Key West Getaway

Well we have stolen away in the dark of night (actually very early in the morning but same diff!) for a little visit to one of our favorite places. Here in Key West we were greeted with a balmy 79 degrees. We spent the evening watching the sun set near the pier.  Big billowy clouds hovered  but never overtook the sky. If they don't obscure the light too much,  clouds can make the sunsets dazzle, and tonight was no exception. The sky changed in every moment giving us a dazzling array of color contrasts and brilliant combinations. Golden to orange to deep rose. We enjoyed the sky for some time as the sailboats came in, even long after the hour of sunset. The gold horizon lingered even as the sky softened and darkened to a deep velvety blue.

It's hard not to gush and mush after enjoying something so beautiful. But gushing is about all I have energy for right now! No painting tonight... we're pooped. But I did bring my toys, so if the weather cooperates I'll paint while we're here. If my computer cooperates I'll also post here on the blog during our stay!

Art Opening tomorrow night at Jennifer Young Studio & Gallery

If you're in Richmond stop by to see some of my recent paintings of the American South. We'll host an opening reception from 6 to 9 p.m.  The exhibit will continue through the end of January. Jennifer Young Studio & Gallery is a participating venue in the First Fridays Richmond Art Walk. The gallery is located at 16 E. Main Street, just two blocks east of the Jefferson Hotel. Click here to see a map and get driving directions from your location. For more information please call 804-254-1008. Hope to see you at the show! 

"Albemarle Morning" Oil on Canvas, 24"x30"

Happy New Year!

The website and email have been down a lot--not a great way to start out 2007, but all appears to have been fixed now. Here is my first painting of the year! It is a landscape of the blue ridge mountains in Nelson County, Virginia. Please contact me or click on the image for more information about this piece:

 Midsummer Spectacle Oil on Canvas, 30x40"

New Gallery Photos

I thought I'd post some photos of the new gallery space, which officialy opened last Friday night. We were swamped the entire night so I did not get ONE picture of the actual event! It turned out well--hectic but fun. We're both still recovering from total exhaustion, but at least we made it through "phase one". Phase two is still to come--moving my art studio part into the building. We hope to have that accomplished by mid January at the latest. Front room:

This is the wall to the right as you walk in the front door. The flowers on the table are from our new landlord!

This is the left wall of the same room--A great spot for the paintings in my mini collection:

This is a view of the right hand wall as you continue on into the middle room.

Here's a shot of the same wall looking back into the front room:

Here is the opposite wall in the second room. The picture to the far left is an original oil painting of Tuscany. The pictures to the right are canvas prints on the walls, and paper prints in the rack. People were amazed at the quality of the canvas prints, which looked so much like paintings that I had to tell them they were prints and not originals.

   

Heading out from the 2nd room and into the third room. This is where the band played opening night:

Rounding the corner into this third room, here is my wall of Key West paintings:

   

   I had these paintings framed differently from the usual gold because I felt like the solid gold was too formal for this subject matter. I like the linen liner and the platinum colored frame with the bamboo motif for these sunny Key West pieces.

   This last room will undergo some changes. The front two rooms with the hardwood floors will remain gallery space, but we'll use this area more for work space (to be determined), though we'll still hang some art here. Down that hallway is a fourth small room and a bathroom with a utility sink.

   Jennifer Young Studio & Gallery is located at 16 E. Main Street, Richmond, VA, 23219. Currently we are open from 6 to 9 p.m. during the First Fridays Art walks, and other times by appointment. Please call 804-254-1008 (1-877-DIAL-ART toll free) to visit the gallery or to inquire about the paintings you see on the website.

Autumn Afternoon at Lake Lure

 

This was another plein air painting I did on my mountain trip. I did this painting during John Budicin portion of the workshop. I was in full sun but it was windy so I didn't want to mess with my umbrella. John commented that I'd better shade my painting from time to time or else the values would be too dark. I tried my best, but when I got inside and looked at my painting it was indeed darker than I had expected. I may yet touch this piece up a bit, but I'm not sure. I do like the way the water looks, so I wouldn't want to mess with it too much.

In some ways John's style was very different from Ken's. John used little #3 round brushes, where Ken used #8 filberts. John had a more expansive pallete and Ken's was pretty limited. I found this interesting and it also confirmed to me that there is no one "right way" approach. What the two had in common, though, was an emphasis on design, value, and seeing everything in shapes and planes. I think these ideas were starting to solidify with me especially during the days when we painted outside.

