Shifting Gears: Portrait Painting

Study #2

Lately, I've been working with portrait painting which is something that I've been meaning to do for several years and kept putting it off for one reason or another.  Well, I felt there's no time better than now, because I was becoming frustrated and thus bored with landscape painting.  I just thought it was time to learn something new and different.  Then maybe I'll be able to approach landscapes from a different perspective, pardon the pun. Although at times frustrating, painting portraits have been a fun challenge and the change has done me good, because now when I do think of landscape painting, it's with a fresh excitement.

Charles Reid's books and videos have been a tremendous help to me.  Personally, I think his books and videos are the most concise of all the instruction media I've purchased.  The books I have are:

•  Portrait Painting in Watercolor (Watson-Guptall pub.)  Had this book for many years - knew it would come in handy some day!

• The Natural Way to Paint, Rendering the Figure in Water Simply and Beautifully (Watson-Guptall pub.)  Reid has a section on his method of contour drawing in this book.

• Portraits and Figures in Watercolor (Watson-Guptall pub.)

The Videos I have are:

• Figurative Watercolours  - I view this one the most often.  Also covers contour drawing.

• The Figure in Watercolor

Study #1 below is from my first painting session.  I was so frustrated with how 'stiff' my paintings were as a result of how tightly I was painting.  Of course color is a whole other challenge for me too, but that's another post and the side-view didn't help either.  Then I remembered the 1st book mentioned above that I've had for years.  I began reading it and was so inspired, bought the other books and videos I've listed.What I love about videos is that I can watch them over and over again  - can't do that at a workshop, and it's much cheaper!

Study #1

Without going into boring detail, I'll just say that Charles Reid's books and videos were a revelation for me in that here was someone, a famous artist in fact, actually encouraging contour drawing.  His words jumped off the page as I realized sadly, due to my own insecurities, I had given up this way of drawing some years ago, thinking it was a 'naive' way of drawing. This was just the encouragement I needed to find my own comfort zone within the realm of portrait painting and I couldn't wait to give it a try along with Reid's methods.

Study #2 was done using some of Reid's tips and my old way of drawing and measuring, which is similar to Reid's contour drawing.  I was very pleased with the looseness of it.  Now that's not to say I've been pleased with every painting since then.  Of course there are many times when I go right back to square one, some of my paintings are so awful, I just want to tear them to shreds (and I sometimes do) but I at least know that I'm on the track to achieving looser paintings.  Study #3 below was done last week.

Study #3

I also decided to go bigger with my portraits, which has greatly helped me loosen up and also helped with my paint application, as I use medium to large brushes, mostly mops (the ones I already had for landscape painting) plus a few rounds for starting my paintings.  I incorporate Reid's suggestions too, along with all the other tidbits of knowledge and advise we all pick up from our mentors along the way in our art journey.  I would strongly encourage (and no, I don't get any money for this), if your interested in portrait painting to purchase/check out at your local library any of  Charles Reid's books or DVD's to learn his way of contour drawing if you feel the need to loosen up!

Also, you might consider joining a painting group in your community even if just the thought of doing so terrifies you! Believe me, I was in that boat for too long.  Just know that everyone there has at sometime felt the same way.  Actually, if your already in any art groups (if not, try that too!), there will most likely be someone there you already know.  The main thing is to keep going, really the more you go, the better you'll feel about yourself and your paintings, and the more you'll learn.  If you can't join a group, get a mirror and paint yourself, or someone in your family. 

FYI, Ted Nuttall is another portrait watercolorist whose work I enjoy studying.  YouTube has a couple of his videos you can watch, along with a couple on Charles Reid, just do a search on their site.  Have a good one, and stay cool!

Strange Summer...

This has been an allusive summer for me due to unforeseen events, so my apologies to those faithful followers who are probably wondering if I fell off the face of the earth.

I did manage however, earlier this summer, to paint the plein air picture below.  I  had decided to just strike out on my own and really get into painting, as I love doing this. 

Sometimes when I strike out on a venture,  I tell myself, Okay, no just riding around in circles.  Today, I'll make myself find a spot and paint!!  The fear of utter disgust with myself if I don't live up to this commitment fuels my determination to, like Nike says, 'just do it'.   I found this spot, overlooking quiet pastures with the Ozark hills as a backdrop, one of my favorite scenes to paint.  The short gated drives along roads and highways that farmers use to access their pastures offer a perfect set-up spot, which is what I used for this scene.  Just pulled my car onto the little turn-in, unloaded my gear in front of the gate and began painting.  This way,  I'm not down an isolated road, passers-by can clearly see me, yet my car is completely off the road or highway.   Knowing people are passing by and can see me gives me a sense of security, and because I feel safer, I can concentrate on the task at hand, which is painting of course.

