Painting - Fall fence post

Today the group met near Delaware Ohio at Stratford Ecological Center and Farm. The Center was having a Harvest Festival and asked the group to paint on the grounds. Several of us also donated a painting for their fund raising auction.

It was a cool morning, in the 50's and me being so used to HOT, didn't bother to take along a jacket. There was a bit of a breeze and mostly cloudy, so it was a bit nippy. I setup beside my car to use it as a shield from the wind. About an hour later, the clouds started to move away and it became very comfortable.

This is a palette knife oil painting of a fence row with grape vines. There was lots of interesting fall colors, but I'm afraid I got too interested in the details. I love the big rock, but it looks kinda out of place.

Visiting the Painters at Whetstone Prairie Garden

I got up early enough, but got sidetracked and then there was Saturday traffic (forgot about the High St farmer's market and the OSU game traffic), so didn't make it to the painting venue until after 10am. I roamed around taking photos and stayed for the critique.

Painting Saturday At Dawes Arboretum

Got up extra early today, to meet the group near Newark Ohio at Dawes Arboretum. Its a lovely place. I hadn't visited there for nearly 15 years.

I setup looking towards the west and painted this one a 5 x 7 canvas panel using a palette knife.

My subject (zoomed in)

First block-in

Midway through

Final Painting

Several of the group decided to stay another couple hours after our critique session so that we could paint more because it was a lovely day. I attempted a pastel but it just wasn't working at all. I chose a very complicated composition, and I just gave up. I seem to be only able to paint one painting on a Saturday.

Sunflowers

Stopped in Whole Foods at lunch today and thought these might brighten up my office nicely!

Painting Saturday

I didn't paint with the group on Saturday, for several reasons, but I did paint! I painted my kitchen - so not quite as interesting as plein air....

There is a definite change in the season here. We have finally broke out of the 'heat wave of the summer of 2010'. Last night the temperatures got down in the high forties. Love it!! I kept the bedroom window open. Just love snuggling under a quilt with the cool air coming in the room. I got up fairly early and decided to get a taste of nature today. I stopped off for breakfast (love to eat breakfast out!) and then made my way to Galena to the boardwalk over the mudflats. There was a smell of fall in the air with that scent of drying leaves. I walked out on the boardwalk to the end where it's over the shallow water. The air was still crisp but bright and clear The leaves are just starting to hint at a change in color. I spent some time alone looking over the scene while drinking my coffee. It made me a bit sad actually. I always love the change in seasons especially fall, and being single its difficult not to be able to share the experience with someone close.

Scioto Park

What a perfect day to paint! The group met along the Scioto River near Dublin at Scioto Park. It was a lovely park. I painted at the river's edge. This is an oil painting on a Yes! Canvas panel using a palette knife. I tried 'stand oil' today instead of Liquin. Not sure I like this medium or not.

At the start, I toned the canvas with Napthol Red Light, leaving a bit of it to show through.

Above it is shown in my pochade box at the painting site, and below I have put it in my new easel in the sun room. It's a 8x10 but it looks pretty puny in this big easel!

Excuses, excuses....

No, I haven't painted for a couple weeks. I had intended to paint while at the MAC art fair last weekend, but I was sick with a cold.

The little art fair in the yard at the MAC was nice and casual. There were maybe 25 artists and several did quite well with sales. Lots of people walked through with their dogs or riding their bikes, on their way to the farmer's market uptown. I went to help out for a couple hours, but the cold got the best of me and went home to take decongestant and sleep the afternoon away.... what a waste of a weekend.

I never get colds! Can't remember the last time I had one... I blame this on visiting the doctor for a routine checkup. I must have touched something the snotty nosed kids had touched. I even used hand sanitizer on the way out of the office! Anyway, once again, I was side tracked from doing artwork.

I finally got the new studio organized and I hung some nice 'picture ledge' type wall shelves so that I can display and rearrange my artwork. And this week, I purchased an artist's H-frame floor easel. I'd been wanting one for awhile but waited until I was more organized after the move. I set it up out in the sun room for now, so I have two very nice places to paint with good lighting.

I had started an oil painting a few weeks ago. It's still in the 'ugly' stage and sits there and taunts me... I need to push past that and finish it up.

