Making the Best of It

My Plein Air Workshop in Traverse City was cancelled but we had reservations and vacation time!

Clinch Park Painting

For the third year in a row an Art workshop that I have signed up for has been cancelled.Each art workshop was at a different venue and featured a different art instructor, it leaves me wondering, 'Is it me?' #Seriously?

A cancelled workshop, well that may not be a big deal you say, but this was a destination workshop; we planned to travel--rented a place, husband took vacation days--we were impacted. We decided to keep our rental and my husband's much needed vacation, but now instead of me attending a workshop we had to figure out what to do.

I need to preface all of this with the fact that I am thankful for my patient husband.

Shelter From The Storm

We packed the car and headed up to Traverse City, I included all of my plein air gear. On the way my husband and I discussed where we wanted to go, what we wanted to see during the week.

Day 1: OPA Show & Plein Air Painting
One of my first choices was seeing the Oil Painters of America (OPA) show at the Crooked Tree Gallery in Traverse City, I found some new artists who inspire me. What a lovely venue.

The day was overcast and we feared it might rain. We found a great spot in the park by the bay and I painted for a few hours. Of course, less than a half hour after I started painting, the boat I was painting drove off... a real plein air experience. I saw people board the boat and I painted like a madwoman!

Pierce Stocking View

Day2: Pierce Stocking Drive & Glen Arbor & Fishtown

Bright Light White

Pierce Stocking Drive is gorgeous, I got many reference photos for future paintings (pack a picnic on this scenic drive). North of Glen Arbor was nice, again I got some great reference pics here and in Fishtown. This was a reference photo kind of day. That evening I painted from a photo that I took as we were on the road most of the day.

Day 3: Breakfast at our favorite place, Betsie Bay Lighthouse, Frankfort
I got some great pics of the Betsie Lighthouse and spent a few minutes looking in the rocks at the shore for Petoskey stones. Then we went to downtown Frankfort park and I set up in the shade and painted the Betsie Bay (boats). After painting, I promised my husband an early dinner at a new restaurant in town. Follwed by a search for barn reference photos (future studio paintings).

Frankfort Painting

Bay Beauties

Day 4: Suttons Bay plein air then Grand Traverse Lighthouse then Mawby & Shady Lane Wineries
Earlier in the week we drove by this farm and I knew I had to go back and paint there. We went back, parked on the side of the road and I painted! It was warm so I only painted a few hours, then I packed up and we went to the Grand Traverse Lighthouse. After that we stopped in to two of my favorite wineries -delicious! We were hungry so we stopped off at a great restaurant in TC, nice view and great food! #tiredlongday

Pull Over to Paint

Day 5: Traverse City then Old Mission Point
My husband had an emergency work call so I had breakfast at our favorite cafe (while he sat in the hot car on a call). Then I walked downtown taking photo references and of course I ended up in a bookstore. Finally at noon, the emergency calls were over and we drove out to Old Mission Point. We found a nice beach spot near the water, and had our picnic and read...relaxing and beautiful.

Day 6: Traverse City Beach Day
We took our umbrellas, books and chairs to the beach, another nice day just reading and relaxing. I intentionally left the paints at home so we could just enjoy and relax together.

4 paintings +2 wineries+ 4 lighthouses = 1 great vacation.

I was happy that I got time with my husband & time painting--the weather was lovely...
Yes, I think we did make the best of it.

In Plein Air, Participating in a Plein Air Event

The finished work: A Beautiful Day, 8x10

#Exhausted
My post at the end of the Plein Air Event!

Saturday I participated in, 'In Plein Air', a one day plein air event at the Scarab Club in downtown Detroit.

A plein air event takes a lot of work and planning. If you think painting is all joy and fun, I challenge you to sign up for a one day plein air event!

THE DAY BEFORE:
I got groceries, chopped my salad fixings, packed my lunch and my plein air backpack and washed my brushes. And filled up the gas tank in my car.

THE DAY OF the event, I packed my car:
I packed my cooler (salads and waters) and snacks.
I put my plein air wagon, backpack, pochode, tripod, canvases, umbrella and chair in my trunk (and this is just my gear)! My large SUV was full of plein air gear as my friend brought her gear as well.

A good start, lovely day!

THE TIMELINE:
8 AM, start packing the car.
830 AM, we met at my house to drive downtown.

915 AM, we got our canvases stamped at the venue, once the canvases were stamped we headed to our painting location. We had not scouted the location, but knew we wanted to paint there. Luckily, I watched the news and learned that there would be a Walk-a-thon at our exact painting location. Oh my! We had to find a spot at the other end of the park, which I scouted with Google Satellite.

