Plein Aire Painting Woes

As I collect more instructional DVDs from artists I admire, I consistently hear them challenge painters to paint more from life to improve their abilities. But I have a hard time getting models who will sit for several hours while I practice (I have not been able to get anyone to sit for hours while I paint, not even my own family). So, I've determined that the best I can do for now is to paint "en plein aire" I am surrounded by the beautiful Appalachian mountains with winding rivers and pristine scenery, so I packed up the stuff last night and waited to hear back from a friend who agreed to paint with me on an overcast, cloudy Saturday.

The Watauga River winds through the mountains and provides some of the most majestic scenery you can imagine. Rocks, trees, deep pools, fly fishermen... this river has it all. You can pull over as you are driving on the road right next to the water, then carry your stuff down a steep embankment, holding on to branches and sliding a bit as you navigate your way to a rocky and sandy spot along the bank.

My painting friend was late so I set up at a spot where I could imagine a simple composition: a large rock with the water rushing around it and the opposite bank framing the verdant scene. I pulled out my easel and supplies then ate a lite lunch I had packed before I got paint all over my fingers. I am careful these days not to mix my food with paint. I think that is the least I can do to adhere to some safety standards in my painting practice.

The day's weather was intermittently overcast then sunny so I started blocking in a small 9 x 12 in linen canvas mounted on foamcore, the kind I like to pack because they are lightweight and seem to provide a good surface for the paint. I get a bit frustrated with them at times because I like a smoother surface for faster paint application and when I am sitting outdoors, speed is one of the goals I keep in the forefront of my mind.

My painting companion showed up and walked down stream to find a spot where he could paint. He was using a borrowed French easel and was just starting with oils after years of painting in acrylics. There is plenty of scenery to choose from but I have found that simple compositions are hard to choose. When you are in a candy store with so much variety, picking out just one piece can be a challenge and so it is with taking care that your paintings don't become a massive effort in futility because you have tried to paint too much.

And that seems to sum up my frustrations with composition these days. I have such a drive to simplify and show the essence of a subject that I wrestle with paring the scene down to its simplest parts. That, I believe, is the secret to lasting impact in a painting and capturing the viewer's attention right away. I sit in front of all this beauty and I want to paint it all but I later regret such a venture as I don't even like what I rendered. There is a danger to that kind of unbridled artistic lust and it produces lousy paintings. I think you have seen plenty of them.

Simplify, simplify, simplify... is the mantra rattling around in my head as I sit by the water's edge.

That is why composition is so important to me in my pursuit of learning and improving. Simplify, simplify, simplify... is the mantra rattling around in my head as I sit by the water's edge.

Well, it didn't take too long before the rains came and my painting partner got soaked. I had my sun umbrella packed in my gear so I pulled it out and deployed it to protect myself from the drops and kept going for another hour. But alas, I too was overcome after a bit and decided to pack up and go. I knew I had taken enough photos of these scene that I could finish it at home, and so, I did.

Is plein aire painting the answer to learning that magical touch called, "painting from life?" I don't know. But I am not about to give up. I want to make sure I learn all I can from this venture and I have plenty of material around me to experiment on.

The Art Around You

Painting at Wilson Gorge near Lenoir, NC.

If you're like me, you have seen advertisements for workshops in foreign exotic locations and wished you could go there and paint. Who wouldn't want to go to Venice or Paris and set up your plein aire easel on some quaint side street for the afternoon to capture the classic sunlight on those buildings that were painted by bygone masters. When I go to the website of painters like CW Mundy and see the latest paintings from his European trips, I wonder if I could pull it off like he does–venture in Europe for a month painting every day and selling them like hotcakes before he even returns. Would I chose to paint the Venice gondolier like generations before me have painted, or would I shrug off such a subject matter because by now I feel it is cliché? Would just being in Venice with a paintbrush make the subject matter extraordinary and worthy of the canvas?

Scott Burdick and his wife Sue travel to exotic places around the world and then present travelogues showing images of peoples and lands far away to a room full of ardent admirers. Their paintings are a selection from the images they captured and the cultural influences they absorbed while circling the globe on adventures. They appear very successful to me and I have thought about what it would take to be able to do what they do. Of course, I have to wait until my kids are gone so that my wife and I can be as unencumbered as they are.

Does the location make the subject matter special? Am I longing for the chance to go somewhere far away so that I can gather material and paint a series that will somehow catapult me to success? Or is there enough around me to fill a life-time of canvases if I just look for it. Today I was introduced to a local resident who is not unusual for this area, and easy not to notice as I drive by her house everyday, but whose little world holds a treasure chest of things that can keep me busy painting for a long time. Mary's life is simple and it seems is complete. She complains about nothing, welcomes everyone and is well cared-for by family, friends and neighbors who stop by and make sure she is fine.

