Breathing In Plein Air

Plein Air Competition at Smith Rock State Park

Terrebonne, Oregon (May 10, 2013) – The High Desert Art League and Smith Rock State Park have come together to create an event celebrating the creativity of the human spirit and the spectacular beauty of Central Oregon's Smith Rock! On June 22, 2013, the public and plein air artists of all kinds will come together to experience the amazing scenery, geography, and wildlife of Smith Rock State Park.

The Smith Rock Paint Out was created to bring the Smith Rock experience to new audiences. Known for its world-famous rock climbing, Smith Rock State Park is also host to many miles of hiking and mountain bike trails, the meandering Crooked River, and views of the volcanic peaks of Oregon’s Cascade Range, a perfect setting for artists, photographers and nature lovers of all kinds.

Organizers have a great deal planned. They have partnered with Arts Central and the Art Station to create an area of free family art activities. Several well known Central Oregon Artists will be on hand for artist demonstrations, including Helen Brown and Vivian Olsen. Also on the schedule is a Park Ranger presentation about the history, geology and wildlife of Smith Rock State Park.

The plein air competition is open to all artists working in 2-D media that can be created from start to finish in the park, in the allotted time. A juried exhibition of work created during the event will be held at Redmond, Oregon's Roberts Field following the event, June 25th through August 18th.

The event hours are 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Information, event schedule and artist registration can be found at www.smithrockpaintout.com.

                         Artist spotlight...Richard Frederick

A MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE

 

Part 2

 

In Part 1 I revealed the characteristic quality and beauty of Platinum/Palladium photographic prints and thus a strong motivation to produce them professionally and artistically. I also pointed out a rather severe limitation in doing so - namely that a desire to make a large Pt/Pd print, say 30 X 40 inches, is accompanied by the necessity of making a 30 X 40 negative and therefore requires a very large camera capable of doing so. A few cameras (and film) that large were made in the hay day of Pt/Pd photography but they required a huge vehicle (probably a horse drawn wagon) to transport them and an army of helpers to set them up for a photo shoot. That is my idea of a hard way to make photographs. There had to be a better way!

Right: An 1850's large camera to make a large negative 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Left: A 21st century modern digital camera

 

Fast forward to contemporary times. In the 70's there was a

popular tune..."Along Came Jones". In the 90's the equivalent was "Along Came Digital". In that decade & the next, the metamorphosis of photography from analog to digital was accomplished with enormous and rapid development of the technology. Film photography (analog) for both professional and amateur photographers rapidly became a thing of the past. It was replaced - seemingly overnight - by digital photography with ever improving digital cameras, computers, printers, ink, and compatible papers. Compare the photos of the two cameras above. You should have no doubt which is the more convenient to use. The performance of today's digital cameras has well exceeded the performance of comparable film cameras.

 

The inevitable question was "How can I make a large and beautiful Pt/Pd print using this new fangled technology?". Somewhere in some inquisitive photographer's mind, a light went on. The thought process went something like this:

 

     I really, really want a large Pt/Pd print for its artistic beauty

     I have the Platinum and Palladium chemicals and large paper

     I have the high intensity light source to expose the sensitized 

     paper.

     I have the darkroom facilities to develop the exposed paper

     What am I missing?

 

The obvious answer is that I don't have a large negative. Well, I know a lot about this wonderful computer program called Photoshop and I'm pretty sure that if I loaded one of my beautiful digital photo files into Photoshop I could use the Image Size function to make a LARGE image from the smaller camera image. Furthermore, Photoshop can invert this positive image so I now have a large negative image - just what I wanted. In order to materialize this negative, I think I can print it on some special overhead transparency  material using my $$$$ digital printer ( science is a wonderful invention).

 

So there is the basic idea and now I hope you can begin to see how this marriage of convenience is shaping up. It is a marriage of Analog and Digital photographic processes that produces a work of art that is both beautiful and desirable. It overcomes a serious limitation in the original Pt/Pd analog production process as it is now possible to make large Pt/Pd prints without the need for monster cameras.

