ARC International Salon Competition

I'm very happy to share that I was selected as a finalist and received a Honorable Mention in the Landscape painting category for Art Renewal Center's 2012 / 2013 International Salon Competition.

With about 2000 entries from over 850 artists, I'm thrilled to be included in the Salon. This gives me further encouragement to pursue classical landscape painting in both oils and watercolor-gouache. My work will also be included in the upcoming Salon Catalogue.

Link: Honorable Mention in the Landscape Category

*Scroll down to the Landscape Section

Pt. Bonita Trio - Ocean/Cliff Gouache Studies

I noticed a big change in the weather today with clouds approaching quickly. I set out to create some rapid lighting and mood studies of the cliffs and ocean in gouache before any rain showers would pummel my easel. It was interesting to block-in three small images at once. Not being a slave to the location, I saw this as a chance to try variations on a theme. I took some video with a portable camera as an experiment as well. Here are some of the stills.

Locations and studies like this can serve as a point of inspiration later on with studio work or for commercial projects. Be sure to check out my new upcoming Inventing Landscapes Workshop - March 9-10, 2013 - SF, hope you can make it! I'm excited by the group who has signed up so far.

High Surf in Gouache

Painting in gouache and watercolor along the coast today. High surf conditions made for some beautiful fanning off the tops of the crashing waves. 4" x 9" - Sennelier hot press paper block. A few brave souls surfed well beyond the chop. I sighted a whale as well.

Big thanks for those who have signed up for the upcoming workshop. If you are thinking of signing up, please do!! March 9-10, 2013.

Inventing Landscapes Workshop – March 9-10, 2013 – SF

I hope that the holiday season is treating you well and wanted to share what I have planned for my March 2013 Workshop. It's a brand new theme, Inventing Landscapes!

Introducing an exciting new workshop that covers how to approach painting and sketching environments from your imagination. We will start with thumbnail sketches from memory, onsite notes and how to proceed to more resolved compositions with or without the help of photo reference. We will be using mixed media, such as gouache, watercolor and acrylics with pen and ink and pencil/markers to create new landscapes. Lighting and weather conditions will be heavily considered in our designs. This has practical applications for concept designers, fine artists, illustrators and for those who want to explore new subject matter in their work regardless of medium. Please join in for this March workshop to expand your artistic vocabulary, skills and see the world with a different point of view.


Come join me this March 9-10, 2013. Treat yourself or special friends and family (makes for an incredible Christmas gift!) to a fantastic experience at beautiful Ft. Mason, SF.
As you'll see on the below link, I was able to book the same time each day and am also offering a discount for returning students and full time students.

Sign Up Here!

Recent gouache and watercolor painting from memory/imagination after a hike down to the coast. 5x7 inches – hot press (Fabriano)

New California Landscapes: Terry Miura & Erik Tiemens - Now Showing -

What a fantastic evening this past Saturday was. I want to send out a hearty thanks to all who attended the opening at the Holton Studio Gallery – even though we were about to get the "atmospheric river" of rain later that night! I'm pictured here below with master frame maker and gallery owner Tim Holton (left) and my fellow Art Center classmate Terry Miura (center). I saw many friends and talked with some extraordinary people which I enjoyed a great deal. The show will be up till January.

Tim Holton's superb framework harmonized beautifully with my interest in Dutch landscape painting from the 17th century while still having a California spirit to them.

www.holtonframes.com

Preview of Tiemens' work for the New California Landscapes: Terry Miura / Erik Tiemens - Exhibition

Preview of works by Tiemens for the New California Landscapes: Terry Miura | Erik Tiemens  -  Exhibition.

Terry Miura and Erik Tiemens: New California Landscapes

I'm very excited to announce a new exhibition of paintings with my Art Center College of Design classmate, Terry Miura, called: Terry Miura and Erik Tiemens - New California Landscapes, opening December 1st at The Holton Studio Gallery in Emeryville.

A wonderful sample of Terry's work.

The owner of the gallery Tim Holton is a master artisan of the frame. Tim has really outdone himself with the custom historic oak framing. I love how it sets off the work so beautifully.

The exhibition opens Saturday, December 1st, at The Holton Studio Gallery in Emeryville. You're all invited to the reception - I look forward to meeting folks in person.

The Holton Studio Gallery

5510 Doyle Street Emeryville, CA

Reception: Saturday December 1st, 4 - 6 PM

Gouache Workshop - SF - October 20-21, 2012

Working with watercolor and gouache can be an interesting start to a digital painting as well. Just the beginning abstraction, suggests shapes and details that can be refined further, in this case using Painter 12 software. In my upcoming workshop I will go over some (about 2 hours) approaches you can try out using very rough starts and seeing options on the computer. There are still some spots left, please sign up soon!!

