How to Make a Plein Air Pochade Box

Many say that there is nothing like the immediacy of painting en plein air ( outside, in the open). So, I'm gonna try it! I have painted outdoors a few times, but this year as I work to get my painting skills back I'm going to spice it up by packing up and heading out into the great outdoors on a regular basis.

Okay, okay...... so maybe at first I am just going to walk down the road a bit, but still, it IS outside.

First I need the proper equipment and that means a pochade box. A pochade box is a paintbox that is an easel, palette, and canvas carrier all rolled into one. Traditional pochades boxes are much smaller than a french easel.

OMG!! I went online and those suckers average $150 -$350 !!!  Take a look at these pochades.

Beautiful, but I can't afford them.

So, I've decided to gather up supplies and make my own. Won't be nearly as nice, but if it's functional that's  what I need.

Step 1: I'm off to Michaels with a 40% Off Coupon to buy a simple, light wooden box. 

Here's what I wound up with. It measures 9" x 12" x 3 1/2"(outside dimensions) and is unfinished.

Not very rugged....yet!

I rubbed in three coats of boiled linseed oil to help protect the wood.

Step 2: Add wood slats to make a "shelf".

I glued two slats, shorter than the depth, to each side so that I could later sit a tray on top of them. The slats will keep the tray from touching the bottom, which will be serving as my palette. I don't have to scrape my palette when done. I just close everything up and walk away.

Step 3: Replace the hinges.

 

The hinges were flimsy things, so the next thing I did was buy three sturdy hinges and add them to what was there. The old hinges weren't even screwed in, they were just punched in like big staples.

Step 4: Create the palette area.

I cut a piece of plexiglas and piece of white watercolor paper the size to fit exactly into the bottom (hard to see the plexi in the photo).

Then I cut plexiglas for each side, the height of the shelf.

The white paper goes into the bottom, then the plexiglas goes on top. Then I set each of the side pieces in it's spot.

Now the secret: I ran silicon aquarium sealant around all the seams to make it waterproof and hold it in place. Now I can squeeze out my oil paints directly into the bottom of the box, use it as a palette, and clean the center with the wipe of a cloth! But you can leave the paint that you squeezed out around the edges.

Step 5: Now, off to the hardware store for latches (one for each side) and a hinge to hold the lid in position so that I can lean a canvas against it. Also nuts bolts and washers to attach the handle.

The screws that came with the latches poked through the wood on the inside, so I will use my trusty Dremel with a cutting tool to cut the points off.

Step 6: Create a handle of some sort. Hmmmmmn.....what do I have lying around?

I took a flat, nylon dog leash, cut it to size (melt the cut edges so they won't unravel) and fold the ends under about an inch.

With my Dad's old soldering iron I melted a hole through the nylon at both ends and after drilling a couple of holes through the box, I used nuts, bolts, and washers to attach the strap to the box (the washers distribute the pressure and make it less likely to pull through).

Step 7: Make a tray.

Using foam core (carefully cut), glue (I used E-600), and some white duct tape for waterproofing I make a tray to hold supplies and cover the palette area beneath. We used to make things out of foam core all the time in my college art classes.

The only thing I am missing is the hinge (store didn't have the right size), so that the back lid can be used to lean my canvas against. I'll get that next time I'm out.

Finished!

And I'm so happy with the way it turned out I may make another for my watercolors!

Box (main expense), hardware, sealant, plexiglas, etc. all wound up costing about $35.

Color Palette Possibilities

People always seem to be interested in what my palette looks like, what colors I use and how I arrange them, so here it is:
For oils -

When I first started painting at age 13 my teacher showed me this way to set up my palette and I have done it this way ever since. I always know where the colors are and this saves me from searching as I work.

Upper left corner - Titanium white

Across the top, light to dark warms - Cad. yellow lt., yellow ochre, Winsor red (or Cad. red lt.), permanent rose, burnt sienna, burnt umber

Down the left side, light to dark cools - sap green, veridian green, cobalt blue, ultramarine blue, and sometimes Thalo blue


I often try out other colors and over the years some colors I use have changed, but this is my basic palette at the moment. Oils dry out on the palette, so once dry they get scraped off and thrown away.

For watercolors -

I never tackled watercolors seriously until I was in my 20s and my palette is set up differently, like a color wheel.  Think ROYGBIV! Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, (no violet, I mix that). Then earth tones down the right side. I use the same colors as in oils plus alizarine crimson, new gamboge, aureolin, manganese blue, thalo blue, raw umber, sometimes cerulean blue.

