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?

Welcome Summer!

Memorial Day is the unofficial opening day of Summer and many head for the beach. I have only occasionally spent time by the sea (I seem to gravitate toward the mountains rather than the shore), and don't paint ocean pictures very often.  To paint the movement of waves and water convincingly one needs to study them and I have only seen the ocean once every few years. So, I don't feel like I have the same affinity for seascapes as I do for landscapes, but that doesn't mean I should avoid them.

This painting is one that comes from a series of sketches and photos that I took many years ago when I had the opportunity to visit the California coast.  Talk about dramatic beaches!!

Eroded Coastline   11 x 14

Painting on Memorial Day

On Memorial Day I think about my father and his brothers who all served in WWII defending our country and its liberties. They all came home, but reflecting on those who didn't reminds me that freedom isn't free.

This sketch is from my imagination, but it is a view like many I have seen and evokes memories of my mother's side of the family, many of whom eked out a living working hard on their patch of land. I used to visit each summer and for me these were magic days spent playing in the woods and fields, picking blackberries, eating ice cream.

A quick sketch (using a brush) on a toned canvas.

The initial wash of colors has a lot of turpentine thinner in it. After this I will use a painting medium, like copal, to thin the paint and make it flow easier. I always try to follow the "Fat over Lean" law to ensure good adhesion (more flexible layer should go over less flexible layer).

Cami's Yellow House   9" x 12"  

After the painting was finished I added the birds flying toward the house, low in the sky. I thought they added a bit of life and movement to the fairly empty scene. Cover them up with your thumb and you can see what a difference it makes.