Plein Air - Old Stable in the Paddock

Attempting plein air painting with water mixable oils again
 

After my disastrous attempt at plein air with water mixable oils in France I didn't want to leave it too long before having another go.  A bit like falling off a horse - get back in the saddle asap!  I have fancied the old stable in the paddock as subject matter for a while, and in the sunshine it looked very inspiring.  I loved the leafy shadows cast by the overhanging willow branches onto the old weathered wood.  

A very busy scene

As you can see by the photo there was a lot of detail that would need simplifying - I was definitely going for an impression.  It is very different attempting a scene like this from life compared to working from a reference picture.  Everything seemed high definition yet in a constant state of change as the sun kept disappearing behind clouds and there was a frisky breeze.  Mistake number one - the sun was very bright and very strong.  I should have used my easel umbrella to shield the canvas board, then paint colours could have been assessed more accurately.  Mistake number two - I probably needed to either work on a larger board, or, considered the composition more carefully and made the old stable a bit smaller to allow for more context to surround it.  A quick value sketch would have organised this.  Anyway I started brushing on a diluted wash of ultramarine blue mixed with burnt umber feeling very optimistic.

As I wanted to keep everything loose I decided against any detailed drawing and opted to lift out the pale shape of the old stable with kitchen towel from the damp wash.  

Mid tone wash with pale shapes lifted out
(apologies for the dark photo) 

A slightly more concentrated wash of the same colours was used next to block in and define the main dark areas.  At the time I was quite happy at this stage but with hindsight I would definitely have preferred more room for the foreground grasses.  This canvas board is A4 size and I have found these proportions tricky in the past, if I am working small scale my eye prefers the 8" x 10" ratio (20 x 25cms) for some reason.    

Main dark passages blocked in

My strategy was to have thin darks and thicker paint for the light areas so the work progressed through various shades of green (all made from blues and yellows, sometimes toned down with burnt sienna) and pale neutrals for the weathered wood.  I had to try and capture the cast shadows when the sun blazed, but tricky as they constantly swayed and danced.  By now I realised that this would not be a masterpiece... my heart sank a little.  In frustration I utilised a palette knife to apply linear marks with naples yellow to suggest some of the long blonde dried grasses and finally dotted in the pale blue 'skyholes' in the trees.  At least both these actions gave the work a little boost! 

 

The Old Stable, water mixable oils on canvas board, 21 x 29.5cms

So there it is.  I spent an hour and forty minutes out in the open air, totally engrossed, and although I ended up with a painting that will probably just get stored away somewhere I thoroughly enjoyed the process and learned a few valuable lessons along the way.  Somme, the Labrador, had a whale of a time.  He was either charging around the field or taking shelter in the shade, accompanied by several balls of varying sizes from his collection!

There is still something I find inspiring about this scene and I may try it again with my soft pastels, either working from life again or maybe directly from the photograph.  Perhaps this is an exercise you might like to try - work on a subject you have tackled before but in a different medium?

Catch Up of News

I really must get into the habit of posting shorter snippets - more often!  This past week or so I have covered quite a bit of ground so will try and catch up on the news without being too long winded.

I had a lovely visit to family in Hertfordshire and one highlight was accompanying my sister to Shardeloes Equestrian Centre, where she works as a freelance riding instructress.  Due to clients still away over the Easter period she only had a few lessons to take and I welcomed the opportunity to take my sketchbook along for a session drawing horses and ponies from life!



A retired Shetland pony...

 

 

  

 

 

 

            

 

 

   

Dozing in a stable...

  

 

 

 

The selection of sketches shown illustrates how gestural sometimes these drawings need to be.  Animals do not stay still!  Sometimes a position will be taken up again and the study can continue, other times the pose will have to be abandoned and another sketch commenced.  It is best to accept the nature of this type of work and adopt the spirit of enquiry.  The drawings certainly have faults but overall contain an essence, a feeling of life.  I love looking at artists' sketchbooks and I hope you enjoy this peek into mine.  I would just to say a 'thank you' to the staff at Shardeloes for welcoming me.

 

The weekend before last I was part of an Open Day at Henderson Art and Framing.  The idea was to invite people to come and see the studio, view some artwork, meet the tutors and hopefully get inspired to sign up to a class.  We didn't really know what the response might be but Sue did a great job advertising the event and several current class members came along to support us and brought interested people with them.  

