Sometimes You Just Gotta

Fight the tired and get outside

My painting, my view, close to parking.

 The other day, I knew the weather would be sunny and nice. I woke up tired and it was one of those days - I wasn't feeling like I could get out and paint and I knew my friends were working. I emailed a few people asking if they wanted to meet me at nearby parks, but this was last minute I did not get responses. I always try to invite others to paint with me as that forces me  to show up!

I put on my painting clothes, and sunscreen on my face, tossed my hair in a pony tail and gathered up my plein air gear. The more you do it, the easier it gets -- the plein air gear packing. But, it still takes a bit of time, brushes have to be cleaned and packed, clean turp or gamsol must be put in a container. Paints and canvases must go into the backpack. The pochode has to have a new sheet of palette paper. And, the painter has to have a water and a snack packed.

I put all my gear in the car and headed out, I ended up at a park just a few miles away. There was a great long view shot with lots of yellows and greens that I found in the park. However, the spot was a little walk from the car and I would have felt more comfortable there if I had a friend with me. Needless to say I ended up in a more populated spot.

The end result, I like it!

Right near my parking spot I found some nice shade from a tree and set up. It was afternoon already, yes I am that slow and tired! I decided that I would not spend too much time on this painting (in hindsight I think that helped me concentrate).

I set up and got to work. What I liked about this scene was the red and green - I love my complimentary colors! I also liked how the sunlight hit the barn side and the green grass. Additionally, I really liked the tree branch shadows on the roof and side of the barn. This painting is all about complimentary colors and afternoon light. I was also pleased that I completed this work in 1.5 hours. That is about all I had in me and I am happy with the result.

Five To Aspire To

I Admire so many Artists!

I am really excited about my upcoming art workshop and already I have homework (which I am totally fine with). One of the early assignments is finding 5 works of art and thereby an artist (or 5) to which I aspire. I love art and artists and have bookmarked way too many artist websites and works. How do I narrow it down?

What would your narrow down criteria be when you love them all?

There are so many amazing artists out there, but I am not a super realist, so perhaps not the artists whose images are more realistic. And perhaps not the tonalists because while I appreciate those low color qualities, I really love color.

Questions:

• Do I want scenes like what I currently paint?
  Lots of green park trees, lots of portraits but some of my favorite artists paint beachy/boaty scenes...
• Should my aspire to photos be similar to the landscape photos that I have?
  I love a good sailboat painting but I don't live too near many sailboats.
• What about structures in scenes?
  I do not currently paint many scenes that have structures in them but I love a barn view, house view etc.

What I need:

• Color
• Painterly brushwork
• Gesture or study portraits (unfinished in appearance)
• Painterly landscape (with not too many greens)
• Landscapes with light and shadow

And still, I had such a hard time choosing artists. For my approach, I reviewed all of my bookmarked art websites AND my saved Pinterest Portraits and Landscapes. And you know that while I have a plethora of artists saved there, it was still a challenge to narrow those down to my aspirations! Gosh darn it, there are so many good artists out there.

Last night, I finally narrowed down my final 20 images to my final 5! I chose two portraits (studies) and 3 landscapes -- one house and flowers, one trees and land, one long view of field and farm. The house and flowers was my first choice, I really love that particular artists modern impressionists work!

Start thinking, what five artists, what five works would you choose as your admire and aspire to? While it sounds like an easy task, it is tough to choose! My husband said it best, "This is a good challenge for you". Yes, so tough! I am relieved and glad to have turned in my homework!