Painting Daily - Inside and Out!

 

"Am I Blue?" 8x10 Watercolor

I love birds...and one of my favorites is the Bluebird! This little guy is all "puffed up" against a cold north wind. From 1983 to 1986 I lived in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. In addition to mountains, pine trees and rishing rivers, my subject matter included birds of all types...songbirds, gamebirds, ducks, geese, hawks, eagles....if it had feathers, I painted it. When I moved back to Texas, my subject matter turned more toward the plains, Hill Country, farms and ranches.

 

In the application of the final few strokes, I realized how much I've missed painting these joyful creatures - So, look for more of my feathered friends on my blog and website!

"Out To Sea" - View from the Betzel's window - 36 x 48 Oil on canvas

First let me say that a good commission doesn't come along very often....nor does one have a "story". This commission is one that resulted from being in the right place at the right time; I'm a true believer that things happen when they're supposed to.  This story began last October during my participation in the Invitational Coastal Paint Out in Port Aransas, TX.  On the last morning of the event, there was a Quick Draw event - it was cold and the wind was coming off the ship channel about 30 mph...but I persevered & painted a nice one in spite of the uncomfortable conditions.  After the Quick Draw, my husband & I wanted to grab some coffee to  "warm up" & decided to have a late breakfast at a local cafe`.  It was very crowded with only 1 table available, so it was good to be seated and not have to wait.  About 10 minutes later, another couple came in - no table available, so my husband (who never met a stranger) waved them over to share our table.  We exchanged names...the usual chit-chat about "where we're from" and "why we're here".  Bill & Jeanne were from Ft. Worth and purchased a 2nd home in Port A.  Long story short, they invited us to see their home and to discuss a commission painting for a large wall in the living area.  Their home is located on the entrance of ship channel to Corpus Christi Bay just about 1/4 mile down from the ferry landing.  Lovely home; gorgeous view.  Bill & Jeanne's favorite past-time is watching the dolphins "playing" out in front of the ships as they come & go. So...my commission was to replicate their "view"....the channel, the ship, their pier....and the dolphins.

 

So, my journey began with creating a composition that would  include these elements, with a huge orange tanker (they gave me a photo of "THE" ship) as the focus.  Problem #1: I have never painted anything (that floats) bigger than a shrimper.  Problem #2: The canvas is 36 x 48...almost taller than I am...and when on the easel, it is definitely above my head.  Problem #3:  The tanker is really, really big and the elements had to be "to scale" in comparison.  Problem #4:  This ship is a bright, eye-popping orange! 

 

From December until the end of April, I spent almost as much time planning & thinking as I did re-mixing a slightly different color than the one previously applied. One "adjustment" lead to another, and another; layer upon layer until the final stroke almost 5 months later.  I put the painting on my fireplace mantel and after 2 weeks, decided it was finished & signed it. 

 

"Leading the Way" - Dolphins  12x12 Oil on canvas

One of the issues I had with "scale" is that the dolphins had to be very tiny in the painting - and the dolphins were the source of a lot of fun for Bill and Jeanne...watching them jump and "challenge" the ship to catch them.  Off and on over the last month, I painted this small "close-up" of the dolphins as a surprise gift for them.  Now, this is a FUN painting!  It makes me smile.

 

Meanwhile, as I was struggling with the usual problems that accompany a large commission work, Bill and  Jeanne were going through struggles of their own; Bill had open heart surgery (doing fine & recovering nicely) and she was scheduled for rotator cuff surgery in about 2 weeks.  So when I let them know the painting was ready, they were thrilled and excited to see it.  My husband and I delivered both paintings last Sunday afternoon.  They love it....as well as the little dolphin painting...and the timing is perfect - with Bill still recovering and Jeanne scheduled for surgery soon, their trips to Port A have been put off for at least 2 or 3 more months.  The painting is hanging in their patio room which is kind of "tropical" and they can enjoy the "view" of the ship channel as if they are looking through the windows in their home in Port A. 

 

I'd also like to mention that this commission is very special....but in a personal way - my husband and I now have 2 new friends; and it all began with sharing a breakfast table with strangers in Port Aransas, Texas.

 

Have I ever mentioned that I really do love my job?

 

Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of being the guest artist for DeSoto Art League.  I'm also a member of this group so it's a great honor to be asked to present a watercolor demonstration.  The "topic" centered on my method of plein air painting and my choice of equipment for working on location. All my plein air equipment fits in a backpack and I pack a "tote" bag for misc. extra items that usually stays in my vehicle.  Logistics prevented an "actual" plein air demo, (it was about dark-thirty) so I worked from a photo of a local scene near Waxahachie.  This is watercolor on a 9x12 sheet of Arches Oil Paper.  The actual painting time - including answering questions from the group - was approximately 1 hour.  I donated the painting to be raffled off at a future D.A.L. event.

