Pooh-Bah Himself

The Amazing William, Bill Darkow, visited the exhibition mentioned in my April posts. The gallery receptionist offered to take his photo beside "Pooh-Bah," himself, as seen in the Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan production of The Mikado.

Pineapple Poll . . .

In the Wings  |  12 x 9

Pineapple Poll is a delightful arrangement of music from all 13 Gilbert & Sullivan operettas. The ballet tells the story of the same "bumboat woman" who appears later in life as "Little Buttercup" in Pinafore. 

 In 2004 the Seattle G&S society commissioned Spectrum Dance Theater, directed by Donald Byrd, to perform the ballet on a double bill with the society's production of HMS Pinafore in celebration of the society's 50 anniversary season. I was given permission to shoot reference photos backstage during one of the performances. Watching the long shadows the ballet lighting cast, was as exciting as watching the dancers themselves.

If you enjoy G&S and love dance, DVDs of this production are available through the Seattle G&S Society. Click here for more info. The image below is from the DVD.

 

Pineapple Poll 

Spectrum Dance Theater, Scenic Designer, Nathan Rodda

Mr. G. Waxing Eloquent

Mr. G. Waxing Eloquent  |  10.75 x 8

Gordon Gilbert Gutteridge as Mr. Bunthorne’s Solicitor, the only non-speaking, non-singing roll in Gilbert & Sullivan. Gordon was listed in the program as “Gilbert Grossmith Gordon” - his joke. George Grossmith was the original principal comedian with the D’Oily Carte Company from 1877 to 1889.

The painting is based on a reference photo shot during the society’s 1993 production of “Patience”.  "Mr. G." was Artistic Director of the Company for 35 years. He was also an accomplished artist, actor, designer, leader and an inspiration to generations of performers.

A moment from Act II . . .

Pooh-Bah Has a Word or Two  |  36 x 18

The actor on the left in this scene from The Mikado is the Seattle G&S Society's longtime scenic designer, Nathan Rodda. He truly makes manic happen. 

 

The painting is in the MUSICAL PIECES exhibition through July 1sr 2016.

Gallery hours: Monday - Friday 11am - 4pm

Women Painters of Washington Gallery 

Columbia Center Building
701 Fifth Avenue, 3rd Floor Atrium
Seattle, WA 98104

The Amazing William as Pooh-Bah . . .

The Amazing Pooh-Bah  |  24 x 12

Another painting in Musical Pieces, William J. Darkow as Pooh-Bah in Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society’s 2001 production of “The Mikado”. Everything this actor did was paintable. His presence was simply wonderful! The sets were designed by the society's longtime scenic designer, Nathan Rodda. 

MUSICAL PIECES is having an opening APRIL 7, FIRST THURSDAY. 
There will be a PROGRAM AND LIVE JAZZ starting at 4 pm.

Women Painters of Washington Gallery

Columbia Center Building
701 Fifth Avenue, 3rd Floor Atrium
Seattle, WA 98104 

Musical Pieces

—  an exhibition inspired by music  —

 Yeo Man  |  24 x 12

I have chosen moments from the Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society’s productions at the Bagley Wright Theater in Seattle for my Musical Pieces. They include paintings from: The Mikado, Patience, Pineapple Poll and The Yeomen of the Guard, the latter being a moment from the first rehearsal in theater with props but no costumes. I just couldn’t resist the look of a yeoman in red tennis shoes.

 I will be posting images of the other four paintings later this week.

Musical Pieces exhibition dates:
April 5th - July 1st
Reception April 7th from 4pm - 6pm

Women Painters of Washington Gallery

Columbia Center Building
701 Fifth Avenue, 3rd Floor Atrium
Seattle, WA 98104 

The Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society will be presenting The Yeomen of the Guard in July. Click here to see their website for more information.

National Association of Women Artists Annual Open Small Works Exhibition

What a Guy 10 x 8 oil

This painting shows a moment in a theater production. All of her expressions were wonderful and this one was such fun to paint.

What a Guy is now on its way to New York City for the National Association of Women Artists Annual Open Small Works Exhibition February 1 – 27, 2012, NAWA Gallery, 80 Fifth Avenue, NYC NY

"Lantern Light"

20 x 16

oil on panel

In this painting I was interested in the color, value and intensity changes caused by light and shadow.

For those of you who enjoy seeing the beginning sketches, another one was posted on March 27th. For some reason it did not go out to those requesting notices of new postings. It can be seen on my Day to Day Painting site.

Coming Exhibition in Kirkland WA

I just delivered Adventures with Harry II and In the Wings for Howard/Mandville Gallery's 20th Annual Invitational Small Works Show.

In the Wings

12 x 9

oil on gessoed museum board

I will be at the Reception on the 13th and would love to see you.

Preview Days - Saturday, Nov. 6th-13th.

Reception & sale of Paintings - Saturday, Nov. 13th from 5:30 - 8 pm

Howard/Mandville Gallery

120 Park Lane, Suite D Kirkland WA 98033

"Dreaming"

oil on canvas

24 x 12 inches

Every now and then I set a painting aside. Months or years later, I pull it out, have a fresh look and decide if I will add it to the burn pile or paint a little more.

