PleinAir Magazine August-September 2020

PASTEL IN PLEIN AIR

EVERY THING ARTISTS AND COLLECTORS NEED TO KNOW

August-September 2020 Volume 10, Issue 4

ALBERT HANDELL, RAY ROBERTS POPPY BALSER, KENNETH YARUS KEVIN MACPHERSON, DOUG CLARKE

M A G A Z I N E

SEPTEMBER 2020

ON THE WATERFRONT: ALLURING VIEWS OF BOATS AND HARBORS

UNLEASH YOUR

COLOR CONFIDENCE

WITH MARLA BAGGET TA Visit paintinglessonswithmarla.com/free Get free Mini-Lessons, my new 35 page Color Confidence Handbook + lots more!

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SUPERB ONLINE PA I N T I N G I N ST R U C T I O N Globally recognized as one of today’s leading art instructors, Marla Baggetta has been a professional artist and educator for almost 4 decades. PaintingLessonswithMarla.com delivers world-class art instruction to thousands of satisfied students. Marla is tirelessly committed to giving her students a top-notch art education, no matter where they may be on their creative journey.

secrets. You will also get my free Beginner’s Guide to Pastels. Additionally, you will get insider access to my free weekly Livestreams and join an active community of thousands of

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committed artists from around the globe.

7/1/2020 5:14:13 PM

Plein Air Heritage

T

View of Bordeaux, from the Quai des Chartrons Eugène Louis Boudin, 1874, oil, 21 9/16 x 35 1/4 in.

Cleveland Museum of Art John L. Severance Fund and Gift of Mrs. Dudley S. Blossom, Jr.

he son of a sailor, Eugène Louis Boudin (French, 1824–1898) grew up near the sea in Normandy.

While he enjoyed only a brief stint as a cabin boy at age 11, ships and harbors remained a muse for much of his painting career. Largely self-taught, the artist found the best way to capture the subtleties of such scenes was to paint outdoors.

He was so enthusiastic about the practice, in fact, that he often documented the weather and time on the back of his canvases.

Here, he concentrated on the working docks of Bordeaux.

The low horizon line relegates much of the canvas to sky, with the soaring vertical and diagonal forms of the masts providing

a complement to the horizontal thrust. To create a fresh, airy quality, the artist covered the entire canvas with a tan color, then, probably while it was still wet, applied a thin, opaque application of white. For the darker areas representing water, he laid in an olive green.

Considered one of the forerunners of French Impressionism, he shared his love of plein air with a young Claude Monet. “You must be absolutely determined to retain the first impression, which is the correct one,” Boudin told his protege. Monet acknowledged later, “My eyes, at last, were opened. If I have become a painter, it is entirely due to Eugène Boudin.”

In “Plein Air Portfolio,” 18 contemporary artists offer their unique takes on boats, harbors, and waterfronts. www.outdoorpainter.com / August-September 2020

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NATASHA ISENHOUR Connecting Eyes, Heart, Hand

PUBLISHER B. Eric Rhoads • bericrhoads@gmail.com Twitter: @ericrhoads • Facebook: /ericrhoads ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Anne W. Brown • abrown@streamlinepublishing.com 435.772.0504 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Kelly Kane • kkane@streamlinepublishing.com MANAGING EDITOR Brida Connolly • bconnolly@streamlinepublishing.com 702.665.5283 CREATIVE DIRECTOR Alfonso Jones • alfonso.streamline@gmail.com • 561.655.8778

A Morning I Remember 8x16 oil/linen

ART DIRECTOR Kenneth Whitney • kenneth.whitney@gmail.com EDITOR EMERITUS M. Stephen Doherty VENDOR AND CONVENTION MARKETING Sarah Webb • swebb@streamlinepublishing.com 630.445.9182 SENIOR MARKETING SPECIALISTS Dave Bernard • dbernard@streamlinepublishing.com 503.539.8706 Bruce Bingham • bbingham@streamlinepublishing.com 512.669.8081 Richard Dorbin • rdorbin@streamlinepublishing.com 410.924.0217 Mary Green • mgreen@streamlinepublishing.com 508.230.9928 Joan Revell Ryan • jryan@streamlinepublishing.com 442.282-2270

Gimme Shelter 11x14 pastel/paper

Gina Ward • gward@streamlinepublishing.com 920.743.2405 Plein Air Today Cherie Haas, Editor chaas@streamlinepublishing.com ­Subscriptions: 561.655.8778 or www.pleinairmagazine.com WEBSITES PleinAirMagazine.com • OutdoorPainter.com for artists PleinAirCollector.com for collectors Attention, retailers: If you would like to carry PleinAir magazine in your store, please contact Tom Elmo at 561.655.8778.

One-year, 6-issue subscription within the United States: $39.97 (two years, 12 issues, $59.97) One-year, 6-issue subscription, Canada and Europe: $76.97 (two years, 12 issues, $106.97)

And I say, It’s Alright 12x24 pastel/board Painting workshop • Santa Fe, New Mexico • November 11-14, 2020 • Only 4 of 8 seats remaining www.SantaFeArtistGetaway.com

WWW.NATASHAISENHOUR.COM 4

August-September 2020 / www.outdoorpainter.com

Copyright ©2020 Streamline Publishing, Inc. PleinAir Magazine is a trademark of Streamline Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.

PleinAir Magazine (ISSN 2160-0694) is published 6 times annually by Streamline Publishing, Inc., 331 SE Mizner Blvd., Boca Raton, FL 33432, for $39.97 per year in U.S.A. (two years $59.97); Canadian and European subscriptions $76.97 for one year ($106.97 for two years). Periodicals postage paid at Boca Raton, FL (and additional mailing offices). POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: PleinAir Magazine, 331 SE Mizner Blvd., Boca Raton, FL 33432. Any reproduction of this publication, whole or in part, is prohibited without the express written consent of the publisher. Contact Streamline Publishing, Inc., at address below. All subscriptions, renewals, and changes of address should include address label from the most recent issue and be sent to the Circulation Department, PleinAir Magazine, 331 SE Mizner Blvd., Boca Raton, FL 33432. Copying done for other than personal or internal reference without the express permission of PleinAir Magazine is prohibited. Address requests for special permission to the Managing Editor. Reprints and back issues available upon request. Printed in the United States. Canada returns to be sent to Bleuchip International, P.O. Box 25542, London, ON, N6C 6B2.s

Plein air painting by Dawn Cohen, June 2020. 30x36” oil on canvas.

Dawn Cohen -represented by the Shaun Horne Gallery in Crested Butte, Colorado

The Shaun Horne Gallery Also Represents Jay Moore / Don Sahli / Carolyn Lord / Gay Faulkenberry / Ray Roberts / Shaun Horne

shaunhornegallery.com • dawnscohen@gmail.com • 970.209.2550

ADVISORY BOARD

Museum & Organization Officers Peter Adams, President, California Art Club (www.americanlegacyfinearts.com/artists/peter-adams/) Sandy Askey Adams, En Plein Air Group, Facebook (www.sandyaskeyadams.com) Antony Bridge, Pochade.Co.UK (www.antonybridge.co.uk) Christopher Forbes, Vice Chairman, Forbes Inc. (www.forbes.com) Matt Smith, President, Plein Air Painters of America (www.mattsmithstudio.com) Lori McNee, www.FineArtTips.com

Artists:

Clyde Aspevig (www.clydeaspevig.com) Scott L. Christensen (www.christensenstudio.com) Donald Demers (www.donalddemers.com) Michael Godfrey (www.michaelgodfrey.com) Jeremy Lipking (www.lipking.com) Kevin Macpherson (www.kevinmacpherson.com) Joseph McGurl (www.josephmcgurl.com) Camille Przewodek (www.przewodek.com) Ed Terpening (www.edterpening.com) Keith Wicks (www.keithwicks.com) Randy Higbee (www.randyhigbeegallery.com)

331 SE Mizner Blvd.

Boca Raton, FL 33432 Phone: 561.655.8778 • Fax: 561.655.6164 Chairman/Publisher/CEO B. Eric Rhoads bericrhoads@gmail.com Facebook: /ericrhoads • Twitter: @ericrhoads EVP/Chief Operating Officer Tom Elmo thomaselmo@gmail.com Production Director Nicolynn Kuper nkuper@streamlinepublishing.com Director of Finance Laura Iserman laura@streamlinepublishing.com Controller Jaime Osetek jaime@streamlinepublishing.com Circulation Coordinator Sue Henry shenry@streamlinepublishing.com Customer Service Coordinator Jessica Smith jsmith@streamlinepublishing.coms Assistant to the Chairman Ali Cruickshank acruickshank@streamlinepublishing.com

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August-September 2020 / www.outdoorpainter.com

CONTENTS 3 Plein Air Heritage 10 Publisher’s Letter: The Unity of Separation 12 Editor’s Note: The More We Know 79 PleinAir Salon 85 Plein Air Events 114 Postcards From the Road COVER IMAGE: The Old Family House in Lipscomb Albert Handell 2002, pastel, 18 x 17 in.

Private collection Plein air

24 PLEIN AIR PORTFOLIO

Boats, Harbors, and Waterfronts

60 DOUG CLARKE

excitement in a Doug Clarke painting comes from the cinematic and moody feel that’s at the core of the Virginia oil painter’s aesthetic.

30 ALBERT HANDELL

The Power of Now: This plein air pioneer

introduced a generation of contemporary painters to the joys of capturing a scene intuitively with pastels.

By John A. Parks

Why Pastel Is Perfect for Plein Air: Five top

artists reveal how they make the most of the medium outdoors and why you should consider adding plein air pastels to your collection.

By Kelly Kane

46 KEVIN MACPHERSON

Beyond the Paintbrush: The coronavirus

The Magic of San Miguel de Allende: Thomas Jefferson Kitts, Anne Blair Brown, Frank Gardner, and Fran Ellisor take us on a tour of one of their favorite painting destinations.

Painting Water in Motion

By Poppy Balser

By Bob Bahr

52 RAY ROBERTS

The Curious Creator: Understanding why a

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landscape looks the way it does helps painter Ray Roberts describe it better on canvas.

By Stefanie Laufersweiler

August-September 2020 / www.outdoorpainter.com

By Kelly Kane

74 THE ELEMENTS

pandemic has this respected artist sheltering in place at his house in Mexico, where he’s found fresh ways to explore his artistic vision.

By Bob Bahr

66 DESTINATION INSPIRATION

38 SPECIAL FEATURE

Inspired by the Silver Screen: Much of the

EXPANDED DIGITAL CONTENT PLANNING FOR SPONTANEITY WHEN PAINTING OUTDOORS

By Peggy Immel

DIGITAL SUBSCRIBERS: Look for this icon to find additional images and stories.

Atlantic Dusk, 11x14 inch oil on canvas, 2020 private collection

Devin Michael Roberts

ONLINE VIDEO LESSONS

A Country Road, 8x16 watercolor on paper, 2020 private collection

W W W.PATR EON.COM / DEV INMICH A ELROBERTS

Devin Michael Roberts is a well respected and sought after landscape painter and instructor.

For more info visit www.devinrobertsstudio.com Visit the website www.patreon.com/devinmichaelroberts to view dozens of online painting videos and lessons on plein air painting, studio landscape in a variety of mediums from acrylic, oil to watercolor. Subscriptions starting as low as $5 monthly.

publisher’s letter

THE UNITY OF SEPARATION

M

ost likely, none of us ever expected to live through a global pandemic. The good news is that, as artists, we are used to being confined and alone. And as plein air painters, we do much of our work outside in the fresh air anyway, so many of us have been able to continue painting.

As you can tell, I like to be the guy who looks for the silver lining in dark clouds, and I’m grateful that artists around the globe have discovered plein air painting for the first time because of our daily broadcasts on social media. We’re interacting with more international artists than ever before. In fact, we had well over 30 countries represented at our recent PleinAir Live virtual convention. And though it was no replacement for our cancelled Plein Air Convention & Expo, it was a lot of fun, immensely informative, and a great way to connect with people.

I’m convinced that the lack of interaction we’ve all experienced over the past several months has made each of us more appreciative of our plein air brothers and sisters around the world and has reinforced the importance of our local, regional, and state painting clubs. It also makes me realize that the convention, if allowed in Denver by May 2021, will be more popular than ever because we have all discovered this need.

In the meantime, I’d like to encourage everyone to seek out clubs to join, and to embrace the rare gift of personal interaction wherever and however it can be done safely and responsibly. It’s clearly more important than ever — to ourselves and to the future of those organizations.

During this time, we have all been concerned, afraid to some extent, and unable to plan much of a future, because we simply don’t know what lies ahead. But I encourage you to make 2020 a year of concentrated learning. If you have extra time at home, study, read, watch a video, or sign up for an online workshop. We may look at the past few months as a curse, but the blessing has

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been the time we’ve been given, time we may never get again.

For our collector followers and friends, I want to point out that artists need income more than ever. I encourage you to visit the websites advertised here, find an artist or gallery, and step in with more purchases than usual. It’s probably a good time to amass a sizable collection with some deep discounts.

I’d also encourage everyone to support live plein air events, some of which will relaunch soon. And if you can’t do that, try to support their virtual events.

We are all in this together, and together we will get through it.

B. ERIC RHOADS CHAIRMAN/PUBLISHER E-mail: bericrhoads@gmail.com Phone: 512.607.6423 Facebook: /ericrhoads Twitter: @ericrhoads

August-September 2020 / www.outdoorpainter.com

editor’s note

THE MORE WE KNOW

A

t last year’s Plein Air Convention & Expo, Richard McKinley gave a presentation, “Why Pastels Are Perfect for Plein Air.” I was only able to sit in for a few minutes to hear him talk, but the theme resonated with me and sparked the idea for a series of articles for the magazine.

For many, media such as pastel, watercolor, or acrylic might not come first to mind when they think about plein air painting. But are there qualities of these media that actually make them particularly well-suited to painting outdoors? Have there not been artists using these media to create master works, both in the studio and en plein air, for centuries?

In the previous issue, we looked at how six accomplished artists use watercolor in the field.

In this issue, we hear from top painters who opt for pastels. And next issue, we’ll explore acrylics for plein air. In addition to sharing a passion for the work that’s contagious, the featured artists demystify these media, busting myths about their versatility and longevity.

From the artists in this issue, five important takeaways about pastel include: 1. Soft pastels are created from mineral pigments, just like oils, acrylics, and watercolors, but they have the smallest amount of binder, making them almost pure color.

(They are NOT chalk, which is compressed gypsum or limestone.)

2. Collectors may be worried about pastels fading, but they are actually the most lightfast of all media since they have so little binder. Once framed, they are more permanent than oils; there are no chemicals to change, no varnishes to darken or yellow them, no cracking.

3. Pastel is easier to clean up and doesn’t ruin clothing or car interiors as easily as some wet media.

4. Used since the Renaissance, pastels were favored by both Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. In the 1700s, elite Europeans had their portraits created in pastel, but 12

August-September 2020 / www.outdoorpainter.com

the Impressionists are most well-known for using the medium to its full potential.

5. When painting plein air with pastels, setup is as simple as opening a paint box — no need to squeeze out a lot of paint or mix colors.

To cap off our pastel coverage, we’re fortunate to have Albert Handell as our cover artist. In this issue, he shares a lifetime of painting wisdom and masterful plein air work. He’s joined in the lineup by talented artists working in all media who share their own unique ways of seeing and approaching their subject matter. The one thing they have in common is that they’ve put in the hours at the easel, figuring out what they want to say with their paintings and the right materials that allow them to do that — sometimes switching comfortably between media depending on the light and weather conditions and what they want to convey about the landscapes before them.

Whether you’re a painter, collector, or simply an art lover, it’s important to educate yourself, to be exposed to a variety of styles, media, and subjects. Through this process, you’ll find what excites you, what suits your way of working, or what aesthetic you want to create with your art collection. In his Publisher’s Letter, Eric Rhoads encourages us to make 2020 a year of learning. And we know many of us are already doing just that — experimenting with new techniques and materials, or exploring new creative pathways in our work by exaggerating color, playing with composition, or focusing on a single subject in a series. The more we know, the richer and more fulfilling our experience.

Let’s take this journey of discovery together.  facebook.com/pleinairmagazine  twitter.com/pleinairmag  instagram.com/pleinairmag KELLY KANE Editor-in-Chief kelly@pleinairmagazine.com outdoorpainter.com

LINDA CROTEAU

A Boat Named Neverland, 14 X 11 Oil

WWW.LINDACAROLCROTEAU.COM lindycrow49@gmail.com • 763-516-4264

PASTEL SHOWCASE

Of all the media artists use to express themselves, none provide a more immediate, intimate response than pastel. Requiring nothing but a receptive surface, but adaptable to a variety of mixed-media techniques, pastel encourages creative exploration. On the pages that follow, we showcase a host of pastel artists whose work exemplifies the range and craftsmanship possible with this versatile medium. Enjoy!

JILL STEFANI WAGNER

NANCIE KING MERTZ

Saline, Michigan

Harbor at Palermo, 18 x 24 in., pastel on mounted UART Private Collection

PSA/MP IAPS-MC

From Lands End, 12 x 9 in., pastel Available from the artist jill@jillwagnerart.com • 734.604.2864 • http://jillwagnerart.com Represented by Tvedten Fine Art, Harbor Springs, MI; J. Petter Galleries, Douglas, MI; Castle Gallery, Fort Wayne, IN.

Chicago

nancie@nanciekingmertz.com • http://nanciekingmertz.com Represented by ArtDeTriumph & Artful Framer Studios, Chicago, IL.

CINDY HOUSE Warner, New Hampshire

Winter Visitor, 19 x 23 in., pastel Available cjhouse@tds.net www.cindyhouse.com Represented by Haley & Steele Gallery, Boston, MA; Mariner Gallery, Newport, RI; Edgartown Art Gallery, Edgartown,MA.

AMANDA HOUSTON

DEEPALI KAPATKAR

Sunrise of Hope, 16 x 20 in., pastel

Sunset in Provence, 8 x 12 in., soft pastel Available through the artist

Cornelius, Oregon

amandahouston@me.com • 503.310.8099 • http://amandahouston.com Represented by Cole Gallery, Edmonds, WA; Giacobbe Fritz Gallery, Santa Fe, NM; Clearwater Gallery, Sisters, OR.