Farm Shed - 9x12 Watercolor on Arches Oil Paper - 4-25-13 Demo for Desoto Art League

 

Terlingua Creek - 10 x 12 Oil

Today I'm excited to share a new adventure - I've been asked to be a contributor to a new plein air website EnPleinAirGO!  This is a sister-site to Eric Michaels' En Plein Air Pro blog and website.  The site will publish reviews from different plein air artists of favorite painting destinations. Those of you who follow my plein air "travels" know that my field easel is the En Plein Air Pro   My first review is Big Bend National Park.  Included in the review are photos of the area - photos of paintings completed there along with suggestions on how to get there, where to stay, eat, ....and, of course...paint!  

 

  Old Mine Shack - Watercolor 9x12

 

The 2 paintings in this post were painted in 2012  just outside the west gate of Big Bend National Park - Terlingua, Texas.   I will be writing a review (complete with photos) on a favorite "destination" about every 2 to 4 weeks.  I'm really going to enjoy being a contributor to the site.  Writing these reviews will take me back - allow me to re-visit the sights & sounds and the joy of painting on location.   I'm looking forward also to reading reviews of other artist's favorite destinations and add to my "bucket list" of places to paint......Anyway, click on this link and take a little trip with me....

"Under the Palms" is my most recent oil painting..... the result of a request from my daughter for "something beachy" to fill a 40" space on her living room wall. This was no small request!  Her favorite place is in the Caribbean so she knows the subject well.  I don't usually photograph a project in it's different stages, but I thought it important to document progress for my daughter as a record  to accompany the painting when it passes to the next generation in her family:

 

Photo #1

With a thin mixture of Alizarin Crimson and Ultramarine Blue, I blocked in the light, medium and dark values in the composition. I really liked the strong "grayscale" rendering and was tempted to stop and go no farther! But.....even though this was a nice "sketch" I knew my daughter had somthing more "colorful" in mind....

 

Photo #2

......so I mixed up a big puddle of cobalt blue, thinned it with Gamsol & washed in the sky including a thin veil of blue over the distant island.                                                             

 Photo #3

Working alternately between the foreground and mid-ground, I began developing the wide variety of greens.  The greens in the foreground are darker in value and "warmer" (more red), while the greens behind the cabana are lighter in value and "cooler" (more blue).  Separating colors from the foreground by "temperature" creates depth.

 

                                                               

Photo #4

In Photo #4, I worked on the background first by painting the distant trees and enhanced the island mountain.  Moving forward to the middle ground, I painted the beach, the 1st layer of color on the hut, and added highlight definition to the palms & foliage behind the hut. 

 

Photo #5

Photo #5 shows about 1/2 day's work; Added more color to the sky at the top, gradating down through cloud formations ending with a cerulean (greenish-blue) at the horizon.  Painted the water & added a shoreline in the distance.  Brought the sand color forward as far as the trees and around the hut.  I worked a little more on the hut; shaped it up, added texture, and defined the support poles some more.  Painted the 1st layer of color on the palm tree in the right foreground.  

 

 Photo #6

 Now it's really beginning to take shape!  I finish all the foreground trees; palms, their trunks and all the darkest darks & lightest lights  that gives them depth.  More work on the thatch roof; softened the shadow edges and added more texture to the thatch.  Worked a little more on the horizon, especially in the area where the mountain recedes and softly disappears into the blue sky.  This stage of the painting was another 1/2 day - palm trees are no easy task!  The application as well as the direction of the brush stroke makes a difference....If the brush stroke is wrong, then the frond doesn't take on the right shape.....and there are so many varying shapes with one upon the other.  The shapes - as a whole - have to give the viewer a sense of "motion".... there's always a breeze on the beach.  Then there are the bright, clear colors.....oh, my!..... ranging from red to green to yellow. 

 

 

Photo #7  "Under The Palms"  30" x 30" Oil on Canvas

 

Photo #7 is the completed painting.  The "gallery wrap" sides aren't visable.  Painting the sides, top & bottom involved another couple of hours with "drying time" of 2 hours for each side.  While working on the sides, I decided the cabana was a little too "perfect" so I created a hole on the edge of the roof and repainted the shadow below to show sunlight coming through.  Repainting the shadows under the hut led to working a little more on "edges" between the sunlight and shadow on the sand - making some softer & lighter, others harder and darker.

 

I delivered the painting on Christmas Eve.  Of all the "commissions" in my career, this one gave me the most pleasure; it was a special request from my daughter, a subject that gave me a bit of a challenge (very different from a Texas landscape) but most importantly, it's a painting that (I hope) will remain in my family for a long, long time.

