Hatteras Pier

It's been absolutely beautiful here in Hatteras. I've done more relaxing and eating than anything. But after watching a most gorgeous sunrise with my husband, I finally decided to get the paints out yesterday and do a little something down by the Hatteras Pier:

"Hatteras Pier, Morning" Oil on Multimedia ArtBoard 6x12"

This pier looks like it needs some serious repair, but the rickety state of it made for fun painting. Now back to doing nothing! :-)

Vacation time and odds and ends

We're heading to the beach for a week for a little much needed R&R. I'll be bringing my paints and my laptop with me, but I have no idea if I'll have good internet access there for blogging. In any event, this will be a "painting and blogging optional" trip so it may be kind of quiet here on the blog for a few days.  Once we return I'll start the serious packing for the studio move. And not long after, we can hopefully get started on building me a place to eventually move to!  I've been pretty quiet about the potential project of building a home studio lately, because writing about waiting for this or that contractor to call us back with a quote doesn't really make for very interesting writing! But finally, we've gotten some quotes and the survey has been completed. So since we have enough info to feel secure that we can actually build on the proposed site we've just submitted an application for a building permit.

It's been a lot of "hurry up and wait." If we get our permit without  a hitch, I'll share more about the actual plans and process. All I can say right now is that everything I've heard about these things taking a lot longer than expected has definitely been true in my case--especially since we haven't even begun to level the ground.  

Ah well, at least we have had some progress. As for the Outer Banks, the weather looks a little "iffy" right now, but they're calling for sunshine by Monday (I hope!) In any event, while I know I'll be fine no matter what, the best part of this vacation will be taking some time off from worrying about this stuff.

Wild Roses (France); and thoughts on painting loose

As mentioned in my previous post, here's a new painting about to come off the easel. Maybe a touch or two yet to go, but mostly it's done. Photographing this painting was a bit of a challenge today due to a lack of good light. It's a pretty decent shot, though I may try a reshoot once the sun comes out:

"Wild Roses" Oil on Linen, 20x16" Click here for more info.

This is another scene from one of those beautiful misty mornings in southern France that I've written of before.  Even though this was somewhat after the heavy fog had lifted, the moist air remained, and the diffused, cool light kept everything soft but saturated.

One thing I've been learning from my plein air paintings is that even the less successful pieces done on location have a certain freshness to them (if I don't allow myself to work them beyond the point that I should). There are many reasons for this, not the least of which is that I am painting from life.

But I've also noticed that the brush size-to-canvas ratio is much larger due to the smaller plein air canvases. I don't use tiny brushes (unless I need to sign my name) so I'm really forced to simplify. And I must say, by the very nature of the way I have to approach the painting, I often end up saying more with less. 

I try to keep this in mind on days when I'm working on larger paintings in the studio, and to make a more conscious effort to retain that same kind of freshness and looseness. It's a different matter than plein air painting, but it's been helpful for me to consciously reach for the largest possible brushes to do the task at hand, and to *try* to state things as economically as possible rather than overworking.

It's not an overstatement to say that sometimes my greatest motivations are my limitations. And  in the field, time is a built-in task-master due to the ever-changing light. But in my studio, unless my schedule is crammed full of other chores (as it is soon about to become!) there usually isn't that same kind of urgency. Without that, it can really be tempting to noodle around endlessly.

In my studio work, along with relying a lot more on memory, my challenge is to supply my own urgency, and to work more quickly and loosely. All this and still have command of the paint. There's the rub. After all, loose and quick is pretty pointless if the drawing or composition is weak or if the values aren't right.

It's a lot to consider if you think about it, but it is a fun challenge for me, and hopefully in time I can continue to work even more effectively in this manner on larger canvases still.

Crop happens

....Or at least sometimes it should. I went down by the river at Great Shiplock Park this morning to paint this little view looking out towards Rocketts Landing:

I had a frustrating morning.  

