We spent last week at the shore and I got to paint most of the mornings. Acrylics.

8×10″

8×10″

I painted a bunch of watercolors while the kids played in the sand too. This is the only one I have a photo of so far. Still trying to control them too much and being literal. A very difficult and unforgiving medium.

8×10″

8×10″

8×10″

11×14″ This one needs some studio attention.

11×14″ This one needs work too.

I worked on this one again. I think it’s 10×20″. Still not sure about it. It’s one of those spots where I wished I lived down at the shore and I could revisit the spot every day and paint it for a month to be very literal and get it all the way I want it. I see some scenes as more simplified and poetic and others as more detailed stories. I guess not all poems are haikus  

8×10″

8×10″

8×10″

8×10″

I painted in the woods today. There’s no way for me to get tight painting in the woods. It would be futile to try and paint individual leaves. I wanted to loosen up and just get big shapes and possibly a mood today. I was aiming for accurate colors to what I was seeing with less concern for drawing out specifics.

acrylic, 11×14″ 

I tried to paint this spot one other time and it was a disaster because I chased the light. I started chasing the light again today but when I realized it I started smudging things out and scraping areas with a knife. The dappled light pattern of sun through the trees changes so much and so quickly that it becomes more obvious when you’re chasing the light. In a few minutes the spots of light have moved and changed so much it’s hard to commit to one moment.

I nearly stepped on this guy when I was setting up my easel. I thought he was a rock. I think I woke him up this morning but he didn’t seem to mind me at all and just made his way up stream into the bigger pool.

I haven’t been out painting plein airs in a while so I went today. I also hadn’t painted the trains in a long time and I thought a refresher course in blacks (without using black of course) was in order. I’ve been spending time playing with watercolors, drawing, and working on another basement painting to avoid the heat. I’ll post those soon. It was a lot of fun to get outside again.

acrylic, 8×10″ 

acrylic, 10×10″ 

The second one wasn’t quite what I was after but I had an audience so I reverted to trying to record what I was seeing. It’s probably just who I am. I’m happy with it anyway.

Our youngest child started pre-school this week and today (FRIDAY!) was the first opportunity I had to take advantage and get outside to paint. He only goes for a few hours in the mornings but it’s a start. I feel like it’s one step closer to me doing art full time again which I’m very excited about.

I hadn’t painted with acrylics in a few weeks because I’ve been enjoying watercolors so much and I hadn’t been out painting plein air in a long time either. Tomorrow my son and wife are running a 5K together in the morning so I know I’m not gonna get an opportunity tomorrow. Today was the day!

It was weird setting up to paint when I’d typically be packing up to go home. The light and colors were much different in mid-morning than at dawn. I liked it and I slowed way down on this one to take my time understanding what was going on visually. I slowed down a little too much though and didn’t finish it on location, but I touched it up after lunch while he napped. I tried to be deliberately as literal as I could, nothing interpretive or expressive. No exploration.

acrylic on linen mounted on board, 10 1/4 x 13 1/4″ 

I had to hand hold my umbrella which was a pain. If I keep doing this I’ll need to explore other options. When clamped to my easel it was too low.

You can see how bright green the fields were at the bottom of the painting when I finished on site. When I got home that was something I changed. I stepped on it to make it less lime.