Dordogne Breeze

Here is the final version of the painting I posted in progress yesterday:

"Dordogne Breeze" Oil on Linen, 20x16" Click here for more info. Contact me to purchase!

The fun thing about this painting is that I used a lot of paint, which made working the edges really easy and enjoyable to manipulate. Truth be told, I had originally planned to have more elements  in the painting, (sheep, additional buildings in the distance) but in the process of painting it I decided I liked the simplicity of it with just a very few dominant shapes. Those other elements can wait for another composition, another day. This has been a good reminder to myself that I do not need to say everything in one painting, and to just let the brushwork speak for itself.

French landscape; new and in progress!

It feels like it has been ages since I posted a new work in progress. That is probably because it has been! This kitchen renovation really sidelined me more than I imagined. The new kitchen was in the studio and the old was completely gutted. For weeks. We live in a small house and there was no room at all to store the new stuff, so for a while we could barely walk around without tripping into something or shimmying by someone fast enough to avoid being stapled or drilled. Add to that mix  a couple of family illnesses and a trip or two, and here we are in December already.

The kitchen still isn't done but at least my studio has been freed from floor-to-ceiling cabinetry, boxes, and debris (not to mention a table saw or two). So today I actually started something new. It feels good! This is a 20x16" and a fairly simple composition. But I wanted to keep it alla prima and fresh and airy, and for my first time back at the easel I wasn't looking to plunge into a large complicated piece. It's not done yet, but I think will be very  soon. When it is I will post it here, of course, and with a much better quality photo.

Holiday sale

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday, full of family, friends, and fun! I am so thankful to all of my collectors and subscribers to my newsletter and blog!

Once you have had your fill of Thanksgiving dinner, please consider shopping for a special gift (at a special price) on my "holiday studio sale" page I have created on Etsy. These small original paintings are mostly local plein air studies and oil sketches, and therefore not marketed through retail galleries. Painted in the moment, they are fresh and lively and great gift sizes, either for yourself or someone special. This is a limited time offer, ending December 17th (just in time for Christmas!)

The Third Tee

Last week I finally got out to do a little plein air painting again. Since the leaves were pretty much at their peak, I decided to try a new location that would really feature the fall foliage. This is the golf course at the JLCC, where we have a pool membership:

"The Third Tee" Oil on Birch Panel, 8x10

I am not a golfer, but I am told it is the 3rd Tee. We would often looked down at this lovely view in the summer while having a light dinner by the kiddie pool. It's a great dining spot in the good weather. We get to relax and take in this great view at sunset, while our daughter splashes around and plays.

It was fun to return in a different season, with a different vibe altogether (very peaceful!) This pond actually backs up to the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens, where I've also frequented for local plein air excursions. So along with the occasional golfer, there were plenty of water fowl and songbirds to keep me company.

Varenna mini gouache study

Thought I'd do a little experimenting with this fun little 5x6" study in gouache.

Colors of Varenna (study) Gouache on Cottonwood Arts Coldpress paper, 5x6"

Here I'm just trying to get an idea about my lights and shadows and the basic shapes, so I've not much detail. For this composition I experimented with using a compositional grid that we studied during Kevin Macpherson's workshop (you can probably make out some of it in pencil beneath the gouache. I mentioned it briefly in my last post, but basically this is a method to achieve an informal subdivision of space, as discussed in Andrew Loomis' book called Creative Illustration:

After I learned more about this "grid thing", I realized that I had often been using this kind of subdivision intuitively. But it is good to have a tool handy to be more deliberate about it when one wants to, or if you are dealing with a complicated subject and are trying to decide what to leave in, what to edit out, and how to arrange a painting for the most pleasing effects.

It's been a while since I have worked with gouache and had forgotten that the colors shift a bit when they dry. Nevertheless I had a good time and really look forward to working with them again.

