use. Finally I've found time to do something with
them.

This latest series of watercolors features stark, intimate portraits
of some of the most incredible creatures I've met. My list of
favorites is long, but I'll add to the collection as I have more time.

My Walking Anniversary

Yesterday I celebrated the 40th anniversary of the day I learned to walk. Who remembers these things? My mother always reminds me that I "marched forth" on March 4th. I walked four miles yesterday and am very happy I still can after 40 years. Hopefully I'll still be walking at 94. Typically I get a new pair of shoes every year on March 4th, but this year I celebrated by getting Marla the new shoes. These are the latest in a series of products some of my artwork is being printed on. For those who remember my early work, you'll recognize the crayons I painted 20 years ago. These are made by Keds and are the perfect gift for artistic types, new moms, kids, school teachers or just plain colorful people. They come in a bunch of different styles too! You can find them and a bunch of my other shoe designs at: http://www.zazzle.com/pauljacksonart/shoes*

 

Marla

The portrait workshop was fun, but tough. I tinkered with my demo for another week and am finally satisfied. The hardest portrait to paint is one of someone you love. It is tough to see a two-dimensional representation that actually does justice to your favorite person. Having such a beautiful model makes the task a lot easier though.

The Margery Soroka Memorial Award

The American Watercolor Society has awarded "Detour" the Margery Soroka memorial award. The awards ceremony is April 24th at the Salmagundi Club in NYC, but we'll be celebrating a bit earlier at home in Columbia!

Portrait workshop

My portrait workshop at Maryville university in st louis this weekend was a fast paced, hard fought good time. It is very difficult to do good portraits in watercolor, probably the toughest subject for the medium, especially given only three days to do it. This crew tackled it with some trepidation but came out with great sense of how to get it done well. Every one of them produced a decent portrait. Some even produced awesome results. My demo lacks a few hours from being complete, but I was pretty happy with it as well. Next time we'll make it a five day workshop so we don't have to race through the toughest of tasks. I couldn't be prouder of this group for their efforts!

Travel sketches workshop demo

My workshop demo turned out quite nicely. I took a quick watercolor
sketch from Piazza San Marco in Venice, along with some bad photo references, and created an idealized scene that summed up my romantic impression of the place. There is only so much demo you can do in a three day workshop while helping others create their own. This one took the whole weekend, but the participants work turned out incredibly well also.

Painting from your travel sketches workshop

As a follow-up to our sketching tour in Italy, I put together this workshop to show how to take basic sketches and dull photos to make magical paintings. imagination was the key component and this crowd brought plenty. There never seems to be enough time to unleash it all, but we squeezed a bunch into three days. It has been an exhausting but thoroughly enjoyable weekend.

Art'n for autism

Tonight I brought out my new work for a benefit for the Thompson Center for Autism. I find it difficult to believe all this work came out of my studio and the walls are still full! It was great to see my favorite Columbia friends, especially Mary & Roger, Mark & Elaine, Ed & Kathy, Dan & Sam, Adele & David and my Mom! I can't believe I have day 2 of a workshop to present in the morning! Y'all are way too much fun to take all at once!

Pensacola workshop

This weekend's workshop was a strange brew of hysterical old friends
and talented new ones. Our time in the sun and sand was punctuated by two of the best workshops I've been a part of, but our presence is required back in Columbia asap. We'll be driving through the night and magically appear at home in the morning. Our van, "the no stress express", is ill with alternator issues and can't be turned off until she's home in the driveway. She made it up the Al-Can highway and coast to coast many times since then, but seems to be acting like a finicky 8 year old. She really didn't want to leave the beach and we don't blame her one bit!

Baton Rouge glass workshop

The artists in Baton Rouge are so much fun it is tough to stay focused on the workshop, but we got it done this weekend without being run out of town by a hurricane. I just loved this group! Our hosts at the Crowne Plaza made our stay so very nice and it is so hard to leave! All of the staff bent over backwards to make this experience one of the nicest we've ever had. There is a walk on the beach waiting for us in Pensacola, but we are in no rush to go. A huge thanks to all involved! Y'all make me feel like a star!