Ozark Hills, near Westfork

I still need to add some of the purple darks to the right foreground and try to 'break up' the strong horizontal darks of the tree line shadows across the middle plane of the painting.   This was a quick study, evident in the brushwork, and my goal is still to get values as near correct as possible without getting caught up in the subject matter, and to capture the mood at that moment in time.  I'm also still struggling with getting my pigments the right strength.  It seems I either pick up too much pigment or not enough, but I think that will come with time and painting.  I've tried both methods of: using dried water colors vs. squeezing fresh pigment.  When using dried watercolors in my palette, even if I keep my wells sprayed with a mister, it just takes too long for me (like waiting on a microwave!) to pick up my pigments when painting outdoors. Squeezing fresh watercolor on top of previously dried pigment works best for me.  Whatever floats your boat, I guess.

Oh, regarding a recent post, I did break down and purchase the Holbein 1000 palette from Art Express and I love it.  I probably would have been satisfied purchasing the next size down, because the 1000 seems a bit much for plein air painting, but this one works fine.  I use the thumb hole when painting on site, which is why I wanted the Holbein, to hold the paints closer to me and my painting surface and even though it's a bit large, it doesn't feel cumbersome, and has plenty of wells/spaces for paint mixing.

Well, I hope I get back to painting soon, and I hope you're painting too.  Remember,  just do it...

Watercolor Palettes - Homee, Holbein, Craig Young (Oh my)

I've spent the last 2 days researching metal folding watercolor palettes for plein air use and have come to the conclusion that what I have currently - a plastic 'Homee' palette which I think I purchased from Art Xpress, is looking better all the time!  I have the 'small' size.  It offers more mixing areas and has a small rubber 'seal' around the edge which keeps my pigments moist and also helps prevent spillage when closed.  The clear plastic mixing area that fits in the lid is removable for cleaning, so the white lid itself it can also be used as an extra mixing area if needed.

However, lately I've been toying with the idea of using a palette I can hold in my hand, as I sometimes feel I can't get to my colors fast enough when painting.  I've tried different ways to position it closer to my board while painting en plein air, but I still tend to 'hit' the easel with my brush a lot when going back and forth between palette and board.  Since my left hand is usually just holding extra brushes, thought I'd try holding a palette in it instead (and could still hold a brush or two/my small mist bottle).  So that would require a palette with either a 'thumb ring' mounted underneath the palette or a thumb hole, neither of which the Homee palette has.

I really like the palette used by Alvaro Castagnet, but after much, much searching to find the maker of this palette, I discovered that it is way out of my piddly little price range, not to mention that the waiting list to get one is months.  It's one of those little jewels that I can only dream of some day owning, if ever.   Craig Young is the maker of these beautiful watercolor palettes, and I literally mean 'maker', as each one is hand-made, signed and numbered, thus the high cost (approx. $400.00 USD for the 'Paint box' model which I like).  They are truly works of art.  You can see them on line at the Paint Box Company.  Drool away...

The following are threads that led me to Craig Young's Watercolor Palette:

Wet Canvas - This Wet Canvas thread is finely where I found it.  At the bottom of the page are images of the long anticipated arrival of an artist's one-of-a-kind Craig Young Palette which had just arrived to his home.  As your scrolling to bottom of page to view images, pause to view an image another artist posted of a Craig Young painting.


Painters Online - Artist 'Harry' describes going to Young's home and workshop to pick up his palette in person.


Well, in my dreams.  If I do purchase a palette, it will probably be Holbein's 1000 series which Art Xpress is offering for a great price of around $72.  A lot of artists seem to like this palette (I think it's what Zbukvic is using in his videos).   Be sure though, if purchasing one, that you get the Holbein brand, as there are some Holbein 'look alikes' out there.

Well I was thinking, there must be some way, since I like my Homee palette just fine for now, to rig something so I can hold it in my left hand while painting.  This is the ceramic artist in me, making one's own tools is part of the fun of being a potter (but I'm always trying to think of ways to 'fix' a problem).  I thought of a small plastic oil/acrylic palette that came with an old paint box I bought at a garage sale a few years ago.  Even though covered with dried up paint, I knew all it needed was a good scraping and it would be good-to-go.  It has the perfect shape - about 5" wide x 10 1/2 " long - perfect to velcro my watercolor palette to!  Using Velcro would enable me to quickly remove it for cleaning, storage, or to use laying flat.



I scraped the paint off and here's what it looks like:
 The thumb hole for this little palette is very comfortable, which is why I saved it. 

