Saturday, September 20, 2014

20 minutes of practice

I was at  Core Creek Park for the last 20 minutes of sunlight today.  This is what it looked like when I got there. I took this picture before I set up knowing I was going to lose the sun shortly.

By the time I was halfway through the painting the sunlight was gone completely, I painted the sunlit trees first before the effect was gone.
I try to keep the major shapes of the painting simple, it helps me cover the canvas when time is limited.


When I got home I cleaned it up a little.

5x7 oil on canvas


Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Bucks County landscape painting, Cornfields along Rt. 413,

11x14 oil

I was on my way to a local park to paint when I saw this cornfield up ahead, the top of the corn stood out like a neon sign.  With the camera ready on the front seat I was able to get one shot off as I passed by. I make sure the exposure is already set for the light conditions so I can just point and shoot, it doesn't matter if the picture is blurry, I'm only interested in capturing the light.

I find painting the complexities of cornfields is not so hard if you simplify the shapes and values, it helps give the appearance of tightly packed rows of corn.


Monday, September 1, 2014

Plein air practice

My brother Chris and I got out for a couple hours early Saturday morning for a little plein air painting practice. We only had a 2-3 hour time frame before we had to be home to take care of the days commitments.
A ten minute drive put us at Core Creek park right before sunrise. On the drive over  I saw mist hanging over an open field and mentioned that the lake will have a good blanket of fog over it.
I had started my painting before the sun cleared the tree line and stayed with that lighting even though the sun was blasting us in the eyes when I finished.

I didn't or I should say I couldn't take any on location pictures because I broke my rule of making sure I have charged batteries for my camera before I go out. When I went to use the camera it was flashing low batteries. Chris had his camera so he was the photographer for the day.

This is my sketch of the scene, 8x10 oil


                                                                                                   
Chris captured the scene with the sun up over the tree line and got a different effect.
I liked the shadows under the background trees and the fog lit up by the sun.


5x7 oil

We went to another part of the park to scout another spot and as we were setting up I noticed the sun starting to fade so I quickly put down a quick sketch of a patch of light and some trees.
When we looked up thru the trees it had completely clouded over.


I did get one picture of Chris with his sketch on the easel before my camera quit.