Northeastern Waterfall

You may think I labored over this painting....but I didn't!

You may think there's a lot of detail....But there's not!

I completed the painting (it's only 10" x 10") in three short sessions of 1-2 hrs over two days.


Everything was scrubbed in very fast and loose. Then later, I became a little more circumspect and carefully added some highlights.

That's all, the paint did the work.



Here are steps:

Quick sketch to show major shapes and areas of value.

Major darks scrubbed in. This and the next two photos are actually much lighter than they look in real life.
The camera kept lightening everything up, seeking a middle value for the photo (it thought it was helping me). It wasn't until the final photo that I discovered that by focusing on half painting and half white sheet of paper, then moving to the whole painting without refocusing, I could trick the camera and get the photo to look more like the actual color values (guess I need to learn more about digital cameras).


Live and learn....

Strengthening the darks and greens. Still loosey goosey.

Now, I slow down and start to add some lights.  I am thinking about what hue, value, and intensity are needed to make some parts come forward and others to recede.
Though the water looks white, it isn't. I haven't touched it yet with highlights.

I usually (but not always) work from top to bottom. You can see that the top looks much more finished than the painting further down.

From this point on I was adding only highlights (remember the dark areas were actually much darker than show in this photo).

And the results!


Once I had put in the sunlit water the sky looked much too dark, so I mixed up a lighter blue and restated the sky.

Workshop Week

Workshops are a wonderful way to immerse yourself in a learning experience and jump start enthusiasm. Being surrounded by like minded people can encourage a flagging ego and is a wealth of information as students share experiences and the instructor guides and critiques.

Bob Rohm demos at Cuttalossa Farm.

This past week I stepped out of my comfort zone (and isn't that part of attending a workshop?) and painted en plein air with Bucks County Art Workshops.  They offer an excellent variety of learning experiences and top notch international teachers. Jackie runs a tight ship and makes the painting experience a joy (Oh, those delicious lunches delivered to us each day...kiss Macario for me!).

Stone Ridge Farm B&B where Bucks County Art Workshops are held.

Bob Rohm was our fearless leader this week and led his small band to scenic spots each day where he would do a demo and then guide us as we worked. A great help to me was Bob's "Painterly Checklist" designed to make us aware of various compositional concerns (lightest light, darkest dark, most dynamic edge, etc.) Sometimes a painting simply isn't working, but we don't know why. This checklist can help.

I also threw caution to the wind by tossing aside my yellow ochre (my safety blanket for many years) and not toning my canvases before painting (hard to give up many years of tradition). Small changes, but for me big psychological humps to get over!

I generally avoid architecture of all kinds, trees are easier (who knows if a tree is crooked or not?), but decided to tackle the barn at Willoughby Farm.

Instructor came along and said "Stop! Don't do any more".  Thank you, Bob!
I have a tendency to keep painting until it is overdone, so it was good to have someone to put a stop to the overworking. Hopefully I will begin to employ some internal brakes from now on.

Pastels are something I haven't studied, so the demo Bob did at Stover Mill was especially fascinating to me. Building up careful layers of color was beautiful to watch. Watch out for poison ivy, though....

Friday was Critique Day and everyone put up their work for the week, to be seen and critiqued by the instructor. Critiques are a great way to learn as dozens of paintings are discussed and the instructor points out various aspects.  Good stuff!

Sheep shed at Cuttalossa Farm. Daniel Garber had his studio at Cuttalossa.

So I've already started saving my pennies and making plans. I'd like to do another workshop next year!

Anticipation

Big day tomorrow. actually a big week! This week I am taking a painting workshop and am expecting an exciting week of new ideas and getting to rub shoulders with fellow artists.

I'm heading over to Bucks County Artists Workshops to take a plein air class where I am sure we will visit various scenic localities in upper Bucks County. Getting my gear ready and trying to make sure I don't forget anything, though I am sure that if I come up short on supplies some kindly fellow student will help out. Praying for good weather!

I'll be reporting on my progress....don't expect any masterpieces, though. That very seldom happens in a teaching situation. You're supposed to be learning and "stretching" yourself, stepping out of that comfort zone and trying something new. Hopefully the masterpieces (or at least the competent paintings) should come later.

Storm over Slifer Valley - 16 x 20   oil on canvas

Three S's for Plein Air

Frank LaLumia says that there are three S's to plein air painting: See it, Simplify it, State it.

See it: You must look beyond the beautiful elements and penetrate to the essence of the subject. Color and Value relationships between these elements are the foundation of your work. And you must translate a three dimensional world onto a two dimensional surface.

Simplify it: Keep the essential and eliminate the unnecessary. If you cram everything out there onto the canvas it will be chaotic and confusing. Decide what attracted you to the scene to begin with and emphasize that. Anything that doesn't support and enhance your idea can be eliminated. Here's where preliminary sketches are a help. Work out your ideas in a thumbnail sketch and you save a lot of time and paint.

