New Works at Northwest Masters Collective Exhibit in La Conner, Washington
“Gernika, Spain” pictured here is one of 10 new pieces I have on exhibit with 12 other Northwest Masters now showing at La Conner Seaside Gallery, through March 9th. Many of the artists are doing “live demos” with their particular discipline, while they sit the gallery. This is a co-op gallery formed and completely staffed by some of the leading artists in the Pacific Northwest. Watch for a “spring show” scheduled to open March 15th, but do get in there now to see this new exhibit! Hours are: Friday-Sunday 11-5. 210 Morris Ave., La Conner.

Note: My inaugural exhibit at Amsterdam Whitney Gallery in the Chelsea District of New York City is up through February 2nd and has received many favorable reviews from collectors and gallery patrons, to date! (See previous blog for exhibit details and gallery hours).

Steven R Hill Opening at Amsterdam Whitney Fine Art Gallery

Friday, January 8th, marks my inaugural exhibit in New York City at Amsterdam Whitney International Fine Art Gallery in the Chelsea District. Go to www.amsterdamwhitneygallery.com for a preview of the work I will be exhibiting during this show, which runs through February 2, 2010.

One of the major pieces in this show was published in the book "The Best of America Pastel Artists and Artisans", Vol. I, by Kennedy Publications in October, 2007. It is titled "La Mattina, Riomaggiore" . . . literally "The Morning" and was completed from studies done in Italy's Cinque Terre, in the southernmost village of Riomaggiore.

The piece pictured here, is from my recent painting trip to Croatia titled "Ancient Walled City, Krk, Croatia", painted in October, 2009. I hope any of my blog subscribers who live around the east coast or who might be visiting New York, can make the opening and see the show! The gallery is located at 511 West 25th Street, Chelsea, New York, NY. A gala opening champagne reception will be held on Thursday, January 14, from 6-8 p.m.

I am participating in a Puget Sound Group of Northwest Painters special holiday art exhibit at Wikstrom Brother's Gallery, located at 5411 Meridean Ave. N. in Seattle. This exhibit has paintings put up for silent auction (at least one per artist) with some incredibly low, minimum bids.

So-o-o, if you'd like to add to your collection or just see some great new pieces by some of the best artists in the Pacific Northwest, get there before December 20th! All bidding stops at 1 PM that day. Visit the gallery web site to view some of the works in this show. The image shown here, I painted en plein air, from Fisherman Bay Peninsula last summer and has a minimum bid of $250 at the gallery.

Northwest Masters Exhibit continues at La Conner Seaside Gallery

This new collective exhibit has already been heralded as the highest quality artwork to ever hit the town of La Conner, from a strong group of master artists showing their work through January 6th at the newly formed co-op gallery in La Conner. Sales have been brisk, and the artists have installed a special section of the gallery with smaller works priced to sell. This group is comprised of some of the most collected artists in the region (see invitation from last blog), and is a great opportunity to acquire a high quality, original piece of art for your own collection or as a special holiday gift.

The gallery is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 11-5, every week of the year. Annette Tamm, an extraordinary glass artist from Anacortes, has just joined our ranks with some beautiful new works. Don't miss this show . . . it's truly an eclectic mix of some excellent fine art!


The piece pictured here is titled “Spring blooms” from my plein air studies done near La Conner in 2009.

Grand opening Celebrates with Live Art demos

Tomorrow (Sat. Nov. 21)marks the grand opening of the Northwest Masters Show at La Conner Seaside Gallery in La Conner, Washington. The official opening is from 5-8 p.m., with 15 artists participating (see invitation). I am excited and feel honored to have the opportunity to exhibit work with some of the best painters I have ever had the opportunity to show with, anywhere. I have already seen most of the works in this show and they are most impressive. The gallery will be open at 11 a.m., then throughout the day until the party starts at 5. If you are a collector and able to preview the artwork, it is best to arrive early, to have the best selection of any of the artists' work you like.

5 Artists will be doing live demos: Ned Mueller, Tom Jensen and Aleks Kargopoltsev will be painting from a live model at 12 noon in the gallery. Mark Bistranin and myself will be doing a live landscape demo (oils and pastel) at 2 p.m., also in the gallery. This gives anyone who has an interest in the actual process of making art a first- hand look at visual artists performing without a safety net.

A “small pieces” exhibit has also been installed upstairs in the gallery, with some excellent holiday and special grand opening prices in effect. I hope to see all of you tomorrow and Sunday! The gallery is located at 210 Morris Street, just a block behind the Museum of Northwest Art in La Conner.

The invitation here marks the beginning of our new co-op gallery opening next Saturday in La Conner, Washington. I will be at the gallery all day (11-7 P.M.) and hope to see you there. There will also be a “small pieces” show section, with works priced for holiday gifts giving. This group of artists has been working hard to make this special gallery viable and we will be hosting regular shows throughout the coming year. To view the invitation, click on the image to the left.

The image pictured here is a piece I did just a month before this old farm building, near Bayview, in the Skagit Valley, burned to the ground. It is titled "Winding Down", a reference to the brief winter sunset illuminating the building and field from behind. Little did I know another icon of the valley would disappear forever.

The Croatia Art Experience ended with a flurry of activity from all involved. The last outdoor painting day was spent at the old walled city of Korcula, with everyone working hard to pick-off the last rays of sun, as storm clouds finally headed our way. But after nothing less than totally warm and sunny weather from day one, it was rather theatrical and nearly perfect timing to have a storm come-in off the Adriatic the afternoon of the last painting day. Even the dark clouds provided a good back-drop to the ancient walls and buildings, and the water still remains turquoise (although a bit darker shade) during storms. It was a good time for reference photos, and I am sure many fine paintings from this group will be made over the coming winter . . . except Tania, painter extraordinaire, who lives and works in Australia, where summer is the next season. Alas, the rest of our group (Canada and the U.S.) are experiencing short days, long nights, perfect for reflection upon the beautiful time spent painting in Croatia.

