Flying with artist oil paints, plus tips for plein air

As I set out to answer a few questions about traveling with paint from fellow painter Marilyn King, I realized the length of my response was worthy of its own blog post! So Marilyn, thanks for the assignment! :-)  There are a million different approaches, a million different solutions; but here are some ideas: Oil paints; Lighten the load!

While it is more economical to use larger 150 ml tubes, I generally save them for use in the studio. (In fact, for my white and some other colors, I buy in even larger quantities --either in cans or in caulking guns.)  But if you're using a double primary palette en plein air, lugging big tubes of each color can get a little weighty! For this reason, I keep a set of smaller tubes for plein air painting. I generally carry one large 150 ml white out on the field and smaller tubes of the other colors. A couple of other options:

• Yes, you guessed it--limit your palette. This gets easier to do the more you try it. There are many plein air painters who limit to 3 primaries plus white to get all of their colors. This is Kevin Macpherson's suggestion in his first book on plein air painting, and even in the second one  (though he does get a little more expansive in the latter). A limited palette  does simplify things for plein air.
  • Cadmium yellow light, Alizarin Crimson, and Ultramarine Blue plus white would be one example of a single primary palette. In this case you might even bring larger tubes since you'll have fewer of them. I've often used this palette as stated or supplemented only slightly with one additional color (e.g. a small amt. of phtalo green.)
  • While it can seem pretty limiting at first, a limited palette will create more overall unity in your painting,  it is a very good practice for anyone who is interested in learning about mixing color. 
•  Squeeze out your colors on your palette before going out to paint. Obviously this won't work if you're flying on a plane! The down side is that most beginning plein air painters don't squeeze out enough paint on their palette to begin with! And even if you're used to painting outside it can still be a challenge to judge how much you'll need.
• Transfer your colors into smaller containers (again, won't work with flying!)
  • Jerry's Artarama (and probably other art supply stores) even sell empty paint tubes for this purpose.
  • Paint film canisters or other readily available plastic containers could also be useful, though be aware of the depth as it may be a challenge to dig the paint out after a while.  Another option is to find the larger sized pill box containers. You know, the kind that have slots for each day of the week? I did this for a while, but since this is a temporary solution, I eventually got lazy and just bought smaller tubes for plein air.
  • Note: Many plastics may eventually degrade--particularly the lids that are often made of the softer plastic needed for flexibility. I like to leave a plein air "emergency kit" in my car and I have had containers made of softer plastic degrade, warp, ooze and pucker over time. Yuck.

Yes, but what about flying with oils?

For flying, here are some solutions I've gleaned from others and from trial and error:

• First, I wrap my paint tubes in foam sheeting or bubble wrap to reduce the chance of puncture, and then pack all of my paints in ziplock bags in my checked bag. (You can't bring paints or mediums in your carry on.) 
• I also enclose MSDS sheets in the bags with my paints, as provided by the manufacturers. These sheets list the flash points for the paints. According to the Gamblin website, artist oil paints contain vegetable oil and no solvent, and you're good to go if your paints have a flashpoint of 140 degrees F (or above). *If bringing a painting medium, check to make sure that it does not have a higher flashpoint before packing it!
• If questioned by airline security, explain that these are artist's oil colors and have no solvents, and provide the documentation that says the same. It seems the word "paint" can possibly set off undue alarm.
• Buy turpentine in the destination country (en Francais- "La terebentine"; in Italiano- "La trementina"!)
• If possible, just bring your tools and supports, and consider buying paints in your destination country. This is actually a lot of fun! If you haven't been in an art supply store in Paris, you owe it to yourself to go any way. I always feel like a kid in a candy shop when I do.
• If you'll be in a more "out of the way" or unfamiliar location, you might research art supply stores in the area where you'll be going. Did you know that the regional visitor centers are extremely helpful? In the past I've just sent them an email and gotten back a list of stores in the vicinity prior to my departure.
• Lastly, you just might check into water soluble oil colors. I need to experiment more with these some day. It's hard to beat the tried and true, but WS oil do eliminate a few challenges for the portable studio, and many artists report being pleased with their results.

 Medium or no medium?

