Carmel Art Festival and plein air painting.....

Plein air painting or painting on location has become a "thing" for landscape artists.  All the talk, the term plein air, has trickled down to the masses.  Competitions, workshops and so on have reinvented the basic idea of plein air painting.  With rare exception until recently the process of painting on location was to learn, create studies, explore ideas, to then take into the studio for a work of art that would eventually find it's way to the gallery wall and then on to a collectors home.  It was a long journey that took time and thought.  

With the last 20 year or so, reinvention of the plein air movement, artists, organizations and collectors have put on the pressure to create finished, super paintings.  With all the "painting process plates" of value, composition, design, color, edges etc. in the air, it's tough in the field not to drop one or two.  For the beginner it's almost impossible.  With that pressure the simple pleasure of painting on location can be lost.  

Admittedly I enjoy the pressure of a plein air competition.  It forces me to finish each painting,  knowing I will be judged by the formal juror and all the other artists.  

During last years event in Carmel I made an effort to paint scenes that offer the collectors a nice selection of local views with the mood of the day, highlighted.  Below is an example of catching the incoming fog bank off the ocean as it drifts up the rural Carmel Valley.  

Carmel is a tough plein air event because you never know what the day will bring as far as the light.  It's not unusual to wake up the morning, a thick layer of fog hanging over the trees.  Tempting as it is to tuck down in the warm blankets, I jump up and dash off to paint.  I didn't mention yet and some may not know, time is fleeting.  In this event we have 2 days to finish as many paintings as possible.  Most artists finish at least 4, often as many as 6 or 7.  

Here is one morning set up of all my gear and the view I picked to work with.  

At this point the painting is pretty well figured out and nearly finished.  It's time to move on to the next location and start again.  

Talk about a change in the light!  Just a little while longer and bright sparkling light is bouncing off the sand and sea.   While painting on location it's a good idea to at least have a guess where the light is heading and the weather in general for the day.  This way you can  paint where the light is headed, not what you see when you first set up.  Then you have a bit more time to paint the scene before it's entirely gone.  Again, this is very tough for the artist first starting to paint on location, unexpected clouds can ruin their experience.  My advice to them would be to take that sunlit canvas off the easel put up a blank one and create a new study of the cloudy day.  Think of the learning possibilities, not the fact that your original scene is gone with the light.  

At the end of a plein air competition all the artists frame and hang their paintings.   You can see two of the paintings that you saw in process, framed and on the wall in this photo.  

If you decide to venture out painting, give yourself the freedom to explore, enjoy and paint with pleasure.  Sir Winston Churchill, wrote a lovely little book "Painting As a Pass Time", on the joys of plein air painting, saying eloquently what we all feel struggling out of doors.  

"Rocky Mountain Retreat" ©

Last month driving to Leadville Colorado in the Rocky Mountains we came across this view.  The spot seemed so perfectly peaceful, accented by a few squirrels and birds I knew I wanted to paint it.  It has been a while since I posted my process and so with this painting I took a few shots as I went along.  You can enjoy my struggle, along with me.  

The canvas size is 18" x 24".  At this point I am just locating the various elements and deciding on value patterns and placement.  I prefer to work on a white canvas so that any of the lighter values are as clean and bright as possible, allowing the canvas to contribute to the success of the piece in the end.  The paint is very thin and I am using mostly transparent paint.  Rembrandt and Gamblin manufacture my favorite transparent oil colors.

At this point I have paint all over the canvas.  I have located my darks and lights and decided that the main focal area will be the sandy beach and the secondary focal area will be the distant mountain, bouncing the viewer between the two with little side trips into the trees.  

Now that the canvas is covered and I have all the different elements figured out I need to start really finessing the paint quality and placement.  What I am going after is a variety of brushwork, edges and areas of the painting making sure that every move supports the main idea and that particular element that I am painting.  I had difficulty painting under studio lights so I painted the rest of the painting outside in natural light.  That is something that might be helpful to artists, take your painting outside and look at it, up close and from 20 feet away.  Critiquing is much easier and you will spot issues that had eluded you inside.  Another reason plein air painting is so wonderful.  

Here is the finished painting.  After the paint sets up a bit I'll go in and tighten some edges and make changes in anything that calls out to me.  Another advantage of oil paint is the ease in which you can alter the painting whenever you chose.  

"Deep in the Arroyo" ©

It's been a while since I posted a painting in process. I thought this painting would be a good example. The last image is the beginning of the piece, where all the major decisions happen. The middle image shows blocked in color shapes. The view is under the 134 freeway, in the Arroyo, with the Colorado Street bridge behind me.

Oil on Canvas, 30" X 24"

Adding large areas of color, following the established pattern of the under painting. I am constantly adjusting and looking in the large mirror behind me to make sure all elements are visible and working.

Beginning the painting I used a wash of burnt sienna to establish patterns and values. I know that the whole painting is about the beautiful light on the sunlit trees, rocks and stream. By painting this wash I can guarantee success telling my story.

"Whitney Canyon Trail" ©

This scene in Whitney Canyon, is just before you come to the water falls. One of the newer protected spaces of the Santa Clarita Valley it's a great place to hike. I photographed this painting while painting a few times so you can see the progress.

At this stage the entire canvas has paint on it. As I paint each element I will adjust the value and color, to support the idea of the piece and be assured of variety.

Large masses of color notes begin to create a road map of how the painting will proceed.

Beginning to find the composition, I roughly marked the canvas as to where the big elements would be placed.

Oil on Canvas, 20" X 24"