Just below are two more examples of Pt/Pd prints.As you can see, they are both prints of flowers as was the print in the first posting of this title. More about that choice later. I wish I could show you the actual prints, because they are much more subtle and beautiful than what I am able to post on the blogsite, but you get the idea.

We are really anxious to proceed with the marriage. In the next post I will describe in more detail the steps necessary - from beginning to end - to produce our once elusive large Pt/Pd print...stay tuned.





 

As long as you are here, please continue browsing the blog and also visit our web site at:
www.highdesertartleague.com to see the news of our other talented artists. 

 

 

 

 



Central Oregon "I Am Oregon" winner Patricia Clark!

Congratulations to our Central Oregon "I Am Oregon" winner Patricia Clark!

The Meyer Memorial Trust is creating a network of community-minded people to connect them and support them through capacity building. I am Oregon is the first step in building this network. Learn more about the impetus behind I am Oregon and Oregon Unlimited at http://www.mmt.org/blog/who-oregon-iamoregon.org. Hundreds of unsung heroes were nominated through the I Am Oregon campaign—1,235 of your neighbors, friends and community minded individuals who are creating change in communities across the state. 

Along the way I Am Oregon regional finalists were honored and votes were cast for the outstanding civic leaders who will represent Our region at the 2013 National Conference on Volunteering and Service in Washington DC in June. These reps will then bring insight back to share with your community through Oregon Unlimited. 

Pat is a member of the High Desert Art League and at the center of the arts community in Central Oregon. Moving to Bend in 2005, she founded Atelier 6000, a fully professional printmaking studio and collaborative space for artists at every level. Through networking with other community leaders, Pat is engaging in the future of Bend's art scene and how it can expand to include more and more of the population.

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: RICHARD FREDERICK

 

A MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE

 

It isn't what you think, given the colloquial understanding of the phrase. I am the featured artist of the High Desert Art League for the month of May, 2013, and this is the first of four articles that I will post on this, the HDAL Blogsite. My goal and my hope is that you, the readers, will fully understand and appreciate My "Marriage of Convenience" after you have read all four posts. I'll help you along the way with numerous graphics & examples.

I am a photographer...a fine art photographer. My passion for photography motivates me to use the photographic processes to produce works of art that compel the viewer to be captivated by what he or she sees in the work. The images I make to that end necessarily reflect a significant part of my inner self that is my artistic interpretation of what I physically and emotionally see through the lens.That is the esthetic element of fine art photography...the art of "Seeing". There are also many technical issues that must be understood and mastered in order to successfully produce a fine art photographic image. In order to fully exploit the medium, one must understand the elements and limitations of each part of the photographic "tool kit"...the basic camera, the lenses used with it, the recording medium (film or digital sensor), the interactions of a wide range of camera settings, and not least, the nature and properties of light.

A brief bit of photographic history will serve to show some reasoning for the advent of my "marriage of convenience". In the early days, as the photographic process gained wider acceptance, the inventors & purveyors of same were searching diligently for a new way to make multiple prints from a single negative (usually a glass plate coated with a light-sensitive emulsion) of a scene captured with what we now consider a crude camera. This camera was little more than a box with a slot to hold the glass plate and an aperture (initially a pin-hole & eventually a shutter in a glass lens) to admit light for a controlled amount of time. Around 1850 AD the search resulted in an invention that for an extended period of time was the widely accepted method for making quality black and white prints (color was a long way in the future). This process was given the name Platinum/Palladium (Pt/Pd) for the primary ingredients used.These prints were widely accepted and in great demand for their clarity and beautiful tonal range and also their archival quality that prevented any fading with time.

The demise of Pt/Pd printing came as a result of the two major world wars during which the government need for war-time purposes made Platinum and Palladium unavailable on the open market. The process has enjoyed a renaissance in recent years as these precious metals became readily available again. Pt/Pd printmaking is now practiced by a dedicated & growing number of fine art photographers.

