Get on Track- Take a Class

Here we are in the merry month of May; sometimes not so merry in Colorado where spring winds can peel paint right off the house, but as the grass quietly greens up and flowers bud, painting still-life in class feels a little stale. I paint out side pretty much year around but don't expect students to take on the outdoor elements while trying to also juggle elements of design, composition, and color mixing.

Classes start this week and we will turn our focus to all things landscape, building on skills in preparation for the summer session when we actually GO outside and hopefully, put them to good use.
I consider this the LEARNING part of painting; the WISDOM part only comes with you are actually out there.
My advice to any painter wanting to go PLEIN AIR is to just do it; but if your circumstance don't allow - indulge in classes that give you a strong foundation of composition and landscape elements that will help you be more successful when you do go out.
And it is always more fun with other painters.
Take advantage of the time and when the weather turns fine you'll go out with more confidence.

The above plein air piece is a demo- late spring- done in the indirect method.
To read about the Indirect Method go to LABELS on the right and scroll down to Class Notes: Direct and Indirect method.

Class Notes - Methods, Direct and Indirect

A few posts ago in"Painting Out - Sort of"- I talked a bit about the benefit of a simple window view as a starting place for plein air work.
These 5 minute, 6"x 8" class demos use the same window view and simple composition to address 4 basic methods for laying-in a painting.
In the demo at the top I used the DIRECT method; opaque paint directly on to the white canvas.

The lower three employ different versions of the INDIRECT method. This refers to the use of an under painting which is paint mixed with thinner and used as a wash to cover the canvas and establish the major masses before going in with heavier, more opaque paint to bring a piece to finish.
In the second demo, I used a "Value" under painting of dark paint, mine is a mixture of Utramarine and Alizarin Crimson, to indicate major masses and establish a value pattern of dark and light. When the heavier paint was added on top, thin passages were left to add dimension.









The third piece has a "Complement" under painting, using washes of color complementary to what the final colors are to be. The complementary under painting shows through in places and adds excitement to the piece.







At the bottom I used a "Light/Dark" under painting, simply washing the major masses in a pattern of light and dark with 2 colors. The colors will serve as a guide to the pattern of dark and light masses.
These terse little demos show how different methods can make for big differences in the look of a piece. As well, good under painting (- good, not tight) can do a lot of the heavy lifting in a piece. Once the canvas has been COVERED with some kind of wash under painting, the opaque paint does the job of defining the subject instead of working to cover the canvas.
The INDIRECT method has been around for centuries. I put a more contemporary spin on it in my landscape work with the use of bright colors to indicate the pattern of light or add drama and excitement to major masses.
There is no wrong answer here, just different approaches.
Need a change? Try a new method and see where it leads.