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Welcome! I'm pleased to announce a solo show beginning on May 11, 2012, of the series, "Three Months en Plein Air in Baja Sur." Come join us for the artist's reception on May 11, during the Art Walk, or visit anytime in May at Art on the Ridge, 8005 Greenwood Ave, Seattle (Phinney Ridge).

 En espańol: Me complace anunciar un principio espectáculo en solitario el 11 de mayo de 2012, de la serie, "tres meses en plein air en Baja California Sur." Únase a nosotros en la apertura el 11 de mayo, o visite cualquier momento hasta el 11 de junio de Arte en la cordillera, 8005 Greenwood Ave, Seattle (Phinney Ridge).

I'm excited to have just begun mentoring under Mitchell Albala, painter, educator and author. At his direction, I'm currently studying and practicing notan, a short Japanese word with a full meaning that's difficult to grasp, let alone apply. The dictionary definition of light and dark is insufficient, as Mitch points out, in explaining how notan is about internal structure, the importance of shapes, the arrangement of those shapes and, yes, light and dark, all as applied to creating or understanding the internal structure of a painting, drawing or other visual work.

The painting here, "Splash," is from the Baja series. Test question, "Does "Splash" show strong notan?

Interested on bidding on the second painting from my Baja series? You have just two more days to go to my home page to see it and learn how easily you can win this second offering from my 2012 auction. To sign up for my blog and/or newsletter, see the menu at the top of the home page.

Most paintings from my "Three Months en Plein Air in Baja Sur" series include the chaotic, hard-scrabble scrub that covers most of the natural areas there. The major challenge in this is simplifying the space to a mass of  value and hue. While squinting always helps, it's still difficult to differentiate these. It has only been with practice and more practice that I'm getting closer. To complicate painting this landscape further, the earth and scrub appear almost as bright as the sky, sometimes even brighter. When I've run into this issue, I've found that if I use more transparent color in the sky and/or more opaque color in the earth and scrub, as well as warm up the earth color and cool down the sky color, the hues and values issue of painting in such bright light is somewhat tempered.

Also, if you haven't looked at February's auction painting from the series, check it out on my home page, http://jwellsmoran.com. You can also follow my blog or sign up for my newsletter.

Just uploaded and wrote about three new additions to the "Three Months en Plein Air in Baja Sur" series. Here's one of them, called "Contemplation," from Playa Las Palmas in Baja Sur. See "Splash" and "Cabo Pulmo Cattle Path" too, all under my first gallery category, "Three Months en Plein Air in Baja Sur." I've always wanted to understand how I could depict the water on sand that's left to soak in by a gentle wave. It turns out -- and I know this shouldn't surprise me -- that it's not a matter of understanding. It's all about seeing and sending what I see through a brush. Also, if you haven't looked at February's auction painting from the series, check it out on my home page, http://jwellsmoran.com.

The second painting of the 2012 Monthly Plein Air Auction, of my Baja Sur Series, is now open for bids. The asking price is $1,200. for this 16" by 20" oil painting, although the auction starting price is $349. with $20. per bid increments. The highest bid will receive the painting at no shipping cost, framed or unframed at no extra cost. Imagine living with this evidence of nature's amazing architecture.

Here's how the painting happened. My partner and I took a hike above the small town of Cabo Pulmo, on the Sea of Cortez side of Baja Sur, while there recently on my three-month, plein air, Baja Sur Series sojourn. While most of the vegetation was very dry and looked dead, there was a lot of new greenish growth under the branches and this appeared as a teal color from a distance. The hills poked up and through the earth where the summer rains had washed away the rock for thousands of years, creating dramatic formations that led down to a deep arroyo. Baja Sur has amazingly diverse landscapes and biospheres that are quite wild and untamed. For more of the series, go to my main page at http://jwellsmoran.com, click on "Works" and see the first category, "Three Months en Plein Air in Baja Sur."

Email the artist to place your bid, jowellsmoran@gmail.com.

You're also welcome to sign up for my blog and newsletter on my web site.