Virus

As many of you know,  I came to Apalachicola, Florida on Dec. 21.  I painted two paintings before I developed some serious health problems.  I'll spare you the ins and outs of how they eventually found out what was causing them and go straight to the sequence of events.

In late January, I developed breathing problems, and on Jan. 29th went to the emergency room in Apalach.  They decided to send me by ambulance to a hospital in Tallahassee.  I was admitted in critical condition.

They discovered I had a blood infection in my heart.  They back=tracked my symptoms and eventually traced it all back to my gall bladder.

The gall bladder caused my type 2 diabetes to flair up and led to ketoacidosis (acid in  the blood), which nearly killed me. Eventually the problem spread  and caused an infection of the blood in my heart (which also almost killed me.)  They took my gall bladder out.

To treat the blood infection in my heart and prevent a reoccurrence, they put me on an IV anti-biotic for 60 days.  I was in a critical care hospital to monitor my diabetes and continue the IV anti-biotic until two weeks ago at which time they transferred me to a rehab facility that could not only continue the IV treatment, but also build my strength back up through physical therapy.  I had occupational therapy and physical therapy for two weeks.

Yesterday the 60 days were finally up, and I was released after two months in three hospitals.  They drove me back to Apalachicola where I am now staying until the home health care is finished.

I'm hoping in a few more days I can do some painting in my room, and build up my strength.  I can't think of a better place to shelter in place.  My room has a kitchen, my motel own and friend brings me food, and I look at the bay from my balcony.

I hope this explanation isn't too lengthy, but I wanted to let everyone know that I am recovering slowly but surely.

Stay safe, everybody. Wash your hands, and stay six feet away from me!!  Good luck!

Getting Back in the Game

I'm back in my winter location, Apalachicola, Florida.  With packing, driving, unpacking, and Christmas,  I haven't had much time to think about painting.  But now things are starting to slow down.  To ease back into it, I did what I always do:  I got out my sketchbook.  Since it was Christmas, I thought it appropriate to sketch a church.  The Catholic church has an interesting bell tower, so here is the result.

Merry Christmas to all!  And a Happy New Year!

Obliques and Interrupters

                                      "Assisi Hillside" 

I was browsing through old slides of my trips to Europe, and found this view of Assisi, Italy.  I was struck by two things:  the obliques in the scene and the towers that interrupted the obliques.  Three towers and one dome interrupt the dark line of the background hillside.  The light shape formed by the buildings are also surrounded by midtones that highlight the building shapes.  

I also considered the colors of the buildings and decided to contrast them with the quieter areas of foliage.  Since I knew that much of the foliage would be various gradations of green,  I decided

that the buildings, which were largely various shades of gray, needed to be a muted red to take advantage of the complementary colors of red and green.   Texture was only incorporated in the towers and some of the architecture, keeping the foliage areas relatively free of much texture.  

Again, I encourage you to alter the scenes in your photos to express a more dynamic expression of what you want to say about the subject matter.  Compose with your head to tell the story of what your heart responded to.

Here are the preparation sketch and drawing.

        

Painting In A Series

                                     "Woodpile"

Lately I've returned to a favorite subject of mine:  trees.  I found an old photo of a woodpile in my neighbor's woods in Maine.  Color became the primary challenge.  

The color choices are mainly the complementary colors of yellow and violet.  

Note the shadows on the cut side of the logs.  In the past, I might have chosen one value for all of them.  By making half of the shadows darks and the other half midtones, there is more variety.  There is also a chance to gradate the colors to indicate the reflected light.  

I'm out of paper (on order) and with Thanksgiving coming up, I'll be taking a short break.  Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Starting with Photos

A friend in Maine takes a daily walk and posts photos of her surroundings.  In her photo of a marsh, there were only two lone pine trees.  Also there was no mountain range behind the trees.  I also needed something added to give a little life to the scene.  I considered a canoe or rowboat, but decided that would bring attention to the water.  I wanted the viewer to look at the pine trees.  I added one more tree for balance and then decided that some hawks would add some interest to the trees.