This past weekend, I spent 3 days painting on location in the Texas Hill Country along with 50 other painters as we participated in the 1st annual Kerrville Outdoor Painters' Event. I left Waxahachie about 10am on Thursday, arriving to check in about 2:30pm. With only a couple of hours before I lost the light, I chose to paint a private residence close to downtown. The 100 year old historic home with a red tile roof sat quitely under the canopy of one of the oldest trees in town. A joy to paint and a good one to "warm up" with after driving 5 hours.

6x8 Watercolor

 

Friday, I had several locations to choose from, and settled on the Kerrville Hills Winery. This lovely property had several buildings with a lot of "character" in typical Hill Country settings. About 10:00am, the shadows on the front of "The Barn" were just about perfect. This exterior of this barn had horizontal layers of tin - even the doors were covered with the tin. What made the barn unique were the odd shape and placement of doors. The hills in the distance provided a great background. I didn't have to do much design work on this one - everything was already in place.

"The Barn" - 9x12 - Watercolor

 

I finished up the barn about 1:30 and moved to another location on the property. Upon arrival Friday morning I spotted a well house, but the light wasn't quite right yet. By 2pm, the light was hitting the side of the well house and the storage tank. As with the barn, I didn't have to do much design work on the composition - everything was already in place; shadows in the foreground, with the well house and storage tank setting against strong darks.

 

 

I finished up the well house about 3:30pm. By the time I got my gear packed up it was about 4pm. The event's Quick Draw was scheduled to begin at 5pm. I got back to the Kerr Art Center about 4:15 which gave me about 45 minutes to settle on a location and get set up. I'm not sure how many painters participated in the Quick Draw, but I'm sure it was more than 20. We had 90 minutes to complete a painting within the 200 block of Earl Garrett street downtown. KACC planned the Quick Draw to happen at the same time as a "Wine Swap" and there were about 200 people downtown, walking, sipping wine & looking at art....perfect! My Quick Draw painting "Cool Shadows" won Peoples' Choice - what an honor!

 

"Cool Shadows" - 9x12 Watercolor - SOLD

Winner: PEOPLES' CHOICE Award

 

The organizers of the event sponsored by the Kerr Art & Cultural Center definitely did their homework on how to host an outdoor painting event. From the 1st moment of check in until the final hour of the Saturday night awards presentation, the event was staffed with helpful and knowledgeable people. I definitely will add this paint out to my calendar for next year. It was a great event!



 

"The Fowler Home - 201 East University" 16 x 20 Watercolor

 

Home portrait commissions are hard work. Most go together pretty quick; the elements are easily defined and arranged into a pleasing composition. If it's one of the quick ones, the "research phase" only involves 2 on location sessions for color notes and sketches of architecture details that are lost in the shadow areas of a photograph. The "drawing phase" is about 4 hours and the "painting phase" takes from 4 to 6 hours. Then there are commissions that take a bit longer.....like this one; "The Fowler Home". As you can see from my reference photos below, this is not a small house!

This 2-1/2 story home is a 100+year old beauty sitting on a 1/4 acre lot in a historical residential district of Waxahachie. Mature trees surround the house and in the summer the dappled light adds to the charm. One tree on the north side is probably older than the house. On the south side toward the back is the carriage house. The home and carriage house have been through many phases of restoration which involves a lot of time, patience, and expense. After many happy years of raising a family, the owners are now "empty nesters" and have decided to down-size. They commissioned the painting as a memory to take with them and will pass the painting on to the children.

 

                            

View looking north at 100 year old tree

 

    

View from the front from the street

 

The Carriage House

During my interview with the owners, I quickly discovered that the carriage house and the big tree were important to them. In order to include both in the composition, the "angle" of the house had to be "straight-on" with the tree on the right and the carriage house on the left. Oh, and the brick walk was important too; they laid it by hand themselves.

 

This is the finished drawing. I worked on "thumbnail" sketches for 3 days, which involved several trips back to the house to verify bits of detail. My process is to first get the proper "scale"; the house compared to the size of the carriage house and the big tree. Next is to accurately draw the house. "Getting it right" on a project like this requires a lot of drawing, erasing, and re-drawing...so the original draft is on a piece of transparent vellum that erases easily. Throughout the entire drawing process, I'm checking to make sure all horizontal and vertical lines are "true". If those lines are right, then all other lines fall into place easily, such as the hipped roof angles. When I'm satisfied with the drawing, I transfer it to the watercolor paper using a graphite-based paper - it's the artist's "carbon" paper.

 

  

This is about 50% complete. I've washed in the pale yellow color of the house leaving the white of the paper for the porch railings and trim. Added some landscaping and part of the background on the right. and lightly washed in the big tree's foliage. The Crape Myrtle tree and carriage house on the left are about 85%.