 Often times I don't even use a medium for plein air painting because it seems like even with just a little bit of breeze, any kind of alkyd medium gets a "skin" before I can even use it. However, there are times when it is handy; especially if I want to try and hasten the drying time of my paintings.

• An alkyd based medium (Liquin, etc.) is useful for this, and fairly portable if you can buy it in a small bottle.
• Another option is Wingel (by W&N) or Lukas Painting Butter, both of which come in tubes. But being more "solid," the tube mediums seem to dry up even faster than the liquids, so the key is to use it sparingly if you're going to use it (a good practice any way).
• If hastening the drying time is what you're after, you might just look into getting an alkyd-based white for plein air. I have found that when I use Gamblin's "Quick-Dry White" it helps speed up the drying time of my entire painting while still keeping the painting open for a good while.
• If you are reliant on a medium to increase viscosity (flow), be aware that turps and paint thinner are *not* mediums and should not be used  to thin paint beyond perhaps the very beginning "sketching" stages of your painting. They will weaken the paint film.
• Again, if you're going to be flying, check the flashpoint before packing the medium! If it's too high, leave it at home and consider doing without or buying it at your destination.

New stuff coming soon, I promise!

I have many notes on things I'd like to blog about, but it seems this whole month has been crammed packed with activity. I'm getting ready for the art walk this Friday, and  a trip to France in just over a couple of  weeks.  But I will post new work this week, even if it's just a few small plein air pieces. And I've plenty of other things I'd like to write about too, if I can find the time:

• More thoughts on color mixing and art mediums
• More on art books I've been enjoying
• Planning and packing all my gear for an overseas trip
• One more "Art for Food" auction before I take a travel hiatus
• Sharing what I'm learning about the beautiful region of the Lot and Dordogne where I'll soon be touring and painting

I may not get to everything, but I will surely get to a number of these topics over the next couple of weeks before I sign off to head for 10 days of computer-free travel.

I've been interviewed by Creative Spotlite!

Recently I was interviewed by Creative Spotlite's Ralph Serpe.  In the interview, I respond to Ralph's questions about my journey as an artist and my art career thus far. Ralph is the founder of the Creative Spotlite art instruction website and blog, both of which feature an ever-growing collection of free art lessons, demos, links,  and a wealth of other resources for artists. In conjunction with the interview, Ralph has also featured my plein air demo for my painting "Vineyard Patterns" on his site. Thanks Ralph, for featuring me and my work, and for creating such content rich sites for artists!

Small WIP & value sketches amid the rubble

A series of wet gray days have kept me from painting outside, so I've spent some time putting my studio  (and myself!) back together in the aftermath of the workshop. For me, "spring cleaning" always seems to make things look worse before they get better.

I have little piles around me...piles of books, of paperwork, and also a small pile of unfinished paintings. Among the latter is this demo painting that I started in the workshop, which I may noodle around with and bring to a more finished state. It's small, just 12x9", so we're talking maybe just orzo or macaroni-sized noodling.

I started this workshop demo talking about composition and values and how they related to each other. Since we were working with the limitations of photographs, I wanted to try to get folks to think about the possibility of composition beyond just what they saw in front of them in the picture. When I'm painting en plein air, I will often do a series of small value sketches before I jump right into painting. I will use this same approach too in the studio, to develop my design.

Along with a contour sketch, it is extremely helpful to do this in a very abbreviated quick grayscale, so that I can get a general idea of my value relationships and the overall design that is created not only by the placement of line but also by the pattern of dark and light:

 

This is not a new concept, of course. Artists have forever been studying and writing about the arrangement of values (lights and darks) to compose a strong design. The artsy fartsy term for this is "Notan". Okay, it's actually Japanese. Notan sketches can be fleshed out in recongnizable contours (like mine above) or they can be very quick and gestural thumbnail abstractions created for the purpose of identifying the underlying design.

The values are generally limited to four or less.  I used 2 markers; black and light gray, deriving my middle gray from a blending of the two, and letting the white of the paper stand as my lightest value. 

Of course, in life we see a much wider range of values, but in designing and executing a painting, I'm learning that simpler is often better.  If you look at many of Monet's paintings, you might notice that many of them have a very small range of values indeed, and he used color temperature and very soft edges to add a wonderful sense of atmospheric depth to his work.

