The Mock Orange

After spending the last few days practicing mixing greens, I spent the day outside painting today. Mixing the greens wasn't as frustrating so it was time well spent.

My Mock Orange tree is in full bloom and just gorgeous. It's located on the corner of my house, by the garage, and it actually makes for a nice little scene.
When I took the snap at the beginning of the session, I forgot that my camera was on the black and white setting. Here's the photo:



I didn't paint exactly what was in the photo. I edited out some things to focus on the mock orange and the wall and lamp behind it. Here's the finished painting photo:



It's the worst plein air painting I've done. It's not the best either. A few questions come to mind. Things like, "would it have been more interesting if I had added back in a little of the grass area and driveway? Is the blue really what I saw, or did I just go that way because it was easy?

Here's the color photo of the area at the end of the session:



I can't say how much I'm looking forward to painting in Taos in Kevin Macpherson's workshop. So many questions, so little time! ;-) As I look at the color photo, other things jump out like not bringing the branches of the Mock Orange over to the wall. But all in all, the greens are better and the chroma of the whole painting is better as well.

Next session will be Friday. Thursday is jammed packed with hanging my one-person show at the Middletown Art Center and teaching at the center as well.
Till next time,
Linda

It Isn't Easy Mixing Greens--Part 2

The last few days were spent mixing greens for the lily pond painting talked about in the last blog. The painting is now done--and I have to say that I really like this one. It was a challenge and I believe it stretch my green palette. Painting outside again will tell. That will happen this week when the weather gets really nice.

As mentioned before, it's always a good idea to add the complement colors to really give the brain something to absorb. After all, just looking at various shades of green could be a bit boring. Here's the completed painting...



I used my red and blue Plexiglas "spy" glass to continually check if I was getting a good value range in the painting. The ultimate way to check this is to take a Black and White picture and match it up to the shadow and light area foundation that you did at the start of the painting. This way you can check your painting to see if you held true to the original under painting. Here's the black and white photo:




As you can see there is a very good range of values here. Here's the original foundation painting:



Comparing the black and white to the shadow blocked picture, I think I actually improved the light and shadow areas. In any case, the important thing is that I like this painting and I believe it helped expand my green palette and the mixing of green colors.

Hope you enjoyed the painting as much as I enjoyed painting it. The real test for the practice of mixing green exercise I did is the transfer of the knowledge gained into the field. Next up--outdoor sessions again!
Peace,
Linda

It isn't easy mixing greens

It's been a week of meetings and more meetings. Sometimes that's just the way it goes.

Since time was crunched and life getting in the way, I decided that I wanted to continue my emphasis on mixing greens. It is spring--seems everything is green. All would be fine if there was one value of green to mix, but there isn't. Green can be on the blue side, yellow side, and even have some red in there. Trying to decide the primary you are seeing if difficult and then mixing the greens are just as difficult. I tend to make my greens too intense. Since green never goes away in a landscape painting, I decided it would be time well spent to study this color a bit further.

I looked through my reference material, since time wasn't going to permit me to paint outside this week. I had a rather large pre-stretched canvas that was just calling my name to be painted on. I found a photo of the Giverny Gardens. Could we get anymore greens in one photograph? It's of the lily pond. Brush in hand and with great concentration on the shadow and light areas, I put in the foundation of the painting. Here's it is with a little work done on the lily pads in the foreground.



I always tend to forget that trees have open areas where you can see through them, so I tended to keep those spaces larger than usual. This particular painting will be an interesting pursuit. The reflections in the pond will be a challenge--especially since they are green as well. Here is a close up of the area I started working on earlier in the week.



In your assessment of your work, it is good to not only see what you don't like about the painting you are working but more importantly what you do like. Just like life, focussing on the negative can make it worse. So reward yourself with a little positive feedback. Ask yourself what you do like.

So far, I like the composition that I grabbed out of this photo. It's a smaller area of the photograph, focusing on the lily pads and the reflections. It's a high concentration of greens with a large spectrum of greens at that. Remembering that red is greens complement color and studying the photograph, there is some red--all the way to a red-purple present in some of the lily pads. I like the contrast between the two and it's something I'm going to explore on the second patch of lily pads I begin to paint next. I also like the idea of taking the greens all the way through the spectrum of blue-greens to yellow-greens. That will allow for a larger range of highlights/light areas that will also work with a large range of reds--into the oranges.

