Plein Air

Plein Air leads to Landscape Understanding

Sometimes learning is certainly frustrating and painful, but if it is really learning it leads to better understanding.  Here I struggled with these plein air landscapes paintings but I learned more about painting landscapes that I applied to a painting out of my  imagination.

Dark and Dieing, 12 x 16 oil on canvas

Field with Cross, 12 x 16 Oil on canvas

Before it Rains, 11 x 14 Oil on canvas

Texas Trees, Texture Media and Acrylic on canvas board

Light House Collage

Gelli and Paperback Collage

These two collages were made from hand created paper using my Gelli Arts monoprint pad and a paper back book which I painted each page a different shade.  After painting the light house on the  5 x 7 boards I added the collage elements.

Light House Before the Rain, Acrylic and Collage on 5 x 7 board

Lighthouse Stands Proud, Acrylic and Collage on 5 x 7 board

Fancy Fanasy

Geisha Doll

I like geisha so much  that I decided to buy a doll for my collection of dolls.  One little doll sits in my office file cabinet.  To do her portrait I turn off the lights and shot her photo is low light. There is a potted plant right behind her that accounts for the green leaves.  To begin the acrylic painting I began with a textured board in Martha Stewart's textured gold paint.  Then I painted her quite rapidly, finishing in less than an hour using Golden Open Acrylic paint with regular acrylics.

Office Doll, acrylic on 6 x 6 wood

 The English Fairy Painters were part of the Romantic and Pre-Raphaelite  art movements of the eighteenth century.  According to Wiki, fairy painting is strongly rooted in the literary and theatrical influences of Romanticism, as well as in the cultural issues facing the Victorian era. This fairy painting is in the style of this movement.

Night Fairy, Acrylic on oval canvas 9 x 11

Abstract Collage

Abstract Collage and Acrylic Paintings with Text

Explore, Collage with Text on Foamboard

Underpainting and Collage

 

 

 

Green H, Acrylic and Collage on Wood

 

 

The Blue Line, Acrylic and Collage on Foamboard

Complimentary Letters, Acrylic and Collage on Foam

For the Love of Klimt

These Paintings are color studies in the style of Gustav Klimt.

Free Wheeling, 36 Colors on Wood

50 Shades of Blue, Analogous Study on Wood

Nice Little Compliment, Complimentary Analogous Study on Wood

Threes Tree, Triadic Color Study on Wood

Mini Still Life

Practice - Practice - Practice Makes Nearer to Perfect

As students work toward painting an acrylic still life they practiced by painting two mini paintings.  These are mine.

Practice Cherry Painting, 5 x 5 Acrylic on Wood

Pear With Plaid, 6 x 6 Acrylic on Wood

Honey and Fruit, 5 x 5 Acrylic on Wood

Pear Pear Duck, 5 x 5 Acrylic on Wood

Feast, 8 x 8 Acrylic on Wood

Harmonic Color

These paintings were created using Harmonic color with Harmonic Gray.  This first harmonic color painting used Harmonic Colors #4 Phthalo Green and Quinacridone Red.

Gray and Pink Abstract, Acrylic on Paper.

 

This painting is completed using Harmonic Number 7, Phthalo blue, Pathalo green (turquoise) and Cadmium Red plus your harmonic grays.  One is high key in tone and the other is low key.  Which is your favorite?

Gray and White Poppies, Mixed Media/ Acrylic on paper.

Analogous Landscape

Acrylic Landscape using colors that are next to each other on the color wheel, known as analogous color schemes.

Trees on the Horizon, acrylic.

All is Golden, acrylic.

Stamp Process and Design/ Painting

Using Patterning

These paintings were completed as part of the design process using hand carved print blocks.  The fruit was then completed after the "wall paper " was printed.

Pear, acrylic

Apples and Rooster, acrylic.

Complimentary Acrylic Landscape

Blue and Orange

The follow two paintings were completed using colors mixed with blue and orange black and white acrylic.  The different colors are really made with blue and orange, really.

Home Coming, acrylic.

 

Golden Sunset, acrylic.

 

Gray Scale Painting

Painting with Black and White

I fell in love with the smoky mountains of Tennessee on my trip across the country.  This is one of the many photographs I took of that area.  To create my painting first I planned what I would paint with several thumbnail sketches of less than a minute each.

Next I spent no more than five minutes planning my painting with a simple drawing called a cartoon, meaning plan for the painting.

Because I do not paint from photos I planned the painting with a value study drawing using my favorite pencil for this type of drawing, Generals Sketch and Wash.  I took about ten minutes creating this value study.

Finally, I get to have fun and paint.  The first step is an abstract background or under-painting in gray only tones.  This took less than five minutes to paint with a large brush and my fingers.

The  next step can be added on top of what I already have,  the sky and first step of the mountains.  This is the advantage to acrylic paints.

As you can see this step was also done very quickly.  I added some dark values for the closer mountains.

Then I added some white mountains as a layer behind the close mountains.  This play of light dark, light dark will continue throughout the painting to create space.

Here you can see I hag added in some layers of light, then dark to create that space and movement for the background of the painting.  All of these steps took less than 30 minutes.  Next it is time to add the details that created the focal point of the painting.

Smoky Mountains, Acrylic on gessoed board

The final steps were a lot of fun after my barn began to take shape.  I painted on this another 2 hours to finish this demonstration.  I feel pretty satisfied with the effort.

 

Paint 1 First Demonstration

Value Range and Light

Using a value scale a ball and a pair are created.

First draw the outline with your paint.

Add your darkest value.

Add the next darkest value.

Next a mid tone value is added.

More value.

More value.

More value.

 More value, and refine and finish.

 

Organic Ink Design

Line Design in Ink With Wash

Lined Geisha, Ink pen and wash on  board

Positive Negative Shape Design

Forest Shadows, Acrylic on Board