Subscribe To This Site

An artist journal of flinging paint.

Hi,

Welcome to Mark Easton’s “Artists Journal”.

Here is where I write about works in progress, ideas and the process behind the paintings.

Also practical stuff like what brushes, paints and technique I use to create my art.

By clicking on the appropriate button located to the left below the navigaiton bars (Yahoo, Google, MSN or XML/RSS) you can add my blog to your home page. Whenever I make an "Artist Journal" entry or update my website you will be automatically notified. Which I think is pretty cool!

jOy!

Mark Easton

Visit the Artist Journal Archives. Here you will find all my entries going back to the first one.

Also check out my scrap book for more stuff you won't find anywhere else on this site.

Click here to comment on the Artist Journal

CURRENT MOON

the moon

Jul 13, 2010, Foxes...

sometimes in the evening I hear foxes barking then I realize it is just a neighbors dog and I am not standing on a farm in Maine staring a 100 miles into wilderness... sometimes

and...

I sometimes wonder

who makes the sound of thunder

that rolls through the hills

empty spaces it fills

and...

I sometimes wonder if

this is all a myth

in my mind

filling empty spaces

in an empty time

I started a painting today, splashing colors across the canvas trying to painta contrived idea... it didn’t work. But, maybe, just maybe something will come of it. Come from the empty spaces and tell the tale of my heart unfolding. It is a silly painting right now that clashes in the middle, two pieces that don’t make a whole. Like the marriage of body and soul, no integration... yet.

It is the story I have been trying to sing, dance, paint, laugh, write into existence forever... without success. Glimmers, yes. Heartbeats, yes. But, whole no.

Sometimes it makes the painting harder knowing what I am doing, sometimes easier. Sometimes I hear foxes barking and realize it is sadness of my soul singing at the moon which turns out to be a street light and a neighbors dog. Oil gushes yet I still drive my car and tear packaging from everything, the game was already in place. So I paint trying to discern foxes from dogs.

Jul 3, 2010, About my art...

A couple of weeks out my present show at Twisp Cafe in Liberty Lake came an interview with Jennifer LaRue. Today the article was published. I feel that Jennifer really conveyed my art and my process beautifully...

"His paintings exude a connectedness with the world around him that resonates outward toward a viewer. Perhaps the feeling comes from the place he is when he is creating, a place we sometimes forget to visit; a place of simply being. “I don’t think of myself as an artist, I think of myself as a human being; creating is what we do,” he said, “My art is just an expression of being.”

"Click for more info" at the bottom of this entry to read the complete article.

Enjoy your day

Click for more info

Jun 13, 2010, Sunday morning ride...

I have hopped on my bike the last two mornings and taken an early morning ride around the neighborhood. It is a beautiful way to explore. There is little if no traffic that early, everything is quiet and has an innocence to it.

I am not a city person or a suburb person, I am not really sure what you would call Spokane. A small city? A big town? There are about 250,000 people in Spokane. To me a town is less then 10,000. I grew up in a town of about 3000 that butted up against another town (you really couldn't tell where one stopped and the other started) of 2500. In northern Maine I live in a town of less than 500... where everybody knew you.

As I bike around it is fascinating how different blocks have different energy. Some so calm and inviting, some harsh, some tired... and that really doesn't describe it.

There is this one home that is an amazing garden all around the yard. 100's of different plants, shrubs lovely tended. It is exquisite.

Then there is a house that looks like it is in the deep woods on the shore of a lake... right there between two other houses on a small lot. Mature trees surround it.

So these are all the things I take in as I bike, cruising around my neighborhood... wondering.

have a day.

Jun 5, 2010, The crows are talking...

I am just back from an early morning walk around my part of the city. I love walking at this time of day on the weekends when it is still quiet, the city is just waking up.

I live in a residential area a few blocks off a main drag with it’s McDonalds, bars, convenience stores. But this morning I found a beautiful little coffee house and amazingly there are several florist in this area, fresh flowers. And a funky antique mall.

I love all the little houses and how each one reflects it’s occupants. Some are orderly and almost sterile in their neatness. Some have stuff piled up, saving it for when or what I don’t know. But, I wonder...

Some there seems to be a love, and some there is a dream of what they want it to be. Piles of brick, newly planted trees or shrubs.

It is like walking in a dream while everyone is sleeping and relaxed their homes relax too. Like when you watch a loved one sleep.

The crows are busy, they must be nesting as several talked to me and were very territorial. This is our block, you move along.

It has been a long time since I have written on here. After a big change in my life I am beginning to settle into my new place. It is a new place on many, many levels.