State it: Millard Sheets said, "Don't search with your brush. State it!".  Decisions must be made all the time, but once decided, proceed with confidence. "State it" combines visual perception with technique. And because of the time factor in plein air painting, say it with as few strokes as possible.

I enjoy seeing the progression of the painting as an artist works, so here's something I just finished photographed at the halfway point and after finished.

Halfway through - this is painted on top of another, failed painting (I am ever frugal).

Finished painting - "Autumn Fields"   11 x 14

Permission to Experiment, Sir!

I recently read in a newsletter that I receive about an experiment in which they gave children a new toy to play with and then filmed them, keeping an account of how long they played and how many ways they found to use the strange new toy. Some of the children were shown in advance about several things the toy could do, while others were just given the toy ("Look at this! How cool is this?") and told to play.

The results? Those children who were NOT told how to use the toy played with it longer and found more ways to play with it than those who WERE told.

When I teach I have found that there are always a few students who will take what I show them and use it as a springboard to expand on the idea and loose their creativity. But, most people seem reluctant to experiment and need my permission to try something unusual. I suppose this is a trait we acquire as we are growing up and is usually a good idea when it comes to self preservation (experimenting with fire when you are very young is one example of something that could have tragic results). So, we often must relearn that trait of inquisitiveness and inventiveness.

So I am giving you permission to experiment, to play, and if what you try doesn't work out.....whose to know? You are not being graded and the only consequence will be that next time you will know what NOT to do.

Have fun!!

Kennesaw Pair

Here's a little experiment where I violated some of the rules of composition, just to see what would happen, and you are seeing it here because it worked (if it hadn't it, it would be in the garbage never to be seen again). Instead of placing the two trees in a standard way on the canvas, I chopped off the bottoms making them more of a visual barrier that you must get around before you can enter the picture.

Not standard, but it works.

Quickie

I have such a pull toward refining whatever I work on that I am always in danger of making what I paint look like a photograph. And with apologies to Chuck Close, if I want it to look like a photograph I will just grab my camera and take a photograph.

So, a lot of my artistic life has been a conscious effort to loosen up and not be so enslaved by the exact image before me. But not being tied to the image before me does not mean I am excused from all the elements that create a good painting. I still must balance color, value, shape, texture, rhythm, repetition, space, etc, etc.

So here's my assignment to myself: Complete a small painting in 1 hour, working alla prima, and using twice as much paint as I usually do. I am so stingy with my paint (it's SO expensive) and this, by all accounts, can cramp your style and slow you down.

And here's the result.

It is rough and unrefined, but I am happy with it, nonetheless. It is only 8" x 10" and I used a #6 flat brush (about 1/2 inch wide) most of the time to keep me from getting detailed too fast.
Pushing the paint across the canvas surface created actual texture (as opposed to visual texture) and made for a rich surface.
I may use this study for a larger, more refined painting later on.
Or maybe not.... maybe I'll let it stand on its own.



*Tip - squeeze out twice as much paint onto your palette as you think you will need. That way you won't skimp on pigment and you also won't waste time having to stop to squeeze out additional paint and disrupt your painting rhythm.

Wonderful Day....Epic Fail!

 Visited Trexler Nature Preserve in Schnecksville, PA, the other day and had a glorious time tramping along their well maintained trails and taking photos for future reference. I will definately be going back!

There are miles and miles of hiking and horseback riding trails that offer unlimited scenery and are rated "easy", "moderate", and "hard" (this is so that I, a novice hiker, won't wander onto the wrong path and wind up missing for days as I try to crawl back to civilization along a trail nicknamed "Death March").

The weather was spectacular and I thoroughly enjoy my hours in the woods. I even stopped to do a quick little painting, but the results were less than stellar (hence the phrase "epic fail" in the title).

Trexler Nature Preserve in PA.

I parked myself on the edge of a field, dragged out all my gear and went to work.

Here's what I saw.

My set up. The pochade box is the one I made (instuctions here).

A quick blocking out of the shapes.

First lay in of color.

After one hour.

I set a deadline of one hour for myself because I have a tendency to pick at things and get too tight too soon. Choosing such a short time frame forces me to loosen up and cover more ground, faster.

But, after and hour I was very unhappy with what I had. In the distance I could see a couple of hikers coming up the trail, so rather than answer questions and try to justify a poor painting (not sure why I should care what they think, though), I just packed up and started back.

What went wrong? I think I had two main problems. I should have seen it then, but when you work outside you have to think on the fly and that is something that gets easier with practice.

Not enough value contrast : next time I will bring a medium that speeds drying. That way the colors will not sink into each other and I will be able to more easily show contrast.

Not enough color variation : green, green, and more green!! Yes, there really was a lot of green out there, but I should have used a little artistic license to change those colors and add interest and depth.

So that's my analysis. What do you think?