More Winter Plein Air

I've had the good fortunate of finding two active plein air groups out here in Maryland. This past Sunday, I painted with the Washington Society of Landscape Painters. A very friendly and prolific group, I really enjoy working alongside such accomplished and talented painters. My favorite part is at noon everyone breaks for lunch and a lively critique that always leaves me feeling more focused on my strengths and areas that need improvement. The above painting is what I painted with them down near the C&O Canal in DC, one that I may choose to pursue further.

Sources of Continuing Inspiration

Monet had his haystacks, Degas his ballet dancers, and it seems my home state of Montana has become an overflowing spring of inspiration for this painter. Last summer, my family and I visited on two occasions from our home on the east coast. Since that time, I have painted the three paintings above, and I count them among my best. Throw in a family hardship (my grandmother's passing), and it's a recipe for success apparently. Especially if you consider that I'm painting the southeastern part of the state, not exactly the most picturesque part!

In any event, sometimes you stumble onto something that just works. When that time comes, I've learned to hold on with both hands and ride it for all it's worth, because often times this sort of inspiration and prolificacy is quite elusive.

Done! Maybe...

When I was living in Oregon, I loved driving through the Columbia River Gorge, and this was one of my favorite sights. The train reflecting on the mighty Columbia with it's red and gray cars always inspired me. I've been working on this one for months, and put it down for some time because I wasn't happy with the way the water looked. I revisited it today, and think it's done. I still think the rest of the scene is painted better than the water, so I'm torn between saying it's done, spending more time on it, or even just painting over it altogether. In most cases, there comes a point when I decide if a painting is worth continuing on with or walking away from. This one wasn't an easy read.

On the Easel Today

Here's what I'm working on today. It's a painting I started on location in November that I've been meaning to complete. It's about done, just one more session should do it. I usually have between 4 and 6 paintings in progress in studio at one time. This way I can be assured that I'll find one on any given day that will suit my mood. Otherwise, I have ideas in my sketchbook to pull from.

Back to the Studio.

After most plein air adventures, I am usually pretty remiss about returning to the studio. This time, however, the comforts of my warm and cozy studio are just fine with me. I just love the difference between the two. Working with a finish line in mind in the outdoors as opposed to toiling away endlessly in the studio on a piece that may or may not ever be completed.

Working in plein air has made me much more efficient in the studio, and has taught me how to see nature and life. Eugene Boudin, Monet's mentor, reinforced the importance of plein air to him time again, and I am beginning to understand why.

My palette is the same indoors and out, and from left to right my current selection is this: phthalo green, veridian green, phthalo blue, ultramarine blue, quinacridone red, orange (mixed myself with cadmium red and cadmium yellow), yellow ochre, cad yellow, titanium white. I also keep a bit of ivory black for quick darkening, but prefer to use my mud for grays (bottom left). I've been using straight linseed oil as my medium lately, but sometimes I will add Gamblim Galkyd Lite if I want a really thin mixture.

Painting in the Snow!

After about a month of talking about it, and complaining about not being able to do it, I finally made it happen. I set up on a patch of frozen creek, which allowed me great access to the scene, but it also led to me stepping in the creek unwittingly when stepping back to survey my painting. This made me wet and cold sooner than I had hoped, forcing me to cut my session short. Other than this small inconvenience, it was a great experience! I've painted snowy scenes in the studio before, but actually seeing in person all the colors that a blanket of snow reflects is what I was looking for. Plus, I had some friends hanging out with me as I painted (the ducks).

Good session.

After having to drag my self over to the easel and not being able to actually sling paint last week, I'm happy to report that I had a great session in the studio today. As much as I love to paint, and think about it all the time when I'm not doing it, it is often difficult to sit down and paint. Today I quieted all the inner voices, picked an in-progress painting and went to town. It felt great, and I'm looking forward (as I've stated and re-stated) to getting outside and painting in the snow soon. The last couple of flurries we had didn't leave enough on the ground, but this next storm seems promising.

One of Those Days.

Puttered around in the studio today, reclaiming canvases and sketching. Couldn't actually bring myself to throw pigment around. The negative self-talk was really loud today, making it difficult to focus. I still force myself to do work on something painting-related on days like this, especially after such a long hiatus.

Some snow fell this morning, and it looks like more in the forecast. This could be my opportunity this weekend to get out and paint a snow scene en plein air. That would snap me out of this.

Progress.

Here is what the painting of Solomon's Island from the drawing and photo in earlier posts is looking like after the first session. Overall, I think it's a good start. I need to work on the values of the house, and need to ensure I'm not getting too "pastel" with my colors. I'm thinking of how Hopper simplifies his shapes and colors when painting this type of scene.

I'm actually a little excited about doing a painting like this. That is, photographing it and analyzing it along the way. I often wonder if an area I painted over in an earlier session was better than how it ended up in the final painting.

Edward Hopper and "The Balancing Act".

I'm a big Edward Hopper fan, and spent some of my downtime reading up on him with my daughter. It's interesting how he balanced being a commercial artist with his desire to be a painter. I feel quite a connection with him in that regard. My freelance design business is finally taking off, but it's cutting into my painting time. I am grateful to finally be able to do both, but finding that balance is key. Hopper was gaining notoriety as a commercial illustrator, yet his paintings were going unnoticed by the fine art world. He kept painting, actually resenting the work he had to do as an illustrator (which was paying his bills).

Here is a painting I did in the style of the great Edward Hopper, entitled "Storm Moves Out".