Some of my art hangs in a wonderful cafe and coffee house. I came across Twisp Cafe on craigslist, they were looking for art to hang on their walls. So there I am with my art. The owner really loves art and truly likes offer her wall space for it.

I have set up my studio here in my apartment. It happens to be a ‘studio’ apartment so I feel I am putting it to appropriate use. Now for some breakfast and into my day.

Enjoy

May 14, 2010, Shows

Upcoming, present and past shows of the work of Mark Easton

Permalink -- click for full blog post "Shows"

Jan 6, 2010, In the middle of the night...

... all is quiet.

It's been a long time since I wrote here, it's been a long time since I have picked up a brush. Lots of changes in my life. I took on a full time job, it's nice to have a steady income and health insurance.

If that wasn't enough I am moving into a place of my own. It is a healthy change but does mean, among other things, the loss of a beautiful and big studio space. Not for a while will I have the luxury of several paintings in progress or working on large paintings. I am looking at several different apartments that I can afford. There is one down by the river in the heart of the city... a big change for a country boy like me. The river is beautiful, I would love to be beside it. Feel it, listen to it. In any case I will be painting smaller canvases that is for sure, but I will be painting.

Again, seriously if there is a painting on the website that you like please make me an offer. It will mean less for me to move and help with the expense of moving. And I would feel real good knowing that one of my paintings is being enjoyed by you.

The other thing is my website is up for renewal and I am seriously considering shutting it down and just concentrating on my painting and the local art scene. What do you think?

Okay, I am going to crawl back in bed and maybe get a bit more sleep before heading off to work.

Breathe and be.

Dec 6, 2009, Baby it's cold outside

The wind is blowing and the temperature is in the low teens. It seems colder without snow.

Season's Greetings to everyone, no matter what you celebrate or don't celebrate. I love the changing season, though I seem to drag my feet a bit into winter. Here in the USA Northwest it usually just gets overcast and stays that way until spring. So different from the sun of Colorado. It gets to the point where I wish it would do something, anything.

I know everyone is on a tighter budget this year. If I have a painting you would like to buy let me know, I am sure we can work something out. As always I barter, can set up payments or you can 'make me an offer'. Whatever works for you, just let me know. You can use the links at the left or simply email me at :mark@mark-easton-art.com

The studio is cold, we have a woodstove out there but I haven't fired it up yet. I did bring all my paints into the house to keep them from freezing. I keep them in a large plastic tool box, works great for that.

Stay warm, surround yourself with the ones you love this holiday season.

Now if you have read this far I will give you 30% off any original painting now through December 31, 2009. Just use the secret code RTF:-)

Joy!

Oct 31, 2009, It's still dark...

It's early morning here and all is quiet... and still dark. Another day and daylights savings kicks in, fall back, sleep late. Since I get up very early four days a week to go to work I don't really sleep in on the weekends. Maybe 7 at the latest. We been having a fire in the wood stove most nights, though we haven't gotten the deep cold we had a while back just regular fall weather.

The whitetail deer have moved in eating everything they can find. I even saw tracks in the garden which means they got over/under/through the 8 foot high fencing. We have been enjoying the garden still with lots of squash and plum jelly and pesto. Today we plant garlic and put the garden to bed.

I got an email a week ago asking if 'coyote dreams the night' was for sale, it is. Unless otherwise noted all the paintings on my website are for sale with the prices right below the image of the painting on it's page. I have started putting a PayPal button for each new painting I put on the site. Makes the processes even easier. Or you can email me. As always I am open to offers, barter just let me know.

A grey squirrel showed up the other day eating the spilled sunflowers from the bird feeder. We don't have a lot of mature hardwoods around our place, not really it's habitat. But it does mean that the yard is slowly becoming a place that can support more wildlife... just ask the deer.

In my soul all these ideas, all my experiences, moments, slowly dance and shift and settle until eventually I will voice that on canvas.

Enjoy your day.

Oct 11, 2009, So far this month...

A new feature of my server allows me to know not only the countries my visitors are from but but the percentage from that country. Which is kind of interesting in a mindless kind of way.

So here it is so far this month...

USA 49%China 14%Belize 10%UK 9%Russian Federation 6%Germany 3%Canada 2%Malaysia 1%Czech Republic 1%Sweden 1%And everyone else 4%

31 Countries have visited my site so far this month. I would love to hear from you, how you found my site and your experience of my paintings. I will post your comments on my Guest Book.

Thanks for stopping by.