Then, I laid my open palette on it to see how it 'felt'.  It felt just fine on my arm, with the paints at the top, just like I prefer.  The lid, or large palette area rests perfectly against the inside of my elbow.  Now, where's that extra black Velcro tape I saved from my last hair-brain project..  then again, that Holbein 1000 sure is purdy...

Finished Snow Scene, Alvaro Castagnet's New Video, Rene Beeldendkunstenaar

I've been a bit busy lately with things other than art, but that should be no excuse for not painting! However, I like to be able to concentrate solely on my art when doing it. I'm now between 'projects' around the house so am anxious to get out and paint.

Below is the finished snow study I last posted, which was unfinished at the time.

I still have a couple of things I feel the need to correct, but for the most part it's complete enough - just need to tone down the moss covered rock in the foreground and add the same color a couple of places elsewhere.  Also the small burnt red 'roof' in the upper-right background is distracting; in hindsight, I should have omitted it all together. Of course it's close enough to the edge of the painting that it can be omitted when framed. Or I could 'lift' it out some with water and add more trees.  Also, there's  a tangent effect going on between the large and tall skinny trees in the left foreground, creating too much tension and drawing my eye away from the focal point (the fallen trees and ravine to the right), but not much I can do about that.  I just placed them too close together to begin with and I should have angled or slanted the smaller tree to the right instead of swinging it back to the left.  Adding a light colored limb with a couple of others at different lengths to the left side of the tall young tree that's in front of the larger tree, I think, would help break that up though.  Anyway....


I recently received Castagnet's new video and really like it.  He gives more detailed info as he's painting in this one it than the last one i.e. specific colors he's using as he's painting.  Yes, I realize that specific color being used is not important and that it's all about warm vs. cool, and value; however, I do think it helps us the viewer 'student' know, especially when working in watercolor, whether that warm or cool color is opaque, semi-transparent, or transparent, and even what brand is being used as brands do differ in color and other characteristics.  I just wish he would occasionally demo something other than paintings with architectural subject matter.  That's just personal preference though, I'm sure that he paints those because that's what he's 'passionate' about.  And I'm still able to glean from the demos what I need in order to learn better technique.  I'm hoping that Zbukvic will do some countryside landscapes on his next video. He probably will as he seems to really enjoy painting them.

There are a couple of artists' blogs I'd like to share with you, but will just mention one for now as I'm short on time at the moment.  His name is Rene Beeldendkunstenaar, located in the Netherlands.  His blog site is  http://painting-pleinair.blogspot.com/ . When checking my blogroll updates,  I can scan like lightening through my RSS feeds and spot his work immediately.  I really admire this man's dedication to plein air, not to mention his paintings.  Rene's paintings truly capture the essence of plein air. My reaction to his paintings is visceral and I relate very strongly to his taste in subject matter. Enjoy, and 'til next time, happy living and creating...(and I'll try to post sooner next time!)

In the Hollow

Looking across the hollow at the fallen trees from last year's ice storm.

I have always loved snow - to take a woodland walk in virgin snow feeds my soul, so I-for-one was glad for the small amount we received.  It's strange how the snows began exactly one year after the devastating ice storm of last year.   A group of small young bucks along with a doe or two have been passing through, proudly strutting their two-point racks, but I've yet to catch them with my camera.

I painted the scene below Thursday morning en plein air. After about an hour, I had to return to the house (which was very close by, just up the slope) to let my feet thaw out and to dry the watercolor paper. It just would not dry in the cold air. Then I returned to the site and finished painting it. I knew it was not a keeper, but was determined to follow through with the experience.  I then returned to the studio, and after seeing that there was no saving such a pitiful painting, pulled up this photo (which I try to always take for reference when painting on site) on my computer monitor.

My view for the painting.

I then flipped over the painting and re-taped it to my gatorboard, and started again.  I was using Sanders Waterford BTW, which personally, I'm not crazy about, although, as some artists claim, it doesn't seem to buckle as much as other brands.  The unfinished result is below.   I'm not after pretty colors and reflections on the snow, but a moody, dark woodsy effect, so I probably could have used even less warm colors and gotten closer to the mood I'm after.  I just kept glazing the background over and over with blues to get the needed value, but now probably need to go a shade darker with the middle-ground, right?  Snow scenes are so easy to mess up in watercolor!

My painting in progress...

So far, I'm pleased with this one, as I think I'm ever-so-slightly getting closer to being able to portray the deep woods the way I want.  Like I did when I painted the pines.  It has been my biggest struggle (or should I say 'goal', as there are way too many struggles to list) since going back to watercolor.

Now, I'm sure your asking, "hey, where's your original plein air so I can compare?"  Well  (conveniently) it's on the reverse side of this painting, taped to the gatorboard!  But believe me, it was bad.  I'll let you know how this second attempt comes out (or maybe not, depending how much I mess this one up).  Here's to learning...

