Wild Roses (France); and thoughts on painting loose

As mentioned in my previous post, here's a new painting about to come off the easel. Maybe a touch or two yet to go, but mostly it's done. Photographing this painting was a bit of a challenge today due to a lack of good light. It's a pretty decent shot, though I may try a reshoot once the sun comes out:

"Wild Roses" Oil on Linen, 20x16" ©Jennifer Young

This is another scene from one of those beautiful misty mornings in southern France that I've written of before.  Even though this was somewhat after the heavy fog had lifted, the moist air remained, and the diffused, cool light kept everything soft but saturated.

One thing I've been learning from my plein air paintings is that even the less successful pieces done on location have a certain freshness to them (if I don't allow myself to work them beyond the point that I should). There are many reasons for this, not the least of which is that I am painting from life.

But I've also noticed that the brush size-to-canvas ratio is much larger due to the smaller plein air canvases. I don't use tiny brushes (unless I need to sign my name) so I'm really forced to simplify. And I must say, by the very nature of the way I have to approach the painting, I often end up saying more with less. 

I try to keep this in mind on  days when I'm working on larger paintings in the studio, and to make a more conscious effort to retain that same kind of freshness and looseness. It's a different matter than plein air painting, but it's been helpful for me to consciously reach for the largest possible brushes to do the task at hand, and to *try* to state things as economically as possible rather than overworking.

It's not an overstatement to say that sometimes my greatest motivations are my limitations. Andin the field, time is a built-in task-master due to the ever-changing light. But in my studio, unless my schedule is crammed full of other chores (as it is soon about to become!) there usually isn't that same kind of urgency. Without that, it can really be tempting to noodle around endlessly.

In my studio work, along with relying a lot more on memory, my challenge is to supply my own urgency, and to work more quickly and loosely. All this and still have command of the paint. There's the rub. After all, loose and quick is pretty pointless if the drawing or composition is weak or if the values aren't right.

It's a lot to consider if you think about it, but it is a fun challenge for me, and hopefully in time I can continue to work even more effectively in this manner on larger canvases still.

Wet panel carriers, plus more on pochade boxes

I have a new painting to share, but the rain we're getting is making it hard for me to get good light for a photo. Hopefully I'll get something to show a little later today. Meanwhile, those readers who are "gear-heads" like me might enjoy some light reading on plein air gear: Wet Panel Carriers:

Ever wonder how to carry those wet paintings around after a day of plein air painting? Never fear, that's why wet panel carriers were invented. :-)  There are a number of commercially available boxes designed with interior slots to hold a few wet panels at a time. Raymar is well knownamong plein air painters for their lightweight and moderately priced wet panel carrier made out of corrugated plastic.

But with very little time, ingenuity, and even less cash, it's easy to make your own, even if you aren't into gagetry or woodworking. The folks on the WetCanvas plein air forum have discussed this topic endlessly. Here are a few of the solutions I've bookmarked:

1. Marc Hanson's wet panel carrier, cheap and fast.
2. Cost Cutter Ideas from Larry Seiler and others- includes wet panel carriers and other home made solutions for some of your plein air painting gadgetry.
3. And lastly, here's Wayne Gaudon's solution, and the one I've tried myself (with a few modifications.) Easy!  It uses el-cheapo Walmart picture frames and a few very simple tools. I pretty much ditched the tools and came up with the lazy woman's version. As soon as I photograph it I'll write about my own experience with this version of the home made panel carrier.

Pochade boxes

Don't worry, you'll not get another thousand-word dissertation from me on plein air easels (but if you missed it the first time, you can read my thoughts here, here here and here).

This time, Charlie Parker has taken good care of this task on his most interesting art blog Lines and Colors. If you're in the market for a pochade box and feel overwhelmed by the choices, this post will go a long way towards helping you along in your decision. I was happy to see that he wrote abouta new pochade box I've been lusting after myself- made by Alla Prima Pochade.

I first saw one of these boxes (the Bitterroot Lite)  demo'ed in France by fellow artist-traveler Joyce Gabriel, and I was impressed with the many thoughtful and unique features, and how all of it folded up into one neat little package to fit inside her everyday backpack.

