Cows en Plein Air moooo...

I've been painting cows lately.  Both paintings were painted en plein air; however, on the second one, I made quite a few adjustments, which I'll go into below.

Study 1:  This was painted on a very bright morning.  I'm not happy with my greens in the trees and the background hills, which were out of my frame view, so I put them in the painting to create more atmospheric perspective. They're are too strong-I should have used a lighter, paler wash to make them recede more.  I'm usually better at painting trees, but when painting plein air, sometimes it's like I forget everything I ever learned up to that point.  I'm just trying to get it down on the paper.  Hopefully, the more I paint outdoors, the more confident  I'll become in getting it down 'right'.  I need to follow Mr. 'Z's (J. Zbukvic) advice and 'have faith' in myself more, that it will turn out right.  My 2 main goals in doing these paintings though are to 1) get better with rendering tonal values, and 2) improve my drawing skills in regard to scale and subjects I'm not familiar with i.e. things other than nature - buildings, cars, people, etc.  And of course to try to render atmosphere and mood in my paintings, but that's a given - don't think I achieved that very well in these paintings.  One thing I did notice immediately, in defense of this pathetic painting, was that this was Fabriano Artistico paper, and felt like it may even be hot-press, which I don't normally paint on, especially in plein air, as it is just too smooth for rendering drybrush to tree trunks, foliage, etc. I have nothing against Artistico paper per say, just not crazy about hot-pressed watercolor paper for plein air painting, or anything that does not require a lot of tiny detail.

Study 2: This was the second attempt at plein air painting these cows, which were enjoying some shade on a very warm and sunny morning.  I had my little dog with me and was painting from a pretty close proximity, so they looked at us fairly often, then would go back to grazing, scratching, or whatever cows do.  They are so much fun to paint!  I like the challenge of their foreshortened bodies and head shapes when standing at different angles and the joined shapes created when grouped together.  This painting had potential in the beginning, but after I got it home, I noticed that my weakness in rendering 'scale' stuck out like a sore thumb as the large cow to the far left was huge (yeah, he was even bigger than he is here in the finished painting).  Then I noticed a couple of other cows who were also too large/small in comparison to the others.  So, knowing that this painting MUST be improved and resolving to the fact that doing so could and probably would go past the point of no return for a watercolor, I began my 'experimental phase' of correcting the cows' sizes and trying to correct tonal values within the shading of the trees and cows themselves.  As a result, this painting is way overworked and not really a keeper, but I like to 'try all options' on a failed painting like this one to experiment on before throwing it in the 'been-there-done-that' heap in hopes that I can learn from it for the next attempt.   And sometimes, I'm actually able to save a painting.  Watercolor paper is just too expensive not to get the most out of my failures (and believe me, I have a lot of those) which turn into learning experiences if I maintain a positive attitude.  And it helps me tremendously, not only in learning how to get my scale and tonal values correct, but in experimenting also with color combinations and brush technique.  Well, I could go on and on with what I learn from doing this.  I'm just hoping that somewhere down the road of watercolor, the 'experimental' heap is gradually overshadowed by the 'keepers'.  For now, I'm just having fun painting cows...

A quick note to say that I finally was able to adjust the strap on my 'Packer' by Guerilla. It took a good wrestling with it though before I could force it through the adjustment loop but I managed, so thought I'd put in that word since I complained about it when first purchased.

I've been so busy working in my yard the past couple of weeks that I've not spent much time painting. I did however, paint the 2 paintings below en plein air early one morning of the hollow:

Study 1: Sunrise in the Hollow

Study 2: Sunrise in the Hollow

I was pleased with these two paintings for several reasons:

• I have really been striving to be consciously aware, while painting, of what Joseph Zbukvic refers to as 'visual language', otherwise I get too caught up in 'technicalities' and lose focus of what it is that I'm trying to capture in the first place which is mainly the mood of the scene. I feel I succeeded in capturing the mood of the hollow as I viewed it that morning. And this was accomplished I think, because I was able to capture the atmosphere as I explain below.
  

• I was able to paint them without the struggles that I usually have when plein air painting and I think it shows that I enjoyed the process.

• I was able to make use my new tripod easel without frustration. Just my second time to use it but I'm getting familiar with it.

• This is HUGE for me: I think I was able to capture the atmosphere of the woods (thus creating the mood) which is so hard for me when working in a woodland setting. I've been struggling with this goal [of atmosphere in] painting a woodland 'landscape' of the hollow for a long time, several years off and on, not just of a single tree, or small group of plants, but a true landscape scene. This can be daunting, because in the deep woods there's not the obvious common backdrops to use as reference for atmospheric perspective. No distant hills, mountains, fields, etc. All I have to work with are layers of the same objects - not too distant foliage and trees with sometimes a touch of sky. So I have to rely on color choice - cool vs. warm, soft and hard edges, texture, and all the other 'tricks' of artistic license to create depth all while trying to be decisive about each brush stroke as I near the end - watercolor doesn't wait. That's what I love about the medium. It forces me to think on the fly, make a judicial move - just do it!

I only had to make one little correction (of course you may think I need more) and that was with the first study. After I got it in the studio and stuck it on the wall as I always do to catch any mistakes, right off the bat I noticed I had slapped a very dark limb smack in the middle of the painting. I pulled it out carefully with a barely dampened brush, dabbing with tissue after each stroke, and replaced it with the more of the 'blue' that was just beneath it to add more of that initial [blue] color placement.

The first painting has a 'softer' look to it that the second. That's because the paper was not as rough as the paper used in the second study. It creates a different mood than the second; however, I like doing plein air paintings on a rougher paper because you can get that 'sparkle' as your brush skims across it, imitating sunlight.