Oct 11, 2009, Killing frost

It is 13 degrees out, we have had a fire for the last three nights. I woke up early this morning cold and put more wood on the fire.

Nuthatches, chickadees and the rest of the winter birds are showing up at the feeder now. But the thing they love best is the birdbath, the water freezes so I put some out each day. I think it is their only source around here.

I went for a walk up the road yesterday and watched a flock of turkeys walking across a field in the distance, calling back and forth to each other. Turkeys are pretty common here and like so many other areas are adapting well and expanding their territory and flocks. We have both whitetail and mule deer here. Lately it has been the whitetails hanging out. One morning a couple of weeks ago I went out to empty the compost bucket and about 10 of them were around the garden fence. They had eaten everything they could reach, fruit trees, flower plants, sunflower heads and leaves. It was the hardest we had been hit all year.

I don't think the deer will be around much now after nights of killing frost. We pulled the last of the cabbage and squash from the garden, today we will harvest the carrots and beets and plant garlic. It is a wonder to me to sit down to a meal of wonderful vegetables that we have grown.

And last but not least, the "Blue Wednesday Group" show went very well. We had around 200 people go through Friday night and a steady stream on Saturday. It was a good space, well hung. While each artist has a completely different style it flowed together very nicely.Good art was had by all.

Sep 26, 2009, There is a skunk...

There is a skunk living under part of the barn which is attached to the studio.

When we moved here a year ago there were no critters wandering about, but a garden and water has changed all that.

Our garden has been an oasis for so many creatures. Wasps, bees and hornets have worked the flowers and vegetables hard all summer long. When the nights started getting cool I would go out early in the morning and the sunflowers would just be covered, the blossoms the stems, with them waiting for the sun to warm them up so they could fly. Out front we had one bush that has these delicate purple blossoms that would just be busy with butterflies, moths and bees. Then there are the frogs, these tiny little guys that would 'roost' way up high in the sunflowers or I would find them in the studio in my tool box. They have a huge, raspy croak. Then there are the plums, many mornings we have found coyote or fox droppings left in the driveway full of plum pits or is it stones. And this doesn't count the birds, the winter birds are arriving taking over the spots left by the summer birds.

Which brings me to the skunk, we are now able to support a skunk which is a good thing. Every once and a while we see it waddling across the yard in the evenings or early, early morning. It is amazing what water will do. Our goal is to plant more maple and trees that go deep and don't need watering once they are established and create shade. It is all about building shade which means less watering so our garden, our home becomes self-sustaining with out requiring tons of water. My goal next year is to install drip line irrigation (which we have some already) on timers so the water goes directly to the plants during the night.

Today I am heading into the studio to paint. It's been awhile, like so many folks right now there is a lot of 'stuff' going on on a personal level. All I can ask of myself is to be present and breathe.

Be with your day.

Sep 20, 2009, Falling...

Autumn is here, the garden is one wild lush decay of blossoms and dying vines. So many sunflowers, cosmos, morning glories. Tomatoes weighting down the vines, branches loaded with plums... it is just a glorious organic chaos.

Getting ready for The Blue Wednesday Group's first show coming up in two weeks here in Spokane. There will be six of us showing our works. I hope to finish my big painting in time for the show. I will have more info on my show page. You can check out the other artist at our website: http://bluewednesday.wordpress.com

Cat has been canning and freezing up a storm. Yesterday it was plum jam and plum butter, that will taste so good when it is snowing outside and there is a cozy fire in the stove. That is about all I can ask for happiness.

Today I hope to putter around the yard, do a few things that need to be done before winter. Fix a stove pipe, fill in the potholes in the driveway, stack some firewood. And maybe sit in the studio and meditate on my big painting.

Enjoy your day.

Click for more info

Sep 8, 2009, My latest painting...

Check out my latest painting by clicking on the the 'more info' link

Click for more info

Sep 7, 2009, Small Paintings By Mark Easton

View the smaller works of acrylic paintings, new and works in progress by Artist Mark Easton

Permalink -- click for full blog post "Small Paintings By Mark Easton"

Sep 7, 2009, The humming birds have left...

It is a cool fall day today, I was just out in the garden watering some new raspberry transplants along with the fruit trees. This morning we shall eat cantaloupe from the garden, we almost don't dare pick it. The garden is a full blown party right now, flowers, veggies spilling over. The colors are amazing, but things are beginning to shut down, die off with the end of summer and the colder weather.

