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| Thunder Mountain sketch, 9×12, pastel |
Sometimes I get questions about reusing canvas. My short answer for this is, Don’t.
I think all of us have a collection of old paintings stashed away somewhere, paintings that should be thrown out. Because of the cost of materials, it’s easy to wish that these could be recycled in some way. The worst thing you can do is to brush on a fresh coat of white paint and paint over that. Over time, the new paint will become more transparent, revealing the old painting. But there’s also a good chance that the overpainting, because of differences in paint layer thickness and oil content, will develop problems such as cracking and flaking. Even if you think you’ll be doing nothing but quick, throwaway sketches, don’t do it. Never assume that a quick sketch won’t turn out to be something valuable. Always use archival materials in an archival manner.
If you really do need to reuse stretched canvas, one thing you can do is take it off the stretchers and turn it over, exposing fresh canvas to your brush. This you can treat just like raw canvas – size it, and then apply either oil ground or acrylic gesso. Many old paintings, hundreds of years old, have paintings on the reverse side. Of course, if you paint on panels, you can simply flip those over and paint on the backs. (I’m talking about wood or hardboard panels; this won’t work for those cheap cardboard ones from Frederix.)
Pastel on paper is a different story. I use Wallis sanded paper, which is remarkably durable and eminently reusable. I can take my “starts” and unsatisfactory paintings to the kitchen sink and wash off the pastel. Some of the pastel stains the paper, but the stained paper, once dry, makes for a good surface to do more paintings on. If the paper doesn’t dry completely flat, I cut it up into smaller pieces for sketches. (The pastel at the top of this post is purely meant for your pleasure and not to illustrate a point; it wasn’t made on re-used paper, nor will I wash this one out! It’s a sketch I did the other week during one of the Paint Sedona workshops.)
So if you don’t reuse canvas or paper, what should you do? Make a bonfire. Slash them with a razor. Paint a black X on them. Get them out of your studio at any cost, or these zombie paintings will haunt you forever!
July-September, 2012: Campobello Island, New Brunswick, Canada. All levels, all media, many weeks available. Price: $300. Visit www.PaintCampobello.com for details and to signup.
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| Painting at Liberty Point |
I’ve been teaching plein air painting workshops on Campobello Island and across the border in Lubec, Maine, for five summers now. (This will be my sixth.) I love the area and never tire of showing students some of my favorite spots to paint. Campobello is a small island, and one-third of it consists of parklands. Between the Roosevelt-Campobello International Park and Herring Cove Provincial park, we have plenty to paint in the way of bold cliffs, quiet beaches, ponds and bogs, and meadows. We also have historic buildings, lighthouses and several working waterfronts to pick from, too.
As with my Paint Sedona workshops, I limit the students to usually no more than 4. I’ll be working in oil or pastel, but students are welcome to work in whatever medium they wish. Also, during the summer I schedule a couple of advanced/mentoring workshops for those who would like to learn the finer points of painting. Each workshop begins in my home studio gallery and starts with a brief talk on plein air basics, after which we move out into the field to paint. I’ll demonstrate first, and then you’ll get to paint with me working beside you and offering help.
Since the workshop runs from 9-1, you’ll have your afternoons free to either paint on your own or explore. Many students bring friends or family and enjoy a whale watch or hike in the afternoon, followed by a dinner of the day’s catch at one of our restaurants. Some just keep on painting – and that’s fine, too, because I’ll be happy to critique whatever you do the next morning.
By the way, Master Pastellist Doug Dawson will be teaching a workshop for me in Lubec, Maine, August 20-24. I’ll have more details on this in a future post. Or, you can go to www.dougdawsonworkshop.com.
For more on the area, visit www.campobello.com and www.visitlubecmaine.com.
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| 12×24 pastel framed with museum glass, mat and spacer |
A reader writes:
My area of confusion is regarding the framing. This influences the amount of the artist’s share more than anything else. Some galleries decide what frames should be used, some want better or higher quality frames, some probably contribute to this expense depending on the value of the work. Particularly, in the case of larger works, the buyer will probably change the frame. Styles vary widely when it comes to frames among what artists want to use and what buyers want. It is a big investment to put a good frame on a work, it ups the price, and then occasionally it is replaced adding so much more money on the buyer’s end. Such a conundrum.
I can’t figure out how to make this work out in a more favorable way for the artist. Can you speak to us, the 99%?
Framing for the 99% is a tough call. As I mentioned in my earlier post on framing, I have a few basic concepts, which I adhere to. These seem to satisfy the galleries, as well. (In fact, the way I frame is the way my galleries want me to frame my work.) The framing is expensive, but if you have a resale tax certificate, you avoid paying sales tax. And, because the certificate also signifies you as a professional, framers will often sell to you close to wholesale.