The best thing about these plein air paintings was that I did it from the comfort of my back yard, no worries about copperheads, deer ticks, mosquitoes, or chiggers. It was wonderful! I plan on doing many more this summer from various spots in the yard. Overall, I'm pleased with the results of these paintings mainly because my goals were accomplished, but to each his own. I'm never completely satisfied with my paintings, or any art that I do. I can always find something that could have been executed better. Comments or questions are welcomed. Until next time, happy painting, potting, gardening, or whatever...

Thoughts on Popularity of Plein Air, Updates posted (by others) on Peel Mansion Paint-out, Goals, Sun-Eden Watercolor Tripod

Well, unfortunately I never made it to Phoenix as I was not yet over my illness, but now am better and ready to re-group and get back to work. Was so sorry not to make it to my great-niece's graduation, but was able to talk to her that night and sounds like everyone had a great time. Hope you had a nice Memorial Day weekend. The weather was rainy here. My hubby finally got to grill his steaks yesterday but it started raining on him again just as he was finishing up. Umm, they were delish!

As for an update on the Peel Mansion Paint-out, I've posted a couple of links in the column on the left side of this blog under 'Recent and Upcoming Events in Arkansas' regarding how it went. Looks like it was very successful and I'm so happy as that means it will surely become an annual event. Hopefully, Heart of American Artists' Assoc. (founded by John Lasater and Todd Williams) and Peel Mansion have started the ball rolling as far as getting other organizations interested in sponsoring plein air events.

I don't know if it's just that I'm so aware of everything 'Plein Aire', but am I wrong in feeling lately that in the U.S., and maybe worldwide, Plein Air painting may be experiencing a renaissance similar to what happened with the popularity of gardening over the last 10-20 years? I know personally, I started my fascination with plein air back in the late '70's, but there was no internet to search the subject. Also, I was busy working and mothering at the time so my only connection to the art world was via books. But there weren't many on Plein Air painting like there are today, and certainly not the number of videos currently being made! Anyway, if it's truly going through a 'rebirth' I'm thrilled. I do feel that, as in gardening's comeback, it can be related to one's desire to get back in touch with our earth and with nature, especially in such times as being so disconnected due to technology, with global warming, and from a strictly artistic POV, that our greatest teacher is Mother Nature herself. What's your take on this thought?

I received my new Sun-Eden easel and I can't wait to try it out! The one I purchased was the 'Heavy-duty Plein Air Tripod'. I was concerned about the 'travel adaptor' (the part that holds your canvas/watercolor board) being plastic; not to worry, it seems strong enough to hold up even to pretty windy conditions. I am concerned though about the tripod. It's a bit bulky when folded up and at first I could have sworn it was heavier than my old tripod. But I went back and re-read the specs on both and even weighed each one on my postal scale and sure enough, the Sun-Eden tripod is slightly (every ounce is being counted!) lighter than my old one. I guess, because of it's bulkiness when folded, it visually appears heavier. Anyway, the bulkiness makes it a bit cumbersome so I'll just have to see. The plastic tray that holds one's palette, etc. is very nice too. I'll give an update on it after I use it.

My goals for this week:

• Do some plein air painting with my new easel!

• Prepare some pots for glazing; I've ordered some more ^6 'Buff' clay from Flint Hills Clay works.
  

• I want to make some changes to my website i.e. colors, etc.

• I've made a new goal to dedicate the equivalent of at least one hour a DAY in my yard / gardens. It's the only way I'm ever going to get my yard looking half-way decent or the way it should!

• Although it's very time consuming, and I probably won't get the time to do it (such negativity, I should strike this!), I want to make a new 'winter to spring' video to replace the 'March' one for my blog.
  

Until my next post, happy painting, gardening, photographing, or whatever!

Are You an 'Artistic' Thinker?

This is a question that I ponder often because I'm intrigued by the subject. I am reminded sometimes, when experiencing something, that I'm processing the information in an 'artistic' way. And that's where I feel there's more to the meaning of the word 'art' than just aesthetics, 'creating', or the various definitions offered for art. However, I realize I'm certainly not the first to think this as I'm sure there are many other artists who share this thought regarding art.

There is a famous quote by Andrew Wyeth, "...I do more painting when I'm not painting. It's in the subconscious",. Joseph Zbukvic says in his book Mastering Atmosphere & Mood in Watercolor, "you start painting the moment you look at the subject, not with the first brushstroke." Do you think art more than you actually do it? I know I do! That's why I was excited to read these quotes, especially Wyeth's. I've come to realize in recent years that not all people think this way, and personally feel it's part of an artist's personality, literally the way an artist processes his/her thoughts.

I think art is an innate makeup of the human species, but for artists, they are just 'wired' differently. They see and translate the world around them with a deep desire to validate (perhaps, at least for me, enhanced by aging/mortality) what they've experienced. They may or may not (as in Wyeth's quote above) actually 'leave a mark' via some form of creative outlet. In other words, I think artists process life experiences differently than non-artists. But I do think we ALL have art inside us, in varying degrees, it's just hasn't been tapped into as deeply by some as by artists, because they have this desire to 'search' for answers or to validate their experiences. This, to me, is what makes art so exciting, and creates such diverse reactions among those that view or experience it. Take my husband for instance, he'll be the first to tell you he has no desire what-so-ever to create art, nor to do anything creative artistically, and he certainly does not 'think' artistically (opposites do attract!) . However, he does appreciate some genre of art, but no, he makes no claims to being an 'artist', or even 'art-minded'.

So, are you an artistic thinker? Let's have an 'Art to Art' talk! Even if you, like my husband, don't 'think' artistically, let's hear your take on the subject! Have you ever thought about how you process the world around you? This inquiring [artistic] mind wants to know!