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Pemberton Park, again
Today, my group decided to paint at Pemberton Park. I liked that because I could continue work on the large oil painting I started last week.
Since the park is only a mile from my house, I arrived first. Betty wasn’t feeling well, and didn’t want to paint, but came anyway for the camaraderie. Val set up along one of the trails for a different perspective. Finally Suzanne arrived, having to go the long way around because the ferry was closed due to high tide.
Two groups of children came by as we were painting. One group visited a while, the other, now so much. Suzanne and Val each went home with a nice painting, Betty felt better when she left and I got another third of my big painting finished. And we all had a great day!
Finishing a Painting
During the last few days, I have spent a fair amount of time finishing my landscape paintings. That means writing the name of the painting, where it was painted, and the date, as well as signing it on the back of the stretchers which support the painting.
Also, I must put in the eyelets and attach the wire with which to hang the painting. Fortunately, the wire is covered with a plastic which makes it easy to handle. If a frame is to be used, I must drill holes for screws because these latest frames are oak. The screws hold a metal piece that keeps the painting in the frame. So all-in-all, it takes a while just to “finish” a painting, and if several are waiting to be done, it can amount to a considerable amount of time.
A Respite
I just had to take a few days off from landscape painting and work in my yard. After driving from Florida to Maryland, there was little time to rest when the Snow Hill Paint Out began. Three busy days of painting and 1 day of framing and hanging – and hanging around – when last Monday arrived and it was time to paint again!
My yard was calling me. Of course, the grass was ankle high when I arrived from Florida, so I mowed it – and a week later, again! Then there were the flower beds – all 12 of them – from mail box size to 5′ x 30′ of so! Because I had used a mulch designed to keep the weeds out for 6 months, there were only a few weeds compared to other years. (Even so, there were still a lot!) At this point, I have 6 beds weed free and with granules to keep the weeds out for 3 months, I’m ready to paint tomorrow!
Getting Ready for Landscape Painting
As an artist, you need to be in control of the colors and the mood of your landscape painting. It is up to you to decide if you want to paint the scene ahead in warm colors or cool colors.
The following is a suggestion: Set up a small still life and paint it in the colors that are correct for each object. Then take each of the colors you used on your palette and divide them in half. Add a small amount of yellow to half of each color you used and paint the scene again. Lastly, add a small amount of blue to the other half of each original color and paint the scene a third time. Notice that the second painting is warmer than the original and the third painting is cooler than the original. Which do you like the best?
The Salon
The governments of most European countries sponsored official academy exhibitions for artists throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. These exhibitions were usually the only venues in which artists could show their work and they typically showcased art that followed the rules - painting theoretical topics and using many layers of paint.
The Salon was established in 1667 by the French Academy and was named for the room in the Louvre in which it was held. It was the only public art exhibit in Paris and, as such, the jurors held great power in standardizing taste and preserving the status quo.
In 1863, jurors rejected 3000 paintings out of the 5000 submitted. As a result, Napoleon III established a Gallery of the Refused for artists whom the Salon rejected and it was held periodically over the next 20 years.
Matlacha, FL
Yesterday I went to Matlacha, FL, to paint. Matlacha is a charming little tourist village on the eastern edge of Pine Island and to get there, one must go through at least some part of Cape Coral and cross the “fishingest bridge in the world.” Now, whether this means that the most fish are caught here, or the most people try to catch them, is unknown. But suddenly, on both sides of this 2-lane road for a 2-3 block span, are little houses of green, pink and yellow with all sorts of paraphernalia in front.
Just prior to passing this area, if one turns left, there is a community park and boat ramp and in the middle of all that is a giant live oak tree! You already know where I headed! There’s nothing quite like painting en plein air on a beautiful day in paradise!
On Being Accepted
A few days ago I went back to Sea Star Gallery where I had a show last February. I had been so happy to be accepted by this gallery because the owner had been so enthusiastic about my abstract paintings. I wanted to ask the owner if she would be willing to have another show this winter as she had mentioned last year.
Home Again
There’s no place like home. Whether it’s Kansas or elsewhere, I’m with Dorothy on that! I arrived home in Florida Saturday evening after spending two weeks with my friend/art teacher in Austin, TX. I was happy to visit her showing at the Laguna Gloria Gallery and see several of her large pieces which were new to me. She paints clouds and phenomena of nature like tornadoes, waterspouts, etc.
But, alas, her health is not good. It is devastating to see someone who was in vibrant health two years ago, and having so many problems now. I mentioned earlier that she has this awful disease called Progressive Supernuclear Palsy (PSP).
I did come home with some new resolves, though. I am going to try to do one landscape painting each day – to become a daily painter. It will be a small one – 12″ x 12″ at first, as those canvasses are all that I have on hand. We’ll see what happens after that and if I can keep up. And now that I have made this announcement to the world, I have a lot of work to do.
Landscape Painting
Like many Art students, I began the study of Art in a studio, where the instructor would lecture, demonstrate, and answer a myriad of questions. After many years of mixing colors, painting from photos and note cards, I discovered painting out of doors. Landscape painting was for me!
At first, I must admit, it was a bit overwhelming to try to decide, from all that was out there, just what I would put on my canvas. Now that I have practiced a while, it is so exciting to find a view that catches my attention and inspires me to capture it on my canvas.
I begin with the big shapes, draw them in paint, usually raw umber, and color them whatever color comes to mind. I never know how the painting will turn out, but it is always interesting!