SUN DRENCHED Part 1
Crossing the Ice Cream Bridge - Sun Drenched Collection
The Painting I’m showcasing today, from top to bottom, up to down, and inside out, is one you’ve seen parts of already, but the subject matter is one of my favorites for many reasons.
The Inspiration
Enhanced just a little to really pop those colors
There are many things about Missoula, Montana, that make it distinctly Missoula.
The three rivers that flow, connect, and join together, the bridges that connect the town, the University of Montana campus, the surrounding mountain ranges, and “The M,” as it’s called, a giant concrete capital letter M on the side of Mount Sentinel.
It’s been there my whole life, a backdrop to my childhood and my young adult years. Hiking the “M” was, and probably still is, a legit Missoula first-date activity.
But more than The M, this painting is my favorite because of where I sat while sketching the landscape and creating the first painted sketches.
The Footbridge.
The Footbridge was also a main character in my childhood. My best friend lived up in the Rattlesnake Canyon, and I lived in the Slant Streets, and we walked that town, but to get to each other, we had to cross the Footbridge.
Also, there was, and still is, a grocery store on the North side of the bridge, where we would pool our babysitting money and purchase a pint of ice cream, carry it over the bridge, and then we would eat that ice cream on the south side of the river, lounging on the green grassy hills of Jacob’s Island Park.
That tan square building is the start of the shopping center where they keep the ice cream!
East view from the middle of the Footbridge, and more of the tan shopping center.
“To me, this view is Missoula at its core. When you see “The M”, you know you are home.
It’s that feeling of home, familiarity, calm, comfort that I wanted to capture in this series of paintings that were inspired by this view. ”
Field Notes
Quick sketches to get a feel for the scale, composition, and shapes.
I had not yet decided whether to fully unpack my supplies and paint.
After a few sketches, I decided that yes, this was the perfect spot to unpack and camp out for a while.
Travel art essentials that I keep in a waterproof pouch
The dumbest yet most ingenious part of this travel kit is the old laundry cup I use as a water cup. It’s small, squishable, and if I lose it or it breaks, there are more where that came from.
Other essentials in this kit:
Travel paint brushes - a cheap set will do.
A water brush - people either love these or hate them. It’s certainly not perfect, but it’s great for when you only have five minutes or just need a dab of water.
Travel watercolor palette and a tube of white gouache
Variety of pencils - graphite and color.
I LOVE using the colored lead from UNI for my mechanical pencil - the colored lead doesn’t smear as much as graphite.
I also really like the fat chonky graphite pencils for drawing quickly on-site. They are so big you can’t get too precious, which allows you to work fast. You know, like if it’s about to rain.
A few waterproof ink pens, markers, or fine liners - they just come in handy a lot!
Erasers - I really like the white dust-free and the classic grey kneadable.
Pencil sharpener
Not shown in the photo above -
A giant wad of paper towels, toilet paper (unused), or take-out napkins (also unused) is preferable.
Daniel Smith watercolor sticks. These are not free, but they are my newest obsession! They lay down amazing texture and thick globby swaths of color.
They sell them in sets, but don’t be taken in - the sets as well as the dumb little plastic carrying case are both crap. Grab your favorite colors individually. Start with one or two to see if you like them.
Paint colors in this travel palette:
Cadmium Yellow Medium
Cadmium Yellow Light
Pyrol Orange
Quinacridone Rose
Gamboge
Yellow Ochre
Olive Green
Raw Umber
Indigo
Ultramarine Blue
Cerulean Blue
Venitian Red
Permanent Alizarin Crimson
In The Studio
Taking the field work into the studio for larger paintings
Thumbnails and Value studies are the equivalent of sorting laundry or chopping veggies.
It’s not sexy at all, and sometimes feels monotonous, but like laundry and veggies, life is easier and less pink if you take the time to do it.
In the video above, I have sketched out six different composition options. With the yellow pencil, I’m making sure they do fit within a basic composition structure.
Once I find the composition I like best, I spin my sketchbook, re-sketch it, and then create a value study, grouping the different shapes and values and making sure it is balanced and flows.
I also identify my focus point - the place where my darkest dark and my lightest light will meet!
This takes 10-15 minutes max, and it is worth it.
Every time I get a wild hair up my ass and decide to skip this step, I end up pushing paint around a piece of very expensive paper for 6 hours, and I’m never happy with the results.
Chop your veggies!
Moving to the painting stage!!!
This is like eating your veggies, but they are backstroking in a garlic-olive-oil sauce, swaddled in bacon!
The painting part is the most fun, but like cooking, you still need to pay attention to the temperature of your skillet, and add the ingredients in the correct order, BUT you can season liberally and with reckless abandon!
This is the base layer - The blocking in where I slap on color in thin washes.
You can see why a mere desk cannot handle this level of movement and creativity.
The floor is the only suitable surface for keeping all the supplies at hand.
A knee pad and morning yoga are also necessary for a middle-aged body to work on the floor.
Final Art
I LOVE this painting!!!
It needs to rest for a week or so before I do any more tweaking and touch-ups.
I already see a few areas that I want to play with, but these are small refinements, nothing major.
This piece is 98% done.
As an artist, you know a painting or piece is a sucess when the idea of selling it feels a bit like heartburn.
I am also quite pleased with these two versions.
The one on the left is the one I started on the bridge, and the one on the right is a painting I did later that same day, once back at my parents ’ house.
All three of these paintings will be available on March 1, 2026, at noon PST in the “Cruise Gift Shop,” i.e., my Etsy shop.
I’ll see you next week for leg two of our Sun DRENCHED Cruise!
p.s. Remember the word bacon for a special surprise next week!