Los Altos, California

jo_deepali@yahoo.com • www.deepalikapatkar.com Represented by Shrishti Art Gallery, Hyderabad, India.

MARYANN MCGRAW CPP PAPNM PSNM

ALEJANDRA GOS Bothell, Washington

Closing Act, 12 x 12 in., pastel

Placitas, New Mexico

Mid Morning, Waiting for Rain, 12 x 16 in., pastel 2020 Santa Fe Plein Air Fiesta Best Enchanted Sky Award m4artist@hotmail.com

alejandragosfineart@gmail.com 425.753.8698 www.alejandragos.com

MICHAL BARKAI

CHRISTINE BODNAR

Magenta Corner, 12 x 16 in., pastel en plein air Available from the artist mbarkai1@comcast.net • 973.994.7449 • www.michalbarkai.com

Under Cover, 14 x 11 in., pastel Available through the artist

Livingston, New Jersey

Marshfield, Massachusetts

cbodnar@christinebodnar.com • 617.835.1584 • http://christinebodnar.com Represented by Tvedten Fine Art, Harbor Springs, MI; Powers Gallery, Acton, MA; N.W. Barrett Gallery, Portsmouth, NH.

MARTI WALKER

CHRISTOPHER COPELAND

Ocean Beauty, 12 x 12 in., pastel

Haybales in a Mist, 12 x 12 in., pastel Available

Sacramento, California

marti@martiwalker.com • 916.224.5909 • http://martiwalker.com

Minneapolis, Minnesota

ccopestudio@q.com • www.christophercopeland.com Represented by Grand Hill Gallery, St. Paul, MN.

CHRISTINE DEBROSKY

RAY HASSARD

Arboretum Arches, 12 x 12 in., soft pastel

The Garden Pool, Kingwood, 9 x 12 in., pastel on sanded paper Available through the artist

Clarkdale, Arizona

christine@christinedebrosky.com • 928.679.0357 www.christinedebrosky.com Represented by S-Scape West Studio Gallery, Clarkdale, AZ.

Cincinnati, Ohio

ray@rayhassard.com • 513.941.1116 • www.rayhassard.com Represented by Cincinnati Art Galleries, Cincinnati, OH; Oxford Gallery, Rochester, NY.

LINDA DESSAINT Antrim, New Hampshire

Mystical Monadnock, 12 x 16 in., pastel on archival paper Available through the artist info@lindadessaint.com • 603.801.5249 • www.lindadessaint.com Represented by Hannah Grimes, Keene, NH; Vermont Artisans, Brattleboro, VT.

LIZ HAYWOOD-SULLIVAN Marshfield, Massachusetts

Interlude, 36 x 24 in., pastel on UART #500 mounted on gatorboard Available through the artist liz@haywood-sullivan.com • 617.821.7468 • www.lizhaywoodsullivan.com Represented by Vose Galleries, Boston, MA.

MARGARET LARLHAM

KATHLEEN KALINOWSKI

Four Seasons in a Day, 40 x 32 in., pastel on prepared panel Available from the artist

Summer Etude, 18 x 24 in., pastel Available from the artist

San Diego, California

larlham@mac.com • http://margaretlarlham.com

Comstock Park, Michigan

kalinowskifineart@gmail.com • 616.446.1308 • http://kalinowskifineart.com Represented by Synchronicity Gallery, Glen Arbor, MI; North Seas Gallery, Charlevoix, MI; seeking further gallery representation.

LORRAINE MCFARLAND Rolla, Missouri

View to the Gravel Bar, 12 x 24 in., pastel on textured surface Available through the artist lorrainemcfarlandart@gmail.com • 573.578.1559 • www.lorrainemcfarlandart.com Represented by Stone Soup Galleries, Chesterfield, MO.

HELENA VAN EMMERIK-FINN Doylestown, Pennsylvania

Blue Glass, 20 x 10 in., pastel on sanded paper Available through the artist hvefinn@comcast.net • 215.348.1794 • www.hvefinn.com

MARCIA HOLMES PSA-MP, IAPS/MC Mandeville, Louisiana

Shady Lakes Water Lilies I, 40 x 40 in., pastel on paper Available through the artist marciabholmes@aol.com • 985.630.0774 • http://marciaholmes.com Represented by Degas Gallery, New Orleans, LA; Armbruster Gallery, Covington, LA.

Where watercolor lives.

Subscribe for free at

AmericanWatercolor.net Thomas W. Schaller Watercolor: The Power of Design™ © 2020 Creative Catalyst Video Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Painting Image “Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II - Rome”™ © 2020 Creative Catalyst Video Productions, Inc., part of the Streamline Family.

ALISON DICKSON Fort Collins, Colorado

CECY TURNER Signature Member Dallas, Texas

Whitmore Wash Calm, 12 x 16 in., oil on panel

Cross Mountain Trail, 9 x 12 in., oil

Available through the artist

Available at PAAC 2020 National Show, Wilder Nightingale Fine Art

alisondickson@aol.com • http://alisondicksonart.com

cecy@cecyturner.com • 214.734.9315 • www.cecyturner.com Represented by Wild Horse Gallery, Steamboat Springs, CO; Mary Williams Fine Art, Boulder, CO; Redstone Art Gallery, Redstone, CO.

Plein Air Artists Colorado 23rd Annual National Juried Exhibition

LAMYA DEEB Niwot, Colorado

DOUG HEMLER Golden, Colorado

Winter Wetlands II, 8 x 8 in., oil Available at PAAC 2020 National Show, Wilder Nightingale Fine Art http://lamyadeebfineart.com Represented by Mary Williams Fine Arts, Boulder, CO; Osmosis Art Gallery, Niwot, CO.

JENNIFER RIEFENBERG Ojo Dreamin’, 11 x 14 in., oil

Cedaredge, Colorado

Available at PAAC 2020 National Show, Wilder Nightingale Fine Art doughemlerart@gmail.com • http://doughemlerfineart.com

LEE MACLEOD

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Sprague Lake Afternoon, 11 x 14 in., oil

Wild Sunflowers, 11 x 14 in., oil

Available at PAAC 2020 National Show, Wilder Nightingale Fine Art

Available at PAAC 2020 National Show,

n.macleod@att.net • http://leemacleodfineart.com

Wilder Nightingale Fine Art

Represented by Marigold Arts.

jennifer@artofsunshine.com • www.artofsunshine.com

LEE MCVEY

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Plein Air Artists Colorado 23rd Annual National Juried Exhibition

SUSAN HEDIGER MATTESON Colorado

Tri-Colored Cliffs, 8 x 10 in., pastel Available through the artist lee@leemcvey.com • 505.417.3516 • www.leemcvey.com

PATTY DWYER Colorado

Reverence (Study), 12 x 9 in., oil on linen on panel Available at PAAC 2020 National Show, Wilder Nightingale Fine Art www.susanmatteson.com Represented by Mary Williams Fine Art, Boulder, CO; Kilgore American Indian Art, Mancos, CO.

Poppies Tango, 9 x 12 in., oil psadwyer@gmail.com • www.pattydwyer.com Seeking gallery representation.

plein air portfolio

BOATS, HARBORS, AND WATERFRONTS You can almost feel the breeze in your hair, catch the scent of fresh fish, and hear the sounds of waves lapping at the shore in this gallery of paintings from the water’s edge.

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August-September 2020 / www.outdoorpainter.com

Misty Day on Whitstable Harbor, Tiffanie Mang, 2019, oil, 18 x 36 in., available from artist, plein air and studio

www.outdoorpainter.com / August-September 2020

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plein air portfolio

(CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT) Between Tides, John Caggiano, 2018, oil, 16 x 20 in., available from artist, plein air • Blowing In, Jill Basham, 2019, oil, 12 x 12 in., private collection, plein air • Funnel Versus Crane, SS Red Oak Victory, Barbara Tapp, 2018, watercolor, 10 1/2 x 7 1/2 in., private collection, plein air • Far Light, Krystal Brown, 2019, oil, 16 x 20 in., private collection, plein air

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August-September 2020 / www.outdoorpainter.com

(CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT) Duluth Fog Company, Mary Pettis, 2019, oil, 9 x 12 in., private collection, plein air • Foggy Harbor, Susan Lynn, 2017, watercolor, 10 x 7 in., private collection, plein air • Overlooking the Marina, Cynthia Rosen, 2020, oil, 24 x 36 in., available from artist, studio from plein air painting • Vicino a Mare, Lori Putnam, 2019, oil, 10 x 12 in., private collection, plein air

www.outdoorpainter.com / August-September 2020

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plein air portfolio

(TOP) Ready and Waiting, Laurel Daniel, 2016, oil, 8 x 16 in., available from Anderson Fine Art Gallery, plein air • (RIGHT) BFFs, Charles Newman, 2019, oil, 18 x 24 in., available from artist, plein air • (FAR RIGHT) Sunday Morning — Port Townsend Boatyard, Ned Mueller, 2000, oil, 10 x 12 in., private collection, studio from plein air sketch • (BOTTOM LEFT) Dockside, Stephanie Amato, 2018, oil, 9 x 12 in., available from Four Corners Gallery, Bluffton, SC, plein air • (BOTTOM RIGHT) Last Light, Joli Ayn Wood, 2019, oil, 11 x 14 in., available from True Grit Art Gallery in Middleboro, MA, plein air

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August-September 2020 / www.outdoorpainter.com

(TOP LEFT) Carefree Summer Day, Kenneth DeWaard, 2019, oil, 16 x 20 in., available from Camden Falls Gallery, plein air • (TOP RIGHT) Annapolis Harbor Sunset, Kirk McBride, 2019, oil, 12 x 12 in., private collection, plein air and studio • (ABOVE) Sea Breeze, Maria Marino, 2020, watercolor and pastel, 12 x 16 in., available from artist, studio from plein air study • (RIGHT) I Wanna Be in the Light, Andre Lucero, 2017, oil, 20 x 16 in., available from Edward Dare Fine Art, Charleston, SC, plein air

www.outdoorpainter.com / August-September 2020

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Expanded Digital Edition Content

(TOP LEFT) Bayside Heron, Carl Bretzke, 2018, oil, 9 x 12 in., private collection, plein air • (TOP RIGHT) One Red Boat, DK Palecek, 2019, oil, 20 x 20 in., private collection, plein air • (ABOVE) Sittin’ on the Dock O’ the Bay, Catherine Hillis, 2020, watercolor, 9 x 13 in., collection the artist, plein air • (RIGHT) Retired, Manon Sander, 2019, oil, 11 x 14 in., private collection, plein air

August-September 2020 / www.outdoorpainter.com

Expanded Digital Edition Content

(TOP LEFT) Mooring in the Cove, Eileen Eder, 2019, oil, 10 x 8 in., available from artist, plein air • (TOP RIGHT) Wonky Dock, Julie Riker, 2019, oil, 8 x 8 in., available from artist, plein air • (ABOVE) Underway, Paula B. Holtzclaw, 2018, oil, 18 x 18 in., available from Anderson Fine Art Gallery, St. Simons, GA, plein air • (LEFT) Manana Glare, Timothy Horn, 2018, oil, 11 x 14 in., private collection, studio from a plein air study

August-September 2020 / www.outdoorpainter.com

ALBERT HANDELL

THE POWER OF NOW This plein air pioneer introduced a generation of contemporary painters to the joys of using pastel outdoors. With a spontaneity and efficiency hard-won through hours at the easel, today the artist trusts his intuition to capture a scene quickly in the moment.

P

——— BY JOHN A. PARKS ———

ainting outdoors with pastel offers a promise of immediacy and direct response no other medium can match. Freed from the task of mixing paints and juggling brushes, the artist can go right to work combining line and color to create both strong drawings and richly built surfaces. Moreover, pastel is a medium that is highly responsive to touch, readily conveying the hand of the artist to communicate everything from the most delicate caress to the most powerful stroke. Veteran artist Albert Handell makes full use of these capabilities to create works that feel gloriously spontaneous while exhibiting fine control of value and color. In his hands, pastel conjures up all the pleasures of being in nature — the raw energy of rushing mountain streams, the sumptuous textures of rocks and trees, and the shifting excitement of light and air. And he achieves it all in a way that is fresh, open, and marvelously alive.

For Handell, making a pastel begins with finding a location. Generally, he says, he is not much of a scouter, preferring to pick a location he feels will be interesting and then visiting it with an open mind for what he might find there. “I have my eyes open all the time,” he says. “After I’ve parked the car and I’m starting to walk towards, say, a waterfall, I might suddenly see a few trees or rocks. And the scene hits me. It’s not the waterfall, it’s this! I take these intuitive hits very seriously. They are telling me that something out there has touched something inside of me and I should respond to it. Long ago, having found something like that, I would

Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, ALBERT HANDELL now makes his home in Taos, New Mexico. alberthandell.com

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Lion King Rock 2020, watercolor and pastel, 16 x 20 in.

Available from artist Plein air

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Palm Springs, 2020, pastel, 10 x 14 in., private collection, plein air

The Collin’s House, 2015, pastel, 12 x 18 in., private collection, plein air

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take another five minutes to look around for something else and then go back to it if I found nothing better. These days I don’t do that. If it hits me, then it has to be now, and I start work.” Similarly, at the end of a day’s work, the artist will take a few minutes to look around after packing up his car. If something sparks his imagination, he will return the following day to paint it. It’s a process that finds him making series of works at close locations. “Sometimes, as I’m working, I might look to the right or left, see something, and think, ‘Well, if I wasn’t painting this, I’d be painting that.’ So I come back the next day and do it.”

Another feature of Handell’s choice of location is his preference, in recent years, to work in direct sunshine. “When I was young I always sought out shade to work in,” he says. “But I love painting in sunlight. There’s

(ABOVE) Oregon Stream, 2008, watercolor and pastel, 16 x 20 in., private collection, plein air • (TOP RIGHT) The Big One, 2002, watercolor and pastel, 16 x 16 in., private collection, plein air • (RIGHT) The Crevice, 2010, pastel, 12 x 18 in., private collection, plein air

something so vibrant and brilliant about it.

As long as your painting surface and your materials or palette are in the same light, then there is not a problem.”

THE ARTIST’S PROCESS Handell’s determination to trust his own responses and follow his intuition dictates the way he makes a painting. The first part of his secret is his preparation. Pastels can be heavy to carry, so the artist cuts down a 250-piece set to about 150 colors. Although it seems that this reduces his color choices by half, the artist says that in fact he has sacrificed nothing. “With pastel you can vary the value with the weight of your touch,” he says. “With a white pastel on a neutral ground, for instance, if you press gently you get something less than white, while if you press hard you get a pure white. And you can adjust for every value in between. Thus, my 150 colors are capable of making several times that many values.” Handell removes the paper wrappers from his pastels (Rembrandt, Schminke, and Unison) for ease of handling and carries them in a foam-lined Heilman Original Pastel Box, which he attaches to his French easel with bungee cords.

“Because I often start my pastels with a watercolor underpainting, I have all my paper mounted on museum-quality board to avoid any buckling,” he says. Generally he paints outdoors with UArt 500-grit sanded pastel paper, in a variety of sizes. “I work on the same brand of paper all the time,” he says. “Once I find what works, I don’t explore further.” Another advantage of this paper is that the artist says he doesn’t need to use fixative with it.

Having selected his subject, Handell sets up his easel and paper. “I don’t do any sketches,” he says. “What is for now is now.” Prizing the value of his direct response, he dives right into the finished work, sometimes beginning with a few delicate strokes of a dark pastel to place the composition. “If it feels good, then I darken them,” he says. “And then I proceed to work from dark to light through the piece.”

These days, however, the artist typically modifies this technique by starting with a watercolor underpainting. For this he uses only two colors, Payne’s gray and Vandyke brown.

“I get the whole thing laid in in the underpainting, using broad, large brushstrokes,” he says, “and then let it dry before beginning the pastel.” Being, he says, an impatient person, he

has adopted a habit of leaving his pastels in his car so that he has to walk back for them at this point. “By the time I get back the underpainting’s usually dry,” he says. He then begins work in pastel by establishing the center of interest, the part of the composition he considers to be the focal point. “I take some care with this,” says the artist, “and spend quite a bit of time getting it right. Then I tend to get a little more loose as I move away from it and begin to attach other areas to it.”

As for making changes during work, the artist says he is more of a modifier than an outright changer. “I generally get the values the first time,” he says, agreeing that this is one of the rewards of long experience. “If I don’t, then there’s no real adjusting. All I usually have to do is modify.” The artist achieves this by overlaying color and varying the pressure of his pastel. “Let’s say that there is an area that’s violet, but at the top of the range, the violet gets weaker. I lay in the violet and then perhaps take a tan or a green of the exact same tonal value and put a little on top. And then it sings.”

In other words, the artist often finds himself adjusting an area of color by bringing in a

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Standing Proud 2010, pastel, 12 x 18 in.

Private collection Plein air

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modest amount of another color and laying it gently on top so that the two colors are active together. “Often I’m changing from a warm to a cool,” he says. “If the area is basically warm, then I add a little cool or vice versa. I don’t want to add more than 10 percent because if you do too much, then the overall color changes. It has to be just enough so that the color tingles.” These subtle adjustments from warm to cool are particularly effective in the shadow areas of Handell’s paintings, where the close, subtle color is endlessly active and alive.

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Handell begins his works with a hard pastel like Rembrandt, saving softer pastels for late in the work, when he might apply them as a kind of “hit,” a bold, assertive stroke that adds drama and certainty to the piece. Against this, other areas might be left relatively transparent, often showing the watercolor underpainting beneath.

TREES, STREAMS, AND MORE Handell’s use of an underpainting allows him certain kinds of effects that are harder to achieve in pure pastel. In painting trees, for

instance, he faces the perennial problem of how much information to include in describing masses of leaves. “With the underpainting, I block in the major shapes, the lights, and the darks,” he says. “And then I look to see if they take a rhythm.” Having found some kind of rhythmic movement through the tree, Handell takes a round pastel of a lighter value and applies it over his underpainting, using a twirling movement as he makes the stroke. The separation of underpainting and pastel creates a sense of space and mass, while the rhythm

of the stroke carries the feeling of the natural movement and structure of the tree. The subject comes to life with scarcely a scrap of detail.

