An Artist You Should Know About
by Diann Haist on 9/15/2008 10:56:26 PM
Eric Deeter - Self Portrait in Fresco
Eric Deeter, painter, at one time professional jazz and blues piano
man, carpenter, and gourmet cook of Alaska wild salmon. I have
mentioned Eric Deeter in numerous blogs; in fact, Eric is the artist
who challenged me to do a self-portrait which was the subject of an
earlier article, simply titled The Challenge of the Self-Portrait, as well as the master-mind behind The House That Artists Built.
I had the pleasure of making Eric Deeter's acquaintance in 2006
at a gallery reception at which we both were exhibiting in Anchorage
Alaska.
Before we actually met, I saw his work in the gallery, and it had such
an emotional impact on me that I was compelled to stand before it,
allowing it to become part of my 'universe', for lack of a more
descriptive word. One piece in particular was a large acrylic on panel
of a mountaineer leading his mule. The atmosphere around him
appears to be a snow or ice-fog.
Little John, Matanuska Pioneer 32x34 by Eric Deeter
Later that year, Eric Deeter and I met again when we were both being
interviewed on a televised benefit for PBS. The piece he was
exhibiting was a large watercolour of an Alaskan Native man bringing a
tea cup to his lips. One would guess that it is a hot drink he is
about to imbibe as the motion of his fur jacket implies howling winds,
and one would hope the liquid in the cup is warming.
Papa Joe Watercolour by Eric Deeter
Having relocated from the Seattle area, Eric, along with his young son
and wife Gretchen, a school teacher and accomplished poet, lived in the
bush communities of Alaska for a number of years, and there, many
subjects presented themselves for interpretation into a body of
paintings. Deeter was working primarily in watercolour at this
time. A few years later, they settled in the Matanuska Valley
where he began painting with acrylics, finding them to be a good medium
for his layered colours and quick drying time.
In 2007, I had the opportunity to work with Eric and the
Alaska Plein Air Society group of artists. Eric had just begun
painting with oils, and his colours became richer and more transparent,
much like his watercolours, just with more paint.
In watching Eric Deeter work, I have been reminded more than once of
Pierre Bonnard, the French Post-Impressionist. Like Bonnard,
Deeter creates his paintings in a format which allows him to cut some
off if it improves the composition. Bonnard would tack a large
piece of canvas to the wall, paint and scrape paint back off, leaving
the texture of the canvas visible, and if the format did not suit him,
he would cut some off, or add a piece on. Bonnard did not paint
from life however, which Eric Deeter does primarily. Like
Bonnard, Deeter does not rely on an inflexible colour scheme, relying
instead on personal experience and what each individual painting
dictates. In other words, his painting methods are not formulaic,
but leave room for experimentation and personal expression.
One thing he does do consistenly however, from my observation, is 'plug
in' all of his warm colours, usually a muted orange, and then cools
them down with grayed blues and greens, leaving the warmer colours
sparkling through and around the cooler strokes. This creates a
kind of optical dance on the canvas, and the paintings glow from
within, creating their own light.
In late fall, 2007, Eric took a trip to Nepal to capture the essence of
the people and culture there, as many artists have done before
him. He has created a body of work from this trip which I feel
not only captures the spirituality of Nepal, but also the very
air. Deeter uses as few brushstrokes and employs as little detail
as possible to imply reality and a sense of motion and life within his
subjects. All of his paintings tell a story, and leave
enough to the imagination of the viewer to make a complete
communication, the give and take of it. What are they doing, what
kind of life must they lead etc., are all questions one could pose
looking at any of Eric Deeter's paintings. He has a passion for life
and it shows in his work.
Eric Deeter is a young artist whom I feel has a bright future.
Some of Deeter's smaller Alaska and Nepal paintings will be on exhibition in Seattle, Washington through October 2008, at The Fountainhead Gallery
. Here are a few of the pieces which will be on display there, and if
you are in the area, or even make a point to be, you won't be
disappointed.
Brother's Keeper by Eric Deeter
In Exile by Eric Deeter
Shipwreck, St Paul AK by Eric Deeter
Doll Maker by Eric Deeter (Portrait of award-winning Athabascan Doll Maker, Glenda McKay)
...and a painting he did of yours truly. Diann Haist painting en plein air.
