plein air: surf ave, cape may point

 7.5x11

My friend Karoline found a wonderfully shady path to the beach where we painted the other morning.

I wish I had made those shadows bigger, bolder ... I painted what was there, instead of changing it to make a better painting! 

 

grassy sound

11x15

Where did July go? Between the heat wave (no AC), an unusually heavy workload (why doesn't that happen in winter?!), trying to get together some new paintings for two--yes, two--group shows (the owner of the gallery scheduled them both for the same two weeks!), and trying to keep the plants in my yard alive ... it's been a muggy whirlwind.

I don't know if I should say I finished this painting or that I'm finished with it. I guess it doesn't matter: Both are true.

But I love the subject, and hope to return to it.

wip: grassy sound

11x15

Started another painting of some little houses along the back bays here.

I made a tactical error right off the bat, painting the shady side (the light is coming form the right) of the buildings too early; they're too gray, maybe too dark, and maybe confusing. If I had waited till later, I think they'd be more integrated.  But I'm going to keep going because 1) maybe I'll come up with a "fix"; or 2) maybe it won't be so noticeable when the painting is done.

plein air: loosening up

 7x10

I forgot all about my plein air class last week! But I made it this week, if a little late.

I set up and started drawing Burcham's farmhouse. 

I was about to start painting when I turned around and looked behind me: there was a tractor path in the grass, hazy trees in the distance, and barn swallows flying everywhere.

I decided to try something I've heard about from several people lately--do a little warmup painting.

It started out so well ... I was trying to think of John Singer Sargent, of his brushwork and color choices--I just added one of his favorite colors, viridian, to my palette, and there's a touch of it here; but I didn't get his values or composition. May try to tweak it and paint it again.

Still have to add the swallows, but I need to do a little research first.

 

11x15

By the way, the warming up did help, I think. It was getting dark so I didn't have much time, but I did put in washes for the sky and distant trees and I think they came out very fresh and unfussy.

I'll post a photo next time--too dark for photos now!

richardson's creek

 14x18

It's weird but this scene has even more hard edges than the previous one, which I thought didn't work for that reason, but I like this one ... 

I took more time with this one, working on it in three sittings. Maybe that was a help, forcing me to evaluate as I went.

too too

11x14

Every day is not a winner, as my mother used to say. I like some things about this painting--the grasses, the muddy shoreline and it's reflection in the shallow water. But there's a stiffness to it--too many hard edges?--that makes me call it a miss. worth trying again, wetter and looser next time!

 Another couple of abandoned paintings below ... same problem as the one above, I think: despite a nice passage here and there, too ... too something!

7.5x11 each

plein air: view from 93rd Street, Stone Harbor

11x15

The South Jersey Plein Air painters met at the Stone Harbor Yacht Club and though I had work to do, I went, because I thought, "Boats!"

But when I got there, I opted for this scene across the intracoastal.

plein air: schellenger's lane

11x15

I joined a plein air painting group and when I met them at the Cape May Harbor I was not sure what to paint. Settled on these work boats. I couldn't see them very well--they were far away and backlit, so I thought that would be the challenge: painting something I could barely see with enough detail to make it recognizable.

After I got home, I darkened the lower left a bit because I thought it didn't register as water. Also, I got some advice to that effect--to darken the water or to crop the bottom; both good suggestions--from a Facebook group I recently joined, The Accidental Watercolorist.

The first painting I put on the page was the one below. I like the subject so much, and was pretty happy with the blue-grays, but I was just dissatisfied and couldn't put my finger on what was wrong. I posted it to The Accidental Watercolorist and gota lot of 1) encouragement and 2) good practical advice--about color, atmospheric perspective, etc.--that I will definitely follow when I re-do this one!

8x10

plein air: first avenue, cape may

11x15

I had intended to paint just the brown house and the dune grasses; I was going to put the ocean in the background ... But once I started drawing my plan was forgotten.

I like this scene very much and think it could benefit from a little more editing, so I'll probably paint it again before the summer's out.

Happy Fourth of July!

plein air: burcham's farm

11x14

My second week painting at Burcham's farm. This is the rear view of the farmhouse, which sits atop a hill. Next week I hope to do the front view...

I painted this on location--being intermittently bit by flies!--but I held off on the shadows until the next day, at home. I masked the tree trunk with tape so I could paint the shadow freely and sweepingly.

I had taken a picture that has a painter sitting by the tree and wanted to include her, but I couldn't find the photo!