No more excuses......

Art in the Yard

Workshop Day #2

Today the workshop was held at Whetstone Park of Roses in Clintonville. This is a very busy city park. We first setup near the "Edible Garden" - a very aromatic setting to watch Jim's demo! I also was able to take a couple pictures of a hummingbird and a cicada, although you might have to click on the photos to be able to see them.

It was a bit hotter today - but I was pretty pooped - mentally, creatively and physically. I don't have alot of stamina to paint that many hours in two days. Even though I love to be in nature, its demanding to try to find an interesting subject and make it work, while visitors stroll around you. I pretty much painted two stinkers!!  But I was happy that I was able to purchase one of Jim's demo paintings, so at least I came home with one nicely done painting.

Workshop Day #1

It was a nice day for the plein air workshop. Today we met at Inniswood Garden Metro Park. Jim did a demo then let us loose to paint on our own. He came around and helped us with our paintings.

I was happy with my paintings. The first was a oil painting using a brush, painted on mat board primed with black gesso.

We broke for an hour lunch, then went to a different area of the park. Jim did another demo, then I started another painting. By this time, I was getting pretty hot and the gnats were starting to get to my face. I worked really quickly and used a palette knife for about 85% of this painting. I think this is the better painting of the day. This is oils on a YES! canvas panel. I like working on these panels a lot, and I am really enjoying working with a palette knife.

Tomorrow, we meet at Whetstone Park Of Roses. It's to be a bit hotter, but still a nice day.

Plein Air Class

Inniswood Metro Park

This coming weekend instead of painting with the group, I'll be taking a class with my oil painting teacher, Jim Glover. He is teaching a two-day workshop in Plein Air Painting at two local parks. I took studio classes with Jim last fall to learn about oil painting and I learned a lot from him. But since I'd laid off painting while the house was on the market, etc... I forgot half of the stuff he taught me! I am looking forward to this weekend.

It will be a long two days - we will be outside working from 9am-4pm. But because of the schedule, I might not feel as rushed in my work as I do when I paint with the group on Saturday mornings. The weather promises to be about perfect - we are finally getting a break from the heat and humidity - it's supposed to be sunny with highs in the low 80's.

I will post about the workshop next week. I do plan on taking lots of photos.

Pastel - Downtown Grove City

Today we painted in Grove City Ohio in their downtown area. There was a Farmer's Market going on, but I hung out in the shade behind City Hall away from the hubbub and crowds, with a view of this mural on the building across the street. A few of us who setup with this view painted the little bandstand, but I was more interested in the mural and the way the light was filtering down upon it through the tree.

I decided to paint in pastels today, it's been awhile. I thought since we were probably going to see alot of architecture, it would be easier for me in pastels, since I have problems painting straight lines with oils!

I started out with a piece of 8 x 10 suede mat board which was a bright scarlet red. Suede mat board is my favorite support for pastels, it grabs the pigment so easily. I dislike the feeling of working on sanded supports, as it's like 'fingernails on a chalkboard' feeling to me... I don't get that feeling with suede board. It's like painting with butter - smooth and soft.

I painted it a bit stronger than reality, but liked how it turned out. I feel it might be one of my strongest paintings that I have completed recently.

City Center Mural, 8 x 10, pastel on suede mat board

I also tried out using a 'My Art Cocoon' carrier which one of the guys in the group gave me. He'd received a number of these and wanted the rest of our group to give them a try. You can Google the name if you are interested in learning more. It worked really good for working on my Guerilla Cigar Box pochade, I mounted he Cocoon on the outside the normal frame work of the Guerilla box, which worked much better than inside. I always felt like I was scrunched inside the box before. I use the Cigar Box only for my pastels. I have the Guerilla inserts which cradle and protect my pastels in transport. I have a Guerilla 9 x 12 box that I use for my oils. Both boxes, I found very slightly used on E Bay and got a good deal on them.

Oil Painting - Leatherlips Yacht Club - On Shore

The group met at Leatherlips Yacht Club in Dublin Ohio today. Sounds glamorous but was just a casual sailing club on the river.
It was a miserable day. Oppressive heat, sun and humidity. We had a nice size group surprisingly, but everyone was drenched with sweat and wore out before noon. I struggled with trying to get the architecture of the boats correct and with being uncomfortable with the weather, didn't have much fun.

