"On Top of the Dune" by Jim McVicker

 "On Top of the Dune" by Jim McVicker 

approx. 9" x 12" (30cm x 40cm) oil on wood panel

This painting by Jim McVicker is a depiction of Rick Tulley (seated) and myself (standing).  Jim painted it in about an hour as we worked on our landscapes yesterday morning. I think we look especially heroic being painted up on high in this manner!

Over the last two weeks I have been able to meet up several times with Jim, as well as Rick and John Crater to do some landscape painting from the Manila Dunes, looking back at Arcata. It has been a great pleasure getting to spend so much time with these guys, making art is so often a solitary endeavor.

Jim McVicker has long been one of my favorite landscape painters. Over the last few years, as I have been trying to learn Plein Air painting, I have studied his works often to see how he solves some of the many issues that come up. I have especially admired how he handles the atmosphere that is always present in our coastal region. Another thing he manages to do, is use colors that appear to be saturated and vibrant, but also nuanced and realistic to the time of day.  

Painting next to him has been inspiring and humbling, he has shown me a wider vocabulary of mark making and color then I think I was directly aware of. I joked with him that I whenever I didn't know the answer to a particular problem, I could just use his painting as a "cheat sheet" to find a good answer. Needless to say, I have learned about a years worth of painting lessons in the past two weeks!

Here are some links to his website and blog. I especially recommend that you check out the movie on his website that documents his painting process.

http://www.jimmcvickerpaints.com/

http://mcvickerpaintings.blogspot.com/

 

His work is also available at George Stern Fine Arts

http://store.sternfinearts.com/jimmcvicker.html