You are invited to visit Eric Deeter's web site to learn more about him and see more of his work.
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The Challenge of the Self-Portrait
by Diann Haist on 4/17/2008 12:14:32 AM
Diann Haist on photo-shoot at Iditarod
There comes a time in every artist's life when the inevitable
self-portrait needs doing. Through the ages, before cameras, this was
done as a matter of course, either to provide an easy model to practice
on, or to chronicle for future generations just what the author of the
portrait looked like. Rembrandt's and Van Gogh's self-portraits are
numerous, and without them we would be forever in mystery as to their
personal makeup, not to mention what kind of hats they wore. With the
advent of cameras, especially digital as well as the video medium,
candid shots and formal portraits of the artist are being taken quite
frequently.
So why would a modern artist paint a
self-portrait? An available model one doesn't need to pay for sure, but
today's artist can be more
allegorical, painting a visage which defines him or her from a more
spiritual standpoint. How one sees oneself as opposed to just what is
in the mirror. This subject came up recently during a weekly painting
session with a fellow artist friend who has done a self-portrait which
has the feel of a 16th century fresco; the muted colours, some use of
symbolism, the composition is daring, and he looks like Renaissance Man
- interesting in that this is how I have always thought of this
wonderful artist - an aesthete in all areas of his life. His
self-portrait tells me more about him than a simple 'mug-shot', and
certainly more than any photograph we have seen of him. One day, with
his permission, we will post his painting here.
Well, this same artist friend challenged me to do a self-portrait too, which
I have done, and while doing it, realized that I have now created
three, ten or twenty years separating them. Rembrandt did one every
ten years or so, and we can see how he aged. I think it's a good
exercise for self as well as posterity.
The first in my personal series of three was created in 1978. I was
painting a lot of birds at the time, they just seemed to show up in
most of my paintings, not as subjects themselves, but just there
somewhere. When I realized this, I saw myself as a 'feather-head' and
created this image with my hair made up of birds. The title fittingly
is "Featherhead' and is acrylic on an 18" x 24" wood panel.
In 1998, I was sitting at my desk doodling with conte crayon and
charcoal in a large lovely new sketchpad. On the wall in front of me
was a mirror, so a sketch of myself was a handy thing to do, not for a
moment thinking of doing a formal self-portrait. I was un-posed and
comfortable drawing what was in front of me.
My latest humble self-portrait, painted 15 April 2008, I have chosen to call
"That Which Defines me - Kind Of". This is oil on 16" x 20" panel. It was quite an exercise working
out the allegory for this one, the defineing story - just what do I do
which defines most who I am? I paint! Of course there are other
things as well, which will perhaps be my subject for the next
self-portrait. Hopefully before another ten or twenty years have
passed. My face isn't really quite this round....:)
Happy Painting.
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Surprise Painting
by Diann Haist on 12/24/2007 12:36:43 PM
10"x8" Oil on Belgian Linen Panel
Christmas Eve, and I wish all of you the very best for this Holiday Season and
a creatively productive 2008 in all of your endeavors.
This past year has been full of surprises for us; wonderful new people
met, as well as learning how to build a house from scratch - see my
blog entry of September 2007 'The House That Artists Built". We have
experienced galleries changing, old friends retiring, art students
having their first group exhibition to rave reviews, and painting more
often with the Alaska Plein Air artists.
This is where the subject of this blog comes in. Just why is this painting called a surprise?
Well, Friday's usual outing with the Plein Air group was at one of the
artists homes, a beautiful sprawling log house up on the hillside with
a fantastic view of city lights in the distance. It was also a
Christmas party of sorts, creative gifts were exchanged, with lots
of homemade cookies and other goodies shared.
It was quite cold outside and there was an ice-fog which made the trees look like something out of a fairy tale.

Because quite a few of the artists paint with acrylic and watercolour,
it was pretty much decided that we would work indoors from the many
large picture windows throughout the house. I was a bit late in
setting up my easel because of a good conversation, and because there
were so many of us painting on this day, there was only one spot left -
behind everyone in a dark corner by the fireplace. We could have
set up a lamp, but the challange of painting what was directly in front
of me, with my canvas and palette in the dim recesses of the room,
really piqued my curiosity of what might come out of it.
