Tip #91

Painting on the Spot!


I love plein air painting, with all the challenges-and frustrations!-that go along with it. Just being OUT there is worth all of that, to me-away from the studio, the phone, email, laundry. Whether I'm painting in nature or in a more urban setting, working on the spot holds a special appeal to me. Light changes rapidly-and so can the weather! Our time is usually necessarily shorter than we might spend on a similar subject in the studio. Even being uncomfortable can help us to paint more quickly and spontaneously!

Art 91-1, Sunset Sketch

One thing that often helps me is to use a larger brush, when painting plein air. I like at least a #6 or #8 round (with a good, springy point, like Loew-Cornell's affordable white nylon brushes, oddly called "Round Stain" brushes.) A 3/4" or 1" flat brush has a permanent place in my plein air gear as well. Sometimes I don't even sketch my subject on paper first, just jump right in with these nice, juicy brushes, as I did here.

(To see much more on the fast tricks and techniques I used here, see my newest YouTube video.)

Art 91-2, Rivershack



But if it helps you to capture the scene you want, don't hesitate to use some simple pencil guidelines or even a quick, loose ink sketch, as you see here. You can see how far I got on the spot, on a sunny day with emphatic shadows.


Art 91-3, Stone Shack



Later, when I got home, I added a bit more work from memory ... we were running out of time for painting on the spot, but I'd paid close attention to details while we were there.

DO look for the shadows, and if you can, sketch or paint them first-they're most likely to change, in the landscape, and that may be what attracted you to the scene in the first place.

Simplifying shapes and forms works beautifully here ... if you haven't seen Enrique Flores work of this time, I encourage you to visit his marvelous sketchbooks on YouTube, or his website!

And do be aware of what's going on around you-look up and around every once in a while! Use sunscreen, even on a cloudy day, if you burn easily. Use insect repellent, if you need to, but keep the DEET off your plastic palette or your hands! It will interfere with painting...

...but above all, have a wonderful time, far from life's other distractions.

Please visit our new group blog, Sketching in Nature, and my gallery blog, where I'm now offering frequent mini-demos!

Check in for the latest on Facebook, here!

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Painting on the Spot


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Punching Sky Holes
Look Sharp!
• Watercolor Pencil Tip
• Studio Space
• Spatter!
• Fan Brushes
• Masking Tricks
• There are no mistakes!
• Texturing Your Painting Surface
• Drawing for Fun and Practice
• Utilizing Negative Spaces
• Working with Your Wildlife Sketches
Painting Fur with Watercolor Pencils
Capturing the Effect of Distance and Depth
Feature Focus - Painting Eyes
Painting Wood Textures in Watercolor
Capturing Excitement and Drama
Techniques for Painting Foliage in Watercolor
Simple Buildings in Landscape
Finding Beauty Wherever You Are
Painting Rocks in Watercolor
Tricks and Techniques
The Why of Self Portraits
Bravura, Brushwork, Round Brushes
Putting People in your Paintings!
Focus on Animals
Paying Attention to Details
Painting Horses in Acrylic
Utilizing Negative Shapes
Catching the Sense of the Surf
Step by step painting of the ocean
Animals in Landscape
Making Time for Art
Feature Focus - Lips
Sky Effects
Some helpful books -- an artist's bibliography
Using Personal Symbols in Art
Keeping a Sketch Journal
Working on Toned Paper
The Healing Value of Art
Painting for a Cause
Found Art Supplies
The Value of Thumbnails
Working in Weather
Keeping a Journal of a Special Trip
Watercolor Painting -- with a palatte knife!
Shadows -- where and how to use them
MORE Making Time For Art
Fantasy and Myth
Field Sketching and keeping a nature journal
Color and Value
Sketching with Colored Pencil
Zeroing in on Details to Appreciate Nature
Creating a Sense of Scale in Your Art
Wildflowers & Weeds
Drawing and Painting our Canine Friends
A Few Tips on Linear Perspective
Differences in Perspective -- Aerial and Linear
More on Painting Man's Best Friend -- and Woman's!
Watercolor Pencil Revisited -- What's New!
Feature Focus -- The Nose Knows...
On The Nose - Again!
Exploring your watercolor pigments
More exploring your pigments
Painting with Gouache
Accentuate the Negative??
Found Art Supplies
Finding Beauty Wherever You Are
The Humble Sponge
Capturing Light in Landscape
Using Liquid Mask
Graphite Techniques
Feature Focus - Hands
Painting Cats
Cats II
Working with Colored Pencils on Toned Paper
Painting with Acrylics
More Found Art Supplies
Travel Sketching
More On Travel Sketching
Ink & Wash Techniques
Pigment, Paint and Color
Online artist groups
Sketching on the spot in cold weather
MORE found art supplies
Keeping an Art Blog
Keeping an Art Blog - An Interview with Katherine Tyrrell
Keeping an Art Blog - Gabi Campanario on Starting a Successful Group Blog
Keeping an Art Blog - Alyson Stanfield on Blogging for Artists
Make your own tiny travel watercolor kit

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