Archive for the ‘Landscape Art’ Category
Plein Air Painting at Wild Acres
For 5 years, each July, I attended an art workshop at Wild Acres, North Carolina, about 40 miles from Asheville and 3 miles from Little Switzerland on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I felt like a kid at camp. All I had to do was eat, sleep and paint as the food was prepared for us and when the dinner bell rang, we all assembled in the dining room for a wonderful repast.
On Fridays, each class showed what they had done for the week - the printmakers, the ceramic artists, photographers, studio artists, and plein air artists. I was amazed that consistently, the paintings of the plein air artists had much more color, feeling and life than those of the studio artists.
Plein Air Painting in Florida
Here in Florida, we have not had a good winter for plein air painting. We have had high temps in the low 60s (most of the day was in the 50s) with 10 - 20 mph winds most of the time.
Now, I know that temps in the 60s seem like balmy zephyrs to those of you reading this who have had temps in the teens or lower, in addition to many feet of snow, but is is just now pleasant to wear your fleece jacket or wool hoodie or long undies to be in the open air for 2 hours or so to do a painting. The good news is that spring is coming and warmer temps will be here soon. I’m just now sure which month!
Red Tree Trunks and Pink Skies
Usually, when I want to paint a landscape painting, I go to a site, find a scene that appeals to me and set up my easel. Then I decide where I want the focal point to be located on the canvas, and draw the lines necessary for the structure of the scene
In the past, I drew the outlines of the tree trunks and foliage, omitting all but the necessary parts. I then painted each part a color. The result was a very flat scene.
Recently, I have been trying to add shading so that the trees look rounded and foliage more natural. I think these paintings appear more realistic, however, I may always paint red tree trunks and pink skies!
Plein Air Painters
When I think of artists, I tend to think of conflicted individuals confined to an isolated studio somewhere. This imagery is certainly true for some artists, but it is by no means the only model. Many artists go into nature to find inspiration from the world around them.
These plein air painters are definitely a different breed. In my experience, their work generally displays more color and a sense of uplifting than their indoor counterparts. While you may assume that plein air artwork simply portrays landscapes and run-of-the-mill depictions of nature, many of the pieces are abstract and atypical.
The Park on Coronado Parkway
A few days ago, my friend and I went to the city park on Coronado Parkway, Cape Coral, FL. to do some plein air painting. It is a fairly large park with a variety of trees.
Along the perimeters are “stubby” trees with short trunks and billowing tops. The interior of the park had larger, more elegant trees which gave lots of shade for the children’s playground and picnic shelters beneath them.
There were also some quite large shelters. I didn’t check them out, but I heard the clack of what might have been shuffleboard pucks attacking one another. Parks are great places to enjoy life.
The Bonsai Nursery
Today, my friend and I visited a Bonsai nursery in North Fort Myers in search of a choice tree for our landscape paintings. Bonsai trees are amazing to me - those little shrubs about 12″ - 36″ in height that normally would be much larger!
To create a Bonsai tree, one uses techniques like pruning, root reduction and grafting to produce small trees that mimic the shape and style of mature, full-sized trees. Frequently, the trunks of Bonsai trees are much larger in comparison to their height than normal tree trunks are to their height. Also, sometimes the limbs have been wired to grow in a particular shape to make an interesting display. To me, they are always charming.
Visiting the City Parks
A few days ago my friend and I took some time off and visited several parks in Cape Coral, FL, looking for a park that had interesting trees for our landscape paintings. Some areas that are listed as parks are more attuned to baseball games or other athletic venues, rather than family picnicing and interesting trees.
When we find a suitable park, it is pleasant to paint a picture or two, but then it is time to move on. It seems we are always on the hunt for new places to go, but it is such a joy to find a new, interesting place to paint.
Choosing a Scene for your Landscape Painting
We are all attracted to some scenes more than others. So the first task is to find a scene that speaks to you. As you think about the placement of that scene on your canvas, think of a Tic-Tac-Toe grid. Where the vertical lines cross the horizontal lines are the “sweet spots”. The focus of your landscape painting should be in one of those 4 areas.
Using a view finder or making a square or rectangle with your hands (depending on the shape of your canvas) will help in deciding just what to draw on your canvas. Making a few sketches in your sketch book will help you in deciding exactly how you want to place your landscape painting on the canvas, what to include and what to omit. These sketches also help you to remember just where you were when you painted that scene..
Rain
It was supposed to rain today, the weatherman predicted, so my friend and I took time to catch up on some of the mundane activities of life. We mailed a small package at the Post Office, bought birthday cards for our friends, and checked out the lighting department at Home Depot.
All these activities are necessary for life to flow smoothly. However, the really important activities of life, like landscape painting, will have to be accomplished another day!
The Jaycee Park again
Today, my friend and I again went to the Jaycee Park in Cape Coral to do some plein air painting. The weather was warm, the sun was bright, and the wind a gentle breeze that increased a bit with time.
There were fewer people in the park today than on Saturday so fewer people stopped by to talk. We each found a group of trees to paint - those Australian pine trees with their long limbs, tall height, and with a look like a huge feather fan. What a wonderful way to spend a lovely day!