Here's where I ended up after some intense study and painting. This is in no way finished, but will give you idea of where I'm going with this. OH--and it's time to mix more greens, pushing myself to really open up the range of greens...my values are a bit too intense still and I want them to be softer. I'll be giving that a try here on the second batch of lily pads.



At first when I put in the pond and it's reflections to the right of the foreground lily pads, my edges were way to sharp. They were fighting for attention. Good thing I have a mop! I used the mop brush to blend gently the edges away--careful to not over blend. Again, the area is not completely done and to my liking, but it is much better than where it was just a few minutes before I blended them.

Stay tuned as I work to finish this painting over the coming weeks. If time and weather permit, I'll get outside to paint. But if not, I'll be working in my studio on the one thing I know will help me when I am outside. That is how to quickly mix the green I'm seeing. It isn't easy mixing green....(but you can't get that song out of your head now!) ;-)
Cheers,
Linda

The Rewards of Analysis!

The weather outside was windy and rainy--not very warm. Not that I mind painting in the rain--OK-I mind it a little bit--but I decided that I was going to do some serious critiquing of a plein air study that has been bugging me ever since I painted it at Smith Park.

The painting done on a sunny day at Smith Park is this one.



I wasn't pleased with this one at all. Plenty of compliments were given while I was painting it, but the colors were wrong and the composition--quite simply stunk!! There is nothing there to keep the viewer interested--except maybe the bad colors!

So I thought about it and decided I'd try it again...The second result was slightly better--as I focused more on my colors and trying to duplicate the scene from memory.
Here's the result of the second attempt.



The composition still stunk! The colors were slightly better--but everything is just too busy...I even tried to add interest on this one by taking the second little piece of land and making another piece of land come off of it--like a fork in the road. Well, the result shown below was a failure--muddy area and it didn't add any interest!














So that brings us to what I did today. I sat down with the two studies in front of me. I asked myself again..."What made me want to paint this when I was out at the site?" I looked at the back of the studies, then at the center where the little land mass sticks out. Was that it? Then I looked at the front of the painting and it hit me. Originally when I was going to paint the front area, where the two trees and the fallen log met the pond. Was that it? I closed my eyes and meditate on that area--standing there at the site I painted it and saw it again. Somehow I got sidetracked into painting the whole scene. Here's the area I'm talking about:



Hmmm....looks good..might work. So I sketched it out on a 9X12 inch canvas board (all the studies were done 9X12 as well).



Laid in the shadow areas--



Stepped back, sat down and asked myself--does it work? Is it a good composition? Can I generate enough interest to keep the viewer in the painting? I didn't hate it and it actually was appealing to me. So I laid in some shadow colors and light colors.



Now I really began to like this. I spent only two hours painting this painting. If I include the analysis it was an afternoon well spent. The finished painting is below and is evidence that a good critique can save almost any plein air study that fails you in the field.




I hope this step by step helps you save something you created in the field. I found today to be quite rewarding. I hope you did too!
Cheers,
Linda

Baby Steps

A friend and I painted at Smith Park today. Such a beautiful day!
The wind was blowing keeping it very cool. The sun was shining brightly.
Lots and lots of green colors--for some reason all the spring blooming trees have gone. It's that time of year--lots of greens which is always a challenge to mix.

I was somewhat happier with today's attempt. I'm still going to focus on mixing as I'm still getting frustrated on that. I'm posting today's attempt. I love the composition of this painting...but if I am (and I probably will)going paint this onto a larger canvas, I'll probably move the fisherman up to the front of the composition more.



"Patience at Work"
6"X8" canvas panel
This is the painting from yesterday. It's the one I did in the studio of azeleas that I discussed in the blog yesterday. The canvasboard was 11X14 and I timed myself to cover it in an hour. The more I look at this the more I like this start.
Bad weather is looming for tomorrow, so I'll probably work on finishing this study in the studio tomorrow. This one will also make it to a bigger canvas.




Azeleas Study-Only the Beginning
11" X 14" canvas board
And just for kicks, two of the better plein air paintings I did around my gardens.
The first is of my dogwood tree.




"In the Pink"
6" X 8" Canvas Panel
And what I consider my best effort yet...my phlox where it meets my stone wall in the backyard.




"In my Garden"
6" X 8" Canvas Panel

This one will make it to a painting on canvas in the studio as well.

I hope you enjoyed looking at the studies. Not quite finished work--but hopfully they will help you see what I'm struggling with and why I'm going through the mental and painting exercises that I am.

