Critique

I showed my plein aire paintings to Margot. She used to work outside, but now paints in the studio only. She really didn't like them. She was critical of the choice of the bridge - it looks like a sewer - and the strong hook shape of the composition. She told me to push the color when working outside. Hmmm. I really enjoyed working outside. I guess I wasn't so concerned about the final product as I was about the process of getting set up and painting. I liked working with the other painters. I got good feedback at the onsite critique for the Deukmejian trail.

I should demand more of myself. Even though each plein aire experience is an exercise, I guess I need to try harder to construct a complete painting.

Matt Smith said a good painting is a good painting, whether it was done en plein aire or in the studio. We should not set a separate standard for ourselves depending on when/how we painted. Matt also said we need to find the balance between working outside and working in the studio. Each experience should strengthen the other.

En Plein Aire

Here are some recent paintings I did with the Thursday painters. The first one is the bridge at York Street over the Arroyo Seco beside the stables. I was almost done when I heard that we could go into the stables to look around. The barn there was built in 1906!  There were a number of really interesting horses - unique breeds: a polo pony, a huge draft horse,  a smaller horse with a what looked like a huge head head of hair,  an ancient mule. I grabbed another panel and quickly sketched part of the barn in the time we had left. I took a number of pictures so maybe I will go back or work more on images from this site.

 

Another site where we painted was Deukmejian Park way up in La Crescenta. It was an interesting day, cool but warming up quickly as the morning went on. I was glad I could shift my gear into a backpack and head away from the parking lot without dragging my cart. This is another place where I would love to paint again. I chose a view looking up the trail towards an old oak. It would be fun to hike farther up, and paint the same area looking down towards the valley. We still have winter shrubbery on the hills. I don't know if Spring will bring many wildflowers since we haven't had any rain.

I didn't have a camera or my phone so no pictures to work from. I love the support of being with the paint-out group. With no phone, I wasn't worried at all about being out of touch or on my own. There were other painters all over the park nearby.

 

Busy schedule

I have been going out with the Thursday painters each week for about a month or more. It has really put pressure on my schedule. I paint with Margot on Wednesdays, en plein air on Thursdays, and with Sonny on Sundays. I can tell that I am gaining confidence as a painter. The more I learn the more I realize I have to learn.

I am fortunate that Margot and Sonny are like minded. I don't feel a conflict between their styles or their instruction. That said, they give different feedback on the same painting. It helps me realize something is wrong, and there are choices about how to fix it. I rarely ask for critique from both of them on the same painting. Margot does landscapes, and Sonny does still life and portraits.

I will photograph my plein air pieces to have a record of them. It is too late and dark outside to do that now. None of them is a finished painting. As Laura Wamsgans told me, it's like going to the gym. The goal is exercise not a performance. Chuck Kovacik manages to cover his canvas with conviction. It looks like he is aiming for a finished piece in the two/three hour painting time. He's a great resource and role model.

I'm also reading, reading, reading. Margaret Kessler, Chris Saper, Gregg Kreutz, Richard Scott, and of course, John Carlson. Some of it sticks in my head and some of it looks brand new the next time I look at the book! Richard Scott is doing a demo nearby in a couple of weeks. I look forward to meeting him. It turns out he is neighbors with one of Margot's other students.

It's daunting to realize that artists can't really be known until they publish and/or start teaching. Back to teaching! Maybe I need to publish my drawing book for the elementary classroom. Just like when I was writing that material, I'm too busy to put it all together!