Bluebirds were here for a couple of weeks but it looks like they have taken off too. It is such a change after such a hot, hot summer where everything just baked. The front flower garden is doing real well everything is blooming some for a second time. The deer are chomping down on the burning bush, which is supposedly deer resistant. In this area we have both mule and whitetail deer. I have found the best thing that works is spraying everything with a rotten egg liquid which I make myself or one can buy it for $35 a gallon at the garden store.

The plums are just about ripe. I just love all the colors.

I am posting a new painting I recently finished that was inspired by a flower I saw at the Spokane gardens.

'The Blue Wednesday Group' is gearing up for our first show together. It's in conjunction with the Spokane Fall Visual Arts Tour. A local property company ConoverBond has graciously let us use a store front in the historic Hutton building. The show is Oct 2 & 3, a Friday evening and Saturday afternoon. There will be six artists, it will be a great time. I will post more info about the show on my "SHOWS" page soon.

Enjoy your day.

Sep 1, 2009, Visitors Guest Book, leave your thoughts behind...

Visitors to Mark Easton Art can post their comments here.

Permalink -- click for full blog post "Visitors Guest Book, leave your thoughts behind..."

Aug 30, 2009, All's quiet

It's 4 am here, I have been up for over an hour... couldn't sleep.The weather is changing even though the days still get hot fall is here. The garden is at its outrageous prime, just spilling over with abundance. I have been scrambling the last couple of days to line up a space for the Visual Arts Tour which is Oct 2 and 3. This year I am part of a show involving my art group, The Blue Wednesday Group. We will be putting on a group show in conjunction with the Fall Art Tour. There will be about 7 of us. It should be an amazing mix of art.I started a 'real job' a couple of weeks ago... nothing like health insurance. Things have been a bit slow and I didn't really want to become a starving artist. I am still painting up a storm, my paintings seem to be getting looser and looser which I like. Lots of bright color. I recently finished a small painting of two buffalo which was inspired by a flower I saw in the public gardens, yellow with splashes of maroon.The flowers in our garden have such rich deep colors I find them a delight and nourishing. Feeding my sense of wonder.

Well, I am going to crawl back in bed and see if I can get a few hours more of sleep.

enjoy your day.

Aug 15, 2009, I see day light...

The sky is turning to day with the hint of clouds on the horizon. It gets light later, dark early... fall is in the air. The temps have dropped from the high 90/100's down to the 70's. With that came rain. I guess I control the weather because as soon as I bought new tubes to float the river the weather broke.

The garden is enjoying this respite, perhaps today I will can some pickles. I love looking at the jars as they line up on the shelf, it is art.

I have uploaded several paintings. One day I was feeling rabbits and then ravens flew in, check out the two paintings 'Calling Rabbits' and 'Call Waiting'. I have been doing a lot of 'looser' paintings like 'raven to me' and 'above and below'. The paint is also a lot thicker in my recent paintings. Then there is 'I-90', it seems I have two distinct styles... form and formlessness.

I donated my painting "I Create" to One World Spokane, Organic Community Kitchen for their fund raiser. I really like what they are doing and something inside said that was the painting to give.

In a few minutes I will start painting but it won't be on canvas, it will be the inside trim around the windows. But it good brush stroke practice.

I have added paypal buttons to a lot of paintings to make purchasing a painting easier. Basically they are for the price of the painting with shipping being a separate invoice because it varies depending on where you want it shipped and the size of the painting.

Grey clouds are skimming across the sky against the dark pines. Now I shall go pick up a brush.

Breathe deep through your day.

Aug 12, 2009, "above and below"

"above and below" Acrylic painting by Mark Easton, abstract expressionism looking down from above at a fish swimming in the corner of the painting,

Permalink -- click for full blog post ""above and below" "

Aug 12, 2009, Wee Paintings

Wee little original acrylic paintings by artist Mark Easton

Permalink -- click for full blog post "Wee Paintings"

Aug 11, 2009, Ravens

Several Raven paintings by artist Mark Easton in acrylics

Permalink -- click for full blog post "Ravens"

Aug 11, 2009, New Paintings

New Paintings from Mark Easton, working with acrylics Mark creates bold and unique paintings

Permalink -- click for full blog post "New Paintings"

Aug 11, 2009, I-90

"I-90" acrylic painting by artist Mark Easton depicting a fallen raven on a lush green background...

Permalink -- click for full blog post "I-90"

Aug 10, 2009, It's a quiet morning

All is quiet here just before the sun rises. Last few nights I haven't been sleeping well, so I get to see dawn break over the pines. Watched the moon rise last night. The weather has cooled down which the garden likes. Yesterday the neighbors sheep visited again. It use to crawl under the fence now it has taken to jumping over. As August gets drier and drier the neighbors sheep isn't the only one interested in our gardens. The deer get bolder and bolder, we are thinking of putting up an electric fence. The vegetable garden is flourishing, in amongst the veggies are all kinds of flowers with sunflowers towering overhead.