A quick Google search for "Notan" yielded some good results for further exploration:

• A good series of Notan lessons from Virtual Art Academy
• Artist Robert Genn discusses Notan in his inspirational newsletter "The Painter's Keys"
• Painter Ed Terpening does it!
• Katherine Tyrrell does too.

How about you?

Looks like I've "Made a Mark" this week!

Thanks to Katherine Tyrrell, uber blogger of exhaustive art resources extraordinaire, for mentioning myarticles on plein air painting easels in her weekly post called "Who's made a mark this week" . If you're an artist or art lover and haven't yet discovered Katherine's blog "Making A Mark", do yourself a favor and check it out. Each week she provides an exhaustive list of art links and blogging resources, as well as frequent posts about her wonderful pencil drawings and other art related subjects. Looks like she may have discovered my articles by following a link from David Cornelius's blog post on his own search for plein air easels. So thanks for the mention (and link!) to you too, David, and keep up the great experimentation, inside and out. 

Scenes from the painting workshop

I'm baaaack! Fell in a black hole of the blogosphere for a while and am slooowly recovering from a very busy and intense workshop at my studio this past weekend. Church Hill Photography took some great environmental shots of one of the demo portions  of the class on the first day, so I thought I'd share them here. (BTW, Elaine Odell of Church Hill Photography also made the excellent portrait of me in my studio, so be sure to check out her website if your looking for a photographer who really knows her stuff!) While I've taught off-site at other hosted locations, this was the first time I've actually hosted a workshop myself, and preparing for it was quite a bit more work than I'd imagined because I had to prep both my lessons and the space itself.  The participants did some great work though, and were enthusiastic and so much fun. And it was really exciting for me to share ideas about color, shape, values, and composition. Hopefully everyone felt like they learned a lot. I know I did!

After a brief discussion of color mixing (and especially mixing greens) I did a little landscape demo. This is a good long shot that shows me sketching out my composition at my setup, as well as the studio beyond. The participants worked in the front two rooms, so we had to configure the space in a way that would protect those beautiful wood floors. Hence the lovely blue spill-resistant floor coverings!

Here's a cool shot  through the easel. There's a large mirror to my back, which I use to check my compositions in reverse. It really does help to give me a "fresh look" at my work. That cutie just over my shoulder in the gray tee is my talented niece Molly, a fine emerging artist who I was delighted to have come all the way from Texas to take the class and visit. The "man in black" looming in the doorway is my husband and partner Dave. As always, he was a HUGE help to me, keeping everything running smoothly.

This shot shows the demo piece, coming right along.

The workshop was pretty action packed, but by being in the studio we were able to really focus some of the more important elements of painting as they pertain to the landscape, in conditions that were controllable. I hope to do some plein air classes too in addition to the studio intensive, as this "takes it to the next level" and throws a whole other slew of concerns into the pot (watch this page for future workshop listings). Luckily I hadn't planned a plein air class for this past weekend though, as we had some really varied weather ranging from cloudburst thunderstorms to overcast damp chill.

On Monday Molly and I took a road trip up to Charlottesville so that she could see Jefferson's Monticello. Wow! What an absolutely gorgeous day--the redbuds, fruit trees, dogwoods and tulips were going crazy. I hope I can get up back up there some time soon to paint some of it-- and paint some local plein air scenes as well. Right after I take care of a few neglected household and business matters, that is. Whatever I paint, I'll be sure to post here first, so stay tuned....

Plein Air Easels- A pochade box for travel

This is my 4th in a series of posts about artist's easels. You can see the other installments here:Part I: On the quest for the perfect easel Part II: Guerilla Painters' Pochade Box Part III: My Soltek Easel

After having already written extensively about my Soltek love, it may seem curious that I'd have yet another pochade- style easel to write about. But what I've found (and I'm sure other plein air painters can empathize) is that the quest for the most versatile and easy to use plein air easel must be tempered with the quest for the lightest possible plein air setup. This is especially important if you're an artist who likes to travel.

With the airline regulations being what they are, it has become more and more of a challenge trying to figure out what items to check (if any) and what items to carry on in the ever-diminishing size of the acceptable carry on bag. While I may not be able to bring all of my art supplies with me on the plane, I prefer to have my easel in my carry-on. When traveling overseas, this sometimes means carrying my bag while running to make a flight connection, so a lightweight and compact bag becomes all the more important.

