What I Learned About Plein Air Painting

Plein air painting is not for sissies.  With plein air painting, you’re at the mercy of the elements.  It was hot. I stayed in the shade and still got sun burn, even with factor 30 lotion.  Luckily we were provided with water and bathrooms, also a necessity.

You need a lightweight but sturdy painting easel.  You need good drawing and composition skills.  You need to be a fast painter – the light keeps changing.

What I learned about plein air painting – I am not a plein air painter.  I’m much happier in the studio, with air conditioning. 

New Photos

 However, I love to take photos.  I just uploaded several hundred photos from three beautiful gardens onto my flickr account and everyone is welcome to paint them. 

 My painting, The Garden Gate, was chosen by judge for an award!

 I joined the Strathmore Mansion as an artist member.  I was impressed by the number of paintings they had sold at their juried membership show.  I’m always looking for good places to sell work.

My husband, John, took my paintings to the Yellow Springs 37th Annual Art Show on Tuesday – (I was teaching class).  The sale is open to the public April 24 – May 9th and well worth a drive just to take in all the great art.

At Yellow Springs, I’ll have four paintings for sale, including Buchanon Ave, here on the left.  I painted this from another Lancaster scene during the fall of the election.  I wonder if anyone will spot the tiny Obama sign I put in.

And today I’m hanging a small, one woman exhibit of watercolor paintings at the York Art Association, which will continue through June 14.  YAA has a brand new look in it’s gallery – fresh paint, new flooring, ceiling and lighting!  I’m planning to be at the opening (for at least part of the time) on Sunday, April 18.

And about the new beginnings part, I’m looking into how to do some oil painting on the side.  I haven’t done it for years, but think it might be a nice addition to my portfolio.  Many of the shows and galleries exclude watercolors, so I’m thinking a few oils wouldn’t be so bad.

This is Dussman’s Auto, a small watercolor of the view from my local convenience store in Lancaster, PA.  I take a lot of photos when I run out to pick up milk or other odds and ends – morning and evening are the best photo times.

Good Advice For Watercolor Artists

Years ago, Dean Mitchell advised wannabe artists to enter the juried art exhibits and keep trying to improve your painting skills until you can get in.  That’s what I did.

Lots of times in the beginning, I didn’t get in.  I studied the accepted art, took classes and  worked hard.  Now my entries are accepted in the juried art exhibits more often than not, and I’m winning awards!   Now what?

Currently, I’m looking at exhibiting in art museums and contemporary art centers.  I feel it’s the next step.  Watercolor artists need to keep in mind that there are only steps in an art career, not destinations.  Even the most respected artists in our great nation are only known to a handful of people. There are no “rock stars.” You keep working or you’re history.  So enjoy your painting, whatever level you’re at. That’s the best advice.

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

Last week, I went to Virginia to the Contemporary Art Center in  Virginia Beach and the Chrysler Museum of Art.  There are so many places to see and think about, it’s overwhelming.

What do you do in that case?  Look for a mentor: someone who has been there and done that.  On an artist friend’s advice, I contacted the Ratner Museum in Bethesda, and I’m going today to talk to the director.   I’ll let you know what happens!

“Fast & Furious” Watercolor Demonstrations

On Tuesdays, I teach two watercolor classes.  Here are two finished watercolor demonstrations of sleeping cats.

In the cat with pots, I showed two ways to get a smooth transition from color to shadow.  I used water to thin out the paint on the right side of the blue pot, using thicker blue paint in the middle of the pot and then black.  On the red pot, I painted just red to black.

After it was dry, I used Mr. Clean’s Magic Eraser to lift out the highlights on the red pot.  The bricks, pots and shadows were done with cobalt blue, quinacridone red and aureolin yellow. It makes great grays when you let it mix on the paper.

To make the green, I used a bit of thalo blue with the yellow and perylene green for the black.  (And a touch of burnt sienna for the cat’s colored areas.)

The Trick Is Not To Overmix The Watercolor

In the second demo, I used all the leftover bits of watercolor on my palette behind the cat, working quickly on dry paper so I got soft blending. Then I used the mixture of the leftover colors to put a strip of blue gray across the bottom.

While that was drying, I went back to cobalt blue, aureolin yellow and quinacridone red for the shadows on the cat, putting the colors down and letting them mix on the paper.

The class said it looked too garish while it was wet.  There lies the trick!  If you let wet washes  alone, they often shape up nicely as they dry.

Then I painted the black face and the ears.  I rubbed the shadow edges with a soft brush and dabbed with a paper towel to soften the edges, and used a few strokes of white for whiskers.  I thought the stripe across the bottom was boring, so I used a stencil to lift out goldfish and painted sweet dreams for this fellow.