Palouse Plein Air 2011 - My forays into painting in the great outdoors

8x8 Oil on Wood Panel

The Last Titan

4.5"x6.5" Oil on ArtBoard

Palouse Impressions

5"x7" Oil on Ampersand Panel

Palouse Impressions 2

10"x8" Oil on Masonite Panel

The Far Hill

10"x8" Oil on Masonite Panel

The Path Home

Friendly Visitor

A big THANK YOU to my plein air buddies for all their great advice. I am participating in the the Second Annual Palouse Plein Air (2011) - http://www.moscow.id.us/art/pleinair.aspx - the show opens tomorrow evening (Saturday) at Moscow City Hall. It's juried, so fingers crossed, one piece gets in.

Please come by - the reception is from 5-7pm.

I'd never participated in a Plein Air event before. I had the luck to attend one day of a painting workshop with Jim Lamb (www.jimlambstudio.com)while I was still in Seattle, and that gave me a first taste of painting outdoors. So this time, it was, well - "for real".

My first day, I stopped by City Hall for Kathleen Burns to stamp the backs of my (blank) panels. Though I am only entering 3 paintings, I can have as many panels stamped as I want. I guess it's just in case the muse hits and you have enough supply ready...

Each of us received a "goodie bag" - with maps of the suggested locations, a laminated "Artist Working" sign (great idea!) some snacks. Of course I got completely lost, but ended up finding the first location I picked - A nice lady's farm out near Viola, ID. As you can see, I had company.

Day Two (today)This morning I painted up near Iverson Loop, a couple miles out of Moscow. This place is gorgeous. I can't do it justice. I hope to eventually. I am constantly amazed by this landscape, of the Palouse. In the afternoon, I painted across the street from my house, wedged against a fire hydrant. My subject - the *huge* grain elevator directly across the street.

As the weather stays dry and sunny, I plan to keep painting in the mornings. Armed with my maps and my laminated sign (and portable easel, paints, sunhat... ) At the moment my attention span is about an hour and a half per painting, I need to learn patience. Practice, Practice, Practice, and don't waste time, Antonio.

My Own Private Idaho

On August 18th, 2011 we loaded (stuffed) the final boxes and remnants from our life in Seattle into a 17 foot U-Haul truck. Packed up our Corolla Station Wagon, herded one dog (Dan & Darcy, Dana & Pete) into each vehicle. At about 7:30 am we started the 5.5 hour drive across Washington State to our new home in Moscow, ID.

It was a hot, dry trip across the state, it was also a welcome change from the coolness of the Pacific Northwest. We arrived early afternoon, it took about two days to unload, unpack, and settle down. We were delighted to discover we are within walking distance of the "downtown" area, small local shops and restaurants, and access to most of what we need without having to get in a car. The University of Idaho campus is also within walking/biking distance.

Our new place is roomier with a nice large yard for the doggies. It's been very exciting for them, and they are taking it in stride. Mostly basking in the hot sun in the yard. Pete likes to spend most of his time in his bed in the bedroom (when not outside). The dogs have also discovered any toys the previous owners' dog abandoned in the yard - found toys are the best!

Dan started his job as part of the Nez Perce Legal Team on Monday, August 22nd. I'm still getting my bearings, but am optimistic about the opportunities a town like Moscow can offer an artist. I will maintain my art sites on Etsy etc.. so of course, my work is still available for purchase!

We don't miss Seattle per se, but I do miss my friends. Thankfully they are only a commuter flight away. ;)

Direct Painting, Sessions 6, 7 & 8

Each painting took approximately 2.5 hours. I'll probably re-visit a couple in the future. What a great class. I recommend anyone who wants to improve their painting (or drawing) to take Barbara Fugate's classes, either at Gage Academy (www.gageacademy.org) in Seattle or in West Seattle. (www.fromlife.blogs.com)

Emotive Color - 24"x24" Oil on canvas

Bright Color - 24"x24" Oil on Canvas

Neutral Color - 24"x 30", Oil on Canvas

Direct Painting - Sessions 4 & 5

Session 4 - Oil on Stretched Canvas - 22"x22"
2 hours

Our goal in Session 4 was the concept of deep space - foreground, middle ground, background. Manipulating paint - thinly in the background, thicker in the foreground. We were encouraged to use a toned canvas in a bright color - I chose an intense, hot pink, allowing it to show through in spots.

Session 4 - Detail

Session 5 - Oil on Stretched Canvas -21"x30"
2 hours

Our Challenge in Session 5 was shallow or flat space. Looking at various artists, we used a toned ground (this time, blue) and tried to maintain similar value throughout the painting. A way to think about it would be - If I took a black and white picture, there would be little to no contrast, mostly greys in a similar range. Another way to flatten space is the use of a consistent pattern.

Session 5 - Detail

Direct Painting #3 - The Gestural Line Painting

Session 3 - Oil on Canvas, 24"x18"
Approx 2 hours

This weeks' challenge was to build up our painting using gestural line/markmaking -"The Painted Gesture" - Gesture is about HOW things are, about movement, energy, life!" Could pick a monochromatic, analogous or complementary palette. I chose a Complementary Palette of Orange/Blue. Artists we looked at: Oskar Kokoshka, Susan Rothenberg, Toulouse Lautrec, Berthe Morisot, Zacher and Auerbach.

Painting Detail

My palette - 18"x 24"piece of 1/4" plexi with a piece of cardboard taped underneath. I also use a dry erase marker to mark the name of the hues. It helps me remember the color mixes.

Direct Painting Class with Barbara Fugate, Session 1 & 2

Session 2 - Oil on Canvas 28"x20"
Approx 2.5 hours

The Challenge in this painting was to work with line/contour line. We initially stained the canvas using paint, dipping our rags in mineral spirits. The focus was to get the big shapes of light & dark, positive and negative down first. We each chose a color scheme - I picked a Secondary Triadic of Green/Orange/Violet. The next step was to use line, of varying weight, color (intensity, value) to emphasize and activate the forms. Barbara showed us artwork by Matisse, Max Beckmann, Gauguin, Oskar Kokoshka, Alice Neel and others.

Session 2, Detail 1

Session 2, Detail 2

Session 1 - Oil on Canvas, 24"x24"
Approx 2h

In our first Direct Painting class we were challenged to simplify the forms we saw into simple, big shapes of light and shadow. We each picked a complementary color scheme - mine was Red/Green. We also had to try to find a Figure-Ground relationship - by adding greens into the figure I incorporated colors from the background into the main figure. We looked at the San Francisco Bay Area Painters (Joan Brown, Terry St. John, Paul Wonner), Leland Bell & Elmer Bishoff.

Session 1, Detail

Single Fare 2: Please Swipe Again. And Again.

My three entries to the Single Fare 2 show. I am so out of my league. Wonderful, wonderful works in this show - great artists like my friends, Debra Goertz, Suzanne Lago Arthur, Charis Carmichael Braun and Christian Johnson, as well as big names like Alyssa Monks (ridiculously amazing), Jacob Jacobsmeyer.. .
I had fun, and I know that counts somewhat. But some days, you just feel mediocre in the presence of such greatness. Which makes me more determined to keep learning.