The Tuesday Night Plein Air Show

Colorado summer means fabulous sunsets. In Painting Class last Tuesday evening we enjoyed an especially stunning progression from afternoon to night.
After painting on the river we stood around until 10 - just enjoying the beautiful evening.
If you opted to stay home - you REALLY missed it.
The paintings here are my take on the last 2 weeks of class and the photo shows painters waiting for the setting sun to break through the clouds after a brief shower.

A couple of Tips for painting sunsets:
     >The BEST color in a sunset happens AFTER the 'sun-ball' has dropped below the horizon. So- while the sun is high, use the time to lay in a simple foreground and by the time the sun drops - the landscape part of the painting should be DONE - or at least roughed-in. 

     >Good cloud shapes make good sunset drama. During the winter we practice sunsets in class but there is no substitute for actually observing the movement of clouds to anticipate how cloud shapes will develop in the great outdoors.
In one evening a hundred sunsets can pass by - you only have to paint ONE.
     >Don't let early evening weather discourage you. The BEST sunsets come after a rain and clouds are what make it.
Our summer Plein Air Class has learned that rain at 6:30pm can lead to an evening of beautiful sunsets at 7:30.  Patience is key. 

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.

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.

Evening Plein Air

After several weeks of dodging rain drops and lightening,
the Tuesday class was rewarded with a beautiful summer evening. 

It was blazing sun when we set up at 6:30, out north of Alamosa
but it wasn't long before the evening began to unfold.
Thankfully, most of the action was off in the distance, - a thunder storm with lots of great lightning and a long, varied, and beautiful sunset. Life is good in Colorado.
At the bottom is my take on the evening.