This painting measures 9x12" and is done in oils on canvas mounted hardboard. I haven't uploaded it to my main website yet, so please contact me if you would like more information.

Fall Harvest

Well, my workaround for posting to my blog while painting in the mountains was short-lived. In fact two of my previous posts were lost in the internet ethers, so I'm having to "retro-post" after the fact. This is one of the paintings I completed en plein air while at the workshop. I felt like I was finally finding a groove with this one, and thankfully we had a lovely mild day to work with!

The model posed only in brief intervals for us, so we had to work fast to get her "attitude" AND get the color notes and values that surrounded her. It was fun and challenging, but I am really happy with my results. There is something about painting en plein air that really helps to inform the light. I love backlit scenes like this one, even though it can be hard on the eyes if working in this way for a while. Ken's only critique when I was done was to say that the background trees might compete with the figure, leading the eye away from the center of interest. While this may be true, my feeling was that the fall colors helped to "set the tone" of the painting. Plus I am a color fiend and that fall foliage was too seductive to overlook. I did end up toning it down a little though.

This painting was done in oils on canvas-mounted hardboard. It measures 11x14". For more information please click on the image or contact me.

Asheville- days two and three

It has been an interesting and educating two days here at the workshop. Unfortunately the weather continues to be problematic, so we worked inside from the model on Tuesday. I will say that we had a terrific model who looked like he could have come out of an Italian Renaissance painting. Since Ken Backhaus' segment of the workshop deals with painting the figure within a landscape, we spent our time studying proportions, drawing, and values. I worked from the figure a lot in college but it has been a while since I've worked from a live model and I'd forgotten how challenging and rewarding it is. I think I will definitely continue this pursuit when I get back home, because even though I am a landscape painter, understanding the challenging human form instructs you on many levels. I wish I could post some picutres but alas my camera software has refused to download any pictures from my camera. I'm not sure what is going on with it, but as it is, I only have a limited amount of time that I can use the computer and I just haven't been able to mess with it.

Ken has had us work mainly in one-hour sessions. One of his main challenges to us has been to get us to commit to an idea (what do we want to say in this painting? what is our point of interest?) and then lay in the major shapes and values in broad strokes. Broad strokes doesn't mean just slapping the paint on hapazardly though. Every stroke must have meaning and intent. It was really helpful to me to work in this way. Having the time limit challenges the artist to make informed decisions and commit to them, and not to just futz and noodle endlessly with the painting. It gives a decisiveness to the work rather than having it look too worked over. This is the way with plein air painting also. The challenge is to commit to a statement of light, even if it shifts and changes as the painting progresses. So while I may have preferred to be painting outdoors on location, the figure studies really helped me to have some "ah-ha" moments.

Day three- The weather finally cooperated! We went outside to hickory nut farm and painted a beautiful autumn scene in a pasture. Some of the farm horses wandered up to where we were so that they could check us out. Ken placed the model at a distance in the landscape so that we could incorporate her into a broader scene. Even though the figure was small in comparison to the rest of the scene, her proportions had to be right or else it threw off your entire painting. I must say I was very happy with my results. I chose an angle that gave me the most beautiful backlighting on the model, the surounding shrubs, and the autumn foliage of the trees.

Since this may have been our only opportunity, weather-wise, I and one of the other painters also went out after class and painted on our own. We found a beautiful rolling vista with dramatic colors and cows and horses in the pasture. It was around 5 p.m. by the time we set up and I knew the light would change very rapidly at this time so I chose a small 6x8 pochade. It was plenty big, really, as the sun quickly dropped behind the mountain.

Day one at the Asheville workshop

Well it has been an interesting time here in Asheville so far. Yesterday it was beautiful and sunny, but C-O-L-D and very windy. The combination made it almost unbearable for most of us.  We stuck it out though!! The way they've organized this workshop is to split the group into two, so that one instructor gets half for half of the week, and the other gets the other half and then they switch. Ken Backhaus was teaching the first half of my workshop. His focus for the class was "the figure in landscape painting".

Okay, so I didn't read the prospectus that well and I had no idea we'd be doing figure painting. Being so excited about painting the landscape here, I was a bit taken aback and somewhat put off by having to paint from the model. I kept looking at this gorgeous land and thinking that if we were going to paint outside in the freezing cold, why not paint the landscape and work from the model indoors any time?