I love the quiet, watching the sky change colors and lighten up slowly. Embracing a new day.

Enjoy your day.

Aug 4, 2009, Buffalo Painting

A bold painting of three bison/buffalo on a muted red background by artist Mark Easton

Permalink -- click for full blog post "Buffalo Painting"

Jul 30, 2009, New Painting

I posted a new painting with it's own page. Just go to "New Paintings" and click on the painting to see an enlarged version, plus my thoughts on this painting. Or click on the link below.

I have several paintings to post but haven't put them up yet. Hopefully will get them up soon.

Sent out inquiries to several local Galleries, but it seems in this economy no one is looking at new artists. But I enjoy a strong online presence thanks to all of you.

With my camera and my computer I am able to get basically true colors in the images of my paintings that you see on this site.

But, there is nothing that compares to seeing the actual painting. The richness of the colors, the subtle nuances they become a deep invitation to explore, to go deeply into the painting, the story. I believe, and you may disagree, that my paintings are like the tortoise and not the hare. A slowness of viewing; slow, slow is fast. They tell a rich, deep story of exploration and invitation into who we are, who I am. What it means to be human being. At the same time for me the colors are simply beautiful and that is enough. Which is why I love doing 'abstracts', to just feel my way with color. Most of my abstracts tend to speak to me of landscapes, landscapes I remember. New Mexico, Colorado, the Great Plains, the deep woods and lakes of Maine and New England. It is like pulling memories from my soul.

I have started with each new painting I post to put a PayPal "Buy Now" button instead of the old way of having to email me first to start the process of buying a painting. I include a shipping and handling fee, this fee is for shipping within the lower 48 states of the USA only. Hawaii, Alaska and foreign destinations will be more. Once I know where and how the painting is to be shipped I will find out the cost and email you a separate invoice.

Our garden is reaching the midsummer lush stage, everything is taking off. Sunflowers are beginning to bloom, pumpkins and squash are doubling in size overnight it seems. We picked our first tomato today, soon we will be eating cantaloupe.

It has been incredibly hot most days so we had to the river for a swim. The current is just strong enough so that you swim in place. I also end up helping a lot of 'tubers' floating the river to make it to shore... life is good.

Enjoy your day

Permalink -- click for full blog post "New Painting"

Jul 27, 2009, Humor Me

The humorist side of Mark Easton, Hugh Maine and storytelling, standup,

Permalink -- click for full blog post "Humor Me"

Jul 25, 2009, It seems I have become addicted...

Addicted to the early morning. I was up again this morning around 4, sat at my computer a bit while I watched a skunk amble past the window.

That is the first skunk I have seen on the property since moving here. I haven't seen any raccoons or foxes. I think it lives under one of the old horse stalls in the barn. Seeing the skunk was an invitation to step away from my computer and head outside. There was a doe mule deer right across the driveway, now we have had a real problem with the deer eating our plantings. Our garden has an 8 foot high fence around it, but everything else, fruit trees, shrubs, flowers are not protected. So I spray them with what is basically a rotten egg mixture and that seems to deter the deer. Eventually the trees will be big enough but right now they are young and taste good.

I put a photo of the yesterday's sunrise on my 'scrap book' page. Such beautiful colors. Today is such a morning again, pink clouds in the sky. The doe happened to have two fawns with it and they all bounded across the field into the woods.

I find the early morning nourishing and soothing. All the chatter in my mind settles and clarity is, no great insights just clarity. Like mud settling to the bottom of a pool.

Everything is coming on in the garden, squash up the kazoo! I love summer squash and have it most every meal now. Our tomatoes were having a hard go of it but seem to be recovering a bit. We are working towards permaculture or no-till garden. As we have gotten a feel for the soil in the garden this summer we will be adding compost and lime this fall.We have pumpkins and melons and winter squash growing and growing. And lots and lots of sunflowers (the deer love them)that haven't bloomed yet. It will be a riot when they do!

I have been researching artists opportunities this week. Looking for juried shows to enter. If you know of any in your area please let me know. I am also putting together my portfolio for presentation to Galleries. Again if you know of a Gallery in your area that you feel my work would be appropriate there let me know or direct the Gallery to my website.

Enjoy your day.