Knowing I needed at least one of each of the primary colours, I
groped in my paint box and pulled them out, seeing only the bands of
colour on the tubes. Not completely certain whether it was cad
yellow pale, light or med, and probably had cad red light. The
blue was ultramarine for sure, plus viridian. White was easy to
see. Well, setting about getting the gestures of the two artists
directly in front of me, backlit by a lamp and a window, and standing
in front of a piano, all set up with Christmas sheet music, I quickly
set out to capture the 'feel' and energy they were putting into their
work. Of course they were moving quite a bit, but it was fun to
mix my colours arbitrarily and get it on the canvas quickly, without
hesitation.
When it was as completed as it could be, I moved it into the light of
the window and was quite surprised to see how bright it was, and the
tonal values read quite well. Because it was so dim where it was
being worked on, the values needed to be in a higher-key range for me
to judge anything at all. That is why this little piece is called
"Surprise Painting", as I had no idea just how well it was coming along
until it was done and viewed with a natural light source. In
fact, this is something I would like to do occasionally for
practice. While not a 'masterpiece' by any stretch of the
imagination, I was pleased to get what did come out of this.
While working on this painting, I thought of Michelangelo sculpting
into the night with candles attached to his hat. Just goes to
show you - an artist can work just about anywhere in just about any
situation.
Til next time.
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Art Blogs - Our Modern Day Cafe
by Diann Haist on 11/26/2007 1:13:55 PM
Au Cafe Geurbois, Edourard Manet, 1869
I love reading art blogs,
good ones that give me information about basically just what's going on
"out there". As artists we are isolated to a degree - in the
studio, in our thoughts & musings, and especially where this artist
lives, there is not much opportunity to be in close touch with other
artists. I am reminded of the Impressionists meeting several times a week in cafes discussing their art philosophies,
(and arguing about their differences), over cognac and cafe au
lait. In our present internet-infused lifetime, we can have our
cafe au lait - otherwise known as a latte, and read others'
philosophies on a little computer screen - in our pyjamas if we feel
like it.
Through art blogs, I have discovered some very great young artists whom
I probably would never have heard of in any other way. Not every
good artist has a book published with North Light, and not every artist is gregarious enough to self-promote broadly.
Clint Watson's
wonderfully informative blogs are lively and definately worth taking
note of. He knows of which he speaks from first-hand knowledge,
and he truly has artists' best interests at heart. Besides his
incredible artists website software, making it so simple for anyone of
limited computer skills to have a truly professional site, he loves art
and has a good eye for quality. I have had my main website with Fine Art Studio Online
for two years and am actually quite proud to be part of this family of
artists utilizing Clint's expertise and passion for art.
Another of my favorite blogs is The Painter's Keys, a twice-weekly letter written by Robert Genn.
Robert is an amazing artist who is generous with his knowledge, as well
as being an excellent writer. He poses some interesting questions
pertaining to all things art related, from the significances of just
why an artist creates, to how he creates, as well as practical advices
on how to deal with galleries and how to price your art, etc.
Always a delight to read and pertinent to every working artist.
So, if I can't meet with some of my favorite fellow artists in cafes, I
can at least review what they are doing frequently, and read about
them, and from them, through art blogs.
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October Painting en Plein Air
by Diann Haist on 10/14/2007 1:40:33 PM
Cheney Lake Plein Air Set-up
The air
is quite cold, the ground cushion of fallen leaves wet. I can
easily recall the clean woodsy smell as I write this. All is
quiet with nothing to distract from concentrating on the view in front
of me. The geese have left the area, not even a duck swims by.
Fingers need to be shaken a few times to keep the blood circulating,
and a thermos of steaming coffee is welcome at intervals.
Although no more than two hours was spent at this quiet spot, I came
away with a sense of being part of nature, able to participate with it,
and if nothing else, to truly appreciate it.
