moondance

With the memory of Wednesday and Thursday night's full moon firmly in my mind I painted this in the studio.
This one is for my best friend in the world, Leah.

let it snow!!!!!!

both are 5x11 pastel and watercolor on Uart

They said it would snow later this morning I had no idea it would begin when I was out at the lake...lucky me!
 The top one was painted as the snow mixed with rain. By the time I painted the second the snow was so heavy it was like the landscape was wearing a thick, fuzzy veil.
Again, at the risk at sounding redundant, it's all about value. It's truly amazing how many color are present in the white of the snow.

full moon rising

9x9 pastel on BFK

18x24 pastel on oil on marble dust board
The full moon was Wednesday night. Both Tuesday and last night were equally dramatic. The moonrise happened immediately after sunset. The sky was that wonderful green blue that it only can be in December when we near the winter solstice. A little sliver of pink appears like a surprise guest. I guess it's time to work on those December twilight scenes I wait all year to do. There's something different about it and I can only paint this special twilight in December/January when it is present...even when I work in the studio. Last year I created  the one on the bottom ...let's see what this year will bring.
It's my birthday today and I can't wait to go outside to paint. Sometimes morning is a long wait.

orange, orange, tangerine

 

Just watercolor. I finally did it. Knowing that in its raw state it would serve as a great color study I resisted placing even one stroke of pastel. Let's see how long that lasts:-)

importance of value paintings/studies

9x12 pastel on BFK
As you know I have been creating many value paintings recently. I started doing these works as grisailles for pastel and oil glazing. Next, I began to really like doing it. The value paintings are different than the notans, which are small  studies with only 3 or 4 blocks of value. These I do before beginning bigger works to determine value patterns and dominant values.
Now add the idea of a full value painting.And after creating many I have came to the belief that it is imperative to do these before beginning big works. It really helps me work out the main issues before heading to the juicy stuff-color.
Most artists know that normally the sky is the lightest value, followed by the  horizontal planes reflecting the sky, next the slanted planes and the darkest are the vertical planes. Doing the value paintings allows me to work out the other nuances and hopefully some of the obvious mistakes. Mistakes like making the sky too dark in value or nuances like how the movement works, or how the shapes work together..are they interesting or redundant? The value paintings also stress how you, the artist are the conductor of the painting. Like a symphony you decide how you want the musicians to play together...darken one...lighten another? You choose. When it is in black and white it is so easy to see.
It's also good to do these value paintings if you are stuck in you painting. What you can't see in color you can see in black and white. It's funny how we (I) can overlook things we KNOW inside when caught in the frenzy of painting.
Have I convinced you to try one?

as the sky continues to weep

4x10 pastel and watercolor on Uart
I was thinking about temperature of color as I painted inside my dry car. The drizzle that began light turned to a downpour later. I stuck to the overcast drizzle feel of the painting. The sky has been weeping for weeks....if only this rain was snow.
I can't wait for my first snow plein air landscape.

morning's crisp air

8x8 pastel on watercolor on wallis (actually painted on Sunday)
Focus -sky
I began with defining the color and value of the light in the distant sky and how it will be reflected in the water. The sky is the lightest value, followed by the light reflection in the water.
There was a heavy frost coating the grass.  Hundreds of Canadian geese were floating on the water. Winter's coming.

windswept lands

about 18x24 pastel on BFK
Still working on the field, but this time I took a whole different view. Low horizon- something out of my comfort range. I tried to capture the windy autumn into winter spirit that has been present for days now. Clouds have always stymied me. I guess it, once again, is all about value. Hmmmmm, am I sounding redundant?

field/experiment with materials

8x10 pastel on archival fore core
Yes. that's right this was done on a left over piece of archival foam core. It was soft..felt similar to the BFK I have been using. I must say it worked completely differently. Glossy and slippery and it sure wouldn't take a lot of pastel. I had to jam it into the surface with constant rubbing. An experiment. Felt more like  etching.

After my frustration with the value study I coated the board with lascaux pastel primer. The board would not take water so using only my notes and my memory I did a color study with pastel. This is all preparatory work for some bigger field paintings.

I think I have to start alternating my plein air painting sessions with more memory work.

The only thing I learned from all this is that "all that glitters is not gold;" meaning archival foam core will not substitute good paper:-)

autumn's last breath

8x8 pastel and watercolor on Uart
The cold winds were whipping across the lake, which meant I had to hold onto my easel and forgo the umbrella. My goal was to use color to make the feel of autumn's ending.

whispered moment

8x8 pastel on watercolor underpainting, thickened by fog

Just knowing there would be a thick fog in the morning made it difficult to sleep.  (I love fog.)
Painting fog is all about value relationships. Like bookends, choose your darkest dark and lightest light before doing anything else. The watercolor was easy, it flowed on the paper. But the added moisture in the air made the pastel chunky. I had to go to the car several times to dry the surface. The fog continued to be thick so time was not an issue.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone..now I will go bake a pie.

through my pours

9x9 pastel on watercolor, Uart paper
This one was painted early Tuesday morning on location. It was raining lightly  you could feel the atmosphere through your pours. "Grey" days are the best!
It was too wet to add pastel so needed to do that in the studio. With this painting the goal was to get the essence with the barest minimum of strokes.

Lone Tree/ experiments with value/color and mood

12 x12 pastel  on BFK

I am determined to explore mood through this field series. On the bottom is another value painting (similar to November 18th posting) and on top is the color I chose to paint over what now worked as a grisaille.  I lost my focus and expanded my value and color range. It was then that the mood of the grisaille was lost.   I guess that is why the Tonalist paintings have such mood. Limited change in value. Experience, make mistakes and explore that is the path to constant learning.