Jul 25, 2009, Scrap book, Photo album and stuff

My page of stuff, sketches, photo and whatever

Permalink -- click for full blog post "Scrap book, Photo album and stuff"

Jul 24, 2009, Wrens to left of me, Wrens to the right...

Here I am watering the garden again. It's a beautiful, cool morning here and I am up early. I was just out in the garden watering it before the heat of the day. It has been getting up in the high 90's here, just baking everything. As I was watering the Wrens were already busy catching bugs for their babies. They seem to catch grasshoppers more than anything else. If I get too near to their houses (we have a pair nesting in a house at the front of the garden and a pair nesting in a house in the back of the garden)they start chittering away and flutter their wings... even with a big grasshopper in their mouth. A hummingbird was following the sprinkler water high up in the air as it arced across the morning sky. Such lovely, incredible colors in the sky. I love the quiet time of morning it nourishes my soul and body, tells me everything I need to know. Will have to pick lots of squash and peas and lettuce today.

I sent off wee paintings to Trish and Mark, winners of my 'Name This Painting' Contest. I really enjoyed doing that contest, thanks to all who entered it.

I have put up some photos of new work on my scrape book page (just click on the link at the end of this entry or on the 'scrap book' link above). It will be awhile before I have individual pages for any of them. Lots of Ravens, they seemed to be flowing out of me. Lots of abstracts, though I don't really like that word "abstract" because there seems to be nothing 'abstract' about them to me. Lots of lush colors.

Late night doing comedy last night, but I am rewarded with a beautiful morning today. Trying to get the house cooled down before the heat sets in.

Let me know what you think of the new work. I will be painting 'til I am fainting.

Enjoy your day.

Permalink -- click for full blog post "Wrens to left of me, Wrens to the right..."

Jul 18, 2009, And the Winner(s) is...

It's been incredibly hot here and humid, it was about 97 F here today. It's the humidity that does me in. Now it is cooling off as Nighthawks soar through the sky overhead. There are wrens in two of the houses by the garden and they always sit on the wire and scold me if I come to close like this evening when I was watering. I love the evening when it cools down and there is a quiet, I can relax, let go, go deeply with in and roam the universe.

I have been working on several abstracts, I call them abstract scapes. Because they speak to places I have been and remember as these colors and shapes.

Tomorrow the 'Blue Wednesday Group' (that's what the small art group I 'belong' to call ourselves) will be getting together to drop paintings off to be juried into (hopefully) a Art Charity Auction, the proceeds go to buy public art for the area. Then we will be stopping into visit Melissa Cole who is doing a local show. I want to check out her booth setup because I would like to start doing shows and festivals. Then we do lunch! Life is good.

Now the news you have been waiting for, drum roll please... The Winner of my 'Name This Painting' contest. A lot of great entries, I just love hearing what you see in this painting. Two titles just spoke to me, I liked them both. For me they just said 'Yes'. So I put them together to make one title.

And the Title of the buffalo painting is:

'buffalo soljaz convergence'

Mark in Maui and Trish in Maine will be receiving a wee little painting. Congratulations to you both. And from my heart thanks to all who took the time to email in an title and to the folks who spread the word via the internet.

Now I am going back outside where it is cool and watch the Nighthawks soar.

peace

Permalink -- click for full blog post "And the Winner(s) is..."

Jul 10, 2009, Mark Easton Art, Acrylic Paintings,

Mark Easton's bold, intuitive Acrylic Paintings are unique. His paintings tell a deep story of the art of being human. Using bold colors his paintings impact the viewer deeply.

Permalink -- click for full blog post "Mark Easton Art, Acrylic Paintings, "

Jul 9, 2009, Humming bird...

This morning it was a cool 55 degrees at around 6 am. As I walked through the garden I saw a hummingbird drink the water off a cabbage plant leaf, then it actually used a big droplet on the leaf as a bird bath... life is amazing.

Every day the garden just explodes with new growth, it's been over 8 years since I have had a garden and I am enjoying this one so much. Some of the flowers are outrageous like the Poppies and some are so delicately subtle with deep, deep colors I can get lost in.

I found the shell of a bird's egg out in the front garden this morning, a deep aqua blue. Perhaps a Robin's egg. Yesterday evening after the sun had gone down the 'night hawks' were swooping through the sky above the house.

I enjoyed a nice meeting with my artists group yesterday. We met at the Kolva-Sullivan Gallery on Adams to view the work of Ildiko` Kalapacs and then afterwards she joined us at a local cafe where we talked art. We have come up with a name for our little informal group, "The Blue Wednesday Group" (thanks Cat). We are planning a show in conjunction with the Spokane Fall Visual Arts Tour, it looks like we will be in a very downtown location.

