Working out a painting

The last few days have been spent in the studio and outside painting plein air.
Saturday morning was an overcast morning and after walking around the Glendale Art Show, I settled in to paint the gazebo in the Village Square. It was fun saying hello to everyone who stopped by and commented on the painting. Due to other commitments I couldn't stay as long as I wanted, but the painting is a great start and I have some good photo reference. I'll work this out over the coming weeks and you'll see the results here I'm sure.

I've also been working on my maritime series. I wanted to get started on these paintings while St. Andrews was still fresh in my memory. My studies and photographs are proving to be priceless. I thought inside of continuing two blogs, that I'd post my work in progress here on the site. It is amazing how much progress you can make by painting plein air. And..well--drawing. I've been doing more drawing and sketching and that seems to have strengthened a number of skills.

I've gone through over two hundred photos of the St. Andrews experience and whittled them down to ones I want to paint. I start with a sketch of the photograph, beginning to work out details and composition. From there I go to a 11X14 canvas board and work out more of the sketch. Here's the first layout I did with the along with the light and shadow areas blocked in...












There were a number of things that I didn't like about this painting and a number of drawing issues. This was a timed study and wasn't meant to be a painting ready for sale, but one to study and determine what I needed to change, what I liked about it, are the values good...just a timed study to question, practice painting quickly, and from to learn. I decided to return to my photo references and decide if there were some elements from other photos I wanted to pull in or was there a better representation of the man in the boat that would be better.

For example, the man is facing to the right. Your eye follows that direction and "off the page you go" since most of us read left to right. There is nothing really to circle your eye back around in the painting. The boat is somewhat centered right in the middle of the painting. I sat and studied the first attempt for a few hours making note of things I didn't like. Also, the size of the man to the boat is not proportioned right. Perspective is a bit off.

The result was this second study. Again, another timed study, only because I want to practice catching and working out details quickly. This again was a study to work out composition issues and focus on getting the drawing and perspective correct.
Here's the drawing that I did...




This drawing is much better and some composition issues were addressed. The man in the boat is more balanced, and the boat is not smack in the middle of the painting.
The background land is more proportioned and adds depth. The man is now turned back to the left, leading your eye not off the page, but back into the land mass and trees. The trees have sufficient interest as does the rocks. Here's the painting in middle.




Note that there is a considerable lack of interest in the center of the painting. While the values lead you to believe this is a sunny day and add some interest there is nothing really in the center to make you want to linger. Now take a look at the finished study.




The pine trees were added and have some curvature to them that pushes your attention to the right...so your eyes enter the painting at the left (because we read left to right here in the USA) move to the boat, man and then back to the rocks to the left part of the painting. The trees lead you to the right to the house roof, which leads your eye down to the land and the seaweed which leads you back to the right.
The result is a balanced painting. The composition is much improved from the first try and the perspective is also improved. With most of the issues worked out, this is ready to be transferred to a larger canvas. Before that occurs, I'll be pulling my studies from St. Andrews out and place it side by side with this study. I'll be asking myself are the values true to what I saw up in St. Andrews when I was plein air painting. I'll make notes right on the canvas board where it should be lightened or darkened. Then, I'll begin the painting that will become the second painting in my maritime themed paintings.

Check back and see the progress from study to completed painting for the "Seaweed Harvest" painting. I hope you found this interesting as you become part of the process of creating a painting. You know how to reach me if you have any questions.

Ciao,
Linda

Reflections of St. Andrews

As I sit in the Detroit airport on a lay over back to Cincy, I'm thinking about my week in St. Andrews.

First, I have to say the group of people that I shared this week with were just wonderful! We painted, struggled, preservered, laughed, learned, shivered, roasted in the sun, chatted and spent a long day with one another. Never was there a tense or bad moment. No one got in each other's way. Wonderful group is an understatement!

At the end of hte long day painting we weren't tired of one another. We cleaned up and went to dinner. We started the whole thing over the next day.

At the heart of our little group was our soul, our guides and two of the sweetest people! Joe Anna Arnett and James Asher were supportive, our cheerleaders, our mentors, our friends, "one of the guys" and so very patient with us. They joined us for dinner when they could and then again in the morning for breakfast. Their attention to us was never ending and their sense of humor divine.