The group photo here is from the village of Rascice, a deep water port filled with old wooden boats, one of the stunning painting locations on Korcula Island. I have already heard from Lynda Milina, workshop/art experience coordinator, that she has also posted some group/action photos, as we both plan for the next Croatia Art Experience, October 3-12, 2010.

We will be advertising through some international art magazines, as well as an article or two in the “Zadjednicar” (Croatian newspaper printed in north America) for the next plein air painting experience, as well as web blogs, etc. Now is a good time to think seriously about coming with us next October. All mediums are encouraged, the food is simply superb and the accommodations are totally comfortable and perfectly located within 250 feet of the water.

Go to the web-site www.slikamilina.ca and click on “events” to see more photos and “testimonials” to read what others have to say, “pricing” for that info, then forward to any friends or sign-up yourself for the 2010 tour! All levels, from beginners to experienced are welcome and all art mediums (including photography) are encouraged.

P.S. British Airways has a new Visa Credit Card promo going that even I signed-up for. 50,000 air miles (enough for a RT fare to Europe) just for signing-on and another 50,000 bonus miles if you charge over $2000 in 3 months. That's airfare (RT) for 2 people for just using that Visa Card. Plus upgrades for business class (like 1st class on most carriers) just using air miles, good offers for companion passes, etc. Their promo only goes through November 30th but is well worth using whether you go to Croatia or anywhere else in Europe.

Korcula Island, Croatia is a beautiful island near Dubrovnik on the southern coast. I am teaching a 10 day workshop in plein air landscape painting. The 2 images here are both demo pieces: the first is at Cavtat near Dubrovnik, the second a Franciscan Monastery on the small island of Badija (the “j” makes a “Y” sound).


The water is warm enough to swim and we have been blessed with perfect weather days for painting outdoors. Workshop attendees are making good progress and I will be blogging their activities in the next few days.

September 23 2009

Cezanne's atelier, which I visited today, had a similar although loftier view over the city of Mont Sainte Victoire, which he painted several times with mid-range color values and a muted palette.

Perhaps the transient effects of light affects my own palette in a much different way. I tend towards expressing light on objects with stronger color temperatures and a very large range of lights and darks, because it is how I see and choose to interpret the landscape.

Same mountain, different painting techniques and styles. Interesting to note: Picasso is buried on this mountain, as his family purchased a huge piece of Mt. Ste Victoire when he died. A well curated exhibit of Cezanne and Picasso's work at the museum in Aix provided excellent examples of the 2 artists mutual admiration and influence, especially of Cezanne for Picasso. (Cezanne died 1906, Picasso 1973). We are all part of this ongoing visual dialogue and the best is yet to come.

The painting here was done en plein air near Jegun, France, in the Gers region of southwest France, looking up at a chateau from just in front of a field of sunflowers. The spent russet flowers were all pointing characteristically east, but the backsides of the heads (facing me) still provided a color statement of fairly bright, warm golds & yellows, set against the earthier tones above.

Summer gives way to the fall harvest here, with busy vineyards, the last of tomatoes and many fresh farm products showing there own colors with the season. This is the most rural farm region in France, with hardy people who manage the land taking in harvests and celebrating “the good life”.

It is also the site where I am planning to teach another art workshop next September (2010), just prior to the scheduled painting workshop I will teach in Croatia in October of next year, as well.

Painting in the Basque countryside of Spain brings many visual opportunities, as the steep, rugged countryside allows the perception of peaceful, nearly poetic contemplation for those who would listen. I hear it speak through the buildings that cling to hillsides and centuries old family dwellings, churches and villages along the coast and in the mountains.

We are here on this first leg of a 7 week European painting trip, with our Basque family connection, Carlos Mendiola, (my sister, Deanna's husband) from Boise, Idaho, together with his cousin, Inaki, who lives here and has been guiding a fascinating, multi lingual journey through the last 500 years of recorded family history for Carlos.

This church on the hillside north of Gernika, as well as this beautiful country villa near EA on the Bay of Biscay were both bathed in warm light yesterday, when I worked from a sunny perch. Today, torrential, thunderous rains have limited visibility to less than 200 meters – as our hosts at this seaside villa say “It's very good for the grapes, peaches and figs growing just around the house”.


For me, right now, the rain makes a good opportunity to think about what adventures lie ahead, as I paint my way across the continent.

My painting “Arcady Barn at Deer Harbor” was awarded First Place in the San Juan Preservation Trust and Plein Air Washington Artists annual juried paint-out, yesterday on Orcas Island.

The event was well attended with over 300 people, all of whom share a common ground in helping to preserve open spaces in the San Juan Islands. Beautiful live music, wonderful fresh-grilled salmon and island garden bounty all made the event live-up to its name “Summer Social”. A live auction of artwork was also held, with nearly every piece sold from artwork done during the “quick draw”. 40% of those proceeds go directly to the San Juan Preservation Trust. My quick draw piece “Arcady Barn in Soft Light” sold for $850, netting $340 for the SJPT.

Other artwork done for this event has been entered into Crow Valley Gallery on Orcas Island and will be exhibited through the month of August. I will be joining other selected artists to participate in doing new plein air pieces around Orcas Island next week. A big grand opening event will be held next Friday, August 14th at Crow Valley. Be sure to visit their web site for details www.crowvalley.com .