Yep, I've changed my blog background yet again (the pains of being a Gemini). Gone to the dark side, gettin' serious here...

Bill Guffey's Virtual Paintout, Douglas Wiltraut

Just wanted to share a couple of things discovered on-line this morning.

First, a great artist, Douglas Wiltraut, who works in egg tempera, casein, acrylic, and watercolor (I think mainly drybrush). I've really enjoyed this morning visiting his site, soaking in his invaluable knowledge of egg tempera and his process which is extremely detailed, even mentioning what brands of products he uses. I so appreciate artists of his stature who take the time to share their expertise with the world. I also learned reading The Watercolor Artist Magazine article that there's actually a name for the process I use in my watercolors which I discussed in my last post, where I described how I 'prime' an area first with clean water, then add a layer of color and manipulate it and its edges over the previous color. It's called the English watercolor method according to the author. Go figure. I'll be revisiting his site often to see what's new and to learn more from him. The attraction for me to be drawn to artists who work in similar style to my heroes such as Homer and the Wyeths is innate - an unexplainable emotional connection to their work. I so admire these artists. A site worth bookmarking for sure.

The second discovery of the morning is Bill Guffey's (another person I did not previously know) blog and his 'Virtual Paintout' project. What a novel idea! Using Google's virtual map, Guffey (or sometimes his followers?) chooses an area, which can be anywhere in the world I suppose, and artists then zoom in anywhere in that designated area and choose a subject to paint from photos that have been mapped. And Guffey says he's checked with Google to make sure it's legal (read his instructions on right side of page). A great way to connect with others, not to mention greatly add to one's list of painting subjects. Also another way for artists to stay busy during the winter months. Artists then upload their painting to his facebook (or not, if they prefer not to have it on his facebook). I can't say too much about it as I only discovered it about 10 mins. ago and am still reading up on it. So check out this and the Wiltraut site if you're interested. Happy reading...

Peel Mansion, Pratt Place Inn, Plein Aire...

Peel Mansion
Watercolor, 12 1/2" x 9"
S. Waterford, cold press, rough

Well, I finally got around to photographing these paintings. The painting above is the viewpoint I had while participating in the first annual Peel Mansion Paint-out held in Bentonville, AR, (click on 'Peel Mansion' in the archives for details). My original plein air painting was pitiful. But I try not to let that discourage me. I know from what I read by noted plein air artists that I should look at my plein airs as a 'study', to be finished in the studio. That relieves me from the burden of thinking every painting must be finished on site or must be a success. I'm then able to relax and enjoy the painting process and also not even mind if someone is looking over my shoulder, expecting a decent painting (well actually, this still bothers me somewhat), or wants to see my painting after I finish (most of the time I throw them in the car before anyone can see them!). I myself know, that over time and with much much practice, my 'got luckys' will come with more frequency and that it will ultimately take years before I will be doing the majority of my 'keepers' entirely on site. This painting was produced using my sketches and original, plus photo references. Notice the possum in the cage at the lower right. I couldn't resist putting him in (I think I spoke of him in my original post on the Peel Mansion Paint-out). I kept glancing at him the whole time I was painting. Then the groundskeepers came and took him away, hopefully to release him in a new safe location. I think the scale is off on my figure. Need to work on this - it's something I've always had problems with.

Pratt Place Inn
Watercolor, 10" x 13 3/4"
Saunders Waterford,
300 gms (140 lb.) cold press, rough

This was my viewpoint at Pratt Place Inn. As for the 'imaginary' figures I placed in the painting (sorry they're hard to see in this image-I placed them in the furniture on the porch), I think here I was more successful with them being in scale than the Peel Mansion figure. My struggle with this painting was the foreground shadows on the flagstone. I really wanted to capture the dappled sunlight among the shadow area, but after three attempts, I thought I'd give it a rest and try again later. I don't use projectors to sketch my preliminary drawings, so it can be time consuming (at least for me) for an architectural drawing such as this one. Sketching and re-sketching allows me to become more intimate with the subject, while also giving me the opportunity to improve my drawing skills, which is something I feel that one never achieves, much like art in general. As for intimacy, it always amazes me how much sketching refreshes my memory, it puts me 'there' again, as well as sparking new ideas regarding my approach to the painting.

Pratt Place Inn was a fun place to paint. I was immediately intrigued by the old dead tree shown in my painting. Other than its obvious sculptural interest, I thought, this must be one of the original, if not the only, tree left from the time this house was built back in the late l800's. I also wondered what the house itself must have looked like before it was refurbished.

Another subject which I was very interested in was the small cottage on the grounds as one drives up the private drive to the inn. It had a mysterious European quality as it sat half-hidden among the trees that reminded me of all my old Daphne Du Maurier and Victoria Holt Gothic romance novels. I took some reference pics of it for a future painting.