New work in progress for an upcoming gallery show in December. Imaginative Landscape and Trees - 5x7 inches, oil on panel.

Master study of Richard Parkes Bonington's 'On the Coast of Picardy'. This is a smaller painting, originally painted in oils - 1826. In my gouache and watercolor version, I'm reminded of how valuable it is to now and then make a quick copy from artist that you are inspired by. Learning new things is always productive and should not let up after art school, in my opinion. Speaking of this, I want to thank the people who have signed up for my upcoming workshop that will be on October 20-21, at Fort Mason, SF. There is still room available! I'm very much looking forward to teaching again and will also share for a few hours some traditional medium approaches with digital painting.

Oak tree trunk study with the season's first reddish poison oak leaves appearing. Watercolor on hot pressed sheet paper. Pencil, carbon pencil, light washes, brush pen and pen. 8" x 10". Preparing field studies for studio oil paintings. As you can probably guess trees are my theme. As a reminder, I'm teaching in San Francisco this fall - Gouache & Watercolor workshop - don't miss out!

Coastal Fog - It must be August!

Sketching near the Legion of Honor museum in San Francisco today - super foggy! Red nasturtiums growing near the base of a cypress tree partially covered in ivy. Watercolor with small additions of gouache white mixed with transparent watercolor washes. 9x12" Arches cold press paper.

Wash drawing of gnarled California Bay Laurel tree trunks with young off shoots. Sketched in the woods on a portable small wooden easel. This is handy as you can place various sketchbooks on the 'table' portion and adjust to any angle for washes, etc. Fabriano Classic Artist's Journal paper, 6"x 8". Faber -Castell dark sepia fine pen and brush. Various watercolor tints; sepia, neutral tint, prussian blue, burnt sienna and yellow orchre. Caran d'ache watercolor pencils and Pentel's tradio pen. In my upcoming fall Gouache & Watercolor workshop, I will go over mixed media tools, such as these too!

Fall Workshop - October 20-21, 2012 - SF

Greetings everyone and happy summer- There will be a new Gouache & Watercolor painting workshop this fall - October 20-21, 2012 at Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA. Besides covering essentials of these wonderful mediums, I will also be covering a digital workflow, using your scanned or photographed sketches/paintings and how to take them further with digital painting using Photoshop and Painter software. For those who attended the June workshop this year, this could be thought of as part two! No worries if you missed the earlier one or haven't used these mediums, I will cover the basic foundations again as well as new ground and also focus on individual requests; so you get the most out of the weekend workshop. Sign Up Here! Above is a recent gouache and watercolor painting - 5x7" on hot press Fabriano block paper. An invented oak tree view with a hint of the dry California summer hills in the distance.

Traveling on the east coast recently, I enjoyed the shores of Connecticut and trips to the British art museum at Yale, researching original watercolor and gouache paintings. In addition kayaking in southern Maine, Berkshires in Massachusetts and New York's Hudson river artist oasis at Olana, the home of Fredrick Church. The views from the home's windows were composed by the painter as the large creative 'castle' took shape. I highly recommend the journey to this scenic estate. Beach scene with umbrellas - study from a small pocket sketchbook. 2.5" x 4" - gouache and watercolor.

Seeking a break from our mini heat wave over the weekend, I sketched a cluster of cypress trees near the Lands End area of San Francisco. The seal rock in the distance of my sketch was also painted by Albert Bierdstadt (1830-1902) from various view points. An excellent place to enjoy the cool breeze which today is completely covered in fog. On the workshop front I'm getting ready to offer several new classes this fall... stay tuned!

Workshop 2012

I just wanted to thank everyone who attended the Gouache & Watercolor workshop over the weekend. What a fantastic gathering of talented artists! It was a pleasure to teach in San Francisco and I welcome others to join future workshops. I used a high resolution projector to display a few demos as seen in the stills here as well as spontaneous brush doodles and color theory samples I taped up on the wall. There was also a comprehensive survey of watercolor and gouache art to inspire and adventures outside on our sketching 'field trip'. Stay tuned for future workshops, which could include figure/head painting themes and combining traditional mediums with digital painting. This can be very helpful in your workflow for concept art; avoiding the increasingly robotic look of 'photo-real' cg renderings that takes the individual artist out of the mix.

Trying out rough watercolor paper (300lbs) weight. Experiment in vague atmospheric washes with repeated blotting and reworking. 9x12" As a note; 4-5 spots left for my Gouache & Watercolor workshop (June 2-3, 2012 - San Francisco, CA). Beginners are always welcomed!

Combining a family hike/picnic on mother's day with art - Watercolor sketch of a nearby lake with a fresh breeze and hills partially covered in cloud shadows. 6"x12"