Dreaming is from several 2003 sketches. I liked the idea and started the painting several years later. The model was long gone, same for the costume and set (Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan's Gondoliers).

This week I pulled the painting out and set it where I could easily see for several days. Then I began painting again.

While it is much better than it was, it can't compare with working from life, where one can observe contrasts and ask: warmer/cooler, lighter/darker, stronger or more subtle? When working from life, all the information needed is in front of you just waiting to be captured in paint.

Utopia, Limited

On the shop floor, shot from the top of a tall ladder. It is now on the wall in Act II of Utopia, Limited. The show opens a three week run at the Bagley Wright Theater in Seattle tonight. Show dates: July 10-11, 16-18, 23-25. Ticket information.

The Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society's photographer shooting during dress rehearsal for Utopia, Limited.

Shield Section for Utopia, Limited

The upper right section of the shield set out on shop floor.

If you click to enlarge, you will see the spattering over everything, the final step in coloring. This spatter softens the effect and makes everything appear more believable from the audience. In the larger image you can also see the chalk marks, guides for the person who will screw all the carved parts to the circle base, finishing the shield.

The set designer, Nathan Rodda, asked me to make the lettering casual, loosely Roman, not perfect. The Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society's production of Utopia, Limited opens Friday night, July 5th. For more information click here.

Alligator & Flamingo

A little more of the 'shield' for "Utopia, Limited." They are probably ready to deliver to the theater by now. The painting was finished on July 3rd. This image shows the carved characters before they were spattered, the final touch.

Shield Alligator

More Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society from the shop.

The alligator, carved by Mike Andrew, is made of styrofoam mounted on 1/4" plywood. Mike adds as many layers of foam board as need to make the required thickness for the various parts of the design before he begins to carve. He comes to the shop in the evening and works well into the night. I think he can make absolutely anything! He has also carved the flamingo and pineapple for the shield. I will post them in a day or two.

Nathan Rodda, the set designer, has everything painted black as a base. The white is added next, then the coloring layers which are made with a clear acrylic medium (house paint) with color concentrate added, just as you would have custom colors mixed to paint your house. We mix very small amounts in recycled plastic ice cream and yogurt containers.

Shield Center

Getting the center of shield ready for coloring. It is made from foam board mounted on 1/4" plywood. The lower portion of the carved pineapple can be seen in the upper right. It will be added to the center top of the shield.

Sketch for Act II

chalk sketch pattern for shield

10 x 6 feet

Next week the Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society opens its 55th season with "Utopia, Limited." I have been at their shop working with the set designer and thought I would share something from Act II. This sketch was made several weeks ago. I went to the internet for reference photos of flamingos and alligators. You can see some of them here, scattered on the platform, which is also part of the set. The platform was painted and taken to the theater earlier this week.

"Wearing Nikes?"

Please click images to enlarge and see color more like the painting.

12 x 9 inches

oil on wooden panel

Last July I did a small oil sketch of these two “little maidens” and have been wanting to paint them again. Here they are! 

"What A Guy"

10 x 8 inches

oil

This lady was so much fun to watch and even more fun to paint! She was head-over-heels “in love” in a theater production. Her expressions were wonderful. So was her dress - black bodice with bright red long, full skirt. Click image to enlarge.

Painting the World

I was at the Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society shop recently. The globe I painted for their production of Princes Ida had been taken out of storage and was sitting in the rehearsal hall. It was such fun to see it again, I thought I would share it with you.

The land masses are patterned after the 1616-1622 map covering a small table globe I was asked to use as a model. Most of the words are also from the little model. The illustrations are a mix of the old map and my own creations.

The globe is made of many layers of kraft paper pasted over an exercise ball. When dry, a wooden disk was added to the North and South Pole, holes drilled, metal pins added so the ball could be held within its wooden rim. Acrylic house paint was added and the globe was ready for decoration.

Click images to enlarge.

I drew in chalk first, just to be sure I wouldn’t run out of space for land or end up with an extremely huge ocean. Then I drew more carefully with a brown laundry marker and added the little illustrations and all the words.

Next I colored the inside edges of the land masses and illustrations with water based paint, and finally the rest of the land mass color was added.

The base is solid wood with carved styrofoam added to the legs, which were then covered with cheese cloth for extra protection. The base was also painted with acrylic house paint. I added the zodiac to the top of the stand.

When all of the illustration was finished, Nathan Roda, the set designer, turned the base into ‘old oak’ and added an oil sepia wash over all the illustration to complete this ‘antique.’

Click here to see more set painting for the Seattle G&S Society.

"Dressing Room: 15 Minutes to Curtain"

8 x 6 inches

oil on wooden panel

I love the way the mirrors capture the atmosphere of the theater dressing room. This is Caitlin Ross preparing for a Saturday evening performance of the Mikado. The rich colors in this painting may not show on your monitor.