Handell’s interest in energy and rhythm in nature rather than raw detail gives an organizing power to his work, particularly with his handling of water. Generally, subjects like rushing water or waves present serious challenges for the plein air painter for the simple reason that they are in motion. “When I was first using pastels outdoors, I spent some time working in Woodstock, New York,” recalls the artist. “I found myself looking at a lot of streams. What I like about water is the energy, that’s what really interests me. I used to have lunch in this slow-paced restaurant on a hill overlooking a creek; while I waited, I’d sketch the movement of the water in pencil.” When painting a flowing stream in pastel, the artist finds that if he concentrates on the rhythmic energy of the water, everything tends to work.

Having a guiding principle in rendering things like trees and water allows the artist to be selective about details, a task that is always a challenge for the landscape artist who is so often faced with an overwhelming amount of visual information. Handell espouses a general principle in deciding whether to include detail, which he refers to as the “carrying power” of a picture.

By this he means the strength and conviction of

Woods Interiors 2010, watercolor and pastel, 17 x 18 in.

Private collection Plein air

the image, the quality of the painting to which a viewer initially and immediately responds.

“You have to stand back to see it,” says Handell. “A lot of my students can’t stand back; they stay glued to their work and get involved in detail. But carrying power is much more important than detail. I tell them to go away and have a cup of coffee and then when they come back, they have to look at the ground until they get to 10 feet from their work. Only then can they look at it. And they should ask ‘yes or no?’ If the answer is ‘yes,’ then that picture can stand on its own because it hits you. From there they might go back into the piece and see if there’s a bit of this or that they can add to make the carrying power stronger.” In other words, decisions to add further information or detail are to be made on the basis of whether or not they reinforce the overall sense of the picture.

THEN AND NOW Looking over the large body of landscapes Handell has produced over the decades, it’s a surprise to learn that he grew up in Brooklyn, New York.

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Mountain Stream, 1972, pastel, 21 x 27 in., permanent collection of The Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH, plein air (two sessions)

Rushing Waters, 2013, watercolor and pastel, 12 x 18 in., available from artist, plein air

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My Home (window study) 2018, pastel, 18 x 12 in.

Private collection Plein air

Smith Rock, Oregon 2008, pastel, 17 x 18 in.

Private collection Plein air

As a teenager he thought of becoming an illustrator and attended the High School of Industrial Arts. “They were preparing me for Madison Avenue,” he says. “Then a friend of mine took me to see an art show in Greenwich Village and I began to paint in oils.” Eventually, his sense that the world of illustration was giving way to photography, combined with a growing interest in art, led him to study at the Art Students League under Frank Mason. He then spent four years in France in the early ’60s, painting and studying art. He returned in 1965 to New York, where he had scheduled an exhibition at a Manhattan gallery for the following year. “I painted with oils every day. It was like a guilt-ridden thing; I had to paint all the time,” he recalls. “After three months the well was empty; I felt burned-out. I called

up some friends, Aaron Schickler, Dan Greene, and Harvey Dinnerstein, and asked them about pastel. They told me what to buy, and I immediately got going again. It was like a fish getting back in the water. It was all fresh; there were no tapes running in my head, no direct training, so I was free to experiment with them.” Handell’s joy in discovering pastel was reinforced when he determined to take them outside to paint the landscape. Soon he began to teach workshops where he shared his outdoor approach to pastels, essentially becoming the first artist to offer plein air training in pastels. The workshops quickly became popular, and he has enjoyed a flourishing teaching career ever since.

These days, the artist makes his home in New Mexico, enjoying the powerful sunlight

and dazzling landscapes, and maintaining his determination to share his work and his insights.

One of the ways he does this is to keep an open studio. “Anyone can come and visit and look,” he says. “Of course they can buy if they want to, but that’s not the main point. When I was young I once met an artist, and I was really hoping he would invite me to his studio. He didn’t, and I didn’t have the wherewithal to ask him.

Later I realized that probably a lot of people I meet who might be interested won’t actually ask me if they can visit. So I make a point of telling everybody that my studio is open to them.” As for his favorite visitors, the artist says that those are the ones who don’t come in talking but those who are immediately taken up with looking at the work. With such visitors he is more than happy to spend time sharing his views and discussing his approach to painting. “The more you give out,” says Handell, “the more room you have to take in.”

JOHN A. PARKS (johnaparks.com) is a painter, writer, and member of the faculty of the School of Visual Arts in New York.

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Expanded Digital Edition Content

(TOP LEFT) Blue Skies Above, 2006, pastel, 15 x 14 in., plein air • (ABOVE) Coastal Fog, 2008, pastel, 18 x 12 in., plein air • (TOP RIGHT) Calle de Pina, 2006, mixed media pastel, 16 x 20 in., plein air • (MIDDLE RIGHT) Hacienda Shadow Play, 2007, pastel, 16 x 20 in., plein air • (RIGHT) Pine Tree, 2006, mixed media pastel, 16 x 20 in., plein air

August-September 2020 / www.outdoorpainter.com

Expanded Digital Edition Content

A Quiet Moment 2008, pastel, 18 x 17 in.

Plein air

Morning Light 2007, pastel, 18 x 12 in.

Plein air

PleinAir Magazine publisher Eric Rhoads spoke to Albert Handell for the PleinAir Podcast in 2016. Have a listen.

Morning Spring Light 1986, pastel, 12 x 18 in.

Plein air

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SPECIAL FEATURE

WHY PASTEL IS

PERFECT FOR PLEIN AIR Five top artists reveal how they make the most of the medium outdoors and why you should consider adding plein air pastels to your collection.

——— BY KELLY KANE ——— NANCIE KING MERTZ

LIGHTFAST AND DURABLE

I was a plein air painter long before we had the term. Although I also work in oil, if time is short or quite a bit of drawing is involved, I’ll opt for my pastels for speed and better control. Pastelists often tout the “immediacy” of the medium, and it’s true. Pastels require no mixing time; I need only reach for the color I want, and if that specific color is not on hand, pastels layer beautifully, allowing the viewer’s eye to mix the color.

Keeping an organized setup on location is key. Many students come to plein air sessions or classes with loads of equipment and boxes of assorted pastels that they scatter at their feet in order to have as many choices as possible. I encourage plein air pastelists to leave their studio at home, and to carefully choose the sticks they will need to paint most subject matter. These pigments should be within reach in one box, sorted by color and value, for a fluid and rewarding experience. My easel, tripod, pastel box, brushes, and alcohol all fit into one rolling cart with nice-sized wheels that suit most terrain (think beaches, subways, fields). I carry my pastel panels in a bag on my shoulder. Once I’ve found a spot to set up, I quickly snap the pastel box and panel holder into place, secure the panel, open the lid to my pastel box, and I’m painting!

I’m particularly drawn to structures, especially bridges, overhead train tracks, and the like, which I consider “calligraphy in the sky.” With pastel, I can capture more accurately the space between girders, cables, and wires. In these compositions, the negative space is as important as the positive space, and pastel, because it’s a dry pigment, becomes an easy tool to carve out and loosely define these elements. I start with the darks, keeping them transparent; add the mid-tones; and then slather on the lights, Nancie King Mertz just as if painting with oils.

Soft pastels are now lightfast (do not fade) and will not crack, making them the most durable modern medium. They provide the purest form of pigment and the most vibrant color of any medium. Due to their dry qualities, however, they must be protected with glass. When anti-reflective or museum glass is used, the clarity is so good that viewers often tap the surface to prove that glazing is used. Today, museums use glazing on many important pieces in their collections, including oils, so the public resistance to glazing seems to be diminishing.

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Morning Call Nancie King Mertz 2019, pastel, 10 x 11 in.

Private collection Plein air

Crossing Guards R. Gregory Summers 2018, oil, 16 x 12 in.

Private collection Plein air

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JILL STEFANI WAGNER

ACCESSIBLE AND IMMEDIATE

Jill Stefani Wagner

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While running my advertising agency and raising a family, I had only stolen moments to spend on my art. Pastel attracted me for its accessibility and immediacy, requiring no complicated setup or messy tear-down, and no toxic solvents. I could start a painting, leave it on the easel for days, work on it for 15 minutes, and then leave it again. I also loved the idea that I could layer my strokes, and if needed, cover up areas I wanted to change.

But what really hooked me was working with pastel’s pure color, which comes in thousands of hues and varying degrees of softness and hardness. I can paint with them by using the side of the pastel like a brush, or draw with them using just the tip. By layering, I can create texture, vibration, and movement in a way that I don’t find possible with other mediums. Depending on the type, texture, and color of the substrate I choose, I can create a completely different mood and look for a piece.

Both in the studio and en plein air, I split my time evenly between oils and pastels.

In application, both call for painting dark to light, thin Bowers Harbor to thick, and big shapes to little. When I get frustrated Jill Stefani Wagner with one medium, I switch to the other for a while. It 2019, pastel, 12 x 16 in. seems to break the logjam and allows me to work out Available from artist any painting issues I was experiencing. What I learn Plein air from one medium is often transferable to the other.

When painting plein air with pastels, setup is as simple as opening my paint box — no need to squeeze out a lot of paint or mix colors. The paper and boards I use are thin and lightweight as well, making it easy for me to bring a variety when I travel. Outdoors, pastels perfectly capture different light conditions. Applying them lightly, I can softly merge one color with others or, by altering the pressure I place on the stick, create energetic strokes with bravado.

I like to start my plein air pastels with an underpainting of either a quick-drying tonal wash or a vibrant watercolor. Usually I can work out all of the composition and value issues in that early stage — and then the fun part begins! If something isn’t quite right, I can revise it immediately; there’s no waiting for the paint or surface to dry. At plein air festivals, when many oil painters cautiously have to turn in wet pieces, we pastelists don’t.

The substrate for pastels is usually sanded paper, often mounted on board. Although the art world is changing, works on paper are still often valued less than those on canvas. Since pastelists must frame under glass, I try to alleviate that stigma by using spacers and museum-quality glass, which becomes almost invisible against the painting and creates no reflections to distract from the image. To eliminate the dreaded “dust fall-off,” I’ve stopped using mats. When properly framed, the finished piece is often hard to distinguish from an oil painting.

Used since the Renaissance, pastels were favored by both Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. In the 1700s, elite Europeans had their portraits created in pastel. But the Impressionists are most well known for using the medium to its full potential, including Edgar Degas, Mary Cassatt, Claude Monet, Paul Gaugin, Édouard Manet, and many others who created hundreds of vibrant pastel paintings in their lifetimes.

Collectors may be worried about pastels fading, but they are actually the most lightfast of all mediums since they have so little binder. Pastel paintings under museum glass are actually more protected from grime, fading, and damage than works on canvas.

From Lands End Jill Stefani Wagner 2019, pastel, 12 x 9 in.

Available from artist Plein air

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Ray Hassard Funke’s Greenhouse, Ray Hassard, 2018, pastel, 8 x 12 in., private collection, plein air

RAY HASSARD

DOWN AND DIRTY

I love the tactile qualities — the dusty, get-on-your-fingers (and sometimes your face) dirtiness. The ability to draw and paint with no brushes, solvents, or other go-betweens is a big plus for me. I like the idea of an image flowing from my eye down my arm to my hand and then onto the painting surface, almost like a river.

That pastel paintings can be easily changed, corrected, or adjusted during the working process reveals another benefit. Wiping off, smearing, lifting with a bristle brush, even washing with a damp sponge can all be done when major changes are needed. And on a good sanded ground, the ability to layer colors is nearly endless. With careful pressure, the layers can vary from densely opaque — useful for covering an area completely — to a subtle breath of one color over another — used to quietly modify an area.

Painting at a local farm recently, I faced a grassy area with a view of apple trees in bloom. With its ability to make linear marks, layer, vary, wipe out, scribble, smear, and scratch into, pastel was perfect for capturing the grasses, weeds, and dried remnants of the previous summer’s vegetation in Below the Apple Trees.

Of all the art mediums, pastel is the only one where so many colors are already mixed for us. Having a good assortment of them in front of me often leads me to grab a color I would probably not mix up for myself and try it out.

After all, if it doesn’t work, I can easily remove it and try another. For example, I once had trouble painting a large area of spring grass in the sunlight. All the yellows and greens made the painting too harsh. That was when I discovered that a light pink “wash” on top of those over-bright saturated greens gave me the effect of sunlight on grass that I wanted. I don’t know that I would have tried that if the pinks weren’t at hand already.

The first time I went out to paint plein air with pastels was at a five-day workshop with Lorenzo Chavez in Tucson, Arizona. I laboriously made little cardboard trays lined with cotton, bought a bunch of cheap tackle boxes, and loaded up all my pastels (yes, ALL of them) and somehow got everything to the workshop unbroken. On the first day, Lorenzo took us out to watch him Below the Apple Trees, Ray Hassard, 2020, pastel, 12 x 6 in., collection the artist, plein air

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demo. He unfolded a small wooden box, slid the lids off, and revealed a surprisingly large variety of colors, all in half-inch pieces. I realized immediately that I didn’t need three full sticks of fire engine red in my plein air kit. Now I try to plan ahead in terms of color as much as possible. If I’m going to Florida, I want a lot of greens and blues of all values; in the Southwest, reds, oranges, and browns will be important. I would advise a new pastelist to bring as many colors as possible outdoors, but almost no full-size sticks. Pastels, especially soft ones, break anyway. Use those small pieces; they will easily do the job. All of us learn to work with tiny crumbs of pastel; marvelous things can be done with them.

In terms of supports, I strongly urge new pastelists to use sanded paper and colored grounds. Some to try include Ampersand’s muted green, tan, and gray boards; or sanded papers by UArt or Colourfix, which I have found offer

the greatest range of colors to choose from. While some colors have proved challenging to work on, others enhance my work beautifully — you need to experiment to see what colors work best for you and your subject matter. In any case, I almost never paint on stark white.

Although bad weather can send any painter scrambling, a sudden downpour can mean disaster for pastel sticks. Still, pastel paintings are not nearly as fragile or delicate as they have been rumored to be. Today’s high-quality pastels are lightfast with good strong darks and bright colors.

The surfaces we use are acid-free, permanent supports for the artwork.

Yes, they need to be framed under glass, but non-reflective glass can be nearly invisible. And once framed, they are more permanent than oils; there are no chemicals to change, no varnishes to darken or yellow them, no cracking.

PASTEL PLEIN AIR POINTERS Your pochade box can be your best friend or your worst enemy. Too heavy and you will be frustrated, not only at lugging around the weight, but also from having so much to choose from it actually hampers the spontaneity of your painting session. Too small and not enough color choices bear their own frustrations. I find that the more consolidated my kit and the fewer separate items I have to assemble, the happier I am.

— Natasha Isenhour You don’t have to own every stick on the market; in fact, it can be daunting to carry around a huge box. You can get by with a limited family of 10 to 20 colors, as long as you also purchase three to four values of each of those colors. You can always add more hues as you explore which colors work for you outside. Over time you will also learn whether you prefer soft or hard pastels, or maybe a combination of both.

— Jill Stefani Wagner Take the papers off your pastels to loosen up your work. I have four Signature pastel sets of 80 each by Jack Richeson that I use exclusively for plein air: Urban, Atmospheric Landscape, Stunning Skies & Water, and Lush Coastal Landscape.

The minute I open a box for the first time, the papers come off. Just seeing the fully unwrapped sticks immediately inspires me to paint. Have you ever opened a box of candy and resisted? Impossible!

— Nancie King Mertz A good setup for working en plein air can be expensive, and a full supply of pastels will cost quite a bit on top of that. I recommend students and beginning pastelists get a high-quality boxed set such as Sennelier’s plein air set, or some of Great American’s travel minis. Once bitten by the pastel bug, artists will soon suffer from CPA, Compulsive Pastel Acquisition, and will continue to add more colors and brands of pastels to their kits.

— Ray Hassard Every pastelist I know has knocked their pastel box over at least once, hopefully onto the grass, but sometimes we aren’t so lucky (been there!). Carry bungee cords to strap your boxes to your easels, and watch out for gusty days when an umbrella attached to your easel is a liability. Also, keep an eye on your pastels at the seashore — for some reason seagulls are attracted to our colorful palettes!

— Liz Haywood-Sullivan Light on Lake Street Nancie King Mertz 2017, pastel, 16 x 12 in.

Private collection Plein air

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LIZ HAYWOOD-SULLIVAN

PAINTING WITH LIGHT

Pastel is an incredibly responsive medium; I love the immediacy and tactile nature of moving pigment around with my fingers and hands. At the same time, it’s very forgiving, allowing great latitude for exploration and experimentation. Starting with the darks and moving to the lights, I layer values and colors on top of one another.

In my design career, I was a jack of all trades, so when I turned to fine art I wanted to see how far I could go with one medium and one genre — pastel landscapes. I figured at some point I would run out of options or get bored, but my journey with pastel has proved open-ended, offering new challenges every day. I find limiting myself to one medium makes me dig deeper and work harder. I am totally devoted to pastel and love introducing people to the possibilities and beauty of the medium.

Known for their luminosity and color, pastels can be used wet or dry, as a drawing or a painting medium. Working in pastel is like painting with light. Artists are attracted to it because it offers so many options for personal expression. From today’s pastelists, you can see a huge range of techniques and styles, but the use of pure pigment — charcoal, ground minerals, and earth pigments — dates back to some of the oldest artwork in the world — the drawings in the caves of Lascaux.

Pastels work for plein air because they’re portable and easy to move around. The key is to keep your toolkit from becoming too cumbersome. By becoming proficient in color mixing, using layering to optically create any color you need, you can reduce the number of pastels you carry. My double-sided travel box folds up to 7 1/2 x 9 1/2 inches and carries over 200 pastels. I deliberately do not repeat a color or value, and always make sure to have a good selection of neutrals and grayed-down colors; neutrals make those brilliant colors behave.

I also carry an empty box with my setup. Depending on the scene, I select and work with a subset of my main palette, around 20 (TOP) Santa Fe Plaza, Liz Haywood-Sullivan, 2018, pastel, to 30 colors. I place this subset in 12 x 12 in., collection the artist, plein air • (MIDDLE LEFT) the empty box. If I don’t finish a Spring Greens sketch and color study • (ABOVE) Spring painting on location, or if I want Greens, Liz Haywood-Sullivan, 2020, pastel, 16 x 16 in., available to preserve the colors and values from artist, plein air and studio • (LEFT) Liz Haywood-Sullivan I’ve been using, I can carry this box back to my studio. This way, if I am doing a larger studio piece, not only do I have a study to reference, Nancie King Mertz’s

BY COMPARISON but I have the actual colors I used on location. plein air pastel setup As pastel is a dry medium, you don’t have to worry about wet Hard pastels paint. Finished paintings get covered with thin sheets of glassine More binder, less pigment and clipped together for protection during transport. I’m messy, and Less intense colors I find wet paint tends to get all over everything. Pastel is much easier Don’t crumble or break as easily to clean up and doesn’t ruin clothing or car interiors as easily as wet Ideal for crisp edges and fine detail media. Obviously, it isn’t the best in fog, rain, or snow, but you can always tuck yourself under an eave or work from your car. Where it Soft pastels shines is on windy days, because you don’t need to worry about grit More pigment, less binder or bugs getting embedded in your painting.