I didn't finish because I began to have problems with the composition. The canvas panel is a 9x12", and while there are things I like about it, I'm not too excited about the near equal width of the sky and water framing the skyline, where the real interest is. 

I think this was an editing problem. I liked too many things about the scene and I was trying to fit them all in. I liked the hazy sky. I liked the purplish skyline. And I liked the reflections in the water too. I guess it just goes to show how very important it is to put a good deal of thought into the orchestration of a piece before rushing in.

Well, we learn from our mistakes, right? So with a little trickery in Photoshop, I am able to see what a better compositional choice may have looked like:

 

Well, I can't exactly glue a new top to this panel. But look what happens when I cut this down to approximately 6x12":

 

Better? My kingdom for a table saw.

Another plein air visit to Ginter Botanical Gardens

We are having such unbelieveably beautiful weather here in Richmond that you'd think it was September instead of mid-August. So yesterday I took a short break from  studio planning to do a little painting. Only really had time for a very quick little 8x10" study, --and an unfinished one at that. But at least I got "out there" for a bit and took a break from all of this building/moving stuff:

Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens has a wonderful feature called the children's garden. Lots of fun activities for the little tykes, and beautiful summer color for the rest of us. The sunflowers are fading but they were still holding on along this garden path. A few more touches are needed to resolve this piece, and I may yet add a figure or two to the path. So I guess this is yet another "work in progress". One day soon I may surprise everyone and finish something ;-)

More for the "ideal art studio" list

Note: An advance apology goes out those not interested in my posts on designing a home studio. I am itching to get back to painting in a greater capacity, but this studio stuff is a bit all-consuming and it's where I am at the moment, so here goes! There are a few other things that I've not included on my first ideal studio list because they are pertain a little more to personal preference than to "art studio", per se. But they're still pretty important, so I'll throw them in for grins.  I will preface by saying that my best method of decision making comes about by stating what is as close to ideal as I can conjure up, and to then go about slicing and dicing based on budgetary constraints and other issues. 

And to that end, our local zoning office has already been kind enough to get the slice/dice process going for us. We have learned that instead of a larger, squarish format at the back of the lot (which would have happily blocked our view of the alley) we are now dealing with a long/narrow structure on the side of our lot. The issue isn't so much the lot coverage as the setback requirements for our particular lot.

After allowing myself a brief round of ranting and raging, I went back to the drawing board. Right now it looks like a max of 16x24' working space, to serve the previously mentioned office and studio functions.  This is single story, but with cathedral ceiling and 9' walls. We're also looking at a 4' portico off of one end that can accommodate a loft area for additional storage. All subject to change, of course, if zoning comes up with a different answer once we submit our final drawings with the application.

But che sera sera. I'll deal with that ranting, raging, and nail-biting if it happens. For now, here are some additional items for the wish list:

1. Lasting and low maintenance:  If we can build this thing, it's going to have to last me a good, long time. One never knows what the future holds, but I'm pretty tired of moving. This will be my third studio move in 5 years.
2.  Aesthetically appealing: Aside from my "outdoor studio", I've had past studios in leaky office buildings, sheds, and even closets and kitchen tables, so for the record, I'm not THAT prissy. But since this project is, in large part, as a result of my artistic efforts,  I want it to be a nice creative retreat. Since we will do the finishing work, this is something that will have to happen over time; but ultimately I'd like a certain level of finish. I'd also like to find ways to integrate this structure as much as possible with the rest of the property, through landscaping, garden elements, etc. 
3. Less will be more: Whether we build or not, I'll be downsizing. If you've read any of my blog posts about easels and art materials you've probably guessed that this is something I really need to do any way.  While I'll be lightening my load, fitting everything in is still going to be a challenge. So I want the space to have a feeling of airiness and openness.
4.  Energy efficient/ eco-friendly: The big caveat here is that I have to be realistic about price, but I want to do what I can (and what I can afford) toward that end.  I do realize the "green"/energy conservation trade-off-- any upfront pricing often pays for itself over time in energy savings. But while we won't automatically go for the cheapest options, we do have to consider the initial outlay. And unfortunately many of the green building options, as great as they seem to be, may not fit in with my budget. 

