Class #2 Synopsis

Great second class today at the windy mercurial Coast Guard Pier. We will meet there again next week.

It was great to chat about Lesley's copy of the Giorgio Morandi still - life. A picture of the painting is posted in the Misc. Category on this forum. We discussed the idea of lost and found edges and the subtleties of his brushwork as well as having two colors next to each other that are similar in value but different in hue. These qualities can slow the read of a poetic experience in a 'daily life' where we tend to constantly define the outer edges of everything.

I demonstrated the idea of making several small thumbnails with a view finder and a red film when arriving on site to paint as a way of warming up, connecting the mind with the hand and page, and helping procrastination.

"Any tips for painting fog?" The ol' adage 'Paint what you see' is often touched on. To clarify this, I suggest finding 2 colors such as a piece of the fog and the edge of a dock and 'tuning' them to each other on your palette or painting. This is part of the idea that the painting is like a puzzle and for the parts to sing together one may not want to change key signature on one part of the painting.

Per usual, the idea of expectations came up. Painting outside is a perfect place to practice going with what nature throws in the mix and finding a set of achievable limits.

We had some great thoughts on drawing verse painting. Marina was able to draw with the brush beautifully with the combination of proportions of the ship masts and the 'tooth' of the canvas catching the vertical dark pallet knife striations. ,

Bob is bravely trying painting outside for the second time and was successful in laying out all the pieces of the scene and is finding his way with paint - there seems to be something about texture that he naturally uses whether the bark of the barkless tree or the waves of the waveless ocean. Araya's central placement of the shed and mixing of browns as well as the greys of the sky were a joy to look at. Michelle's monochromatic boat painting in blue was the perfect study for her project and it was great to see her sketch - an accumulation of light straight pencil marks. As always, Tessa's ability to make strong heavy color with her method of underpainting was inspirational. Janet's use of several differentiated zones of unique mark making and representation of experimentation and joy is always a pleasure. Diana and I talked about how difficult it is to paint in watercolors when the easel does not have the ability to hinge flat. Brita will be missed next week - her color mixing and compositions continue to evolve. It was great to see the bright colors of the little buildings sandwiched between the earthy tones of the sky, trees and ocean.

If you would like more feed back and inspirational images from art history relating specifically to your project please post an image of your painting to this forum in the "Outdoor Painting Category"

See you soon!