One More Road Trip Painting

I forgot to post this painting of a cliff in New Brunswick, Canada  near the village of Alma.  It was sunny but cold and windy that day.  I had to hold onto my easel with one hand and paint with the other.  Unfortunately my third hand wasn't available and the lid to my palette blew off the easel and down the parking lot about fifty feet.  Ah, the hazards and challenges of plein air painting!

Achieving Darks

The juxtaposition of lights and darks creates drama.  However, putting down the first dark values on white paper rarely makes for the darkest darks.

In this painting of a small lighthouse in New Brunswick, Canada, I put down the sky first.  I thought it was really dark.  But then I put down the background trees, and that glaze was even darker.  Finally, the dark shadows on the lighthouse itself were even darker next to the white of the paper.

Dark values are very useful in projecting the lightest values.  Glazing helps.

Post Plein Air

I've been re-adjusting to life in St. Louis, and have barely had time to think about painting.  But here's one I did based on a photo taken in New Brunswick, Canada of a lighthouse at Cape Enrage.

For a subject like this one, strong color would not be appropriate for the mood I wanted to convey.  I had to depend upon values to project the moonlit Bay of Fundy.

Mixing darks takes LOTS of pigment.  Do NOT skimp on paint when portraying dark values.  I mixed the darks on the paper to avoid a flat black. I glazed over an underpainting of green because moonlight has a green essence.  Violet is a warm counterpoint to the green, so I also applied that pigment to the dark area of the cliffside. I also softened the circle depicting the moon to imply a misty feel to the scene.

Inventive color is fun to play with, but it must be used to transmit a mood.  Neutrals are best to convey a more somber mood.

Painting on the Road

You would think that after driving for hours that the last thing I would want to do is paint.  But after a summer of painting, I've always got my eye out for a new scene, a new vista, new subject matter.  This is a scene in Lenox, Massachusetts.   I liked the dome on the town hall and the ever present civil war monument.

My car is packed to the gunnels, but I placed my easel, board and paper on top of suitcases and other stuff for easy access just in case.  I also carry my sketchbook with me everywhere. 

If the purpose of travel is to experience new sights and sounds, painting is a perfect way to express the feelings about the things that appeal to you.  Keep those brushes handy!