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| 9×12 pastels framed with simple, homemade wooden frames, mat and picture glass, no spacer |
Otherwise, there aren’t many options to get around the issues you mention. You might tell the gallery manager that if a buyer doesn’t like the frame you can swap it out for one of similar price. Of course, this makes things more complicated in that the re-framing will have to be dealt with in some way. Either you need to live close enough to do it yourself, or the gallery will need to do it. If the buyer wants a more expensive frame, then the buyer pays the difference. Or, and this is probably easiest, they can buy it without the frame, and the gallery deducts your frame cost from the price. (The gallery’s commission, by the way, should then be calculated on the unframed price.) In my studio gallery, if I don’t have a frame handy, this is what I do. It’s usually always a satisfactory solution for both me and the buyer, especially if I can recommend a good frame shop.
Scattered through this blog are some ways I’ve framed pastels in the past.
I’d be interested to hear if any of my readers have other solutions regarding Framing for the 99%.
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| 5×7 pastels framed with readymade frames, mat, picture glass and no spacer |
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| 12×9 pastel framed with readymade frame, museum glass, no mat, plus spacer |
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| Canyon, Near Sunset I – 9×12, oil |
Sometimes, we’re more interested in putting down our feelings than in dealing with painting technique. If, like me, you’re heavily left-brained and love the technology of painting, it might be hard to let go and “just express yourself.” We’re busy trying to remember whether burnt umber is fat or lean. But I’d say that even “expressing yourself” requires technical skill.
Without it, it’s like not knowing the rules of grammar and trying to write a novel. Communicating your story – and all the feelings that fuel a novel – will fail if you don’t know the rules.
So, how does one put down one’s feelings? To me as as plein air painter, my feelings come about as a response to the landscape’s mood. Mood is a synthesis of subject, light and shadow, and color.
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| Canyon, Near Sunset II – 9×12, oil |
“Putting down your feelings” involves three steps. First is discerning exactly what your response is. Are you awed by the grandeur and majesty? Calmed by the peacefulness? Second is analyzing the landscape’s mood and determining what features provoke your response. If you are awed, perhaps it’s the sense of atmospheric depth and the scale of the subject. If calmed, perhaps it’s the dominant horizontals in the scene and the dulled color. Finally, it’s taking these features and rendering them effectively on paper or canvas. If it’s grandeur and majesty you’re after, you might start with a larger canvas and rich color; if a sense of calm, you might go with a 1:2 or even a 1:3 format and a subdued palette. Every decision you make needs to work in concert with the mood you wish to convey.
It’s worth playing with this concept, especially in the studio where you have more time. On a few scrap sheets, play with format and design, and with value choices and palettes. Which combination is most effective at recreating your feeling about the landscape?
The two sketches illustrating this blog are ones that I painted out in the field while thinking purposefully of mood.
May 15-17, 2012: NEW YORK, Old Forge. Oil Only. Price: $350/$325 members. Contact: View Arts, (315) 369-6411, bgetty@viewarts.org , www.viewarts.org
This will be my second time teaching in Old Forge. Old Forge sits in the central Adirondack Mountains of New York, and it’s a beautiful spot with ponds, trails and trees. In mid-May, we should have some good spring foliage. Bring a tube of permanent green light!
The workshop is for oil only. We’ll spend a little time in the studio each morning going over plein air basics, where I’ll also go over my gear and materials. Afterward, we’ll head out to some of my favorites spots where I’ll give a full demonstration. During the demonstration, I’ll show you how to capture the moment quickly and efficiently but without sacrificing mood and magic. We’ll talk about abstracting and simplifying the landscape; how to make the most use of value and color; and how to finish a painting. Next, you’ll get to paint! I’ll go from easel to easel offering help. Time permitting, we’ll do critiques at the end of the day or, if not, the following morning.
I hope you’ll join us!
(Click here if you’d like to see my full workshop schedule.)
May 11-12, 2012: OHIO, Lima. FULL. Price: $150 Contact: Ruth Ann Sturgill, 419-331-4999, rasturgill@woh.rr.com
This will be my second time teaching in Lima. Lima has a beautiful rural setting with plenty of barns and farmscapes. It’s also got a neat downtown and is headquarters for Kewpee’s Hamburgers. Why do I mention Kewpee’s? As a bit of historic Americana, it was one of the first fast-food restaurants to offer curbside service with its heyday before World War II. There are only five Kewpee’s left, but it’s a fun place to eat.
This will be a workshop for oil only, and it is now full. Because the workshop runs only two days, we’ll head quickly out into the field and get started. I’ll start with a full demonstration to show you how to capture the moment quickly and efficiently but without sacrificing mood and magic. We’ll talk about abstracting and simplifying the landscape; how to make the most use of value and color; and how to finish a painting. Next, you’ll get to paint! I’ll go from easel to easel offering help. Time permitting, we’ll do critiques at the end of the day.
