Class Notes: Oh, those Summer Nights

Last Tuesday night our class painted out north of town and about 7:30 the sky opened up and we enjoyed one of those WOW sunsets that goes from beautiful to fabulous to amazing - in about 15 minutes;
and about 15 minutes in -
it occurred to me - the complete presumption of trying to capture this wonder of nature. I painted as fast as I could in the twilight and really didn't want to look too closely when I threw it into the pizza box. The next morning I saw it was covered with bugs - silent testimony. . . .
to an evening well spent.
      This is the last week of the Summer Plein air Class.
Tuesday Evening at 6:30pm  we will meet on the south side of Carroll Park for sunset and mountain views.
Thursday Morning at 9am we will meet at the corner of Third St. and Poncha, behind Safeway for street views with lots of trees and shade.
     Summer will be gone before we know it.  Painting out is one of the best ways of making the most of this short season and stretching it out just a bit farther.
And the show in the sky last week had to beat whatever I could have been watching on TV.

Class Notes: Painting OUT

In July and August all my classes go outside to paint en plein air - and I can't remember such a rainy summer.  Colorado weather, in any season makes for hardy painters - but some of my students are feeling tested;  both Tuesday and Thursday classes have had to paint in the rain.
 Bravo! to those of you who braved the elements. Not only does it make you more fearless - the finished piece, good, bad or indifferent, is your trophy for a job done in difficult circumstances - a badge of honor.
Last Tuesday evening we faced rain from the start and ended up finishing class in my studio; not all bad.  These occasions help develop expertise in other areas like working from sketches and memory.

Every time we paint out we are stretching our skill set - sometimes that means figuring out how to tear down quickly and carefully, remembering to take a quick photo - or do that all-important sketch.
The summer rains have pretty much ruined my sketch book - but that in itself is a trophy. I was OUT there.
The landscape is OUT there - don't miss it this summer.

This is of my pieces done during class - a small 6"x 8" of the Rio Grande River as the rain starts to fall. Small panels allow me to work with students and still finish a simple piece.  The operative term here is "simple" and I encourage students to keep the idea simple.  A simple landscape and a good view of the horizon make for the best sunset vistas.

Class Painters - I hope to see you all out there next week.

So. . . .what did you do on your summer vacation?

Every summer my painting classes head to the great outdoors.
For the evening class this summer I chose locations with long views specifically so that we could work on sunsets.
In the Studio Class we work on "sunsets"- as an element of the landscape and I have found that practice and a little study about: cloud shapes, sky color, landscape values, and low light painting can go a long way in preparation for the actual outdoor experience.

My personal feeling is this: cloud shapes MAKE the sunset. Sky colors and a quiet landscape help to make it all work but if the cloud shapes are dynamic and an active compositional element- then the sunset will also appear active and dynamic.

Everyone in class improved their plein air sunsets and I found my self much more comfortable doing what used to be very intimidating.
The time frame for a sunset is SO short - if you only do one plein air sunset a year -  it can be like trying to catch a tiger by the tail;  the results are seldom pretty.

I did a bunch this summer as practice and most went off wet to galleries where they sold rather quickly.
These are only a few - all are plein air, and all are pretty terse.
The last is 9x12 and probably my final plein air sunset of the season.
This winter I want to make larger versions of the studies and next summer do much larger work en plein air.
Practice, practice, practice.

Painting Into the Night - Class Notes

Beginning in September, my Thursday morning class painted out in the crisp days of fall while the Tuesday night class took up the challenge of evening and low light painting. Over the course of 6 weeks (one rain out) we let the night fall. Shown here are my 6"x 8" paintings.
I purposefully painted
small in order to stay loose
and intentional.
You can see the progression
of fading light in each piece
and the sense of values eclipsing
color. At first, it was a case of hanging on to the light, trying to capture the last moments of the day as it faded to twilight. Each week the painting time got shorter as we headed to the inevitable: full on evening.
This last Tuesday was our last night out and a hardy group met in downtown Alamosa to finally face the dark. We looked for very simple views: a building, a street lamp and tree.
Town scenes can be complex but ambient light is a big help to seeing your pallet, and your canvas. I am not a fan of using a light, such as a head lamp or clip on light, but prefer to let my eyes naturally adjust to a low light situation. Standing in a store doorway can offer the benefit of shop light or a street lamp can do the job. We painted for about an hour before diving into the SLV Brewery to warm up and wait for snow.
These little studies aren't much to write home about but in this case the accomplishment was in the doing; and the best part is - we aren't afraid of the dark anymore.