Week-long study with Kevin Macpherson

Last week I did something I haven't done in a very long time...devote myself to the art mistress from morning to night for an entire week. And it was a week studying with the talented Kevin Macpherson at that! As you may have read from my previous blog posts,  I am a big fan of his paintings and his books. He is truly one of the best teachers I have encountered so far. Not only is he a highly skilled painter, but he has a way of honing in on and distilling essential information that actually penetrates my rock-hard noggin.

The workshop took place in a beautiful new space called Chesapeake Fine Art Studio, run by artist Hai-Ou Hou in Stevensville, MD (great location- about 20 mins. away from Annapolis). If you are an artist on the east coast,  it would behoove you to check out her site. Hai-Ou is quite the painter herself, and also appears to be drawing some of the best and brightest painter/instructors in the plein air and traditional/representational painting movements.

I really wish I had time to delve into all I learned during my workshop experience, but life is slamming me pretty hard right now. This week marked a return to the "real world" (insert the sound of  needle scraping across a record here) with kitchen renovation, school activities, and doctor's appointments commanding most of my time and energy.

But my biggest take aways from Kevin's instruction had to do with value and composition. He spoke a lot about light and shadow, and how one can create much stronger paintings by clearly indicating which elements belong in the light family and which belong in the shadow family. (This sounds simple in theory but it isn't always so easy in practice.) He stressed seeing and painting "shapes, not things", with the idea that if we are too wrapped up in painting a "thing" we lose the ability to really see it accurately and how it relates to the rest of the painting as a whole. We spent a good deal of time really learning how to see the true value of things (er, shapes, that is!) He stressed using a color isolator in the field to identify true value and color, determining and laying down your darkest note of color first, followed by the rest of the shadow family, and finally the values in the light family, keying everything up from that very darkest note, so that you really can get a handle on color and value relationships.

In essence, how dark you key your darks will determine how light you key your lights. I use the analogy of playing "Chopsticks" on the piano. You can play low on the scale or high on the scale, but the arrangement of notes and their relationship to each other are the same no matter how high or low you move along the keyboard.

His demos didn't disappoint. In addition to demos in the field, mid-week during his opening he did a remarkable demonstration in the studio (from a photo) on a canvas sized at about 20x24" . During that opening he also presented an inspiring and highly entertaining lecture. This lecture, I understand, was very similar to the one he presented at the Plein Air Convention. Not being able to travel as much as I used to, I really appreciated having the opportunity to see this presentation, in a much more intimate setting.

Though we were meant to work largely out of doors, we had our share of rain and wind. When the weather didn't cooperate, it gave us the opportunity to study (in the gorgeous and spacious studio) some of the more pertinent points Kevin was trying to drive home. We spent a good deal of time studying value relationships among the "light family and shadow family". On another occasion we delved into "The Golden Mean" or "Golden Section" (the informal subdivision of space) and he presented a fascinating slide lecture with many, many inspiring examples of  how it has been used by painters throughout history.

Here are a couple of my plein air paintings done during the workshop that actually reached a level of finish:

At the week's end, I left feeling completely exhausted and totally exhilarated at the same time. I didn't leave with many "finished" pieces, but that wasn't my goal at all any how. What I did leave with was a wealth of knowledge and insight, as well as a good deal of creative spark. Whether that spark ignites a fire, is now totally up to me.

Morning Wash, Venice

We have been prepping for a kitchen remodel these last few weeks, so this little studio piece of Venice has been patiently waiting on the "back burner" (pun intended.) Today I got so tired of seeing its mournful state of incompleteness on my easel that I attacked it with the brush. Here is the result:

"Morning Wash", Venice Oil on Linen, 16x12"    I remember the day I and my traveling companion were taking photos of this little neighborhood. It was our first morning in Venice and we had spent it pretty much as nearly every American tourist does, snapping away with our cameras and ooh-ing and ahh-ing over every nook and cranny of the place. Then we turned the corner and, almost against my will, I blurted out, "Oooh, laundry!" My friend laughed, and of course, I realized immediately how silly that sounded. But to an artist, it has the potential to add both visual interest and an element of the human presence, even on an otherwise empty street. It's a mystery to me how the Italians can make even clothes hanging on a line an intrigue. But I guess it doesn't hurt that those clotheslines are surrounded by beautiful ochre stone, magnificent architecture and, I suspect, a little bit of magic too.