Because I work much faster in watercolor I have colors on my watercolor palette that I would mix myself if I were using oils. Saves me time that way.



I used to imitate the palette of whatever artist I was admiring at the time, but just because I was using the same colors didn't mean that my work looked like theirs. So, don't fall into that trap.

However, it did mean I got to try out a lot of different colors and find the ones that worked for me!

Tip: I never throw out watercolors, because even if they have dried out I can remoisten them by misting them and then putting a damp sponge inside the closed palette (all my watercolor palettes have lids). I just squeeze a little fresh paint on top of the old and I am ready to go!

Still making kits.....yuk!

Macrame Class Next Weekend

I am forced to take a break from painting because I am teaching at a bead retreat that is coming up this next weekend.

It's hard to switch mental gears!

My head is still up in my studio.

I need to write up the instructions and that means taking about 20 step by step photos, cropping and correcting them, then writing everything up into the correct format. 

I learn more from the photos or diagrams when trying out something new. But it's not that way for everyone, so I need to make sure that written instructions are clear and unambiguous. 

Here's what I am teaching:  

Victorian Lacy Macrame' Bracelet 

Ha! Macrame....it's not just for hanging planters anymore.

Remember the owl wall hanging? No, we will not be doing anything remotely close to that!

The most onerous thing I have to do is make kits. I hate making kits. Why can't everyone just bring their own supplies. Okay, now I'm whining. For some people, gathering up all the things needed is a deterrent to taking a class, so I will make kits as needed (rats!).

If you would like to brush up on your macrame skills visit my Macrame Tutorial Page.

All the major knots are there with "how to" photos. If you have ever knotted before you will get those skills back quickly. It's like riding the proverbial bicycle.

I started a new oil painting from a photo I took on a hike Delaware Water Gap area. But it will have to wait till next week for me to get back to it.  Here's the start:

             Later we'll see how it develops.

When the weather changes for the better I will head out and start to paint en plein air. Can't wait!

Get moving with a Sky Painting

If I am not feeling particularly creative, or full of energy, one thing I can do to get myself fired up is tackle an imaginary sky painting. They go fast ( especially if you are working small) and, by nature of the subject matter, are easier than more detailed subjects. Once I start I feel the excitement start to flow, and before long I am totally absorbed.

Clouds and Fields - 8x10 oil

All you need to remember in order to make your imaginary subject matter authentic is a few rules of atmospheric perspective.

Tips:
Clouds farther away (at the horizon) are cooler.
Clouds closer (overhead) are warmer.
Clouds farther away show their sides and are more elongated.
Clouds closer show their bottom surface and are broader, rounder.
The sky is warmer than you think (don't use only blue)!

Evening Clouds - 5x7 oil

These three cloud studies were started loosely ( I had nothing I was working from) then grew from my imagination. Paint scrubbed onto the canvas suggested shapes and forms which I then refined.

Clouds Above the Hills - 11 x 14 oil

Celebrate Color

I believe that color (or its absence) is probably the most exciting and influential element in artworks. Though it is second to design in its importance, it exerts an immediate and spontaneous influence on us as we look at a work on art.

Basic Color Wheel

And, I have always loved the color wheel, in all its many manifestations. But, I hardly ever use it! From the time I first began to paint I have always used color instinctively, knowing what colors to mix to get what I needed. Studying color theory when I reached college only served to reinforce what I was already doing, and explained why what I was doing worked.

But if color doesn't come easy for you, you can learn how color works and how to utilize that knowledge.

Here's a good place to go, if you want to learn more about color.

Color possesses four qualities :

Hue - what we usually just call "color"

Value - the lightness (a tint) or darkness (a shade) of a color.

Intensity or saturation - emerald is more intense than olive, but they are both green

Temperature - there are warm reds (cadmium red) and cool reds (alizarine crimson), etc. This is true for all colors. In the watercolor below, can you see warm blues and cool blues?

Honey Jars in GA - Dottie Hoeschen

In a future post I will talk more about colors that I use and why......

Yaaayy!

Class went well. Everyone happy.
Now I can go buy more supplies!

Class Time

Tomorrow I teach a wire class and I need to get ready!

Loopy Wired Bezel

 This is called Loopy Wired Bezel and tomorrow I will be teaching a three hour class "how to".

Lots of fun and so much more original than something you buy in a craft store!

But I need to gather my supplies for the demo, print out the instructions, and even more important, review how it is made. I designed it over a year ago my brain has moved on to other things. I better go over how I did it or I may wind up embarrassing myself.........

To see some of the other things I will be teaching  this coming year, you can go to Classes and Vending Schedule.

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