P.S. If you have extra reading time, check out the rest of Charlie's site for lots of great art coverage, including his latest post on a painter I've long admired, Richard Schmid.  This is a timely post for me personally, as this summer I've been re-reading Schmid's wonderful book, "Alla Prima" (also available in a more  affordable paperback) and doing the color charts he recommends (incredibly enlightening!)  You also might enjoy Joyce's posts and pics on her trip to France . I met Joyce at Le Vieux Couvent where I'll be teaching my own workshop next spring.

"Rooted"- Plein air on the James River

A few days ago I picked up a copy of a map of the James River by Richmond Times Dispatch artist Tom Roberts . The map focuses on highlights of the river around central Richmond, with information on plants and wildlife, as well as info on trails, parking, and scenic views. The cool thing about it is that it's printed on Tyvek, so it's waterproof! It's not, however, paint-proof, though it cleans off fairly easily ;-) I'm so glad to have a map like this made available, and I'm using it as a guide for a James River series of plein air paintings, as I find the opportunity. I painted this piece on location at a point along the river near a site called "The Wetlands":

"Rooted" Oil on Linen, 9x12" (SOLD) ©Jennifer Young

I'd visited the Pony Pasture location that's nearby before, but not this particular point, and thought it seemed interesting on the map. Unfortunately The Wetlands weren't wet at all as I'd imagined them to be. I'm not sure what they're normally like, but we do really need some rain and there wasn't even a puddle in sight in this drought.

Undeterred, I continued down to the riverbank. The river was also very low (and as a result, mildly, er, "aromatic" depending on the wind shift.) But I became interested in the light and the diagonals of the trees and the rocks, as well as the twisted tree roots clinging to the river's edge; so I decided to give it a whirl.

I really enjoyed painting down by the James. There were herons, Canadian geese, and lots of butterflies to keep me company. There was also the occasional dog chasing flying sticks and a crew or two of kayakers paddling by. According to a "tidbit" on my map, the James represents the only white water that cuts through an urban area. We really are lucky to have it, and I hope we will continue to preserve and maintain it so that  "regular folks" like me can have access to it and enjoy its natural beauty.

p.s: Local artists might be interested to know something I've heard from park manager Ralph White. There is a new guide to the James for painters and photographers that is scheduled to come out some time this fall.

Market Day in the Lot Valley

Since I'll soon be leaving my nice big studio space, I'm trying to fit in more time to enjoy it while I can. So yesterday I stayed out of the heat and finished up the French landscape painting I'd been working on of the Lot Valley:

"Market Day in the Lot Valley" Oil on linen, 24x36" ©Jennifer Young

I found the light in this region was incredibly beautiful but very changeable as well. Large cloud formations could cover the sky and cast huge shadows one minute, only to break up and allow a flood of warm sunlight. It could be raining as you drove through the valley and then be blazing sunshine just over the hill. In this scene I tried to capture that transition.

Since this is a larger painting, some of the details have gotten a little lost in the photo of the whole piece. So I took a closeup to show the people walking to market, not only in the foreground, but also those crossing the distant bridges as well:

Crop happens

....Or at least sometimes it should. I went down by the river at Great Shiplock Park this morning to paint this little view looking out towards Rocketts Landing:

I had a frustrating morning. 

I didn't finish because I began to have problems with the composition. The canvas panel is a 9x12", and while there are things I like about it, I'm not too excited about the near equal width of the sky and water framing the skyline, where the real interest is. 

I think this was an editing problem. I liked too many things about the scene and I was trying to fit them all in. I liked the hazy sky. I liked the purplish skyline. And I liked the reflections in the water too. I guess it just goes to show how very important it is to put a good deal of thought into the orchestration of a piece before rushing in.

Well, we learn from our mistakes, right? So with a little trickery in Photoshop, I am able to see what a better compositional choice may have looked like:

Well, I can't exactly glue a new top to this panel. But look what happens when I cut this down to approximately 6x12":

Better? My kingdom for a table saw.