Their talents are immeasurable and their desire for you to learn only limited by your own ability to want to learn. Saying it another way, their desire for you to learn was limitless. If you wanted to learn, they were there with the information, lessons, and guidance.

I learned so much this past week from my mentor, Kevin Macpherson and from Joe Anna and Jim. I feel I gained so muchas well. The learning isn't limited to painting but to the entire paint out experience. The energy you bring to the workshop is so important--as important as how much you want to learn. Those in the workshop, if clueless or not careful, can impact the energy of the whole group. Go with openness and enjoy the journey.

I met a group of strangers and left with eight new friends and memories of a warm and so enjoyable week of painting. I don't think I've ever felt as strong a desire to stay as I did with this group--Such a Comfort Zone!!

I look forward to conversing with my new friends. I look forward to seeing Kevin and Wanda, Joe Anna and Jim in the coming months and working with them. All those associated with En Plein Air Masters are truly classy people and talented, giving people.

I'm so thankful to Kevin, Wanda, Joe Anna, and Jim for all they are sharing with me--for all they have done and all we will do in the future.

Day off? So Why Am I Painting??

We headed to breakfast as Joe Anna's crew discussed the plans for our day off. I did see Joe Anna and Jim at breakfast. We talked a while and then we headed out in different directions for our day off. I headed down to the wharf area of the downtown. Many of the painters in the paint out were set up painting out on the wharf. The were painting various boats on the water or the distant shoreline in the morning light. Honestly, none of these caught my eye or gave me much feeling.
After painting foreshortened boats and shacks with shadow and light, these compositional choices seemed dull. I took some photographs just in case something hits me later, but I doubt it. I left the wharf and headed down the main street.

I turned down a street--still not seeing Joe Anna or anyone from our crew--so I told myself if my guides wouldn't help me find her, then it wasn't to be and I could go out to the lighthouse and paint the cottage aerial view in morning light that was so captivating days before. Well--my spirit guides decided that wasn't to be, as the street I chose to turn around on was the street Joe Anna was set up to paint on!

After a brief discussion in which I was strongly reminded that I was invited to paint with her today and should have called her cellphone, I walked about looking for what was speaking to me.

The result was a sailboat parked at the wharf with sloping land in front and warm rocks and seaweed catching the light. I sketched my subject in my sketchbook, snapped a few photos and a good thing I did. No sooner did I get done sketching and the sailboat left!!! Sailboats were coming and going and so my sketch was priceless! The tide rose, the light changed, boats coming and going, the only constant in plein air painting is change!!

Then a gift from the painting gods--five young children and their day care provider decided to have lunch on the beach. Both Joe Anna and I took a break and snapped shots of them playing on the beach. The study I did will help with the colors of the photographs for other paintings of this scene and I can incorporate them in a sketch and work out details back in the studio!

The end painting certainly showed progress. I knew I was doing something right when Jim Asher drove by to check on Joe Anna and I and I heard from behind me a "WOW!".
Here's a photo of the finished painting:



The afternoon was spent sketching to practice my drawing. I tried sketching the main street of downtown and failed miserably! However, it was a great learning process and Jim Asher is a wonderful drawer (have to be for his watercolor paintings!) and he came by later to check on my progress. He gave me some great pointers that I'm using as I sketch something almost everyday.

The next day brings a day of consultations with the masters and critiques of our work. My thoughts on this tomorrow. Today--more painting and sketching....

Oh--and I guess I didn't answer the question. Why did I paint on my day off? Guess it's because I don't think of having days off from painting. Sure there are days I don't paint--but on those days I'm still looking at light and shadow and asking the questions--warmer? cooler? darkest dark? greatest contrast? How would I handle that in a painting? Is it a good composition? My mind always has a brush in my hand and I'm painting in my mind even if I'm not standing in front of an easel.
While I don't get many opportunities to go whale watching, I'm never going to pass up a chance to paint with someone of Joe Anna's and Jim's skill and talent. Besides--this isn't work....not really....this is a labor of love. I'd rather be doing this than most everything else.

Until tomorrow!
Linda

Day 4 Deer Island Revisited!!

