I’ve always been inspired by anything water – rain, puddles, the Pacific. And the frozen water of the arctic circle didn’t disappoint me in how it all inspired my paintings made onboard the ship and once I returned to my Portland studio.
Daunted by the experience itself and the 900 snapshots I took on the Expedition, I’ve clearly taken several months off from blogging more about my trip. Today I finally finished going through all of my snapshots, pulling out the better ones for publishing here on my blog and posting on my website.
The good news is that in the meantime, I completed the last larger commissions for my Kickstarter backers in late February, so everyone now has their arctic abstracts – over 80 that I painted – all inspired by my time in the ice and cold of the arctic circle.
Preparing for the Expedition, I had thought I’d be able to possibly paint on a table set up on the outside deck of the ship. But after two failed attempts to paint in the cold, snow and wind, I set up a makeshift studio on my bunkbed in my shared cabin. Tight quarters for sure, but I made it work and at least was out of the extreme elements!
Nearly a year ago, I posted that I was accepted for a truly epic artist’s residency: The Arctic Circle 2018 Autumn Arts & Sciences Expedition in October, 2018.
A huge thank-you to those Backers on Kickstarter who pledged funds now to receive paintings of various sizes at the end of this year to help me get to the Arctic Circle. Now that I’m through the funding phase, I have lots of work to do to get organized, outfitted for the Arctic environment and experiment with how I’ll paint my abstracts on a ship in the middle of the Arctic Circle!
The horrific events in Orlando have taken over my creative process in my studio since it happened nearly two weeks ago. As an artist, I paint what I’m thinking and feeling – first I paint in my mind (often while I’m supposed to be sleeping!) and then, ready or not, I put paint to paper in my studio.
As a gay American, tragedies like Orlando impact me deeply. My own family has rejected me on this “issue” and I’m saddened that hate and anything but complete acceptance, still fills many people on this planet.
So, I paint. And then I paint more as I process what happened in Orlando and the 49 young people who died. The painting below, one of my Pacific Northwest Rains series, is one that I finished this week. I’m conveying the lives of 49 colorful people (as the stripes on the bottom) who are being transported through a black line into whatever silvery “light” is above and next for them.
I’ll never forget what happened in Orlando and will be painting many more as I try to make sense of people like the shooter… and my own family.
I feel like a caterpillar.
After 12 years of my artist career, I’ve kicked off 2016 by examining everything I do:
Why do I paint?
What do I hope to share with you, through my art?
How do my inspirations guide what I put on paper?
Why do I love painting trees?
As I “metamorphosis” on these questions and more, I will share my discoveries with you this year. Right now, I can share a bit about those trees I love to paint so much.
As I travel my life’s path, I create idyllic places for me to “hide” — to keep me safe, and to belong — and all of these places always have trees. Trees that shelter, that protect, and that cool. Evergreens and aspens from the mountains of my native Colorado, and towering hardwoods in the forests of southern Belgium. Trees that have trunks with those crisp lines that I love.
How could I not paint these trees, in those idyllic places?
Well, I have my very first cruise under my belt – a week in the Caribbean, visiting ports from Bridgetown, Barbados to Isla Margarita, Venezuela. And, this is one of the first times that I’ve packed up my supplies and painted on the trip. My “flapjack” paintings were the perfect travel size, so I painted a bunch – all inspired by the Caribbean and island colors that nearly overwhelmed me.
How about I share some? I’ll give two of them away to the first two folks to leave a comment on this post. And, if you’ve won one of my free flapjacks in the past, please let some first-timers get these! I’ll also be adding several Caribbean Flapjacks to my Etsy shop in the next few days, so watch for those, too.
I’m excited to announce my upcoming 2012 Winter Painting Sojourn on the Oregon Coast, January 10 – February 7, 2012!
I can’t wait to stay in my usual spot in the tiny town of Oceanside, Oregon and get my fill of inspiration from the mighty Pacific, the lush and rugged coastline, wicked winter storms and the ever-present horizonline. In fact, let’s make that “HorizonLine”, and use it for the name of my latest series of paintings that I’ll be painting while on the coast.
As in past years, this is where you come in… I’ll be pre-selling a limited number of my new HorizonLine paintings to everyone before I head to the coast. With a color of your choosing, I’ll then paint your original 12 x 12″ painting during my sojourn, whilst I soak up all that inspires me there. Comment here or email me to order yours – I can only paint a limited number! Here are the details:
HorizonLine Paintings (Winter Sojourn, 2012)
Special Sojourn Price: $150 (regularly, $275)
Description: Each painting will be inspired by a color of your choice in my new HorizonLine style. Original paintings are watercolor on paper, mounted on gallery-wrapped, stretched canvas. Canvas edges will be finished with acrylic paint and ready to hang with a clean, frameless look. Each painting will be a finished size of 12 x 12 inches and protected with a final varnish with a UV filter. Finished paintings will be available for pick-up at a special studio exhibit on First Friday, March 2, 2012 (paintings can also be shipped for $15/each). I guarantee that you’ll love it, or I’ll return your payment!
