the tools of the painter

9x18 pastel and watercolor on Uart
When you think about it you really only have 3 tools at your disposal: color (chroma included), value and edge. Wait I am getting a little ahead of myself. Let me back up.
Your first decision is always, Why are you painting this painting? Then, what is the diva? (the focal point) When you know, then you have to make a design the places the diva in a sweet spot. I use the rule of thirds, an off shoot from the golden mean. Therefore when I make my notan I usually mark the paper in thirds. With my design decided, I am ready for the watercolor.
I try to set up the value structure in watercolor since it is imperative to have that rock solid. But not until I use pastel do I really start manipulating color and edge.  I have been concentrating on keeping my edges and color most strong in my focal point, losing attention and focus as the eye wanders out. Also I am trying hard to keep my lightest light value 9 and my darkest value at about 5. Remember Sanford Gifford. And also remember dark is absence of light...and I want light.
I do realize that this painting is not a true success. But it was my first attempt at painting a real Olympic Peninsula subject. This is the place you find the sea stacks, thick fog and tidal pools at low tide. Fog is thicker here. Most days it never really burns off completely at the beach. This fog has a special name even. It's  called "the marine."

Oh, by the way if anything I said doesn't make sense, feel free to ask me to explain more.

Here is just a little snippet  of the treasures in the tidal pools.

Thank you to everyone for all the lovely comments and emails I have been receiving while I have been on my trip.  I will try to get back to everyone as soon as possible....but since I do not always have internet access I may be slow...but I am not ignoring you;-)

fields, vampires and the Olympic Peninsula

So now I am on the Olympic Peninsula. Hard to believe by the painting, eh? The fact is I am overwhelmed by the differences in the beauty here. The light, the fog, the gigantic trees towering above; I didn't feel connected to it in a way that I could paint. Yet. So after a hike on the Hoh River trail I saw a field. Love at first site. I am a sucker for a field. I KNOW I need to be connected to my subject.

The goal in this was to paint only the negative spaces and let that tell the story for the positive. To explain more fully, I will use the tree as an example. I underpainted a gray violet dark up there. Next I used blue grays and slightly neutralized golds to make the shapes that carved out the tree. Later I added more light bouncing off in the form of blue, purple and green-gray.

Yes, that's me.

On another note entirely...when I made my reservations for this area I thought I chose an "out of the way place." No big hotels- only a few tiny places interspersed in fog. Much to my chagrin I noticed these signs when turning to drive down the dead end road to my place. After talking with the owner of the B&;B I learned that the movie Twilight was made here and that people are just vampire crazy. I have never seen the movie, but I am learning a lot about it just being here. People actually want to feel part the fictional vampire/werewolf story and do it by coming to the area of Forks and La Push. Just because of the movie. It's amazing how movies and books can affect our thoughts.

last one from downey road

 

9x12 I think) pastel/watercolor on Uart

Before I left for the Olympic Peninsula I had to go to Downey Road once last time. It was beautiful.  My question was , what IS essential? What can I leave out and make a stronger feeling? I began by underpainting in the skeleton colors in effort to create a glow from underneath. I am once again trying to leave more of the underpainting showing. Consciously  choosing, more frugality.

 

I really wanted to paint the way it felt, and ignore the details of how it looked.

the light game and an interview

Once again I experimented with differences in texture: reflections in water and air in skies. But the main thought on my mind was threading. What do I mean by threading, you say? Well, since I decided that the light fog/low lying clouds made a violet light I knew that violet was the color that needed to thread through the entire piece to harmonize. The places where the light came through were golden. Important pieces of information to keep in my mind each time I would chose a color.

Speaking about the color of light...I have been playing the "light game" where ever I go and you can play it too.... even when you aren't painting.  Observe the light. Then close your eyes and describe it in full. What is the color of the air? What color threads through the entire landscape? What are your lights doing? What color would you describe the sky and its light? Be specific. Tonight when I was hiking in the dim light, it seemed as if the sky was a white gold glow. Naming that I tried to choose (in my mind) which stick of pastel I would use and what would be the underpainting. All this and I didn't even have my paint stuff with me.

