Returning from from the Carmel Art Festival

I just returned from the Carmel Art Festival in Carmel, California.
The festival is an invitational plein air painting competition where juried artists converge on the town to paint and then show ‘wet’ paintings through the weekend.

As artists we have just 48 hours to paint.  We arrive on Wednesday evening to get our canvases stamped on the back, and then we’re off and running.  Running can really be the operative word here, because if the weather is bad you can spend a lot of time driving while seeking out better conditions. 

Wednesday evening and Thursday were both lousy days for painting – overcast and dreary.  On Wednesday I drove back into the valley hoping to find good weather.  Not.  It was dreary, cold and windy.  I did a painting – but only because I was feeling the pressure to get started.

Thursday morning was no better.  I wound up driving 40 miles south along the coast.  I finally came across good weather, and was able to paint atop a cliff looking down into the Big Sur coastline.  When you’re standing in good weather it’s hard to imagine that it’s bad elsewhere.  I made this mistake and figured the weather must have improved back in Carmel, so I headed back and wound up mired in the fog again.

I was checking the weather forecast Thursday night and it looked pretty bleak for Friday.  Lots of fog was projected.  To my great surprise, when I got up and stepped outside the light was just terrific.  I skipped breakfast and didn’t even stop for a cup of coffee.  Instead, I headed straight for the coast and got two paintings finished before 11am – both painted from the same spot.  As it turns out, these were the two paintings that I entered and sold over the weekend.

Here are the paintings I did that morning:

"Illuminated Break", Pastel, 9x12
Sold

"Pacific Grove Morning Surprise", Pastel, 12x18
Sold

These events are kind of like the ‘x-games’ version of painting.  It’s kind of crazy to be painting under such time pressure and with the huge variable of unpredictable coastal weather.  I do, however, love the energy and enjoy meeting up with friends over dinner and drinks at night.  At the beginning of the week I was wondering if it was all worth it, but by the end of the week I came away invigorated and glad that I had made the effort.

Here are two more paintings completed during the event:

"The Way Down", Pastel, 12x16
Available

"Portrait Study of Big Sur", Pastel, 9x12
Available

2 Day Workshop

I just announced a new 2-day workshop coming up soon:

May 29 & June 5th, 2012

Capturing the Light of the Landscape

May 29 & June 5th, 2012
Two consecutive Tuesdays
9:30am – 5pm both days

For more info, visit my website by clicking here.

Paintings from Santa Barbara

Here are a series of the paintings I did when I was down in Santa Barbara ...

These are all 9x12 oils on panel ...

You can click on any of the images for more info and additional details.

This last pair of paintings are both of the same scene, the first in the evening and the second in the early morning.  I love the contract and the different take on the same location ...

What a great trip.  Terrific light and good weather (while it was raining away back home).  Well worth the effort to get myself away for a week.

Richard McKinley workshop

I just spent the better part of the week in Santa Barbara, CA painting.

I took a workshop with Richard McKinley.  This is the second time I've taken one of his workshops, and he's the only painter that I've ever felt motivated to study with more than once.  At the first workshop of his that I took I think I was the only one (of 18 or so) who hadn't taken a workshop with him before.  I remember thinking that I couldn't imaging taking a workshop with anyone multiple times (usually I feel like I learn what I can from each instructor and move on).  To my surprise, here I was 2 years later back for another dose.

This time it was an oil painting workshop (Richard is best known as a pastel instructor).  I've been getting back into the oils, so when I got a call that a spot opened up on the waiting list I figured I'd give it a go.

Richard has boundless knowledge that he's more than happy to share, and a unique capacity to help painters at all levels.  He has a unique capacity to talk while he demos, usually discussing what he's thinking and doing but also to be able to answer arbitrary questions that might not even be related to the painting in process. 

Richard also demos a different technique during every demo.  At the first workshop he demoed twice a day for 5 days in a row.  That's totally unheard of.  This time around he demoed once each of the 3 days of the workshop.

If you ever get a chance, I'd highly recommend one of his workshops.

I'll post some paintings from the trip in the next day or so.

Studio Painting Process

I recently used one of my Point Lobos studies to do this larger pastel painting in the studio ...

"Serpentine Coast", Pastel, 18x24

Here are a couple of shots of the pastel painting in  process.  First I started with blocking in some of the darker shapes. 

I then washed this down with isopropyl alchohol using a large brush.  This turns the dry pastel into something very close to watercolor, and it sinks into the painting surface.  This process allows me to quickly establish the composition and the major shapes.  It also sets up my darks and established some initial color I can then react to as I develop the painting.

Notice I don't underpaint the sky.  I did lay in a bit of pink right at the horizon, but I wanted to use the color of the board as the underpainting for the sky.  I also find underpainting tends to darken things, and I find it essential to keep the sky light to generate a feeling of luminosity.

I unfortunately don't have a picture of the painting just after finishing the underpainting - so you'll have to use your imagination.

Here's my studio setup.  I have both a swivel mounted computer monitor (on the left) and my framed plein air study on the right.

Here's the painting as it develops.  See the tree on the foreground rock?  I completely scrubbed it out because I thought it was looking overworked, and once it was gone I thought the painting was stronger as it let the eye move into the painting a little more easily.  This painting has a number of different secondary subject areas, and I decided simpler would be better ...

And then the final piece:

"Serpentine Coast", Pastel, 18x24

For those who like all the details, this was done on pastelmat that I had mounted to rigid gatorfoam.

Point Lobos Trip

I've just returned from a few days in Carmel, California painting Point Lobos.

Sunday afternoon I was checking out the weather forecast and it looked like fabulous weather was headed for Carmel.  I fired off some emails, and in less than 12 hours I was down in Carmel.  Both Kim Lordier and Paul Kratter were nimble enough to swap their busy schedules around to meet me down there.

This iconic location is truly one of the most remarkable and beautiful locations, and such a joy to paint.

That's me painting with Paul Kratter

Painting with Kim Lordier

Pt Lobos, Standing Solo, 9x12, Pastel

Pt Lobos First Light, 9x12 Pastel

Pt Lobos Hidden Cove, 9x12, Pastel

Pt Lobos Last Light, 9x12, Pastel

It's just awesome having some friends who are flexible enough (and crazy enough) to make it on a trip like this. We had a great time, got lots of terrific work done, and kept kicking ourselves that we get to do this for a living. Sure beats working in the coal mines (where both my wife's grandfathers made their living).

Scott Christensen Demo - Carmel Coast

I had the pleasure of attending Scott Christensen's 5-day workshop this last week in Carmel. 

Here are some images from the demo ...

completed demo/study, 8x10 oil

 

His setup - a tiny 8x10 open box M

He did this in about 45 minutes using a little 8x10 pochade with a tiny mixing area.  The man is nothing if not fast :-)