A very simple scene.  Study the background trees for changes in value and color.  Also avoid a treeline that becomes a rectangle. Give it a little oblique feel.  Study the water to see how a gradation of values leads to the highlighted area near the trees.

My tree series continues....

Combining Elements

In composing this painting, I looked through my photos of Florida for more material to continue my tree series.  I found a photo of a banyan tree in Naples, Florida.  I liked the tree, but as you can see, it was in a parking lot.  So I went back to my photo file of Selby Gardens in Sarasota, Florida to look for another element to include.  The thatched hut seemed like an interesting choice.  It provided a balancing feature in the background without detracting from the main subject which is the tree.

The figures added a bit of animation to the scene as well.

When using photos, you are unlikely to find the perfect composition.  Think about combining elements from various photos.

Layering

Most painters of watercolors adhere to the notion of painting from light values to darker values.  There is a special concentration on saving the lightest values.  This leads some to believe that the darker tones can be applied directly on white paper since the first light washes would be covered up anyway.

This painting illustrates my approach to getting to the darks by building up layers of color.  The first wash influences the second wash and the second wash influences the third wash, thus creating something in common throughout the shape.  

This approach involves some patience because the wash must be thoroughly dry before the succeeding layers are applied.  

Look closely at the foreground grassy area and you will see glimpses of the first yellow underwash.  Putting down the foundation color first also allows for the possibility of choosing how much to cover up in the second and third washes.  The common denominator color also changes when a variety of colors are applied over it.  Yellow as the base color changes when blue or burnt sienna or a mixed green is layered over it.

The same thing occurs in the foliage of the trees.  Yellow was the first wash and darker and darker values are painted on top.

Note also that these shapes are not concerned with individual leaves or blades of grass.  The textures are mostly defined at the edges of the shapes.  The layering of colors creates the interest, not the textures.

My friend Judi Wagner used to quote one of her teachers:  "Stay lighter longer."  It was good advice!

Foreground Shadows

As I've said many times, I look for ways to frame my focal point.  Foreground shadows are often the answer.  

In my previous post, I explained the combination of several photos to arrive at the final composition.  When I started to paint this though, I wanted to emphasize the shadowy foreground.  The mid-ground uses a spotlight effect with its light values and warmer tones.  I kept the sky and distant trees cooler and a bit darker to contrast the narrow strip of light, warm values.

All of the textures are in the foreground as well.  The sky and background trees are preserved as shapes and simple values.  Oftentimes, I see students wanting to define every leaf in the background, thus taking away the contrast in textures.  

I love trees!  More to come soon!

Combining Elements From Photos

On a trip to Selby Gardens in Sarasota, Florida with my friend and playwright Connie Schindewolf, I fell in love with this gumbo limbo tree.  I took several photos of it and the surrounding area.  In one, I liked the photo of the tree.  In another, I saw some tourists posing.  And finally I liked the house in the background.  I borrowed something from all three photos, and came up with this composition.

My point is, don't feel bound by one photo.  Use elements from several shots to form a composition that works.

Starting Up Again

                                   "Wharfside #3"

After a month of not painting and re-adjusting to life in St. Louis, I finally got my brushes wet again.  It's a bit intimidating after such a long break, and there's a bit of fear that maybe I've lost my mojo.  How to solve that problem?

I decided that I would pick up where I left off with a dockside scene.  Familiarity breeds confidence!

Color choice became my first and major concern.  I resorted to a tried and true process that I used many times this summer.  I chose to make my focal point a warm pinkish tone.  That meant that my first wash - the sky- would provide a complementary cool hue that leaned toward a greenish blue.  

Continuing with the warm tones under the dock further provided a contrast with the neutral blues in the water.

Sorry for the long absence.  I hope to be posting some more paintings on a regular basis.

Farewell, Maine

                                                            "Grimes Cove"

I'm back in St. Louis after a long drive home.  I had a very productive summer, completing 41 paintings and almost as many sketches during my four month stay.  

