Category: plein air

Me, Whimsical?

Having finished the dancers painting for the person interested in illustrations for their book,I emailed the image with fingers wimply crossed. Yes, I said wimp-ly. As in like a wimp. Should I have said sheepishly? Anyway, I was thinking it might not be to their liking with the “whimsy” word being tossed about.

Do I see my painting, or myself, as whimsical? I think not. My kids would say “Who, you? Uh, no.” Those are smart, observant guys, those kids of mine. Yeah.

I think watercolor work is light and airy by nature of the medium. Would I call my handling of the medium melancholy? So I lean toward Prussian blue and alizarin crimson, are they sad, depressing colors? Not in my opinion.

I paint what I see generally. With photos I see too much. From life there’s no time or room to see everything, which is what I like about painting from life. I am not sure it’s even possible to use watercolors to capture a crowd of people dancing unless in abstract forms or quick gestures. Maybe that would have been a better way to go, but I needed a reference, hence the photo.

What can you do? Can you please everyone? No.

I will continue to stay positive, or invite the unwanted advances of Mr. Resistance. I decided the operative word was “Yes”. I went with the flow. I tried my best with what I thought would be okay, and maybe not how I would have liked it to be.

After working from life going back to a photograph for guidance didn’t feel exactly right. Being true to myself and my own objectives may be more important in the long run. Book deal or no book deal.

Painting in the Wild vs the Studio

This new computer stuff is just taking up alot of time that I could be doing other things.  I visited the Apple Store yesterday and asked a few questions about the iphoto thing.  The wacky salesman, yes he was wacky and all over the place..very upbeat, high energy guy, went to a computer station and tried a few things.  He said he really wasn’t that informed about specifics with iphoto.  I watched in rapt awe as he brought up a photo and per my thoughts, resized it.  Amazing.

At the time of purchase our sales person asked if we wanted to add lessons.  I didn’t think it would be something I’d have time for so we opted out.  Of course, Son #2 has it all down already. Kids!  Now I’m thinking maybe lessons would have been a good idea.  But when?  I’ve got enough on my plate as it is, but then, if I knew what I was doing all this wouldn’t take all the time I do have.

It’s a dilemma.

I came home and tried to copy what the high energy crazy salesman did in the store and I did figure it out.  It just took me a while.  So maybe that’s what it will take, a while.

Later on I visited the watercolor of the hydrangea on my desk and got to work on it.  I don’t know how I feel about it.  Painting from life at the beach is so different from painting in the studio.  I think I like the life painting better.  I can’t be sure what it is about the out-of-studio painting.  It could be that I’m outside.  It could be that I’m working live and don’t have all day so I have to be quick. Maybe it’s that working from life leaves out the possibility of going into too much detail.  If I work from my photographs I see too much detail and paint too tight.  Working in the ‘wild’ I paint more freely, only adding enough detail to tell the story.  We’ve been down this road before, I know, I know.

Maybe it’s good to have different styles of painting?  Maybe I should just paint and keep quiet?

If I find that I’m really a plein air painter, winter is going to be a tough time!  I can’t even think about it from now.  Back to the easel!

What’s the Rush?

Painting in progress
I must slow down my progress on this garden painting.  I’m trying to figure out why I’m in such a rush while painting.  Where’s the fire, huh?  I don’t take into account that I’m working with a medium that needs to dry somewhat before I keep throwing more paint in an area.  What’s that word?  Impatient?  I feel like I want to see results while I’m  painting, but with these watercolors I’m learning I need to wait just a bit or there’s going to be mud, not color and form.  While I was working on this I had to stop myself from continuing. 
Is it that I’m working from life that gives me a sense of urgency?  The idea that I’m present and ready, let’s get it down before I lose the feeling?  I don’t get that sense when I work from my photos.  No, with photos I get too detail-y.  Maybe it’s the idea in my head that time and light is fleeting?
When I paint from life I forget where I am and it’s a good feeling.  But I push it and keep painting like a mindless robot, just adding color, shadow, lines, water, with out of body movements.  As I wake from my painting stupor, I look at the work I did and think, “Ok, you did it again and messed it up! Idiot.”  Some how I don’t tear up the work and I just leave it tossed aside discarded like the trash, but not in the trash.  Later on while passing by on my way to another room I see it and think “Oh that’s how it looks now?  How come it’s not as bad as I thought?”  Things seem to work.
Funny thing is I always forget that it’s the process not the outcome.  Why is that?  I wish I could figure out how my brain works.  How long does it take to grow up?