Pre-summer plein air sketches

  Despite quite a few days of dreary weather, summer is definitely on its way.  I have been exploring the usual local plein-air spots between arrivals of tourists and rain squalls.  For much of my sketching I use small panels, usually 9x12 in size.  These fair well in the wind and can be become records of what I see in less than two hours, the interval beyond which the light threatens to change too radically.  Lately, most of the panels are made from luhan board with linen glued to it, primed often with acrylic gesso or occasionally are oil-primed.  The resultant surface is tough enough to take the rigors of scraping with a palette knife.  The paintings shown here are exceptions to the usual panel supports.

Belleville Pond (No.2), Oil on Canvas, 10x10

 The painting shown on the left is from one of my favorite painting areas at Ryan Park, North Kingstown.  It was a  moody day with a pervading violet and soft color.  The waterlilies are an additional attraction and one must be careful not to launch into doing them too soon.  There are two types of blossom at the pond: the usual white waterlily and a yellow bloom that appears on a stem that keeps it above the pond water.

Storm Surf, Oil on Linen, 11x14

   Next, of course, for the Rhode Island plein-air enthusiast are the beaches.  This one, on the left, is a sketch of Scarborough Beach.  The painting was sketched in only a few days ago -- Saturday, a day for which a recent storm churned up the water.  The red flag indicates a warning to potential bathers.  (when the lifeguards left, people actually ventured into the riotous surf!)  A day of changeable light.  I thought of one of my teachers, Ted Jacobs, who warned us to take two canvasses to paint with--one for the sunny condition and one for the cloudy day.  Unfortunately,  I had only one, but the local color registered wonderfully.

Narragansett Beach Afternoon, Oil on Linen, 14x18

And who can resist painting at beautiful Narragansett Beach, particularly at the" artist hour" (i.e., whenever beach parking is free)?  Again, this is merely a sketch and needs some improvement before it deserves a frame, but I paid close attention to the values and color choices here.  The view was one of looking north towards the Dunes Club.  This was a little larger than I usually work outdoors, but the conditions , including the wind, were favorable.

I am preparing to carry along my Gloucester easel which will greatly assist me in painting the larger outdoor work I hope to accomplish during July and August.

Transition into New England Plein Air

This portrait study represents the last in a series I had been painting at Kate Huntington's weekly portrait sessions.    Due to problems with the availability of studio space there will be a hiatus in this activity at least until next September.  These sessions not only keep up portraiture skills for those of us interested in portraying people, but provide mutual encouragement and (unofficial) critiques from fellow artists.  To me they also allow me to continue development of  my painting skills while awaiting the more acceptable outdoor painting weather.  yes, perhaps this season I was a little soft on myself.  An outdoor painter must not develop the bad habit of being too comfortable outside!

          I had gone off to Florida in April to participate in Bradenton's Paint the Town 2013.  Every day  except perhaps one or two of my two-week stay there was a painter-friendly day.  It is understandable why there are so many good outdoor painters there; they can get plenty of practice -- and practice is the key to honing our skills!

The Rites of Spring, Oil on Linen, 6x20

When the lily pads started to appear in a nearby pond (North Kingstown, RI), I faced the challenge of painting them including some turtles who perched themselves on fallen branches.  The presence of the turtles and yellow pond blossoms inspired the title "The Rites of Spring".








                   At the same pond, I took an old painting, an 8x10 done on linen to paint over.  These "used panels" are great for experimentation or trying different beginnings to an old theme.  I recalled a lesson from Charles Gruppe in which he would layer a canvas in ultramarine blue, raw umber and white-- so that the mixture , heavy with white, was really an off-white with tone.  Using the same mixture, but with little if any white, I outlined the basic forms with a small filbert (no.4).  Next, I attacked each outlined area with pure palette-knife work, resulting in a heavy impasto.  Here is the canvas as I brought it from the pond:

By the Pond, Oil on Linen, 8x10

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

           The painting was really fun to do, but (in general) I prefer more definition in my work.  A previous outing in Wickford gave me practice in portraying the scene more realistically:

Wickford Waterway, Oil on Canvas, 8x10

 

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    For the latest work in oils I painted near the train trestle at Arnold's Neck in Warwick, RI.  I had painted the trestle before but what attracted me this time was the serenity of low tide at this intimate cove beloved by shore birds, especially the snowy egrets .

