Color Theory Fun 2

My last "three colors and white" experiment turned out so well I decided to try it again (coulda' been a fluke, right?). But, this time I decided to try a different blue, one that I used a few times long ago and then abandoned because the results were so horrific. Prussian Blue.

So I dug around in my old supplies and came up with the crumpled metal tube that was my Prussian Blue from so long ago. When I do experiments like this, it is one of the few times I am glad I am a pack rat.

Cad. Yellow.........Cad. Red.........Prussian Blue........White

Clouds in Prussian Blue    8"x8"

Prussian Blue has won me over! Why did I hate it before? It's strong and can get out of hand if you are not careful, but what dynamite skies and green fields it makes. By using only three primary colors and white it becomes a much easier to achieve color harmony. 

Sometimes less is more!

Color Theory Fun

I love color theory, and though most of what I have learned usually confirms something I had already stumbled across, I am always up to trying something new. Or in this case, something old and very basic.

The first thing you learn in color theory is that ALL colors are made up of the basic three: Red, Yellow, Blue. Bear in mind that we are talking about mixing pigment here, not light.

                                  So here is my quick study using only three colors and white.
                     Cadmium Red......Cadmium Yellow........Ultramarine Blue.......Titanium White

Pine Tree Study in Three Colors

And, by golly, it works! With those three colors I was able to get a full range of palette colors.

Now, I won't be tossing out all my other beloved colors, but it does mean that I can be more confident about lightening the load when I take to field and forest in search of a good spot for plein air painting! The fewer colors I carry the lighter my pack. More to come.

Visit to the Big City

Just picked up a couple of paintings at the Salmagundi Club in New York City. They were submitted to the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club Annual Members Show (now that's a mouthful) and hung at the club for several weeks.

Getting in and out of the city was easier than I thought it would be, not painful at all, and the visit to an environment much different from what I am used to was stimulating! But, it did make me appreciate where I do live at lot more!

Vanishing Woodlands - 20x24  oil on canvas

Blustery Day - 20x24  oil on canvas

Time to get out of my rut!

Occasionally, I find myself falling into ruts. So sometimes I must take action to break out!

#1. I adore landscape and the natural format for that is a horizontal one. I find it hard to remember the last time I did a vertical. I will step out of that comfort zone and do a landscape painting, but use a vertical format.

#2. Most of my skies are in the medium to light value range. I have it stuck in my head that a dark sky means twilight or night. I will use a dark intense value scheme, but still try to convey that it is in full sun.

#3. I have a very difficult time conveying a feeling of size or "bigness" when working in a small format. So I will try to convey a feeling of something enormous, even though I am working on a small canvas.

I'm very happy with the way it turned out and feel like I have new "arrows in my quiver" when it comes to landscape painting.  What do you think?

"Monumental"  12x16  oil on canvas

Reflections

When I was a little girl, it was my job to polish my mother's silver tea service for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. This is her sugar bowl and painting it brought back many memories.

Reflections on metal are fascinating. Silver is painted much darker than you would think and the best way I have found is to forget what you are looking at and simply paint the colors you see. Tip: Turn off the left side of your brain and give free rein to the right.

Works for me!

Sugar Bowl and Rose   6"x6"

Planning for Winter

The weather has turned and rather than spend those days when plein air is not possible working totally from sketches/photos/memory, I am going to rediscover still life (subject matter that I haven't visited very often in the last few years). I have set up a corner with a light, various fabrics for draping, and have started a collection of different objects to paint, including some crocheted doilies that have been in the family for a while.

I seem to gravitate toward kitchen objects at the moment, and I like to raid the refrigerator for fruits and vegetables.

The little 6" x 6" painting below is a Granny Smith that pleased my eye. After I was done painting, I ate it and it was delicious!

Granny Smith    6x6

Little Bit of Heaven

I always encourage anyone who will listen to visit Alaska if they get a chance.  I have seen no landscape more spectacular. Denali guides get to see such sights as this, painted from several photos my son brought back from one of his expeditions.
I was struck by the graphic, abstract qualities of the landscape and tried to think of composition before subject matter. I will probably never make it to this altitude in reality, but maybe I can get there on canvas.

Josh's Office   9" x 12"  oil on canvas

Welcome Autumn!

When the weather turns cool I feel the need to paint in oranges, golds, and browns. My favorite time of the year urges me to head for the woods paint the glories of Autumn. When I can't get out, I bring the harvest to me in the form of pumpkins, gourds, Indian corn, and mums.

I never tire of their beauty and variety!

Autumn Still LIfe   oil on canvas  12 x 16

A Moment in Time

Conventional wisdom by conventional artists says that morning light is cool and afternoon light is warm. But the other morning, as I started out on my morning walk, I hadn't even gotten out of the driveway before I was stopped in my tracks by the light shining on a group of tree trunks. They were lit with an intense reddish light that was made all the more dramatic by the cool blues in the mist shrouded background.
I couldn't get it out of my head and so I painted it as best I could. I wish I could paint with light instead of pigments so that everyone could see what I saw.