While the Soltek is lighter than many other setups, I still found myself wondering, "Can I go lighter?"  The answer is, of course, yes. Surely there are many options for going lighter, but the one I chose was the "Prochade Kit" by EasyL,  referenced in a book I blogged about a while back by Kevin Macpherson;  Landscape Painting Inside & Out.

I had seen other EasyL paint boxes and I was impressed by the setup. In fact, if I hadn't already gotten a Soltek I might have seriously considered the EasyL Versa, which offers a good deal of versatility while still being lightweight, and at a much more wallet-friendly price. But having already made my "primary" plein air easel selection, I honed in on the Prochade Kit for travel.

At first, I thought I'd only get the little box. After all, I already had a tripod and a couple of bags. But after really examining the Kit, which included a lighter-weight tripod, a GREAT bag, and a number of other nifty add-ons and doo-dads, I justified that it was a decent buy, considering. I really feel like a lot of thought went into the design of the kit, and with everything weighing in at around 10 lbs, I couldn't imagine as detailed a  setup that is much lighter.

When I first got this little box, I was a bit wary. Compared to the other models I'd experienced, the box seemed a little TOO light, and I was concerned about its fragility. The adaptive panel holder appears to raise and lower by the means of some kind of internal spring. I wasn't used to this kind of mechanism and wondered if it would hold up, but after several months of use it has so far worked fine. It does come with a warning, however, not to extend this mechanism beyond the 10" high limit. It holds panel heights from 6 to 10 inches, and any reasonable width. Since I usually paint on the small side out of doors, and particularly when I'm traveling, this was actually fine for me. And while I feel the external latches that close the box are on the flimsy side, the knob and sliding hinge are of a quality that is actually quite good.

But probably what I like most about this kit is the bag. It has a perfect number of slots, pockets, and compartments, making packing and organizing supplies a breeze. While this bag isn't suitable for larger easels or thicker pochade boxes, it is perfect for a true cigar-style pochade box, whether purchased from EasyL or home-made. It is  the right size for the airline carry-on regulations; and while it is lightweight, it is extremely durable and has enough padding to make it comfortable to carry.

Overall I have been quite happy with the kit, for the main reason that it met my specific needs of a travel box that is lightweight, but complete enough so that I can do more than just light sketching. But I don't know that I'd recommend this kit as a primary setup for the every day plein air. Even weighted down,  it does not hold up in the wind--and I've found myself holding on to it for dear life during some unexpected wind gusts.

I'll close this little book on plein air easels with some final thoughts.

• Do plenty of research before you buy your plein air easel, but beyond that, give some thought to the way you typically paint. If you don't paint large, you probably don't need an easel that accomodates a 30" high canvas. Perhaps even consider writing down the key features that are important to you in a plein air easel before shopping.

• You don't have to spend a lot of money to paint en plein air. There are a number of options that are quite inexpensive that you can start with before taking the leap of buying a fancier model:

  • One of the most inexpensive commercially available models I've found is the Studio RTA simple tripod steel easel. Nothing fancy, but quite sturdy and lightweight (though because of this it will probably not stay put in strong wind.) With this model, you'll have to hold your palette and find somewhere to put your supplies, but at $40 it's a decent deal. I have a couple of these easels at my studio for workshops and they work quite well.

  • Another option is just to consider making your own plein air setup if you are particularly handy. I've promised my husband that this is going to be my next pochade box . Cost? Under $15! (hand slapping squarely on forehead.) Thank you to Ellie Clemons for the wonderfully detailed instructions, and to artist John Haynes' thoughtful blog  that I just discovered for pointing me to Ellie's page. Also check out artist David Cornelius' hand made work-in-progress "easel pal" for some additional ideas.

• If your art travels involve flying, be sure to check out the many (and seemingly ever-changing) guidelines and regulations before deciding what to bring and what to leave at home. The Gamblin website has some useful tips about traveling with your paints. Artist Robert Genn had a good discussion going not too long ago on this subject also, on "The Painter's Keys" --a website that offers artists tips on matters both practical and inspirational.

• Have fun and happy painting!

Soltek- the ultimate plein air easel?