Today I am back in the studio to, maybe, work on the big painting. I also might create some fish for the field, the grass is so deep I am sure they would enjoy swimming through it. The giraffes are doing so well I am thinking about adding to the herd.

Breathe deep.

Jul 8, 2009, Cool weather...

Cool weather is here which the ground loves. All the plants, trees and the garden have just sighed with relief. The garden is going great, we've harvested our first cucumbers, chard, radishes, lettuce, beet greens. The melon plants are blooming, the peas and green beans have taken off. And the Poppies and lilies are blooming. There are still plenty of birds around, yesterday a Cedar Waxwing was at the bird bath. Every once and awhile a small hawk swoops through the yard. This morning it was about 44 degrees and the humming birds were crowded two deep at the feeder.

I have finished several small paintings, today I will be working on one I started at the 'Green House' taking inspiration from the view south down the valley to the plains of eastern Colorado. I also have been contemplating the large canvas I have painted a deep blue background on.

This evening the little art group I belong to will be meeting up to go to a Gallery then visit after. Nice to be around artists and swap tales.

Okay, everything is watered, I have had breakfast... off to paint.

Hope everyone has been enjoying the full moon with some howling!

Enjoy your day.

Jun 30, 2009, Giraffes in the grass

Woke up early to a Raven calling. It was a cool night which was good for the cabbage I thinned and transplanted. The garden is really taking off, vine plants are beginning to blossom, I have to thin the beets (beet greens!) and harvest the chard.Everything seems to be settling in and growing. We water every day, it is amazing how fast the soil gets hot and dry.

We have a big field with tall grasses behind the house and studio. Last year when we moved here it was so dry the grass was this beautiful gold brown color and almost chest high. Made me feel like elephants, lions, wildebeast and giraffes should be walking through the tall grasses. If I listened quietly I could hear the rumble of lions in the distance. Well, it's happened. You can see the photos I took of two giraffes crossing the field. Just click on the 'scrap book' link at the top of this page or the 'click for more info' tag at the end of this entry.

I have been visiting some old paintings that never felt finished to me. Not sure if I am making them better or worse! But , in any case I am painting. I will go out to the studio this morning, I may make some fish to swim through the grasses or work on my 4'x5' painting or wrestle with the 'old' paintings.

I have come up with a winner for my buffalo painting. I will be announcing the winning title next week.

Enjoy your day.

Click for more info

Jun 26, 2009, Early Morning Light

I woke up this morning around 4:15 AM and it was light out, dawn was breaking. The birds were outrageous with their sound. The first light woke them up and they responded, now they have settled down and it is a quiet dawn again.

It is the height of summer here, the garden is hunkering down and taking off. A garden is amazing to me, everything growing. Soon the vine plants like the squash, melons, cucumbers will have spread out covering the ground with tall sunflowers towering above them. Everything is settling in, putting down roots and growing.

I will go out in a few minutes and turn on the water to the garden for nothing grows here with out constant watering. I am learning how to be a gardener in this dry climate. Grow shade, make an oasis. Put down lots of good organic mulch to help retain the moisture and nourish the plants. Maybe in ten years this will be a more self-sustaining, moisture retaining spot. I have got to plant more deep rooted shade trees like Maples. We are basically making a ring around the house while avoiding such things as water pipe lines, the septic tank and leach field.

I have been spending my days painting, working on both new paintings and old. I have got several paintings going and they all seem to be in the same place... stuck. But that's okay while being stuck I came up with an idea for some outdoor art for our field. I hope to start working on that today.

I am getting ready to pick a winning title for the big buffalo painting. So if you have any ideas now is the time to submit them.

Now I go water. Enjoy your day.

Jun 20, 2009, Thunder and lightening

Big thunderstorm last evening and then it rained! This must be the season of the rain these last few days. The ground feels so refreshed after a rain, like it relaxes and breathes easy. With the rain the garden has taken off growing in leaps and bounds. We have eaten baby radishes and the birds have eaten the strawberries. It appears another wren has moved into the neighborhood claiming a birdhouse at the corner of the garden. He sings and flutters his wings all day trying to attract a mate. The wrens in the back yard are busy bring food back to their young. Such compact, aggressive little birds.

Some of us from the 'I Am An Artist' workshop got together yesterday for a casual meeting. Everyone brought a piece of art and our revamped artist statements (I'll be posting mine on this site soon). It was nice to talk with other artists, enjoying each others company and helping each other out. Good support. We are planning on do a collective show this fall here in Spokane.