September Morning Light   16" x 20"

Sometimes conventional wisdom needs to be ignored.......

I've got four hours....so paint!

Hiking in Trexler Nature Preserve is always a balm to the soul. This painting is done from sketches and photos taken on the trail. Deep summer is SO green....but there are a thousand different greens. I recently read that the human eye can see 10,000 different colors. How marvelous!! I will bite my tongue the next time I am tempted to complain about the color "monotony" of a scene.

Initial sketch in yellow ochre on a toned canvas.

After two hours of painting.

After four hours of painting.

At the two hour point things slowed down considerably. When I reach that point in a painting decisions become more critical, and so I become more careful. I put the painting away and let it "rest" overnight. Next day I studied it again (with fresh eyes), made a mark here or there, then signed it. Done!

The painting is 16" x 20".

Earthquakes, Hurricanes and Flooding, Oh My!

I made it back safe from Alaska (no problems coming back) and what do I find when I get home? First, an earthquake. Then, a hurricane. Cleanup from the flooding is going to delay me painting so many of the wonderful landscape scenes I encountered on my visit north.

I did sneak off for a few hours to paint a quick sky study and decided to see how close in value and how neutral in color I could make it and still have it "read" well. I tend to go for bolder colors and values that range from 1 - 10, so I thought this would be a good exercise for me. Did I succeed?

Grey Day Above    9" x 12"

Painting Turnagain Arm

Painted along Turnagain Arm today and was glad I didn't meet up with the black bear up the trail that several hikers encountered throughout the day. Lucky for all of us the bear turned tail whenever he saw anybody. I was in the same spot, morning through afternoon, and though I heard some noises I never actually saw the bear.
Several people stopped to watch me paint. All were courteous and encouraging.

Glorious weather, quiet painting time to myself. A good day!

Along Turnagain Arm they have some of the strongest and fastest bore tides ever.

Todays painting from the same spot as the photo.  9"x12"

An Image of the Mill

Heart of the Mill   14 x18

Here's my entry into the "Images of the Mill" competition. Though I think most will portray a distinctive tall red building that is on the mill grounds I was struck by the sun hitting an old millstone leaning against the side of the mill house. It created a formal composition of basic shapes that captured me. The rocks beneath the stucco seem visually complicated until you just think of them as spots of color. Forget what you are looking at and put down the spots. When you are done it will be a rock wall.

Detail: Heart of the Mill

Now to find a frame!

Keep It Soft

The Clouds Roll In  8x10

Hay Days  8x10

 

Evening Falls  8x10

I have grown more interested in atmospheric effects as of late. Most of my works were concerned with the landscape and its varied appearances, but lately I have started to look up and see how interesting the sky can be.

I, also, have always painted in terms of sharp contrast and strong color. So with these three little studies I set out to keep the paintings soft and undefined for as long as possible. How much information can you convey without getting specific?

It turns out, quite a lot! These little paintings were done, almost exclusively, with a #10 flat brush. Only at the finish did I use a small round brush (#2) to make a few small lines and to sign my name.

*Tip: As long as you keep the edges soft, it is easy to make changes and suggest shapes. As soon as you put down a hard edge, you "pin it down". But, if a painting is all soft edges it can look mushy, and all hard edges can get boring. So beware of going too far in one direction or the other.

Daisies

I don't do too many flower paintings (hardly any) because they often seem too sweet or pretty. But to do one is not easy! Here's a quick study of daisies that I found growing out in the pasture. I find that it is very hard to avoid cliche's when doing flowers. Especially when dealing with daisies!

Daisy Study   6" x 8"

Plein Air in Carversville

I and three friends from the workshop that I recently took traveled to Carversville, PA and we spent a morning and part of the afternoon painting and enjoying the out of doors. We stopped to eat lunch at the General Store and had such a pleasant day we are going back again next week.

First order of business, Gather up all the gear. Pochade box, paints, brushes, medium, tripod, chair (if I need it. I usually paint standing), dry carriers, and camera. What you don't see is my big hat and sunblock (essential!).

We met in town, scoped out the area, and found lots of painting material.

Streams and woods.

A stone bridge crossing the stream.

A heavily backlit red barn.

Ok,ok,.....I know everybody and his brother has painted a red barn. But, the building adds structure to the chaos of nature and I like the backlighting. Never tried that before.

So I painted it!

In 1 1/2 hours I gathered enough info to paint a larger work if I wanted to, and though the shapes are somewhat awkward, it was the light I was concerned with and I am happy with what I learned.

No, she's not doing a painting of the back of her car.

When you can find a spot where you can use the back of your car as a taboret it is luxury plein air! Having a hatchback works great, too.    *Tip:You can actually paint in the rain with canvas and paints in the back, while you stand under the hatchback door.....unless you are super tall.

Painting the back of the Carversville Inn.

The light on a stone bridge was dramatic.

   In the afternoon the bugs descended and all the Off! in the world couldn't keep them away, but all in all, not a bad day!!

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