Keep Painting!
Linda

One Step at a Time

Due to some health related issues in the family, I spent the day inside the studio trying to apply a few learnings over the last couple of days. I spent a large amount of time with my nose in the books. And I think it paid off--in a small way.

I started the day mixing some paints and decided to pull out the study I did the other day at Smith Park. I figured I'd try my memory and use the study which I knew was way too intense to practice mixing greens. That simple object was met. I mixed greens that were so much better than the study. Time well spent and more learnings.
It was more to do with composition and less to do with the color mixing. Tomorrow when I head out to the park, I'm going to really focus on selecting a really good composition. Something I need to improve on and something that is so very important. If I just spend the day there sketching out shadow patterns and selecting compositions, it won't be a day wasted. Edgar Payne will be at my side--that's for sure. And yes--guess what I'll be re-reading tonight!!

I ended the day with a challenge. I pulled out a cheap canvas board which was 11X14 inches. I had a photograph of some Azelas that I wanted to paint on canvas for showing, but I need to work out some details of the painting. I spent some time mixing up some general colors that I'd grab from while covering the canvase. The challenge was to have this canvas board covered, with something that I could work from in the future, in 1 hour. Including some mixing time, I didn't want to spend anymore than an hour and a half. I succeeded doing just that and actually like the loose, painterly feeling of the flowers. Time permitting tomorrow, I'll snap a picture of it and place it in the blog for to see.

Timing yourself does a few things for me. It makes me mix colors with my brush and makes me paint looser--challenging me to think about values and edges so I don't end up with mud. It also gives you a bit of a plein air experience in that you have to paint fast outside to catch the light. Working from the photograph allowed me to not worry about the light and I knew the values I was mixing should match the intensity of the photo--so it forced me to mix what I remembered of the flowers that were outside my front door a few weeks ago.

All in all, I pleased with today's sessions and the results. I still need practice and need to push those color notes. Both build confidence. I'm looking forward to tomorrow.

On a different note, I did spend some time today framing all my painting that will be in my one-woman show on from June 1-July 30th. It was nice to see them all framed. I hope everyone will enjoy seeing them as much as I enjoyed painting them.

That's all for now.
Caio,
Linda

Back to Basics

After an evening of research and contemplation, I really decided that I wasn't happy with the way I was mixing colors. I couldn't quite put my finger on just what I didn't like about it, I just knew that the color notes (value, hue and chroma or intensity)were not what I wanted--but more importantly were not what I was seeing.
Why (there's that pesky word again) was I not putting down what I was seeing? I think it's was/is a combination of two things.

First, I want to capture the light and paint fast. Anyone that paints plein air knows you have to paint fast. So I mixed a color note that was possibly in the family of colors I was seeing and put it down. But as of last night I wasn't sure that I was really even in the color family.

Second, my studio where I can take time to mix and is not remotely like painting outside regardless of the fact that I have Ott lights throughout it was making me see things differently!! But is a color note a color note regardless of being in my studio or painting outside?

Well--let's prove that. So today, which got off to a delayed start, was devoted to mixing colors outside. That's it--no painting on a canvas board--no pressure to capture fleeting light. I stood outside in the brilliant sunlight and with my trusty paint chips in hand began mixing colors to match the paint chips. These chips can be snatched from any paint store. You know the ones--the strips that have five colors all in the same color family. Before heading outside, I grabbed a random lot of colors from my collection of chips. Then, stood there and mixed colors.

This is a wonderful exercise and I can't say enough about doing this. My frustration is stemming from the fact that my colors are too intense. Mixing to the paint chips made me add in the complements or white to grey down my colors. I didn't stop at "That's close enough." Nope--it had to be exact and when it was only then did it get the honor of being put on a cheap canvas board for future reference.
Toward the end of the session, I was running low on blue. I work from a limited palette of Yellow, blue and red (and white--more on that at another time). I mixed up a green trying to match another paint chip--but I decided that I wouldn't put anymore blue in my pochade box and just push the green with some leftover dark "mud" (blue/purple). I mixed in complements, white and just put swatch of the colors I was mixing next to the other. I mixed some oranges, reds, and placed those in the line. I stepped back looking at the range of colors I had mixed over the hours in the sunlight. I studied the effect the sun had on the colors (my pochade and canvas are shaded with an umbrella when standing in brilliant sunlight)and how my eye interrupted them. I studied what happened when I put one dark value next to a light value, a complement color next to another. Did I mix any medium values?...Were they really in the mid range of the color family?

