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...

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...