Intense, vibrant colors Allow for lots of color to be applied quickly Easy to blend and layer colors

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NATASHA ISENHOUR

PURE COLOR

My introduction to pastel began badly. An unfortunate encounter with a set of super hard sticks and some lackluster paper convinced me to stick with oil. Many years later I was grappling with issues of overworking; I wanted to loosen up and edit my subject for a more spontaneous feel in my work. My studio mate and best friend, Margi Lucena, invited me to take over her pastels and give the medium another try. I came to realize that the softer pastels afforded me the immediacy, spontaneity, soft edges, and loose beautiful strokes that my oil painting technique could not. I quickly became addicted to the rich pigments and the freedom to work in a way that expressed the intention of the painting rather than to glaze my way to a photographic representation in oil.

When I set out to paint outdoors, I leave early in the morning.

I love the low angle of the sun at the bookends of the day; in those fleeting minutes, my aim is to capture the unique quality of light and long shadows. Pastels allow me to quickly record the big shapes of light and dark that make the scenes so fetching. Once I have that block-in, or “map” as I call it, I can linger over the image and develop it into a finished work in the field.

In particular, I find the mark-making capability of pastels well suited to representing geometric planes like fields and rock faces. I’m also crazy about painting water by dragging color over color to create the illusion of depth. And when it comes to trees, it’s difficult to

Sun Skipping Natasha Isenhour 2019, pastel, 11 x 14 in.

Private collection Plein air

Aspen Morning Natasha Isenhour 2019, pastel, 12 x 24 in.

Collection of City of Central City, CO Plein air Natasha Isenhour

paint oils wet-on-wet and not get muddy when making sky holes or pushing soft-focus branches into the sky. The dry medium of pastel allows me to take the clean end of a stick and drop in pure color where I need to right away.

Although made from the same pigments found in a tube of oil, acrylic, or watercolor, pastel includes an insignificant percentage of binder by comparison, making it the purest medium available to an artist. And although they must then be framed under glass, it’s important to recognize that pastels are permanent. In fact, some of the oldest paintings on view in museums around the world are pastels. In short, pastel isn’t new, it isn’t temporary, and it’s no more fragile when properly framed than any other 2D piece of art in your collection. As such, you should be prepared for a pastel painting to be valued the same as an oil.

IN GOOD COMPANY Pastel societies across the country provide support, instruction, camaraderie, and opportunities for exhibition. The International Association of Pastel Societies (IAPS) unites their efforts to demonstrate the validity and quality of pastel fine art. To learn more about the organization or to find a pastel society near you, visit iapspastel.org.

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Market Day, 2020, oil, 6 x 8 in., private collection, studio

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KEVIN MACPHERSON

BEYOND THE PAINTBRUSH New Mexico artist Kevin Macpherson regularly explains the importance of seeing to participants in his workshops. Today the coronavirus pandemic has him sheltering in place at his house in Loreto, on Mexico’s Baja California Sur, where he’s found fresh ways to explore his own artistic vision.

——— BY BOB BAHR ———

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ook for something red,” Kevin Macpherson tells his students. “The next day, look up. The day after that, look down. Challenge the way you see. Force yourself to view the world around you in a new, unfamiliar way.”

Now in self-isolation, the internationally known oil painter beloved by collectors and famous for his seminal book on painting in series titled Reflections on a Pond has been exploring creative outlets beyond painting. He credits two objects with helping him in these discoveries — his camera and the rocks along the shore. He’s been looking down.

“As I walked along the beach here in Mexico, I found a rock that looked like a heart shape. I must have 500 heart-shaped rocks in my garden. It’s actually becoming a bit obsessive. I have hundreds of rocks, and nature makes them all different. One may have a twist; another, a groove. Every rock is from here, and they are all handpicked. I guess because my eye is trained to look at shapes, I find a lot of interesting examples as I walk my dog, Mooshu. The rock in my hand at this moment would make you swear someone carved it — it’s like a Rodin head. I keep a box of rocks to take to the classroom as a volunteer art ambassador, and I ask kids, ‘What do you see here? A tortoise? A dolphin?’ As an artist I react to any kind of visual stimulation. The unexpected is important; you need to stay curious and fresh. Don’t expect an outcome. Don’t expect to have your painting or photo come out a certain way.”

Recognized as one of America’s most accomplished impressionistic plein air painters, KEVIN MACPHERSON remains intensely curious, always embracing new opportunities to feed his creative spirit. kevinmacpherson.com

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Macpherson points out that when he goes plein air painting, he doesn’t have a specific scene or destination in mind. “When I go out, I don’t think ‘mountains’ or ‘beach’; I just go looking,” he says.

“I let my eyes wander and accept shapes and colors that combine to form inspiring abstract compositions. Those abstract shapes host reality.” The artist applies his artistic eye to various projects, including painting and photography, and he says the relative solitude (for years his life has been full with travel to numerous points around the globe) created by the pandemic has him considering more jewelrymaking and more sculpting. The photography and rock collecting aren’t new for 2020 — Macpherson has always seen himself as an artist first and a painter second. The fun part is seeing the similarities in his choice and arrangement of rocks for a photo and the composition of his paintings. “Students will ask, ‘How do I find my style?’ Just see,” he says. “Artists need to find something that really interests them, then go for it, and see where it leads. You don’t have to have any reason for pursuing an idea other than a personal obsession or personal curiosity. Your style will come naturally if you follow your muse. Painting should be fun, and a painter should always be playful with the work. For me, it’s a joyful process, playing with these rocks.”

Mass Dot Line

Peek a Boo

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Shoji

California Valle 2019-20, oil, 36 x 72 in.

Private collection Studio

BUILDING BLOCKS His photos showcase the aforementioned rocks, plus driftwood, mold growing on a wall, light hitting the façade of a building, and similar elements that offer compositional building blocks. When Macpherson is struck by something he sees, he finds the perfect vantage point with his iPhone’s camera. The resulting art may be less of a collaboration with nature than he has when painting, where he can move elements around and edit out objects that distract from the main idea, but the camera lens and the frame it enforces on the scene still allow some composing.

“How could one imagine all the compositions that nature offers us?” Macpherson asks. “I could never be that creative. But nature inspires me to explore. It gives me all the tools to make something. Every day, as soon as I open my eyes, I am on a vision quest. Nature, light, shapes, and colors fill me with inspiration. It’s up to me to see and grasp how sliding five feet to the right of something can make a more powerful composition or how moving even just three inches in one direction, the doorknob that I don’t want in the picture won’t be visible. So I do have some impact on the composition.”

MAKING CHOICES Taking a photograph as a work of art and working from a photograph are very different activities. When taking a photo, the artist finds intriguing subjects and frames them for maximum impact. When working from a reference photo, the artist chooses what to change or delete in the composition.

And then there’s plein air painting.

“When working from a photo, I often change the scene a lot,” Macpherson says. “Yes, great photo reference can make great paintings, but I often change the composition significantly, based on my 40 years of painting on location and my use of plein air studies. However, when I am painting outside, I am quite literal to what I’m seeing. By ‘literal,’ I mean that I try to capture the unique color and value relationships I see at a particular moment. Of course, there is a smorgasbord of information from which I could choose, edit, emphasize, and compose.

I am the director, but it is nature in front of me that offers the experience. I do emphasize certain elements and sublimate others, but there are limits — putting a blue sky on a cloudy day scene is one change I wouldn’t make. The sky influences everything we see, so elements won’t relate properly if you change the light.”

(TOP) Camden Harbor, 2005, oil, 12 x 16 in., private collection, plein air • (ABOVE) Autumn Mood, 2015, oil, 24 x 36 in., private collection, plein air • (RIGHT) New Mexico Winter

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(TOP) Sea of Cortez Fish, 2018, watercolor, 11 x 14 in., private collection, plein air • (RIGHT) Angel, 2015, oil, 24 x 36 in., private collection, studio • (LEFT) Chirp

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Flower Seller, Guatemala 2020, oil, 6 x 8 in.

Private collection Studio

Often when a painter posts a spectacular photograph on social media, several people will respond along the lines of “You should paint that!” Macpherson is unlikely to do so.

“Paint them? The photos are satisfactory as they are,” he says. “I don’t think painting the subject would reveal anything different about it. The photo is the art. I’ve really been enjoying the exploration of photography as a medium in itself, especially in terms of looking for abstraction. I’ve taken photos of mold stains creeping down the corner of a wall [see New Mexico Winter] and the textures of trash — all of which rival beautiful abstract paintings.

That said, I can see that some of these photos

may influence me when it comes to adding shapes behind portraits.”

The artist also directs us to Shoji, which features the shadow of a palm branch on a wall. “The whole wall was nothing, but with the shoji screen and the shadow, it really became something beautiful.” As for the subject of Mass Dot Line, he says, “five people may walk past that building and not notice the view. I think what separates artists from other people is that we see differently and think differently — interestingly, without consciously trying. I’ve enjoyed inspiring other people around here to look at their surroundings with fresh eyes, Between Two Worlds 4 and take photographs as well. That’s what art does for us, right? It helps us see things differently.”

BOB BAHR has been writing and editing articles about art instruction for more than 12 years. He lives with his wife and two sons at the northern tip of Manhattan.

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RAY ROBERTS

THE CURIOUS CREATOR Understanding why a landscape looks the way it does helps painter Ray Roberts describe it better on canvas.

——— BY STEFANIE LAUFERSWEILER ———

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andscape painters are used to pondering questions of what, when, where, and how when exploring a scene, but digging deeper into the “whys” is what leads West Coast artist Ray Roberts to his most satisfying work.

“One thing I’m not sure I communicated well enough is my desire to understand everything I paint,” Roberts e-mailed me after I interviewed him for this story. An afterthought to our phone call the day before, his message was short and simple. But as I began writing, I realized

California landscape artist RAY ROBERTS draws inspiration from the work of Len Chmiel, John Asaro, Mark Daily, Dan McCaw, Ned Jacob, and his wife, Peggi Kroll-Roberts. rayrobertsart.com

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how much his statement said about what sets his paintings apart from so many others.

“There are questions I ask myself when trying to understand my surroundings,” Roberts says. “Why is something weather-worn?

What is causing the earth to erode in that specific way? Am I standing in an ancient riverbed? This helps me describe places in paint, but mostly it satisfies my curiosity.”

That curiosity, and Roberts’ persistence in seeking the answers, has taken his viewers to many incredible places, and landed the artist in a few precarious situations. “Peggi [his wife] says I should wear a helmet when I go out to paint,” Roberts says with a laugh. Indeed, the vantage points in some of his seaside paintings deposit us La Jolla Cliffs 2020, oil, 30 x 40 in.

Studio “La Jolla was a thriving artist colony early in the 20th century,” Roberts says. “The shoreline still offers plenty of inspiration for the traditional oil painter, as these rugged cliffs provide a dramatic rampart to the all-powerful Pacific Ocean.” This painting earned the artist the Irvine Museum Gold Medal Award at the 109th Annual California Art Club Gold Medal Exhibition this year. To paint the cliffs, he says, is “awe-inspiring and humbling.”

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East of St. George 2019, oil, 12 x 16 in.

Plein air This scene is from the back roads northeast of St. George, Utah. “Spending my formative years in this type of country always seems to bring me back,” says the artist. “Flat-top mesas and meandering draws [parallel ridges with low ground between them] tempt me to explore and reflect. I didn’t run into many folks there.”

THE SUBJECT THAT TEACHES THE MOST Roberts says some of his greatest growth as an artist has come while painting sunsets. “For one thing, they change very fast, so you have to paint them very fast,” he says. “You have to paint intuitively and not overthink it.” It also forces you to sort out value and color quickly. “If you see a bright red sun and you put the red down on your canvas straight from the tube, it’s going to be too dark,” Roberts says. “You have to realize that value trumps color.”

The speed of sunsets has taught Roberts how to better prepare for the next opportunity.

“After 20 minutes, it’s completely gone, and you’re stuck with what you’ve got,” he says. “It makes you think, ‘What do I need to do next time? What do I need to anticipate?’ I need to anticipate the colors I’ll use. I need to have a plan and execute it quickly, then I have to leave it alone.”

View Overlooking San Juan Creek 2008, oil, 18 x 24 in.

Plein air Caspers Park is an 8,000-acre wilderness preserve in Orange County, California. Roberts found this serene spot near the park’s visitor center, which he says took “a little bushwhacking” to get to. The painting took him three days to finish. “‘Patience is a virtue’ comes to mind waiting for the light to get to the right location,” he says. “And then, you paint like mad.”

so thrillingly close to massive cliff drops and rockpounding waves that one can’t help but wonder what it takes to gain those stunning views.

“You have to keep one eye on the water while painting because there are those phantom waves you hear about, the ones that sweep people out to sea,” he says. “They do come in sets, but you can lose track.”

DARING TO TRY Roberts and his wife, fellow artist Peggi KrollRoberts, share a 1,000-square-foot studio on 54

their 20-acre ranch in Angels Camp, an old California Gold Rush town, and are never that far from enticing subject matter. “I love Pacific Grove, the Monterey coast, and La Jolla,” he says. Drier climes in southern Utah and Arizona also appeal to him. “I love the starkness of the desert, and the challenge of painting water — it’s all fair game,” he says.

Roberts admits it can be difficult to find new inspiration in places he’s been so many times. “I’m always up for a challenge, though,” he says. “Anything that looks as though it

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would be tough to paint and make it look like something, that’s like a dare to me.”

When Roberts heads outside to paint, he focuses on collecting ideas and color notes. “I don’t try to do anything too polished, too finished, or too big,” he says. “I do it mostly just for color sketches that I can work from later in the studio. I paint fast, using as much saturated color as I can.”

Roberts did illustration work in acrylic (he studied advertising and illustration at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena) before shifting to fine art painting in oils. “It was in

Pinyon Peak 2016, oil, 30 x 40 in.

Studio “The oak trees describing the drainage of the terrain have always captured my attention,” Roberts says of the setting for Pinyon Peak. “Toss in a little poison oak for accent, and you have the colorful coastal range lining the 10-mile stretch inland along the coast of California.”

Rock Pile 2006, oil, 20 x 24 in.

Plein air Roberts discovered this dramatic oceanfront view in Heisler Park, located on California’s Laguna Beach, and was enthralled by the variety of texture and light.

“I returned over three days to catch the morning light and study the waves rolling over the translucent water, with the rocks submerged below,” he says.

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San Juan Confluence 2019, oil, 12 x 16 in.

Plein air “Morning light in undisturbed Southern California has always enticed me,” Roberts says. “This magical spot is east of San Juan Capistrano. Be prepared to scramble through some scrub oak to get here.”

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Shore Breakers, Laguna Beach 2018, oil, 20 x 24 in.

Plein air Coastal action in midday light frequently attracts Roberts. “The bright, specular sunlight on the water speaks of ’shiny things,’” he says. “With backlit splashes and silhouetted cliffs … there’s much visual description for my eyes to take in.”

Moonrise Over Laguna 2010, oil, 20 x 24 in.

Plein air This painting took Roberts three days to complete. “I had only that time of day between dusk and dark to capture the light just as the moon was rising,” he says. “I was able to get most of the painting done when, on the last day, the moon rose full at just the right time.”

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Crashing Surf 2019, oil, 12 x 16 in.

Plein air

Marble Canyon Draw 2016, oil, 10 x 12 in.

Plein air “On a paint-out with a group of friends, I found an overlook with this minor canyon emptying to the Colorado River just north of the Grand Canyon,” Roberts says. The time of day (just past noon) proved challenging for the artist, but he found the midday light irresistible. “Multi-colored strata and the lightcolored rocks that line the path toward the river were great elements for me.”

High Desert Vista 2012, oil, 12 x 16 in.

Plein air “High clouds can be a nemesis for me,” says Roberts. “However, this time they spoke to me with the artful shapes I discovered in them.” He couldn’t pass up painting from this vista viewpoint along the way to Vermilion Cliffs in Arizona, just south of the Utah border.

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Virgin River Barracks Canyon, Utah 2015, oil, 12 x 16 in.

Plein air

Main Beach Laguna 2016, oil, 20 x 24 in.

Plein air “Late morning light near the beach, with its heavy atmosphere, is another attractive setting for me,” Roberts says. “This was one of those times where you walk by something every day and then all of a sudden it reveals itself to you.” Inspired by his wife’s art, Roberts is trying out figures in some of his newest work: “Peggi has an incredible ability to capture figures anywhere she sets up.”

the early 1990s that I started getting the bug to paint,” he says. “We were living in Scottsdale [Arizona] when we [he and Peggi] started taking classes. Western art was very popular there, and Plein Air Painters of America started to grow really fast and become very popular.”

Steady nudging from a fellow illustrator friend who had successfully transitioned to fine art motivated Roberts. “Kevin [Macpherson] was that friend who encouraged both of us,”

Roberts says. “In my illustration work, I sort of specialized in land and water, and I’ve always loved the outdoors, so I was naturally drawn to painting landscapes.”

CAPTURING IT ALL Roberts starts with shadow shapes when laying out a composition, using the white of the canvas as his white in the scene he’s painting. “In my workshops, I tell my students that I imagine everything as a marble statue, focusing on light, shadow, and form,” he says. “My illustration background always steers me toward establishing the form, painting the shadow shapes first — thinking in terms of value, but painting in color.”

He supplements his sketches with photos and video to help take in as much on site as he can. He’s learned the hard way to gather more information than he thinks he’ll need. “I’ll go to the Grand Canyon and I’ll be really happy with all the sketches I’ve done,” Roberts says. “Then, once I’m home, I’ll realize I don’t have anything from the foreground — no bushes, trees, or rocks, only distant views. So I’m constantly reminding myself to collect those different kinds of details.

