Tip of the month – September 2009

Artists have been painting ” En Plein Air” for a long time.

While I am in the country this summer, I will be taking advantage of working in the out of doors.

Nature is the great instructor. By working outside, observation skills will be improved.

On a sunny afternoon after class, I sat on the large rocks in front of the waterfall at the pond. I decided to draw the subject directly onto the watercolor paper.

HIDDEN FALLS is the result of my time spent observing the waterfall at the pond.

Water reflections are mesmerizing. I look for the differences between the reflection and what is being reflected.

Sometimes, the differences are more obvious as in this scene of the pond. The water appears to be more muted than the land.

Aerial perspective is more easily understood when viewing it in the out of doors. I think of it as if I am viewing a scene through a series of sheer blue curtains. Travel down a long highway and look at the change of color and contrast in the distance – aerial perspective.

I took this photo of Pedernal Mountain, New Mexico from Ghost Ranch. The mountain appears to be without a specific color and has a reduced contrast with the sky – aerial perspective.

This barn at Sutton, Quebec has a high contrast foreground and a reduced contrast background. The blue curtain of atmosphere has pushed the background mountain into the distance.

When I am “en plein air”, I look for light direction. I look for the shadows on the ground and I look for the shadows on vertical shapes. I study the color of the shadows that is more often cooler than the shapes that are casting the shadows.

When I am “en plein air”, I look for shapes of light, such as along the edges of these birch trees. Am I able to attach these shapes of light to other shapes of light? There are rims of light on the tree foliage and on the bush.

After walking around a chosen site, I choose a position that best expresses what I want to say about the subject. Is it about light? Color? Contrast? Shape? Rhythm? Aerial perspective?

After deciding upon my subject, I made a contour sketch with a few indications of shadows. I took a digital photo of the subject.

In this painting, I had decided that the foliage texture would be the subject for the watercolor. The sketch and the photograph were my references.

When working “En Plein Air”, choose one medium-sized object as a means to compare the proportions of everything else in your landscape. How much taller or shorter are the remaining shapes? How much wider or slimmer are the remaining shapes? Enjoy the outdoor experience. I do even if it is raining or snowing.

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