My plein air demo featured on EmptyEasel.com!

Just a quick note of announcement to say that my plein air painting demonstration is being featured today over at Empty Easel.com.  Thanks so much to Dan for the feature! I've referred tothis site before, and I'll say it again...If you haven't yet visited this content-rich website, I highly recommend a visit. Empty Easel has a lot of great articles, tips and features especially useful to the artist.  His section on selling art online  is unlike anything I've seen elsewhere. Dan takes a serious and in-depth look at different online venues, with side-by-side comparisons of features, costs, ease of use, etc. Lots of data to mull over here and elsewhere on the site. Check it out!

Art Books; Landscape Painting Inside & Out

In my last post I mentioned Kevin Macpherson's latest book, Landscape Painting Inside & Out. This is a nice companion to his first wonderful book Fill Your Oil Paintings With Light and Color. The latter focuses primarily on plein air painting, while the former encompasses both plein air and studio work. In his newest book, the author does a pretty thorough job of describing his supplies and tools of the trade for both his permanent studio and his portable one. Personally I really enjoyed the photos he's included of his indoor studio, (which is dreamy!) as it gives the artist (who likes to dream) some good ideas about how to plan a good setup. It was interesting for me to see that he puts his taboret in front of his easel, so that his color mixing palette is directly in front of him rather than off to the side, mimicking the setup one would have on a smaller scale outdoors. I work in the exact same way, with a mini-taboret on wheels my husband rigged up for me using a small laundry cart.

Subsequent sections touch on the different qualities of light and their effect on your subject, as well as value relationships and shape relationships. He has an interesting way of explaining the importance of describing elements in the landscape in terms of shape rather than rendering every minute detail. Here the book shows various black and white silhouettes to explain that an accurate contour is what describes an object. For example, one should be more concerned with the shape of a tree and largely indicate this  as one mass, using details such as individual leaves sparingly and just to accent and better define the subject.

This book touches on a lot of different concerns for the landscape painter. Aside from the ones I mentioned above, the author addresses edges, color temperature, and includes a very interesting section on planning and designing the painting. Several of these subjects are covered in just one or two pages, but they are well articulated and will give the serious landscape painter a starting point for further investigation.

After this overview comes what I consider the "meat" of the book--a large section on painting outside on location and another substantial one on translating your outdoor studies into larger studio works. In these sections, as in his previous book, Macpherson provides several very well described demonstrations of his processes. These sections appeal to me very much. I personally love demos, as it is easier for me to understand visually than it is having it explained.

What is particularly interesting to me about this part is the way the author encourages experimentation. He includes a few demos using different limited palettes that give the reader some ideas-- experimenting with an earth primary palette, using a strong color palette, or using a set palette with a monochrome (grey) underpainting.

Different from his last book, Macpherson includes a final section on "The Path to Success". This is really a topic worthy of an entire book (or a series of books). Macpherson goes into no detail at all about how to manage one's art career, but merely touches on some things to think about. Largely he writes about things like being inspired, doing what you love, setting goals, blah blah blah. Sure, all of this is important, but it's dealt with in a pretty vague manner and personally this is the least informative section of the book which covers about the last 15 pages. I suppose it is really just meant to be inspiring, so as long as you don't expect more, you may really enjoy this part.

Overall, this is a very interesting book with some very beautiful color reproductions of the artist's lush, impressionistic paintings. The demos are good, and I like that the breakout topics are geared more towards experienced painters who might be looking to experiment or deepen their understanding of landscape painting.  Macpherson does do a  good bit of selling of his other products, such as his other book, video and his "Kevin Macpherson Plein Air Palette" and "Kevin Macpherson Prochade Kit".  But this to me is only mildly annoying because I'd probably do the same thing if I offered these kinds of products. ;-) And heck! It must have worked...I've ordered his Prochade Kit for myself and will probably blog about it once I've had a chance to try it out.

