Small Oil Sketch of California Coast - Palette Knife Details

6" x 6" Oil on Canvas Panel

Color Block-In for this Sorolla inspired painting. I am still just trying to keep the light and shadow separated, but adding some of the local color and with the influence of warm sunlight giving the piece the correct feel and light key.

I went to a building store and purchased this clasp to hold the box shut.

Here is a shot of the back of the box with the small piece of wood I glued on to support the lid.

Homemade Pochade Box

Here are two views of my square pochade box, made from a cigar box I obtained from a local store for a couple of bucks. This one holds a 5x7 panel. I usually use 4 pieces of doubled over masking tape behind the board, to ensure that it stays put.

You can see how the little square pieces in the lid serve two purposes: to hold down the palette when the lid is closed and to support the panel you are painting on. 
I cut four 1/2" pieces off the wood that came with the box for some reason (maybe someone who smokes cigars can tell us?) and carefully adhered them using carpenter's glue.

That same long piece of 1/2" square wood was glued at the back so the lid of the box will prop open, supported by the wood. I will post a photo of the back also. The square frame that inserts into the bottom of the box, and to which I have glued the paint sticks, serves also prevent the panel from falling into the paint piles on your palette when you shut the box. This square frame is very thin and fits outside the square pieces glued in the lid.

There is room under the palette for small tubes of paint and maybe a sawed off brush or two, although I usually carry another small bag with supplies like oil, a viewfinder and paper towe or ragsl.

The nut in the bottom was really easy to install, just drill the right size hole and hammer it in (there are diagonal claws that sink into the wood to hold it in place). I used a little glue as well to make sure it stays put. Take your tripod to the hardward store to get the right size.

Studio Painting Based on Plein Air Sketch - 16x20, oil on canvas

If you scroll down, you will see the small plein air sketch I based this larger painting on. I have to say, it came together very quickly.

Another Studio Painting Based on Plein Air Sketch - 16x20, oil on canvas

Plein Air Sketch #7 - Early Morning - 10x8, oil on canvas panel

Early Morning

This was a magical spot where the stillness created beautiful reflections in the water. I started out painting on a wooden pier but had to change positions due to light on my painting. I then moved back into the shade, but my painting fell face first off the dock, narrowl missing the water.

After climbing down and retrieving it, I moved to a third location. A short time after I began, the wind came up, a boat roared by and the scene changed completely. All part of the joys and tribulations of plein air painting!

Oil Sketch #5 - Through The Trees, Late Afternoon - 8x10, oil on canvas panel

I liked the interesting pattern of the trees and the gorgeous light glowing through at the end of the day.

Plein Air Sketch #4 - Early Morning - 8x10, oil on canvas panel

When I got back indoors after painting this sketch, I became aware that glare from the strong sunlight and wearing dark lenses had caused me to misjudge the values. I had to lighten things up after the fact. Lesson learned: No sunglasses, bring a hat and make sure you have shade for your palette and support!

Plein Air Sketch #2 - 8x10, Oil on Panel

Just before the sun went down, it went behind some clouds and I quickly scrubbed in this impression.

Underpainting

I am going to be painting a large piece, loosely based on a work by one of my favorite artists, Joaquin Sorolla.  I have a tiny reference photograph of the painting, so I will be doing my own interpretation of two women in white strolling on a windy beach.  The underpainting was done with gesso mixed with phthalo green and burnt sienna acrylics.  Using  a lot of gesso with just a little pigment means that the surface will accept oil paint readily.  Acrylic paint alone does not make an archival underpainting for oils.  I chose to use this method rather than using oils because I thought the support could use more gesso and I would be accomplishing the underpainting at the same time!

Art Supplies - 5x7, oil on panel

Here is a quick sketch I did some time ago in natural, north light.

Oasis - 8x10, oil on canvas panel

Ah, what could be better than an oasis in the desert.  Here we are at Agua Caliente in the morning, a pleasant park in north Tucson, Arizona.