Oil Painting - After Marine

Hey! I actually painted in my new studio last night! I finally got the lighting installed and I needed to give it a try. I mounted a standard fluorescent light fixture with two 'sunshine bulbs' in the ceiling of my studio at the condo. Much better than at the old house, where there were no overhead fixtures. I used to have to use multiple clamp-on style fixtures. I tried many types of bubs, but always felt that the lighting spot lighted the canvas and I over compensated with too bright or too dark values. With the new fixture, it is much better having a nice wash of light.

I decided I needed quite a bit of practice to get back in the groove of oil painting, so I am using several of my favorite daily painter blogs' paintings as reference. I do not plan on exhibiting my paintings of these subjects in public, nor selling them, or even finishing them, but using them as learning tools as artists have done for centuries. This practice was more about the application process than the end result and to get back into mixing colors/values. I worked on this painting for about an hour and felt I did good. Its not really 'done' - there is much that needs corrected and refined. It does not look too much like the artist's work other than the subject layout, but I figure I got back what I was wanting so I will move on to another example. This was painted on Judson's 'carton' board which I coated with black gesso. The boards are cheap stuff and not precious enough to worry about creating a masterpiece and wasting a more expensive support. It's a thin tan colored cardboard that has been treated with resin, then I added the black gesso to experiment.  I will save the more expensive panels for my own designs.

Here is my 'student work' from last night using a painting from the wonderful painter, Carol Marine, as reference:

"After Marine"  8 x 10, oil on carton board coated with black gesso

Painting at Schnormeier Gardens

We painted near Gambier Ohio today at a wonderful place, Schnormeier Gardens. It was really a great experience. I knew I wanted to spend alot of my time just enjoying the gardens, so I packed light with a small backpack with watercolor supplies and my digital camera. The weather was perfect, mid-80's and bright blue sky. I roamed all over the grounds taking lots of photos, but stopping occasionally to take in the vistas. I took many photos, but way too many to post here, so please follow the above link to their photos.
 
The Schnormeier family has lovingly built this paradise in the rolling hills of Ohio. It's a private garden. They only open it up once a year for an Open House, and occasionally to special appointments. My painting group was lucky to have the opportunity to have the whole place to ourselves.

I finally settled into the Quarry Garden area, which to me looks like a grotto. I was cooled by the limestone and the light spray from the water falling from the upper ledge as it hit the shallow pool below. I decided to take a video with my camera (with sound!)....

 

 

Here is a snapshot of the area and below is my quick watercolor. Its been awhile since I worked in watercolor.

We had our usual critique session and I headed back towards home. I was enjoying the hour drive as my favorite Saturday afternoon radio show was on, This American Life. I stopped for lunch and also at a nice farmer's market where I got some beautiful produce. I got one of the best cantaloupes I've had for several years. All in all, a really nice Saturday. 

One last video of a different area of the garden, for your viewing pleasure:

Oil Painting - Old Pump House

Here's the painting I did on Saturday. I did a little more to it last night so will consider it done. I am so rusty - need to get back in the groove, and back to basics.

Some pics of the condo

Here's a few shots of the condo. Because of the bright sun coming in the windows, everything looks a bit washed out in these pictures. I didn't bother taking a picture of the guest room upstairs or the baths. But its a total of a bit over 1800 sq ft. You can see the sun room through the doorway in the living room. I'd posted pics of the sun room several posts back.

I took a couple extra days off work over the 4th to get the rest of the boxes unpacked and the garage organized. I'm really comfortable and so happy in the new place. I've met lots of the other condo residents and everyone seems very nice. Now if the weather would just cool down a little bit, I could get back out and do some walking and biking in my new neighborhood! I guess I should check out the complex pool instead - I used to live at the pool when I was a kid, but its been years and am feeling a bit shy about heading down there. The "Welcome Committee" ladies did stop by my condo the first week I was here and gave me a tour of the pool and workout room.

Above, is a shot of the master bedroom with my abstract painting hanging on the wall (I had shown this painting on the blog about 6 weeks ago).