Over the years I have found that painting in the open air has helped my
studio work immensely. One must be able to capture nature quickly
as the scene changes rapidly before your eyes. This day was not
quite as hurried as there was cloud-cover with a mist of fine rain
saturating the ochres and siennas of the dried grasses.
It will be snowing the next time I am able to get out here, and I am looking forward to putting prussian blue on my palette.
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When a Composition Goes Wrong
by Diann Haist on 10/3/2007 12:53:40 PM
What Happens when a Composition is Wrong
No
picture on this subject today because the composition that went wrong
is now under a nice layer of soupy grey oil paint by way of a toner for
the next painting.
Friday's plein air painting trip with the Alaska Plein Air Painters group started off on a goofy note for me. Thinking of lightening
my carrying load of French Easel and duffle bag with the necessary
supplies of rags, water, lunch, coffee etc, I strapped it all to a
little rolling cart, the kind used for carrying luggage, with a bungy
cord. Because the wheels are rather large and sturdy, my logic
told me that this would probably be good enough to travel over some
rough terrain. What I did not anticipate was a lot of deep mud on
the trails. This became like dragging 100 pounds up hill, and once it
completely toppled over, flinging coffee cup and some palette knives
and brushes into the wet leaves and said mud. Finding most of
them, but not all, and stuffing them back in the kit, off I went a bit
further to where we set up to paint.
It was a truly gorgeous day, a bit overcast but not raining. The
fall colours reflected in the lake were perfect, and three of us set up
among some trees right at the edge of the water. My interest was
mostly in the reflections of a bent tree stump close to my vantage
point, with some of the reflections from the far shore behind it.
One really should not have trees positioned on both edges of the
canvas, but I went ahead and roughed them in anyway, hmm. My
colours were working alright, but things just kept going wrong, such as
perspectives and whatnot. At the end of the day, I had a ho-hum
painting.
I recalled what one of my art professors, Doris McCarthy, used to drill home to us - that " If you have a good composition and a sound drawing, you can practically throw paint on the canvas and still have a good painting". Also, if things are going wrong, first check the composition. Usually I heed her advice, but not on this day.
Later in the studio, I evaluated what was done, and decided that
what I got out of doing it wrongly was as valuable as coming away with
something with promise. I was done with this piece and scraped it
off, then painted over it with leftovers from my palette. It's
ready for the next one, hopefully better.
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The House That Artists Built
by Diann Haist on 9/27/2007 4:37:00 PM
Barn Raising
It has been a very busy summer indeed, and now that Fall is here, there is
time to reflect on just how much was accomplished. Plein Air
painting trips of course, but the most important and rewarding
experience was a good old-fashioned barn-raising! It happened
like this.
Two artist friends, a couple, needed to have their log house completed
before winter set in, as they have two very important museum
exhibitions to get work together for, and they were behind the eight
ball on the two old cliches - time and enough money. A group of
mutual friends, all artists, decided to help them out since their main
objective was to work for the exhibitions quickly, plus have a warm
place to spend the winter in. Since snow-fall was fast
approaching, (this was July & August, and snow where they live can
come in September), it was decided to build a smaller cabin which could
later be a new workshop/studio once the bigger house was done next
year. So, we set about it over a few weekends.
Painters, sculptors, doll-makers, writers, and all-round good guys set
about wielding hammers, saws and drills with energy and
intention. One sculptor friend who just happened to be visiting
us at the time, Laury Dizengremel, award winning sculptor, http://www.sculpture-design.com/, came along and applied skilled muscle to pounding nails and packing insulation.
The mastermind behind the carpentery and design of the building was Eric Deeter, http://www.deeterworks.com a good friend and fine fine painter. He orchestrated the building
materiel, and choreographed the helpers like a dance instructor.
Since I have a cooking background, yours truly became the camp cook.
Meals cooked on an open fire such as fresh caught wild Alaska salmon
with lemon & dill, chicken breast marinated in white wine, lemon
juice, garlic, olive oil & sea salt, were a bit challenging - no
way to control the heat on this one, so much watching and moving took
place. Denise packed shish kebab skewers with good beef chunks
and fresh veggies. Shrimp steamed in foil with garlic and butter
and sea salt was really good. Of course the toasted baguette and
roasted garlic with some great wine wasn't too shabby either. Do
we like garlic?
