A major goal for this year is to become more confident with plein air. That means LOTS of plein air starts. I am finally getting outside a couple of times a week. Weather is still cool, days are short and mostly cloudy and dark. It is the earliest in the season that I have tried. Two hours would be max time for me; coffee-bladder plus cold. Which is actually good because it forces me to think and act quickly and limit my work to starts.
I have decided to stick with acrylics for the next month or so. With acrylics I generally make two or three or more starts per outing. I usually look around, make a few to many thumbnail sketches of what I think might work then sketch onto the panels and usually choose different formats and size for each. Because it is slow drying this time of year I usually come with panels prepared with some ( usually dark and warm) under painting. During the warm season I usually roughly draw in the large shapes then develop the under-painting with transparent darks and use my colour shaper to pick out a value plan.
Anyway, I was out a few days ago. It was dull, dark and cool. Set up with the intent to see if I could just capture the feel of the day over the local waters. Made four starts looking at different viewpoints. Total time just over two hours.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf1Xu08oN4Xwnl5F6iIUfRqn7aQqVxvJmyEvBBMWU8ehDk4hZ7pMduRYlbRw0IRDPgetpmoYm5HDVcHQC8B11UftXM3a-YmHorbizATfrb4_hlah7Hmvpmz318oCfM5B3qZG1hW3B0H-E/s320/DSC06964.JPG) |
Like working off the tail gate |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX5YzKgv22EtcX-xjAWjcA3j_w865uIo_sjYmafxayIJsTL__0RpoT6tUKDezXBVB_WYTtCuMpjJ4I-RKDMRHIzIjTGHKm2PEiP6rMMhSsG7Gfzqp2MqjVrgbjDkhP5YisKFf3B84XNm0/s320/DSC06957.JPG) |
You can see my acrylic set up in the free ArtByte - side bar |
I have gotten into the habit of making two or more starts at the same time to allow the acrylics to dry. I work on one for a bit then move the another while the first dries. Also forces me to think and work quickly which generally makes for a more simplified and stronger statement.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrZrEHadHmCJXxOWjrZgPI9UH_y9XR0EGXPpjTLqbibCtL8gTPUWwWNBrYMxSfCx4Uy-_t9N1Tiz8gvaFS7cgeYAy8gRjQxNf4uydWQcgSm1RsxcsYydLe8cZo0KiGK6ej-OPQwJZg7Vk/s320/DSC06958.JPG) |
12x16 |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE5yqcG46xyPvLoMRM0F7UFlK_Gvaj1HOKakrBBFHsElHo0ECuIVODdf7s913Imm_k7yCyGZtHDrynM8ZsdKdHkEa0pXuOLKOq5Xhx0T5pjQAwP0klIa2uMlAFOqR5Q3IZAOfQHyzIR0k/s320/DSC06961.JPG) |
9x12 |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil5a6qX2lUi_hh-fv-YrmzeBY2GU2PZNJMjbUn-s9izooUaBbVfM2OcbXszPsaU5SnrTobj4JsWv00Q3xo8CjkeWL9jfA0zQC2r3pqaO-z1TvPYFFtWOKE3E_gpt7biw8gQxkdP-BxGmA/s320/DSC06963.JPG) |
8x10 and I think you can see the red iron oxide underpainting in the two bottom. |
So I don't think too much about them. Just put the sketch on linen and go home. That's important and a good reason to make more than one and to not have time to tinker.
Once home they go into a frame - no matter what I might think about them - and I spend a bit of time looking and considering - WHAT IF ?? . I use my critique form and ask my self the questions - starting with the big ones first: is there a dominant colour, dominant value, centre of interest, etc etc
I saw something in this group that I liked - or at least enough to put more thought into them. They needed more drama and a stronger center of interest to draw the eye.
And this is where the WHAT IF and IMAGINATION comes in. I don't use a photo reference but simply think of what would make it stand alone as an interesting piece- nothing to do with what I saw when I made the sketch. Its not about being correct - but about making it attractive and interesting ( and it also needs to "read" considering the subject). Because it is acrylic I can start to play and go back and forth, often glazing with a dark transparent or scumbling with a opaque.
I won't go into details but I played with the overall value pattern in all of these. Using a partial or complete glazing to drop the value down - think it was Golden Payes Gray Liquid - then pulled up some contrasts with opaques. Tried to let some underpainting peek though where possible. I also saw that I needed, or thought I did, something to complete the full value range and to draw the eye. I chose to put sails in the distance - very simple with single stroke. But what was fun was that on the first I splashed spots of thin titanium white and thought I had lost it. Then I thought, what the hell, they look like stars so I used my new handy Liquatex splash tool and added a variety of sizes and values. Strictly serendipity - but I liked it.
And that is my approach to trying to finish the plein air starts in the studio - sort of a thoughtful play and hope something my come of it. It might take days of looking at it before I have an ah haaaa moment and decide what to try.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4mqK1eCC2OxjTT8cD7B4Nx636PxbELecnpbxMz66VV4b_qfRkZ_Vw0-BmmVr5FrbDlGlS-lQCmycEHiPZ98TbLoo2ADvyJTifDImZrNv5cgmIbi2Lko08Fnlli0F12eng8KOdEET7XYM/s400/IMG_0416.JPG) |
Starlight Sail Acrylic 8x10 |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSpAQ1rZ_Y36e5QNazEd-vjk7WRP5-xBs-NFe6ec1YfhnfIvXWrsy7t0YW6v5wDtMRtrbScM6kguqMxY_6orCmuJFJ67UB8J1wyWePP_oZsfuO16-HoV9f0FXeAx50sJVq6F2fJEs58q0/s400/IMG_0419.JPG) |
This one I decided to play with more drama by adding warms to the sky and land |
These are very simple pieces. Not much to them - but they are fun to do and the more simple the statement often the stronger the piece.