By the Trestle

Pre-Spring Activity

    Approaching springtime in coastal New England is hardly ever a "smooth transition" for a plein-air painter.  Although we are within six or seven days of the official date for spring, there is the wintery chill enhanced by a brisk wind that encourages the painter to forage among his images -- painted or not.  These older images bring with them the memory of more blissful than blustery times outdoors.  The "Play of Light"  (painting below) is the result of one such reminiscence as well as an homage to the great seascape painter Frederick Waugh.

The Play of Light, 12x12, Oil on Board

My apologies to the memory of that great painter who would never carelessly spill his ocean off to the right!   In actuality , the horizon in the painting is level, but the photographer of the painting (me) was a bit askew.

                 Another benefit of being driven indoors for a painterly experience is the opportunity to develop portrait skills.  The last session at that weekly portrait session run by that outstanding Copley Society Artist Kate Huntington employed an interesting model.   Interesting features surrounding a model are always a mixed blessing.  They arouse interest in the artist who struggles for a likeness, but also distract the artist from paying attention to essential aspects of the portrait as a painting.  In short, the artist is tempted to spend too much time on these fancies and not enough in the evolution of his corrections -- of drawing, value and color!
The portrait below, then, can be considered as only a sketch and one in which I show my yielding to these blasted yet wonderful distractions.

Monday Portrait, 14x18, Oil on Linen,

                                                  
    The distractions which I found fascinating in themselves were the textural and colorful ones arising from the patch in her hair, the full-bodied hair itself, and the crimson scarf -- each of which would require more time to develop in a realistic manner.

  Finally, I did manage to run out one sunny afternoon to a local beach and sketch the scene below:

Shores of Goddard Park, 6x6, Oil on Board

                                           

More Winter Work

  In January I had visited the North Kingstown Library which has stunning views of Wickford as seen from the lower level of the building.  Looking out one of these windows I could see an old familiar rock, a favorite of many waterfowl, and, beyond the rock, the buildings of Wickford.  I couldn't resist taking out my small set of "traveling" pastels and jotting down the colorful scene before me.  The sun was offering frontal light in the late afternoon, a time which on a sunny day offers more mellow tones.  When I reached home I quickly sketched the scene in oils:

Wickford, From the Back, Oil on Canvas, 11x14     

 
  The scene was an especially charming one due to a recent snowfall.
 
  But after the most recent snowfall -- what has become known as the Blizzard of 2013-- I drove to Goddard Park which has a collection of old trees and sketched this one directly:

Late Morning Trees (Goddard Park), Oil on Linen, 9x12

 

 

 

 

                               I put a frame on the sketch and it is now part of a show of my recent works hanging at the East Greenwich Free Library on Peirce Street, East Greenwich.

         Part of  "Winter Work" is going over old paintings, correcting them, perhaps heightening their effects in color and tone, making them more stimulating to look at.  Winter work also includes going over some photos I had taken over the last year or so.  I found one of my favorite spot, Beavertail, and worked the theme, which includes the Lighthouse in the Impressionist manner here:

Beavertail Light, Oil on Linen, 9x12

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

       
         But such a painting is a rare occurrence for me since I love to work en plein air!

        Winter work will continue on Saturday, 2 to 4 PM, when I perform a Portrait Demo at Galeria United at 200 Main Street in Pawtucket.  Please come by and enjoy the fun!  Galeria United also displays several of my seascape paintings.
      

Winter Practice -- January

  January has so far been a fickle month, a usual state of the climate here in New England.  A few days have allowed this plein-air painter to at least sketch a scene briefly and work on the "rough draft" back in the studio.  Here is a photo I took at low tide in Apponaug, RI:

Photo taken at Low Tide

  Several days earlier I had stopped at the site with my oil set-up and painted a rough picture which I later touched up in the studio:

Low Tide, Apponaug , O/C 12x16

  The motivation behind the painting -- besides this outdoor painter spending too many days indoors!-- is the range of color, the brightness, the reflections in the muddy foreground, a painter's delight.

   Another photo I took was of Wheeler State Beach last week:

 The beach is still recovering from Hurricane Sandy and it is a favorite summer painting site for me during the waning light of day.  My memory of beautiful late afternoons spent at Wheeler as well as this reference photo helped yo create a "virtual" plein-air state of mind.  The result is the 14x18  oil shown here:

Wheeler Beach Afternoon, O/C, 14x18.