 

Display of work for classes at Open Studio Event

 

The day was a great success with plenty of visitors and some new people signed up for classes.  Myself and the other two tutors commented on the buzzing atmosphere and felt the event was definitely worthwhile. 

 

View 1 of workshop in progress

View 2 of workshop in progress

 

Finally, the Water Mixable Oils Workshop took place last Wednesday (see images above).  I was pleased with how the day went and the participants were delightful and very industrious!  It was a full day, and working step-by-step can sometimes be challenging as we all work at a slightly different pace - some need to work quicker than they would like and others have to slow down a bit.  I hope that everyone went home with their 16 x 16" box canvas and felt that during the process of painting 'Agapanthus' they had learned some useful techniques and gleaned plenty of information about these products.  As I provided polystyrene plates to use as palettes I made sure they all had some freshly squeezed pain,t in the limited palette of colours we had been using, so that there would be an opportunity to 'tweak' the work should they wish over the following day or so at home... 

 

Whew, a whistle stop catch up of news - definitely need to post more often.  Right, off to the studio this afternoon as time is running short to work on a drawing for the upcoming WNAA exhibition at the end of the month titled 'Drawing Attention' - the closing date for entries is rapidly approaching!    

 

              



Painting Plein Air in the Paddock

Yesterday it snowed nearly all day but only really started to settle in the evening.  On waking this morning there was a light covering but as the sun came out it began to rapidly thaw.  As I glanced out the window and up our little paddock the sky looked quite dark and mauve and I loved the tracery of bare branches and snow lying amongst the clumps of grass.  I resolved to get out and paint!!!  This was the perfect opportunity to road test my equipment - if I realised I had forgotten anything I could easily nip in for it.

Pochade box, tripod and backpack

This is my equipment which I have organised to have ready in the studio to take out whenever the urge strikes.  As the box is fairly heavy I wouldn't want to carry it too far so I have bought a 2 wheel shopper trolley to use for occasions where I may be having to walk a bit further, or for around urban locations.  I'm sure you'll get to see it some time soon.

 

All ready to go...

It is great having everything to hand.  The 10 x 8" canvas board gets secured upright, the wooden palette surface I have decided not to use, I prefer to lay my paints out on a tear-off paper palette for the time being.  The brushes I select can slot into the drilled holes on the left.  The paints, palette knife, brushes are stored securely in the drawer.  The thermos cup dangling off the side is my water container.  I am working with water mixable oils and just used this to dilute paint in the early stages and to clean my brushes between colours.  If you look really close you can just see that the board actually had the beginnings of a previous old painting, I gessoed over this with a pale blue tint so I had an overall mid tone to work on.

Diluted underpainting to establish composition



 

I diluted the paint with water and used a small round to get the gist of the composition before changing to a filbert to start blocking in some of the main shapes.

Developing the painting

Still working with a bigger filbert brush start developing colours of the field, paint still diluted.

Finished painting

As I worked the snow 'pockets' were thawing fast.  The sky was also changing fast and becoming lighter, less interesting.  As the dark sky was what inspired me in the first place I decided to stick with my original concept.

The whole 'trip' was about two hours.  I had been standing close to a hedge which afforded some shelter from the chilly wind, but as I packed up I realised suddenly how cold my fingertips had become (I was painting with fingerless gloves on).  Once back indoors I cleaned my brushes before settling down with a bowl of hot tomato soup.  Whilst not a brilliant painting I am pleased with it as a record of my first official plein air outing.  Here's to many more...

Painting Plein Air (Almost)

Oh dear!  Over a month since my last post.  However I have not been idle.  Alongside the weekly preparation I do for the pastel and the mixed media classes I teach I have also been organising a water mixable oils workshop for April.  I have painted a demo canvas of 'Agapanthus', photographed the stages and hope enough people will be inspired and sign up for the session.



'Agapanthus', water-mixable oils, 16" x 16" box canvas
 

I have so enjoyed working with these Artisan paints that I plan to do a lot more with them this year.  In fact my plan involves painting 'en plein air'.  Yes, on location rather than in the studio from photos.  I have a Mabef pochade box and wood tripod I have not really used - so now is the time (well, as the weather improves maybe).  I have already organised all my painting equipment together so that I can just grab it and go.