Whistler used to challenge himself. He would absorb a scene, its every color. Then he would turn his back and describe it in full. His friends were free to correct him. I doubt that he was wrong.

On another note, during my workshop study time with Richard I was slowly, question by question, completing an interview with him. We never did finish all of my questions. I will save them for another time, but we did cover many questions. So, hold on to your seats, another treat is in order for you.... a special interview with the pastel god himself, Richard McKinley. Since I am still traveling you must be patient. ;-)

secret spots, Sanford Gifford, the muse

Artists always have special painting spots, ones we go back to time and time again  like homing pigeons. We set up our stuff in the exact same place time and time again. We intimately know this place, like a best friend or lover. It's a VERY personal connection.
During the break between workshops my muse, the field, was mowed. I had talked the mowers out of doing their job once and  the tractor broke once: the paintings gods had been with me. Then they mowed it. Sadness. I talked with Richard about it and he, in his very generous nature, shared his new favorite spot. A new love that I will add to my ever growing list of faves around the world. It's quiet and beautiful,  recipe for joy.
Still I struggled with this painting for a long time. Then I thought of Sanford Gifford. I remembered his gorgeous painting in the NGA.  To get the glassy feeling of water you need contrast. His sky was stimpled and his water was glazed and glassy. Taking that in mind I used my pastels differently.

the bird sanctuary, lessons in plein air oil

 

6x6 oil on board

I know all my ..well most of my faults in plein air oil. It's almost like I forget all I know.

Wait, let me try again....... I will try to put it in the positive. 

1. I will fracture color less and have more sweeps of color so that way the viewer can enjoy the fractured color....it's like being on a diet of cookies only. 

2. I will be certain to paint in a higher key. To do this I will begin with the sky and keep it an 8.5 or 9. 3. And the issue that pertains to all painting- pastel or oil, I will spotlight the diva and lose the edges and focus in the other areas. Confessions....I am done for now.  ;-)

the slough at twilight

6x6
Last night after the sun had set I zipped to the slough. I needed to try to paint it. The light was so minimal and I didn't have a light source with me...still I needed to try. Another good reason for keeping all your pigments in exactly the same places. I had to count on knowing what the color I would mix would look like without really seeing it. Good practice all round.
I also kept in mind the concept of simultaneous contrast. Example- I wanted the water to appear to be a glowing orange- so I places a blue near it in a couple of places. I wanted the sky to appear bright and glowing so I made the landscape touching it more neutral and darker.
My palette includes:white, cadmium yellow pale, cadmium yellow medium, cadmium red, alizarin permanent, ultramarine blue and viridian. An orange, a violet, and a base green are mixed and added to the palette. These are made from the colors already on the palette, which adds to color unity. In addition,  row of grays was also pre-mixed. More harmony. I will talk about those next time.
One more day of workshop. I will be sad when it is over. whaaa.

oil plein air with Richard

6x6 oil on canvas
So now I have begun the 3 day oil plein air workshop. Normally I only use oil in the studio...so this is very new. ...and exciting!
Richard's methods are different that I know already, but they really make sense. Imagine. If I haven't said it before I  will say it now...I think Richard is the best teacher anywhere. He can explain anything. He is meticulously organized which means his ideas and methods are very structured and thus easy to understand. I can go on and on (and at another time I will), but if you have one workshop to go to ...make it his. You will not regret it.
A brief synopsis of his method- color harmony created by a small selection of colors, mixed greens, purples, oranges and grays/neutrals. Like pastel painting, it is imperative to plan your value design with notans. There is also a monchromatic, rubbed out painting in burnt sienna underpainting underneath this. That's the basic. I promise that I will explain in depth later. For now I have to go to bed.