The Pt/Pd print is produced by a contact printing method wherein the camera-produced negative is placed in direct contact with the print paper that has been hand coated (in the darkroom) with the sensitized Pt/Pd emulsion. This "sandwich" is then exposed under an intense light source that is rich in ultraviolet light. The exposure is followed by a chemical developer bath and clearing agent in the darkroom to produce the final archival Pt/Pd print. The whole process is referred to as Analog (as opposed to today's digital processes). BUT... there was a limitation to the contact printing process: the size of the negative had to be the same as the size of the desired print! Imagine how large and heavy the camera had to be to make a 30 X 40 inch negative to produce a 30 X 40 inch print!

In the next posting I will talk about the transition of photographic processes from analog to digital and you will begin to see how the marriage came about. The image just above...
"Dance of the Tulips"...gives one a preview of the Pt/Pd print produced by the marriage. There will be more. Watch for the next post. You won't want to miss it!



Art on the River Show and Sale

Art on the River will host its fifth annual show and sale this weekend at Eagle Crest in Redmond, featuring 30 artists. Tonight from 4 to 8 p.m., there will be a reception and auction to benefit Art in Schools, a program providing stipends for artists in residence at Redmond schools.

On Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., artists will give demonstrations of their craft. Both days include the sale of artwork by regional artists. A percentage of all sales, along with tonight’s raffle, will benefit art programs in Redmond schools.

Art on the River takes place at the River Run Event Center, 1730 Blue Heron Drive, at Eagle Crest in Redmond.

Smith Rock Paint Out - Poster

Smith Rock Paint Out

The High Desert Art League and Smith Rock State Park have come together to create an event celebrating the creativity of the human spirit and the spectacular beauty of Central Oregon's Smith Rock! On June 22, 2013, come experience amazing scenery, geography, and wildlife of Smith Rock State Park. Join us for the Smith Rock paint Out and participate as an artist of simply see it through the artist’s eye as artists create works of beauty as you watch!

Known for it's world-famous rock climbing, Smith Rock State Park is also host to many miles of hiking and mountain bike trails, the meandering Crooked River and views of the volcanic peaks of Oregon’s Cascade Range. Come experience spectacular scenery, geography, and wildlife.  Bring a picnic and explore the park, enjoy free family art activities and artist demonstrations. Along your trip through the canyon, you might see golden eagles, prairie falcons, mule deer, river otter and beaver. A wonderful setting for artists, photographers and nature lovers of all kinds. 

Bring the family and get creative with the Art Station's free family art activities, watch artist demonstrations, listen to a Park Ranger talk on the history, geology and wildlife of the park. Watch and visit with artists as they create and see which works are awarded the Rangers Choice Awards and which move on to the juried exhibition at Redmond's Roberts Field following the event, June 25th through August 18th, 2013.

Artists working in 2-D media (that can be created from start to finish in the park in the allotted time) are invited to participate in this unique plein-air opportunity. The price is right (FREE) and it is a snap to register. Registration and participation information can be found on our website at http://www.smithrockpaintout.com/artist-registration-2/.

Teamwork and great partners make events like this work. We are grateful to have these great organizations and businesses come together making the Smith Rock Paint Out a wonderful cultural family event. Thank you to The Art Station and Arts Central, Roberts Field – Redmond Municipal Airport, Cascade A&E and Redmond Commission for Art in Public Places.

June 22, 2013 - Schedule:

8:00 am – 8:45 am: Registration
8:45 am  – 9:00 am: Welcome and Artist’s Orientation
9:00 am – 1:30 pm: Plein-Air Paint Out
9:00 am – 11:00 am: Family Art Activities
9:00 am – 11:00 am: Artist Demonstrations
11:00 am – Ranger Presentation
2:30 pm – Awards and Closing Remarks

Smith Rock State Park is located at 9241 NE Crooked River Dr. near Terrebonne, Oregon.

For more information:
http://www.smithrockpaintout.com/
https://www.facebook.com/SmithRockPaintOut
http://www.oregonstateparks.org/index.cfm?do=parkPage.dsp_parkPage&parkId=36