Full circle

Ahhhh! I am so happy to be back in Baton Rouge again! It is warm, sunny and filled with with wintering birds. The food is the best anywhere, (except home of course). My workshop folks are rowdy and fun. They are keeping me on my toes and making us feel right at home. I'd stay all winter if I could, but other destinations beckon soon. I'm just glad we're not evacuating a hurricane this time!

cool images on everything!

I suppose the time has arrived to spread the art around. If you'd like the coolest necktie ever or a custom pair of sharp looking shoes, now you can get my artwork on a bunch of neat stuff. My Zazzle site has skateboards and coffee mugs, stickers, notecarrds, t-shirts, calendars and whole lot more. It's not mass produced stuff, but custom printed one-at-a-time designs with my work. Please check it out and spread it around! Thanks for your interest in my work!

http://www.zazzle.com/pauljacksonart*



Andrew Wyeth

One of my earliest inspirations, Andrew Wyeth passed away today at 91. He was the greatest living painter in America and has given us some incredible gifts. His artwork made this world a much finer place and he will be greatly missed.

Expect some beautiful skies coming soon, as i believe the best artists in heaven get to paint the sunsets. Rest in Peace Mr Wyeth. You will live eternally through your artwork. Thank you so much for what you have given us all.

The American Watercolor Society Jury of Selection

I am so glad to be home from New York! The experience was incredible, but our flight home was just a few planes ahead of the one that landed in the Hudson River. I'm not sure if I'm shaking from the close call or the arctic blast that met us at home.

Jurying the AWS 142nd exhibition was an incredible experience, but very tough. I got to see the very best watercolors in the country, but am so sorry that not all of them could make the show. My vote counted for 20%, and I certainly voted for yours if you entered!

"Neon Rain"

Slick streets and neon lights are a perfect combination for painting.
Lots of color and reflection make for a moody and dramatic
composition. It's so nice to be back in the studio! Happy Holidays
Y'all!

"Though the Looking Glass"

Winter is Still-life season in my studio. The sunlight streams through
the windows at dramatic, low angles. It's 16 degrees in Columbia MO.
No reason to go outside! I'll stay in the studio for a few more weeks
and dream of spring.

"Shanghai Skyway"

Floating to Shangri la

"Shanghai Market"

It's been great hiding out in the studio to paint for a while. Finally I have a chance to stop moving and paint some of the inspirations from this year's adventures. My latest are from my fantastic travels in China.

I'll have an exhibition of my latest work on Feb 13th in Columbia MO. Mark your calendar!

Yosemite!

My final plein air workshop this week was a great one. I finally hit
my stride and produced a really nice painting. My students took me to
lunch at the Ahwahnee hotel. What an awesome experience this event has
been!

Half Dome

Today's demo

My group today was ready to paint. I had some die-hard folks that seem to revel in the adverse conditions and produced some awesome work. It's not tough to be inspired to paint here!

My Yosemite studio

Frozen watercolor

We set out to paint along the Merced river this morning at 9:00. It
was so cold my paint formed ice crystals on the palette! This made
painting rather difficult, but eventually the sun came out and warmed
us up a bit.

Frozen falls

It was so cold last night the waterfall froze! Painting today was tough!

Yosemite Chapel

Painting Yosemite chapel

My workshop painted the chapel at Yosemite today. We still had
problems with getting the paint to dry and froze our tails off until
almost 1:00. Some of the high rock formations keep the valley in
shadow for most of the day. This is a tough group of plein air
painters. The worse the conditions, the happier they are!

Waterfall demo

Today's workshop was a challenge. My paper buckled from the humidity before I even started painting on it. The cold made weilding a paintbrush more difficult and my fingers kept wanting to retract into my fingerless gloves. I chose a close-up view of Yosemite Falls, as did most of my group. It was all wet-in-wet painting today. Nice for atmospheric effects, but not so good for layering.

Painting waterfalls

The falls at Yosemite don't run unless it rains. My painters were
treated with spectacular views in a 52 degree, damp studio. We had a
tough time getting the paint to dry. A few sprinkles added that "plein
air" authenticity. We toughed it out as long as we could without a
Starbucks.