This is Richard when he was painting at the slough last night...the same place I painted with Casey.

the tree and additional bear story

The field....of course.LOVE, LOVE LOVE that place! It inspires me beyond belief. I hope to take this idea in the studio and see where we can go.
As promised, here is the extension to the story.
After I realized my key was missing-about 10pm, I first called the restaurant where I had been dining with friends. The person who answered was kind and understanding. She said she would look for it and call me back. Next, I took my little flashlight and canvased the ground around the door and car. No luck. My heart dropped to my stomach when I realized it might be at the field. So, I drove there and with a tiny pen flashlight in hand I turned over strings of long grass. As I moved closer to my spot I heard a series of loud sounds and a big plop in the water. It was LOUD.... probably not a bird, but a larger mammal. Time to leave. (later when Casey arrived it was he who found the small bear tracks.) Back home I go. More searching with the flashlight. After a seemingly long period  of time I was frustrated. I went to my car to think..... and possibly sleep. Next up floats a boat with a large spotlight, flashing into the yard, bushes and house. Yipes! What if I have to spend the night in jail.....for breaking into the home...I much prefer my car. So I high tailed out of there. I  didn't want to take a chance.
 That brought me to downtown La Conner, where I pulled into a parking lot and rolled up in bubble wrap to keep warm. Keep in mind it goes down to 50 or so at night. Needless to say it was easy to wake up early to meet Casey. And what a treat at the end of the adventure!
That is the completion to the story posted the other day....sorry about the holes before! I leave you with a photo of my beautiful field. I still will post more about the workshop...I am just on my hamster wheel of glee, enjoying life and painting....till later, toodles! Loriann

experiments with gesso and pastel

 10x11 pastel and gesso on BFK
A few of us have been hanging out and painting the last few days. Yesterday we viewed some inspirational work in a gallery. Joel Brock, pastels and gesso, beautiful. With a tonalist palette he created serious MOOD. I really liked his very painterly feeling. With that idea obsessing in my head, I bought some BFK and gesso. I decided to start with a value underpainting in sepia pastel. Next I pre-selected a palette and placed pastel on top of the sepia(see underneath jpeg). From there I alternated gesso and pastel sometimes wet, sometimes dry. It was exciting and frustrating at the same time. I did a few more paintings in this manner, but those had even worse results. I love to experiment, see possibilities. They are freeing...you just have to realize there will be dogs.
On another note, Casey is right, there was a little more to the story- I eliminated the  boat police and the bear. If you want more...let me know.

painting, casey and the key

Yesterday, at 6:20 am I had the privilege of meeting and painting with fellow blogger, Casey Klahn. He was down in Kirkland for an art show and rolled up this way. Lucky me!  I took him to one of my favorite places, the slough. I hope he posts his painting as well. After painted we enjoyed breakfast together. Art talk the whole time... how wonderful! Bloggers are fine people!
On Thursday it supposed to rain so I will finally get caught up on answering comments, blogging about the workshop and checking fellow bloggers' sites. It's hard to stop painting for a moment. Thank you everyone for all your comments. The journey continues. Friday, Saturday and Sunday I will participate in an oil workshop with Richard...then it's travel time!  More about that later.
A little side story-last night, after a late painting session at the slough I drove home, only to find out my key had fallen off the ring somewhere that day! Yipes! My host family is away, so flashlight in hand I scoured everywhere I had been for the last 6 hours! No luck. Finally, it was 1:00am, too late to call a friend  so I realized it was sleep in the car night. It was freezing so I wrapped myself in bubble wrap, which was stored in my car to ship panels and stuff here for my painting trip.  Long way of explaining my rather disheveled appearance the the photo. That's what one looks like after a night in the car! I am happy to say I have the key now and will sleep in a bed tonight!

a study in aerial perspective

9x18 pastel and watercolor on Uart

I am fortunate to be living in a wonderful house while I am in La Conner. My bedroom and deck look out to this. The Tivel family has been so gracious to allow me to stay with them...lucky me. It's my home away from home.  Every year I come home to "my room." I have watched this view for years and finally I painted it.

Aerial perspective or atmospheric perspective, it has both names, is what it's all about. What you need to consider in order to make it work is the same though. When planning this painting I purposely strengthened the foreground colors and consciously decreased the colors in the distance.  Chroma, strong in front, weak in back.  Size is another tool and of course linear perspective is another.