After dinner the work resumed until it became too dark to see the
nails. By then, the campfire was large, permitting light and
warmth to the quickly chilling night. We all sat in lawn chairs
and talked until it was time to sleep and look forward to getting in
another good day's work. Some of us slept in campers, others in
backseats of cars and vans, and others in tents.
This also is in a bush environment, and there was a sow grizzly bear
skirting the property. She is evidently there frequently, and
apparently quite large. I didn't see her personally, but heard
the loud cracking of brush from time to time. As there is no
in-door plumbing in this 'neck-of-the-woods', it was an adventure to
say the least.
When the first walls were securely up, we all signed one of the posts - for posterity. The House That Artists Built.
 Making the floor.
 Raising the Frame.
 Wall frames are up.
 Artists signed the house.
 Roofing.
 Roasting salmon on an open fire.
 Sirloin & a side of nails.

The House That Artists Built.
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Alaska Plein Air Weekend
by Diann Haist on 8/1/2007 3:53:41 PM
DH beginning painting of tents
This past weekend, I and another artist friend, Eric Deeter, were
invited to paint with the Plein Air Painters of Alaska as 'special
guest artists', along with several others. Each year this
illustrious group hosts an entire weekend of plein air painting and
exhibition with works for sale. We were honored to be working
with Alaska's best - Betty
Atkinson, Thor Brandt Ericksen, James Belcher, Lynn Boots, Nancy Brandt
Ericksen, Bob Hansen (President of the Alaska Artists Guild), Teri Jo
Hedman, Don Kolstad, Joe Nedland, Andy Sonneborn, Jean Shadrack,
Dorothy Thompson, and Marianne Wieland.
The weather was bright sunny and hot, the tents sparkled in the
sunlight, and the attendance was fabulous. Parents brought their
children to watch the artists, and one 4 year old thought a dab of my
white paint on his nose would be art too!
The bright sunlight on the red white & blue tents reminded me of
the brilliant colours at a carnival, or maybe even conjured up visions
of a jousting match - of course no jousting here, so I set up my easel
with needed umbrella, and began to paint. These are my beginning
marks to establish basic colour and values. It took about 3 1/2
hours to complete, as there was quite a crowd most of the time,
questions welcomed and answered liberally.
While I was painting tents, Eric Deeter was painting me! A lovely impressionist piece and a good reminder of a wonderful day.
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Look, Don't Think!
by Diann Haist on 7/15/2007 5:12:09 PM
Alaska Fireweed (5 minute plein air demo)
The challenges facing a plein air painter, especially a novice, are
more than relentless insects out for blood, or being on constant
lookout for predators such as bears if one has set up one's easel in
their neighborhood. In places such as Alaska or British Columbia,
any mountainous region, it is wise to go in groups of two or more, and
be armed with a good stout whistle as well as bear spray.
These challenges however are more easily overcome sometimes than what
and how to paint that which is all around you in the wilds. It's
easy to become confused with detail and end up with mud and something
very disappointing on the canvas. Of course, the little viewfinder cut
out of mat board or even a frame made with fingers helps isolate the
scene to concentrate on.
A limited palette also helps keep things simple - my palette of choice
on painting trips is ultramarine blue, cadmium yellow pale, permanent
alizarin crimson and titanium white, and frequently these will be
Winsor Newton Artisan Water-mixable oils. One student recently
gave herself a tough time by only bringing a palette of colours she had
never used before. The old adage of never cooking something you
have not tried before for company, is applicable in begining plein air
painting
as well I believe. Work with the materials you know.
I did this little five minute demo for a class recently on how to just
look at what is there, and not go into thinking about it. Look
for the shapes of light and dark, warm and cool colours and put them
where they are. Simplify shapes and use a large brush, not
worrying about small details. Get the feel of the scene, then one
could go back and punch up where needed, adding smaller shapes of warm
or cool colours on top of the larger masses. When doing a longer
study, of course the finished painting would have more finesse, but the
main idea is still to see what is there and not analyze it too
much.
Look, don't think. Magic.
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