I hope you’ll join us!
(Click here if you’d like to see my full workshop schedule.)
May 7-9, 2012: INDIANA, Valparaiso. Price: $275 (incl. lunch) Contact: ArtBarnIN@AOL.com, 219-462-9009, www.artbarnin.com
This will be my third time teaching at the Art Barn. In case you’ve not been to the Art Barn, it really is a barn, and it’s situated on nearly 70 acres in a beautiful, pastoral setting. We’ll have a pond, fields and groves of trees to paint. I’m hoping the giant dogwood outside the barn is blooming again, as it was the last two Aprils. This year, we may try a “chickens in the landscape” session. One of our students last year discovered that if you feed them, they’ll stay still long enough to paint.
This will be a workshop for all media, all levels. (I’ll be working in oil and pastel.) We’ll spend a little time in the studio each morning going over plein air basics, where I’ll also go over my gear and materials. Afterward, we’ll head out into the field where I’ll give a full demonstration. During the demonstration, I’ll show you how to capture the moment quickly and efficiently but without sacrificing mood and magic. We’ll talk about abstracting and simplifying the landscape; how to make the most use of value and color; and how to finish a painting. Next, you’ll get to paint! I’ll go from easel to easel offering help. Time permitting, we’ll do critiques at the end of the day or, if not, the following morning.
Valparaiso – or “Valpo,” as the locals call it – it nearby with restaurants and galleries and a fascinating historic district. I hope you’ll join us!
(Click here if you’d like to see my full workshop schedule.)
April 9-12, 2012: ARIZONA, Sedona. 4 full days. All levels. All media. Price: $450 Contact: Sedona Arts Center 1-888-954-4442, sac@sedonaartscenter.com, www.sedonaartscenter.com
I teach many workshops in Sedona, but this will be one of the few for all levels, all media. If you were a bit fearful of taking one of my advanced workshops, then this one is for you!
We’ll spend a little time in the studio each morning going over plein air basics, where I’ll also go over my gear and materials. Afterward, we’ll head out to some of my favorites spots where I’ll give a full demonstration. During the demonstration, I’ll show you how to capture the moment quickly and efficiently but without sacrificing mood and magic. We’ll talk about abstracting and simplifying the landscape; how to make the most use of value and color; and how to finish a painting. Next, you’ll get to paint! I’ll go from easel to easel offering help. Time permitting, we’ll do critiques at the end of the day or, if not, the following morning.
It doesn’t matter what medium you prefer to work in. I work in both oil and pastel, and will do so for the workshop. But since we’ll be focusing on painting principles, you can work in oil, pastel, acrylic, watercolor – whatever suits your fancy!
Sedona is a beautiful area to paint in with red rock hills, sycamore and cottonwood trees and running creeks. Plus, if you’ve not been to Sedona before, it has a large selection of good restaurants, galleries and shops. I hope you’ll join us.
(Click here if you’d like to see my full plein air workshop schedule.)
I rarely paint the figure. Mostly, it’s either because of the lack of an open studio (and models) or my busy schedule. I’d love to paint the figure from life more often. Good drawing skills are critical, and it’s a great way to practice them. You can get away with so much poor drawing in the landscape and never get any better at it. Painting the figure forces you to look at proportion and angle and to measure often.
Yesterday, I was able to take a one-day workshop with Gretchen Lopez. Gretchen, who worked in the fashion and illustration world, is a popular teacher. I took a workshop with her last year, and I was eager to do so again. In the morning, we did several quick sketches in charcoal or pastel (one- to three- to fifteen minute poses), and then for the afternoon, we worked in color in the medium of our choice. Over two hours or so, we worked on a single painting. Gretchen demonstrated frequently, and we made sure to give our patient model breaks as often as possible.
I sketched in oil on a 9×12 panel. Gretchen wanted us to keep to brown tones, so I made a variety of browns with cadmium red light, ultramarine blue, white and a little chromatic black (Gamblin) and then some yellow for the highlights. I wiped out my starting sketch a couple of times before getting the general proportions correct, and then it was a push-and-pull process of painting negative and positive spaces to get the others.
I think the sketch works pretty well – it was good practice. It’s a little tighter than I paint the landscape, but then, I was focussing on drawing, and not on bravura brush work.
What’s this got to do with plein air? Well, it’s working from life, which is what plein air is all about. And painting the figure is also, perhaps most importantly, about drawing. Painting the figure, I believe, will go a long way in helping you to paint the landscape.
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| Pasha, 9×12 oil sketch |
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| Pasha, detail |
A Plein Air Painter's Blog 