Driving rain today and 65 mph wind gusts as I paint my final flapjacks and my sojourn winds down. I’ll be back in Denver later this week!
After a few nice, rainy and cloudy days, the sun came out this afternoon and is blasting my painting table. Too sunny to paint, so I’m taking a glass of wine down to the lower deck to bask in it!
This sunset is the inspiration for my current sunset elementals paintings… and includes pretty all of the range of Daniel Smith Quinacridone colors that I brought with me. From Coral and Pink to Deep Red!
Yep, it is “nice” and sunny here on the coast today… I’m making some good progress on two sunset elemental paintings. The larger one is reds, oranges, greens and purples (and is for C. A., if you’re watching!). The smaller is for R. R. and will be similar with some good metallic highlights.
I’m getting all settled and have started painting flapjack back washes and a large Helium Autumn Trees for my good artist friend Kathy Beekman. And getting alot of the water that I wanted: ocean, storm, rain, puddles… I’m happy!
Two weeks from today I’ll be on my way to the Oregon Coast! I thought I’d provide an update on my Shareholder event, especially for those folks who haven’t reserved your own shares yet.
As of today, I’ve sold 56 shares out of 100! Thank you to everyone who has participated so far – you’ll have fun sharing in my inspiration and anticipating receiving your exclusive framed flapjack that I’ll paint on the coast.
If you haven’t yet contacted me to reserve your shares, email me now, or leave a comment on this post and I’ll get in touch with you! For just $40/share, I guarantee you’ll have some fun sharing in my inspirational sojourn and anticipating getting your own painting from my trip.
If you’re reading about my Shareholder program for the first time, here’s a complete description:
I’m busy planning my sixth annual Winter Painting Sojourn to the stormy Oregon Coast and would like to invite you to be part of it!
This year I’m offering 100 “shares” in my inspirational sojourn at $40/share. As a Shareholder, you’ll receive one of my exclusive, oversized flapjack paintings that I’ll create for you while I’m on the coast (a $75 value). I’ll be painting on the coast from January 19th – February 16th, 2011 and will work with a color of your choice. I’ll then frame your flapjack in a 6 by 6 inch Nielson frame and include it in my special open studio exhibit on First Friday, March 4th, 2011. You’re welcome to pick up your flapjack at that time, or for $5 extra, I’ll ship it to you after March 4th.
If you’re looking for a gift – this is an excellent idea, and I’d be happy to provide you with a special gift certificate for the recipient. Of course I’ll be blogging about my sojourn this winter, so you and your gift recipient can follow along and share in my experiences and inspirations and anticipate receiving your flapjack in March!
So, buy your share now! Email me or comment here with your number of shares and your color(s) and I’ll be in touch with more details.
Since launching my 2011 Winter Painting Sojourn Shareholder Opportunity, lots of folks have asked me where, exactly, is Oceanside, Oregon?
Oceanside is a tiny town perched on a rugged hillside overlooking Three Arch Rocks and the Pacific. It’s a rather quiet, sleepy place in the winter… just one coffee shop and a part-time restaurant are open. I need to travel about 6 miles on a winding coastal road to get to Tillamook for grocery shopping, the library and the world-famous Tillamook Cheese Factory.
Pretty much directly west of Portland, I’ve found Oceanside to be the perfect refuge for my sojourn. I hope you’ll share in my inspiration by becoming a Shareholder and get your exclusive flapjack that I’ll paint while I’m on the coast!
Some days I really wonder about the whole journey vs. destination thing… sure seems to be a tug-of-war at times. But, it IS mostly about the journey, isn’t it? When in doubt, I love this snapshot of the Hagerman Tunnel trail that I took back in August – no destination in this picture, just a great hike!
What do you think??
What a great inspirational snapshot from my perch above Turquoise Lake near Leadville. Colors, shapes, textures, clouds, water, trees… need I say more?!
My rental condo is only a few miles from Tillamook, OR which is home to one of the largest (and yummiest) cheese makers in the USA. I planned to post my Tillamook Cheddar Baked mac-n-cheese recipe today, but forgot to bring my recipe notes with me to the library (where I can access the internet).
So, here’s more blue sky while you wait for my recipe. This snapshot is from Monday… it has been raining ever since. Check back soon for my recipe!
Here’s a view today of my painting table and my view of the Pacific and the “haystack” rocks off the beach in Oceanside.
David Castle Art 