My Process Demo

After choosing my subject I ask myself why I wanted to paint this particular scene; What drew me to this scene or subject. In this case, it was the tractors disappearing into shadow and the light from the other side. This will be my paintings center of interest and I will remind myself over and over that everything else is just there to support this. I will put the most detail and the lightest light and darkest dark within this area.  

I applied an initial wash to the canvas with Transparent Earth Red thinned down with mineral spirits. I coated the entire board, then wiped it down with a cotton rag, leaving the surface as dry as possible. I don’t always tone my board prior to starting, but I felt the red tone shining through would help unify the overall color tone present on this overcast day.

Still using the Transparent Earth Red, I began laying in my subject. The shape of my board forced me to adjust the building proportions. I felt I only needed to show the corner of the barn to establish it, so I removed much of the width. I wanted to show what was behind the barn to help establish my subject, but used the shape of the tree at left and the roof edge as a natural barrier to keep the viewers eye from leaving the painting and forcing your eye back to my center of interest.

I began blocking in my masses and establishing the darks. As stated above, this was a very overcast day, so I knew I wanted to "grey" out my colors. At this stage there is nothing I can't change, so I play around with my color looking for the right tone.

After everything is blocked in and established you get a sense of what the final painting will look like. At this point I make sure my darkest dark and lightest light is still in my center of interest.

 

I laid in my background and brought it up to near completion, so I could begin putting in more of the tractor details. This area is starting to receive some of the the final finishing strokes.

With the tractor area basically finished, I turn my attention to painting in my secondary subjects. I now know the level of detail I can paint within those areas. These areas should not exceed the level of detail within my center of interest.

This stage I am fine tuning everything while trying real hard not to overwork any one thing. I used brush stroke direction and slight color shifts to help indicate the wall slats, letting the paint create the sense that there is more detail than I actually painted. I had hesitated putting in the bright orange caution symbol on the back of the tractor because it was a fluorescent orange color in real life and I didn't know if the colors on my palette could duplicate it. I ended up happy that I went for it and succeeded in creating the illusion of this "bright" color, because I had "grayed" all of the other colors.

I will post a better photo of this painting after it is finished drying.

Going Grey

"Going Grey" 8" x 10"

I have been working on adding more greys into my paintings. I have four tube greys that I put on my palette prior to star, mostly to remind myself to use them. Portland grey light, medium and deep, plus Holbeins "Grey of Greys". The first three are colors that Kevin Macpearson uses frequently and the Grey of Greys is a color that I picked up from a Kaye Franklin workshop earlier this year. I try to subtly bend these shades warmer and cooler. The more grey I add, the brighter my main color will appear.

Quicker is Sometimes Better

"End of Day Glow" 9" x 12"

I wanted to squeeze out another painting before dark. This time of year it gets dark around seven so I knew I was going to have to get moving. I went straight to my default location, Nash Farms and began setting up. I  realized I only had 9" x 12" panels with me. This is my standard size, but being in a giant hurry, I thought I should have done something a little smaller. The sun was setting quick, so after sketching in the tractor shape, I went straight into the background and then established the long ground shadows. That turned out to be the right choice, because the light disappeared right before my eyes. I finished the tractor as it got dark and fought to remember what it looked like just minutes before. I used only one 3/4" wide painters brush for the entire painting.It's amazing what you can do with the right brush. 

My wife had gone with me and walked around the farm land. When she approached me she was surprised to find me finishing up. She then pointed out that from set up to take down, I had done this painting in forty-five minutes!     

I am going on a four day paint out with several other painters to Port Aransas, Tx. as part of my Plein Air Southwest show I am a part of. So I hope to come back with tons of new work!

Blacksmith Wagon

"Blacksmith Wagon" 9"x12"

I think I made a rookie mistake. 

I changed the brand of my oil paints from Gamblin to Le Franc and my paintings have suffered. I don’t think anything is wrong with Le Franc paints. I know several great painters that predominantly use them. My mistake was to change all of them out and add two new colors to my palette at the same time! I have since read recommendations about adding new brands or new colors to your palette, one at a time. I didn’t think it mattered so much, but I found out it does. Plein air painting is difficult enough, so anything that slows you down or makes you unsure will really cause you problems. I have been struggling with my darks, never feeling they are dark enough. I tried adding Sap Green or Viridian to darken my basic Ultramarine Blue / Alizarin mixture to no avail.  Le Franc paint also feels too light and whipped compared to what I’m used to. All of this resulting in wasting paint trying to get my mixes right. Recently, just adding Gamblin U.B. back has improved my work.  I think I will go back to Gamblin as my primary brand for now and try using the other brands only one or two at a time.

Anybody else experience anything like this?

"Plein Air Artist" web site informed me they are featuring my painting "Porch light" on their front page. It's always nice to get recognition, especially from so many great artists. Thanks Donald! Go visit and join in.

Colorado Landscape

"Gold Rush"  12" x 16" 

This is a painting I did during a recent workshop with Kaye Franklin. She is a wonderful painter and teacher that has taught all over the world. It was the perfect class for me because Kaye uses the same basic color palette as I do with the addition of  Yellow Ochre and Sap Green. Kaye acted a little surprised I had never used the Ochre, but I told her I have used a basic three color palette for some time now. I do feel it's time to start adding some colors, especially ones that will make the plein air work easier and faster. I have always loved Kaye's greys in her paintings and I learned one of her tricks was to premix a few greys that she then adds to her mixes as she works. I think this practice will help me to get more greys into my plein air work.

Troublesome Wind

"Party Wagon" 9" x 12"

A farm next to my house was giving free rides with a tractor and wagon. This farm is always my default painting location when I don't feel like going very far. The wind was very troublesome that day and my pochade and painting ended up taking a nose dive face down into the dirt. Broke my tripod and sent turp all over me and my car. I was mad for a minute and then realized a bad day painting is better than a good day at my 8 to 5.

I plan on trying out a new brand of paints I just bought..."LeFranc". I have heard many people rave about them, especially their White. They are very affordable. I also added Viridian Green and Yellow Ochre to my palette. Common on many peoples palette but new to me. I will let you know.

Signature Stamp

I had this idea to create a signature stamp for myself after designing this logo for my web site. I predominantly use birch panels for my painting supports and sign the backsides. Now that will also contain this official, one of a kind, get it only here logo stamp.

It's so cool! :?)