P.S. If you're wondering what happened to the still life I had started  in my last post, I gave it the 86. I will try again at some point, but I think I was  little overly ambitious with the size given my limited time. The flowers croaked before I could get them down, so I had to just chalk it up to one of the ones that got away.

New floral still life (WIP)

I wish I could say that I was as passionate a flower arranger as I am a gardener, but I'm afraid to watch me make the attempt, you'd likely think I was wrestling the blooms into submission rather than celebrating a creative act. Maybe one day I will learn, but at present, my arrangements are pretty tenuous, and they only  look ok as long as you don't look at the back! But I have these great blooms right now in my garden from my massive Limelight Hydrangea, and I have been really wanting to capture them in paint before they are done for the season.

The shrub itself is far larger than I imagined it would be for my space (probably topping out at 8 or 9 feet by now) , but then that is true of just about everything in my garden! The blooms start out a lovely creamy white, and then turn a gorgeous lime green tinged with pink by season's end. Then the other day while shopping I saw these sunflowers lined up like happy little children, so I grabbed a bunch to add to the mix, and an arrangement was born.

It's been a while since I have painted a floral, but I really feel it's so important to regularly practice working from life, and it's been raining an awful lot this last week. So, with fall lurking just around the corner and my flower garden in its final days, I finally felt inspired to give it a go. (Better late than never, I guess!) Here, below,  is the initial block-in on my 24x20" linen canvas.

This is about 3 hours' work. I try not to get too detailed yet, but I have my basic pattern down so that I can jump right in when I return to the easel.

Clearing Sky on the Outer Banks

One of my favorite times on the Outer Banks is just after a storm. The sand is a wet, deep, ochre, the surf still churns, but the clouds begin to lift and light up and eventually give way to that brilliant blue sky. This is a painting about just such a moment.

"Clearing Sky on the Outer Banks" Oil on Canvas, 30x24

 

I worked on this off and on last week, though there was lots of "off" time, as my daughter and I enjoyed our final week together in "summer mode" before the start of preschool.  We sent the summer off right, with a trip to the zoo and a good deal of park and pool play as well. With all of the back to school prep though,  the home life has felt a little hectic recently. Nevertheless, we got it all done without (much of) a hitch, though I think we were both ready to return to the more normalized schedule that the fall ushers in. In a way, this painting feels a little like a metaphor for me today. The storms are (for now) behind us, and hopefully we can enjoy a nice stretch of clear skies ahead.

Sand Play

If you live in Richmond. Virginia and heard someone crying out in agonizing frustration this afternoon, it may have been me trying to bring this painting to a satisfactory conclusion.

"Sand Play" (NFS) Oil on Canvas, 12x12"

This was actually an experiment, and one of those "what would happen if..." paintings that I probably would have put unfinished in the "circular file". But my four year old daughter (who is the subject of this piece) saw it in progress.

"When I grow up to be a beautiful woman," she said, "I will give this painting to my little girl". (How cute is that?) Of course, after that, I had to finish it. I may add a little touch or two, but it is more or less done. When my daughter saw the final, she squealed with delight and said, "Thank you Mommy!" That made it all totally worth it! (And now the neighborhood can enjoy their Labor Day weekend in peace.)

Large Hatteras Island Painting -complete!

Here is the final version of the painting I have been working on for the past week or so:

"To the Sea" Oil on Gallery Wrapped Canvas, 30x40" Click here for more info, or contact me to purchase!

I had such a good time painting this piece I didn't want it to end. The  several prior studies I did of this subject (most of them on location) really helped to inform me about color choices and brushwork, and also, more importantly, they brought back the strong emotional connection I have with the subject. I felt like I was on vacation all over again. Don't get me wrong, this was work, too, but it is this kind of view that I see on summer vacations to the Outer Banks  when I step out on the deck in the morning to sip my first cup of coffee. For me it recalls a time to let  all the cares go and just relax!