This is the painting I did on the last day of my workshop in early September.  Come join us next summer.  Farewell, Maine, until next year.

Addition/Subtraction

Motif #1 @ Pratt's Island

This is another iconic subject that artists on the Boothbay peninsula often paint-- so often that we refer to it as the Motif #1 of the area.  It was even the subject of the advertising postcard for an exhibit of my paintings at a local gallery.

This time, however, I took many liberties with the old standby.  I eliminated a building on the left, thinking that if it were included, it would put more weight and emphasis on that side of  the painting than I wanted.  Also, in reality, the treeline is much higher.  I lowered it so the background wouldn't claim so much attention.  The transition to the sky area also lessened the importance of a larger, dark background shape.  The value contrast stayed near the focal point building as well.

Next, the additions.  Once I determined those two shapes, it became apparent that they needed to be broken up by something. Since I already had the pilings in the foreground, I decided to repeat the verticals in the background.  The logical placement of those verticals was directly over the building in the focal area, thus acting as pointers.  For the same reason, I moved the ladder so that it, too, would point to the little building.

Other additions:  The white rock in the foreground and the pilings that emerge from it were put there to create a white shape that breaks up the horizontal shoreline, and lets the piling lead up to the white of the building on the far left.  Imagine the dark reflections extending to the left edge of the page and you'll see that the shape of the water would have been a dark, uninteresting rectangle.  That oblique line also echoes the oblique line of the buildings, a repetition that was needed to contrast with the dominant horizontals and verticals.

This is a rather lengthy explanation of the components of this composition.  But I want my readers to know that what appears to be a random placement of the elements of the painting was really a series of deliberate decisions.  

Bottom line:  Don't always be tied to the realities of the scene.  Add, subtract and do everything you can to come in aid of the area you find most attractive.

Looking Around

                              Driftwood at Hendrick's Head Light

Hendrick's Head Lighthouse is often a subject of my paintings.  But, not only I, but also most everyone who paints it includes the beach.  This time I decided to try a different foreground.

I had often walked around  the area for a different viewpoint. This time instead of seeing this bush as blocking the view of the beach, I decided to make it and the driftwood the primary subject.  The lighthouse becomes a locator instead of the main subject.

Try looking past or around something that acts as both a frame and a major subject of your painting.

The Hazards and Rewards of Plein Air Painting

Day 4 of my watercolor workshop in Boothbay Harbor.  The class went to Newagen's Town Landing.  It was overcast, and halfway through my demo, it started to shower.  I kept painting, though, but you can see the raindrops on the painting.  After I finished, we went to lunch, and returned to the dock. The sun came out and the students had good painting weather once again.

While I was painting, I told a story about a man who emerged from the trees on the island across from us about 15 years ago.  He was pushing a refrigerator and finally flipped it end over end down a ramp to the float at low tide.  He then put it in a dinghy, rowed across the cove to the Newagen Inn dock and proceeded to flip it end over end up the very steep ramp.  I said it was "ridiculous.  Just then I heard a male voice behind us say, "Well, not as ridiculous as someone painting a watercolor in the rain."  Turns out it was Refrigerator Man himself!  We all got a good laugh and funny memory out of that!

Also, the red house in the background was owned by Margaret Hamilton, the Wicked Witch of the West in "The Wizard of Oz."

Join us next September for more stories and laughs like this one!

Breaking Loose

After demonstrating my fairly conventional style to my class, I felt the need to break out of that approach and paint a subject from memory.  

Three days before there had been a glorious sunset over the Harbor.  So while my students were painting, I decided to paint a quick rendition of that scene.

First, I pre-wet the sky.  The orange came first, and was very quickly followed by the purple clouds that set off the orange.Then I pre-wet the water and dashed in some of the same colors.  Then I painted the island, the house and the trees.  Bingo!  Finished in half an hour.

Some times it feels good to break free of your typical style.
Speed can sometimes convey energy, so I like to just let the colors fly!