On another note, today I will meet fellow blogger Casey Klahn for some early morning plein air painting... More on that later!

my final critique

9x12 pastel and watercolor on Uart
I must admit this workshop has been wonderful, but at the same time a total drain on the brain. Workshops are challenging. First you have to realize that if you are really to learn you have to produce some real crud. Second, you have to realize that in order to learn you will constantly be in analyze mode...a very hard place for me. I am not really an analytical painter, although I realize that in order to reach another plane I have to analyze more...not constantly, but just to check up on the painting. I am not trying to change my painting style, only improve and learn. And boy I have a lot of that to do!!!!

My critique was hard to swallow as I could already see all I had done wrong and had self diagnosed some of it. To expose myself even more, this is what I heard from Richard:
1. I need to make certain I do not fragment  my stroke as much. This is what I had already seen. In order to work bigger I need to work with bigger pastels- not the small pieces(shards) I tend to work with. I had already bought a selection of 98 Girault pastels and I am using bigger pieces.
2. I need to be more attentive to chroma. I am guilty of too much. Yes, I am a person who can easily go that route...when I really like something I am a bit obsessive- read ..... constant trips to one place, or eating 7 chocolates instead of just one.
3. While we are on the topic of obsessive, Richard said I need to give my muse a break once and a while. Paint something that doesn't excite me as an exercise in strengthening my knowledge of theory and technique.
4.The focal point needs to be stronger- less equality in the painting.

So the painting above was done early this morning. I tried to process all this information and then let it sit in the back of my head and just enjoy painting. This is the same view I did last week, Wednesday.  I am struggling to find my way. I think I need to breathe.... and then think.

silver fog/studio painting

18x18 pastel and watercolor on mounted wallis
Another studio piece. This time the concept was a slivery fog with a hint of sunlight, that moment before the fog begins to lift. Hope.
To keep me away from my usual choices of color I pre-selected my palette. It consisted of analogous colors:blue-purple, purple,  and red-purple. The complement, neutralized was green.....bits of discord colors- orange and a blue green were added at the very end. Today is the last day of the workshop. Once again I have learned soooo much!

underpainting

studio work, underpainting city

6x12 pastel/watercolor on mounted wallis
Yesterday was the beginning of studio time. What that means is for three days we will talk  about resolve and beginning new studio works from our plein air pieces. Allowing a concept to grow.
Richard suggested that I do three separate underpaintings, one after another, just to stay in the moment of underpainting. I noticed how it made me take more chances, each one becoming progressively more abstract. Next he said to simply respond to the underpainting. The feeling of the scene is deep inside me, now see what the underpainting has in store. I must say I have never just responded to the undepainting. Normally I rely far more on my field paintings. Yesterday was a fun trip. I finished one painting (above) I have two other underpaintings(below)  with which to work.

we make beautiful lies

9x18 pastel and watercolor on Wallis
Yesterday I returned from my field to have a "check-up" from the "doctor." That means I visited Richard for a little mentoring. He looked at my numerous field paintings (I have many others I have not posted...yet) and gave me 3 pieces of advice. I thought about these all night and when I drove to the site I was ready. My field was bathed in fog...WOW!!!! I LOVE this field and I love fog!

Here are the three pieces of advice:
*Remember the 3rd element
*When you examine your painting remember to think about how the movement flows..use your arms to feel it.
* a little more light in the sky at the end, just to add that punch.

I think I did it with this one.  This time I used mounted Wallis. It was an adjustment not to use Chinese White and instead let watercolor be watercolor...but I do like the transparency and the luminosity it provides.

dynamic,sweeping underpaintings help create harmony

10x10 pastel and watercolor on Uart
This morning I arrived at my favorite field by 6am. What struck me the the way the light radiated through the ends of the trees. There was a pinkish- gold, low lying, thin wisp of fog.
Thoughts:
* one focal point-the diva and two other "supporting cast points
*making the underpainting dynamic and not  separating things or sky
* allowing the underpainting to be more gestural. allowing my arm to make sweeps and not "contain"
*being careful to allow the light to be light. I work on Uart which is a mid-tone paper, so I use Chinese White in my underpaintings and I have added more very light warm and cool colors to my pastel palette