Full Moon Nocturne

I painted this little nocturne from my screened porch during a recent full moon.

"Four Square on a Full Moon" Oil on Panel, 10x8" Click here for more info, or contact me to purchase!

This is my neighbor's house. I see this house every morning when I pour my coffee, and every evening in the milder seasons when I sit out on the porch after putting my daughter to bed.   There's nothing particularly fancy about this house. It's one of many classic American four squares we have in the neighborhood. But I like it's austerity. You can't really tell in this painting but it's white stucco. I love the light that shines on it in the morning, too. The soft glow of the morning sun gives it a kind of weathered luster.

I wasn't sure if I would post this piece, as the composition is so dead on and simple. I actually imagined I would zoom out a bit more on this composition, but just having a small shop light on my work space,  I had to work very close in to see what the heck I was doing. That's the way with nocturnes; you never truly know what you're going to get until you bring it into the light of day! Nevertheless, it's grown on me, so I decided to share it here.

p.s. Almost finished with the large painting of the Hatteras Dunes. Progress shots and (hopefully) the final to come soon.

Progress on the large Hatteras painting

Here are a few progress shots on the Hatteras Island Dunes painting I last blogged about:

Though I am trying hard to address the picture as a whole, it is some kind of work just getting the canvas covered. I have been painting pretty small lately so I am kind of shocked at the amount of paint I'm mixing and using. I think this is especially true because I'm not used to using such an absorbent surface.

In the process of working solely from my painted studies, I've noticed that one of the main reasons I love the smaller alla prima pieces is the amount of broken color in the painting. Color is laid next to color, sometimes within the same stroke, and brush strokes aren't overly licked or blended. The result is that you can achieve a really fresh look with the little ones. It's not impossible to do this with the larger paintings, but you do have to really work wet-into-wet the whole time, and start loading on the paint to get that kind of effect. To have that kind of expectation with a painting of this size may very well be an exercise in futility, especially since I am not able to paint on it every day. On the other hand it is really impossible to replicate stroke-for-stroke what I have done in the smaller studies, as the brush size-to-canvas ratio would mean I'd likely have to turn to using house paint brushes!

So with these "reality checks" in mind, I am still striving to capture that fresh, breezy, beachy essence, even if the nature of this beast is very different from the original. I find myself working more background to foreground on the bigger paintings (rather than strictly dark to light) in order to keep the paint surface workable. Nevertheless, I am saving most of the lightest highlights toward the end because they are the most opaque and have the thickest application.

Hatteras Island W.I.P.

I'm starting something new (and big) today of the Hatteras Island dunes. It's a motif I have been exploring for a while now, though mostly in my field studies.

I'm painting this on a 30x40" gallery wrapped canvas, which is a little more absorbent and has a bit more tooth than my usual stretched linen. Hopefully this won't fight against me too much. I need bigger brushes! I want to keep this loose and fresh, like the plein airs, with not too much detail (but just enough.)

Right now I am referencing an image of my inspiration plein air (now sold) on my monitor,  and a second study painted to scale up to 30x40" that I worked up in the studio. The colors are really off in this snapshot, but you get the idea:

In the second study I tried to recreate the feeling of the original plein air, but  with a few compositional adjustments to the horizon, sky, and beach path.

It feels good to be working on something large. I have avoided it lately because of my sporadic schedule, but things don't seem to be changing much in that area of my life any time soon, so what the heck.

Poppies in a Fallow Field

I posted a progress shot of this painting a while ago, but let it marinate while I took advantage of the good weather to explore some plein air painting. While I haven't closed the season on plein air work, I'm excited to return to the studio, both to start something new and to tie up loose ends.

"Poppies in a Fallow Field" Oil on Linen, 16x20" Click here for more info, or contact me to purchase!

In southern France, farmers often sow poppies and other wild flowers in fields that otherwise go fallow. This naturally helps protect the soil from erosion. At other times, poppies self sow and grow wild spontaneously. In either case, their profuse springtime display is pure joy to behold.