In the beginning I checked into a ton of pre-fab/ready-made/kits/plans considered to be eco-friendly options, but all of the ones I found were either the wrong size/shape for our lot, or out of our price range (or both) and we're still talking about just products that were just the "bones" or "shell". So, we finally decided that for my needs we'd best see if we could build a semi-customized garage.

But what  I CAN do is pick the best materials that I can afford that have proven to conserve energy costs and production, and also hopefully to minimize the environmental impact as much as possible. So for a while I'll probably be reading more building material catalogs than art supply catalogs! I'm looking at roofing and siding options that will somehow meet at least a cross-section of the above requirements, plus other building materials (insulation options, windows with low-e glass, the solar tubes, etc.) It is a lot to cover and a lot to learn! And of course I might be jumping ahead just a wee bit. Here I am designing flower beds, and we haven't yet gotten the building permit ;-)

An ideal art studio?

So all of this moving stuff has gotten me working on new studio plans, and I have certain things that I know I want for my next space. Namely these are: lots of storage, lots of light, good ventilation, and enough room to step back and forth while I'm painting. In the book Organizing From The Inside Out by Julie Morgenstern, the author suggests setting up whatever area you're organizing in "stations" by the kinds of activities you do. The Setup

• A painting station, comprised of:
  • Easel, palette, monitor, large mirror (set up across from the easel to check my work).
  • Additional items: Optiona secondary easel for a larger wet painting or WIP, bins or shelves for my paints and supplies, a drying station - preferably a "drying wall" for larger works in progress, and/or some shelving to prop up wet panels after plein air painting.
• A flat work, framing & shipping station (There are several different activities here, but for all of them I use a table with lots of drawers  from IKEA and shelving to store supplies, organized by activity.)
  • Picture framing, matting, and mounting artwork
  • Surface, panel and canvas preparations
  • Packaging/shipping
  • Work surface for watercolors, sketching, printmaking, etc.
• Cleanup- Utility sink, shelves, paper towels, etc.
• Office (computer stuff, desk, files)
• Previously mentioned in the above notations, but bears empahsizing: Storage (of all kinds- shelves & bins for canvases, frames, books, etc.) and as much wall space as possible.

Optional but desired:

• A sitting/viewing area- for reading and assessing my work
• High ceilings (in a smaller space it can provide a more "open" feeling")

I don't ask for much, do I? ;-)

Into the light

Of all of the concerns, good natural lighting is among the biggest wants for me, because for one, working with inadequate light is hard on the eyes, and in my current workspace it has been less than adequate. But you have to be careful because if there's too much of it shining directly on your canvas;  it causes glare problems with oils.

Artists always talk about north light as being the best for the most consistent, even and balanced natural light in the studio.  But a north-facing studio isn't always possible (my northern light is indirect at best because it's blocked by the building across the alley from us.) And any natural lighting will still need to be supplemented by artificial light, for overcast days and evenings when I may need to work, and for this I've found a few options.

Full spectrum lighting mimicks daylight, and it's what I currently use in my studio work area. I have this long flourescent bulb by Ott-Lite installed in a regular shop light that hangs just above and slightly behind me in my painting area. It does a pretty good job on my workspace, but I still feel the need to supplement with additional lamps.

The reason full-spectrum is recommended is that it is more "neutral" than the yellow cast that is often put off by incandescent bulbs. Artist Nita Leland has a good article explaining this further, so if you're an artist you may wish to check it out.

In addition to the above-mentioned option, we're looking into some kind of solar tube lighting. Friends of ours have these installed in their home, and it's amazing how much light it can put out. I light this option better than a skylight for my painting area, as a skylight can cause a more spotlight effect and the solar tube is less directional and more all-over and diffused.

One other option I hope to incorporate is clerestory windows. If I can get ones that open, they can serve number of purposes;  indirect natural light, additional ventilation, and the preservation of precious wall space in the painting area.

What's your ideal studio?

If you're still awake and reading all of this, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Anything I've missed? What's your ideal studio? And while you're mulling that over, check out talented artist Casey Child's blog - in particular his chronicles of the fabulous new (huge) garage/studio in progress- northern lit and all. His early posts on the topic have some great inspiration pictures too. I bookmarked his site some time ago, and in fact, his research is so exhaustive that I might not have bothered with a post of my own. But I'm nearly finished, so I might as well hit the publish button now!

Goodbye downtown Richmond- a gallery closing and other distractions

 An artist's blog is a lot more challenging without being able to upload images, but I'll give it my best shot until my studio computer gets de-virused (fingers crossed). As it is, I haven't been painting much this past week as I've been all consumed with house guests, plus other changes and distractions (the good, the bad and the ugly). The Good

Since I've become (mostly) an optimist in my old age, I'll start with the good stuff. I've written before about plans to return to southern France to teach a workshop next year. The details are getting solidified now and I've put the info up on my website to get this ball rolling. This is very exciting for me as it is such a magical place and I can't wait to share this experience with fellow artist-travelers. I've also got some other local workshops firmed up on my site too. See this page  or the links in my sidebar for all my workshop info.

The Bad

Well, aside from the computer virus, there really isn't any "bad" stuff;  but who looks forward to packing and moving?  Yes, the other  big news is that as of October 31st I will be closing the downtown gallery space and  moving to a private/by appointment studio (still in Richmond).  And while at first glance it seems like a "bad" thing, it will actually be a very good thing for me personally (once the dust settles.)

Some would say that two years is not nearly long enough to judge a gallery's (or any new business') success or failure. I'd heartily agree. But it IS long enough for me to know if it's supporting what's most important to me. My passions in the art arena continue to be painting (in the studio and more and more en plen air),  as well as traveling,  and writing, teaching and learning, learning, learning. None of which really require a retail shop, and some of which actually conflict with having one. 

Really, this gallery venture has served me well, as it has helped me to realize that what I wanted is pretty much what I'd already had all along (Doh! )  It's also enabled me to get out there and meet with some great people and new collectors, but hopefully this will continue even without my own gallery.

The Ugly

So nothing ugly's gone down..... yet. But I am trying to prepare myself just a teensy bit for that possibility until the dust settles. What we're wanting/hoping for is to build a home studio on our property. For all intents and purposes (and for resale purposes) this will be a garage, but I hope to fix it up to create a little cottage garden studio. Any way, this is my hope, and I will share my experiences here once we get futher along. (Boy,  that last paragraph sure is full of hope!)

The wild card is that there is no telling how long this will take. We've gone through many floor plans and design plans already and we're close, but we're not there yet. If we have serious delays or if it doesn't fly for whatever reason, then we'll have to move on to plans B & C, which I won't entertain here on the blog at this point. Let's just say there are boxes involved. Lots and lots of boxes.

Summer Garden painting, Bellevue style

This scene is one I've been "stalking" for a few days in the Bellevue neighborhood where I live. I've written before about  my North Richmond 'hood, and how many avid gardners live around here. On another one of our evening walks, we passed this adorable yard with a sunny garden of sunflowers and zinnias, and I knew I wanted to come back by and paint it. I especially liked this scene when the sunflowers were set against the neighboring house, at around 9 - 10 a.m., when the bungalow was mostly in shadow:

"Summer Garden" (painted en plein air) Oil on Board, 8x10"

Early morning at Byrd Park

With so much going on this week, I have to get out pretty early in the morning to have time to do any painting at all, let alone blog about it. But it was really beautiful this morning at the park. I left the house at around 7:15 a.m. to do a little plein air painting, and the light was still low, soft and luminous.  Here is the result of my morning's effort--another one of these backlit little islands on the water:

"Dawning" Oil on Multimedia ArtBoard, 8x10" Click here for more info.

A bunny saves the day at Pumphouse Park

In spite of the tremendous summer storms we've had lately, I've managed to get out for a a plein air painting session at another of our local parks along the James River:

"Afternoon at Pumphouse Park" Oil on Canvas, 9x12" Click here for more info.

Pumphouse Park, which once generated drinking water for the city of Richmond, is the site of a large and very interesting neo-gothic stone pump house that has now fallen into disuse and disrepair. But word has it that volunteers are gradually restoring it so that one day it can be used again for something. According to the Discover Richmond website it was quite a social center at one time:

"In the heyday of the Pump House, debutantes dressed in Victorian-era hoop skirts glided with their dates on the pine dance floor of an elegant open-air ballroom overlooking the gentle rapids of the James River."

The park sits just behind the "nickel bridge" (which I believe now has a toll of 50 cents, so you can tell how long I've lived here!) It runs along the James River, and it would have been a nice access point to paint the sunset. But I couldn't find any public river access here. The only thing I found was a path that was barred by a chained fence and a posted sign reading "Property of CSX". Access denied! Grrr. I would have been pretty grumpy about the whole situation except that just as I turned back towards the pump house I saw a bunny!

Plein air on the James River

 After a summer break (of sorts) I'm getting back to a more regular painting schedule this week. To kick it off, I'll share a little plein air painting I did last Thursday at James River. I painted this at the foot of the Lee Bridge, near the entrance to Belle Isle section of the James River Park System in my town, Richmond, VA. 

"Rambling River" Oil on Multimedia ArtBoard, 6x12"

It was really a beautiful evening last Thursday, but it was also incredibly windy. I had packed my lighter plein air painting setup with the intention of backpacking it across the footbridge over to Belle Isle to do some afternoon painting. But from past experience, I was afraid that the wind would have blown my nifty little lightweight pochade setup completely away. So I decided to save myself the aggravation and instead went back to my studio to get my sturdier Soltek. Whatever problems I've had with this easel, it stands up great against the wind. But just to be safe, I returned to set up near a bank of trees on the "mainland", giving me a little bit more shelter.

All of this meant that I got started later, but as it turned out, the timing was just right--The light was just beautiful and turned the river rocks a beautiful rosy gold . Dinner could wait (apologies to the D.H.!)

A few announcements

Being heavily immersed in summer activities I'm afraid I've kind of fallen off the blog wagon lately. But things have been happening behind the scenes, and I'd thought I'd share a few interesting tidbits of what's coming down the pike.

• France in 2009! I've just gotten the word that my dates for a 10 day plein air painting workshop at Le Vieux Couvent have been confirmed! If you've been reading my blog, you've already heard my raves about this beautiful, enchanting part of Southern France.

I'm excited to have the opportunity to take a group there myself, for 10 days of painting, touring, eating, and just soaking in the atmosphere. Dates are June 3-13, 2009. This year during that time period I had word from the workshop host that the poppies were in full bloom and the roses were going crazy in the garden. I'm preparing my brochure now and should have it up on my website by next week. If you have an interest in joining me for this wonderful creative adventure, please check back, or just contact me and I'll send you a brochure with all the details as soon it's done

•  Moving ahead. Well it just seemed like yesterday that I moved into my beautiful gallery space, but the time has come for me to make another move. I don't have a lot of details to share yet, but come fall I will be letting go of the downtown gallery location. I'm sure I'll be writing on that in the weeks ahead but a lot of details need to be ironed out before I really have anything solid to share.
•  Warm up to Plein Air! Since the time of my last workshop this past spring, I've received a number of inquiries asking when I'd be having another class. Due to the aforementioned upcoming move, I had to wait a bit to schedule anything solid. But here's what I'd like to do: In September I'd like to offer some one-day plein air modules in the Richmond area that I'm calling "Warm up to Plein Air."  If you are a painter who has always wanted to try plein air painting, this will be a fun opportunity to give it a shot. Experienced plein air painters can benefit as well, as this day-long module will include a demo and time for painting. We'll talk about the tools of the trade that I've found useful, plus tips to make the most of your time outdoors. I'm limiting these modules to a very small size so we can make the most of our time together. Dates and details will be posted on my website, hopefully also by next week. Meantime, feel free to contact me if you're interested.

Poppies en plein air- "Dusk in the Lot Valley"

I've been taking some time off to deal with matters at home these last few, but I still have a few paintings to share from my France trip. If you've spent any time on my website, you might have noticed that this little plein air is a subject that is a familiar to me--poppies!  In they south of France they are seen profusely in springtime. But, as with sunflowers and lavender, there is no precise way of knowing just when they will be in bloom. Sometimes the sunflowers come "early", or the lavender "late". Or sometimes any one of these flowers can be plowed over (in the case of poppies) or harvested by some farmer. (The nerve!) 

Our group got lucky. It had been an unusually cold, wet spring up until just before we had arrived, and there were few to no poppy fields in sight. I was pretty okay with it, having painted them quite often (not to mention that we had no shortage of beautiful scenes to paint!) But most of the group seemed to have their heart set on it, and I was a little worried that they might be disappointed.

But we were lucky, not only because nature, at last, decided to cooperate, but also because the folks at Le Vieux Couvent remained on the lookout for our perfect field of poppies. And boy, did they find it--complete with two charming little cabins (cabineaux) set against a mountain backdrop. It may have been one of the prettiest poppy fields I've seen to date....or maybe the thrill of the others was just very catching.  Here's my little plein air from that afternoon, painted around 5 PM or so.

"Dusk in the Lot Valley" Oil on Multimedia ArtBoard, 6x12" Click here for more info.

And a couple of gratuitous shots of us in the poppy fields:

Plein air in a French country garden

Now that we're really getting into the summer weather here, I'm starting to see my gardens taking shape. For the beds alongside my house, I'm slowly building an herb and butterfly garden. Budget restraints required that I experiment with starting from seed for a few things, but mostly I just started from very tiny plants and mixed in a few summer bulbs. Gardening is a pretty new pastime for me, so  believe me, every new growth or flower is a triumph.

In Virginia, if you dig deep enough, you will soon hit clay, which makes building any kind of new bed a bit of a chore, as you really have to work in a lot of good loose topsoil, soil conditioner, and fertilizer to make the plants take to it kindly. It kind of makes me shake my head a little when I visit places like the south of France. Roses practically grow out of the cracks of the sidewalks there! Okay, the gardeners there do have do deal with the rocks (and a lot of them) so I guess we all have our gardening challenges.

The old French country convent where I stayed had a labyrinth of beautiful gardens. I believe the current owners have had the place for a little over 10 years, and while they started with a property that had "good bones", all of the gardens were as a result of their own sweat and muscle. The gardens were set out like little outdoor sanctuaries, and there was something to discover in every nook and cranny of the property.

To the painter's eye, there were a thousand possibilities just within the confines of Le Vieux Couvent itself. But I was drawn particularly to the little goldfish pond out back.So apparently was one of the resident cats, "Portia". With so much touring, I didn't really have much time to paint on the grounds of the property, but I did do this little watercolor sketch of Portia by the pond one morning before we set off on another excursion:

My layout was such that I couldn't quite get in the pond itself. But I came back one morning after the group from the "artist retreat" left,  and painted  a more close-up view again in oils:

"Bassin à Poisson Rouge" (The Goldfish Pond) Oil on Linen, 11x14" Click here for more info.

Oil painting substrates; Multimedia Artboard

The last few paintings I've featured from my recent France travels are done on Multimedia Artboard. I posted about this surface before when I was getting ready for my trip, and I thought I'd write a little more about it as a follow up. I really enjoyed this surface, especially for traveling and painting en plein air. For one thing, it is very thin, so you can pack a good number of these boards and not take up a ton of room in your suitcase. You can also cut the board to size very easily with either a guillotine-type paper cutter or an exacto knife.

In fact, it is so lightweight that when I first ordered this material I thought I had been sent the wrong product. I was expecting a board, and what I got was something that seemed more like a rigid watercolor paper. I even called the manufacturer to ask about it. I will say that the manufacturer was extremely helpful, and was almost at a point where he was willing to ship me some board from his own stock so that I'd have some for my trip, even though I hadn't originally purchased it from him. But he told me, "If it's my board it should be very rigid. In fact, it will shatter if you try to bend it." Sure enough, when I put it to the test, it did.

That's the one thing to be careful of with this product--but protect the corners in travel and don't drop it from a balcony, and you should be fine. It has a rough side and a smoother side to it, so you have a choice on which side to paint, depending on your needs. I also like that it accepts a variety of media--watercolor, acrylic AND oil. It can accept oils either as is, or primed, if you wish, with gesso. I double primed mine, but it was a little slick, so I think next go around I'll try it unprimed to see what that's like.

While the board is rigid, because it is thinner than a "board", I taped mine to a larger board (gatorboard or coroplast) to give me a stronger work surface.  For framing, I can simply pop it in a frame backed by a sturdier board and it's ready to go.

I am finding the Multimedia Artboard  much easier to mount and frame after the fact than the other surface I took with me, a fine-weave primed linen. And while linen has luxurious qualities all its own, I can easily and happily see myself going back and forth between these two surfaces for my plein air painting travels.

Le Pigeonnier, en plein air!

In this area of southern France, we noticed small tower-like structures that sat alone, apart from the other buildings on the farmland. These were the "pigeonniers", or pigeon houses. Apparently the tower formation is a feudal symbol of nobility, and at one time, only the nobles could have pigeonniers on their land. It seemed a little odd to have such a beautifully made and permanent stone structure just to house some pigeons, but the birds were quite important in this society. Their eggs and young are prized for the meat, their droppings used for excellent fertilizer on the farm, and of course, they were used as messenger birds since antiquity, and even up until World War II. There are also tons of stones and rocks in the earth, so it makes sense to use them  towards these structures and clear the land for farming.

This pigeonnier was just down the street from Le Vieux Couvent, and I found it to be most beautiful in the early light of morning or in the golden light of dusk. I painted this one late in the afternoon just as the sky was starting to take on that warm glow:

"Le Pigeonnier" Oil on Multimedia Artboard, 6x12"

Another plein air from France; Market Day in Cahors

It's hard to single out just one favorite day from this French plein air painting trip, but at the top of the list was a visit to the large open air market in the town of Cahors.

This town had a fabulous "true" market, not overrun with souvenir vendors hawking chatchkeys. There were linens and other household items (table cloths and such--I indulged in a couple of these!) But this market, while lively and bustling (and quite extensive) was largely there to service the residents of the city. The air was full of all kinds of armoas from the display carts of  meats, cheeses, fresh fruit, veggies oils, soaps and herbs. And oh the flowers!

Being a fool for color, I set up in front of a vibrant flower stand set against the backdrop of a lovely old church. We only had about an hour once we set up and started painting, so I just tried as best I could to put down notes of color and value patterns as I saw them. By the time we had to pack up to leave, I'd gotten much of the work done. Here it is, nearly finished, once I got back to the studio:

"The Flower Stand, Cahors Market, (France)" Oil on Multimedia ArtBoard

I will work on this just a little more, perhaps to resolve the group of buildings to the right (perhaps!) Surprisingly the most difficult part of this painting for me was the little dog (lower right). I'm not sure why, but he kept turning out looking like a furry blonde pig, so I may try to adjust him somewhat as well. Meanwhile, contact me if you have an interest in knowing more about this piece.

