Mossbrae Falls Opus 1

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Following the railroad tracks, I trusted my internal compass as I searched for a waterfall that is seldom seen by visitors to Mt Shasta. Local residents told me about a breath- taking view of a wall of water that cascades into the Sacramento River. The subtle climb of the tracks reminded me of the hard work men must have endured in 1901 building this winding metal trail, flowing like a river itself, through the mighty Cascade Mountains. I continued following the Sacramento River located far below me, at times stopping and looking in awe at the canyon and the roaring waters that created it. Then the unmistaken sound of water falling directed my eye, and I saw for myself, what only a few locals have experienced, Mossbrae Falls.

Mossbrae Falls is a unique waterfall. It is only about 50 ft. high, but it is 150 ft. wide. The water cascades from springs down a moss-covered canyon wall into the Sacramento River, creating a wall of water. It is actually quite a bit taller than 50ft., but you cannot see the upper cascades through the brush and trees. In the fall, I want to offer an advance-painting workshop on location, and hope to include this spot as one of the vistas.

When you pack your supplies to paint on location, keep your palette simple, containing the fewest colors necessary for the way you paint. The less you travel with, the more productive you will become. When painting on location, I prefer to use three colors,
Cobalt Blue, Alizarin Crimson and Cad Yellow, and white, and an earth color such as Asphaltum or Burnt Sienna. These five colors work best for most effects. Any easel that works for you is the best one. The key to painting and choosing your supplies on location is to pack light and “Just Do It!”

I hope that we can build a community of artists that can share information with each other.If you know of any artists that might appreciate being included, let them know about this blog.

I hope to offer more painting tips as this conversation continues.

If you have questions that you would like me to answer, please don’t hesitate to email me anytime. I welcome your feedback. Stefan_Baumann@yahoo.com

“Hedge Creek Falls Opus 1”

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Things in my life have finally settled down so I can continue our conversations through this blog. During the past week, we at The Grand View Ranch had our first on location workshop. The participants and I had an incredible weekend painting the stunning vistas of Mt Shasta and the surrounding countryside, and everyone’s expectations were highly satisfied. I look forward to the two other workshops this spring, and have scheduled two new workshops this fall. After the success of this weekend, I can truly say, “You do not want to miss this opportunity.”

Today, I found time to revisit one of the locations that we painted on Saturday. As we journeyed deeper down into the canyon, moss-laden rocks and oak totems guarded the trail from intruders. We heard the mighty torrent that stopped us in our tracks. The sound beckoned us to venture yet deeper down the trail; we obliged, and with our easels and paint, we continued our decent. The air was moist, the rocks wet, and we saw the majestic source of the canyons hidden secret, Hedge Creek Falls.

When we create, we draw from our inner source. This source will become stagnate or blocked if not frequently revitalized. We must take time to self-nourish our artistic source. It is imperative that all artists replenish the artistic soul and paint from real life and not images. When painting from photos it is easy to paint things instead of painting feelings of what you see and are experiencing. Our brains require the active pursuit of real images to reconnect reality to one-dimensional photographs. The world is not waiting for another painting of something; what it hungers for is your personal view of the subject. A mechanical device like a camera can never capture this personal conversation with nature.

I hope that we can build a community of artists that can share information with each other.

If you know of any artists that might appreciate being included, let them know about this blog.

I hope to offer more painting tips as this conversation continues.

If you have questions that you would like me to answer, please don’t hesitate to email me anytime. I welcome your feedback. Stefan_Baumann@yahoo.com