Mary has lived in the same house all of her 92 years and will smile as she tells you about growing up in this area. I'm sure she has repeated these stories to many like me. I did not spend much time with her today but I was fascinated as I heard about a life lived by a common person of uncommon resilience and spunk. Her little wood house has no running water, no indoor plumbing, no refrigerator or television (she was offered one recently and refused it) and yet she seems so content, so satisfied. The few small rooms she lives in are heated by a large cast iron wood stove and the pile of cut and split wood outside tells me I don't have to worry about her when the temps dip down below 10 again like they did last week.

Ninety two years ago the US was just entering World War 1. Today she showed me the photo of a black man standing next to bee hives and she told me he worked for her family until he died in 1925. He was captured as a boy by Confederate forces in South Carolina until he escaped to the mountains where he was able to live among the farm families of the Appalachians. I have never talked to someone who had listened to stories of the Civil War and it gave me a strange sense of connection to the distant past.

As I looked around the simple home and the things that are everyday life to Mary, I saw meaningful compositions for paintings. Sometimes the simple things in life make the most attractive things to paint. They invite the viewer to identify with the surroundings or relate to the symbolism inferred in them. Mary's home is full of such things.

Do we need to go far to find subject matter for painting? Look around and I think you will find that you don't. I will write more about this as I explore the notes and images I have in my mind for future works.

Charleston and the Art Auction

Robert Lange Gallery

Viewing the exhibit "Women Painting Women"

Last weekend my wife and I enjoyed our first trip to Charleston, South Carolina where we made it our goal to visit as many art galleries as we could and enjoy the historical city. I don't have to tell those who have been to Charleston, but for those who haven't, this is a city you need to visit.

Charleston has become an internationally known art city with over 40 galleries surrounded by a community that is proud to preserve its history and the buildings that represent it. Every street in the old district is lined with beautifully restored homes of the 18th and 19th century. Many have been converted to bed & breakfast inns and many others into fantastic looking galleries. There is just something fascinating about seeing so many great original works of art in such picturesque surroundings that one weekend was not nearly enough time.

Of course, there is a busy shopping district with stores representing the top retail brands. You could spend a lot of money and time shopping for the things you can most often buy back home, but we were there to look at art.

We also found the hosts in Charleston to be exemplary of southern hospitality. The artists and gallery owners were very friendly and welcoming.

We also found the hosts in Charleston to be exemplary of southern hospitality. The artists and gallery owners were very friendly and welcoming. On Sunday, our last day there, we intentionally returned to one of those galleries, the Robert Lange Studios, to look again at the exhibit, "Women Painting Women" that is on display (and will continue through the month). Robert and his wife Megan are owners of the gallery and organized the exhibit featuring paintings from 50 female artists who submitted pieces from around the world. The image above was taken in the studio as I was standing in front of the painting "Universal Mother of Compassion" by Adrienne Stein. I would strongly recommend that you visit the exhibit if you are in the area. You can preview it on Robert's web site.

On Saturday night, we also attended the annual Charleston Art Auction presented by the Charleston Fine Art Dealers Association (CFADA) and sponsored in part by American Art Collector magazine which raised money to benefit the Charleston County High Schools' fine art programs. There were over 150 paintings for sale including some incredible pieces by such artists as Scott Burdick, Sue Lyon, Ken Auster, Dan Gerhartz, Dan and Danny McCaw, and Stephen Scott Young. The top bid for the night went to a piece by Jonathan Green ($50K) which seems encouraging considering the concern by many about the state of the economy and the sale of art.

My favorite pieces were not up for auction but were available for sale by watercolor artist Stephen Scott Young. This is the first time I have seen an original of Mr. Young's works and I was filled with appreciation for his talent. His four pieces started at $75K each.

As we moved quickly from gallery to gallery, we were encouraged again to return to one in particular on Sunday, the Martin Gallery on Broad Street. Besides the unique surroundings of marble and high windows characteristic of an old bank, the gallery offered some of the best art in Charleston. In particular we returned to see the sculptures by artist Mitch Billis.

Mitch's sculptures are at once both whimsical and exciting and leave you staring at every inch of the fine detail and amusing touches he adds to the subjects. Mitch comes from a family of artists, and after starting his own foundry in Bozeman, Montana, he decided to become a full-time sculptor. He describes in his work, that he is "continually reaching out to his children as touchstones to bring out the child in him." I certainly see that influence in the pieces on display in the gallery.

We were again impressed with the friendliness of the artists in the city. Robert and his wife Megan Lange, Shannon Smith of Smith Killian Fine Art gallery, Bob Graham, and Mickey Williams are just a few of the ones that stood out and we are appreciative of their hospitality. We hope to be back in Charleston soon.