But having taught workshops before I also understood how hard it is to have control over a class and offer something that pleases everyone. In fact, it is nearly impossible! So having remembered "what it's like" I relaxed and decided to just enjoy the teaching, knowing that this was a time to learn and be challenged, not to worry about coming away with any "finished" paintings.

In fact the figure is the most challenging subject a representational painter can attempt. There is a reason why the the old masters started their training by painting and drawing the human figure. If you don't get the proportions right, it is obvious for all to see! And the figure is a great instructor of proportion for any other manner of painting that one might attempt.

Ken started out the workshop with a very interesting and informative session on color mixing. He uses the following limited pallette:

• Ivory black
• Alizarin Crimson Permanent
• Permanent Rose
• Ultramarine Blue
• Raw Sienna
• Cadmium Lemon
• Titanium White

His "color" demo showed how he can mix a myriad of colors from his palette. This palette was somewhat "earthier" than I am used to, but I enjoyed experimenting with it. The one component that I really do not use in my own palette is the Ivory black paint. I'm not really sure it will find its place on my own palette when I return home, but I  think it always helps to learn more about color by limiting the palette. Plus, it is a good way to provide color harmony in your paintings.

After the color demo, Ken showed us how he designed a painting using the figure. He spoke much about how to design the painting using large planes and notes of color. His approach was a bit like composing using puzzle pieces. Everything was about comparison. Comparing one proportion to another, and one value to another. It was very helpful and very informative!

Afterwards, we were able to start a painting of our own using the figure. Unfortunately by that time it was about 30 degrees and the winds were at 20 mph. Most of us were woefully underdressed for the occasion! We all finally had to stop due to the extreme temperatures. Many of us were shaking so bad from the shivers that we couldn't even draw any more. I went out immediately afterwards and bought boots and long johns.

This was a difficult day even for a seasoned plein air painter. Ken is from Minnesota and even he admittedly struggled. I felt for him during his demo, but not as much as I felt for his model! Nevertheless, the days lessons were very instructive.

I've taken some photos but I have yet to figure out how to upload them withouth my usual setup. Once I figure this out I will post some images!

Jennifer Young; Vibrant Landscapes Oil Paintings and art prints online www.jenniferyoung.com Contact

I've arrived in Asheville

I'm here to take a painting workshop from two painters who I really admire; Ken Bachkhaus and John Budicin. This is a gift I've given to myself following the work I've done for my last show and some large commissions. I was on the waiting list and there was a cancellation so I found out rather late I could get in.  I have a ton of work to do to get ready for my new studio opening, but I decided to go for it any way. I haven't taken a workshop in a while, but as an artist there is always much to learn. I never want to get to a point where I think I know all there is to know. As long as I can stay filled with wonder and curiosity I know I am in a good place. I have held a short list of artists in mind whose workshops I feel would be of benefit to me. But as a working artist, it is hard to find the time to travel all over the place to take classes. The opportunity presented itself with TWO artists I admire, and I couldn't pass it up.

My drive into Asheville was stunning. If this isn't the peak week of autumn here it has to be pretty darn close. The mountains were dressed in a kaleidescope of fall colors. Weather has been spotty so there were some large storm clouds clearing away in the sky as the sun set over the mountains. I drove due west straight into the most spectacular sun and cloud displays I think I have ever seen. I wished I hadn't been driving so I could have at least snapped some pictures! As it was I had no idea where I was going so I had to pay attention to the road and catch glimpses as well as I could. Any way it made me feel excited to be here.

We are in for a chilly week. I have a low threshold for the cold so it should be interesting, as this is a plein air excursion. The forecast is pretty "iffy" so far, but it looks like we will get at least two or three days with some sun. Tomorrow is supposed to be windy as well. I'm game though. I intend to learn some things and I have no doubt I will. I hope to post my work on the blog (the good, the bad and the ugly) as I develop it while I'm here. 

Painting in the mountains for a few

I'm heading out tomorrow to do some plein air paintings in the mountains of North Carolina. I hope I will be able to catch the autumn leaves at their peak! I'm bringing my computer so, barring any technical difficulties I plan to continue blogging while I'm gone.

Mixing Greens

I live in Virginia, and one of the most beautiful things about this area in the milder months is the vast arrays of greens.  As a landscape painter this is also one of the most challenging aspects about painting in this area! In my opinion it is a good idea to try and mix your own greens as much as possible. It is easy to spot a painting that uses a lot of out-of-the-tube greens. It's not that tube greens are bad (and I definitely carry at least one when I paint en plein air because of the need for speed.) But painters can become over-reliant on them to the point where the same green is used for everything (trees, grass, shrubs, etc.) and the painting lacks nuance or variation.

The possibilities for mixing greens are seemingly endless. Here are some of the combinations (for oil painting) that I use often:

• Warm blue (like pthalo)+ cool yellow (lemon) gives you a strong, kelly green
• Cool blue (ultramarine) + warm yellow (cad. yellow) yields a duller, muted green
• Cobalt blue is a true blue, and will yield a little cleaner green than ultramarine because ultramarine blue has red in it.
• Experiment mixing warms and cools and you'll get greens that fall in the middle of these two extremes!
• A good replacement for Sap Green: try mixing Prussian Blue or Pthalo Blue with Indian yellow. This will give you a similar dark, transparent green.
• Lightening your greens can get a little tricky. Add too much white and your greens appear chalky. White also cools your colors considerably. Add too much yellow and your greens get brighter and warmer, which may not be what you're going for. The key is balance and a lot of experimentation (a.k.a trial and error!)
• For distant greens, like at the horizon line of a distant field, try mixing white with a touch of blue and orange, and blending that into your greens as the field recedes.
• Alternately, you could gray your greens down ever so slightly with a touch of a complimentary color like Alizarin crimson plus white.

Mixing greens is definitely a practiced skill, so my best advice if you are a landscape painter is to practice! It helps to create your own color charts with all of the various combinations of greens that you can mix, labled with the paints used to achieve each mixture. Within this chart, also try and mix a value scale, to see what the green mixture would look like lighter or darker.

Here's an idea if you want even more of a challenge: Try limiting your palette to Permanent Alizarin, Ultramarine or Cobalt Blue, Cadmium Yellow Light, and Titanium White, and see if you can execute the whole painting with just those colors. When you've practiced this for a while, add Phtalo or Windsor green to your palette. This is what Kevin Macpherson suggests in his excellent book Fill Your Oil Paintings With Light and Color.

Do you have a favorite green color mixture for your landscape paintings? Share your ideas by leaving a comment!

Tags: art painting landscape painting artist Virginia landscape paintings plein air 

New shows on the horizon

Fall is a busy time for many, and I'm no exception. I'm gearing up for a few shows: October 17, 2006, 6-7 p.m. Can Can Brasserie in Richmond, Virginia celebrates Art in our Community. One evening only. I will provide the art, and Can-Can will provide the wine tasting and munchies. The restaurant is located in the heart of Carytown in Richmond, VA, at 3120 W. Cary Street, Richmond, VA.

October 20, 2006 Please join us for an art opening on Friday October 20th from 6 to 9 p.m. I will be one of six artists featured in the First Annual Landscape Exhibit at the Rentz Gallery. The gallery is located at 1700 W. Main St in Richmond, VA.  Show continues through November 27th. Contact the gallery at 804.358.5338 for more information.

December 1-2, 2006 My annual open studio event! Lots of fun stuff in the works....Details to follow soon.

landscape painting artist Provence paintings Tuscany paintings

Lifting Fog

An annoying virus hijacked my computer these last several days, but after much ado and hairpulling, I am finally able to post again. Here is one of my recent pieces. Click on the image for more information:

"Lifting Fog", Oil, 12x24 

This is an early morning scene of the nearby Blue Ridge Mountains. The grass was wet with dew and the thick fog was just beginning to lift off to give way to the morning sun. The fog was so thick that I could barely make out the mountain that loomed just beyond the furthermost trees.

Southern Landscape Show

I spent the early part of last week preparing for a "Southern Landscape" show that will be opening soon in Atlanta. The gallery is a beautiful new gallery called Huff Harrington Fine Art. They will feature my work alongside a number of other landscape artists during the month of June. If you happen to be near the area, here are the details: The Southern Landscape show runs from June 23rd to July 29th. The gallery is located at 4240 Rickenbacker Drive, Atlanta, GA 30342. Please call the gallery at 404.257.0511 for directions and additional information.