Our first visit to Deer Island was in fog and rain. A disappointing day-so the group decided to head back out there on our 4th day in glorious sunlight. We headed to a little cove of land where 2 fishing boats were waiting - stranded on land by the low tide. One of the boats was a wonderful maroon-purple next to a green shack, lobster traps with orange buoys and grey tubes abounded on the dry docks next to the boat.

I purposely choose to paint a foreshortened boast as this a very complex drawing--and well my mentor, Kevin Macpherson, told me to pick something complex. There is a method to his torture! ;-) Of course the objective for me when painting with these wonderful Masters such as Kevin, Joe Anna Arnett and Jim Asher is to learn from them--not paint what I know I can paint, paint something that I struggle with so that I can take their advice and wisdom back with me. Force me to ask the questions that are needed to learn. What do you learn if you do nothing but paint what you know in front of them just to impress them. Impress them? Pleeeeeeaaaasssseee! That's like practicing one lick on a guitar--playing it in front of Clapton and expecting to get a rave review from the man! Even in this case you'd probably get a mere..."oh..pretty good...what else can you do?..." Oh yeah...impressive... :-D

The foreshortened boat proved painful...and showed me a weakness I now will spend lots of time against. Drawing, while never my strong point and thanks to Drawing on the Ride Side of your Brain---gave me the biggest block to drawing that I've ever had! But with the complex compositions that I choose this week and Joe Anna's method of sketching the scene first--it became very apparent that drawing skills are so important to the plein air painter when selecting complex compositions. And as Joe Anna said in her talk--"You want to draw better? Draw more---you don't need books telling you how--just paper, pencil, eraser and subject....just draw." And so I shall.

The study itself was a weak one, however, as well all who provide critiques, there are always positive among the negatives. The positives in this study was the values I nailed, the learning I learned, the struggle I went through to learn what I learned and the importance of painting with thick paint.

I began to understand the importance of pushing wet paint around in plein air and have started to use thick paint and realizing the advantages of doing so. Bolder strokes, refining shapes, adding depth--all so much more intriguing a the paint began to flow. Also just important is the lightness of touch.

That afternoon, after a delightful lunch with my new painting friends--was spent watching Joe Anna paint and create. The importance of a solid drawing and perspective became even more apparent as I watched her create. The little aides that she uses to find the center point, transferring the sketch to canvas, working out the most complex area of the painting on the sketch and not the canvas before you start the painting were all shown and discussed.

I asked questions sparingly as this was Joe Anna's time to paint as well. It was after all a paint out. And you can learn so much just by quietly watching a Master at this level. One questioned I asked was if she approached the blank canvas asking "where's the darkest dark?" and if she holds to the belief of only one darkest dark in the painting throughout. After a number of attempts to answer the question--or I should say to ensure that I understood what she was trying to tell me--it boiled down to me that the question of where's the area of greatest contrast--most complex point of her drawing. This really doesn't do Joe Anna's answer justice. The discussion was enlightening and also helped to explain why Kevin asks the four questions continually while he is painting. Where's the darkest dark? Lightest light? (that's the area of greatest contrast?)...when laying colors in the shapes...Lighter? Darker? warmer? cooler?--also known as contrast? What's the contract between the color I just laid down and the color next to it. However--with all those questions--don't get lost in the little area of the painting---overall is it working--the colors and what you want to convey. You know---if it were easy--everyone would be painting!!!

I watched as she worked dark values in areas that I would have painted lighter in value--which prompted the question of only one darkest dark. Joe Anna patiently explained her thinking on this concept. Again--Greatest contrast--not so technical as to continuing to worry and struggle where is "my darkest dark" and only having one. Paint and catch the contrast and in layers you can lighten and create contrast.

We rushed back to catch the ferry back to the mainland. We painted late on this day. Our group that was the last to leave went directly to downtown St. Andrews for a late dinner at the Harbour Front. We drank and ate with lots of laughter as we talked about our adventures of the week. The next day is a free day--No formal instructions and while I originally planned to go whale watching, I decided that I would paint instead. It's not often you get invited to paint with artists at this level. Joe Anna invited and I accepted. It was her day off as well, so I was not expecting help or critiques--but wanted to reinforce what I learned from the week.