stop: just say what is necessary

9x12 pastel and watercolor on Uart
Our tendencies, and I am so guilty, is trying to say too much. Instead of adding to the feel of the painting it takes away. So now I am working hard to allow the underpainting to do more of the work. When I finish creating the underpainting my job is to respond to the underpainting. The scene is only the muse, the underpainting tells me what to do. Therefore this painting has a considerable portion of underpainting still showing.
I LOVE these three days of processing the workshop. All Richard has said is fresh in my head. Being out there in the field alone allows me to meet the information on my terms.
Richard, " The underpainting is the set-up. Accidents will happen, they can open doors to possibilities."

mystery is the key

9x12 pastel and watercolor on Uart
Put in your paintings only what is essential...allow the viewer to become involved. Mystery. This is my painting. Below are Richard's beautiful painting and underpainting.

No wonder Richard is being inducted into the Masters. To watch him painting is AMAZING!

When I attend Richard's workshop each year I now realize there is a pattern. I take in so much information that the second and third day's paintings are awful . I am wrestling with the concepts he has (re) presented to me. By the fourth day, the day the participants get to go off on their own to consolidate their information and paint, it starts to come back together. Today is that day. The paintings above were yesterdays. I will post one of today's paintings tomorrow.  I am now starting to feel better. ....like I get something big. Wait till tomorrow...I will write then!!!!!

simultaneous contrast

So, now I begin to blog about the workshop.
Richard says, "If you merely copy what's in front of you, you are rendering reality. An artist needs to make choices, to take responsibility for what he/she wants the viewer to see, do and feel through the painting. You, the artist, are the magician. A painting is a compromise of reality."
That statement was fully in my mind when creating this painting. I chose the vertical (format with a push, dynamic...not my usual.) While painting I constantly  thought about simultaneous contrast. Anyone who has been fortunate to take a workshop with Richard knows that if there is one thing he preaches it's simultaneous contrast. Defined simply: nothing is what it is till it has a relationship. It's like reading...the words on the page in isolation mean nothing till  that word works with the other words and makes beautiful prose or poetry. One word, or one letter is nothing until it works in concert with others.
So always ask yourself...what color do I want next to that, instead of what color is it.

Here is Richard talking about simultaneous contrast. The two gray squares are the same color, yet they appear different on red vs. blue. The other picture is Richard holding the demo painting he did in the field.

A big apology to all my blogger friends. I am missing seeing your blogs and adding comments. I will return...right now I am just keeping my head above water to do this. :-D

new view, edges and Lisa

 

This painting is from Friday's field visit. A new view. (sorry for the barrel distortion ...it's a long one!) The focus was about edges and the use of color (read simultaneous contrast) at those edges.

On Friday I had the pleasure of meeting fellow blogger, Lisa McShane.

Below see our photo. Lisa is left, I am on the right.

Isn't it great, how many wonderful, interesting people you can meet on blog?

Right now I am deep into Richard's workshop and as soon as time is available I will post tons of info.   maybe tonight or tomorrow!

NOW love returns: 6:30am, she is alive

11x17 pastel and watercolor on UArt
Last night I fell asleep with the feeling of disappointment. I returned to the field, but she was someone new and we didn't know each other. You know that feeling? Well I think my problem was I was painting IT, not feeling it. Today with fresh eyes I returned at 6:30 am. Now I am relieved. We know each other again. I could feel the soft edges and the rich beautiful light.
As to the weather...it's BEEEEEautiful, warm, not hot. As others have mentioned, folks here are complaining about the heat; but for me, who left 104 degrees, 85 feels cool and wonderful!

love returns

9x 12 pastel and watercolor on Uart
I'm here!!!  Yay! First thing I did was stop at Dakota Pastels (the shrine...more about that in another post). With Robyn's help I replaced all my tiniest mystery shards with new big exactly-matching pastels. Yay! Next I headed out to my field on Whidbey Island. This year I am early enough and they haven't mowed it. Strange I feel like I have to get to know it again. Paint it more to understand its nuances. Sort of like when you are away from a friend for a long time.
This time the underpainting is better than the pastel... as they say hinesight is 20-20. (I admitted it PB)
Oh well...have to to some sleep. Losing 3 hours, but yet still wanting to get up early is a challenge! Thank you everyone for all your kind comments I will make time to answer them tomorrow!