The Grand Canyon is 500 miles away from me, so I can’t just easily go back.”

In 30 years of painting, Roberts has gotten better at lassoing fleeting moments — “when there’s something special with the light,” he says — but water is still the beast that’s untamable. “It’s constantly moving, and no two waves are alike. You might catch a glimpse

of something that’s spectacular, and then it’s gone. You try to relive it in your mind’s eye, and then you try to see if you can recall glimpses of it as the waves return. It’s kind of heart-wrenching — an honest challenge that drives me to keep trying to capture it.”

In the studio, Roberts can slow down and be more exact with his intentions. He often spends more time planning a painting than painting it. “It’s not about what I’ve done right, it’s about fixing whatever I’ve got wrong with my painting,” he says. “I make adjustments, trying to get it all in the right order — the drawing, values, color temperature, and intensity. I find my brightest color and my grayest, my darkest and my lightest. Sometimes I’ll spend an extraordinary amount of time just getting my light and dark shapes worked out.”

KEEPING CURIOUS His curiosity about what is causing the details he notices on location is probably the trait that continues to serve Roberts best as an artist. “Erosion, wind, water — all of it has an effect on the landscape,” he says. “Say you’re looking at a distant cliff and you see a darkish line at the bottom of it. It’s important to be curious about what that is, to understand what you’re looking at and why it’s there. It could be the runoff of the water at the base of the cliffs; that’s where a lot of trees can get a good foothold and grow big. There could be rockslides that create these wonderful smooth patches. In the desert, there are different kinds of rock with unique facets that affect how light will reflect off of them or be absorbed.”

The questions may be never-ending, but that’s part of what keeps Roberts engaged and excited to paint. “I’m humbled by nature, and I’m always surprised that I can never invent what nature offers me,” he says. “That’s where all the answers are, when you’re outdoors.”

STEFANIE LAUFERSWEILER is a writer based in Cincinnati, Ohio.

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Expanded Digital Edition Content

Vermillion Cliffs, oil, 10 x 16 in.

Graiguenamanagh, oil, 9 x 12 in.

THE ARTIST’S LANDSCAPE PALETTE Ray Roberts uses Utrecht oil paints, with these colors routinely on his palette: • Cadmium yellow medium • Cadmium orange • Cadmium red • Cadmium red light • Phthalo red rose or permanent alizarin crimson • Dioxazine purple • Ultramarine blue • Cobalt blue • Cerulean blue hue • Viridian • Sap green • Phthalo yellow green • Radiant green • Titanium white (large tube)

Fish Creek Bluff (oil, 12 x 16 in.)

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Expanded Digital Edition Content

Museum Beach La Jolla, oil, 12 x 16 in.

Heisler Park View, oil, 12 x 16 in.

Ray Roberts at work

Laguna Shore, oil, 12 x 16 in.

PleinAir Magazine publisher Eric Rhoads spoke to Ray Roberts for the PleinAir Podcast in 2019. Have a listen.

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DOUG CLARKE

INSPIRED BY THE SILVER SCREEN Much of the excitement in a Doug Clarke painting comes from the cinematic and moody feel that’s at the core of the Virginia oil painter’s aesthetic.

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raveling down a rural road at night, one is likely to come across an old gas station. Most drivers will speed on by. Passing artists will feast quickly upon the fleeting scene. Doug Clarke may very well stop and paint it.

Clarke finds such scenes appealing for several reasons. For one thing, he lives in Virginia, and anyone who has experienced a summer night in the South knows what people

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——— BY BOB BAHR ——— mean when they say “Southern Gothic.” The humidity is tangible, the atmosphere loaded with life suspended in a languid soup. Things happen on hot summer nights in the South.

Even an empty gas station feels on the verge of witnessing something. It can be spooky, but it always feels alive.

The artist is also a movie buff, and one can imagine any number of films starting or eventually settling on a secluded setting like our gas station. Many of the most powerful films made

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are heavy with mood, and most all of Clarke’s works follow suit.

His paintings also appear pregnant with possibilities, especially from a narrative view. One imagines that the seemingly unpopulated gas station is about to become an important place in a story. Dramatic action is rarely front and center in a Doug Clarke piece, but that couple strolling down the sidewalk in an urban scene are in the middle of living a life, one that the artist makes us

Full Moon Over 15th St. Pier 2016, oil, 12 x 24 in.

Private collection Plein air

feel is rich and eventful. It makes us wonder about their story.

SETTING THE STAGE Clarke welcomes the description “cinematic” when speaking of his art. Indeed, many of his pieces feel like potent stills from well-shot films.

Sparsely populated, his paintings seem to be setting the stage for an event, the actors not yet in the frame. But don’t call them lonely. “It’s not loneliness they portray; it’s the enjoyment of solitude,” he says. “It’s an introspective moment of reflection, of self-awareness. There are usually one or two people in my paintings because I like implying a story. The figures are the characters in my film.”

DOUG CLARKE takes to the streets to capture the vanishing landscapes of Southeastern Virginia. liquidmethod.com

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(ABOVE) Coppola’s Deli, 2014, oil, 9 x 12 in., private collection, plein air • (LEFT) Thursday in Norfolk, 2015, oil, 12 x 16 in., collection the artist, plein air

His inspirations from the world of cinema include the great Japanese director Akira Kurosawa, Francis Ford Coppola (especially Apocalypse Now), and most of all, Martin Scorsese (especially Taxi Driver). He also notes the mood and atmosphere of classic film noir movies, including Dark Passage, which Clarke also finds notable due to the chemistry between the two leads — Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart. Blade Runner, both the original 1982 film and Blade Runner 2049, its 2017 sequel, are also high on Clarke’s list. “I think about how Coppola set the mood for Apocalypse Now, creating a tension that builds,” he says. “We kind of already know how it’s going to end, yet we can’t pull away. I hope that I create that quality in some of my paintings, too — that I instill them with an air of mystery.”

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(RIGHT) Oceanview Ice House, 2017, oil, 9 x 12 in., private collection, plein air • (BELOW) Night Calls the Fisherman, 2016, oil, 9 x 12 in., collection the artist, plein air

IMPOSING A MOOD Something happened here, or something is about to happen here. That’s the feeling one gets from Clarke paintings such as Thursday in Norfolk. How does he get such a strong sense of mood into his work? The artist laughs a little when asked this. “If I can’t set a mood, I have a lot of work to do,” he replies. “I actively try to impress a mood on a painting.

I think that everybody has to listen to their own inner voice. You have to want to have mood. Some artists are happy to create a technically great painting, and some have more mood than others.

Imposing a mood is a goal you have to want. I would say, watch a lot of films —

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(RIGHT) Hot Springs Laundry, 2017, oil, 18 x 24 in., private collection, plein air • (BELOW) Looking for Trouble, 2018, oil, 24 x 36 in., collection the artist, studio

not necessarily your Hollywood blockbusters, but a lot of offbeat films.”

Mood has been an element in art at least since the Renaissance. Clarke singles out one painting he saw when he was young that drove home the power of mood in a painting. “I’m not as big of a fan of the rest of his work, but Hopper’s Nighthawks is so impressive, especially in person,” says the artist. “It had an emotional impact on me the first time I saw it.” In general, Clarke seems to take his inspirations with a grain of salt. He has taken workshops with some of the top names in the representational art world, but he clearly is his own man, incorporating only the ideas and advice that dovetail with his personal vision.

A TENDENCY FOR INTROSPECTION This vision is shaped by personal experiences that seemed to reinforce a tendency for introspection in Clarke. “I, and a group of friends,

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would grab our skateboards and dash off into the night, and occasionally get chased by the cops,” he reports. “It was all good fun, and definitely a better outlet than many things. I used to skate on curbs or loading docks and closed businesses at night when the police weren’t out as much. I never once thought I would get shot, which is a concern these days. But skating, jumping around closed skate parks, and running

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when the security guards came after us — that was a thrill. For a while in high school I was working the night shift at an Exxon, in one of those little pillboxes. Working those solitary jobs allowed me to draw and explore.”

Another gig that Clarke had put him alone in a crowd. “I worked as a caricature artist on the pier next to a bar in Virginia Beach, and there was an electricity in the air at night. You could

Stranded 2015, oil, 12 x 16 in.

Private collection Studio

— learn basic chords, then go further. I added a new color recently and learned how it interacted with the others on the palette. Color is not a crash course. It takes a lifetime to really learn it. There’s always something more to learn about color.”

MAGICAL MOMENTS Place Clarke solidly in the column of artists who continually seek challenge, change, experimentation, education, and growth. “I like to drive,” he says. “Sometimes I have a scene in mind that I’ve encountered while driving. But mainly I like to drive and just see what happens. It’s that excitedefinitely feel it. My grandmother worked at one this comes from Clarke’s enjoyment of night drives, armed with a camera. “I love going out ment of not knowing that I love. Sometimes I of the hotels on the beach and I would stay with have to pass a scene several times before I deterher occasionally and experience the nights on the shooting at night,” says the artist. “Norfolk is a very old town, and I find things that resonate mine if I’m actually seeing what I’m seeing or if I boardwalk and Atlantic Avenue strip.” with me. It’s interesting because I am conflicted just think I’m seeing it. The car allows us to go out That job drawing caricatures gave Clarke sometimes because a lot of my paintings feel and explore. I have driven two or three hours and an unexpected skill: the ability to easily talk dated, with old trains, buildings, or cars. It seems had nothing strike me. Other times something while painting, which has served him well like there’s nothing that’s new in them. The artist changes, the light is different, or I am different, when he is tapped to paint a demonstration or and it’s there and I go paint it. Those are magical give a workshop. “There’s a lot of spatial explo- William Wray said during a workshop that we moments when you discover something and it’s ration within your head as an artist, and some- shouldn’t be painting old boxers but instead the right time and you have your paints with you. times it’s too much. Some of my best paintings mixed martial arts fighters. He said we should speak to our time. But there’s something that “But mostly, it’s the excitement of the happen when I am talking. When I talk while unknown. What is this going to do? How is it painting, I run on autopilot. It’s a weird feeling a ’60s Pontiac has that new cars don’t have: so much character and great design.” Thus, we see going to work? I like trying new tools with which to see the painting afterward, as I just reacted and really didn’t think about the painting at all old cars, relatively old architecture, and plenty of to paint. I’m always on the lookout for things well-used trains in Clarke’s paintings. that will make interesting marks on a painting. I while doing it. I try not to think about it too The oil painter’s technique does not involve make digital paintings with Procreate. I’ll also use much, but I do look out for a sense of depth and space, to create an environment that makes preliminary drawings. “Time is valuable,” he says. old newspapers or old photos and make brushes “I imagine where I want things to be on the surwith those. I found an old typewriter head from the scene a little bit more believable.” face, and I start placing paint. Sometimes it’s just an IBM, one of those round ones. How will that throwing colors down immediately. Sometimes I work, rolling it around on the canvas? I also have A JOURNEY OF EXPLORATION block in with transparent red oxide or a wash of some ideas for some stencils and I’m looking for Clarke studied at Virginia Commonwealth yellow. Not doing a preliminary drawing opens the right material to make them with. I utilize University, in Richmond, where he learned the opportunity for things to be discovered. It lets brayers and old brushes. Sometimes it’s the old, about design and composition and graduated the excitement build. It’s like, hey, let’s see what ratted-out brushes that work best. I don’t have a magna cum laude. But he was not thought of as happens. Let’s let the painting evolve.”

Charlie Hunter kind of squeegee, but I do have a a prodigy. “I failed art class several times during The artist sometimes seems allergic to rubber piece for destroying some detail. Somejunior high and high school,” he says. “I didn’t convention, but logic and best practices generally times I feel my painting is too technical, so I use want to create an interior-decorated cereal box. I wasn’t interested in doing their assignments. Also, rule the day. For instance, his approach to color is the rubber piece to obliterate detail and leave rooted in the limited palettes endorsed by Kevin what is most important.”

Virginia Beach is very conservative. One teacher Clarke concludes, “There has to be some commented on a sketch in my sketchbook by say- Macpherson and Tom Nachreiner, but he doesn’t hesitate to embrace new colors on his palette. mystery — a sense of discovering, uncovering, ing that it was ‘very negative.’ Man, I wish there “There are different things you can achieve by or rediscovering. That’s what makes someone was the internet when I was growing up. There’s using different colors, so there’s no master palette paint their whole life. I need to push myself and so much there that I would have explored.”

— unless you put all of the colors available on it,” explore.”

These days, he is still exploring the night.

His catalog of images is not primarily nocturnes, Clarke says. “But for setting a mood, you must have color harmony, and having a limited palette BOB BAHR has been writing and editing articles but the night paintings certainly stand out. really helps with that. Paint small, paint a lot, While the daytime works have plenty of mood, about art instruction for more than 12 years. He lives with and paint with a limited palette. It’s like music the night scenes positively drip with it. Part of his wife and two sons at the northern tip of Manhattan.

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destination inspiration

THE MAGIC OF SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE Thomas Jefferson Kitts, Anne Blair Brown, Frank Gardner, and Fran Ellisor take us on a tour of one of their favorite painting destinations.

——— BY KELLY KANE ———

P

erched 6,000 feet above sea level in the central highlands of Guanajuato, this colorful colonial enclave has long been a magnet for creatives in the know. Although it very nearly fell to a devastating influenza pandemic at the beginning of the 20th century, today the city is considered one of Mexico’s crown jewels, charming visitors with its storied history, enchanting Baroque/Neoclassical architecture, and seemingly eternal spring.

A pivotal player in the early days of the Mexican War for Independence and onetime epicenter of the country’s silver trade, the city was named in 1542 for the Franciscan monk Juan de San Miguel, who founded it. Allende was added in 1826, five years after Mexico’s libera-

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tion from Spanish rule, to honor Ignacio Allende, a native son and hero of the revolution. At the heart of the cobblestoned city, the dramatic pink towers of the neo-Gothic church Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel rise above the leafy main plaza, El Jardín. With parts of its old section listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2008, San Miguel has attracted foreign artists who have made their own mark on the city’s artistic and cultural legacy.

One such influencer, the Peruvian diplomat and artist Felipe Cossío del Pomar, visited the town in 1927 and was enchanted by the quality of light. More than 10 years later, he opened the Escuela Universitaria de Bellas Artes (University School of Fine Arts) in a former convent. After World War II, many U.S. soldiers took advantage of the GI bill and the low cost of living in San Miguel to study art there, and later at the Instituto Allende.

To this day, the city continues to boast a thriving art scene. And who better to introduce us to this enchanting place than plein air painters who have come to know it so well.

A woman making her way on the narrow sidewalks with her handmade crafts

(OPPOSITE PAGE) Morning in the Jardín, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico Thomas Jefferson Kitts 2018, oil, 16 x 12 in.

Available from artist Plein air

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destination inspiration

Above the Parroquia, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico Thomas Jefferson Kitts 2018, oil, 12 x 16 in.

Available from artist Plein air

THOMAS JEFFERSON KITTS

A Celebration of Life

In San Miguel, life is lived on the street. You can find things to paint anywhere you look, but the Jardín (the lush town square) is the place to start. Vendors, shop owners, and locals make the Jardín their living room on Friday and Saturday nights. Here, you can see young children playing, teens courting, parents relaxing, and grandmothers keeping a vigilant eye on everything and everyone. Even you.

Some of my favorite attractions in the Jardín, or in el Centro, include the indigenous gothic Parroquia ands the Jarez Parque. But any side street will offer a leisurely stroll where you can discover centuries-old stone windows and doors, with tumbling bougainvillea, food carts, and open air cafes.

San Miguel is one of Mexico’s Pueblos Magicos, and people come from all over the world to experience it. Mexican nationals consider it to be the Paris of Mexico, and rightly so. It is a town for lovers and foodies, and just walking around as a couple can be exciting.

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Since San Miguel was built high upon a hill, there are long vistas and grand overviews to paint.

Immediately beyond the city there is the campo, a grassland that somehow manages to be both dry and lush at the same time. There are horse ranches, hot springs, crooked ravines, and an arboretum overflowing with flora and fauna next to a reservoir — most of it within walking distance of the Jardín.

(You always come back to the Jardín. Always.)

Further afield by taxi, there are small villages that specialize in local crafts and customs. A few hours away, there is the elegant state capital of Guanajuato, a town that once vied with Mexico City for supremacy back in the 17th century.

This area of Mexico is where much of the Spanish silver came from, and it can rightfully claim to be the birthplace of La Revolución Mexicana. In many ways, San Miguel hasn’t changed since. It can feel akin to walking the streets of the old Latin Quarter in Madrid, or even Toledo or Granada. San Miguel is

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Old Spain without having to cross the Atlantic.

THE PEOPLE Some Americans visualize Mexico as a dirty and dangerous place because that’s how it’s presented on TV and in movies. Mexicans as drug lords.

Mexicans as poor, uncivilized, and uneducated. But nothing could be further from the truth. To spend time with people who are so intent on celebrating life — who generously offer kindness with little expectation of anything in return — is humbling. It will also change your worldview. San Miguel was my first extended experience in a foreign country, and I feel all the richer for having had it. Wherever I go in the world, be it Italy, Ireland, Croatia, Spain, or Morocco, nothing compares to San Miguel, because that’s where I learned that people are inherently good.

Home to a wild potpourri of indigene, mestizos, and descendants of Spanish conquistadors, leavened with ex-pat Americans, Canadians, and artists from all over the world,

Behind the Parroquia, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico Thomas Jefferson Kitts 2018, oil, 16 x 12 in.

Available from Galeria Gardner, SMA Plein air

On the Corner of Ten, Ten, Pie, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico Thomas Jefferson Kitts 2017, watercolor, 16 x 12 in.

Available from artist Plein air

Studies of Frank’s Horse, San Miguel de Allende Thomas Jefferson Kitts 2018, oil, 12 x 16 in.

Collection the artist Plein air

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destination inspiration the streets of San Miguel are never quiet. There is always some festival, musical performance, or dance going on.

THINGS TO DO AND SEE Get up early to have breakfast in the Jardín. Watch as the town wakes up, with the man setting up the tables under the archways and the elderly lady preparing her flowers to sell. Visit the Instituto Allende, which was once an internationally renowned English-language art school. Visit the Bellas Artes, the Spanish-speaking equivalent. Visit the Biblioteca, where you can order a fine cup of coffee in the atrium and learn about the free concerts, talks, and performances happening that night. Bring your easel. Think about lunch or dinner as you paint. And yes, think about painting as you eat.

THE ARTIST’S PERSPECTIVE To put it simply, San Miguel is ¡todos el color! ¡mucho color!, and you must bring a full palette if you hope to capture the full riot. In San Miguel, all the senses are celebrated with an intensity we Americans cannot fully grasp until we experience it. I first

visited in 1996 with my wife and our 2-year-old. At this point, I’ve lost count of the times we’ve been there because we keep going back for more. In fact, we plan to rent a house next February and invite friends down from the States. I’ll also teach longer classes than I have before. I’ve taught in San Miguel three times now with Anne Blair Brown and Frank Gardner. Why stop? (¡Hola mi amigos!)

FAVORITE MEMORY There are so many stories to choose from. San Miguelians are usually polite and leave you to paint without interference, probably because the town has been an international art destination for over a century. The young children can be curious, but they are also reserved, and most of the time if they do stop, they just watch silently.

I was once painting the morning light descending on the Parroquia (see Morning in the Jardín), and a few children came over to see how I was doing. They wore neatly pressed school uniforms and carried book satchels. They decided to watch as I blocked in. After a while, I turned to the youngest and held my brush out at arm’s

San Miguel de Allende Overlook, Mexico Thomas Jefferson Kitts 2018, oil, 12 x 16 in.

Available from artist Plein air demonstration

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length. Taken aback, he became more shy and broke eye contact. But I kept holding the brush out, jiggling it and nodding to my painting. He stepped forward and took the brush and dipped it into some pure yellow. He then carefully applied a small dot to the sunlit roof of the cathedral and tried to hand the brush back. I shook my head no and nodded my head toward his friends. Each one stepped up and placed a dot on the canvas before the last one handed back the brush. Then, as the bells of the cathedral began to ring, they all broke into laughter and scattered before running up the hill to school.

Minutes later, their entire class returned with their teacher. Everyone sat down on the curb and watched as I worked. Not a word was spoken. When the painting was complete, the teacher stood up and so did his class. They all thanked me profusely with applause and a torrent of Spanish. At the time I didn’t understand the nuances, but I got the gist of what they were saying: “¡Eso Bueno! ¡Es Bonito! ¡Eso es muy cierto!”

That is San Miguel de Allende to me. It can be the same to you.

Es Mi Padre Anne Blair Brown 2018, oil, 11 x 14 in.

Private collection Plein air

ANNE BLAIR BROWN

The Local Vibe

San Miguel is great year-round, but I like to go in February when I’m at wit’s end with the winter cold. While the city has many wonderfully iconic vistas and monuments, I suggest strolling off the beaten path, through the narrow streets beyond the historic center near the fresh market. There you will get to experience more of the local vibe.

Tip: Don’t miss going home with some rotisserie chicken and fresh salsa. Just standing in line to buy them is an experience.

A subject I can never get enough of are the views of Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel. I recommend renting a flat with a good view of its pink sandstone towers, or at least walking up the hill (way up!) from El Jardín in any direction to see and paint it.

Regardless of where you look, however, you’ll be treated to color, color, color! My head spins and my heart sings from all the colorful buildings, not to mention the masses of seemingly electric bougainvillea. Just pack sturdy walking shoes and eat plenty of carbs if you plan to experience the town on foot, which I recommend. The city is very high in elevation and quite hilly.

Anne Blair Brown painting for her students in the shadow of Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel

I’m Down With That Anne Blair Brown 2017, oil, 11 x 14 in.

Private collection Plein air

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destination inspiration

FRANK GARDNER

The Paths Less Traveled

I have been living and painting in San Miguel for 30 years and still have no trouble finding subjects that inspire me. Although I love the vibrant colors and Spanish Colonial architecture in the heart of the city, I especially enjoy painting the varied landscape outside of town. I ride horses a lot and enjoy getting out into the countryside, onto the paths less traveled.

Speaking some Spanish here always helps, but people are used to foreign artists visiting, so as long as you are courteous and respectful, it’s a pretty easy place to get along. And don’t worry about not being able to find turpentine or mineral spirits when you get here; there are several art supply stores in the city, including El Pato, which is great.

Walking around the central areas of San Miguel de Allende is the best way to see and experience the town. It’s hilly, but that also makes for some nice composition for painting street scenes. Sometimes you can get quite a crowd of schoolchildren gathering around to watch, which can be fun but distracting. Always keep a good eye on your stuff.

Leonardo’s Donkey Frank Gardner n.d., oil, 12 x 16 in.

Private collection Plein air and studio

Morning in El Jardín

Quiet Plaza Frank Gardner n.d., oil, 6 x 8 in.

Available from artist Plein air 72

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Frank Gardner’s setup with Looking Out, n.d., oil, 12 x 16 in., available from artist, plein air and studio

FRAN ELLISOR

A Magical Feel

San Miguel has two seasons: wet and dry. I prefer going at the beginning of the dry season — in August or September — when the flowers are still plentiful. Because the city sits high in the mountains, it stays relatively cool, even in the summer.

Plus, at this time of year, there are fewer tourists, making it easier to move about and find painting spots. Regardless of when you go, however, the skies are always awesome, and the city welcoming.

The city is a foodie’s paradise, with rooftop restaurants and bars providing unforgettable views and excellent music as well. The markets, galleries, and shops are also world class, featuring incredible handmade artisanal products.

With around 70 shops and artists’ studio galleries nestled into an old fabric mill, La Fabrica Aurora on the north side of town offers another not-tobe-missed experience. Within the beautifully preserved mill, you can even find some of the original looms on view. Finally, lots of visitors admire the architecture of La Parroquia, on the main square, but be sure to go inside as well. It’s breathtaking and always open to the public.

Everywhere you look there’s something beautiful and exciting. The San Miguelanos are kind and generous; they are quick to smile and share their city with you. The city really is a ready-made canvas.

The street scenes of the UNESCO zone are abundant, and the markets are ripe with subject matter, but I also like to find places to paint away from the hustle and bustle — the farmland, vineyards, and small villages just outside of San Miguel. Of course, these are easier to visit if you have a car or a driver.

Back in the city, I almost always do a painting from the Jardín because it’s the heart and soul

La Bougainvillea at my Window Fran Ellisor 2019, oil, 16 x 12 in.

Available from Red Oak Gallery Plein air

Midday in the Lavender Field Fran Ellisor 2017, oil, 12 x 16 in.

Available from artist Plein air

of local life. In general, parks and squares offer more room to set up your gear, whereas it can be difficult to situate your easel and umbrella on the cobblestone streets or extremely narrow sidewalks. In those cases, I tend to look for doorways or small spots out of the way where I can set up in the shade of the buildings. The side streets not only offer quieter experiences, they can frame some of the most picturesque scenes as well, so the beauty overcomes the challenges.

Regardless of the scene, it’s the light I can never get enough of. Whether it’s early morning, midday, or evening, the light creates a magical feel. It’s why I will always return to paint in San Miguel.

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the elements

PAINTING WATER IN MOTION

This artist finds the fluidity of watercolor perfect for painting the ocean, but regardless of what medium you use, her tips for looking carefully at the unique qualities of water will help make your next trip to the coast a success.

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——— BY POPPY BALSER ———

y connection to the seashore reaches back to the earliest days of my childhood. I grew up with free rein to explore the gravelly and muddy beaches by our home on Passamaquoddy Bay, part of the Bay of Fundy, albeit under strict rules to not go in the water over my knees. (There was no dangerous current or violent surf where we lived, and it was the 1970s. Things were different then.)

I could wade, skip rocks on the water, dig for clams, and squish dead jellyfish under my bare feet. I could sit quietly for hours and watch the tide swallow or reveal rocks, seaweed, and ocean creatures. These early days spent exploring, discovering, and watching the tides shaped me, building my love of the water and of being outdoors.

Arguably the most changeable feature in the natural landscape, water can be challenging to paint. The ability to portray it convincingly comes from extensive observation and study. I began painting water because being near the ocean is important to me. I worked from photos at first, painting every sort of water scene, and in the process built a vocabulary of technical skills that I could draw from when I finally went out to paint at the seashore.

The more I paint water, the more I learn. For instance, although pure water is clear, its colors shift the deeper you look into it. Deep ocean water is not blue, but a marvelous rich green. It has a reflective surface that reveals what is going on above and around us, altering its appearance moment by moment as weather changes and light shifts.

My earliest seascape paintings were of the Point Prim coastline. Now, almost 15 years later, I am still painting the same spot. A lot of my time has gone into learning the craft of painting. Now I am working on the art of painting. Staying in one place and exploring the same subject lets me do that.

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Sparkling, Glistening, Dancing Water 2020, watercolor, 12 x 16 in.

Available from artist Plein air I go to the shore to paint when I need to shake the dust off, when I need inspiration for what to paint next. In this case I came home with a painting I will be happy to frame. Often as not, however, I come home with a series of “failed� sketches. Regardless of the outcome, I feel invigorated by the wide open view, the fresh air, the smell of the salt, and the sound of the waves. Drawing on my plein air experiences, I can use those sketches along with photos taken at the scene to make a painting in my studio, no longer bound by the constraints of time and tide and weather.

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the elements

DEMONSTRATION: Finding Inspiration at the Water’s Edge This photo of the scene, taken about halfway through my time on location, illustrates why the value study was so important. By this point, the waves had quieted (no white froth). Shortly after, the water started receding as well.

Step 1 I started with a value study, establishing the position of the rocks as they appeared at the moment I arrived. The tide moves quickly here, as much as six vertical feet an hour, so I knew they would be quickly covered by the water.

What I most wanted to figure out was how much white space to leave for foam and surf. In the end, I was pleased with the division of space between shore and water.

Step 3

Step 2 I drew the scene on a homemade panel — rough-textured watercolor paper mounted on gatorboard. I sketched the rocks in pencil as they looked at the time, not as they had been when I started the value study, varying their sizes and shapes. It was nearing full tide, so I knew the shapes would stay consistent for half an hour or so before they started changing again.

I was excited to begin painting, so I started to put in the sky and background water before I remembered to take a photo of my sketch. The paint in this photo is still very wet, so it looks darker here than it will in the finished painting (remember, watercolor lightens as it dries). To create the sense of light on the water in the background, I dragged a dry brush across the texture of the paper. I’ll add a couple of brushstrokes later, but that simple drybrush application offers almost all that part of the painting needs. I like when I can get as much done as possible in the first application of paint.

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I continued applying a first layer of color across the water area. I had several puddles of paint mixed up — a slightly green blue for the background water (cerulean blue, cobalt blue, and raw sienna light) and a warmer, slightly more violet blue for the middle-ground water (for this mix, I used less cerulean and added quinacridone rose). I applied the colors side by side and let them run together. In a few spots, I dropped in additional colors as I worked, all to create a sense of clear water with rocks and seaweed showing through.

As I approached the foreground, I made the mixtures more dilute to increase the sense of light. The nearer we are to the water, the less we see the reflection of the sky and the more we see of the water itself. In this case, the foam-filled water is running over and between predominantly neutral rocks, making it light in value and neutral in color. Overall, having masses of slightly different colors running together helps create a convincing sense of water.

Despite this layer looking rough and brushy, I worked slowly, being intentional about which areas would stay white (mostly at the margin of the land and around the foreground rocks) and which would receive color. I kept the paint quite fluid to allow the colors to run together as they changed from the background to the foreground. I painted the blue of the water right over the foreground rocks themselves to indicate the shaded parts; the blue showing through in places will also make the rocks look wet.

Step 4

Step 5

Keeping front-of-mind that the water is the star of this show, I subdued the other elements of the scene. I finished covering as much of my panel as possible with a first layer of color, aiming to complete as much of the painting in this stage as I could. I again had made several puddles of paint — a cool gray for the far distant headland, a warmer gray for the nearer headland and rocks, and a muted green for the distant trees. Because it was spring, the greens were quite brilliant, but I purposefully toned them down. I didn’t want a dash of brilliant green at the top of the painting to distract attention from the water.

I started this step with the green at the top and worked my way down, letting colors mix and mingle as I went. I dropped in warmer and cooler notes where it felt right. I dropped some of the foliage green into the very nearest rocks area, not only to show the seaweed but also to create balance and a connection between the foreground and background.

More than halfway there, I stepped back from the painting to assess what I’d done. At this stage, I needed to figure out the fewest things I could add to make it read as a completed scene. Since the tide was still moving, I needed to complete the water quickly before it changed too much. I added a few darker accents, rationing my brushstrokes.

Then it was time to develop the “frame” for the water. I started to add shadows and structural features to the shore. Although the paint on the distant headland was still wet, so it looks very dark in this photo, I intentionally kept those areas quite light to create the feeling of distance. Note the difference in value between the shadows on the distant rocks and in the foreground.

On days when the sea is rough, a lot of mist gets thrown up, creating a soft atmosphere.

I added as few details as I could — just enough to give a sense of the crumpled, complex shapes of the coast. I’ve significantly simplified all the landmasses — most of all in the back, but in the foreground as well. I painted the rocky structures of the nearer headland wet-in-wet as much as I could, using several puddles of paint, to subtly indicate the difference between light and shadow, dry land and wet rocks. The finished painting can be seen on the opening pages of this article.

WHEN TIME IS SHORT, WHY MAKE TIME FOR A VALUE STUDY? I’d made four previous trips to the coastline to make this demo. My first sketch showed promise, but after that I struggled. Looking back over my work, I saw a common theme. I’d fallen into the trap of thinking, “The water is moving too fast, I don’t have time to make a value study.” As a result, this painting — created coincidentally on World Ocean’s Day, a Canadian initiative to draw attention to the plight of the world’s oceans — came out darker and colder than I had intended.

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the elements

The color of the water we see is influenced by the angle of the sun relative to us. These two photos were taken at the same place at the same time of day — one almost directly facing toward the sun (above) , the other away from the sun (below).

Breezing Along 2019, watercolor, 15 x 22 in.

Available from artist Studio We’d been racing against this boat, and even though she’s usually faster, this time we were neckand-neck. It was an overcast day, and the water had a silvery gleam to it, yet we could see through the clear water right under the boat as she heeled over (tipped sideways) under the force of the wind.

I indicated the distinct shapes of the waves kicked up as the vessel sliced through the water with energetic direct brushstrokes. I simplified and flattened the surface in the distance to push it back, creating a sense of the vast expanse of ocean.

TIPS FOR PAINTING WATER

Fish Plant Alley 2019, watercolor, 11 x 14 in.

Available from artist Plein air This is a painting about reflections and the pattern of light and shadow. The bright white sides of the fish plants made strong reflections in the overhead light of an August afternoon. Note how the reflections of the sunlit buildings are darker than the structures themselves. Note also that the darkly shaded areas under the buildings allow us to see into the green water beneath the surface.

Under the Curtain of Night 2019, watercolor, 11 x 14 in.

Traveling with American Society of Marine Artists 18th National Exhibition Plein air I love to paint nocturnes on the water. The quiet of evening drops a curtain over the complicated clutter of the wharf, naturally simplifying the scene. The water is often more calm as the breeze settles at dusk and the reflections become more distinct. For this piece, I painted the atmosphere around the boats, and the water reflecting it, as one large mass encircling the vessels. Working at night on the water means that the paint stays wet, and therefore workable, for a much longer time than in the day.

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1. As time allows, do several small warmup studies of the color of the water and the shapes of the waves. Think of it as doing stretches before a race.

2. Adopt a “less is more” approach to painting the surface of moving water. A surprisingly few brushstrokes can show the forms and motion of the water. Excessive marks can result in the painting looking static.

3. A close look at an expanse of water will reveal subtle color shifts. Decide on an overall color, but be prepared to modify it here and there.

Let areas of slightly different colors run together to create a convincing sense of water.

4. Water will reflect what is going on in the sky above it. Create continuity in the scene by using the same colors to represent both sky and water.

5. The sharpest contrast in your painting should be at the focal point, not necessarily where the sky meets the water, so beware the urge to paint the horizon line razor sharp, even though it may look that way to you.

6. As waves churn up the water and stir tiny air bubbles into the foam, the water loses its tendency to reflect what is above and around it and shows more of what is mixed into it — seaweed, sand, and silt. The color of the water then changes based on the composition of the shore. Surf and foam on a pink sandy beach will be a different color from surf and foam on a gray sandy beach.

Expanded Digital Edition Content

BE PREPARED

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——— BY POPPY BALSER ———

Before traveling to a distant location, I often will do a series of studies of subjects I am likely to encounter. For example, prior to a trip to Bermuda for a plein air festival, I practiced painting palm trees and turquoise water.

Even when I may not have brush in hand at the moment, I mentally break water down into brushstrokes. Whether I’m on board a boat, on a dock, or standing on the shore, I find it enthralling to observe the patterns of the waves. As I watch, I try to identify in my mind the shapes that make up what I am seeing.

aving a good understanding of how to use your materials makes the hard job of painting outside just that bit easier.

It’s valuable to spend some time practicing in the studio before heading out to paint a tough landscape subject.

For painting at the coast, some of the skills to practice are ripples, still water, sparkly sun glare, or streaks of foam. Do this from photos first to keep it simple, and resist the urge to “make a painting”; just focus on building skills.

Grand Lake Regatta 2019, watercolor, 9 x 12 in.

Available from Camden Falls Gallery, Camden, ME Plein air I made this fresh water painting during a picnic on a sandbar in the midst of Grand Lake, New Brunswick. While I usually paint standing up, I did this one seated on the ground, mere feet from the edge of the water. This was the angle that gave the best perspective on the boats and the fronts of the waves coming toward me. The racing sailboats made several passes back and forth across the lake in front of me. My brushstrokes are unfussy and actually rather ragged, but their blocky simplicity helps tell the tale of being on a breezy shore on a bright summer day.

www.outdoorpainter.com / August-September 2020

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DEMONSTRATION: Mid-Tide Pools

Step 1

Step 4

Finished painting

August-September 2020 / www.outdoorpainter.com

Step 2

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Step 5

Schooner, Backlit 2020, watercolor, 16 x 20 in.

Available from Amicus Gallery, Chester, NS Studio Although she’s a classic beauty, When and If, a schooner commissioned by General George S. Patton after WWII, plays a supporting role to the main attraction in this painting — the colorful, gently rippling reflections of the backlit sails on the water. I used the direction and pattern of brushstrokes to show the direction of the wind on the water.

plein air salon

BEST IN SHOW

Seth Hopkins, executive director of Booth Western Art Museum, announces his top picks from the April competition.