Tags: art painting landscape painting artist

Beach Sunrise

Today I finished a painting of a sunrise scene from last summer when I stayed at the beach in Nags Head North Carolina. For some reason I was intent on seeing the sunrise while we were there. We saw a number of gorgeous sunsets in the evenings but the sun sets over the sound and the sun rises over the ocean. So I nagged my husband to get up with me one morning and catch the sunrise over the ocean. Why I couldn't go alone is beyond me now; but for some reason, he HAD to come. Unfortunately in my exuberance we were about an hour early, so my romantic vision of togetherness under the morning sun soon turned to sitting on the beach in the dark and listening to Dave grumble and shuffle around, trying to find a spot to lie down and finish his night's sleep. Eventually, however, we were rewarded with a beautiful soft misty sunrise over the clouds. Here is the painting inspired by that morning:

I painted this scene with a limited palette (alizarin crimson, cadmium yellow pale, ultramarine blue, and pthalo green, plus white.) This is a scene that called for using a lot of "colored grays". Colors that may even read as "mud" in other paintings, created the soft, barely there light that I was going for. At first I thought I'd have to dip into my arsenal of more vivid colors (like permanent rose and cadmium orange) to get the sunrise effect, but because so much of the painting is muted and soft, my crimson and yellow mixtures really popped. My favorite part of this scene is the way the light skips across the water.

I painted this little study en plein air, and since that time I have been wanting to create something similar, but larger and more dynamic.

I used a very limited palette on this one too, mainly because I was under such limited time constraints and didn't have time to squeeze out a bunch of tube colors. One thing I learned from this little painting is that when painting sun/sky paintings on location you really need to keep your brushes and turpentine clean. You also need to paint extremely fast. Screaming at the changing light doesn't really help, but it may possibly make you feel better.

Two new marsh paintings

Here are two new water paintings I've just finished. These are scenes of St. Simons Island, Georgia, where I've visited a few times to paint en plein air. These are larger works though, so I did them in the studio:

"As Evening Falls", 30x36", oil on canvas

"Cloud Reflections", 30x40", oil on canvas

Additional information about these two paintings is available in the southern landscapes section of my website.

Tags: art painting landscape painting artist plein air

Painting in the mountains- continued

On that same mountain excursion I went back again to the beautiful orchard I had attempted capturing on that first afternoon. This time I selected a different view for my 9x12" canvas, using a great red barn as a focal point. I'm very happy with the way this one developed:

If I make any adjustments, they will be very little. I love this scene so much I decided to do a larger version in the studio. Here it is, still in the "blocking in" stage, using my little plein air as a reference:

painting landscape painting artist plein air

Painting in the mountains- day two

The following morning is bright and beautiful. I decided to start out after breakfast by painting a little vignette right on the grounds where I was staying. I noticed a little whitewashed garden shed, (which I am told used to be a chicken coop) because it had some nice light and cast shadows from a neighboring tree. The light is soft and dewy and so this is the feeling I'd be going for. One thing I've learned from trial and error is to try and think in big shapes first. It is a good idea to lay in your darkest darks and lightest lights first, to help key the rest of the painting. With this subject and the small size of my canvas, that is a relatively easy task. Here is my little canvas, measuring 10"x8".

*Tip: I pretty much never use white paint directly out of the tube. It is too stark and too cool, even if the local color actually is white. The temperature of the light and the reflected light from other elements in the picture will effect the local color. Here I mix a tiny, tiny dab of cad. yellow and cad. red in with the white ( a little goes a long way) to warm it up a bit. 

*Tip: There were other buildings behind this little "chicken coop" that I could see in the background, but the only thing that really interested me was the clothesline, so that's all I included. I don't put in everything I see, just because it's there! My highest priority is to make an interesting painting, and the other buildings in the distance on such a small canvas would have just distracted from my center of interest.

Tags: art painting landscape painting artist plein air

Painting in the mountains- first evening

I got spring fever last week, and while I think the area where I live in Richmond is beautiful, I go the hankering for some wide open spaces and mountainous vistas. I took a chance that the break in the weather would hold by planning a little trip to the mountains for a few nights. The cabin where I stayed is located near Charlottesville, VA, so it is only a little over an hour from my home. I arrive in the afternoon to find the cabin situated in the countryside with redbuds, dogwoods, azaleas, wisteria, and lilac still blooming. Needless to say, it is a beautiful area! The property sits among rolling hills, and is bordered by a pasture full of grazing cattle. Upon my arrival at the cabin, I see one of the proprietors busy mowing the grass. Judging by the size of the property, this appears to be at least a half-day affair, so I decide to take the car and explore the area a bit more.

Hooray! I have found a great spot to paint! It is a nearby park with a beautiful apple orchard next to it. There are still blossoms on the trees, and I'm excited because I can set up directly across from the orchard on park property. By this time it is about 4:30 p.m. and my thought is that there should still be plenty of light for a couple of hours, so I took out a 12x16" panel and set to work. I guess I was a bit too ambitious for the first go. 12x16" is admittedly a small painting if you are working under consistent lighting conditions. But it suddenly seemed huge to me, especially in the rapidly changing light.

The light changed sooo fast. I have been used to the morning light, which also, in fact, changes pretty quickly, but this was super quick because the sun was steadily going down behind the mountains even before sunset. I barely got my canvas covered before the dramatic light and shadows on the mountains went completely flat and dull. I did take photos, and thought, well, I can finish it in the studio or perhaps on the field on the following day. Here is a picture of the painting in its incomplete form:

*Tip: I highly recommend sticking to a smaller canvas to start (no larger than 11x14) if you are just getting started painting en plein air, or if you are painting in rapidly changing light conditions. Pochades are excellent sizes to capture scenes quickly and loosely. The aim for me is to capture the light conditions of that particular moment in time, as a scene can look very different at different times of day and under different weather conditions. 

You can always work on a larger painting in the studio using your plein air reference if you want to make it bigger later. Of course if you really feel like you want to do a big painting, have at it, especially if you know you can return again and again at the same time of day until you complete it. As it is for me when traveling, I usually get just one shot to get it down. It is far better to have small victories that accurately capture the light, than larger canvases that are incomplete and leave me wanting.

I will post some additional pictures from my plein air painting mountain trip in future entries, so stay tuned!

Tags: art painting landscape painting artist plein air

Plein air outing (04/11/06)

I woke up this morning to a perfect, cool spring day so I set out early to do a little plein air painting. I experimented with a very limited palette, which was definitely challenging for me, especially when painting outdoors. My colors were three versions of the primary colors, (yellow red and blue, appearing as cadmium yellow pale, alizarin crimson, and ultramarine blue on my palette) plus white. I also added a fourth paint color, pthalo green, which is a highly tinted transparent warm green that can be used to mix a variety of colors beyond just green. My aim is to do some smaller paintings (pochades) as often as I can this spring and summer. On a sunny day, I find that I can only work on one scene for about two hours a session because beyond that the light has changed too drastically. By staying small I can do studies and cover the canvas within a limited amount of time. Small paintings also require you to paint loosely, as they cannot take a lot of detail unless you use a tiny brush. The whole idea for me though is to paint loosely and sharpen my ability to capture accurate color notes and the light effects in nature, not to render everything in a precise manner.

Here is the resulting 8x10" painting I did:

This is a redbud tree sitting along the banks of a little pond at a park near my house. It is definitely loose, but I will need to practice more with the limited palette as I did not get the contrast in the values, nor the colors quite as vibrant as I would have liked. Even so I think it is worthwhile to experiment with the limited palette as a way of really learning more about color mixing. 

I think this is probably about 1 1/2 hrs. worth of work. It may have taken a little less time if some of the park attendants had not come by wanting to chat. It was probably around 10 a.m. by the time I really got into it, and the light moved very quickly. I started out with my easel in full shade and ended with up with my canvas sitting entirely in the glaring sun, which made it hard to see anything. For this reason I decided it was time to pack up. Many people erect an umbrella over their work space to deal with this problem of moving light and shadow. With both the canvas and the palette in the shade, it is easier to see your colors. Dappled light or direct sunlight on the canvas and/or palette makes it very difficult to see and mix anything. I do have an umbrella but I was too lazy to bother with it today. That'll teach me!

I haven't decided if I will do any more with this painting, or if I will just keep it as a reference and as a learning exercise. I don't want to do too much, but I may see if I can push the values (the lights and darks) a little more. In any event, even if some of my plein air paintings never reach the "finished" stage, they are worthwhile for the experience of honing my observation skills.

Tags: art painting landscape painting artist plein air