Spontaneity

Here's a little plein air I did a couple of weeks ago, before our most recent beach trip. This view is just around the corner from me. It shows another side of the Bellevue neighborhood; a little less neat-as-a-pin, and a little more unkempt and funky, but still with that spontaneous burst of color.

"Splash of Color" Oil on Multimedia Artboard, 6x8"

The Crape Myrtles are still hanging on.  I hope I can get out a few more times to paint before they fade completely.

There are some benefits to time limits, but I think one of the biggest challenges to working with them is deciding how much of it to commit to R&D (research and development) and how much to commit to production end product. Of course with art, there is plenty of overlap, but I still consider my plein air painting time R&D. That doesn't mean that many aren't "frame worthy", but they are small and spontaneous and not all of them are completed statements. This is good because it allows me a certain freedom in my approach, with less deliberation and concern for the end result and more for the process and just really studying light effects, color temperature, values, and textures.

However, studio paintings are still paramount to my work, and at some point I need to get  some larger pieces done,  no matter how much the great outdoors may call me.  My goal with all of this is to see how well I can carry over the spontaneity and that feeling of the light from my field work into a more complete statement with my larger studio pieces. In terms of subject matter, they may not always seem to relate all that much, but for me the two disciplines are very interdependent.

Back at the beach

First I forgot the white paint. Then, there were the fire ants. Next came the wind. "Why exactly do I do this?" I'm thinking to myself. But then I saw the Jolly Roger flapping in the breeze, and I was hooked. So I held on to my hat (and easel) and set to work.

This little 8x8" oil was done from our gazebo on the Outer Banks Dunes, looking out at the neighboring gazebos. The clouds were what attracted me but the Jolly Roger flag was a fun little detail that sealed the deal.

Featured in Plein Air Magazine's OutdoorPainter.com!

I'm on the road and struggling with mobile blogging right now, so I will keep this post brief. But I'm excited to announce that Plein Air Magazine has featured me and my work in their EZine article about "My Favorite Place to Paint".  The location may surprise you. Check it out! http://www.outdoorpainter.com/news/my-favorite-place-to-paint-jennifer-young.html

The Crape on the Corner

I've long admired this pretty crape myrtle on my summer morning walks in my Bellevue neighborhood, so I decided to pay it a little tribute today:

"The Crape on the Corner" 8x10", Oil on Panel Contact me to purchase!

When we see Crape Myrtles blooming in Richmond, we pretty much know summer is here to stay a while. And if the heat isn't already upon us, it  is sure to quickly follow. Yes, folks, it was definitely hot out there! This painting pretty much demanded some Permanent Rose, which (of course) wasn't among the supplies I packed. I suppose I could have gotten by with Alizarin, but it wouldn't have been the same. There are definitely advantages to painting in my neighborhood; my studio (and agreeable husband) were just a couple of blocks away.

My lunchtime view

A major goal of mine this year has been to return to a regular practice of plein air painting. I've made kind of a slow start of it, but with a young child and a constantly changing schedule, finding the time to do this has been a major challenge to me. Before I had my daughter, I became accustomed to traveling around in search for the perfect painting site. Now, that's not really practical, (or most times, even possible). This is actually most peoples' reality and it's only in hindsight that I realize just how spoiled I was to ever have been able to do this in the first place! But these kinds of constraints shouldn't prevent me from plein air painting. After all, an exotic location does not (necessarily) a good painting make. And in fact, painting my world around me, just as it is, provides a pretty good challenge and a good discipline.

This is the view I behold every time I eat outside on my patio (which I do quite often in the temperate months). You may recall the distant flower bed from another recent plein air I did in the spring. This is a different view, from beneath the shade of our Crepe Myrtle:

"Patio View, Midday" 10x8", Oil on panel To purchase, please contact me!

Of course, painting my current reality doesn't mean I have to include everything. Here's what you don't see on the other side of that column: