plein air prep

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Plein air time is coming. I am going to try to focus on two goals:

1. Simplify

2. Don't overwork

Made small sketches of two scenes near my house, and tried to paint them quickly, simply. Hoping this will help me distill the qualities I want when I try a larger version.

plein air?

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It's almost plein air season here at the Jersey Shore.

Our governor has opened beaches, with restrictions. I'm a little worried about what's going to happen when the Cape fills up with out-of-towners, but, since I am hoping to get outside and on my kayak, I guess others are hoping the same.

At least my friends and I can paint 6 feet apart!

In this painting--done indoors from a photo, not on location--I was trying to simplify and to push color.

The hump of grass on the left could probably use more work but since I'm really not sure what to do, I'm going to leave it alone.

irises:#1

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The irises have been in bloom for a couple of days--and it's 45 degrees here today, which I hope won't inhibit or kill them!--so time to get busy!

puddle

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This is a study for a larger painting ...

which I messed up!

Dpw challenge: spotlight

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Last week Joe Milligan got a few local artists together, virtually, for a daily painting challenge. Since it ended, none of us has painted! So I suggested we take a look at Daily Paintworks's challenges.

This is my response to this week's challenge.

I set up this still life after looking at paintings by one of my favorite still life artists, Giorgio Morandi.

estrella

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Revisiting of a subject I've painted before ... I always tighten up too much when painting the reflections. Have to go faster and wetter!

day 9: "sea life"

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This is the last day of our challenge. It's been a good kick-start.

For this painting I combined two photos I took ten years ago in Trellis Bay, Tortola, BVI, a beautiful place where I happened on these men working on their boat.

day 8: "new life"

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I switched to hot press for today's painting of a sprig of weigela.

I started at the top and worked my way down the page.

day 7: " in and out"

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A value study I did after I finished the painting. I am not happy with the painting itself and thought a value study might help me see what went wrong ... 

I think the problem turns out not to be the values but ( the usual culprit) overworking: I wasn't getting the result I wanted, so I kept on ot and on it ...

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day 6: "what I miss"

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So many ideas came to mind in response to this prompt!

Above is a painting of my brother in front of a tiny Audubon-protected island we kayak to in Florida. It's usually covered with nesting cormorants and herons.

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And this is me and my brother atabout favorite beach.

day 5: "people"

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Today's prompt was "people," and this photo that was in the.news this week of Trump supporters demanding that the economy be reopened came to mind. Such an ugly image. Occurs to me now I should have painted them like some Egon Schiele people, a sickly green with grotesque mouths.

day 4: "good enough to eat"

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I don't have much that's " good to eat" in the house, but I do have a few jars of homemade blueberry jam, which is very good to eat! I spoon it on my Greek yogurt!

I overworked the shadows on the napkin, especially on the right ... and there are a few other little things--which I'm not about to point out!

I was thinking painting and the desire for perfection. I imagine painters, artists of all kinds, must desire perfection ... but perfection in the right things, whatever they think those are.

For example, here some of my curves are not right, not perfect, but that honestly does not concern me so much.

What does bother me, where this painting falls short for me, is in the overworked sections; because for me, in my watercolors, "perfection" is freshness, ease, the flow of the paint.

day 3: "ABC 123"

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Okay, so I have no idea what this prompt was meant to elicit, and its issue, Geralyn, gave no clues!

So I decided to paint something with letters in it (there's a number too, 18, on the magazine cover).

I think I will darken some shadows and crop tighter.

These challenges have been ... challenging. I've been spending most of the morning on them, and it's good to feel I've accomplished something!

3 down, 6 to go.

day 2: "green"

                                  #2 

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                                    #1

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My plein air painting friend Diane came up with today's prompt, "green."

I thought about it overnight, and was planning to do a painting of a coconut palm--such a range of greens!

But I woke up today feeling less ambitious.

I painted the quince and lilac sprig I picked this morning, then saw a cup of dying daffodils and decided to try painting them too.

day 1: "at home"

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Joe Milligan, who taught a plein air class here last year, has got nine of us together for a virtual painting challenge: each day for nine days one person will suggest a subject or topic; the following day we post our paintings and get the new topic.

On Day one the topic was "at home."

Day Two's topic was suggested and it's (gulp) "green"!

daffodils 11 & 12

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10x14

More daffodils!

These will, sadly for me, be the last ones done from life. They were about done but the torrential rain and high wind we got here Monday really hastened their end!

daffodil 10

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Indigo handmade paper

Went in for the close- up on this one.

I like the bright yellows, but I'd like to do it again, adding some cast shadows.

april 30 faces/30days: day 1

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My 2nd and 1st attempts at day 1's "muse," as sketchy calls them.

I'm 11 days behind, but not too worried. I'll skip days 2 and 3 because the muses for those days don't appeal to me; I only attempt the ones I like.

This model very expressive eyes and a mass of dair hair: Lucky for my first day to have a muse so perfect for monochrome!

Each day Sktchy has a teacher who shows you a different technique, but I've decided to work exclusively in watercolor and see what happens.

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Started the day with another sky ...

The gray mix--manganese blue and transparent orange--was suggested by Angela Fehr, and it makes a lovely soft gray.

online class w Angela Fehr

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I signed up for Angela Fehr's Heart-Led Landscape class, and these are some color studies from the first classes.

Right away, I've learned something: I never do color studies, just jump right in trying to approximate what I see. But I often wish I could deviate from that; I just didnt think about how to go about it ... This seems like a good first step.

These cloud studies are an early lesson in the class too.

It is amazing how hard it is to kind of "let go" while still trying to think and evaluate!

I think I would benefit from doing these everyday: just to cultivate that mental practice.

You can find Angela Fehr videos on YouTube and more about her classes on her website, AngelaFehr.com.

wip: delaware bay lighthouses

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Returned a while back to a favorite subject of mine, Delaware Bay lighthouses started this trio, to be framed together, but abandoned it. Somehow I got the color schemes wrong ... among other things.

Thinking I may just try to bring them to completion and see what happens.

Finally filled my 42- well Robax palette!

Back when I bought it, 42 seemed like a lot ... Now of course I'm wishing I had gone for the 64 well!

tulip magnolias

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My tulip magnolia dies a couple of years ago in a late frost. But I have probably hundreds of photos of its blooms. Each year I'd anticipate them, and try to paint them as much as I could before they were spent, which was all too soon.

I usually don't paint a background when I paint magnolias, but, at least in the one here, I feel like the background enhances it.

I really miss that tree. When this is all over, I think I'll buy another to celebrate.

daffodils 9

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Many of my daffodils are drying up now, and many more have fallen over, but there are still some up.

And I hope to paint them a few more times.