Molly Hashimoto

Molly Hashimoto & Students Art Exhibit

      NEXT SUNDAY, JANUARY 4TH, 2009 my students and I will be exhibiting paintings at University Unitarian Church, 6556 35th AV NE in Seattle.  Our opening reception is from 1 to 3pm. Enjoy entertainment by a classical string duo, Emily Cole, violin and Rose Hashimoto, viola. We'll serve wine and refreshments also.  The exhibit continues through January 29th.  Please come and appreciate the beautiful work of my students.

More Student Art

JACK AND KELLY OATES traveled to Europe after their Yellowstone adventure with me. Jack just sent me these beautiful sketches, from Wallfield, England and from Venice.    

CLAIRE RUSSELL recently completed these paintings. She had begun them in the Watercolor Wildlife class that just ended. She used iridescent paints on the beetles. She employed pen and watecolor on the golden retriever portrait. 

Sandhill Cranes, Yellowstone

     In our Yellowstone visit of May 2008, we hiked from Blacktail Pond and Blacktail Deer Creek out through Rescue Creek to Gardiner, Montana.  This pair of SANDHILL CRANES ON BLACKTAIL POND  was in spring courtship plumage. Glen Dreger, our Canadian photographer friend, captured their beautiful dance with his telephoto lens.

Sitka Center Deer

LATE SUMMER AFTERNOONS at the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology beckon deer to the meadows.  We took this photo of a doe and her twin fawns framed by a Sitka spruce and cones.  To paint this, I drew the deer and the spruce branches and cones fairly carefully. Everything else was loosely painted. I used masking fluid for the small sapling trees just behind the deer and began the entire background area with a big wash of warm yellow/green. 

The Sitka Center campus offers views of the headlands of Cascade Head and the surf beyond. Situated behind are the coastal rainforest, where early one morning I heard an owl calling.  Just in front of the Center are expansive meadows where deer and elk browse.

Yellowstone Bison, Autumn

GOLDEN ASPENS, burnished grasses, and dark buffalo silhouettes inspired me in September at Yellowstone. I thought about doing a watercolor painting, but wasn't sure the bold bison forms could be adequately represented in a watercolor.  So on my recent relief printing side trip, I decided to try it. 

There is a dynamic element in the carved linear forms, and  color can be brighter and stronger than in a watercolor. I continue to discover that different subjects call for different media.  Each artist brings a style to subjects, and it is entirely possible that another artist could make this landscape work as a watercolor.  

From Journal Sketch to Studio Paintng

I worked in my Arches watercolor journal on location at LAKE ANN IN THE NORTH CASCADES.  We sat above the lake, just below Maple Pass, sketching the view below.  I have read several descriptions of this lake--many of them use the words "fairy tale."  My  10 minute sketch captures little of that, but does manage to show the color.

 I worked with photos taken at a slightly different location to create the painting seen right: Lake Ann: North Cascades. The time of day was earlier, so you can see cast shadows that are not apparent in my 10 minute sketch above. 

I plan to post more sketch/studio painting duos in the coming days.  If you are interested in learning more, you could stop by Daniel Smith Artist Materials. I will be giving a free demo on next Saturday, December 13th at the Seattle Store at 11am and 1:45pm. I'll visit Bellevue on Saturday, January 10th. Demos will be at 11am and 1:45pm.  A workshop on this topic will take place in Seattle on Sunday, January 18th from 11 to 4.