Plein Air - Magnolias

Following the State Forrest adventure, I headed into Williamstown after seeing a picture a friend took of a Magnolia tree by a small brook.  It looked so lush.  After finding out the secret location, I packed up the car and headed out shortly before 1pm.  

Armed with deet (because this was in high grass) I set up underneath a very high in the sky sun and got to work.  Note to self *start paying attention to the sun more in relation to where you set up because it moved from behind my easel to shining directly on it.  I was blinded by the light within an hour.  Everything got washed out and looked light blue.  I'm not ready to get an umbrella - no way - not yet. A nice woman from a local paper snapped some pics of me working.   

I had to leave after two hours because of blindness.  when I got home and propped the picture up, I was not pleased.  I hadn't realized how off my colors were in the bright sun. I tried to tweak it that night, but got nowhere.  very frustrated with it.  hardest thing I've tried to paint in a while.  seriously.

Two days later I was back, slightly earlier in the day, and determined to get it right.  

I didn't spend enough time working out the drawing/composition initially, so I had to re-do quite a bit of what I had done previously.  Plus my color choices were piss-poor.  but I stood there and got as much in as I could before snapping a couple pics and bringing it home to the studio for finishing.

Even at home, I spent a lot of time trying to get this to look right (or at least better). 

Very strong sun on half of my body for 2+ hours left me a nice shade of red, but eventually turned to tan.

Plein Air Adventures - Looking West

Equipped with my new table saw to make panels, new colors and rigged easel, I have been trekking around the Berkshires looking for places to paint.  (well, looking for interesting elements to put into paintings at least)  I'm not trying to copy what I see - instead I'm taking it all in, choosing the parts that I want to include, then arranging it into a composition.

This trip was to the lookout at the Pittsfield State Forrest - looking west into New York state - the little lights in the top left are Chatham (I think)  This was a two part painting.  The first trip out was extremely windy and all I could get was a quick sketch on the canvas. This picture is only 15x15 so it was like a sail.

With one hand on my sturdy easel, and the other holding a brush, I sketched out my composition using Cobalt Violet (thanks Stape) before eventually being blown over.  I snapped a couple pics before I left because the light was gorgeous.

Never-the-less, the light changed so fast and dramatically (as sunsets will do) that I only had about half an hour to get the sketch done.  end of day 1.

Two days later I went back.  I had written down the time that I was there, so I planned to get there an hour and a half earlier to get set up and cracking.  It was cold.  A few people came by now and again, and they only lasted about 5-10 minutes before getting back in their cars.  It took me a bit to get the canvas covered, but once it was, I was able to really start shaping/describing with color what I was perceiving.  I was in the zone.  I worked solid until about just before the sun dipped below the horizon. all in all, I was there for just over two hours.

The trick is to pick your "time of day" and stick with it - even as the light changes.

I also snapped this picture in the middle of working to show that shadows are indeed cool (in sunlight)

Table Saw

I bought a table saw finally!  Buying stretcher bars gets expensive, plus I want to start painting on panels when I go outside.

Now I am in production mode creating panels for my Plein Air painting trips.

I bought a $120 Ryobi- it does the job.  I bought a 4'x8' sheet of 1/8" masonite and cut twelve 16"x20 panels plus a few odd sizes.  I oil primed all of them (3 coats with a roller).  I then cut 2 of the panels in half to make a few 10"x 16"

This saved me a bunch of time by preparing them all at once.  I can also build my own stretcher frames too!

How to Rig a French Easel for Working Outside

Last year I bought a French Easel for $50 bucks - the same one with a "brand" name costs three times as much.  It does what it needs to do and I have taken it out in the field about a dozen times.  The first few outings were disastrous because the legs would collapse in the middle of me working. The last straw was when it collapsed right after I set up and the fall broke my turpentine jar.  Needless to say, I was forced to go home early. 

The problem is that most of the appendages and bars have a little bolt you hand tighten to keep it in place, but it never stays tight enough and they slip.  So I drilled holes in the legs and slid a nail through so they cannot collapse. The holes are a hair larger than the nails, so the fit is easy, and they go in and out smoothly.   The nails are 2" so they hang out the other side.  I keep a bunch inside the easel, and in my bag when I go out, so I don't worry if I loose one or misplace one.

 I did this on each leg - just above the extension of the slide out leg. This way the easel is "locked" in its most open position.

This works perfectly. 

It is very stable -

This picture is of my first day out painting this season.  Woods Pond in Lenox. 