Entering the Painting

                           
                                                        Hendrick's Head Beach

There are several ways that the viewer enters the painting space.  First, a pure color that stands out.  In this case, the lighthouse roof is red and is not repeated, so it grabs attention.  

Second is value contrast. The trees on the far shoreline are dark near the lighthouse's white.  

Third, pointers help the eye travel towards the lighthouse.  The wall curves around the foreground and mid-ground and ends up pointing at the lighthouse.  The clouds also seem to point down at the lighthouse.  And obviously, again, the treeline slopes down to the lighthouse.  

I also try to keep the viewer's eyes away from corners at first, so I try to find ways to eliminate light shapes there.  The foreground shadow was put there for that purpose.

This was Day 1 of my 2019 Watercolor Workshop in Boothbay Harbor, Maine.  More to come!

The Power of White Shapes

White is an eye-grabber.  Planning where and why to leave the white of the paper is essential in directing the viewer to the important part of your painting.

The size and shape of the white area should be planned out before you begin painting.  In this painting of Hendrick's Head lighthouse, the white area is small and interlocks with the midtone and dark areas.  The white of the lighthouse and the keeper's house leaks into the white area of the bay behind it to help form an interesting, uninterrupted white shape.  

The beach foreground is a midtone which is dark enough to contrast with the white shape.  The dark rocks in the foreground also help in the transition from dark to midtone to light.  

Scattered whites, dragged sparkles and isolated small whites are not shapes.  Be careful not to fall in love with these saved whites.  Too many of these popcorn whites only serve to confuse the viewer's eye and detract from the more important areas of more defined white shapes.

Value sketches will help resolve the question of where to place the whites in your composition.  They will also help you avoid popcorn whites.

Commissions

I'm happy and flattered when someone requests that I paint a certain scene.  They've seen my paintings and like my style, but the problem is usually they have a pre-conceived idea of what the painting will look like and what elements will be included.

Boat commissions are the worst.  Not being a sailor myself, at first I would omit certain gadgets and do-dads that were very important to the owner.  Eventually I learned quite a bit about the gear on a working vessel.

I also don't do portraits.  As John Singer Sargent said, "A portrait is something where there's always something wrong with the nose."

But a couple of days ago, I had a request to paint a subject I am very familiar with.  Grimes Cove at the beginning of Ocean Point is a favorite with local artists.  Yesterday I did a half sheet of the cove, emailed the image to the client, and she was most pleased!  

Things are beginning to slow down here in Maine.  Kids are back in school, so the families are gone.  The light has shifted, and there are plenty of parking spots downtown.  I love September in Maine.

Don't forget;  I still have openings in my workshop September 9th - 13th.  Contact me at
caroljessen@yahoo.com  

"Do You Work From Photographs?"

The Cuckold's Light

Well, sort of.  But when I do, there's always an intermediate step: the value sketch.

That's the way I work out two important things: the design and the values.  

Here's an example.  This view of Cuckold's Lighthouse which is located on a ledge off shore can only be seen by boat.  Since I can't set up my easel on board a boat, I took a photo.  Today I used the photo to make the sketch, and then painted it this afternoon.

The value sketch provides another important advantage.  I'm not a slave to color.  I feel free to modify or invent color to come in aid of the painting.  Gray rocks become a warm area to contrast with the sky and water.  I also added the sailboat for balance.

Try the intermediate step when working from photos, and then paint from the sketch!

A Second Painting

I used to be able to paint two paintings in one day easily, but, alas, I'm slowing down these days.
However, not wanting to waste the day, I painted two paintings at the Artists on the Lawn event at my friend Jan Kilburn's annual event on Saturday. There was a tractor across the road, and since Jan and her neighbor are building a new chicken coop on their adjoining properties, I decided it would be appropriate to throw in some chickens to the scene.

Today I decided to switch to my flat brushes again and the style that I loved last summer.  Two versions of the same subject:  one traditional, and the next, a little more colorful and free style.

Try to re-invent a scene with a different technique.  More colorful and looser.