new watercolor palette

Yay! I finally replaced my watercolor palette! It had so many cracks in the mixing palette that my paints were starting to leak on my pastels..not good. The new one is the John Pike palette, the one that Richard McKinley recommends. It's thick and sturdy. I wrote the names of the paints and left the photo big...so click and you will see. Here's my list:
alizarin crimson
opera
perylene red
cad orange
hansa yellow deep
aeolian yellow
hansa yellow light
green gold
sap green
viridian
cobalt teal
peacock
cobalt blue
ultramarine blue
rose of ultramarine
moonstone
burnt sienna
quid burnt sienna
indian yellow
white

Now I am on my way to the airport, Washington State bound. I will take my yearly workshop with Richard, it's like going for my yearly check up at the docs, without the shots. I will arrive early to visit my favorite fields and paint and then stay for 2 extra weeks to paint more! Oh do I love this!

toodles for now :-D
PS I will post as I go...wherever I have internet!

one plein air trap

10x10 pastel and watercolor on Uart
One trap plein air painters can become victim to is the hunt. What I mean is searching for the "perfect place" to paint. Beauty is made. It's made by the artist. As I say this I admit that I am going to Washington State for the next month - to paint. In order to earn this I have been forcing myself to paint within a mile of my house. This is part of my streets are rivers series.
While in Washington I will be participating in Richard McKinley's plein air boot camp. Starting this Saturday I will have 3 intensive days of painting and taking in the amazing knowledge of Richard. Next, there are 3 processing days where I go off on my own and work, then there are 3 days in the studio consolidating and making resolve. An amazing time! Of course while I am not in boot camp I will be constantly painting. This month of work is like stocking up on the winter  oil for the furnace. Yipee!
Gotta go pack!

oops, I forgot......... I remembered to take a photo for the watercolor underpainting for PB.

edges, part two

10x10 pastel and watercolor on Uart paper
Yesterday I posted a painting and wrote about edges. Today my goal was to improve on the concept. I felt that the idea of refraction led me astray and edges were not important enough. Today's edges work. Still the main concept is the beauty of light and refraction, but there is a focal point-right in the painting's sweet spot. Sharp edges and diffuse edges.

edges

 

about 8x11 pastel and watercolor on wallis

This post was going to be about humidity and color, but I will have to save that one. Instead it will be about edges. You probably wonder...why edges with this painting?  Where are the edges and why? When I first took the photograph of this I had chopped off the little burnt sienna piece at the bottom. I looked and looked and was almost ready not to post it till I noticed the little piece was missing. It felt essential. That small edge helped make space, without compromising my concept.

The act of controlling your edges is important. Edges make space.  Most of the space in this  painting is very nebulous in order to create the illusion of humidity and refraction.  There are many soft edges, color meeting color with no defined edge. A defined edge makes a focal point and makes one object come forward. You might argue (and maybe I will later) that there are not enough defined edges. The only defined edges are the burnt sienna shore and the sky/ tree line on the left. Since the goal was to create that hot humid light bouncing refracted space, that summertime soup, I tried to use other  tools to create space. Small changes in chroma and value were key.

A light touch and a lot of sensitivity are what edges are about....but then again, you could say that about painting.

crossing the tracks and marble dust panels

Since we have guests this weekend I just had a tiny slice of time to do my vitamin. I headed down to the train station.
All this week I have been preparing for my annual trip to Washington State. I already sent off a box with oils and some panels. Next I will clean and go through my pastel box. It will be my carry on- the only thing I can never be without. They can lose my clothes, but never the pastels. I will be there for an entire month this year! I love painting the landscape there. The color of the air is intense and beautiful.

On the table (below) you can see the newest marble dust panels drying in the sun. Below them is the photo I promised to post for Caroline. It's a picture of the cheap foam brushes I use to spread the marble dust mixture. Click for recipe.

Happy Fourth of July!