1015: Once we parked, we had to look around to decide where to set up to paint, we both loved the view across the water of the yacht club (water, boats, buildings).
1030: All set up and painting!
1245 PM: Lunch Break
3 PM: Pack up
315 PM: Frame wet painting
330 PM: Load car head back to venue
4 PM: Wet canvas check in at venue
5 PM: Art Show & Sale Reception
630 PM: Back home (tired), unpack car and gear, then relax on the couch.

UNUSUAL:

• We had to Title our paintings at check in. We did not know where we were going to paint, or what. Most artists title their work once they paint the work. This was a challenge!
• We could only stamp 2 canvases. Usually artists bring numerous canvases of shapes and sizes and there is no limit (artists may paint multiple subjects or paintings in a day).
• Only a few artists framed their paintings for the show and sale. I was surprised! Almost all paintings were nailed to the wall, unframed-- a very big surprise to me! Maybe 7 of us had frames on our paintings.
• About 60% of painters painted in the same park we did ( I expected more urban landscape painting, more locations but I guess others like us did not know where else to paint). This was less 'paint Downtown Detroit' and more 'painting at Belle Isle.'
• The original paint out was rescheduled due to weather (rain), I was grateful and the new day was sunny and bright, but it is rare for a rescheduled paint out. And, I think it brought participation down, there were not 70 paintings for the show and sale, I'd guess there were more like 40.

Overall, it was a great day and a great experience, sign up for a paint out if you can!

Plein Air Office on a Sunny Day

Getting the composition down

Today was sunny with low humidity, I had to take my art office outside!


It is important to note that my energy and motivation level was low, I had just learned that my plein air event was postponed. However, mentally knowing that this would be the last sunny day this week, I knew that I would have regrets if I didn't get outside.

My "GoTo" plein air place is a park near my house. The park is conveniently located and has flowers, water and greenery. However, today was a disappointment, I was surprised to see that the park is a bit neglected. The flowers should have been in bloom, but the rose garden and other gardens were dry and brown. The waters were all dried up, the paths rain-washed (and it hasn't rained here in awhile). What was a nice place is now sad, what should have been bright and green and full of color was not! After  a long loud sigh and after walking around for a few minutes, I decided to move on! Goodbye Sad Park!

Closer to done

Upon arrival in the next park I found my inspiration, a small windmill reflecting in the water. The sun was shining, the sky was bright and blue and the water reflected greens and a strong windmill image. I also loved the contrast of the pretty pink flowers against the green, leading into the scene toward the windmill. I intentionally laid out the composition so that the windmill was to the right of center. I excluded the blue sky as the pond reflections were more important to me today.

I enjoyed my time outside with my plein air kit, it was such a nice day. I left the park in good spirits even though my painting is unfinished. I need to work on the windmill a bit and maybe work in some light on the trees, or this painting may just become a study. Finished painting or not, today was a feel good day, in my sunny bright art office.

Art and Foodie Weekend

La Carmencita, the star of the show!

John Singer Sargent and Chicago's Gilded Age

We were so lucky to get away for a weekend to Chicago. We chose Chicago because I knew there was a special exhibit of Sargent's artwork, John Singer Sargent and Chicago's Gilded Age.**** (four out of four stars) at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Before we left for our trip, I downloaded the Art Institute of Chicago App (highly recommend) to my iphone. One advantage of the app is the ability to key in the numbers of the audio for the show artworks. We enjoyed the interesting insights the art specialists shared- bring your earbuds! Otherwise you have to pay for audio.

The Sargent show was fantastic, a must see! In person you can see the brushstrokes and the size of the works! La Carmencita is extra large, she seemed to be fifteen feet tall and she glowed! I took a million photos, but wanted only to show you a few of my favorites.  Also, there were works by Sargent contemporaries--I loved them! Boldini, Zorn, and Chase--oh how I loved their portraits and style, they called to me. Here are a few photos that I took from the exhibit, of course see it in person if you can!

Of course, the Art Institute Chicago has other fabulous famous works on exhibit too! We enjoyed seeing American Gothic, Nighthawks and other famous works--and I loved the enormous Georgia O'Keeffe! We enjoyed it all and spent most of the day at the museum.

