An impressionistic plein air step by step
Come and join me as I go on one of my typical painting outings!
I start out by making sure I have all of my supplies ready and packed. Here is my list:
Handheld portable pallete
Homemade brush holder (my wife made it out of a bamboo place mat).
Water container - Wide mouthed plastic Gatorade bottle (filled).
Paper towels.
Insect repellent.
Camp chair.
Quarter sheet of Arches 140lb. watercolor paper.
Pencils.
Kneaded eraser.
Pocket knife in belt holster.
Masking tape.
So I hop in my car and head down the road. Today I have a vague idea of going into Wolf River Trails. It is close to my house, so that is where I go. I get out of my car, grab my box and chair and start walking down the trail. I stop at an opening in the woods where there is a convenient shady spot and walk around looking for a composition. I look for interesting value contrasts and shapes. I see something I like and put my chair down and start "setting up camp". Below is a photograph of the scene I am going to paint .
I was intrigued by the dark trees against the light sky and the draped foliage and the shadows on the path. Time to get to work. This is the scary part - the blank paper .
I have taped the paper to my box. I inherited this box from my great aunt, who was a decorative painter of china plates and lamps. The first thing I work on is a simple drawing. All I need are the basic shapes. This takes about 5 to 10 minutes.
Next I wet the paper down completely. This is accomplished by pouring some of the water out of my water container directly onto the paper and then moving it around with my brush until the paper is soaking. Then I float in the basic colors. At this stage I do not worry about "staying in the lines". I am using a lot of yellow ochre and prussian blue.
Next I mix up some dark green and start to define some of my dark shapes. I try to apply it with a dry brush. When you put a dry brush (with paint) on wet paper, you still have some control. Wet paint on wet paper equals - no control.
Now I begin to refine more of my shapes and add a little leaf texture. This is an impressionistic painting so I will continue to resist my tendency to want to "tighten up" and add detail.
The refining continues. I look for opportunities to play light against dark and dark against light in the tree trunks. I try to keep changing the colors to keep everything lively.
It is time to turn on the lights. I do this by adding the shadows across the ground. I mix up some ultramarine blue, mix it with some of its compliment and apply the shadows horizontally with quick strokes.
It is time to have some fun making some twigs and branches. I grab my thinnest "rigger" brush and add the details. I strive for variety of spacing and direction.
That's it! Total painting time: 1 hour. Total with prep time, driving, set up etc... around two hours.