More on that one tomorrow.

Green Point Lighthouse

After breakfast we headed out to St. George New Brunswick past Back Bay to Green Point. This area had wonderful views of cottages to a lighthouse. The morning sun was brilliant, casting long blue shadows on patches of rocks and grassy patches that lead your eye naturally to the lighthouse. The cast shadows were deep blue almost black with the sunlight yellow kissed green grass. While some chose to beat the tides and paint the lighthouse from the beach, there some lavender, pink and yellow flowers blowing in the gale wind in the foreground of the lighthouse that were calling me.

Here's the photo....



I mentioned briefly that there was a gale force wind..and I'm not exaggerating. You know you love doing this when you are standing in a wind that can easily blow you over, let alone your easel. The flowers were swaying, at times laying sideways, in the wind and it the composition of the painting it was an opportunity to direct the eye back to the left of the painting. Also, it became apparently clear that paint was going to have to be laid on thick--a great learning on pushing paint around and a light touch!

While my drawing of the lighthouse left much to be desired, the overall values I captured and the composition was very good. One other you learn is that you can't crop back red in a wet painting-not without making a total mess--so I can actually fix the top of the lighthouse when it is dry with some cropping back. I ask you to ignore the drawing of the lighthouse and observe the good things about the study.
The distance or depth in the study is good. The flowers movement, the color of the water and the depth of the islands in the distance...all great color and value. Very nice cast shadows. Considering the conditions and the fact I can correct the drawing, not bad....and will be transferred and worked in the studio.



After a morning of painting and being wind whipped we broke for lunch. There was a bald eagle that graced us with its presence and we painted. His watchful eye our protector and his graceful gliding on the winds a joy to watch. In the bay there was a grey seal frolicking in the cold blue/green waters of the wind whipped bay.

In the morning light a cottage on a s-shaped strip of land caught my eye and since a utility building higher up provided a wind block and an aerial view of the cottage in flat light, an painting exercise and lesson was the subject of the afternoon painting. Joe Anna suggested this aerial color field painting to those of us who wanted to attempt it.

Here's the view with Joe Anna demonstrating the lesson to us...





This exercise was to lay in quickly the color fields in shapes since there were little shadows in the afternoon light. The whole study would be high key with close values. We watched her lay in the colors an after twenty minutes the foundation of the painting was complete. She sent us to our easels to attempt this.

Grasping the basics and tired from fighting the wind, I stopped short--knowing I caught mos the values and with the help of a photograph, I could attempt this exercise to it's fullest in my studio. The photographs I captured not only capture the cottage in afternoon light, but I had captured it in morning light as well. I look forward to painting both to illustrate the difference between the two scenes at each time of day.

We packed up to leave to the hotel. Joe Anna Arnett was speaking that night and we were looking forward to hearing more of the wisdom this Master could impart on us.
Her talk was informative and provided lessons on Sargent and his perseverance and patience in painting.

We followed the lecture with dinner on the porch of the hotel. A great ending to a great day of painting, in our way, persevering the elements to capture 2 studies that will come in handy!!

Deer Island Day 2

While the first day of the workshop was warm and sunny, the second day was cool and foggy. We headed out to Deer Island with the intention of getting some painting done. This would have been a great lesson in tonal painting...notice the words would have!

We spent most this time scouting out locations with John Budicin and his group along with us. We took lots of photographs and here's the conditions we were facing. We actually set up to paint this....



I had envisioned a light purplish/mauve tone to the fog to balance out the yellow of the boat. But that was not to be---as a passerby asked me a question regarding the direction to the ferry, I turned to see a storm bank moving in. This was not good. I called down to Joe Anna and pointed it out to her. A dismayed face and everyone started to paint faster---well those who were set up to paint. The rest of us hoped it was a passing storm. WRONG! It drenched us! We broke our stuff down and headed back to the ferry.

While we didn't paint we had lots of great discussion on tonal paintings and lots of photo reference for both practice in the studio and drawing exercises.

We'll see what Day 3 brings us!
Ciao,
Linda

The first day of En Plein Air Masters!