In addition to art, Chicago has great food everywhere! Chicago is a foodie town, with deep dish pizza, Italian pasta, and weekend brunch!  I asked the concierge for a few recommendations  (I encourage you do to the same, most were within walking distance of our hotel). Also, aside from walking, we used Lyft to get around, it worked perfectly and I will say only call for a Lyft when you are at the waiting area, ready to go (typically they arrived within 3 minutes or less, once they were already in front of our hotel, so you have to be ready)!

Here is a link to a wonderful article about the Chicago Sargent Exhibit:
http://www.chicagomag.com/arts-culture/July-2018/How-John-Singer-Sargent-Made-Chicago-an-Art-Town/#/0

My photos from the exhibit and from touring the museum modern and impressionist age.

 

My recommendations:

• Download the Art Institute Chicago App (& take your headphones)
• Use Lyft to get around Chicago 
• Talk to the concierge at your hotel about restaurant recommendations
• Plan on spending half the day at the art museum (wearing comfy shoes)
• Don't Overpack, save a little room in your bag for the John Singer Sargent & Chicago's Gilded Age hardback book --available at the museum store, $40.
• Skip the Willis Tower, Sky Deck. It was packed packed with people and you could see city views, but the lines for the elevator and for the Window Tilt were outrageous, we stood in them forever and never moved. It felt like more than 600 people were in line. And, the line to get back down the elevator went halfway around the building and took over a half hour. We decided it was a waste of our time and money! Skip it!

Plein Air: An Event Close To Home

Red Delicious & Bird Bungalow

Luckily I Didn't Have to Travel Far for This Plein Air Event

I always see the plein air ads in magazines that offer overseas plein air adventures; that sounds lovely but I prefer to have my plein air adventures closer to home. I am not a light packer, I do not know how I would get my gear overseas! My fellow artist friend, called me a "Girlscout" because I am prepared (and probably carry too much stuff).

This was my second year participating in the FRESH Milford Paint Out, which occurs in a town near me. It is a great local event and I am always incredibly impressed with the artistic talent in the area! WOW!

The Advantages of a Local Plein Air Event:

• I can scout the area ahead of time
  I made a list in order of ideal of painting locations
• I can invite friends/paint with friends
• I paint in the park weekly, I have favorite painting spots
• I can pack my lunch
• I know where the restrooms are
• I can go home at night to my comfy bed
• I can use frames from home and have assistance framing wet paintings (hello husband). If you read about my Eureka Springs Paint out, me doing the framing each afternoon was tough and exhausting, I would not sign up for that again for awhile.
  

Solitude

In the two day plein air event, I was able to produce 4 paintings. Two of them I was pleased with and put into the show!

Friday we started painting on a barn and farmhouse property, despite the threat of rain. The day stayed gray and overcast, but we got lucky and did not get rained on. I think we started painting at 930 (it took me while to get my composition placed) and stopped painting at 2, that was my first painting for the day. I did not take much of a lunch break as I had packed my lunch. Another reason it took me longer to paint was the fact that I used an 11x14 canvas which is larger than I typically use for plein air (I love 8x10 and 9x12). But the barn scene had so many interesting things going on--the light field and green trees behind, the stone wall in the front--just interesting! I could have stayed at this location all day, and had hoped to paint the farmhouse in the afternoon. One art friend was worried about the threat of rain, so we moved to one of our rain locations (we had scouted the local area for hours before the event). At the second location, the cemetary,  we took in the view from the shelter, which was not great. We all still painted near our cars, in case of rain. The sky did turn dark all around, but it did not rain on us. At 5 pm I had to stop, I was tired, my painting arm was tired. It had been a good day!

Fence & Flowers

On Saturday we woke up to pouring rain and even as I drove to the park, it was raining. I put black garbage bags over my gear as we walked from the car to the park shelter (a bit of a walk) in the light rain. I was very thankful for the shelter as it poured rain for several hours; hours that I painted comfortably. My first Saturday painting was a 9x12 birdhouse. I loved the light white of the birdhouse against the deep green trees and grasses, and the sky was dark with rain. I also really wanted to get in the pale pink flowers at the base of the birdhouse, they were lovely. Overall I am happy with the birdhouse painting, I took many photos and in the future may do a studio painting from them. Once again, my AM painting took longer. It took longer than I thought to get in the fences and the flowers.

Love this scene, but it may rain!

For my PM painting I chose a smaller 8x10 canvas and I had wanted to paint yellow day lilies against a fence post, this was more challenging than I anticipated. Another long but good day.

After painting all day I was happy but exhausted! I would go home, walk the dogs, take a bath, repack my art kit and make a lunch and go to bed early.

