Archive for the ‘Plein Air Art’ Category
The Weeping Hemlock Tree
Yesterday, Thelma and I painted at the home of Beth, a retired teacher, who lives in a lovely home with a large yard. The yard is about 3 acres in size, full of trees and gardens and lawn.
One of the trees is a weeping hemlock, some of whose branches hang down to the ground. The area inside the weeping branches is about 15 feet in diameter and Beth has hung tea lights on the branches. The “ceiling” is about 5 ½ feet high – enough that children love going in and feeling like Alice in Wonderland after she went through the looking glass. Beth’s grandchildren love playing inside the tree where it is cool.
Thelma does expressionism art and last week painted from a photo taken from inside the tree. Yesterday, she painted the weeping hemlock from the outside. She, also, loves the tree!
Richard McKinley
Recently, I read an interview with plein air painter Richard McKinley. The following are some of his thoughts.
As artists, we are very visual, and any form of painting is visual. Our visual patterns were etched in our psyche in childhood; the colors and patterns of our childhood are the ones with which we are most comfortable as adults.
Every landscape painter paints the body of water or the road winding back into the distance. These have a sense of mystery. The artist tries to make the landscape a little more poetic.
Painting provides a challenge – the intellectual and emotional stimulation – that an artist needs. The painting is like a dance partner; sometimes it steps on the artist’s toes, sometimes it’s the other way around; sometimes we barely make it to the end; sometimes we quit midway because it isn’t working. And sometimes it turns out great! It’s the partnership that keeps the artist coming back.
Violet is the magic tone in the landscape. Whether it is warm or cool, it serves as the perfect bridge between the worlds of weather and light conditions, and it’s everywhere. My own teacher, many years ago, advised,”When in doubt, use purple”.
Ulrike Arnold
In the June 2010 issue of the Artist’s Magazine there is an article about German artist Ulrike Arnold. She paints with the outdoors. In the past 20 years she has traveled to 5 continents and many countries and paints en plein air with the elements she finds.
She tries to capture the essence of a place by using the pigments from the earth she finds in rock, sand, mud and clay. She crushes them into a fine powder and mixes them with a transparent binder and uses them as her painting pigments.
Recently, she met Marvin Killgore, a meteorite expert who had collected meteorites from Argentina and Greenland. When he sliced the meteorites for study under a microscope, he also had dust which he had kept. He gladly gave Arnold the dust and now she paints with the material from the cosmos as well, creating abstracts with a little bit of heaven right here on earth. Her website is http://www.ulrikearnold.com
Suzannne’s Show – Part 2
Today I stopped by the frame shop where Suzanne’s paintings are on display. She has one large painting, several middle-sized paintings, and a few small paintings which were nicely arranged in a small display area. It is always good strategy to have a variety of sizes for persons with a variety of budgets.
Suzanne does plein air painting (outdoors) and represents the landscape very beautifully in a traditional manner. I can only wish her well and hope she has many successful years in the art world!
Fostering the Creative Process
Many writers need a quiet, secluded area to let their ideas meld into a cohesive narrative, and they certainly aren’t alone. Artists of all stripes-from painters and sketch artists to musicians-often retreat to an isolated quarters to develop their ideas. Of course, this area not only needs to be private, but it also requires items that are conducive to the creative process.
Plants, artwork, photographs and music all serve as viable sources of artistic inspiration. Having an adequate place to create your work is obviously a top priority as well. But don’t think you have to confine yourself to a drab workshop; plein air art is a great way to connect with nature on a personal level and infuse that relationship into your work.
The Art Walk at Val’s
My friend, Val, has an art-and-antiques gallery called “My Studio” in a nearby town. She, herself, is an artist and sells her own artwork as well as that of her friends, including me. On Friday night her gallery was open, along with all the other galleries in town for the Second Friday Art Walk.
Betty was the featured artist and had previously given Val 15 paintings to be hung. We had a good crowd, partly because Betty is a local gal and has many friends. Also, a new shop has opened next door, rented to an architect whose wife is interested in art. They drew a large crowd because they featured a well known, big name local artist who was doing a demonstration.
By the end of the evening, Val had sold a few antiques, but Betty had sold 2 oil paintings!
Let Nature Be Your Muse
While I was driving home yesterday down a snaking road bisecting a densely packed forest, it dawned on me how little time I actually spend in nature. Most of my time is spent behind a keyboard or a steering wheel, and while I have the opportunity to enjoy the Pacific Northwest landscape on weekends, there is an undeniable disconnect from nature. And this trend is the norm in American society.
I often wish that I had the time and freedom to venture into nature and create some form of art, such as an open air painter. And while nature is obviously an ideal muse for painting, it has also sparked the creative sprit of many great writers and other types of artists, including Thoreau, Tolstoy and even bands like Led Zeppelin.
The Art Walk
The Art Walk was a nice invention. Some towns set aside one day a month, usually the first or second Friday or Saturday when all the galleries are open and folks can visit and see the latest art work from the local artists.
Sometimes a town, like Chincoteague, VA, for a certain month, will have a Paint Out, invite local artists to paint the area for a few days, and display their landscape paintings the night of the Art Walk. Of course, this is heavily publicized and locals and tourists alike know and are encouraged to buy. And sometimes the local art organization, as well as the artist, are well rewarded.
Going Home to Illinois
It’s going to be difficult to do any landscape painting this week. My friend goes home tomorrow and I will leave on Friday. We packed up her paintings yesterday and took them to the shipping company today. Of course, we also had to set her up with frequent flyer miles and print out her boarding passes.
On the way home, we stopped at the bank, but at 4:10 PM it was closed. I had noticed an unauthorized deduction from my account on Friday, and emailed the bank immediately – all after the bank had closed. The bank called this afternoon and said a that a hold had been put on my account, so it is safe. I had forgotten about it earlier today, unfortunately, so will go there first thing tomorrow – after I get my friend to the airport at 5 AM for her 6:30 AM departure and a nap!
The Perspective of a Friend
A friend came over for the afternoon today. I hadn’t seen her for a while and always enjoy her visits. She has been a very creative person for many years, and I was delighted to see her again
She looked at my landscape paintings and gave me many ideas for promoting them. Several people have said that because the paintings are bright and whimsical, children would love them. In addition, she pointed out specific ones and said they would fit nicely in the office of a children’s dentist, or a bed and breakfast, or a ladies powder room. Some would fit in a mountain lodge, or a cottage by the sea. I don’t often think about who might use the paintings, or where a good place might be to hang them, so it was wonderful to have a new perspective on my paintings.