                                             

Transitioning to Winter Ops

Smithfield Orchard, O/C, 12x16

Fall is one of my favorite seasons since , in the early part of the season, there are numerous comfortable and luminous days that beckon the plein-air painter.  The painting on the left was an effort to capture the feel of the orchard in early-to-mid September.  I had originally painted a large tractor with an apple gatherer attached, but the painting then defeated my intention; it became the portrait of the tractor.  So now you see the rock grouping which has its place in the rocky New England soil.  The rocks become merely several of the denizens of the space with as much right to be there as the apple trees themselves
    One of the challenges associated with this painting was the fickle nature of the light.  It started out a cloudy day, but with frequent interruptions of sunshine.  One of my teachers (Ted Jacobs) had warned me to take two canvases out to paint a single scene.  The first canvas upon which you begin your painting can be set aside for the second if the light changes significantly.  If you persist with the same canvas, you risk making the contrasts too feeble -- or (and this is what I had attempted) you can use memory to freeze the scene mentally and proceed to paint.  

An Old Dutch Port, Oil on Linen, 11x14

And as the days become more frequently uncongenial to those of us who are spoiled by modern comforts, there is opportunity to exercise
studio skills.  The painting on the left is an example of this.  I used an old (circa 1930) photo reference and some memories of my painting harbor scenes to pull this one off from the comfort of my studio seat.  The painting was done in two sessions of probably two hours each.  During the first session I pretended that I was out at the scene and began in typical plein-air fashion (blocking-in, etc.).  The second session at the easel began with a certain amount of "oiling out",using a small amount of retouch varnish.  This brought up the colors that were beginning to sink in and enabled me to treat only those sections which I felt needed correction/emphasis/de-emphasis.  While I was pleased with the result of these studio efforts, it does not compare with the joy experienced in the experience -- of being there to register in the mind and soul the subtle hue saturations, contrasts, and surprises of nature.  Incidentally, this painting now hangs at Galeria United (200 Main Street, Pawtucket, Rhode Island) which has a Grand Opening on December 12 at 5 PM. (Who can forget the date, 12/12/12?)

Jessica, O/C, 14x18

   Also, I have been more active in portraiture as the days darken early .  At left is the most recent portrait I painted at Kate Huntington's Studio.  Again this represents an effort completed in under three hours and so finish is, as usual, lacking.  It is always inspiring to paint a model like Jessica whose hair cascaded in curls and twists, picking up highlights and darker accents as well.  In addition, she wore an interesting fur hat which offered a variety in texture. I simplified the background considerably, biasing its colors to agree with the hues and tonality of the model's flesh tones.
  Of course, when there is no live model available for a portrait , then I resort to still life which can still exercise those seven principles that C.W. Mundy talks about: drawing , value, color, edges, design, composition, and paint handling! 

Plein Air and Portrait

Wickford Front Yards, Oil on Canvas, 16x20"

In between the rain storms, a plein-air painter is able to tackle more complicated scenes such as this one painted from a viewpoint afforded by a seafood shop.  It was an afternoon with uncertain light, but the scene before had actual elements in place that drew attention to the tranquil scene.  First, of course the dinghy, moored where it was.  Such an element is not only inviting, but assists in adding dimensionality to a scene containing distant horizontal elements.  Note the presence of verticals that help here: the pilings supporting the dock, the tall trees, and the (lucky) appearance of the sail returning at the end of day.  This October painting was also blessed with some accents of autumnal color.

Becca, Oil on Canvas, 14x18"

 I paint portraits not only because I enjoy doing so, but also because they exercise many skills that are necessary for all painting, whether still life, landscape, or seascape.  Again, the process of painting a model in under three hours is akin to plein-air efforts in that (1) there is a time limitation, (2) subtle changes in the model must be detected before corrections can be applied, and (3) The value structure and preliminary block-in stages are very important.  The major differences in approaching the subjects of landscape and portraiture are the following (1)  The portrait demands for its completion a good likeness of the model whereas the landscape is more forgiving on that score to the artist, (2)  adherence to the nature (hue and temperature) of skin tones in shadow and light is required both to aid likeness as well as help convey the mood of the model , whereas in landscape these elements may be "designed in" to convey mood.  I find both landscape and portraiture, however, demand strong drawing skills -- at least for the representational lean of my own work.  Personally, I find both landscape and portrait wonderful exercises in the management of color and tone.  So the painting of a three-hour portrait can be likened to an etude on the piano, keeping the color and tonal senses sharp!  My thanks to artist Kate Huntington for hosting portrait and figure sessions on Monday and Wednesday nights in Providence!