Landscape Drawing and Painting sounds very romantic yet very intimidating at the same time. I had never painted plein air before, so I took Nora’s advice and did a practice run at a local park. It turned out so well it surprised me and I felt that I would’t fail miserably up north.
Artistically my goals were pretty simple. I wanted to create some decently successful pieces using the easel outdoors. I’m not a watercolor expect, i concentrated in ceramics, so I wanted to retain the light colors, try not to overwork the paper, and do the scenery some justice. I also had to work on my perception of myself as an artist (which I never call myself). I wanted to cut myself some slack for a change and not put a ton of unattainable expectations on my work. I also gave myself a talking to about comparing my artwork to that of others.
Day 1, August 1st
This first attempt for me is just over a hill top on Carroll Rd. Looking to the right there was a great path of lighted grass moving through what seemed like mountains of mature pine trees. Of course I wanted a good composition and some variety in greens. What a horrifying surprise to have such a “fuzzy” rendition of the scene after painting such a good practice piece at home! “Where does perspective end and detail begin?” After too long I had overworked the paper, trying to layer the greens on paper that wasn’t dry enough. When you get that irritated, sometimes you just have to cut your losses.
So I turned to the left where a rolling hill with Queen Anne’s Lace and purple flowers was flanked by rows of pine trees on one side, and cherry trees on the left. I used masking fluid over multicolored wash to create the texture of the flowers and tried to match the color of the trees. There was definitely a reflection of violet in the sky from the ground. “Now this is a little more like it”, I thought. “Hopefully things get better from here.” I was not impressed with my work the first day out.
Day 2, August 2nd. Rain.
Word of the day: PLAY
On day two I was determined to get away from the fuzzy atmospheric perspective from the previous day and build “recognizable” texture into the washes. We decided to set up at an overlook near a Chateau on the peninsula (one that does not deserve a shout out). We popped the hatch and curled our bodies into the back of my van. Fortunately the rain was light, and with the easels pulled close under the trunk we managed to pull off a painting.
Things that were successful in this piece were the composition and atmospheric perspective. I was still trying to figure out the color mixes, something I will continue to learn for a long while, and I still didn’t feel that I was gauging the correct wetness or dryness for the textures I wanted. (Note to self; Apply and Stop.) Additionally, I know that I draw slow, but by the time we were packing up to head back for critique I was struggling to finish the bottom right corner. I was beginning to get a sense of my painting speed. It can now be described as a crawl.....
Some Homework:
Day 3, Tuesday at the Lighthouse.
“O.k. Today is a new day. I don’t think green, green and more green are my fortay.”
The lighthouse is great, but the unfolding scene of sand layered with water, stones and thick blades of grass below is unbelievable. Most of the class was spread along a small area under the lighthouse. I set up in the sand at a spot where my composition was layered. The weather channel called for a hot day, but at 8:30 a.m. it was comfortably warm and the sky was heavy with clouds and a small dark splotch that threatened from the right.
The furthest layer for my painting was a strip of trees, probably pine, that were so far away they were just a ruffled line of silver gray. The middle ground would be made up of a minuscule peninsula, just large enough to sprout a few mid sized trees. The part I was most nervous about were the rocks that made up the entire space from the peninsula through the foreground. I have never painted a single rock before, so my plan was to use some pure pigment with surreal colors.
I desperately needed a viewfinder yesterday so I made one on scene. I wanted to be more realistic - more defined in my paintings and I knew that I needed an accurate drawing to do so. Of course, it took a long time for me to get comfortable with the drawing. In hindsight, I would suggest to others that they sketch the scene a day ahead of time and/or do at least three drawings of the same composition. I started with washes in the background, middle ground and foreground. I got really caught up on details in the middle and mixing the right colors.
When Nora came to check on me she suggested that I work on the whole painting- all at one time. I tried to move forward, but the probability of me messing up the painting on the objects up close kept me working away from the immediate foreground. The rocks were challenging, but once I had a few marked in with colors, I was feeling the groove. “I think I’m on to something.” It was definitely not the mucky greens from the previous days, and I applauded the objects that had made themselves available to be played with.
