Plein Air Routine

I wake up and look at the light and what kind of day it is going to be.  Based on the weather conditions I decide on what color the under painting will be.  I also take into account where I will paint when deciding what color the under painting will be.  It takes about a half an hour to paint my boards with pumice gel and acrylic paint before I am able to pack them into the trunk of the car.  During the time it takes for them to dry I pack up anything else I need and put on the sun screen.

Here is a list of my gear that I have packed in the trunk of the car:

• I have assorted boards ready to paint on.  I usually have anywhere from 3 to 8 boards in different sizes and colors.
• I have my Heilman large box filled with pastels about 300 sticks.
• My take it easyl easel.
• My large hat and a couple of visors.
• Suntan lotion
• My backpack filled with stuff.  Inside my backpack I have the following:
• pencil and sketchpad
• value markers in four different gray values
• viewfinder
• two wet micro fiber wash clothes
• misc. pastels that I am working into my pallet
• all purpose razor knife
• My camera which I use to record the progress of my work and help define the composition of my painting.

 

 

 

Favorite Places to Paint: Lake Chelan & Stehekin

Favorite Places to Paint: Lake Chelan & Stehekin

Favorite Places to Paint: Stehekin Washington

Crystal Cove

Crystal Cove

Crystal Cove

Work Work Work

Through out my life I have tried to be the best at everything that I thought was important.  If it is worth doing, it is worth doing your best.  The sacrifice and commitment to becoming the best at anything has meant that other things have to go to the wayside.  One of those things that has changed is reading.  The only reading I do now is reading about creating better art.  My book case is not completely converted yet but as it fills with more art books the others will be packed up or given away.

Paint Out with Greg LaRock and Jeff Sewell

I am very excited to be able to attend this paint out.  I really like the location that they have picked for the paint out.  I have painted in this part of Crystal Cove a couple of times.  I am going to take two boards to paint on.  I really look forward to here the criticism because they will invariably tell me something that will improve my painting that I would have otherwise missed.  When ever I recieve criticism while I am in the process of painting, I embrace what I am told and move to make the suggested adjustments without a second thought.

Jeff and Greg painting.

 

 

 

 

Greg and Jeff's Paintings

This is Greg LaRock giving some information about his process for picking his composition and variational themes based on what thought he wanted to express.

This is Greg LaRocks painting.

This is Jeff Sewell's painting.

Rick Delanty

This is Rick Delanty painting.

This is Rick's Painting.

Painters Painting

This paint out had a really nice turn out.  Greg LaRock http://greglarock.com as well as Jeff Sewell http://jefsewellart.com

The quality of the painters was of a high quality.  The LPAPA group was well represented.  Rick Delanty http://delantyfineart.com

Painting Pelican Point

The fog was thick and I had to stare intently on the bluff to pick up any detail or highlights.  I did not want to paint the bluff in the fog because I was not sure how long it would be around until it burned off.

Muscle memory got me to this point without any real effort.  There is less problem solving when painting the same subject in a similar manner.  My whole purpose to plein air painting is to get better.  I have got to push myself beyond the familiar.

Pelican Point Progress

As I look at my painting, I think I need to challenge my compositional variety.  Although this bluff is amazing in its shape  and texture, it is time to look beyond the obvious.



As I find myself painting some of the same landscapes, I find myself painting same way.  It is time to expand all choices and push for something more.

Pelican Point Plein Air

This pastel painting measures 24"X36".  It is painted on masonite with acrylic and pumice gel as an underpainting.  Everyone else was painting with local color.  Maybe it is because I am painting with pastel, that my color is so much different than everyone else that was painting.  We were all looking at the same subject and everyone had a different take on it.  I see the colors and I paint them as I see them.  When I am painting it isn't that I see any differently; it is just my expression of my color feeling.

Evening Clouds

Evening Clouds

Evening Clouds

Evening Clouds

September Clouds

I got a late start but I was determined to paint big clouds.  I drove around to a couple of promising spots but was not feeling the view because of the angle or the obstructions to my view.  It is almost like finding a spot to fish.  This spot although not very scenic, was ideal for a number of reasons.  I was in a parking lot so I did not have to haul all of my gear around.  My set up was much quicker so I could start painting that much faster.  I was in the shade which was nice since it was around 100.  As usual I am painting on a board prepared with acrylic paint and pumice gel.  The board measures 24"X36".

To me this was going to be a painting about clouds.  The composition does not reflect the dominance of the clouds because the hills offered a good balance and sense of the size of the clouds.  I started with the horizon as a reference and then painted the clouds in a gray that is hard to see.  Once I felt good with the relationship between the clouds and the hills I tried to nail the clouds.  It was that time late in the afternoon when the clouds just vanish and blow away.