First Place: Alley Kitty by John Whytock

Third Place: Barrelin’ Along by Kerne Erickson Second Place: A Winter’s Nap by Kathie Odom

www.outdoorpainter.com / August-September 2020

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plein air salon

‘BEST OF’ CATEGORY AWARDS

Water: Nukdik Point, Haines by Scott Anthony

Figure & Portrait: Chalk Walk by Ron Gallo

Nocturne, Sunrise, Sunset: Shining Seas

by Paula Holtzclaw

Pastel: From the Hearth by Barbara Groff Floral: Awakening by Diane Reeves

Oil: Sweet Anticipation by Simonne Roy

Watercolor: Midwestern Snowfall at the Homestead

by Devin Michael Roberts

Acrylic: Winter Barn by Michele Usibelli

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August-September 2020 / www.outdoorpainter.com

Outdoor Still Life: Lunch Break by Michael Dumas

Plein Air Only: Bathers, Valencia, Spain

by Bill Breidenbach

Building: The Peninsula by Tony D’Amico

Western: Honoring by James McGrew

Artist Under 30: Splash at White Rock Lake

by Katherine Martinez

Animal & Bird: Sanibel Seagulls by Derek Penix

Artist Over 65: Morro Bay Dawn by Tom Swimm

Landscape: To Run with the Puma

by R. Gregory Summers Drawing: The Street Tailor of Abidjan

by Sandhya Sharma

Vehicle: Big Business by Jim Wodark

www.outdoorpainter.com / August-September 2020

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plein air salon

THE ENVELOPE, PLEASE

J. Ben Whiteside, founder of Whiteside Galleries and Morris & Whiteside Auctions, presents these showstoppers from the May competition.

First Place: Sunlit Pastures by Kyle Ma

Second Place: Ride Again by Timothy Horn

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August-September 2020 / www.outdoorpainter.com

Third Place: Easton Farm Life by Bob Upton

‘BEST OF’ CATEGORY AWARDS

Water: Gulf Queen by TJ Cunningham

Floral: Yellow Roses with Lilies and Trumpet Vine

by Joe Anna Arnett

Outdoor Still Life: The Hawfinch Nest

by Lyubena Fox Landscape: Hallelujah by Linda Glover Gooch

Oil: Comes into the Light by Karen Ann Hitt

Nocturne, Sunrise, Sunset: Cicada Sunset

by Paula Holtzclaw

Watercolor: Ties that Bind by Angus McEwan

Pastel: Distant Storm by Liz Haywood-Sullivan

Figure & Portrait: A Posteriori

by Leonid Plekhanov

Acrylic: Riding to Jaco by Ray Richardson

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plein air salon

Vehicle: Decommissioned by Krystal Brown

Drawing: Learning the Ropes by Annette Randall

Winners of the annual PleinAir Salon are announced at the Plein Air Convention & Expo.

Because this year’s event was rescheduled due to the coronavirus, additional monthly competitions have been added to allow for more opportunities to enter before the awards are presented on August 11 in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

First, Second, and Third Place, along with the category winners of each bimonthly and monthly contest, are automatically entered into the annual competition. First prize in the annual Salon is $15,000 cash and the publication of the winning image on the cover of PleinAir Magazine, along with a feature story. Second Place earns an artist $3,000 and an article in the digital edition of PleinAir Magazine. Third Place yields $1,500 in cash.

Artists also earn cash for the top prizes in the monthly contests. First Place winners receive $600, with $300 going to Second Place, and $100 going to Third Place. pleinairsalon.com

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Artist Over 65: Daybreak by Pat Doughty

Artist Under 30: Tomorrow’s Approach

by Riley Doyle

Plein Air Only: Fog Clearing over Cattle

by Ryan Jensen

Student (High School or College): Kalmia Gardens by Stephen Mills

Animal & Bird: June Bug by Robin Zefers Clark Building: Clouds from Stonington by Timothy Horn

Western: Beans and Biscuits by Benjamin Knox

August-September 2020 / www.outdoorpainter.com

plein air events Plein air groups and event organizers have had to get creative to keep their communities together during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mostly that’s meant going virtual. Here’s a sample of what we’ve seen happening across the country.

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FORGOTTEN COAST HOSTS FIRST VIRTUAL QUICK DRAW

hen the Forgotten Coast en Plein Air event had to postpone indefinitely its 2020 activities, originally scheduled for this past March, board president Joe Taylor and his team quickly shifted gears and moved one of their most exciting events to Facebook. On Saturday, May 16, 50 artists painted against the clock in the first ever virtual Quick Draw. Normally they would have gathered in one place for this timed painting event, but this year the artists painted in their own homes or studios from selected reference photos of Florida’s Forgotten Coast. Painting began at 10 a.m. and ended at noon, with all works submitted immediately after. Fans and collectors were able to watch a live stream of the artists working and were even able to ask questions.

Artists entered and were judged in one of two classes — professional or open — by juror Sam Knecht, emeritus professor of art, Hillsdale

College; and signature member, Portrait Society of America. In the professional class, First Place went to Suzie Baker for Low Country Boil; Second Place to Charlie Hunter for Owl Cafe; and Third Place to Kathleen Hudson for Storm Over the Marsh.

From entries in the open class, Kari Waltz took First Place for Anticipation; Sheryl Hibbs, Second Place for I Saw the Sign; and Erin Bailey, Third Place for Distant Lighthouse.

Also new this year was the People’s Choice Award, which went to Michelle Held for Mama I’m Coming Home. Rounding out the awards, Charlie Hunter picked up the Collector’s Choice Award for his Quick Draw painting, Owl Cafe. A past participant in the live event, he had this to say about the experience of participating in the virtual competition this year: “The thing that was great about unlocking that vault of photos was that the artist had to think on the fly, ‘How am I going to manipulate these images to translate how

I would normally be approaching creating a painting?’ I focused on just part of what was a much larger street scene with a deep perspective that I really liked. I also have a sentimental connection to the Owl Cafe, because that’s where I loved to go at the end of the day, when the heat was starting to let off and the sun was going down. I would head into the tap room, and usually there were a couple of other painters in there, and we’d have a couple of local beers. I can’t eat oysters, unfortunately — I’m allergic to them — but I can eat the hell out of shrimp. And the Owl Cafe fried shrimp plate is pretty darn good! That’s what I was thinking of when I was working on the painting.

And that was the challenge of this experience — trying to get the feeling of what you’re remembering. You’re squeezing this sterile, 2D, literal image and trying to translate it into something that’s more evocative. And trying to do that in a couple of hours was tremendous fun.”

(ABOVE LEFT) Storm Over the Marsh, Kathleen Hudson, 2020, oil, 12 x 12 in., available from artist, studio • (ABOVE RIGHT) Anticipation, Kari Waltz, 2020, acrylic and pastel, 11 x 11 in., private collection, studio • (BELOW) Low Country Boil, Suzie Baker, 2020, oil, 12 x 16 in., private collection, studio

(TOP LEFT) Owl Cafe, Charlie Hunter, 2020, oil, 12 x 16, in., private collection, studio • (TOP RIGHT) Distant Lighthouse, Erin Bailey, 2020, pastel, 14 x 11 in., available from artist, studio • (RIGHT) Mama I’m Coming Home, Michelle Held, 2020, oil, 30 x 30 in., available from artist, studio • (FAR RIGHT) I Saw the Sign, Sheryl Hibbs, 2020, oil, 11 x 14 in., available from artist, studio

www.outdoorpainter.com / August-September 2020

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LPAPA AUCTIONS POSTCARD ART

n the face of the uncertainty caused by COVID-19, the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association (LPAPA) sought creative ways to help its artists care for themselves and their families. “We believe that in these challenging times, we all need to stand together to support one another,” wrote the group organizers. In May, LPAPA launched an online auction to raise funds for the nonprofit and its community of artists.

Collectors had the opportunity to bid on more than 100 artists from across the country who would paint an original 5 x 7-inch LPAPA Strong & Positive Postcard. Upon auction close, the artists and winning bidders were notified and the painting began. In addition to the mini-masterpiece, the winning bidder received a personal message from the artist to them or a loved one who needed some positivity in their life at the time. Artists promoted the auction by sharing UNselfies on social media.

Camille Przewodek and her finished postcard (at left)

Shuang Li with her finished postcard (above) and handwritten note to the winning bidder Guest artist Steve Puttrich critiques one of his own paintings, A River Runs Through Cedarburg, 2017, watercolor, 20 x 13 in., private collection, plein air

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he Plein Air Painters of Chicago (PAPC) used Zoom to keep members engaged and learning via online painting critiques during their time apart. It worked like this: PAPC members shared their landscape studies on Facebook, then a guest artist — a notable plein air painter — critiqued the work on a video for all members to watch and learn from.

“The Zoom experience has shown us a better way to do critiques than when a group stands six or 10 feet back in the hot sun, after a demo and three hours of painting,” says the group’s organizer, Mary Longe. “Each guest artist decided a focus for their review to make it specific and to 86

PLEIN AIR SOCIETY STARTS ONLINE PAINTING CRITIQUES

more easily handle the volume of paintings submitted. Initially, values, focal point, leading lines, and various aspects of composition were critiqued.

As the weeks went on, the guest artists went more in-depth and critiqued thumbnail sketches, for example, and gave homework. Our members reported that they learned as much from seeing other members’ paintings critiqued as they did from comments made about their own.”

As big a hit as the critiques proved to be, the group was eager to get back together to paint in June. “With Illinois clamping down early on the virus, we are able to paint as a group now, with

August-September 2020 / www.outdoorpainter.com

social distancing, of course,” says Longe. “Our steering team came up with criteria to revise the locations list. We will be doing more nature-scapes than cityscapes this year to reduce the amount of contact.

To keep ourselves safe, we’re offering a T-shirt that says, ‘My painting is best from 6 feet away,’ to cue people to keep a distance. Members are also encouraged to place traffic cones or blue tape to mark their space, though one member, we think facetiously, promises a velvet rope. Since establishing the virtual critiques, we’ve gained new members every week, including some from states outside the Great Lakes, where most of our members reside.”

OLMSTED PLEIN AIR MOVES ONLINE

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hen it became clear they wouldn’t be able to hold the 6th Annual Olmsted Plein Air Invitational in person this spring, organizers opted not to cancel, but rather to reimagine the event using digital and social media platforms. They kicked things off online with a collectors’ preview sale of the 2020 paintings they already had on hand for the scheduled live event.

After a period of one week, three additional paintings by each of the 29 participating artists were added to the Invitational gallery, and from that compilation, the Competition gallery was drawn.

Jurors Nancy Tankersley, Chris Garvin, and Leslie Lobell presented the Best of Show award to Tim Kelly for My Father’s House; Cezanne (Best Use of Light) to Neal Hughes for Monhegan

Garden; Matisse (Award of Excellence) to Palden Hamilton for Inside Looking Out; the Nocturne Award to Amanda Lovett for Crimson Moon; and the 2020 Judges Award to Suzie Baker for There Is No Frigate Like a Book. Each juror also got to present their own award. Chris Garvin selected Mountain Country by John P. Lasater IV; Nancy Tankersley, Rediscovered Detours by Valerie Craig; and Leslie Lobell, The Farm by Vlad Yeliseyev.

As paintings in the Invitational gallery were sold, new ones were added through the close of the event on July 31. “The body of work included favorite places, peaceful moments, plein air paintings, studio work, Georgia-inspired and dreaminspired paintings,” says co-founder Lillian Ansley.

In addition to the galleries and competition, fans of the Invitational were treated to a variety of

unique opportunities to engage with the participating artists and jurors, including Facebook Live demos, podcasts, videos, and articles posted on the event’s website.

“When galleries closed and events cancelled across the country, artists’ income came to a screeching halt,” says Ansley. “We put all of our hearts and hard work into making this event a success for the artists who depend on painting sales to provide for their families. In return, we know the work of these amazing artists will bring light and hope to all that view them. Evidence shows that taking time to savor experiences, such as looking at art, can increase our mental well-being. In this exhibition, we invited viewers to slow down and connect with art mindfully, moment by moment.”

Monhegan Garden (oil, 24 x 30 in.)

by Neal Hughes

My Father’s House (oil, 16 x 20 in.) by Tim Kelly

Inside Looking Out (oil, 30 x 23 in.) by Palden Hamilton

Crimson Moon (oil, 12 x 16 in.) by Amanda Lovett

Mountain Country (oil, 20 x 24 in.) by John P. Lasater IV The Farm (watercolor, 11 x 14 in.) by Vlad Yeliseyev Rediscovered Detours (oil, 20 x 20 in.)

by Valerie Craig

There Is No Frigate Like a Book (oil, 30 x 40 in.) by Suzie Baker

www.outdoorpainter.com / August-September 2020

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PLANNING FOR SPONTANEITY WHEN PAINTING OUTDOORS

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——— BY PEGGY IMMEL ———

ainting is an exciting pursuit — especially when painting outside. It’s so easy to become enthralled with the view, the colors, the sounds, and the smells that the reason you started a painting in the first place gets forgotten. Yet it’s exactly these experiences that make plein air painting the magical adventure it is.

Studio landscape painters are often more vulnerable than seasoned outdoor painters to nature’s chaotic environment, and can be stymied about how to even start a plein air painting. Stories abound about folks who haul their monster easels and supplies out into their yards and work for days on one tiny painting, only to be disappointed with the results.

Plein air painting requires a mindset somewhat akin to that of a bareback bronc rider. The best plein air pieces start with a well-thought-out plan that is then executed spontaneously with an intuitive hand. Working for hours on a plein air piece is a formula to kill it. All freshness disappears.

The challenges for anyone painting from life outside are many. The first predicament, and it is a big one, is

Born in Phoenix, Arizona, PEGGY IMMEL lived in Boston for over 30 years, and ultimately returned to her western roots when she and her husband, Steve, settled in Taos, New Mexico, where they now live. peggyimmel.com August-September 2020 / outdoorpainter.com

shrinking the whole, magnificent outdoors into a limited view that will fit onto a small canvas. Next comes the sun. It’s moving! And the shadows that follow it are moving too. Anyone who paints en plein air has had the experience of chasing the light. The sun appears to rush across the sky to the horizon and carry the shadows that were a major part of our composition with it. Incoming rain in the distance, bugs that have decided we are easy prey, wind that keeps gusting and trying to tip over our Rainy Day Sunflowers, oil, 8 x 10 in.

Blooms at the Blumenschein , oil, 12 x 16 in.

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August-September 2020 / outdoorpainter.com

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8 am Ojo Sarco, oil, 12 x 16 in.

easel, onlookers’ questions, a hungry growling stomach — these things, and more, are part of the experience of painting outside. And through it all you must remember, “What was it that attracted me to the subject of the painting in the first place?” “What is my painting about?”

Outside of developing tunnel vision, my recommendation to combat these distractions is to have a plan.

1. DO A WALKAROUND. I start every plein air painting by walking around with my handy viewfinder. A viewfinder can be anything from a rectangular hole you cut into a piece of paper to the ritzy adjustable versions you can buy. I carefully study the value patterns and different compositions of a subject. If I don’t have a viewfinder with me, I will use my camera as a viewfinder. I don’t take pictures while I’m viewfinding; I simply look, turn around 360 August-September 2020 / outdoorpainter.com

degrees several times, and contemplate what my approach to a given subject might be. And if I don’t have either a viewfinder or my camera, I use my pointer finger and thumb on each hand to make a rectangle to look through. The main thing is to thoughtfully consider the composition and the value pattern of a potential subject. Doing the walkaround and looking through a viewfinder is the secret to figuring out what to include and what to exclude from your painting. It’s not necessary or even desirable to paint everything you see.

2. WRITE DOWN WHAT YOUR PAINTING IS ABOUT. “WHAT’S YOUR POINT?” Once I’ve decided what to paint, the “What’s your point?” refrain starts. It’s repetitious, a chant akin to that thing called an earworm, when you can’t get a song out of your head. My first act after Hassayampa River Preserve, oil, 12 x 9 in.

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Big Red Wheelbarrow, oil, 8 x 10 in.

Midday at the Oasis, oil, 12 x 9 in.

THE SECRET TO SPONTANEITY IS PLANNING

I’d love to take credit for discovering that planning pays off. But I can’t. Practicing something and doing preliminary work with the goal of making it look effortless has been preached by artists throughout history.

Here are some quotes your amusement and reflection.

“You must plan to be spontaneous.” — David Hockney “Do not be afraid that too much labor over the composition is going to kill the spontaneity. Those who absorb and digest their experiences are, of a sudden, mountains of strength and can produce pictures with spontaneous start and finish.” — John F. Carlson “Usually it’s a pretty calculated, sustained, and slow process by which you develop something. The effect can be one of spontaneity, but that’s part of the artistry.” — Richard Estes “No art was ever less spontaneous than mine. What I do is the result of reflection and the study of the great masters. Of inspiration, spontaneity, and temperament I know nothing.” — Edgar Degas “In order to be totally spontaneous, you can’t be too obsessed with accuracy, but if you’re inaccurate in a drawing, it will look fake, and when you act, it will sound fake. You have to find miraculously some proper balance between the two, but there’s no formula.” — Peter Falk, from BrainyAugust-September Quotes 2020 / outdoorpainter.com

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Two Old Cottonwoods, oil, 8 x 10 in.

(LEFT) Notan sketches for Two Old Cottonwoods (RIGHT) Value sketch for Two Old Cottonwoods August-September 2020 / outdoorpainter.com

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Hay Bales, oil, 11 x 14 in.

my walkaround is to get out my sketchbook and write down the reason for my painting. It might be an emotional feeling, the look of the light, the center of interest, or a title I’ve just thought of.

It’s anything that describes what I’m trying to say.

Sometimes I write a haiku. It’s my answer to the question, “What’s your point?” And when I’m struggling with a painting and it isn’t working. the first question I ask myself is, “What’s your point?”

3: MAKE A COMPOSITION PLAN WITH VALUE SKETCHES. Next come the sketches and value studies. I do two or three very small 1 x 2-inch black-and-white

value studies, using three values for each study.

These simple studies help me figure out what the pattern of values and shapes in my painting will be.

These thumbnails are similar to notans — that is a Japanese term describing the design of dark and light shapes in art. But instead of being black and white like a notan, they are black, gray, and white.