Spring Happens

My painting "Marla" got juried in and will be on display as part of the O Solo Mama Mia Festival. This will be the first time this painting has been on display.  I wish I could get a good frame for it in time.  I think it would look x-tra sharp. I'll poke around and see...

I also put the finishing touches on the Caravaggio study I did called "Tattooed Jesus"- and a nice coat of varnish over the top.

I have another opportunity coming up next month as part of a group show.  I have to determine what I want to put in. I think a landscape might be in order, so I should get out there and get painting soon. 

I did an inventory of what I have for paints/brushes/canvas today.  Need to replenish a few colors for my Plein Air adventures.  I'll post a pic of how I rigged my easel so it doesn't collapse in the wind, and what I will be taking with me outdoors to paint. This year I'll take some pics out in the field too.

Caravaggio Study

 

I have been studying and reading quite a bit about Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, or as he is more simply known: Caravaggio.

I wanted to learn about his painting techniques in particular.  I have heard many rumors about this; he never made a preparatory drawing; he worked directly on the canvas; he used mirrors or camera obscura. whatever.  no one will know.  He has been dead for 411 years.  my job is too try and learn how he did it in paint.

I was able to deduce his palette: mostly earth tones (they were the most available) like yellow ochre, raw and burnt sienna, ivory black and lead white (but I use titanium). He also used intense reds too.

Supposedly he toned his canvas with a mid-deep pigment.  I chose burnt sienna.  one coat.  This was painted on linen too (my first time using it- I didn't stretch it as tight as I could have...)  a very smooth surface.*

The secret: tie for first: excellent drawing skills and superb composition. Then: hit your whites first and build your glazes off this.  let the canvas color (burnt sienna in my case) fill in your midtones for you and then layer in the shadows slowly and let the canvas color come through.  When you have areas settled (you are sure of the placements) hit the darks and lights again and define your volumes.

After I was working this up for a bit, I was thinking about the narrative I was creating, and it seemed like the 'wise men' in my canvas were oblivious to the dominant Jesus above them.  He also looks a bit distraught in my version.  I started to think what it would be like if he were incarcerated in a modern prison, and given a tattoo.  I decided on a solid black cross. only fitting. It made him look more human and less like a super man.  also more a bit more bad ass and a little like a thug. I REALLY like this idea of adding tattoos and will explore it further. I am thinking about giving him a few more- need to do some research on symbols...

I will go back into this and glaze it more.  I want to give it a more "jeweled" tone that can only be achieved through glazing.

(R)evolve

Thanks to everyone who read the step x step posts.  I got some great feedback.  I'll try to do it again some time soon.  "Autumn" is finished and you can see it here.

I thought it would be fun to show an evolution.  This one is 4 years in the making.  The above image was "finished" today - it measures 12x24"  but it is a re-paint of a much older painting.

If you click on the image you can get a better view of it.  But the real reason you should look at it is because of the texture on it.

Texture?  The texture on there is made up of about 5 layers of thick latex paint from 2007 when I was "spinning" canvases.  I built a steel rig out of the "free wheel" gear off a 10 speed bike and would bolt a 4' canvas to it and spin it like mad while dripping paint on it from above.  It was fun.  they would look like this:

 

After doing this kind of thing for a few months I decided to become a more "serious" painter and start using oils- and stop spinning canvas.

When I moved into my new studio, fresh canvas was hard to find, and I had all of these spinners stretched and doing nothing. 

* So I scavenged them *

I kept 4 of the better ones, but took the others off the stretchers and used them for my first forays into oil painting.  I cut up the lame ones and stuck them over new stretcher bars, gessoed them up, and started painting.

I took an orbital sander to them to try to knock down the texture, but it was serious stuff...  and I didn't want to go through the canvas.  besides. it was practice.

Needless to say I found one of them the other day.  And I painted over it AGAIN!

Fortunately (or unfortunately) I had a picture of what it used to look like.  I put all 3 images next to each other so you can see what I mean. It is all on the same canvas...

The middle face was painted very early in 2008 just as I was getting into painting.  I was happy with this at the time. I remember I spent some time trying to get it to come out...

Long story short.  I was cleaning out the studio the other day, found it, popped it on the easel and re-did it.  I had to rummage around a bit to find the source photo I had used.
I gave it a little Caravaggio treatment and pushed the black.  I suppressed my colors and kept it basic to focus on form.

Ivory White, Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna and Ivory Black
- what a difference a few years make...