My favorite day was Sunday when we attended the art show and sale in which artists could take in 2 framed paintings created over the 2 day event. How fun to see all of the works created over the weekend. Wow! The talent in the local area is amazing! 

Go see the show at the SHAC on Main Street in Milford, now through August 21st!!! 

What's On Your Palette?

My Colors: Color Chart  

Sue, You've Got Me Thinking!

My friend Sue has just started Oil Painting and she has been asking many questions about colors, color mixing and palettes. Sue is a Professional Pastel Artist and she has only recently decided to try Oil Painting--she has done amazingly well! All of Sue's questions really got me thinking about my palette colors and how they have changed since I started taking Oil Painting classes.

After writing down my palette and re-reading Richard Scmid's Alla Prima, I decided to start making color charts.  Color charts take a long time and are a lot of work but I want to know what my colors can do. The first color chart is my palette colors across the top (horizontal) and then the top color mixed with an increasing amount of white (the vertical). Look at the beautiful bright color choices that I mixed! And, there are still color charts to make now of each color mixed with all the other colors...many more charts to do.

So, here is my current paint palette:

Sara Palette Summer 2018

Warm White (Gamblin)

Titanium White (Gamblin)

Radiant Lemon (Gamblin)

Cadmium Yellow Medium (Rembrandt)

Permanent Red Medium (Rembrandt)

Alizarin Crimson (Winsor & Newton)

Permanent Rose (Winsor & Newton)

Cerulean Blue Hue (Gamblin) *

Ultramarine Blue (Gamblin)

Viridian Green (Rembrandt)*

Pthalo Green (Gamblin)

Winsor Violet Dioxazine (Winsor & Newton)

Ivory Black (Gamblin)

*Denotes sometimes color (this is not always on my palette).

Play Colors: I own and use (but not always) Indian Yellow, Cobalt Blue, Sap Green, Yellow Ochre, Yellow Ochre Light, Naples Yellow.

Notes:

This is my current palette but this does change. Only since April have I been using Pthalo Green, it is currently what I would call a ‘Play” color. I want to see what it does and how it interacts with my palette. Right now I love the dark purple that I get when I mix Pthalo and Alizarin or Pthalo and Permanent Rose. Also, I like to mix my own greens, I don't use much "tube" green when I plein air paint.

I tried using Gamblin’s Cadmium Yellow and I did not like it, it was cheaper and less toxic but it did not have the same color or consistency (butter) as that of the Rembrandt paint.

In looking back at numerous oil painting class notes, my palette is most close that of my favorite art workshop instructor,  Vianna Szabo. I have removed from my palette the Burnt Sienna, Raw Sienna, Yellow Ochre, Naples Yellow, and most earth colors (which I had from previous classes and workshops). I have found that each Instructor will prefer different colors and mediums, but ultimately the artist has to choose and try what works for them. 

I have tried many colors and many palettes, this is where I am today--subject to change, of course. 

Plein Air Fest: What We Loved

Lady in Red, 9x12

One of my Mom's 'Gem Paintings', ah rocks!

Our painted works:

I felt that I painted two good works, with my hat storefront hat nocturne being my best work. My other favorite from the Train Depot, is the Lady in Red, I loved this little red car found in the train graveyard. Mom painted a small gem at the lake that had amazing rocks and water. And, I loved her colorful downtown street scene (we both would have loved more time to work on these paintings).

Downtown Nocturnes!

Our nocturnes together

My hat store nocturne

Mom and I agreed, our favorite experience was when we painted our downtown nocturnes. I don't know why, we just loved the quiet streets and painting in the dark; it was terrific fun. In hindsight, we should have gotten there earlier, as it was we got there at sunset (around 8 pm). We had to stop at 11 PM only because it was late and we had to get up for the next paint out early in the morning. Probably we could have stayed another hour! I painted like a madwoman to get the paint down-- to get the canvas surface covered. I did not use my light (except for here in photo), as I was under a pink light. I had fun mixing and putting the colors in under that pink night light.

Awards!

We loved meeting and talking to other artists and seeing their phenomenal work. Mom had met and taken workshops from several of the artists and they were incredible painters! We were just in awe of all the talent in the room each night at the show and sale, wow!


We would have given awards to:

This work amazes me, technical & perfect!

Brilliant composition

Perspective & a nocturne, wow!

I would have given this a TOP TOP Award! LOVE!

Mom really loved the lower painting here

One of My FAVES! Love the expressiveness!