Like the first painting I posted from this little travel log, this was another challenging scene to paint, not only because of the complicated and constantly moving subject matter, but because folks really wanted to chat. Again, we as a group attracted many onlookers and inquisitors. It's always hard to talk, focus, think and paint at the same time, but to do that while also struggling to communicate intelligently with my schoolgirl French doubled the challenge!

Any way, it was fun. And while I may not have been able to finish this painting on site, the experience of talking and laughing with these lovely people while they welcomed us graciously and appreciated our paintings more than made up for that. It was another wonderful memory that was well worth the trade-off.

Le Nocturne Francais

I have always loved nocturnes, so it was a real thrill to paint one under a full moon in a beautiful French country village. This little painting was done right in the neighborhood of our home base at Le Vieux Couvent:

"Le Nocturne Francais" Oil on Multimedia Artboard, 6x8" Click here or on the image for more info.

This painting came about one evening after a full day of touring and painting in the Dordogne countryside, AND after a huge and delicious five course dinner. We were all winding down for the night and Mary, our fearless leader, came in from an after dinner walk she had taken with her husband. They had gone out to find a lovely evening scene just up the street, lit by a street lamp and a full moon. She was going to go painting, she said, and anyone who wanted to join her was also welcome. Well, as tired as I was, I couldn't resist, and neither could most of the other painters. "We're in France! We can sleep later," became the mantra of our time together.

Knowing how quickly things change in the night sky, I took a small surface with me and set up under a nearby streetlamp. While the fog painting posted earlier was a high-key close value painting, this was a close value low-key one. We really couldn't see our colors at all, so it is indeed a good practice to place paint colors habitually in the same positions on the palette!

Gradually my eyes adjusted somewhat, so I just concentrated on shape and subtle differences. After I got the large dark shapes down, the night sky and the window light were the first things I addressed. It was a good thing, as not very long after, the clouds had drifted completely away, and the homeowner had called it a night and turned off the light.

La France Profonde- countryside painting (wip)

Time was of the essence during this painting holiday. While not overrun with museums, there are so many living, breathing, and lovely places to experience in this area. What I mean by that is that this region is considered by many to be "La France Profonde". What I mean by THAT is that the Lot and the Dordogne embody so many of the characteristics of what one would think of as truly and profoundly French. The production of their food and wine, farming, and, well, their manner of living, is still very much practiced in traditional ways. Yes, there is a lot to see, (chateaux, winding and ambling river valleys, lovely medieval villages, and of course French markets and shops). But this is a place to be experienced.

There were a thousand potential paintings right around the old convent where we stayed. So to make the most of our time, we decided  to paint the sunrise. We got up extra early and headed out to paint a lovely sheep pasture that had been spotted by a the "early morning walkers" in our group. Only, there was no sun to be seen. Instead, (and even better) there was the most beautiful soft fog lifting off of the grass:

Work in Progress (as yet untitled) Oil on Linen, 11x14"

When we set up to paint, we had a couple of dilemmas. The sheep were in the neighboring pasture. But who could resist painting this little chateau? No problem. We'll just paint the chateau and move to the next pasture to add the sheep. (Hey, that's the beauty of being an artist, right?) 

The other challenge was the that we knew this etherial effect of fog would soon burn off, so we had to work quickly to capture what we saw as best we could, alla prima. Actually, the opposite happened. Instead of lifting off, the fog actually settled in thicker, nearly obscuring the upper part of the hillside trees.

This was as far as I got. It's almost there but I feel there are some areas that need to be resolved, like the foreground and the area just above the chateau. I'd also like to develop a bit more surface texture. The trick will be not to lose the freshness that is so characteristic of plein air painting. We'll see.

In any event, one bonus for us is that the sheep actually (eventually) decided to head over to the pasture with the chateau. Those critters can move, so you never know which way they're going to head. But we got lucky. Merci les moutons!