I realized that I wasn't painting what I was seeing in the previous sessions. I was painting to try and paint fast and that didn't accomplish anything--except frustration and a return to basics. I know my say that they don't like wasting paint this way--but believe me, with what you learn this is not a waste. I paint with inexpensive paints when I'm plein air painting anyway, and since this exercise can be done close to your studio or home, you can take a disposable palette with you to freeze any paints you mix up and want to keep. Or better yet, empty tubes that you fill with the paints you mix to be used in your studio later.

Believe me, what you will learn about what you are mixing and what you are seeing is worth the couple of hours you will spend mixing outside. It's a great way to get re-calibrated to painting outside and seeing outside. After I had a number of greens painted, I walked around my yard and held the paint brush with the color note on it next to the foliage of different plants. Was it warmer or cooler? What would I add to get to that color? Make a mental note.

The last test--I packed up my gear and headed down to the studio. How far off was my studio Ott lights. Surprisingly--not that far off. I do need to get some warm lights to offset the coolness of the Ott lights. That's easy enough to fix. But the biggest difference was that I was pressing to paint fast and just accepting any color I mixed. Now is the time to break that bad habit. If you use studies to paint from in your studio--the color notes are most important part of that study.
That was an understatement. As Kevin Macpherson says--"That first color note is the most important." That is so true! It sets the tone for the whole painting. If it's wrong-the painting will not be what you see.

I may just spend the day mixing colors tomorrow. Practice makes perfect and if I mix the colors right, I have a better chance to paint faster. And now I know I can afford to add the complement colors to grey down the intensity and not to be afraid to do so.

Try this exercise, you may be surprised how much you've strayed after a length of time in your studio.

Ciao,
Linda

May 5th--All I can say is they are interesting....

As I was telling my friend on the phone on the way back from the painting session today--all I can say about my plein air studies are they are interesting....with the emphasis on interesting!

It was a beautiful day to be outside and I'm glad I was there. Warm sunlight bathing the water of the pond at Smith Park--caressing the trees as well. The ducks and geese were--well just a tad bit frisky...well it is spring after all! A number of people were walking, fishing and enjoying the park. Smith Park is by Hook airfield in Middletown. A number of pilots were getting their hours in and the corporate jets were taking off as well. A gorgeous day for flying, hiking, fishing and painting! It must have added to the good mood, because today I wasn't as frustrated as yesterday.

I still need to refine the color notes. I'm still not happy with the result on the canvas. I used my palette knife to mix the initial shadow colors, then switched to mixing with my brush as I started to lay in the shadows--concentrating on what I was seeing and getting those shadow areas down.

The composition I choose was better. I kept it relatively simple...the pond, some tree trunks...but reflecting back...I think I forgot to pick one focal point. Overall the scene is a nice one...but I'm not sure just what drew me to draw it. That in itself tells me that there wasn't something overwhelming catching my eye. Since I didn't identify a focal point, the end result of the study was that it was an average result. No real interest to keep you in the painting and wandering around. Hmmm...one strike.

Overall, I'm entirely too dark for the colors that I saw outside today. Am I looking at too much detail and trying to capture too much? Since I started laying in the shadows first, the result is that the studies are too dark. When I was painting last year outside, I was entirely too light. There's got to be a happy medium somewhere in here! hmmm...two strikes...

I need to remember to pack my camera and the OFF!! I wasn't as frustrated today..and I didn't freak out when a big ole black ant decided to crawl down my arm and into my hand holding my brush. The reason I need the OFF! I know insects are a part of the earth--but I just rather they stay on their own territory!

There was a steady flow of spectators/passer-bys that were supportive and made being out there fun. That's a major plus of painting outside. People will come up and check out what you are painting and most will offer advice, support or at some time guess at what you are painting. Some will even venture a critique or two. This is always good--gives you another perspective, another set of eyes, to view your painting through. So for everyone who stopped today and talked with me--thanks! It was fun meeting you and I'll be back down there trying to capture this pond a number of times in the coming weeks. Please continue to say hello and talk to me. You are part of the experience!!

I'm actually considering just taking a day and mixing colors outside. Just trying to push myself to get the color notes right. It might make for an interesting exercise.

I'm just glad at this point that it was a beautiful day!! No complaints here.
I'm learning...