By 1 p.m. my already tanned skin was hot and burnt severely enough that the sun was stinging me. Sweat was literally running down my forehead and the front of my shirt.
Of course, I had left the the immediate foreground for last, out of fear and I didn’t know how to solve the definition of the grasses.
The finished product you see had about 2 inches cut off of the bottom. The composition was better off with out it. If I had been planning the this more narrow version from the beginning I would have made the grass on the left foreground lower than the right, even though that was not the reality of the scene. I think it would have created a nice flow of lines.
I felt muuuuch better about my work and being able to control the medium to a degree was strengthening for me. I was being intentional about my color choices, color mixes and the handling of the brush. I knew what my weaknesses were and I was listening to them like teachers, not bullies.
Days 4 and 5 at Chateau Chantal: Coryn’s 12th Birthday and Standing in Poop.
It took a long time to set up today. I did NOT want to paint the atmospheric scene from the top of the chateau so Tina and I drove up and down the winding main path. The most interesting thing for me was the contrast of the bright lime green tops of the rolling rows of grape vines that met up with the red soil between the rows. I set up my easel and we had taken so long that Nora was coming to check on our progress already. Thankfully she helped my set up an umbrella at an empty post, very close to my ideal composition. There were a few man hole like drain tops about 1, 3 and 5 feet behind me, but they didn’t seem to be anything to worry about.
Again the drawing took a lot of time. I knew if the rows didn’t line up to a believable vanishing point, it wouldn’t matter how well I painted, all you would see was the mistake. It took several hours to cover the large piece of paper with glazes . I knew that the next day I would need to figure out the layering for the grape vines.....
For homework Nora suggested I figure out the logistics on a separate piece of paper. When I picked up the angled brush I could hear the angels singing a chorus above my motel. I later realized that it looked much better on the small scale I had practiced.
I picked up right away the next morning, with confidence. “Alright, you’ve got this. The angle brush was a good purchase.”
I set up my umbrella and the potent oder of the sewer drain slapped me in the face. I was half way done with the painting.....”people in third world countries LIVE in smell like this all the time! I can finish this painting.” It was an uncomfortable three hours to say the least. I realized the paper was either too big or the angle brush was too small to create the shape of the grape leaves I wanted. I did the best i could and felt it wasn’t too shabby. I picked up camp and went to the top of the hill where the building and most of the other students were. I had masked out the wooden posts the grape vines were growing between and figured I could finish those with my photo MINUS the smell. Did you know masking fluid can work one minute and then turn to syrup the next? The masking fluid was incapable of rolling into removable clumps. I tried to scrape it away to no avail... with my nail, scissors, a knife, salt, dish soap. I was not going to be defeated at the very end by syrup. The solution? Just add an ant hill.
I felt some parts of the painting were successful. The colors were on, the shadows were FUN and colorful and helped to unify the piece, playing with the warmer yellows in the soil. I had some good perspective and I was pleased with the angle. On the “down” side, I was still intimidated by the foreground, although I think a smaller scale painting would have been the resolution for that. I also knew now more than ever after practicing some techniques for this painting the night before that repetition of the drawing was essential for understanding the overall painting.
Day 6, Final Critique
After we examined and described the process of our week, Nora asked each of us which pieces we preferred in our collection of work. I really liked the collage homework, the lighthouse rocks and the grape vines from the chateau. “Really?”, Nora asked. She preferred the first and second day of paintings, the ones that were atmospheric and loose. She said to the class “If you want realism, take a picture.” Say said we need to find OUR way, our marks. If we all paint the same scene with the same mastery of the materials, then what?
She said that the pieces that I took less seriously, and played more with while creating, ended up being more successful. I don’t disagree, but I definitely don’t like painting rows of green. I’ll probably paint compositions that include some objects that are closer in perspective, like the rocks or the shadows of the grape vines, to play with shape, color, and loose detail.