I have been very eager to have my first experience.  I am used to working in a sketchbook on location but this is small scale, tended to be dry media, and definitely unobtrusive.  I am sure I will have a lot to learn - all those greens for a start!!!  Despite the awful weather last weekend I had my heart set on doing something.  Rain, sleet, and a windchill factor of minus seven convinced me it would be foolhardy to try my first time in situ so I opted to set up in my freezing cold conservatory instead.  It has no heating and I resisted the temptation to use a fan heater.

 

Create mid-tone as base...

 

Establish composition, get some loose colour across whole canvas...

 

Starting to add definition, broader colour and tonal range...
 

Final painting - in about 2 hours!
 

It certainly isn't perfect but for just two hours work in cold conditions (my fingers were going numb) I was reasonably happy.  With hindsight I would definitely want to soften the thin branches against the sky to the left as they should be further back in space.  Possibly the snowdrops around the foreground apple tree could extend to the right and leave the canvas.  But for what it is, I'm happy.

Painting a view from life is a very different experience.  Until the weather improves have a go at a scene through your window whether it's the garden or a view up the street - it is certainly an enjoyable way to pass a few hours!

Art Review 2012

I have been reviewing my 2012 art year, and tomorrow will add a post about plans for 2013.

2012 has been a more focused, productive year for me, which was what I had hoped for.  My classes at Henderson Art & Framing continued for the usual three terms (of eight weeks duration each) - see www.hendersonartandframing.co.uk for details about upcoming classes.  I started this blog in May, hit a long slump but have rallied, with new resolve, to end the year.

 

Outside of my regular classes the year kicked off when I organized a Sketchbook Evening for the West Norfolk Artists Artists (www.westnorfolkartists.org).  Members were invited to bring along some sketchbooks for an informal evening to give people a chance to look through and chat about sketchbooks - their uses, different ways of using them etc.  It was (thankfully) a rip roaring success, very inspiring.  I had already made a resolution to do more sketchbook work in 2012, and although I did make much more use of them, in all honesty, I could have done even more.

 

Water Mixable Oil Painting

  

In March I held a Water Mixable Oil Painting Workshop at Henderson Art & Framing.  These workshops are always enjoyable and cater for 10 - 12 participants.  They are marvellous value too as all materials are provided and in this case each student went away with tubes of paint, brushes, plastic palette and finished work on two small canvas boards!  Sue provides a delicious lunch and refreshments mid morning and afternoon.  If you live nearby and haven't tried a workshop before 2013 could be your chance.

May was a very busy month with 2 exhibitions and I participated in Norfolk Open Studios as part of the West Norfolk Artists at South Acre Church.  I was absolutely thrilled when I sold a painting in each venue! 

'Beauty of Charcoal' Workshop

July is the annual West Norfolk Summer Exhibition.  This year I was one of the three selectors / curators and opted not to show any work.  This is the second time I have taken on this role and find the whole process fascinating.  From the initial daunting task of being faced with a sea of artwork, to gradually whittling it down a selection of work that showcases the Association and its members to its best advantage takes several hours - and the following morning there are often additions as the exhibition takes on a life of its own.  During the exhibition the Association puts on free 2-hour workshops and I ran a 'Beauty of Charcoal' Workshop.  Participants worked from simple a still life each based on peppers and mushrooms and were led through a variety of techniques to get to grips with the possibilities of this marvellous expressive medium.

'All About Artbars' Workshop

Before my classes resumed in September I ran another workshop 'All About Artbars' at Hendersons.  These new triangular water soluble wax bars burst onto the art scene in the Spring and I had plenty of time to experiment and get to grips with them.  The workshop tackled using them as a drawing medium, diluting the colour with water to make luminous washes and then working back into them.  In the afternoon they were used thick and enabled scratching through juicy layers to get interesting textures.



 

 

Reductive drawing, willow charcoal, cartridge paper

 

Compressed charcoal on watercolour paper

 

Also in September there were two more exhibitions, both at the King's Lynn Art Centre.  Again I was delighted to sell work.  Finally in November I did my first art demonstration - at Park House, Sandringham.  I was given free rein so chose charcoal again as it is quick and expressive.  I had a two hour slot and decided to do a reductive drawing of a foal (lifting the lights and adding darks) before the teabreak.  I used compressed charcoal to do a quick head study of my old pony, Danny, after the break and used water to dilute and create inky washes and drips before drawing back into it to add definition.  Two very different techniques and fortunately got it all done in the time...

So, on reflection 2012 has been a busy and fruitful year for me.  But the real highlight of the year?  My two daughters both graduated from their respective universities!!!

Happy New Year.