PLEIN AIR PRACTICE...FOR KEEPS

I have been in the studio the last week working on two large pieces simultaneously. When I get tired with one I switch to the other. They are both at stages where I need to let them dry before continuing. I noticed this morning that I was starting to tighten up, stylistically speaking. I want my studio pieces, regardless of their size to stay loose like my plein air work. When things begin to get too tight,  I head outdoors to grab a couple of field studies and that typically loosens me right back up. 

Today it is 102 degrees in north Texas so going outside is not an option. I decide to set up my En Plein Air Pro easel (www.enpleinairpro.com) and pick a nice photo to paint from. I need to do another piece for the Collectors Covey Miniature Show so while working on getting loose with my paint I will create a piece for the show at the same time. Its win...win.

So here's my setup and I have already started laying in the drawing.

Just like being outdoors, except I have a bathroom close by. I don't like that big boulder at the bottom left so I am going to redesign this area to get a more pleasing design and it will help with the lead into the painting. The photo is of Alberta Falls in the Rocky Mountain National Park by the way.

As with most paintings I start by painting in the darks and the shadow patterns. I tend to paint over the darks so even though this looks like a really yucky dark blackish color it is actually a purplish violet with some occasional ultramarine blue thrown in.

Continuing with the darks. Notice as I get toward the area above the waterfall I have lightened the value and added more blue to the color because this area gets more light than the area at the base of the waterfall.

Here's the actual photograph I'm working from so you can see where I'm going with the painting and see the design change I make at the bottom.

Okay so now you can see the design change. I have removed the big boulder at the bottom left and increased the length of the waterfall. The upside down "V" shape at the bottom leads the viewer's eye from bottom right to the left taking the viewer directly to the base of the waterfall then up the waterfall and out of the painting at the top.

Satisfied with the design I begin moving rather quickly to finish the painting. Here I am using the "magic brush" to put in the waterfall.

Finished the waterfall now I am painting the water runoff at the bottom. This close up gives you an idea of the textures I've created.

Finishing up the bottom pool of water. Notice how I've created the feeling of the river rocks below the water. 
Pretty nifty. Learned that from Scott Christensen.

Using the palette knife to create texture in the aspens.

The completed painting. I'll let it sit in the corner for a week then give it one final going over before sending it to Collectors Covey.

WORKSHOP SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED

I will be teaching two workshops this fall. The first one will be in Port Aransas, Texas October 14th-16th and the second one will be in McKinney, Texas October 31-November 2.

Registration deadline September 30, 2013

Port Aransas is one of my all time favorite painting locations. The small fishing village by the sea offers 
countless opportunities to capture the best of the Texas coast. Shorelines, sand dunes, shrimp boats, sailing vessels, oil tankers, wildlife and life on the beach.

"Coastal Sunrise"  24" x 30"  

"Dunes"  9" x 12" 

To register contact Cameron Pratt at campratt@gmail.com. 

Registration deadline September 30, 2013

For course description and supply list go to my website www.rustyjonesstudio.com, look for Workshops on the home page.

A DAY IN THE FIELD

I recently spent four days painting in and around Fredericksburg, Texas. I've painted in this area many times, but I've never really just gone out on my own cruising the back roads to see what I could find. This time was different and I had a blast. I averaged four paintings a day over four days which is cranking out the work when you're just driving down the road hoping something good to paint shows up. I learned a very valuable lesson "do not search for a painting location with a preconceived idea of what you want to paint"!

I discovered if I went looking for a particular scene I never found it. On the other hand if I just drove down the road and let the scene find me, I found an abundant supply of paintable locations. I also learned that the most valuable tool a plein air painter can possess is the ability to do a u-turn on a two lane road.

With this in mind what follows are a couple of my paintings.

First up is this hillside cedar with a few yellow wildflowers in the foreground. This is on the south side of Highway 290 from Johnson City to Fredericksburg. 

This is my typical setup. I use the En Plein Air Pro easel with either a Bestbrella attached or a freestanding ShadeBuddy. If I'm near my car I will use the ShadeBuddy most times. I have my backpack hanging on the easel. I find this weighs it down and gives the easel a nice sturdy feel and it helps keep it from blowing over in the wind. 

Notice that both the panel and the palette are in shade. It is vitally important to have the surface you are painting on and the surface you are mixing paint on be in the same light. 

Here's my palette setup and it is set up the same way every time.