I'll probably attempt this painting again, because I'm not satisfied with it totally (are we ever??), but other painting subjects are piling up so I feel the need to move on for the time being.

Yesterday, PAPO (Plein Air Painters of the Ozarks) painted at West Fork park and can I say IT WAS FREEZING!! I did not dress warm enough and chose to paint by the river's bank, which of course was all the more chilly. I had fun though and really needed the practice of painting rushing water. The wind gusts were threatening to send my painting and easel airborne into the river, so I held it down with my knees as I painted.

There were good subjects to paint - walkers, bluffs, the distant mountains (which seem to have passed their peak with the fall foliage by the way), a bridge, some mini waterfalls on the bluffs, and even a couple of horseback riders paid a visit. They brought back memories of my riding days...aah, the countryside is sure grand. It does a sole good to visit, if only for a short time.

I heard that the Ft. Smith Arts Center's Plein Air Competition was a success. That's good to hear. Plein Air competitions seem to be catching on in the area. I heard there was some really good work produced in the competition. Well, that's all for now, until next time, hang in there, set goals, take care and enjoy your art...

End of Summer Update

This is the longest I've gone between posts since beginning my blog back in January, but I needed a break from my computer, especially from blogging! It's sooo time consuming but it sure has helped me in the discipline department. I've just been enjoying the summer, or what there was of it, considering it was such an unusually rainy and cool one. I've not painted near as much as I planned to - gotta get that in check! I just got back from a visit with my mother who turned 85 and we had a great Bday - just the girls. Mother said it was one of her best birthdays ever.

Roaring River State Park

My husband and I went a few weeks ago over to Roaring River in Missouri. It's a trout hatchery which is fed by an underground spring.







The hatchery was quite fascinating. It would be interesting to take one of the tours which are offered a few times daily, I think. Never saw so many trout!





When the hatchery announces they're releasing fish, people come from all around, lining up along the river trying to catch their dinner. It's almost comical to see; you'd think those poor trout don't stand a chance, but not too many were getting caught compared to how many were released that day, which if I remember correctly, were around
10,000.

Although I only took reference photos that day, it's a good site to paint, as there are plenty of subjects i.e. shallow rapids, people fly fishing with their waders on, families swimming in the sun, and campers at the campsites.

You'll have to look hard to see two waders fly fishing way upstream...

PAPO (Plein Air Painters of the Ozarks) had painted there earlier this summer, but I chose to go with my hubby as he has been wanting to see it for a while but has not had the chance to get away from work. It was a pretty river and would make for a nice fall destination when the leaves are turning (for more info click on the ' Roaring River State Park' title above).

We also finally went on a weekend vacation to Vegas to see two shows: Cirque Du Soleil's Love and Carlos Santana's concert. Both were great and it was good to get away (1st real vacation in years) if only for a weekend.

I've been into pastoral paintings lately, fields, cows, and such. Probably due to reading so much about tonalism and looking at Zbukvic paintings. Anyway, below is a painting I made of a field behind Battlefield Park in Prairie Grove, AR:


I painted the field en plein air but was not satisfied with it. After taking a couple of snapshots of my subject, I attempted it again from my original plein air painting, reference snapshots, memory, and a value sketch. My goal in my landscape paintings is to achieve better atmospheric perspective and tonal (value) relationship/contrast. In the first painting, below, I'm satisfied with the background hills, but not so in the second studio painting. I think I should have made the two hills in the background a little more distinct from each other as I did in the first. Funny, the first one I'm happy with the background; the second one, only happy with the foreground. Good Grief!!



Studio painting I:
Study I: Battlefield 2, Prairie Grove
9 3/4 x 13 1/2,
Arches, 300 lb., cold press

Studio painting II:
Study II: Battlefield 2, Prairie Grove
9 1/2 x 13 1/4,
Watercolor, Sanders Waterford, 140 lb. (300 gms)
cold press, rough




Some cows:

This is another studio painting from photo references. Sometimes I just drive around taking photos of anything I think would be good reference material or has the potential for a good painting. The original photo didn't have the cows in it. I sketched them in from photos taken 'just down the road' from this same location.

Morning, off Goosecreek
watercolor, 9 3/4 x 13 1/2
Arches, 300 lb. cold press


Well, that's all for now. I can't believe it took me half the day just to get this posted, because of the photoshopping of these images, etc. Until next time, happy painting, and I hope to post (and paint) more frequently now that I'm back from my summer hiatus!

War Eagle Paint-Out, another Learning Experience...