After arriving at the Fairmount Algonquin, I was already late for the meet and greet. I didn't realize that St. Andrews is on Atlantic Time Zone (one hour earlier than Eastern!) and when dropping the luggage off in the room, was surprised to see I only had 10 minutes left to get downstairs!

I met Theo and Asia. After briefly talking with them, I was "assigned" to Joe Anna Arnett to paint with all week. There were seven of us total in Joe Anna's workshop and she is an execellent mentor. Joe Anna paints still life and landscapes, has an execellent grasp on composition and colors and is just an adorable soul! Of course all of this is a vast understatement! Check Joe Anna out for yourself by clicking here.

We traveled out to Back Bay, just outside of St. George New Brunswick. This is a little working harbor with quaint little homes/cottages and those who work the sea for their living. The docks were spotted with equipment sheds and boats floating in the bay when they weren't coming and going earning their living.

We also scouted what Joe Anna kept calling "an adorable little blue shack". It was located on a pier waterside or bayside. The behind it had clothes hanging out on the line to dry. After a brief discussion with others in the workshop we decided to paint on this location.

Joe Anna gives us instructions to sketch the whole scene first and then crop down to the composition you want to capture on the canvas. Using the viewfinder to help me sketch and sketching the whole scene as she suggested was a great little "AH HA!" as I always try to cram to much in or not enough. This little technique is really going to improve my compositoin selection!

Earlier in the morning I was instructor by my mentor, Kevin Macpherson, to paint complex subjects. Well, folks, it doesn't get any more complex than maritime scenes!! We spent 4 hours here and everyone humming. Joe Anna was extremely helpful as I finished up the abstract shapes and catching the proper values. I got to a point where I always begin to wonder what next. I know it isn't finished--there is more I wanted to do--but didn't have the courage to do it. Joe Anna was right there to explain and encourage.

I have to say the end result was probably one of the better studies...but it was all improvement from here! Here's the shot of the beginning and "end" after 4 hours.









After lunch we moved to the working harbor and wharf. Seaweed was bing harvested and fishing boats with nets and traps that harvested the sea for herring, sardines, and in a few days lobster were bustling around the harbor.

We walked around the site and found a number of compositions that would work. I photographed and sketched quick pencil studies in my sketch book. However, one area was calling to Joe Anna and for a good reason. A red boat with a green boat sitting in the foreground. The boat were facing opposing directions keep the viewer's eye inside the painting. A gift--as Joe Anna was saying. The red/green compliment was just that and we quickly set up and sketched our compositions. As fate would have it, the owner of the red boat came over to inform us that the red boat would be leaving. We talked with this sweet man, who was so sorry for taking our subject matter away from us! It was his living!!! The owner of the red boat's friend, William, pulled up to ask what we were talking about.

Sweet William, as he became known to us, offered to move his green boat--same year boat and same angles as the red--in place of the red boat...and "You can just paint it red in your painting." Needless to say, everyone in this town that we talked to where so friendly and welcoming. Sweet William moved his boat for us and we were off and painting again.

We spent 3 or 4 hours on tis painting and the lesson of hte afternoon painting is that sometimes you just don't have the time to keep trying to mix that perfect color off a limited palette. Joe Anna and I joked as she provided just the right color blue I needed to mix within five seconds the correct value of the teal colored boat.
"Gee---plein air painting is easy when you have the right colors." I joked and then said how my mentor is not going to be happy with me.

That evening when I saw Kevin I made this comment with Joe Anna present. He knew he was being set up and joked with us about our rudimentary skills. It was all done in good humor and I would have gotten there eventually if I hadn't gotten frustrated. Just another lesson that I've got more to learn when it comes to color mixing....you are always learning.

As I picked up my gear and head back to my car, Joe Anna complimented me on a great day of painting. It was a great day. Joe Anna and the group I am painting with are a great group of people. You'll discover more about Joe Anna and this group over the coming days as I enter more journal entries. While I'm not yet ready to say the journey is over--I don't think it will ever be over--I am ready to say improvement has been made. And Kevin and Joe Anna are the big reasons why!

Check back in for the next day's report on the workshop. It just gets better and better!

Caio,
Linda