The initial block in. Notice I blocked in the foreground in a warm burnt sienna and the distant ground in a cooler blueish color. This helps me separate the layers right at the start of the painting.

Half way done. The major land masses are blocked in. Now I'll work toward finishing up.

 The finished painting. About an hour and half start to finish. On to the next location.

Bob Rohm

Next I met up with good friend, Bob Rohm, to paint along Cow Creek outside Marble Falls.

Painting almost completed

I chose a location in the riverbed. I liked the green maple bush against the gray river bank. It was so hot there was only time for one painting then I hit the road looking for next painting.

Completed painting #2

The third location for the day is along some road going west north of Johnson City. At this point I was lost but enjoying the drive.

Again using the ShadeBuddy for protection and shade.

This painting is mostly about the sky so I knocked in the farm scene along the bottom fairly quickly.

Completed painting number 3.

My final location of the day is this big tree along the side of Highway 16 north out of Fredericksburg. I had spotted this location on a previous trip and had logged it into my GPS. So I looked it up and drove straight to it. 

About half way done with the major masses blocked in.

The completed painting and by this point I'm exhausted, looking for BBQ and a beer to end the day.

Below are photos of a couple of other scenes that interested me but I didn't have time to stop and paint. So these will be done in the studio at some point.

Thanks for traveling with me today. If you liked this post and would enjoy more like this one, please leave me a comment.

"ON DISPLAY" STEP-BY-STEP

During my recent travels to the Hill Country I came across this old Ford in front of an antique store. Fully restored and freshly painted it was begging to be made into a painting. I don't typically paint shiny cars, but what the heck it was awfully appealing.

I started with a simple outline sketch. I have a color print of my scene taped to a stiff board. I also have the image on a large high def TV monitor and that is what I look at most while painting. I want the painting to have the feel of a plein air piece and I'm already anxious that because of the subject matter I'll tighten up and lose the feel I want. To combat the need to paint tight I stand at arms length from the canvas and hold the very last inch of the brush handle. This way I can't really control the brush all that well and it keeps me loose.

I jump right in and approach the large canvas as if I am painting on location. I have a kitchen timer ticking off the seconds behind me and it is set for two hours. My plan is to have most of the painting done in that two hour time frame. I start by putting in the shadow patterns. The photo looks like I'm painting in thick black paint but I'm not. The shadows are actually very thin washes of a purplish violet color. The shadow under the roof is painted cool near the top but it warms as it approaches the ground because there is light bouncing into this area from the ground.

I decide to paint from the back forward. I think if I paint the car first and its the wrong color, then the whole painting will be off. So by painting everything else first I will automatically adjust the redness of the car to fit the landscape. Its always good to have a plan. If it doesn't work out I can paint over it. Turns out my plan was a good one.

I don't paint everything up to its final form. I'm really just blocking in the major areas of color and adjusting colors and values as I go. I add a little extra sag to the roof line of the building to give the building some age and also so the straight edge of the roof doesn't compete with the hard edges of the car. I start working on the car.

There's a first time for everything. I've never painted a shiny car before so this is a challenge. I'm trying to stay loose so I boldly put down colors and strokes.

DANGIT!!!! I get to this point and realize the grill between the headlights is off center. Don't know how I missed this in the drawing phase. So I wipe out the front area of the car and redraw it.

Here's a close up view of my adjustment. Compare this to the previous photo and you'll see how I moved the grill to the right a couple of inches.

Satisfied that I have made the proper drawing change, I begin to put in the ground. Under my hand you can see the TV monitor I paint from.

For the grassy ground I premix three pools of paint. A dark brownish green, and lighter yellowish green and a sandy ground color.

I rapidly and randomly throw down the dark greenish brown color. This is the shadow areas under the grass. I also put in the sandy ground color in areas I want dirt to show through the grass.

I go over the shadow areas with the light yellowish green color with the "magic" brush. The bristles on this brush are so crazy I have no way to control it so it gives the painting a real spontaneous look and feel. Exactly what I was going for in the beginning.

I decide at this point that I want the shadow on the porch to be darker which will separate it more from the car. Instead of repainting the shadow on the porch I choose to brighten and lighten the roof, cool the shadow from the tree overhanging the roof and warm up the upper left corner to give it the feel that light is hitting this area pretty hard.

And there you have it. Done. I won't tell you the exact amount of time I spent painting this one, but it was more than the original two hour limit I set for myself, but much less than I had anticipated.