Last Wednesday I painted with the PAPO (Plein Air Painters of the Ozarks) at War Eagle Mill. It was a gorgeous day, a cool front had rolled in and the skies were a crisp cerulean blue. The sounds of the falls and waterwheel were refreshing on a mid-summer's day!

The photo above shows my viewpoint. This is the exact spot from where I viewed the mill some 10 years ago and vowed to some day capture it from that bank along War Eagle Creek. I just thought it would make a great spot to paint from, so it was a no-brainer for me upon my arrival to just go ahead and set up there.

As I began my climb over the fallen trunk of a huge tree that had succumbed either to the ice storm (most likely, as it looked recently fallen) or a flash flood, my eyes zoomed in on what I felt sure to be poison ivy creeping across the very spot I needed to cross over. Great. A fellow painter was saying to me as I spied it, "there's a trail that goes around if you don't want to climb over that big trunk." Well, I was anxious to get set up, as I was already running late in getting to the site, so I decided to take my chances. However, I made a point to take the short trail around the suspicious ivy when I returned to my car that day. Needless to say, now I know that I can positively I.D. poison ivy, as I've broken out precisely where it brushed against my hand and ankle. Anyway, back to the fun part...

The below photo shows what I decided to depict in my painting:

It was a beautiful scene I thought, but my painting was pathetic. I need so much practice when it comes to plein air painting (painting period actually). But hey, there are no failures, just learning experiences, right? That is what I tell myself every time I paint out, and believe me, I say it a lot. My perspective on the mill house was off (need to sketch buildings more), my colors were drab, or dead, as Joseph Zbukvic describes it. It was also too high key- not enough tonal range (although I ran out of time before putting in all my 'darks', and had planned to put those in at the studio). However, I made some copies of my photos and plan to do some studies, so when I return maybe these things will have been corrected in my mind and on paper to save time.

As I was painting, I couldn't get over how many people and tourists were arriving at War Eagle Mill on a Wednesday morning. I thought it would be pretty much just us, the painters, but people were coming by the carloads, along with a couple of bikers, just during the couple of hours I was there. It looked like families which included generations - grandparents, kids, and even great grandchildren. The poor guys running 'The Bean Palace' upstairs in the Mill were a bit overwhelmed during lunch. But things settled down after a few minutes and everyone got their plate. I ordered a chef salad and was pleased to see that it wasn't just 'iceberg lettuce' but instead select dark green leaf lettuces, which I enjoyed (picky about my salads!). I mentioned to a painter that I was surprised to see so many folks there during the middle of the week and he asked me if I had seen 'War Eagle, Arkansas' the movie. I said, "No," but after he described it to me, it seemed vaguely familiar. Another said, "That probably explains all the tourists." I hear the movie is getting good reviews.  War Eagle Mill is a beautiful place. If you're ever in the area, you really should check it out.

Even though my painting was not a 'keeper', I enjoyed every minute of it, and that's what it's all about for me, the learning experience and ultimately, the experience itself of painting outdoors. While painting, there's suddenly that realization that comes over me of being in the moment of painting outdoors. The same feeling that I have experienced all my life when in nature. Experiencing nature while painting adds a whole other dimension to painting for me. And even though it's often frustrating, I love the challenge watercolor offers in plein air and honestly, I do learn a lot with every painting, as I'm sure you do too. It's all part of the creative process, don't you think? It would be a huge mistake to think I didn't learn a thing from that experience, which is something I've heard people say before. Well, I'll bet if they really sat down and thought about it, they would find a number of things they DID learn from that experience!

I'm getting a small amount of clay and a new kiln shelf today from Flint Hills, so I really need to get back soon to working with my pottery. Oh, and photos to archive(so what else is new?). 'Til next time, keep on creating and remember, NO FAILURES, just learning experiences...

Painting in the Hollow: The Pines, Zbukvic, and Results from the Cone 6 Glaze Fire

I'm later than usual with my posting, but I wanted to wait 'til I finished and photographed my painting of the Pines in the hollow as I had said I would in my last post. Also wanted to give a report on how my glaze firing went, so here it is:

Painted our pine tree logs that I allowed the 'tree guys' to roll down into a small ravine directly behind the house. Silly me, I was running around after the guys felled the pines hauling them to a place in the back yard to save so that I can later do 'something' with them, what just yet I don't know. And with each one I would pass up, it was as if it were saying 'pick me, I don't want to go!' (I'm weird like that). Well, as it turned out, the guys were having a problem with the city (a place has been designated for disposal of trees from the ice storm damage) accepting the pine lumber (so they said). So I was very content to allow the men to leave all the pine with us. I really did not want those beautiful logs hauled away. Pine breaks down quickly and it just seemed right that they stay here. Oh, and the oak trees? Well, we've got enough fire wood for years to come!

