"Red House Monhegan"

"Red House Monhegan"

8"x10" oil on linen panel

NFS

Red House Value underpainting

Red House photo in ValueViewer

Red Houses

Today, our last day on Monhegan, I tackled the famous Red House. I used ValueViewer on the levels setting to show me the scene in 3 values with a 4x4 grid. I don't measure the grid on the panel, but just estimate it by dividing each side of the panel in two, and then in two again. I used the grid to place the most important corners, then estimated the rest of the drawing from that. The value block in came next, and then the color on top of that. I can see posting this that I was chasing the light at the end. I might use the photo of the value painting and the Value View to fix things a bit, but I was happy with what I did. Especially after yesterday afternoon, when I had trouble on Fish Beach. But not as much trouble as the lobsterman who had beached his boat and was then worried about it tipping over as the tide came back in. You can learn a lot plein air painting!

Monhegan Dock

Monhegan Dock

8"x10" oil on linen panel

NFS

I'm on Monhegan with Mary Sheehan Winn, such fun! Yesterday was gray and sprinkling when we arrived and I didn't post my lackluster effort, but today was bright, sunny, and warm. I stood near the dock for three ferry arrivals and captured the trucks as they came and went.

Red Sailboat Watercolor

Red Sailboat Watercolor

4"x4"

Red Sailboat darks only

Red Sailboat darks and midtones

 

Palette, sketchbook, and brush

One of the fun things about Leslie Saeta's 30 paintings in 30 days challenge, is checking out the other paintings and painters. I've really enjoyed the watercolors by Jo MacKenzie, and reading about her process, which is to paint dark to light, the way we do in oil painting. So I bought her book, and above is my first attempt at using her process. I like it!

"Red Sailboat Boothbay II"

"Red Sailboat Boothbay II"

6"x6" oil on canvas panel

Red Sailboat Boothbay II in process

I wasn't totally satisfied with the first Red Sailboat Boothbay, and so went back to my Anne Blair Brown notes. Anne had told us to "think like turtle, paint like rabbit". I decided to think more about this one, and to let each brush stroke lay, rather than to paint over it. I forgot to take a photo of the value study underneath, but here's one of the painting after the color block-in.

"Red Sailboat Boothbay"

Red Sailboat Boothbay

5"x7" oil on linen panel

$150

 

Red Sailboat Boothbay value sketch

This is the red sailboat in Boothbay that I had so much fun drawing when we visited on our boat. I did the value sketch yesterday and added the color today.

I wanted to let you know that I have a show opening next Saturday, Sept. 20, at Gallery111, at 111 Thoreau St., in Concord, MA. I'd be very pleased if you can join us. Your invite is below.

"Hendricks Head"

Hendricks Head

8"x10" oil on linen panel

$280

This last week the Plein Air Painters of Maine have been hosting the Plein Air Painters of the Southeast in Boothbay. Lots of paintings were created, and it was great fun. I painted three of the days, this painting is from Hendricks Head on Southport Island. Visit Pamela B Padgett Studio on Facebook to see PAPSE member, Pam Padgett's, version.

Green Island Studies

Green Island, burnt sienna block in

8"x10" oil on canvas panel

Green Island, block in on yellow underpainting

6"x8" oil on canvas panel

In Anne Blair Brown's class last week our first exercise was a plein air burnt sienna block in, which Anne adjusted for each student. On mine she added the dark sideways "V" in the left foreground to balance the island in the upper right. Yesterday I did a quick block in of the same subject over yellow, thinking that would work nicely with the fog that had been descending since morning, but I'd hardly gotten started when the fog completely obscured the island!

"Cloudy Day at Ocean Point"

"Cloudy Day at Ocean Point"

6"x8" oil on Canvas Panel
$150

Today the Plein Air Painters of Maine had our OPA Paint Out at Ocean Park in East Boothbay. It was fun even though the overcast morning sky gave way to fog in the afternoon.

Tree Study Process

Tree Study

8"x10" oil on canvas panel

NFS

Tree Study: shapes within shapes

Tree Study - color block in

Tree Study: values

Today I worked on a tree study using the method we learned last week from Anne Blair Brown. I am missing the initial step in these posts, which is a set of four small value studies in my sketchbook in pen or marker. I did them, but just keep forgetting to take a photo.

I got a question on yesterday's post on this approach, which was "how do you keep from picking up the underlying burnt sienna?" There are several factors involved: using enough paint, lightness of touch in going over the value study, and consistency of the paint. Initially I thought it was all about the consistency of the second layer, but I now think that the first two are more important. Anne had us mix pools of paint for the color block in, with an emphasis on making big pools. Try this: Paint a stripe of dark burnt sienna (add a little ultramarine blue to darken it), and then with a good bit of paint and a light touch, paint a stripe over it of another color. Try medium or gamsol to vary the consistency of the upper layer, and I think you'll find a way to make this work.

"Churchy At LowTide"

 

"Churchy At Low Tide"

8"x8" oil on Raymar panel

plein air

$250

Color block-in

Value Underpainting

This week I've been taking a walk to our family cottage in the afternoons to see where the tide has deposited each of the rowboats. Every day it's different. Today, Churchy was in a nice position to paint her from the rocks. I wanted to use what I learned last week with Anne Blair Brown, so I did a value study in burnt sienna, then a color block in, and finally looked for shapes within the shapes (this last is the hardest part for me). I think I am starting to get it.