Paintin...

I wasn't going to post the painting I did on my first plein air outing. But after thinking about I thought what the hell, I will post it. Even though I do not like this painting, the whole point of starting this blog in the first place was to track my progress and progression as an artist. I am actually starting to like this painting. The reason being that I can look at it now and see all of the things that need to be improved, or how I could have done it better. So, I am learning a lot from this painting and, from that outing. There is another plein air outing coming up this Sunday, and being that it is a bi-week for the Steelers (they generally meet at 2:00, an hour into game time), I am planning on attending.

This is oil on 10 x 12 panel. It is a view from Mt. Washington looking down the Monongahela river valley ( Monongahela is a Lenape[Native American] word for "High bluffs", or "falling banks"). The Southside of Pittsburgh is on the right.

I hope to return in a year and paint the same scene to see how much progress I have made.

Sketchin...

Haven't done much sketching this past week. I took a look at the image from this weeks drawing thread at wetcanvas. I loved the image so much I decided in stead of sketching it, I would try to paint it. This is oil on a 10 x12 panel. It took about 2 hours or so to complete. My egg shapes are funny, but I think I captured the light pretty good.

I added a new playing card painting to my painting blog.
Click here or the link on the right.
I have two more (#4 and #5) complete, just waiting for them to dry so I can scan them and post. I also completed a 10x12 oil that I will post as soon as I am able to either scan, or take a good picture of it.

I have been so consumed with painting that I haven't given any time for sketching. I haven't
had a chance to participate in the drawing forum over at WetCanvas. Bums me out cause I like to keep my drawing skills sharp. In the meantime, I have done a little work on the "etching" project that was discussed on an earlier post. Here is the start of a "logo" that will be used for the "Greatest Materials Moments" event.

Paintin'...

Well I went out on my first plein air adventure yesterday. I found out about a local group (Plein Air Painters of Western Pennsylvania) that meets every Sunday at various locations. So I thought I would give it a shot and packed up my paints and headed out. I was nervous about attending being that I have no experience painting in plein air, but with much encouragment and support from Kate, I braved it. Glad I did because it was a good experience. Yesterday the location was at the Mt. Washington overlooks. It was nerve racking being that there is a lot of scenery to take in, and being that it was a beautiful day, a lot of people about.

There were 4 members of PAPWP that day. They were very encouraging and greeted me with a warm welcome. Ron was a great guy and I hope to join them as often as I can. I haven't decided if I am going to post my painting from that day, I think it is quite terrible. I will look at it again and see if it strikes me after the fact.

Sketchin...

Here are a couple of sketches I did sitting around the campfire this past weekend.
These are headshots I sketched from a Magazine my wife had with her.

Plein Air...

Here is my first attempt at a plein air painting. This a view of the campground we where staying at. It is more of a rough sketch than a complete painting. The brushes I was using were horrible(cheap brushes in a canvas roll from Michaels), and I never finished the foreground. Got to start somewhere though.
I think I did a good job of capturing the light, but the color and composition are not so good.

I really need to come up with a better way of taking pictures. Again, sorry for the blurry pict.

Pochade Box...

Two weekends ago I spent the day building this pochade box. This is a mock up I built using a picture of a Guarilla Box as reference. This one is built using MDF and holds five 10x12 panels. I will build one out of hardwood once I feel that the dimensions and features are to my satisfaction.
It was fun to build, but I doubt that the MDF will hold up over time. I went on a camping trip this past weekend and got to use it. Will post those picts next.

Still can't seem to get a good picture of the painting I did. So in the meantime here is a shot of my easel with the painting on it. The two smaller painting are on playing cards that have been primed. I use these little cards (3 1/2" x 2 1/2") to use up some of the paint I have left on my pallete and experiment a little. These are the same size as ATC's (Art Trading Cards), although I haven't gotten involved in trading these cards.

Ramblin'...
The sample etching went off(postings, 8/28, 8/30). It was well recieved and looks like we are going to proceed forward with the woodcuts renders for the rest of the top ten moments. I will post the progress.

I finally got to do some painting last night. Only got to work for about an hour and a half but it was great. I am working through the Helen Van Wyk book on color mixing. A great guide. I worked the first study on Thalo green using the lettuce and green pepper set up. I am pretty happy with the results. It is a new of approaching oils for me, but I like where it is going. I tried to snap a picture of it last night to post, but the oil was still wet and the reflection was too bad in the pict. Hopefully tonight or tomorrow I will be able to get a good picture of it.