I touched up the pines and added some highlights here and there in the studio.

The Pines, wc, 9 1/8" x 12 7/8"

I was so frustrated with it while painting in the woods, but kept reminding myself of what Joseph Zbukvic says, to 'keep going' when painting your subject outdoors and 'never lose faith' because as soon as you do, you'll fail at your attempt. He is so right! I kept painting, and although I wasn't satisfied, I did feel the painting had some potential. After about an hour, I was getting stiff from sitting on the ground, and also felt I may be getting a tick or two (which I later discovered was true) so I lumbered back to to studio, untaped my painting, threw it around here and there trying to decide what to do with it. Toss it to the done that pile, or keep going? The logs were only partially painted, but that was really the only thing left unfinished, aside from adding a little detail to the foreground trees. I just didn't want to give up on this painting. It held a lot of meaning for me. The hollow represented the final resting place for Daddy's pines. They represent 30 years of our life here, the lives of our girls, our pets, and a constant reminder of my father and his love for nature...nope, it was worth trying to save because as I looked at it, I could feel the emotion I had while painting them. It may not be the greatest painting, but it enabled me to work through the emotional and physical process of losing 'the pines', and hopefully viewers can be reminded of similar things that matter to them also.

Well, unfortunately, I was not so satisfied with my glaze fire. None of my cups turned out like I wanted, as the patterns I slipped on them barely show. The firing also went to cone 7 on the middle shelf and probably on the bottom shelf too (didn't use a witness cone on the bottom). However, that only seemed to compromise the brightness of the blue slip on one of my jars, but it may also be the reason for my slip decoration not showing up on the cups. I really think though, that [the slip doesn't show up] because my glaze application was too thick and my slip was too thin.

But I did have a couple of pieces turn out pretty good, such as the blue and white facetted 'safe jar' seen in this picture. The one in the foreground is the one that the blue slip did not come out on. The blue slip used on the inside however, did fine (fired it with the lid on). I may re-fire this piece later, as I've had success with the blue colors working on re-fires. Don't like to re-fire though. Always afraid the piece will break and create a mess in the kiln. Luckily, this has not yet happened to me. If I do decide to refire, I will only take it to about cone 5.

And my 'grass' cups turned out good:

These are some of my pendants. I'm have fun making them. I love making small clay things because of the portability. I can just sit anywhere and work on them. I carry everything I need around in a little shallow cardboard box and put a small amount of clay in a ziplock bag to keep it moist as it dries out quickly and will lose it 'malleable' texture if exposed to the air too long. I use food freezer paper, the waxed side as my surface to work on (sometimes getting a shape started by using the palm of my hand) as it leaves no marks on the clay. I draw out my patterns 1st on newspaper, then trace them using a felt-tip/sharpy pen on plastic tops of margarine and 'Cool Whip' bowls. These become my templates.

One final note for all you die-hard Joseph Zbukvic fans (like me) out there. He FINALLY got an official website, and also his new video, Watercolour Impressions with Joseph Zbukvic, is now available in the US via The Artists' Place. I bought it and very pleased with it. I could watch that guy paint all day. Maybe, just maybe one of these days I'll be able to take one of his workshops.

Well, that's all for now. I'll be posting again next week on a paint-out. Oh, and I've ordered the Sun-Eden watercolor tripod set. Will let you know what I think of it. I just can't keep lugging that 11 lb. french easel around; and so much wasted space, not to mention it's killing me. My shoulders, back, and knees, Oh my! Now I'll have one less excuse for plein air painting, as every time I'd think about all that weight, I would talk myself out of going somewhere to paint. I also plan on posting about my new macro lens (was my Christmas present from Santa) sometime in the near future. Until, then, happy painting, potting, photographing, or whatever makes you happy!

Watercolor, Pastels

With the winding down of winter and the last bit of snow we had recently, I've wanted to re-visit an idea to paint from a photo of some snow-covered echinaceas that I made last winter.

This is the photo I chose to work from. I had painted them once or twice before, but was unhappy with the results.

The first watercolor I did, I was so disgusted with it that after a few days (battling the saying, keep all your paintings, you can sometimes salvage them or at least have them to learn from or assess your progress), I could stand it no longer and covered it up with gesso. I had tried some maskit on the stems and snow and did not like the results, but then I never do. I have to agree with others that it takes practice and using [maskit] is an art in itself. I think my main mistake was trying to stay too close to the composition of the photo and not using my artist's license to create a more interesting composition (one of the pitfalls of painting from photos). A horizontal format, it had more flowers plus too much detail (same as the photo) in the background, resulting in a very busy painting - not at all the mood I was after. I know you're probably thinking 'why didn't you show us the first painting so we could see for ourselves?' Ha! Too late, already painted over it. Besides, I thought I would spare your eyes and my embarrassment.

