Montana Artworking by Cindy Betka

'Leonardo's Notebook' is fascinating to read through. These two pages are from his notes on painting, specifically, 'How to Present a Tempest'.

Notan is from the Japanese word, meaning dark-light. In art, it is a pleasing value contrast in design. The japanese call this expression in beauty and harmony of darks and lights 'visual music'. The concept is to have dark shapes against light shapes and the converse in an interesting pattern. So, if you were to compose your painting using pure black and white; with harmony and balance, the finished results will also be successful.  I scanned in some thumbnails which I started playing around with for compositions.  From these I pick the best to further develop into a painting. For the fun of it I took photos of completed paintings and used the Photoshop Stamp filter to see what they would look like in pure black and white. This one seems the most successful. Below are thumbnails sketches

When you look around, you can find signs everywhere. My sister-in-law discovered some really nice antique pub and inn signs. Here we took some photos of antique building signs. These are all in the 'Uptown' area of Butte, Montana. This historic district is the largest west of the Mississippi. All kinds of buildings with the original signs painted on the buildings as advertising for the proprietor that was occupant, back in the days. There are lots more, but that is another day. So, more to come. The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place; from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider’s web. :::  Pablo Picasso  :::  

How beautiful it is! Starting on Wednesday we have about 18" on the ground of fresh, stick to everything, snow. It was a fog, misty sunrise that I just had to run out and take some photos of. They bring to mind lots of painting ideas. Could not stay out too long, around -10 degrees.

That artist style of 'Tonalism', I have a certain fascination with. The out of focus and minimal detail lends more to the imagination. That bit of mystery draws in the viewer. In a more current painting I have been working on below; I was thinking of tonalism. Not sure it falls in the category but, the influence is there. My colors are more muted. This is actually a make-over from an earlier version of the same scene. I was not happy with the sky colors and rendering. The other area that bothered me was the foreground, so I added greater detail. The barn took on some patina on the roof. What I found to be the most challenging was the silohette of the bush on the left against the brightest part of the sky. The painting has been put aside for later evaluation. 'Skies Proclaim' 12" X 16"  Oil on panel Now take a look at the master tonalists work. By James McNeill Whistler By James McNeill Whistler By George Inness ...

Looking out my window I was inspired by the Claude Monet series of painting images in my head. You must be familiar with them. With this first snow fall, I took this photo in morning sunrise light. So, my project then, is to do a series throughout the seasons and various lighting conditions. What a challenge; must stick with it. The canvases will be smaller sizes, keeping it simple, but taking a couple of years. Haystacks - Monet       From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Monet noticed this subject on a casual walk. He requested that his stepdaughter Blanche Hoschedé bring him two canvases. He believed that one canvas for overcast weather and one for sunny weather would be sufficient. However, he realized he could not demonstrate the several distinct impressions on one or two canvases. As a result, his willing helper was quickly carting as many canvases as a wheelbarrow could hold. His daily routine involved c...

These are 2 oil landscape paintings I recently completed. In both paintings I inspired from the fall colors this season. The one titled, 'Pine Scent', I went for the ephemeral lighting passing through the tall lodge pole pine forest. Perhaps the olfactory memory recalls the pine scent when looking at this scene. 'Pine Scent'  22" X 18" The forest is constantly changing. When you are able to observe it on a daily basis the subtle changes are very apparent. Trees and plants die off as new ones take their place. The world goes on and on. Such is life. 'Shadowing' is a very small example of the changing forest around me. 'Shadowing'   20" X 16"