There is something about color I sometimes can't resist. I will do this composition again and limit my value more.
What is your experience with mood/value/color?

tangerine sky

Pastel on watercolor, watercolor underpainting below

The air was cold and the water was slightly warmish....thus the beautiful fog. The tangerine sky set nicely off of the blueish fog. I must admit I just enjoyed myself with this one. Just painting for the pure joy of painting.

Towards the Sea

12x12 pastel on paper
I blogged this one (bottom, value painting) last night. I was thinking about soft and hard edges.  I quieted my mark in the distance and allowed it a little more activity in the foreground; still trying to keep this soft and moody. Last night in my dreams I added paint and pastel. So, of course, upon awakening I tried to paint it "for real." I sprayed it with my wonderful Spectra-Fix and began with paint.

Yesterday Paul walked the length of the street with his crutches (me by his side.) He is starting to get his pep back. Yay! thank you everyone for all your well wishes!

mark making/ influenced by john marin

16x20 watercolor and pastel on Uart paper

I had the most fun with the watercolor underpainting, I even wonder if I should have stopped then, before my fingers were freezing and stumbling over the paper. (It takes awhile before getting your "frozen painting legs."I feel like a total whimp now.) I feel the underpainting has a freshness the other doesn't. After I finished the watercolor I noticed that it felt so John  Marin-esque. Why I ask???? The one thing I remember about John Marin is that he believed he had to know a place intimately before he could paint it. I am in  complete and total agreement with him.

Today  was thinking about marks- why and how we choose. The bigger paper allowed the marks to get bigger and more expressive. I also wonder if our marks reflect emotional state as well as reaction to the subject. Any thoughts on that one painters and non- painters?

straddling abstract

How much to leave in and how much to take out... that is the question. Today I started with a very abstract underpainting and than snuck up on it, little by little till you can read what it is yet straddles abstract.

How much do you need?

My question today..how much can I take out and still leave enough?? Strip it down to the most fundamental aspects of the landscape. Can it still say landscape? Have a mood?
Lots of doctor, PT and tests today...busy. Hopefully I will get more done tonight. Paul is beginning to have some independence. Yay!

back to values.... tree on the hill

Back to values. Before beginning bigger work (or any work for that matter) it is always good to do a value sketch. Usually I make a small notan rather than a full blown value study. But recently I have really been enjoying painting in one value.  The reasons for making these are numerous, most important and most obvious is to determine the value relationships between colors in the landscape. After doing this it is easy to become freed of "local color." Meanwhile I have learned that more than color, value makes the mood.
Try making one... just for the fun of it.  One hint remember to SQUINT. Value doesn't separate things...we do.

This one comes from a small painting I did this summer. The full color painting (below) is 5x5 and this value painting is 19x22.

chroma equals vibration/ autumn trees

8x8 watercolor and pastel on old Wallis paper

Another quick hour for work while Paul sleeps. This time I was painting it in my head all evening before heading out this morning. This scene lasts just moments so a lot of study needs to go into understanding what is important and how.  I painted like a madwoman on this one. To me, this finally found success. The right chroma (not always the correct hue)  is very important in the quest for the vibration.

vibration between colors

8x 8 pastel on watercolor Uart paper

Today's focus- paint the vibration, the sensation between the colors.  That doesn't mean the exact colors, but instead the feeling they make when they dance together. I had only one hour to paint while Paul slept. Time limits can be good too.

Update on Paul: yesterday he spent the day in the hospital (possible blood clot, yipes!). He is home now, but the most time I can spend away is one hour. Lucky part, my studio is right next to the bedroom and I can keep a good eye on him.

third version- square

The next format to try was the square. I saved the best format for last.  The mood is there...now  I will think about color.

On another separate note Paul is now home, hobbling around with my help. They say it is 4 weeks till full movement. He is on crutches and can get up and down stairs. Will time go quickly? or slowly? hmmmm. Thanks for all your well wishes.

Till tomorrow!

format change/vertical version

I decided I would do an experiment. Same field, same mysterious goal, new format. The only changes I made were necessary placement changes that were required to make the format work. What does the vertical say now?
Now off to the hospital...thank you again for all the well wishes and cards.
Tomorrow, same view in  a square.

mystery in value

With limited time in the studio, I decided a value/ mystery study was in order. It always amazes me that value has so much power.
Now I am off to the hospital for the whole day. Thank you everyone for your well wishes. Paul is doing well and receives his first physical therapy today. You are all GREAT!!!!!
Till tomorrow.

choice of format

Format- why do we choose what we choose? In the comments of my last post Sam noted that a vertical has more depth and suggests more sense of place. Marianne shared that a 2:1 ratio has been favored by many of her collectors and Doug suggests that the subject matter dictates the format.  Check out their blogs to read more of their interesting ideas. Richard McKinley, the pastel god, talks and writes about it often. Here is a link to one of his discussions about format, the painters window, on his blog- here.

I agree with all of them and would like to add one more thought. For me, choice of format is a decision based in emotion and the desire to portray a concept.  A simple view: a rectangle is calming and a vertical is dynamic (think about some of those amazing Japanese vertical prints).

Long ago when completing my MFA I wrote my thesis on the idea of format and its power. I will have to try to dig that document up some day and see what I thought back then.  Throughout my painting career my favorite format has been a square. I like the tension that is inherent in the square. It is neither rectangle nor vertical. It is a challenging format to use, but very rewarding. You the painter decides.

Look at the 4 paintings above, a long horizontal, a square , a long vertical and a standard rectangle. What do you think? How does each make you feel or work for you?

On another note: Today is not a painting day. Instead I sit in the hospital waiting room nervously waiting for news of my husband's surgery He had hip replacement surgery this morning. A man, still in his 40s, Paul's genetic predisposition and his years of long distance running and soccer has torn up both his hips. Send some good thoughts for a speedy recovery for my man.