This was painted on a gorgeous and sunny but very chilly day and turned out to be the last painting I did during the workshop.  Unfortunately, we ended up painting value studies on the afternoon of the final day, after watching a demonstration that morning.  Doing value studies at that point seemed a bit backward to my mind, as I was pumped to do a stunning masterpiece at that point!   We had a great afternoon despite this slight disappointment, as we enjoyed a sheltered, warm and sunny location in Catalina State Park with stunning views of spectacular mountains!

Tucson Valley East View - 5x7, oil on panel

After laboring for a couple of hours on the previous painting with the asylum on the hill :), I whacked this one out in about 40 minutes.  In my opinion, the end result is much better, which shows how editing and simplifying is key to capturing the essence of a landscape.

Tucson Valley - 5x7, oil on panel

Saguaro at Honeybee Canyon - 5x7, oil on panel

Capturing this backlit cactus in Tucson, Arizona was lots of fun - the highlights on the sides of the saguaro are thick white paint with a touch of raw sienna.

Notes from Gabor Svagrik's Workshop: January 28-February 1, 2008

Okay, you will have to look at this as the rough notes they are - at some point I may find time to work the information into an article, but for now, here is the gist of his teachings:

Materials:
Maple panels - bookbinding glue, acid free Miracle Muck (sourcetek), Lineco (utrecht) Claessens #66 oil primed linen gatorboard, light stain (50/50 burnt sienna, ultramarine blue)
Open Box M, carbon fiber tripod (light weight)
Holbein thinner container (better seal)
Sourcetek REI backpack - guaranteed for life!

take photo first - 1 1/2 hours to two hours max on subject 

IT'S NOT WHAT YOU PUT IN, IT'S WHAT YOU TAKE OUT Capture the essence, not literal translation 

1/2" brush from hardware store for 1.50

Thomas Moran Matt Smith Kevin MacPherson, Carlson

For your legacy you need to have some monumental paintings
Be selective - back it up!! (photographs) Monitor - Apple Cinema Display - 23" middle size

plein air study, color and value more accurate than photo darkest dark first crosshair division of panel  

It's all about color and value relationships 
generalize areas - rocks all dark - add lighter tones/highlights at end
charcoal drawing, indoors - change with towel, can move it easily draw it out
start with darks figure out value of mountain, add midtones and lightest areas top to bottom, leaving out the sky
as things recede, cooler and lighter
need to push value/color in paint
need mountain to sit back, lighter to get the difference in value
white cools and muddies
white - atmosphere use yellows to create warmth, get feeling of sunlight
think thin to thick - thick lights

Palette:  Titanium white, lemon yellow, yellow ochre, raw sienna, ultramarine blue, cobalt blue, alizarin crimson

reserve yout lights - opera singer, all high notes where do you go?

10 foot tree?  30 feet back Rocks - 80/20  or 90/10

need hard edges
pull the brush for tiny branches
three bushes are better than two
vertical dark brushmarks break up the block in add variety to base - go over with lighter color, sand use side of brush, parallel to panel rolls the brush in an arc for light on a shrub
white kills light use yellow to lighten
big shapes dark to light
small sketch to plan positioning

Laura Robb - master of edges

keep brushes very clean when doing sky
palette knife to put long narrow highlight on saguaro, thick mixture of white and raw sienna

Pink Peonies - 18x14, oil on canvas

Monet's Japanese Garden at Giverny - 7x5, oil on panel

I sat on a bench in Monet's absolutely gorgeous garden on a lovely day in April and painted this tiny sketch with a palette knife and my fingers.  

The scene includes the famous willows, the green curved bridge and the water lilies (which do not bloom until later in the summer).  It was a glorious, sunny day and the tulips were out in force, rafts and rafts of coordinated colour everywhere.  It was easy to see why this garden was such an obsession with Monet.  An unforgettable experience.