I have finished the background on two large paintings. At the same time I have rearranged my studio... spring cleaning. It is nice to have that space to move about. I have ideas for these paintings, it will be interesting to see if that is what they end up as.

Enjoy your day.

Jun 15, 2009, not enough

not enough, an abastract acrylic painting by artist Mark Easton in red, white and blue.

Permalink -- click for full blog post "not enough"

Jun 15, 2009, New Art Coming

The weather has cooled down to a bit. Our garden is doing well, just about everything is up and going. The lettuce and carrots took a bit of a soaking to get going. Flowers are blooming, the hummingbirds are going crazy and there are butterflies about.

This weekend several of us artists who attended the I Am An Artist workshop will be getting together. It's good to be around other artists, share resources and support. We are talking about doing a joint show this fall. You can check out the work of sculptor Vincent DeFelice at his website. He specializes in Bronze.

I am putting the second coat of varnish on an abstract painting I recently finished. Hopefully will post it in a couple of days. I also will continue work on my large painting. I am still working on the background. It is interesting (and uses a lot of paint) working on such a large canvas.

Moving back into the studio, cleaning up and organizing it. Where to stack all the paintings? How about we hang them on your wall! I am always open to barter or offers.

Haven't had any entries for the Untitled Buffalo painting in about a week, so maybe it's time to pick a title. Just click on the 'contact me' button to the left and send me your idea for the title. Do you have a favorite?

Enjoy your day.

Permalink -- click for full blog post "New Art Coming"

Jun 8, 2009, Why can't it rain?

The temperature has dropped, the sky is overcast... it wants to rain. And now like the release of tears it is. It hasn't rained here for so long, so, so long. Down it comes, a hard rain in the first burst. Now gentling off to a steady rain. How the ground must simply relax and slowly open up to the tears of the sky.

I am watching rivulets run down the window, I can hear it 'binging' off the bathroom's fan vent. Now it is pouring, the wind is blowing... was that a flash of lightening?

May the garden grow. May the plum tree drink deeply.

This is a dry land, an arid land that happens to have humidity and mosquitoes. Grass and pine trees... brown grass and green pine trees that is summer here.

Why do I bring 'green' to this place, growing flowers, shrubs, fruit trees, a garden fenced high so the deer won't get in. The deer that I watch in the early morning out in the field eating the delicate shoots.

These ARE the things that inform my paintings, these are the things that my paintings are made of. Every time I take a brush stroke I paint these things. The things that make my life.

Spent the weekend at the Artist Trust "I am an Artist" workshop. My head is full, it was both exhilarating and depressing at the same time. Getting all this useful, important information, meeting local fellow artists... and realizing how little I know and how much more I have to do especially on the business end. I don't think my website is 'ARTIST' enough. Perhaps to 'folksie' or home grown, too much me. But I do feel that is what makes my paintings, all the parts of me.

Met a great artist Melissa Cole. Check out her art, you'll like it.

The steady rain is falling a good day to do some cleaning, maybe a fire in the stove tonight.

Enjoy your day.

Jun 7, 2009, Carlos Joy

'Carlos Joy' new painting by artist Mark Easton, beautiful bold colors depicting Woman and Raven dancing

Permalink -- click for full blog post "Carlos Joy"

Jun 6, 2009, A Full Weekend

Today I head to the Artist Trust Workshop being held here in Spokane this weekend, two days full of learning about the business and grant writing side of the arts. My goal right now is to get into a couple of galleries, to be out where a new audience can see my work.

Have had lots of visits to the untitled buffalo painting page, but only a few entries. Are you having problems with the submission form? You can email your title entery directly to: mark@mark-easton-art.com

Check out the entries so far by clicking on the link at the bottom of this journal entry. For those of you who haven't heard I am having a "Name the Painting" contest, you could win the wee painting that inspired the large buffalo painting. It's free and it's fun. It is fascinating what folks see in the painting, what it speaks to them. The titles all together become a poem, a prayer.

Today is suppose to be cooler in the high 60's. Lately it's been in the high 80's... a little bit too hot for me. The garden is doing okay as long as I water it. Everything is germinating and it should be quite lush soon and create it's own shade. The fruit trees are doing well, the deer started nibbling on a couple of them so I sprayed them with deer repellent that we bought, boy does that stink. A spot of human urine also does the trick. The neighbors sheep was in the yard the other day, shooed it back and fixed the fence... it eats everything in sight.

All right off to do some yoga and get ready for the big art weekend.

Enjoy your day.

Permalink -- click for full blog post "A Full Weekend"