This is part 3 in a series of posts I'm writing about my quests for easels, plein air or otherwise. You can read the saga from the beginning  or jump to another section here:Part I: On the quest for the perfect easel Part II: Guerilla Painters' Pochade Box Part IV: A pochade box for travel

Easel #3: The Soltek. All hail and bow down to the mother of all plein air easels! Okay, my Soltek has had its problems, but I still love this easel. The Soltek is a portable easel that seems to be in a class by itself. The easel is both "space age" in technical design, and extremely flexible in its configuration:

The telescoping legs fold into themselves the same way they do in a camera tripod. But unlike the pochade box/tripod combo, the Soltek is all self contained, making setup lightning fast. The legs and the overall design  also make this easel extremely  resistant in the wind, which is probably one of the most difficult weather conditions of all  for the plein air painter.

Other features  I really love  about the Soltek:

• The two wings fold out on either side of the palette to allow for additional space to set brushes, paint thinner, etc. This is an especially important feature (as artists always "need" more space) and one that isn't usually acheived on the other paint boxes I've seen without purchasing separate attachments and adding more weight to the setup.
• The design of the upper and lower canvas holders cover the canvas edges only minimally and flip out indidually so that you can easily cover the edges of your painting without interrupting flow.
• Versatility--it can be configured in many different ways, at many different angles. The  easel will support a canvas up to 30" high-- a real plus for those who like to paint large outdoors. With this versatility, it can also function as a smaler studio easel or even a table easel if you want.
• Weight--even though you have a lot more work space, the whole configuration is sleek and weighs just  9 lbs.

Like the French easel models and the bulkier pochade boxes, this easel has space underneath the plastic palette to store brushes and paint tubes, etc (but not the standard brush cleaner containers). It has a carrying strap attached to the easel, but I still find it necessary to have a  backpack or bag  for additional supplies and for hiking or carrying longer distances.

While this model is thinner and sleeker than  the pochade box I blogged about earlier, it is about as long and nearly as wide as a full French easel (though not nearly as deep), and I have found it difficult to locate a good backpack that will accomodate this easel while still meeting the new airline carry-on restrictions. Soltek does sell its own backpack just for this easel. It works, and you can carry it on the plane, though it could stand to be a bit better designed, with additional padding for hiking, and some better thought-out storage compartments.

But  for all of Soltek's largely  wonderful features, I would never recommend that a beginning plein air painter invest in such a product, for the simple reason that it is far too expensive for a casual user. Even for the die-hard, I am hesitant to recommend it without reservation. Not only is it expensive, it's also like a high-tech  car with a lot of fancy  gizmos. It takes  greater care to maintain, and by methods that  can sometimes be  more costly and inconvenient than going to the hardware store for a wingnut.

It is advised that you keep the easel clean and free of paint, particularly in the areas of the  joints and legs. For someone who gets paint in her hair every time she paints on location, this is a real challenge. And while the telescoping legs are wonderful, they also seem to  give people the most problems. Mine tended to either slip (and not remain extended) or stick (unable to easily close) after only about a year or so of moderate use. The Soltek support people suggested that this sometimes occurs when painters take the easel out onto the beach, where grains of sand get up into the legs. Only I had never taken mine to the beach or anywhere near sand.

The other issue I had was that  the plastic hinges that allow the winged flaps to fold outward and remain open  broke on me, also  after only about a year or so. Soltek support says they now have better hinges and they did offer a couple of options. 1.) They could send me replacement hinges or 2.) I could pay $50 plus shipping to get a Soltek "tuneup" which would address both issues I was having.

Yes, you guessed it.  I forked over the $50. Due to my already considerable investment, I justified the expense since I had at least a couple of rather critical things in need of repair. It was back within a couple of weeks, and has since been working fine. But for the price of this easel (which costs as much or more than  some larger studio easels), I still feel these issues are not what I would have expected after 1-2 years of moderate use.

In any event, I still love it, and when working properly, it  is by far the easiest in terms of setup and versatility of all the portable easels I've experienced. I will continue to use it as long as I can reasonably maintain it. So why would I ever need another plein air easel? Well, besides the need for a backup in case of another Soltek break down, I probably don't. But that didn't stop me from one more purchase. (Remember, this was before I admitted I had a problem.) I'll cover that in the next installment.