Judging art

I've been having a great visit with Mom and siblings these past two weeks, so I have been away from the studio and consumed with matters other than painting. I don't know how other artists manage, but I am a bit of a one-trick pony. I have to either visit or paint. I am too distracted with one to attend to the other, even if alternating days. In any event, last week I did manage to do one art-related activity. I was invited to jury an all media show at one of the local art centers in town. I was delighted to see such a large array of talent in the entries. The down side is that it made it that much more difficult to narrow things down.

As I explained to the entrants the night of the opening, there were several factors that played a part in my process as juror. First, I don't care how impartial one tries to be, a certain amount of personal preference influences what a given juror will select. Believe me, I tried to be as objective as possible but art for me is often an emotional experience and I am sure my own tastes played some part.

Second, I looked for a certian amount of mastery in technique. This can be a bit more objective, as you are looking for mastery in the use of materials, composition, color mixing, drawing, etc.  There were several pieces that found their way into the show that were not my favorites personally, but I could not deny the technical ability achieved by the artist.

Third, I looked for the overall statement of the piece. What was the intent or statment and was the artist successful in relaying that message, intent, feeling or statement to the viewer?  Did the handling of the materials support or distract from the intent? This is tricky because while intent is important, you also want to avoid a "message" that is so heavy-handed that it hits you over the head with a two-by-four.

And finally I looked for how all of the pieces would work together as a show. While I wasn't involved in hanging the show, I acted as if I were. I imagined how the work might flow and dialogue together so that the guests would have an interesting overall experience.

Juried shows can be quite a hodge-podge of styles, subjects, and mediums, but overall I think the show turned out very well for one of this nature. It was interesting to see my own reaction to the way the work was hung. It was very well done, though in certain instances I imagined different works hanging together. But that is the fun of art! Everybody has their own interpretation and creates their own dialogue which only adds to the experience.

Coincidentally, today I came across a great article entitled "How to Judge Art: Five Qualities You Can Critique," which reinforces my ideas and adds some very good additional food for thought. It comes from a blog I just recently discovered and know I will revisit many times called EmptyEasel. The author, Dan provides some wonderful info and resources for artists.

Speaking of empty easels, I'm looking forward to remedying my own case of that syndrome when I return to the studio next week!

Preliminary plans for workshop

Just a quick announcement that I have been in conversation with a workshop and tour organizer for a landscape painting workshop in  southern France in the late spring/early summer of 2008! It should be an incredible time to be there when the poppies are in full bloom. I will supply more information as the plans become solidifed but for now, please get in touch with me with your contact information if you are interested in this workshop and I will send you the details as soon as possible. Update: After much discussion we have agreed upon a projected spring/summer workshop in 2009 instead of '08. This will give us more time to do the proper planning and promotion. It will also enable me to fulfill the commitments I've made in relation to my new studio/gallery during its first year of business. I'll post all information and updates at this link and on the blog regarding the 2009 workshop as soon as they are available.

Plein air painting demonstration: Conclusion

Note: This is a four part plein air painting demonstration of my painting "Vineyard Patterns".  If you'd like to see this demonstration from the beginning, click here. 8. I really have to look hard to see the subtle variations in the green shades, but once I start painting in the ground and the vineyard, my picture begins to take shape.

9. The clouds called off their threats so I was able to relax a little and put the finishing touches on my painting right there on the spot.

"Vineyard Patterns" Oil on Canvas, 12x16"

My process for painting in the studio is very similar to my process on location. The exceptions are that I don't have size limitations, nor do I have to deal with the changing light, bugs, and sunburn! On the other hand, painting on location is an exhilarating challenge and helps me to develop my observation and decision making skills. It also gives a far better understanding of the play of light on the landscape.

Depending on the lighting conditions, color temperature changes dramatically. In a session of  changing light like the one I had, I needed to make a decision early on about which lighting condition I wanted to go with, and then commit that to memory in case the sun went away completely!

Painting on location, (or "en plein air", as the Impressionists used to say) is a wonderful complement to my studio work. I often use my plein air sketches and studies along with the many, many photos I take on site, to develop larger paintings in the studio.

Note: This is a four part plein air painting demonstration of my painting "Vineyard Patterns".  If you'd like to see this demonstration from the beginning, click here.