Plein Air Painting at Randle T. Moore Center

At Randle T. Moore Center, 9/1/2015, Oil on Canvas Panel, 11X14 inches

 

When asked to do a demo for the Shreveport Art Club, I decided to visit the site a few days beforehand to get an idea of the light direction and possible subject for the painting.  The day I scouted the site was bright and sunny with very strong golden light and cool shadows. As happens often with plein air, the day of the demo (above) was nothing like my scouting day.  Instead it was overcast with very gray greens in the shadows. I think it turned out ok.  Total painting time was a little over 1 hour.

 

Workshop Demo Watercolor Masking

 

 Sipsey Wilderness, WC, 15 X 11 inches

Above is the finished demo in watercolor on using masking fluid and underpainting to preserve drawing (from the Learning to Love Mr. Grey Workshop). 

Workshop: Learning to Love Mr. Grey

Working on edges

   Fluid Acrylics

  

 Oil Demo

Practicing Greys 

Discussion of Self-Critique

 

Every time I teach others I learn so much.  Thanks to the participants in my workshop for making it a great experience. I loved working with you all.  Now you know what to do with 50 shades.



Flower Studies on Watercolor Paper

Arches 140 lb. WC CP

Lanaquarelle 140 lb.WC Smooth Side

 

 Through the years working with various media, I have learned that you cannot economize on some things and expect quality results.  Quality Paper is an absolute necessity when working with watercolor. I work on 140 lb. or 300 lb. paper. Brands I prefer are Arches and Lanaquarelle.  I like 140 lb. paper because it is heavy enough to work without stretching and it dries faster than 300 lb.  I will be discussing various papers and how they perform in my upcoming workshop, June 24,25,26



Ice Rimes the Beaver Pond

Ice Rimes the Beaver Pond, Watermedia, 29X22 inches

Another painting inspired by a Haiku by Ferrell Mercer.

Ice rimes the beaver pond

lone male cardinal flits

spring's scarlet promise.
 

The contrast is interesting with cold gray implying winter, but bright scarlet promising that spring will come.

Renewal

Renewal, Watermedia Fluid Acrylic, 29X22 inches

 

This painting was inspired by a Haiku by Ferrell Mercer.

Pasture falls to ruin

 thistles and butterflies abound

 nothing is wasted

Endless

Endless, Watermedia, 28X22 inches

  In this painting I am trying to evoke a mood of quiet peace and a world without time or end. The lack of a clear horizon and the ripples of the water suggest an endless aspect of time and space. The trees are strong verticals that contrast with the horizontals of the ripples, tree limbs and heron.  The idea of timelessness contrasts with the flight of the bird which suggests an frozen moment in time.