Ciao,
Linda

Frustration!! May 4th Session

I started painting at 11:30 and went till about 3:30--completely 2 6X8 canvas panels.
The first panel was very frustrating and had me question why I thought I had the skills to do this. I decided to put it aside after reflection what was going wrong with it and why I was feeling so frustrating. I had sketched out the shadow and light areas with black marker on a sketch pad and a quick look at that reference verified what I had come to conclude. What I was trying to paint was to complex--too much shadow--no contrast and the color notes were all wrong. So I winged it--actually I walked down to my studio and threw it on my work table. I picked up Kevin's book, paged through it as I mumbled more frustrations to myself. There it was in plain English..."Keep it Simple!"

So I went back outside to my back garden area. I took out the second panel and placed it in the pochade box. I attacked the same garden area with new enthusiasm and told myself I will get something this time. I focused this time on where the phlox and stone wall met. A wonderful area of shadow, a very warm area of light. As soon after about an hour, I had what I considered an acceptable study.

My frustration centered on the following--and highlighted what I need to improve.
1. Mixing colors quickly and accurately.
2. Need to remember to keep it simple--it being the composition of the painting.
3. I need to keep practicing mixing color notes and asking those pesky questions. Keep the shadows in shadows--the lights in light and never the two shall meet!

So what are the questions? In the beginning of this journey, when one is learning or refreshing their skills, do you sacrifice catching the fleeting light to focus on mixing the right color notes? And if you catch the light and shadows in a simple foundation does that guide you? I do know that the first color note you put on your panel is the most important. If it is wrong--the painting will be wrong. So we'll focus on getting the first note correct. And we'll work on the focal point of the painting first--since that is where the light will change the is the most important color note to put down.

I need to remember to keep asking myself the following while I'm painting. Is that color note in shadow or light? Is that color note warmer or cooler?

Monday--May 5th--we are going to head out to Smith Park. There is a pond there and I'll be painting there. I have a meeting with the Director of the Arts Center and this will allow me to get some painting in before. I plan on concentrating on the questions above--the shadow and light--warmer and cooler and getting that first color note correct. More to come tonight on today's session! I'm actually looking forward to getting out there--even though I know it will be frustrating--I know I'll learn something today. I know when I get home and look through the books I have, something in there will make more sense because I experienced it. It's so exciting and refreshing!

Ciao,
Linda

Why?

Welcome to my journey back into Plein Air painting. I've done this a few times before and each time I have done it, I have learned so much. But first, why seemed like a good place to start.

I love Claude Monet's work! And each time that I have been fortunate enough to see his work in person, I have been captivated by his capturing of light and atomsphere. I stand for hours studying his brushwork, pondering endless questions--why did he choose to paint that that way? Why did he choose that color note? How did he see the way he did? What was his journey to "here"? And of course when disecting the painting, is that color note in the shadow family or light family? Is it warmer or cooler than the note next to it? And of course, there's always the question of "Why can't I do that?"

Of course this doesn't always happen with Monet's work--you can throw in Cezane, Sisley, Pissaro, Renior....the list goes on. I studied with or taken lessons from a number of local artists, but none was as challenging as entering the world of plein air painting. For opening this world to me I thank two painters. One is an artist living here in Cincinnati--Chuck Marshall and the other is an internationally known artist that I am fortunate enough to be painting with in June. I'm also Chairperson of a committee to bring his "Reflections On A Pond" to the Middletown Arts Center. The internationally known artist is Kevin Macpherson. Kevin is an inspiration and his books are never far from my side. Talking with him is also a joy--he is so supportive and patient. I hope he has a lot of patience in June!!

So that is the one of the whys. Why can't I do that? Well--I can. I will. And this journal is about the struggles, the successes and the journey along the rough, rocky and challenging road of painting plein air. If you have ever tried it you know that it is not easy. The brain almost gets overwhelmed with all you must concentrate on, but yet keep it simple. You almost panic because it all seems to move so fast. The frustration sets in and the next thing you know you are winging your canvas panel a 100 yards away from you!!

This journal will be full of questions that I'm asking myself. I don't promise answers, but feel free to chime in with your experiences, suggestions and successes.
When I workout what I consider a successful answer to any of the questions, I'll post them. Hopefully together we can grow in our artistic abilities. After all, we all want to continue to grow and improve our skills and that is the other reason why I'm doing this. It will improve my skills and knowledge. The good news is, I have a new mentor, Kevin, who will help me along the way. Thanks Kevin! I look forward to June!!