I sometimes think about things for a very long time before making my next move. If you read my post about 'artistic thinking', you'll understand me when I say that I've had this on the back burner since the day I took the photo. That would be over a year, maybe longer. So, at times I would think that just a triad (is that the word? I forget my art history sometimes) composition of flowers would be best. I have to work through my thinking/creating process, putting the pieces of my ideas together, before getting to the end result. So that's why I first tried the horizontal format which was similar to the photo. Then I can say okay, been there done that, got it out of my mind, now on to the next step.

I knew then that I needed to return to my early thoughts of focusing on only a few flowers to make a more interesting painting. I made a few rough sketches (in my mind as well), before drawing this detailed pencil sketch on tinted paper.

This time, I did away completely with the background, and only used three flowers, the main one in the center that attracted me in the first place because of its interesting stem shape, and placed the ones on either side to balance the composition and lead the eye up to the center flower and back around to the center stem. And since I was only using three flowers, I changed the format from horizontal to vertical. Just for fun, I added some colored pencil to the sketch.


Here's my second attempt, a watercolor on a quarter sheet of Waterford 140 lb. cold press paper (the flip-side of the gessoed 1st painting). For the background, I chose to abstractly use the colors, wet-in-wet, that were actually there to compliment the warmth of the flowers' stem colors. And oh yes, I tried masking fluid again on this painting, and still was not satisfied with the results. I need to go in and soften up some of the edges of the snow and also some of the stem edges, before I chuck this one to the done that pile.






Snowcones
Pastel, 9.5" x 13"

Here's my third redo, using pastels and I'm much happier with the results. Did this on Fabriano Tiziano drawing/pastel paper, a small sheet approx. 9.5"x 13" with a gray ground, which gave the 'cold and quiet' feel I was after.

Using the blue-gray paper also saved on pastels and time. Pastels are so expensive! I absolutely love the medium, and for a long time have wanted to get into them more, but the investment in the sticks, good grief. And then there's the problem of archiving and framing; guess I need to purchase some glassine - suggestions anyone?

Let me know your experiences with your creative process, and your opinions. Let's have an 'art to art' talk!

Tuesday, I painted in the hollow and am itching as I type this from a couple of tick bites received on that outing. I'll let you know how that went on my next post.

Testing, Throwing, Painting

I've spent the past few days throwing a few cups in order to test my liner glazes. If you're interested in 'how' to test your funtional ware for stability, I would suggest going over to Clayart's potters.org forum or Masteringglazes.com for the detailed how-to's. I have completed the 'freezing/plunging in boiling water' method and so-far-so-good - no crazing!

A word of caution - Be careful when doing any type of 'shock' testing on your ware. Any number of things can happen i.e. popping, shivering (when sharp slivers of glazes literally fall off the clay-body), exploding, or whatever.

Because I consider myself a novice in ceramics, and most certainly a novice in the science of glazing, I don't think I should go into 'details' of how I tested. I would not want, in any way, to be responsible for someone's misinterpretation of my testing procedure (yeah, that's right, I'm chicken - Wuh Oh, this is sounding like the subject of my last post!). Instead, I would encourage anyone interested in the subject to go to the above sites. You can get enough info from the potters.org forum on how to test. And if you need more info, you can always join their listserve and ask for help. Ron Roy is a regular contributor to Clayart's listserve and I see John H.'s posts on there often also. A lot of times potters will specifically ask for Ron or John's help on a technical problem they're having. These 2 guys, as well as the entire listserve community are a sea of information. Have to admit, I quit subscribing to the listserve a few years ago, because I didn't like getting so many e-mails from them, even if only weekly. Once I got the e-mail I felt obligated, or just too curious, to run through it to see if there was anything I may be interested in - one more thing (like the WWW) to get side-tracked by. For me, it is much more convenient to go there for any particular subject I'm interested in. Saves time and uneccessary e-mails/reading. I go to that site for anything and everything concerning a problem/question I may have regarding ceramics.

Also, the potters there mention how the American Society for Testing and Materials ASTM (ASTM C 554-93) suggests testing for thermal shock, which will be my next step. I could not find on their site exactly where they explain the procedure on how to perform this test, but was able to pick up enough info in my Mastering Cone 6 book AND at potters.org to do the test; but I'll perform that test using cups, not test tiles. It involves heating the ware in the oven to a certain degree, then quenching in room temp. water, which is a more rigorous test than the first (again, be sure you research how to do this test before actually doing it and proceed with caution!).

And alas, on painting, just playing around with a mini watercolor (4.5" x 5") of a fallen oak leaf. I really want to get back to painting. Gotta make the time...