At least I've been updating my website regularly...

Hmmm...well, I suppose I've neglected my blog for long enough. This past summer and autumn were eventful for a lot of reasons, including artistic ones.

First, I was invited to participate in the prestigious Texas Art Auction in Dallas, TX. I sold three paintings there, and got good prices on two of them (the third is also a great painting, and someone got a steal of a deal...I'm happy for them).

Next, I was accepted into the Dixie Invitational art show at Dixie State University in Southern Utah. As far as Utah shows go, this is probably second only to the Springville Museum's Spring Salon. I'm excited to finally be a part of it. I'm currently working on some possible paintings for it, and haven't decided which ones to send.

Also, I've been commissioned to paint a 10-foot by 72-foot mural for a local "living history farm" where workers and volunteers dress in 1800-1920 period clothing. They work the land with horse and ox teams, raise chickens and goats, etc.. This mural will be part of the new museum area where there will be dioramas depicting the different peoples who have inhabited this valley during the past 200 years. The mural will essentially be a landscape of the entire Cache Valley here in northern Utah, and will include details like Shoshone tipis and pioneer dugouts. My designs have been approved, and I will be starting the mural any day now. I will keep everyone updated on my progress as it moves along.

I've included more information on my website: www.trentgudmundsen.com

Red: The Great Moderator (or, "The Importance of Harmony")

Winter Memories, 24"x18" Oil on panel

It has been said that "red" is the color that is most effective at moderating the other colors in a painting. In other words, red can essentially be added to any (and all) other colors in varying degrees in order to create harmony. Harmony is the sense that everything in a picture "belongs there", that it appears to be part of a larger whole--that it doesn't feel foreign to the area.

Although someone may not notice this fact right away (and that was certainly the intent), there is a small amount of red throughout the green foliage of the trees in the background of the above painting, as well as in the snow and other places. The bright red of the girl's jacket (and the ribbons on the trees) is balanced by the amount of red included in the other parts of the painting. The green foliage still appears green, and the snow still appears cold and generally blue, but nothing stands out as not belonging there because everything has a bit of that red in it.

Sometimes people take for granted that the reason a given location in nature is harmonious is because the same type--or color--of light is falling upon everything in the area, and that things are usually similar in color. Even in a location that includes more than one light source (a building interior with a window to the outdoors, for example), the light mixes and bounces around until everything has a bit of everything else reflected in it to some extent. The only reason a painting might not appear harmonious is when we forget that everything is affected by everything else, both in nature and in paintings, and thereby forget to include the colors of the surrounding objects in the subject we're painting.

I always enjoy trying to see the natural harmony in any subject I paint. When you really look hard, you'll find yourself seeing colors you didn't see at first. It's quite fun to find ways to harmonize a painting.

-Trent

The new stuff

You are among the first to see this, my newest painting! This one measures 24"x12". The subject is my 3 year old daughter, Lizzy. (I paid her in candy for modeling for me).

I will be sending this and several other new paintings to Loch Vale Fine Art (see link in side bar), in preparation for the upcoming season in Colorado. This particular painting will be reproduced into a (very) limited edition giclee print on canvas (which will measure around 16"x8").

I really enjoy painting my own family. I will have to do it more often. Also, I've been slowing my pace a little bit, as part of my goal to create higher-quality work. I find that I get more satisfaction in working this way.

Please visit my website for a list of shows I'm currently juried into, and for a full biography page.