Then, following the pattern plan I’ve chosen from my preliminary studies, I do a more traditional 3 x 4-inch value sketch that contains a wider range of values. It indicates key information in the scene, such as where the sun is located, the shadow pattern, and other details that are important to the painting. These value studies, along with possible

titles and “points” scribbled in the margins of my sketchbook, become the map that guides me through the painting process.

It takes anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes to do my walkaround and value studies. And I confess there are times that I want to skip right to the painting itself. Because that’s the fun part, the reason I’m standing outside, paintbrush in hand. But I find that the discipline of doing preliminary planning is well worth it. I refer to my value studies and notes as I paint. My hope is that the end result of this planning is a fresh, vibrant painting that isn’t overworked and looks like it wasn’t labored over at all.

August-September 2020 / outdoorpainter.com

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Cynthia Rosen

joli ayn wood

plein air | studio | instruction | healing arts

REPRESENTED BY True Grit Art Gallery • Middleboro, MA Amid The Blooming Buds oil on Gessobord 14x11 thru Artist

FEATURED ARTIST Earth, Fire, Spirit Gallery • Lexington, VA LinDor Arts • Roanoke, VA

www.c ynthiarosen.com | 802.345.8863

www.joliaynwood.com • joliaynwood@gmail.com • 540.449.9078

Mark Shasha

SANDHYA SHARMA

‘Summer at Old Mill Farm’, Oil on Canvas 9”x12”

Synchronicity, 24x36, Oil

www.MarkShasha.com Paintings, Workshops and Events

617.816.3851 | mark@markshasha.com

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August-September 2020 / www.outdoorpainter.com

UPCOMING EVENTS AND EXHIBITIONS:

Harford Plein Air 2020 Bel Air MD, July-September Artists on Location 2020 Knoxville TN, September-October

REPRESENTED BY:

The Artists Emporium • Havre de Grace, MD • www.artistsemporiumhdg.com Highlandtown Gallery • Baltimore, MD • www.highlandtowngallery.com

sandhyasharmafineart.com

sandhya@sandhyasharmafineart.com • 202.290.9576

Cindy Baron

Eileen Eder

OPAM, AIS, AWS

AWARD WINNING LANDSCAPES AND STILL-LIFE

“Summer Dream” 30x40 oil

Old Harbor Marina, 9 x 12, oil on panel

American Academy of Landscape Painting Live class, Color in the Landscape, August 10-14, 2020 Downloadable online classes anytime: lymeacademy.edu

Workshop information and available work at cindybaron.com

EILEENEDER.COM

crbarts@yahoo.com • cindybaron.com

Represented by William A Karges Fine Art | Carmel, CA Highlands Art Gallery | Lambertville, NJ

LOUISE POND

“Thelma & Louise” Soft Pastel 15x18

LouisePondFineArt.com Louise’s plein air paintings, soft pastels & workshops offered at Twisted Fish Gallery 10443 S Bayshore Dr Elk Rapids, MI contact@twistedfishgallery.com 231-264-0123 twistedfishgallery.com

Army Tack Shed at Castolon 10x14” Plein Air Watercolor Available from artist

Old Spanish Trail Gallery www.davismtsgallery A Beautiful Mess Antiques and Gallery (806) 407-5895 Tim Oliver NWS, WFWS www.timoliverart.com | tim@timoliverwatercolors.com

www.outdoorpainter.com / August-September 2020

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October 15-17, 2020 14th Annual Juried Plein Air Competition Show & Sale hlcarts.com/paint-the-town

Catch the color & light!

Online Courses & Workshops Make strong, compelling paintings both you and your audience will love!

M A RYB E N T Z G I L K E R S O N marygilkerson.com/learn2020

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Kelli Folsom

Online Plein Air and Still Life Painting Lessons It’s never too late to become the artist you want to be.

artlifewithkelli.com

IAPS Eminent Pastelist • PSA Master Pastelist

Along the Blanco River, 14” x 18” Pastel

Mary McIntosh www.marymcintoshart.com email: marymcintosh719@gmail.com

Prize winner Dune Blooms, 12 x 16 Plein Air

Marta Stafford Fine Art • Marble Falls, TX • 830.693.9999 Art On 12 • Wimberley, TX • 512.847.9030

Virtual courses and workshops

www.terrifordart.com • tford@terrifordart.com

www.outdoorpainter.com / August-September 2020

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TINA BOHLMAN

Why are Shelley Smith paintings winning so many Awards?

“I could live with Shelley’s painting and love looking at it every day.”

- Joe Anna Arnett, Master Artist/Judge

Sycamore Shadows 8x16 Watercolor

www.tinabohlman.com • tina@tinabohlman.com • 972-741-6154

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August-September 2020 / www.outdoorpainter.com

Discover why. Visit shelleysmithfineart.com 505-577-7896

BARBARA TAPP

CALL TO ARTISTS

Juried Competition with Judge: Kenn Backhaus

PLEIN AIR WATERCOLORS DISCOVERING A NEW RURAL LANDSCAPE

7th Annual March 13-20, 2021

Shadows-On-The-Teche

New Iberia, Louisiana • $6,500 in Cash Prizes Submission Deadline: November 1, 2020 337.369.6446 • www.shadowsontheteche.org

Glow, Moss Landing Ca. 12x16 watercolor

Represented by Holton Framers & Studio Gallery • Berkeley, CA www.barbaratappartist.com 510-520-8383

SANDI PILLSBURY

Summer in Castle Danger #2 oil, 12” x 24”

Represented by: Yellow Bird Gallery Grand Marais, MN • Jaques Art Center Aitkin, MN Cross River Heritage Center Schroeder, MN • 47 Degrees Gallery Knife River, MN

Seeking additional gallery representation North Shore Serenity Studio Castle Danger, MN Member of the annual event: Lake Superior 20/20 Studio & Art Tour See our web site: lakesuperior2020.com authenticartist@sandipillsbury.com • www.sandipillsbury.com Available for commissions and workshops

www.outdoorpainter.com / August-September 2020

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ELEVATING THE MUNDANE RICHARD MCKINLEY SHARES HIS SECRETS

HSIN-YAO TSENG, LORI PUTNAM PEGGY IMMEL, MITCH BAIRD TIM OLIVER, OLENA BABAK $15K SALON WINNER TOM HUGHES

M A G A Z I N E

NON-BLEED

The cure for claustrophobia.

We now have Online Classes Great Teachers!

Great Topics!

No Pants! www.pswc.ws

EL EV

Subscribe | 800.610.5771 pleinairmagazine.com

JULY 2019

Fog at Back Cove Tom Hughes, acrylic, 45 x 60 in. private collection, studio from plein air painting

Can’t Draw a Stick Figure?

Got No Talent?

JULY 20 19

I Can Teach Anyone to Paint … Even YOU! Free Painting Lessons for Beginners PaintbyNote.com 106

August-September 2020 / www.outdoorpainter.com

ERIC RHOADS

M A G A Z I N E

AT IN

G TH E

M UN

RIC HA DA NE SH AR RD MC ES HIS KIN LE Y SE CR YA O ET S PE GG TS EN G, LO RI Y IM TIM OL ME L, MI PU TN AM TC IVE R, OL EN H BA IRD A BA BA K $1 5K SA LO N WI NN ER TO M HU GH ES

HS IN-

ALINE E. ORDMAN

ANGIE MALIN

OPA, AIS, PSA-MP, IAPS/MC

Susan’s Garden, 16 x 20, pastel

T h e P e r f e c t D ay , 9 x 1 2 , o i l , av a i l a b l e t h ro u g h t h e a r t i s t

visit w w w. a n g ie m a lin .c o m for Malin Open Studio Fall Dates

LIVE FEED DEMOS WEEKLY

651.216.6537 • acrnnr@icloud.com

WWW.ALINEORDMAN.COM AORDMAN@SOVER.NET • (603) 443-1964

www.outdoorpainter.com / August-September 2020

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Visit us online

ArtFrames.com

$18. flat rate shipping • Custom sizes available on all frames 95

$18.95 flat rate shipping Custom sizes offered on all frames

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Just Released on DVD and Digital Video.

Visit today: LiliArtVideo.com • 877-867-0324

TAKE YOUR ART TO Charlie HUNTER

Tell the story simply, but powerfully!

Breakthrough Designs for Landscapes

™

C

harlie Hunter has become an icon in the art world.

Everyone wants to understand why his paintings stand out so much. It’s not that people want to do monochrome paintings like his — they want to know how he creates emotion, story, and drama. Charlie has a new video that’ll help you experience a true breakthrough in your art so you can start new paintings with a vision and finish them having met your own expectations! In Breakthrough Designs for Landscapes, Charlie will show you how to design your paintings so they turn out the way you want them to and they tell the stories you wish to tell.

BREAKTHROUGH DESIGNS FOR LANDSCAPES™, MODERN MASTERS SERIES™, STREAMLINE PREMIUM ART VIDEO™, ©/TM STREAMLINE PUBLISHING, INC. 2020.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. HOME USE LICENSE ONLY: DO NOT COPY, DISTRIBUTE, RENT, OR PERFORM. FOR LICENSING INFORMATION, CONTACT 877-867-0324 OR LICENSING@STREAMLINEPUBLISHING.COM.

A HIGHER LEVEL Carl BRETZKE

Johanne MANGI

Johanne Mangi is going to help you take the first steps with your animal portrait paintings! She’ll show you everything you need in order to dive right in with high energy and enthusiasm!

You’re going to really benefit from Johanne’s approach. She’ll help you focus on the fun and enjoyment of bringing your favorite animal friends to life in a portrait. And not just the animal’s features … she’ll demonstrate how to bring its unique characteristics and personality in, too!

Carl Bretzke’s practical teaching method will allow you to “see in the dark” — the reflections, glow, and the variety of true colors found in a nighttime scene. He unlocks the mystery of the narrow value ranges necessary in a low-light environment and shows you how he gets the rich, luminous effects that have brought much acclaim to his paintings.

Bill DAVIDSON

Bill Davidson’s purpose is to teach you how to create expressive, energetic, and exciting paintings that go way beyond the subject matter. You’ll learn how to paint in stages to bring energy and flow so your viewing audience will immediately be drawn in and their eyes will naturally follow the story of your painting.

ORDER TODAY at StreamlineArtVideo.com or call 877-867-0324

8th Annual Salon Grand Prize Winner – Tom Hughes

SALON CATEGORIES

Acrylic • Animals & Birds • Best Artist Over 65 • Artist Under 30 • Building • Drawing • Figure & Portrait • Best Floral • Landscape • Nocturne, Sunrise, Sunset • Oil • Outdoor Still Life•• Pastel • Plein Air Work ONLY • Student • Vehicle • Water • Watercolor • Western 112

August-September 2020 / www.outdoorpainter.com

INE DEADSL I T 31 S U G U A

NOW OPEN FOR ENTRIES To enter, visit:

PleinAirSalon.com

TRIES

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classifieds

Directory of Advertising Amato, Stephanie ..........................................103

Keefe, Shelby L. ............................................104

ArtFrames.com ..............................................108

Larlham, Margaret...........................................18

Award Winning Artist Workshops ...................98

Larry Cannon Watercolors ................................7

Baggetta, Marla .................................................2

Linden, Tom ...................................................92

Barkai, Michal .................................................16

Lindsey, Carolyn .............................................99

Baron, Cindy.................................................101

Lordier, Kim..................................................115

Best Brella .....................................................108

Lussier, David Alan .......................................102

Bodnar, Christine ............................................16

Lyme Academy ................................................92

Bohlman, Tina ..............................................104

MacLeod, Lee..................................................22

Boyer, Lyn .......................................................91

Madeline Island School of the Arts ..................98

Boylan, Brenda ................................................93

Malin, Angie .................................................107

Brown, Brienne ...............................................99

Marino, Maria .................................................96

Brown, Krystal ..............................................107

Mark Shasha Studio Gallery ..........................100

Brushes by the Beach .....................................113

Maryland Center for the Arts ..........................97

Byrne, Michele ................................................96

Matteson, Susan Hediger.................................23

Cape Ann Plein Air, Inc. ...............................107

McFarland, Lorraine........................................19

Copeland, Christopher ....................................17

McGraw, Maryann ..........................................16

Croteau, Linda ................................................13

McIntosh, Mary Olivia..................................103

Daniel, Laurel .................................................99

McVey, Lee ......................................................23

Debrosky, Christine.........................................17

Mertz, Nancie King .........................................14

Deeb, Lamya ...................................................22

Mutti, Linda....................................................95

Dessaint, Linda ...............................................18 Dickson, Alison ...............................................21

New Iberia Parish Convention & Visitors Bureau/Shadows-on-the-Teche Plein Air

Doug Hemler Fine Art ....................................22

Competition..................................................105

Dwyer, Patty....................................................23

Nicholas Gephart, Susan ...............................104

Eder, Eileen Elizabeth....................................101

Oliver, Tim....................................................101

EnPlein Air Texas/San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts .................................................................11

Ordman, Aline E. ..........................................107

Fehlman, Mark..............................................105

Pillsbury Gredzens, Sandra ............................105

Folsom, Kelli M. ...........................................103

Pisto, Ann .......................................................99

Ford, Terri .....................................................103

Plein Air Artists Colorado ...............................21

Gilkerson, Mary ............................................102

Raymar Art ...................................................116

Gos, Alejandra.................................................16

Riefenberg, Jennifer .........................................22

Hamilton, Palden ............................................91

Roberts, Devin Michael.....................................9

Handell, Albert ...............................................93

Rosen, Cynthia..............................................100

Hassard, Ray ...................................................17

Rupp, Gary .....................................................94

Haywood-Sullivan, Liz ....................................18

Sharma, Sandhya ...........................................100

Heilman Designs ...........................................108

Shaun Horne Gallery ........................................5

Highland Lakes Creative Arts/Paint the Town Marble Falls...................................................102

Smith, Shelley ...............................................104

Holmes, Marcia ...............................................19

Tapp, Barbara ................................................105

House, Cindy ..................................................15

Turner, Cecy....................................................21

Houston, Amanda ...........................................15

Twisted Fish Gallery ......................................101

Hull, Susan......................................................97

Van Emmerik-Finn, Helena ............................19

Hunter Studio .................................................95

Vios, Richie ...................................................102

Isenhour, Natasha ..............................................4

Wagner, Jill Stefani ..........................................14

Judson’s Art Outfitters ...................................108

Walker, Marti ..................................................17

Kalinowski, Kathleen ......................................18

Wood, Joli Ayn..............................................100

Kapatkar, Deepali ............................................15

Pastel Society of the West Coast ....................106

Strock-Wasson, Carol ........................................6

CALL TO ARTISTS: BRUSHES BY THE BEACH PLEIN AIR CONTEST GALVESTON, TEXAS Open plein air event will digitally accept your plein air art created anywhere within the U.S. any time from October 14-November 9. Take a selfie to verify it’s your plein air art. Painting in Galveston — famous for beaches, historic homes, port, but no mountains — is optional.

Dates: October 14-November 9, 2020 Submission Deadline: November 9, 2020 Submission Fee: $30 for two entries; $10 for each additional painting Email: brendadonaloio@sbcglobal.net Phone: 409.370.7350 Website: www.gleegallery.net

EVENTS: PLEINAIR MAGAZINE’S PUBLISHER’S INVITATIONAL FALL COLOR WEEK WHITE MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK, JACKSON, NEW HAMPSHIRE PleinAir Magazine’s Eric Rhoads started the Publisher’s Invitational for busy painters who need a break, a chance to slow down, reconnect with friends, and paint beautiful places where the masters before us have painted. We make it effortless. You roll out of bed for breakfast, pack a sack lunch for your day of painting, and show up for dinner. Regardless of what level of artist you are, seven days of painting can make a monumental difference in your painting skills and your state of mind. At Fall Color Week, you can come as a beginner or a pro. Either way, you’ll have just as much fun and you will see progress.

Dates: October 12-19, 2020 Contact: PleinAir Magazine Phone: 561.655.8778 or 800.610.5771 Website: www.fallcolorweek.com 4TH ANNUAL FIGURATIVE ART CONVENTION & EXPO BALTIMORE, MARYLAND FACE is for contemporary artists who are passionate about realism, driven to create masterpieces, and wish to refine their skills. Study under the greatest artists and art professionals alive today to explode your painting ability and gain deeper insights into the painting world. See dozens of approaches and styles.

Hear the philosophy and language of painting. Refine YOUR craft while interacting with others in your tribe. Register now!

Dates: October 29-November 1, 2020 Contact: Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine Phone: 561.655.8778 or 800.610.5771 Website: www.figurativeartconvention.com

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postcards from the road Floating Among Giants 2019, oil, 9 x 12 in.

Available at Montana Gallery, Billings, MT Plein air and studio

T

Home Again

he mountains call to me in a way that goes beyond the inspirational quotes you see on gift shop coffee mugs,” says Kenneth Yarus. “They cry out from distant memories of childhood and the painful longings of a country boy living in New York City.

“Growing up near Glacier National Park, I enjoyed a youthful misconception that everyone had snow-capped mountains and clear streams to play in, but as an angsty teenager, I fantasized about being somewhere bigger — where ‘real things’ happen. The opportunity to study in New York City brought me face to face with that dream, and as dreams sometimes go, the reality didn’t match the romantic notions of my imagination. Thankfully, the Big Apple is full of sanctuaries like The The artist painted Floating Among Giants at Met, where I could escape the grime, smell, and commotion.

Swiftcurrent Lake in Glacier National Park.

There I could commune once again with my mountains through the artworks that honored them. Those experiences brought into sharp focus the calling I felt to return, and I nearly wept when I could smell pine trees again.

“Standing before the glacier-carved peaks, I’m reminded how small my worldly troubles are. The sweaty KENNETH YARUS draws inspiration climbs and freezing hail storms compel me to live in the moment, to struggle for delayed gratification. From the for his art from his love of nature and small flowers fighting for the sun to the glaciers that fight against it — the mountains hold lessons for us all.” adventure. kennethyarus.com

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The digital cure for claustrophobia.

Get 25% more content with PleinAir™ Magazine Digital Edition.

Subscribe now | 800.610.5771 | PleinAirMagazine.com Fog at Back Cove, Tom Hughes, Acrylic 45 x 60 in. Private collection, Studio from plein air.