 

I apologize for the "slanted" angle of this photo; the drawing is straight; it's my camera that's crooked - This shows the washed in shadows and dappled light cast from the big tree on the roof & front of the house. A little more detail is added to the trees and I've defined the brick walk and detail of the windows and doors a little more. I will apply 2 or 3 more light washes to deepen the color of the house and finish the big tree & foliage. The last is to finish the foreground'; I'll add shadows cast from the tree across the lawn and walk. The home during different times of day is usually in "dappled light" and partial shade. It sits facing the east so this is a "morning" painting.

 

I compare values and color against my photos and sketches - I allow the paint to completely dry to make sure there are no more value "shifts". Watercolor when dry is usually 3 to 4 times lighter than when it is wet. Since this painting is on 300# Arches paper, it takes about an hour to dry completely. When completely dry and under low humidity conditions, I'll apply 3 coats of clear matte acrylic - front and back - to seal the painting and render it "waterproof". My clients can make the decision to mat and frame it traditionally under glass...or (my preference) frame it without the mats or glass.

 

This commission was a lot of work - about 20 hours total; but it was joyful work. I love turn-of-the-century homes...they just don't make 'em like that any more, and I appreciate people - like my clients - who take time and money to care and preserve them for the next generation.

 

 

From the first time I picked up a watercolor brush in 1972, Arches watercolor paper has been my preference for painting.  I've "tested" different papers over the years, but none can match Arches brand  - in my opinion - for consistent quality.  The two paintings below are on a new product:  Arches Oil Paper. 

 

Cabin in the Woods - 6 x 8

TOP: Watercolor on Arches Oil Paper

BOTTOM: Oil on Arches Oil Paper

 

 This new painting support is an acid-free 140# paper with a surface similar to cold press.  It's "sized" to accept oil and not soak through, allowing the paint to stay on the surface.  It doesn't curl or buckle when saturated with OMS or water.  Oil paint and watercolor pigment goes down smoothly on the "toothy" surface without any noticeable color or value shift.  As usual, watercolor dries in an instant - no surprise there.  A thin layer of oil paint sets up to a "tacky" stage in about an hour or so in the studio. I haven't field tested the oil paint under sun & wind conditions, but I'm thinking it could become tacky even sooner. 

 

Cabin In The Woods - 6x8 - Oil on Arches Oil Paper

 

Cabin In The Woods - 6x8 - Watercolor on Arches Oil Paper

 

What excites me most about this new paper product  is that I no longer need to purchase 2 types of painting supports; paper for watercolor... and canvas/linen for oil.  I can use the same support for either media.  Not only will this save money (a 22x30 sheet is about $7.00) but when packing to go on location, paper takes up a lot less room & weighs practically nothing.   This paper is flexible and can be rolled or stored flat, depending on available space in the studio or in my SUV.  

 

Framing should be fairly simple as well; an oil or watercolor can be sprayed with a clear acrylic varnish/sealer then "backed" with acid-free gator board or similar material.  

 

My field gear has just become a lot more compact: 6 or 7 sheets of Arches Oil Paper cut to different sizes; a tripod; one En Plein Air Pro Advanced series easel watercolor and oil palettes; it all fits into a backpack.  A small tote packed with brushes, a few tubes of paint, turp, water, paper towels, hat, & bug spray.  The whole set up probably weighs less than 15 lbs. 

 

So,  I think oil or acrylic painters will like the way this paper handles the paint - and watercolorists will like it too.  If you're a painter that works in oil AND watercolor, you should try this new product.  I'd be interested in hearing from you. 

 

 

 

                                                                                                          105 E. University - The Traugott Home

9x12 Watercolor

My work in the studio this week was a labor of love....a home "portrait". This painting is of a 1920's bungalow on a quiet street in one of Waxahachie's historic districts. My clients purchased the home as newly-weds and as the family grew in numbers, it became necessary to find a larger home.

Two weeks ago, on the day they sold the house, they contacted me and comissioned a painting.  Intimate conversations with clients are as important as sketches and photographs. As I snapped photographs and made quick sketches from several angles, I listened carefully as they talked about the house - and after a short while, I began to see the home through their eyes. It was evident they are excited about the move to their new home, but at the same time, there's the sadness of leaving their first home; one filled with love and laughter and children. A photograph gives me technical information, but there's no emotional connection....it doesn't share memories. It doesn't tell "the story".

Elements in the painting - the big tree and dappled light; the flower gardens; the red door; faces in the picture window - are all connected to a family memory. Everyone - except the family - will see a painting of a house...but the family will see and remember "the story".

Commissions like this one give me great pleasure.   I'll deliver "105 E. University"  tomorrow to it's new home with the knowledge that it will continue to tell "the story" in the Traugott family for generations to come.